PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12089149-B2
Application Number: US-202217963034-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Network slice quota management

Abstract:
Apparatuses, systems, and methods for performing network slice quota management. A network slice quota management function may store capacity information for one or more network slices. The network slice quota management function may receive a request for an indication of whether a network slice has additional capacity. The network slice quota management function may provide an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity in response to the request. The capacity information may relate to the capacity of the network slice with respect to the number of wireless devices registered for the network slice, or to the capacity of the network slice with respect to the number of packet sessions established with the network slice, or both, among various possibilities.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A cellular network function, wherein the cellular network function is configured to:
 store capacity information for at least a first network slice, wherein the capacity information for the first network slice includes one or more of:
 a count of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions established with the first network slice; and 
 a maximum number of PDU sessions allowed to be established per network slice; 
 
 receive, from a second network function, a request to check whether the count of PDU sessions established with the first network slice has reached the maximum number of PDU sessions per network slice; and 
 provide an indication of whether the count of PDU sessions established with the first network slice has reached the maximum number of PDU sessions per network slice in response to the request. 
 
     
     
       2. The cellular network function of  claim 1 , wherein the capacity information for the first network slice further includes at least:
 a current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice; and 
 a number of wireless devices allowed to be registered for the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       3. The cellular network function of  claim 2 , wherein the cellular network function is further configured to:
 receive an indication that a wireless device has registered for the first network slice; 
 determine whether the wireless device is counted in the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice; and 
 increment the capacity information indicating the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that a wireless device has registered for the first network slice, if the wireless device is not yet counted in the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       4. The cellular network function of  claim 2 , wherein the cellular network function is further configured to:
 receive an indication that a wireless device has deregistered for the first network slice; and 
 decrement the capacity information indicating the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that a wireless device has deregistered for the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       5. The cellular network function of  claim 1 , wherein the cellular network function is further configured to:
 receive an indication to modify the capacity information for the first network slice; and 
 modify the capacity information for the first network slice based at least in part on the indication to modify the capacity information for the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       6. The cellular network function of  claim 1 , wherein the cellular network function is further configured to:
 receive an indication that a first PDU session with the first network slice has been established; 
 determine whether the first PDU session is counted in the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice; and 
 increment the capacity information indicating the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that the first PDU session with the first network slice has been established, when the first PDU session is not yet counted in the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       7. The cellular network function of  claim 1 , wherein the cellular network function is further configured to:
 receive an indication that a first PDU session with the first network slice has been released; and 
 decrement the capacity information indicating the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that the first PDU session with the first network slice has been released. 
 
     
     
       8. The cellular network function of  claim 1 , wherein the cellular network function is further configured to:
 store capacity information for a plurality of network slices. 
 
     
     
       9. The cellular network function of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the second network function comprises a session management function (SMF). 
 
     
     
       10. An apparatus, comprising:
 a processor configured to cause a cellular network function to:
 store capacity information for at least a first network slice, wherein the capacity information for the first network slice includes one or more of:
 a count of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions established with the first network slice; and 
 a maximum number of PDU sessions allowed to be established per network slice; 
 
 receive, from a second network function, a request to check whether the count of PDU sessions established with the first network slice has reached the maximum number of PDU sessions per network slice; and 
 provide an indication of whether the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice has reached the maximum number of PDU sessions per network slice in response to the request. 
 
 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular network function to:
 receive an indication that a first PDU session with the first network slice has been established; 
 determine whether the first PDU session is counted in the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice; and 
 increment the capacity information indicating the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that the first PDU session with the first network slice has been established, when the first PDU session is not yet counted in the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular network function to:
 receive an indication that a first PDU session with the first network slice has been released; and 
 decrement the capacity information indicating the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that the PDU session with the first network slice has been released. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the indication of whether the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice has reached the maximum number of PDU sessions per network slice comprises an indication of whether the first network slice has capacity for an additional PDU session to be established with the first network slice. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular network function to:
 receive an indication to modify the capacity information for the first network slice; and 
 modify the capacity information for the first network slice based at least in part on the indication to modify the capacity information for the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the indication to modify the capacity information for the first network slice includes one or more of:
 an indication to modify a registered wireless devices count for the first network slice; 
 an indication to modify an active packet session count for the first network slice; or 
 an indication to modify a dormant packet session count for the first network slice. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular network function to:
 store capacity information for a plurality of network slices. 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 10 ,
 wherein the second network function comprises a session management function (SMF). 
 
     
     
       18. A method for operating a cellular network function, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a second network function, a request to check whether a count of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions established with a first network slice has reached a maximum number of PDU sessions allowed to be established for the first network slice; 
 determining, in response to the request, whether to increment capacity information indicating the count of PDU sessions established for the first network slice based at least in part on whether the count is less than a maximum number of PDU sessions allowed to be established for the first network slice; and 
 providing an indication of whether the count of PDU sessions established with the first network slice has reached the maximum number of PDU sessions allowed to be established for the first network slice in response to the request. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 ,
 wherein the second network function comprises a session management function (SMF). 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , the method further comprising:
 receiving an indication that a first PDU session with the first network slice has been released; and 
 decrementing the capacity information indicating the count of the PDU sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that the first PDU session with the first network slice has been released.

Description:
PRIORITY INFORMATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/136,954 entitled “Network Slice Quota Management,” filed Dec. 29, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/956,713, entitled “Network Slice Quota Management,” filed Jan. 3, 2020, which are both hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein. 
     The claims in the instant application are different than those of the parent application and/or other related applications. The Applicant therefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parent application and/or any predecessor application in relation to the instant application. Any such previous disclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may need to be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant application should not be read into or against the parent application and/or other related applications. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for performing network slice quota management in a wireless communication system. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functionalities. Additionally, there exist numerous different wireless communication technologies and standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH™, etc. 
     The ever increasing number of features and functionality introduced in wireless communication devices also creates a continuous need for improvement in both wireless communications and in wireless communication devices. To increase coverage and better serve the increasing demand and range of envisioned uses of wireless communication, in addition to the communication standards mentioned above, there are further wireless communication technologies under development, including fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication. Accordingly, improvements in the field in support of such development and design are desired. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods for performing network slice quota management in a wireless communication system. 
     The network slice quota management may be supported by the deployment of a network slice quota management function as a cellular network element in a cellular core network. The network slice quota management function may store and track capacity information for one or more network slices in the cellular network. The capacity information may relate to the capacity of each of the network slices with respect to any of various possible characteristics, such as the number of wireless devices registered for each network slice, the number of packet sessions established for each network slice, etc. For example, the capacity information could include information indicating the number of wireless devices allowed to be registered for each network slice and the number of wireless devices currently registered for each network slice, the number of packet sessions allowed to be established for each network slice and the number of packet sessions currently established for each network slice, and/or any of various other possible information. 
     The capacity information maintained by the network slice quota management function may be accessible by one or more other network functions or elements in the cellular network, e.g., to facilitate determination of whether to accept new wireless device registration requests or packet session establishment requests for a given network slice. For example, an access and management function that receives a request from a wireless device to register with a network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice could send a request to the network slice quota management function for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for the requested service. The network slice quota management function may respond accordingly, which may in turn enable the access and management function to determine whether accepting the registration request or packet session establishment request would violate the capacity of the corresponding network slice. 
     Thus, the deployment and use of such a network slice quota management function may help support the possibility of introducing one or more quotas on the (e.g., maximum) capacity of a network slice with respect to any of various possible characteristics, such as the number of wireless devices that can be simultaneously registered with a network slice, the number of packet sessions that can be simultaneously established with a network slice, etc. Such a quota management approach may allow for different quotas to be defined for different network slices and/or for different types of network slice capacity, among various possibilities, at least according to some embodiments. 
     The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aerial controllers, automobiles and/or motorized vehicles, network infrastructure equipment, and any of various other computing devices. 
     This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an example wireless communication system, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an example block diagram of a UE, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an example block diagram of a BS, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an example block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  6    illustrates an example block diagram of a network element, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  7    is a flowchart diagram illustrating an example method for performing network slice quota management in a wireless communication system; according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  8    illustrates aspects of an exemplary possible cellular network architecture including a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  9    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a successful registration scenario when a quota on registered UEs for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  10    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a rejected registration scenario when a quota on registered UEs for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  11    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a scenario in which a previously rejected registration is allowed due to a UE deregistration when a quota on registered UEs for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  12    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a successful PDU session establishment scenario when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  13    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a rejected PDU session establishment scenario when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIGS.  14 A- 14 C  are communication flow diagrams illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a scenario in which a dormant PDU session is released to allow a PDU session establishment when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  15    is a communication flow diagram illustrating further possible signaling that could be used in a scenario in which a dormant PDU session is released to allow a PDU session establishment when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG.  16    is a table illustrating possible services that could be provided by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments; and 
         FIG.  17    is a table illustrating a possible service that could be provided by an access and management function in conjunction with use of a network slice quota management function in a cellular network, according to some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     While the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Terms 
     The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure: 
     Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may include other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located in a second different computer system which connects to the first computer system over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., in different computer systems that are connected over a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computer programs) that may be executed by one or more processors. 
     Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physical transmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physical transmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals. 
     Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devices comprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via a programmable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmable function blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or look up tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as “reconfigurable logic”. 
     Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computer system” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium. 
     User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)— any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™ PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, automobiles and/or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device” can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication. 
     Wireless Device—any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device. 
     Communication Device—any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications can be wired or wireless. A communication device can be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device. 
     Base Station—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. 
     Processing Element (or Processor)—refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example: processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations of the above. 
     Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term “channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term “channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device with reference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widths may be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide while Bluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses such as data, control information, etc. 
     Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose. 
     Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without user input directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thus the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by the user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are performed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is filling out the form manually, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user actions. The form may be automatically filled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g., software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields but rather they are being automatically completed). The present specification provides various examples of operations being automatically performed in response to actions the user has taken. 
     Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. For example, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10 percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however, that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be application dependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and so forth, as desired or as required by the particular application. 
     Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks, processes, or programs are performed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using “weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleaved manner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads. 
     Configured to—Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generally meaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structure generally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits. 
     Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component. 
       FIGS.  1  and  2   —Communication System 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system of  FIG.  1    is merely one example of a possible system, and that features of this disclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired. 
     As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station  102 A which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices  106 A,  106 B, etc., through  106 N. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, the user devices  106  are referred to as UEs or UE devices. 
     The base station (BS)  102 A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (a “cellular base station”), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs  106 A through  106 N. 
     The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station  102 A and the UEs  106  may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G new radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if the base station  102 A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately be referred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station  102 A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referred to as a ‘gNodeB’ or gNB′. 
     As shown, the base station  102 A may also be equipped to communicate with a network  100  (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, the base station  102 A may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network  100 . In particular, the cellular base station  102 A may provide UEs  106  with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services. 
     Base station  102 A and other similar base stations (such as base stations  102 B . . .  102 N) operating according to the same or a different cellular communication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, which may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs  106 A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards. 
     Thus, while base station  102 A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs  106 A-N as illustrated in  FIG.  1   , each UE  106  may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which might be provided by base stations  102 B-N and/or any other base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells”. Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and/or between user devices and the network  100 . Such cells may include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cells which provide any of various other granularities of service area size. For example, base stations  102 A-B illustrated in  FIG.  1    might be macro cells, while base station  102 N might be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible. 
     In some embodiments, base station  102 A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC)/5G core (5GC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, it may be possible that that the base station  102 A and one or more other base stations  102  support joint transmission, such that UE  106  may be able to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and/or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). 
     Note that a UE  106  may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE  106  may be configured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE  106  may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H), and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates user equipment  106  (e.g., one of the devices  106 A through  106 N) in communication with a base station  102 , according to some embodiments. The UE  106  may be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch or other wearable device, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an unmanned aerial controller (UAC), an automobile, or virtually any type of wireless device. 
     The UE  106  may include a processor (processing element) that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE  106  may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. 
     Alternatively, or in addition, the UE  106  may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and/or any of various other possible hardware components that are configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein. 
     The UE  106  may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, the UE  106  may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As additional possibilities, the UE  106  could be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and/or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE  106  may share one or more parts of a receive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above. 
     In some embodiments, the UE  106  may include separate transmit and/or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE  106  may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE  106  might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5G NR (or either of LTE or 1×RTT, or either of LTE or GSM, among various possibilities), and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible. 
       FIG.  3   — Block Diagram of a UE 
       FIG.  3    illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device  106 , according to some embodiments. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device of  FIG.  3    is only one example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, communication device  106  may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device  106  may include a set of components  300  configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components  300  may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components  300  may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device  106 . 
     For example, the communication device  106  may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash  310 ), an input/output interface such as connector I/F  320  (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock; charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display  360 , which may be integrated with or external to the communication device  106 , and wireless communication circuitry  330  (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some embodiments, communication device  106  may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet. 
     The wireless communication circuitry  330  may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna(s)  335  as shown. The wireless communication circuitry  330  may include cellular communication circuitry and/or short to medium range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receiving and/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration. 
     In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communication circuitry  330  may include one or more receive chains (including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry  330  may include a single transmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g., LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio. The second radio may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain. 
     The communication device  106  may also include and/or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include any of various elements, such as display  360  (which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input. 
     The communication device  106  may further include one or more smart cards  345  that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards  345 . 
     As shown, the SOC  300  may include processor(s)  302 , which may execute program instructions for the communication device  106  and display circuitry  304 , which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display  360 . The processor(s)  302  may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)  340 , which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)  302  and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory  306 , read only memory (ROM)  350 , NAND flash memory  310 ) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry  304 , wireless communication circuitry  330 , connector I/F  320 , and/or display  360 . The MMU  340  may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU  340  may be included as a portion of the processor(s)  302 . 
     As noted above, the communication device  106  may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, the communication device  106  may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processor  302  of the communication device  106  may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor  302  may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processor  302  of the communication device  106 , in conjunction with one or more of the other components  300 ,  304 ,  306 ,  310 ,  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  345 ,  350 ,  360  may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. 
     In addition, as described herein, processor  302  may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor  302  may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor  302 . In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)  302 . 
     Further, as described herein, wireless communication circuitry  330  may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in wireless communication circuitry  330 . Thus, wireless communication circuitry  330  may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry  330 . In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuitry  330 . 
       FIG.  4   — Block Diagram of a Base Station 
       FIG.  4    illustrates an example block diagram of a base station  102 , according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station of  FIG.  4    is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station  102  may include processor(s)  404  which may execute program instructions for the base station  102 . The processor(s)  404  may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)  440 , which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)  404  and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory  460  and read only memory (ROM)  450 ) or to other circuits or devices. 
     The base station  102  may include at least one network port  470 . The network port  470  may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices  106 , access to the telephone network as described above in  FIGS.  1  and  2   . 
     The network port  470  (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility related services and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE devices  106 . In some cases, the network port  470  may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced by the cellular service provider). 
     In some embodiments, base station  102  may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In such embodiments, base station  102  may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC)/5G core (5GC) network. In addition, base station  102  may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. 
     The base station  102  may include at least one antenna  434 , and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna  434  may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices  106  via radio  430 . The antenna  434  communicates with the radio  430  via communication chain  432 . Communication chain  432  may be a receive chain, a transmit chain or both. The radio  430  may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc. 
     The base station  102  may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the base station  102  may include multiple radios, which may enable the base station  102  to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station  102  may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE as well as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station  102  may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station  102  may include a multi-mode radio which is capable of performing communications according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.). 
     As described further subsequently herein, the BS  102  may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor  404  of the base station  102  may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor  404  may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition) the processor  404  of the BS  102 , in conjunction with one or more of the other components  430 ,  432 ,  434 ,  440 ,  450 ,  460 ,  470  may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the features described herein. 
     In addition, as described herein, processor(s)  404  may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor(s)  404  may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor(s)  404 . In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)  404 . 
     Further, as described herein, radio  430  may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio  430  may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of radio  430 . In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio  430 . 
       FIG.  5   —Block Diagram of Cellular Communication Circuitry 
       FIG.  5    illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of  FIG.  5    is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit; other circuits, such as circuits including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuits including or coupled to fewer antennas, e.g., that may be shared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry  330  may be included in a communication device, such as communication device  106  described above. As noted above, communication device  106  may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. 
     The cellular communication circuitry  330  may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas  335   a - b  and  336  as shown. In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry  330  may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as shown in  FIG.  5   , cellular communication circuitry  330  may include a first modem  510  and a second modem  520 . The first modem  510  may be configured for communications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, and the second modem  520  may be configured for communications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR. 
     As shown, the first modem  510  may include one or more processors  512  and a memory  516  in communication with processors  512 . Modem  510  may be in communication with a radio frequency (RF) front end  530 . RF front end  530  may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end  530  may include receive circuitry (RX)  532  and transmit circuitry (TX)  534 . In some embodiments, receive circuitry  532  may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end  550 , which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna  335   a.    
     Similarly, the second modem  520  may include one or more processors  522  and a memory  526  in communication with processors  522 . Modem  520  may be in communication with an RF front end  540 . RF front end  540  may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end  540  may include receive circuitry  542  and transmit circuitry  544 . In some embodiments, receive circuitry  542  may be in communication with DL front end  560 , which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna  335   b.    
     In some embodiments, a switch  570  may couple transmit circuitry  534  to uplink (UL) front end  572 . In addition, switch  570  may couple transmit circuitry  544  to UL front end  572 . UL front end  572  may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna  336 . Thus, when cellular communication circuitry  330  receives instructions to transmit according to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via the first modem  510 ), switch  570  may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem  510  to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry  534  and UL front end  572 ). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry  330  receives instructions to transmit according to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via the second modem  520 ), switch  570  may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem  520  to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry  544  and UL front end  572 ). 
     As described herein, the first modem  510  and/or the second modem  520  may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processors  512 ,  522  may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processors  512 ,  522  may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition) the processors  512 ,  522 , in conjunction with one or more of the other components  530 ,  532 ,  534 ,  540 ,  542 ,  544 ,  550 ,  570 ,  572 ,  335  and  336  may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. 
     In addition, as described herein, processors  512 ,  522  may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors  512 ,  522  may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors  512 ,  522 . In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors  512 ,  522 . 
     In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry  330  may include only one transmit/receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuitry  330  may not include the modem  520 , the RF front end  540 , the DL front end  560 , and/or the antenna  335   b . As another example, the cellular communication circuitry  330  may not include the modem  510 , the RF front end  530 , the DL front end  550 , and/or the antenna  335   a . In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry  330  may also not include the switch  570 , and the RF front end  530  or the RF front end  540  may be in communication, e.g., directly, with the UL front end  572 . 
       FIG.  6   — Exemplary Block Diagram of a Network Element 
       FIG.  6    illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a network element  600 , according to some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the network element  600  may implement one or more logical functions/entities of a cellular core network, such as a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (S-GW), access and management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), network slice quota management (NSQM) function, etc. It is noted that the network element  600  of  FIG.  6    is merely one example of a possible network element  600 . As shown, the core network element  600  may include processor(s)  604  which may execute program instructions for the core network element  600 . The processor(s)  604  may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)  640 , which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)  604  and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory  660  and read only memory (ROM)  650 ) or to other circuits or devices. 
     The network element  600  may include at least one network port  670 . The network port  670  may be configured to couple to one or more base stations and/or other cellular network entities and/or devices. The network element  600  may communicate with base stations (e.g., eNBs/gNBs) and/or other network entities/devices by means of any of various communication protocols and/or interfaces. 
     As described further subsequently herein, the network element  600  may include hardware and software components for implementing and/or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor(s)  604  of the core network element  600  may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor  604  may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. 
       FIG.  7   — Network Slice Quota Management 
     New cellular communication techniques are continually under development, to increase coverage, to better serve the range of demands and use cases, and for a variety of other reasons. As new cellular communication technologies are developed and deployed, certain features may be included that are new or differ from previously developed and deployed cellular communication technologies. 
     One approach to a cellular network architecture may include use of various network slices to provide various services to users of the cellular network. This approach may enable a cellular network operator to virtually adapt its network infrastructure to provide a set of applications and services to users in a flexible and efficient manner, at least according to some embodiments. In order to support such adaptability in network slices deployed within a cellular network, it may be useful to provide a mechanism to configure and operate within a specified capacity for each network slice, e.g., with respect to any of a variety of possible characteristics or parameters. 
     Accordingly,  FIG.  7    is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of a method for performing network slice quota management in a wireless communication system, at least according to some embodiments. Aspects of the method of  FIG.  7    may be implemented by a wireless device such as a UE  106  illustrated in various of the Figures herein, a base station such as a BS  102  illustrated in various of the Figures herein, a network element such as a NSQM function, AMF, or SMF, and/or more generally in conjunction with any of the computer circuitry, systems, devices, elements, or components shown in the above Figures, among others, as desired. For example, a processor (and/or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and/or other method elements. 
     In various embodiments, some of the elements of the methods shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, may be substituted for by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, the method of  FIG.  7    may operate as follows. 
     In  702 , a first cellular network element may store capacity information for one or more network slices. The first cellular network element may include a network slice quota management (NSQM) function, at least according to some embodiments. For simplicity, the first network element may be referred to subsequently herein as the NSQM function; it should, however, be noted that the functionality of the first network element could alternatively be implemented by any of various other possible cellular network elements, at least according to some embodiments. For example, according to various embodiments, the NSQM functionality could be provided as part of a cellular network element that also implements one or more other network functions, such as an AMF, SMF, NRF, PCF, NSSF, etc. In other words, in some instances, it may be possible for another existing network element to provide NSQM functionality, e.g., in addition to its existing functions. 
     The capacity information may include a current number of wireless devices registered, and a number of wireless devices allowed to be registered, for each network slice for which the NSQM function stores capacity information. Additionally, or alternatively, the capacity information may include a current number of active packet sessions, a current number of dormant packet sessions, and a number of packet sessions allowed, for each network slice for which the NSQM function stores capacity information. Note that, at least according to some embodiments, active packet sessions may include packet sessions for which a radio connection is active (e.g., if a wireless device is in RRC connected mode), while dormant packet sessions may include packet sessions for which a radio connection is inactive (e.g., if a wireless device is in RRC inactive or RRC idle mode). Any of various other parameters relating to the network slice capacity for each network slice for which the NSQM function stores capacity information may additionally or alternatively be included in the capacity information, according to various embodiments. 
     In  704 , a second cellular network element may provide a request to the NSQM function for an indication of whether a network slice has additional capacity. According to some embodiments, the second cellular network element may be an access and management function (AMF). For simplicity, the second network element may be referred to subsequently herein as the AMF; it should, however, be noted that the functionality of the second network element could alternatively be implemented by any of various other possible cellular network elements, at least according to some embodiments. Note that in some instances, it could be possible that the AMF and the NSQM are provided by the same cellular network element, in which case the request may be provided from the AMF implemented by the cellular network to the NSQM implemented by the same cellular network element, at least according to some embodiments. 
     In some instances, the AMF may provide a request for the address of the NSQM function to another network element, such as a network function repository function (NRF), e.g., in order to obtain the address of the NSQM function, prior to providing the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity. In such a scenario, the NRF may respond with an indication of the address of the NSQM function, e.g., within the cellular network, which may be received by the AMF. 
     The request for an indication of whether a network slice has additional capacity may specify with respect to which of various possible parameters an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity is requested. For example, the request could be a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional wireless device to register with the network slice, or could be a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice. Further, it should be noted that, at least according to some embodiments, it may be possible for a request to be provided to the NSQM function with respect to whether additional capacity is available for multiple parameters and/or multiple network slices. 
     At least in some instances, the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity may be provided in response to a request (or multiple requests) from a wireless device (or from multiple wireless devices) to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice (and possibly with one or more other network slices). 
     In  706 , the NSQM function may provide an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity in response to the request by the AMF. Thus, as an example, if the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity includes a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional wireless device to register with the network slice, the response may indicate that the network slice has capacity for an additional wireless device to register with the network slice if the capacity information indicates that the number of wireless devices registered with the network slice is less than the number of wireless devices allowed to be registered with the network slice. In contrast, if the capacity information indicates that the number of wireless devices registered with the network slice is at least equal to the number of wireless devices allowed to be registered with the network slice, the response may indicate that the network slice does not have capacity for an additional wireless device to register with the network slice. 
     As another example, at least according to some embodiments, if the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity includes a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice, the response may indicate that the network slice has capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice if the capacity information indicates that the number of packet sessions established with the network slice is less than the number of packet sessions allowed to be established with the network slice. In contrast, if the capacity information indicates that the number of packet sessions allowed to be established with the network slice is at least equal to the number of packet sessions allowed to be established with the network slice, the response may indicate that the network slice does not have capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice. 
     At least in some embodiments, if the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity indicates that the network slice does have additional capacity with respect to the requested parameter(s), the AMF may accept the request from the wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice. Note that such a decision may further be based on or otherwise conditional upon one or more other considerations, such as whether the wireless device subscription supports registration with the network slice, among various other possibilities, at least according to some embodiments. 
     If the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity indicates that the network slice does not have additional capacity with respect to the requested parameter(s), it may be the case that the AMF rejects the request from the wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice, possibly including providing cause code information to the wireless device. 
     Alternatively, if the wireless device requested to establish a packet session with the network slice, it may be the case that the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity indicates that the network slice does not have capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice, but may also indicate that the network slice has at least one dormant packet session. In such a scenario, the AMF may release a dormant packet session with the network slice (e.g., based at least in part on the request from the wireless device to establish a packet session with the network slice and the indication that the network slice does not have capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice), and may accept the request from the wireless device to establish a packet session with the network slice (e.g., based at least in part on releasing the dormant packet session with the network slice). If the AMF does release a dormant packet session with the network slice, such release may be performed in a “proactive” manner, in which case the wireless device with the dormant packet session may be immediately informed that the dormant packet session has been released, as one possibility. As another possibility, such release may be performed in a “deferred” manner, in which case the wireless device with the dormant packet session may not be informed that the dormant packet session has been released until it attempts to resume the dormant packet session. 
     In some embodiments, the AMF (and/or one or more other cellular network elements, such as a session management function (SMF)) may provide updates to the NSQM function to facilitate accurate tracking of the capacity information for the various network slices for which the NSQM function maintains capacity information. For example, an indication could be provided to the NSQM function when a wireless device has registered (or deregistered) for a network slice, based on which the NSQM function may increment (or decrement) the capacity information indicating the current number of wireless devices registered for that network slice. As another example, an indication could be provided to the NSQM function when the number of active packet sessions for a network slice changes, and/or when the number of dormant packet sessions for a network slice changes, based on which the NSQM function may modify the capacity information indicating the current number of active and/or dormant packet sessions established with the network slice. Any of various other indications to modify the capacity information for a network slice may similarly be provided, as desired, based on which the NSQM function may accordingly modify the capacity information for the indicated network slice. 
     Note that, at least according to some embodiments, the NSQM function may check whether an indication of a wireless device registration or packet session actually represents a new wireless device registration or packet session before incrementing (or otherwise modifying) its capacity information. For example, there could be instances in which a wireless device has registered to a network slice via one AMF, but due to wireless device mobility, performs a mobility registration update via another AMF. In such a scenario, the NSQM function may implement one or more duplicate detection techniques, e.g., to determine whether a wireless device is already counted in its count of wireless devices registered for a network slice, and may determine whether to modify the current number of wireless devices registered for the network slice based at least in part on whether the wireless device registration is a “duplicate” registration. The NSQM function could also or alternatively implement such an approach to determine whether a (e.g., active or dormant) packet session is already counted in its count of packet sessions established for a network slice, and may determine whether to modify the current number of packet sessions established for the network slice based at least in part on whether the packet session is a “duplicate” session. 
     Thus, the method of  FIG.  7    may be used to support network slice quota management when a network slicing approach is applied to a cellular network architecture, at least according to some embodiments. As described herein, such quota management techniques may be particularly helpful in ensuring that use of a network slice remains within the physical capacity of the hardware and/or software used to provide the network slice, and/or in at least some scenarios in which it may be desirable to implement a quota on network slice capacity that may differ from the physical capacity of the hardware and/or software used to provide the network slice, among various possible scenarios. 
       FIGS.  8 - 17    and Additional Information 
       FIGS.  8 - 17    illustrate further aspects that might be used in conjunction with the method of  FIG.  7    if desired. It should be noted, however, that the exemplary details illustrated in and described with respect to  FIGS.  8 - 17    are not intended to be limiting to the disclosure as a whole: numerous variations and alternatives to the details provided herein below are possible and should be considered within the scope of the disclosure. 
     As previously noted, network slicing may be used to serve users of a cellular network in an adaptive, flexible manner, at least according to some embodiments. Part of such adaptability and flexibility may include the ability to scale different network slices to a variety of possible sizes, e.g., to support different sized user bases for different services and applications, and/or for any of a variety of other reasons. Providing a mechanism to configure and enforce quotas with respect to various capability parameters of each of the network slices deployed in a network may be one important aspect of supporting such adaptive scalability, at least according to some embodiments. 
     As one possible input or attribute that may be considered when determining to what size to scale a network slice, a number of terminals (e.g., UEs) that are allowed to use a network slice simultaneously could be defined. For example, there may be a significant difference in the scale of a network slice that is used to serve 10 users simultaneously compared to the scale of a network slice that is used to serve 1,000,000 users simultaneously. 
     Accordingly, a key issue with respect to supporting network slicing may include determining how to support a certain quota on the (e.g., maximum) number of UEs allowed to concurrently register for a network slice (e.g., as defined by a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI)). 
     One possibility may include providing a network slice quota management (NSQM) function within a cellular network to maintain a count of the number of registered UEs in a S-NSSAI.  FIG.  8    illustrates aspects of one possible cellular core network architecture including such a NSQM function  806 , according to some embodiments. As shown, the cellular core network may also include a network slice selection function (NSSF)  802 , a network function repository function (NRF)  804 , one or more access and management functions (AMFs)  808 , and one or more session management functions (SMFs)  810 . The cellular network may be accessible to a UE  812  (among other possible wireless devices) via one or more radio access networks (RANs)  814 , and may also provide access to one or more data networks (DNs)  818  via one or more user plane functions (UPFs)  816 . Note that the cellular network architecture illustrated in  FIG.  8    is provided by way of example only, and that numerous other cellular network architectures (and/or variations on the illustrated cellular network architecture) are also possible. 
     The NSQM function may keep a count of the number of UEs registered and deregistered for a network slice (and possibly multiple network slices), and may provide various services to the other cellular network elements based at least in part on this information. As an example of such tracking and service provision,  FIG.  9    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a successful registration scenario when a quota on registered UEs for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments. 
     As shown, the communication flow may be performed between a UE  902 , a RAN  904 , an AMF  906 , a SMF  908 , a NRF  910 , and a NSQM  912 . In  914 , the UE  902  may send a registration request (e.g., indicating a requested S-NSSAI) to the AMF  906 , via the RAN  904 . In  916 , the AMF  906  may send a network function discovery request to the NRF  910  to request the address of the NSQM  912  for the requested S-NSSAI. In  918 , the NRF  910  may provide a network function discovery response to the AMF  906 , including the address of the NSQM  912 . In  920 , the AMF  906  may request a UE registration count for the requested S-NSSAI from the NSQM  912 , e.g., to determine whether there is available quota for registered UEs for that particular S-NSSAI. In  922 , the NSQM  912  may check whether quota is available for registration of a new UE in the specified S-NSSAI. In the scenario of  FIG.  9   , it may be the case that there is quota available for registration of a new UE in the specified S-NSSAI, and so in  924 , the NSQM  912  may respond to the request for a UE registration count for the specified S-NSSAI with a success code for the S-NSSAI. The AMF  906  may also check the subscription of the UE  902  with a network slice selection function, which may confirm the subscription of the UE  902  in the illustrated scenario. In  926 , the AMF  906  may respond to the registration request of the UE  902  with a registration accept message, with the specified S-NSSAI added to the “Allowed S-NSSAI” list. Note that the AMF  906  may also inform the NSQM  912  that a new UE is registered in the network for the specified network slice. 
     As another example of such tracking and service provision,  FIG.  10    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a rejected registration scenario when a quota on registered UEs for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments. As shown, the communication flow may be performed between a UE  1002 , a RAN  1004 , an AMF  1006 , a SMF  1008 , a NRF  1010 , and a NSQM  1012 . In  1014 , the UE  1002  may send a registration request (e.g., indicating a requested S-NSSAI) to the AMF  1006 , via the RAN  1004 . In  1016 , the AMF  1006  may send a network function discovery request to the NRF  1010  to request the address of the NSQM  1012  for the requested S-NSSAI. In  1018 , the NRF  1010  may provide a network function discovery response to the AMF  1006 , including the address of the NSQM  1012 . In  1020 , the AMF  1006  may request a UE registration count for the requested S-NSSAI from the NSQM  1012 , e.g., to determine whether there is available quota for registered UEs for that particular S-NSSAI. In  1022 , the NSQM  1012  may check whether quota is available for registration of a new UE in the specified S-NSSAI. In the scenario of  FIG.  10   , it may be the case that there is not quota available for registration of a new UE in the specified S-NSSAI, and so in  1024 , the NSQM  1012  may respond to the request for a UE registration count for the specified S-NSSAI with a failure code for the S-NSSAI, indicating that the maximum quota on registered UEs has been reached for the S-NSSAI. In  1026 , the AMF  1006  may respond to the registration request of the UE  1002  with a registration accept message, with the specified S-NSSAI added to the “Rejected S-NSSAI” list. 
     Note that in a scenario in which a UE sends registration requests for multiple S-NSSAIs, and in which an AMF in turn provides inquires regarding the available quota for registered UEs for multiple S-NSSAIs, it could also be the case that the NSQM function indicates that there is available quota for registered UEs for one or more S-NSSAIs, and also that there is not available quota for registered UEs for one or more S-NSSAIs. In such a scenario, the AMF may respond to the registration request of the UE with a registration accept message, with the S-NSSAI(s) for which quota for registered UEs is available added to the “Allowed S-NSSAI” list and the S-NSSAI(s) for which quota for registered UEs is not available added to the “Rejected S-NSSAI” list. 
     It may also be possible for the NSQM to trigger an addition of a new UE to a S-NSSAI, for example, for a UE that was previously rejected due to a maximum quota being reached in the S-NSSAI.  FIG.  11    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in such a scenario, according to some embodiments. As shown, the communication flow may be performed between a UE  1102 , a RAN  1104 , an AMF  1106 , a SMF  1108 , a NRF  1110 , and a NSQM  1112 . In  1114 , the NSQM  1112  may receive a deregistration request to remove a UE from a S-NSSAI. In  1116 , the NSQM may decrement the quota for the S-NSSAI. In  1118 , the NSQM may provide a UE addition request to the AMF  1106 , indicating that there is quota availability for the S-NSSAI. In  1120 , the AMF  1106  may send a UE addition response (acknowledgement) to the NSQM  1112 . In  1122 , the AMF  1106  may decide which UE (or UEs, if there is sufficient quota availability) to add to fill the quota for the S-NSSAI. Such a decision could be based on first-in-first-out (FIFO) logic, and/or based on any of various other possible considerations, as desired. In  1124 , the AMF  1106  may provide a UE configuration update command with “allowed S-NSSAI” for the S-NSSAI to the selected UE(s)  1102 . In  1126 , the UE  1102  may provide a registration request (e.g., indicating a requested S-NSSAI) to the AMF  1106 , via the RAN  1104 . In  1128 , the AMF  1106  may request a UE registration count for the requested S-NSSAI from the NSQM  1112 , e.g., to determine whether there is available quota for registered UEs for that particular S-NSSAI. In  1130 , the NSQM  1112  may check whether quota is available for registration of a new UE in the specified S-NSSAI. Due to the preceding deregistration, it may be the case that there is quota available for registration of a new UE in the specified S-NSSAI, and so in  1132 , the NSQM  1112  may respond to the request for a UE registration count for the specified S-NSSAI with a success code for the S-NSSAI. In  1134 , the AMF  1106  may respond to the registration request of the UE  1102  with a registration accept message, with the specified S-NSSAI added to the “Allowed S-NSSAI” list. 
     As another possible input or attribute that may be considered when determining to what size to scale a network slice, a number of sessions that can be simultaneously supported by a network slice could be defined. Accordingly, another possible key issue with respect to supporting network slicing may include determining how to support a certain quota on the (e.g., maximum) number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions that can be concurrently established for a network slice (e.g., as defined by a S-NSSAI). 
     A NSQM function, such as described herein, could also, or alternatively, be deployed within a cellular network to maintain a count of the number of PDU sessions active for a network slice. The NSQM function could, for example, store information indicating the number of active PDU session (e.g., corresponding to PDU sessions with RRC connected UEs), and potentially also the number of dormant PDU sessions (e.g., corresponding to PDU sessions with RRC inactive or RRC idle UEs, or PDU sessions which have packet switched (PS) Data Off), and may provide various services to the other cellular network elements based at least in part on this information. As an example of such tracking and service provision,  FIG.  12    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a successful PDU session establishment scenario when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments. 
     As shown, the communication flow may be performed between a UE  1202 , a RAN  1204 , an AMF  1206 , a SMF  1208 , a NRF  1210 , and a NSQM  1212 . In  1214 , the NSQM  1212  may subscribe to the SMF  1208  and keep track of the number of PDU sessions active for a particular S-NSSAI, data network name (DNN), or both, for one or more S-NSSAIs and/or DNNs. In  1216 , the UE  1202  may send a PDU session establishment request (e.g., indicating a S-NSSAI and DNN) to the AMF  1206 , via the RAN  1204 . In  1218 , the AMF  1206  may send a network function discovery request to the NRF  1210  to request the address of the NSQM  1212  for the requested S-NSSAI. In  1220 , the NRF  1210  may provide a network function discovery response to the AMF  1206 , including the address of the NSQM  1212 . In  1222 , the AMF  1206  may request a PDU session count for the requested S-NSSAI from the NSQM  1212 , e.g., to determine whether there is available quota for PDU sessions for that particular S-NSSAI and DNN. In  1224 , the NSQM  1212  may check whether quota is available for a new PDU session to be established in the specified S-NSSAI. In the scenario of  FIG.  12   , it may be the case that there is quota available for a new PDU session to be established in the specified S-NSSAI, and so in  1226 , the NSQM  1212  may respond to the request for a PDU session count for the specified S-NSSAI with a success code for the S-NSSAI and DNN. In  1228 , the AMF  1206  may provide a request to create a PDU session to the SMF  1208 , e.g., including the S-NSSAI and a PDU session ID. In  1230 , the SMF  1208  may respond to the PDU session setup request, indicating that the PDU session has been successfully established. In  1232 , the AMF  1206  may send a PDU session establishment accept message to the UE  1202 . Note that the SMF  1208  may also inform the NSQM  1212  that a new PDU session has been established for the specified network slice. 
     As another example of such tracking and service provision,  FIG.  13    is a communication flow diagram illustrating possible signaling that could be used in a rejected PDU session establishment scenario when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments. As shown, the communication flow may be performed between a UE  1302 , a RAN  1304 , an AMF  1306 , a SMF  1308 , a NRF  1310 , and a NSQM  1312 . In  1314 , the NSQM  1312  may subscribe to the SMF  1308  and keep track of the number of PDU sessions active for a particular S-NSSAI, data network name (DNN), or both, for one or more S-NSSAIs and/or DNNs. In  1316 , the UE  1302  may send a PDU session establishment request (e.g., indicating a S-NSSAI and DNN) to the AMF  1306 , via the RAN  1304 . In  1318 , the AMF  1306  may send a network function discovery request to the NRF  1310  to request the address of the NSQM  1312  for the requested S-NSSAI. In  1320 , the NRF  1310  may provide a network function discovery response to the AMF  1306 , including the address of the NSQM  1312 . In  1322 , the AMF  1306  may request a PDU session count for the requested S-NSSAI from the NSQM  1312 , e.g., to determine whether there is available quota for PDU sessions for that particular S-NSSAI and DNN. In  1324 , the NSQM  1312  may check whether quota is available for a new PDU session to be established in the specified S-NSSAI. In the scenario of  FIG.  13   , it may be the case that there is not quota available for a new PDU session to be established in the specified S-NSSAI, and so in  1326 , the NSQM  1312  may respond to the request for a PDU session count for the specified S-NSSAI with a failure code for the S-NSSAI and DNN, e.g., indicating that the maximum PDU session quota has been reached. In  1328 , the AMF  1306  may send a PDU session establishment reject message to the UE  1302 , e.g., including an appropriate cause code and possibly configuring a backoff timer. 
     It may also be possible that a dormant PDU session could be released to allow a new PDU session to be established when there is no quota available for a new PDU session and there is at least one dormant PDU session for a S-NSSAI.  FIGS.  14 A- 14 C  are communication flow diagrams illustrating possible signaling that could be used in such a scenario, according to some embodiments. As shown, the communication flows may be performed between a first UE (UE “a”)  1402 , a second UE (UE “x”)  1404 , a RAN  1406 , an AMF  1408 , a SMF  1410 , a NRF  1412 , and a NSQM  1414 . In  1416 , the NSQM  1414  may subscribe to the SMF  1410  and keep track of the number of PDU sessions active for a particular S-NSSAI, data network name (DNN), or both, for one or more S-NSSAIs and/or DNNs. In  1418 , the AMF  1408  may know (e.g., from the RAN  1406 ) when a UE transitions from RRC connected to RRC inactive state. In  1420 , the NSQM  1414  may further subscribe to the AMF  1408  and keep track of the RRC state of the UEs in its database. In  1422 , the first UE  1402  may send a PDU session establishment request (e.g., indicating a S-NSSAI and DNN) to the AMF  1408 , via the RAN  1406 . In  1424 , the AMF  1408  may send a network function discovery request to the NRF  1412  to request the address of the NSQM  1414  for the requested S-NSSAI. In  1426 , the NRF  1412  may provide a network function discovery response to the AMF  1408 , including the address of the NSQM  1414 . In  1428 , the AMF  1408  may request a PDU session count for the requested S-NSSAI from the NSQM  1414 , e.g., to determine whether there is available quota for PDU sessions for that particular S-NSSAI and DNN. In  1430 , the NSQM  1414  may check whether quota is available for a new PDU session to be established in the specified S-NSSAI. In the scenario of  FIG.  14   , it may be the case that there is not quota available for a new PDU session to be established in the specified S-NSSAI, and so in  1432 , the NSQM  1414  may respond to the request for a PDU session count for the specified S-NSSAI with a failure code for the S-NSSAI and DNN, e.g., indicating that the maximum PDU session quota has been reached, and also indicating the number of dormant PDU sessions and the corresponding UE identities for the dormant PDU sessions. 
       FIG.  14 B  illustrates one possible (“proactive”) approach to releasing a dormant PDU session to allow a new PDU session to be established following the communication flow of  FIG.  14 A . As shown, in the illustrated scenario, in  1434 , the AMF  1408  may decide to release a dormant PDU session of a UE (e.g., the second UE  1404 ). The AMF  1408  may determine which dormant PDU session to release in any of various possible ways, e.g., based on any of various possible considerations. For example, the dormant PDU session selected for release could be based on which PDU session has been dormant for a longest duration, whether a PDU session has a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) or non-GBR, whether the PDU session is for a ultra reliable low latency communication (URLLC) UE and/or network slice, subscription information for a UE associated with the PDU session, and/or any of various other possibilities. In  1436 , the AMF  1408  may send a request to release the UE context for the second UE  1404  to the RAN  1406 . In  1438 , the RAN  1406  may send a RRC release message to the second UE  1404 , and in  1440 , may confirm to the AMF  1410  that the UE context for the second UE  1404  has been released. In  1442 , the AMF  1408  may provide a request to create a PDU session to the SMF  1410 , e.g., including the S-NSSAI and a PDU session ID. In  1444 , the SMF  1410  may respond to the PDU session setup request, indicating that the PDU session has been successfully established. In  1446 , the AMF  1408  may provide a PDU count modification request to the NSQM  1414 , e.g., indicating to add one to the active PDU session and reduce the dormant PDU session count by one. In  1448 , the NSQM  1414  may send a PDU count modification response to the AMF  1408 , e.g., confirming the modification. In  1450 , the AMF  1408  may send a PDU session establishment accept message to the first UE  1402 . 
       FIG.  14 C  illustrates another possible (“deferred”) approach to releasing a dormant PDU session to allow a new PDU session to be established following the communication flow of  FIG.  14 A , e.g., as an alternative to the communication flow of  FIG.  14 B . As shown, in the illustrated scenario, in  1452 , the AMF  1408  may decide to reallocate the dormant PDU session resources of the second UE  1404  to the first UE  1402 . The AMF  1408  may determine which dormant PDU session to release in any of various possible ways, e.g., based on any of various possible considerations. For example, the dormant PDU session selected for release could be based on which PDU session has been dormant for a longest duration, whether a PDU session has a GBR or non-GBR, whether the PDU session is for a URLLC UE and/or network slice, subscription information for a UE associated with the PDU session, and/or any of various other possibilities. In  1454 , the AMF  1408  may provide a request to create a PDU session to the SMF  1410 , e.g., including the S-NSSAI and a PDU session ID. In  1456 , the SMF  1410  may respond to the PDU session setup request, indicating that the PDU session has been successfully established. In  1458 , the AMF  1408  may provide a PDU count modification request to the NSQM  1414 , e.g., indicating to add one to the active PDU session and reduce the dormant PDU session count by one. In  1460 , the NSQM  1414  may send a PDU count modification response to the AMF  1408 , e.g., confirming the modification. In  1462 , the AMF  1408  may send a PDU session establishment accept message to the first UE  1402 . In  1464 , the second UE  1404  may attempt to resume its suspended PDU session. In  1466 , the second UE  1404  may send a RRC resume request to the RAN  1406 , and in  1468 , may send a service request to the AMF  1408 . In  1470 , since there may not be any available quota for PDU sessions for the S-NSSAI, the AMF  1408  may send a service reject message to the second UE  1404  with the corresponding cause code. In  1472 , the RAN may provide a RRC reject message to the second UE  1404 . 
       FIG.  15    is a communication flow diagram illustrating further possible signaling that could be used in a scenario in which a dormant PDU session is released to allow a PDU session establishment when a quota on PDU sessions for a network slice is enforced by a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments. In particular,  FIG.  15    illustrates communication flow in a possible scenario in which another UE deregisters between a dormant PDU session being released and the UE with that dormant PDU session attempting to resume the suspended session, which may in turn allow the UE with the dormant PDU session that was released being able to reestablish the released dormant PDU session. This may potentially result in a smaller overall impact to the UE with the released dormant PDU session than the “proactive” approach, at least in some instances. 
     As shown, the communication flow may be performed between a first UE (UE “a”)  1502 , a second UE (UE “x”)  1504 , a RAN  1506 , an AMF  1508 , a SMF  1510 , a NRF  1512 , a NSQM  1514 , and a third UE (UE “y”)  1516 . In  1518 , the active PDU sessions quota may be maxed out at the NSQM  1514 . In  1520 , a dormant PDU session of the second UE  1504  may have been released at the core network side, e.g., without informing the second UE  1504  that its PDU session has been released. In  1522 , new PDU session resources (e.g., that were made available by the release of the PDU session of the second UE  1504 ) may have been provided to the first UE  1502 , which may have an active PDU session. IN  1524 , the third UE  1516  may deregister from the network. This may include, in  1526 , sending a deregistration request to the AMF  1508 . In  1528 , the AMF  1508  may provide a PDU count modification request to the NSQM  1514 , e.g., indicating to reduce the active PDU session count by one. In  1530 , the NSQM  1514  may send a PDU count modification response to the AMF  1508 , e.g., confirming the modification. In  1532 , the AMF  1508  may send a deregistration accept message to the third UE  1516 . In  1534 , the second UE  1504  may attempt to resume its suspended PDU session. This may include in  1536 , sending a RRC resume request to the RAN  1506 , and in  1538 , sending a service request to the AMF  1508 . In  1542 , the AMF  1508  may provide a request to create a PDU session to the SMF  1510 , e.g., including the S-NSSAI and a PDU session ID. In  1544 , the SMF  1510  may respond to the PDU session setup request, indicating that the PDU session has been successfully established. In  1546 , the AMF  1508  may provide a PDU count modification request to the NSQM  1514 , e.g., indicating to add one to the active PDU session. In  1548 , the NSQM  1514  may send a PDU count modification response to the AMF  1508 , e.g., confirming the modification. In  1550 , the RAN  1506  may provide a RRC setup message to the second UE  1504 . Note that the RAN  1506  may send the RRC setup message (e.g., instead of an RRC Resume message) at least in part because the dormant PDU session of the second UE  1504  was released at the core network in  1520 . In  1552 , the second UE  1504  may provide a RRC setup complete message to the RAN  1506 . In  1554 , the AMF  1508  may send a service accept message to the second UE  1504 . Following the communication flow of  FIG.  15   , it may be the case that both the first UE  1402  and the second UE  1404  have an active PDU session ongoing. 
     Thus, a NSQM function may be used in a cellular network to provide quota management for one or more network slices with respect to the number of registered and deregistered UEs, and/or with respect to the number of active and dormant PDU sessions.  FIG.  16    is a table illustrating possible services that could be provided by such a network slice quota management function, according to some embodiments. The illustrated services may include a NSQM registration count service, whose service operations may include subscribe, unsubscribe, and notify operations, as well as UECheck, UEAddition, and UERemoval operations. The illustrated services may also include a NSQM PDU count service, whose service operations may include subscribe, unsubscribe, and notify operations, as well as AvailabilityCheck and Modification operations. The AMF and the NSSF may be consumers of such services, at least according to some embodiments. 
     In conjunction with deployment of such a NSQM function, it may be the case that a new AMF service is provided, e.g., to further support quota management in a cellular core network.  FIG.  17    is a table illustrating such a possible service that could be provided by an AMF in conjunction with use of a NSQM function in a cellular network, according to some embodiments. As shown, the illustrated service may include an AMF communication service, whose service operations may include a UEContextRelease operation, with the NG-RAN as the potential consumer of such a service, at least according to some embodiments. Such a service may be used to release the UE context of a UE for which the AMF has decided to release a dormant PDU session, e.g., in order to allow a new active PDU session to be established, at least according to some embodiments. Note that this service may be provided by the AMF in addition to various other existing services provided by the AMF, at least according to some embodiments. 
     In the following further exemplary embodiments are provided. 
     One set of embodiments may include a cellular network element, comprising: a network port; and a processor coupled to the network port; wherein the cellular network element is configured to: store capacity information for at least a first network slice; receive a request for an indication of whether the first network slice has additional capacity; and provide an indication of whether the first network slice has additional capacity in response to the request. 
     According to some embodiments, the capacity information for the first network slice includes at least: a current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice; and a number of wireless devices allowed to be registered for the first network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: receive an indication that a wireless device has registered for the first network slice; determine whether the wireless device is counted in the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice; and increment the capacity information indicating the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that a wireless device has registered for the first network slice, if the wireless device is not yet counted in the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: receive an indication that a wireless device has deregistered for the first network slice; and decrement the capacity information indicating the current number of wireless devices registered for the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that a wireless device has deregistered for the first network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the capacity information for the first network slice includes at least: a current number of active packet sessions established with the first network slice; a current number of dormant packet sessions established with the first network slice; and a number of packet sessions allowed to be established with the first network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: receive an indication that an active packet session with the first network slice has been established; determine whether the active packet session is counted in the current number of active packet sessions established with the first network slice; and increment the capacity information indicating the current number of active packet sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that an active packet session with the first network slice has been established, if the active packet session is not yet counted in the current number of active packet sessions established with the first network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: receive an indication that an active packet session with the first network slice has been released; and decrement the capacity information indicating the current number of active packet sessions established with the first network slice based at least in part on the indication that an active packet session with the first network slice has been released. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: store capacity information for a plurality of network slices. 
     Another set of embodiments may include an apparatus, comprising: a processor configured to cause a cellular network element to: store capacity information for a plurality of network slices; receive a request for an indication of whether a first network slice has additional capacity; and provide an indication of whether the first network slice has additional capacity in response to the request. 
     According to some embodiments, the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity comprises one or more of: a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional wireless device to register with the network slice; or a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the capacity information for each respective network slice of the plurality of network slices includes one or more of: a current number of wireless devices registered for the respective network slice; a number of wireless devices allowed to be registered for the respective network slice; a current number of packet sessions established with the respective network slice; a current number of active packet sessions established with the respective network slice; a current number of dormant packet sessions established with the respective network slice; or a number of packet sessions allowed to be established with the respective network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the cellular network element to: receive an indication to modify the capacity information for a network slice; and modify the capacity information for the network slice based at least in part on the indication to modify the capacity information for the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the indication to modify the capacity information for the network slice includes one or more of: an indication to modify a registered wireless devices count for the network slice; an indication to modify an active packet session count for the network slice; or an indication to modify a dormant packet session count for the network slice. 
     Yet another set of embodiments may include a cellular network element, comprising: a network port; and a processor coupled to the network port; wherein the cellular network element is configured to: provide a request for an indication of whether a network slice has additional capacity, wherein the request is provided to a network slice quota management (NSQM) function; and receive an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity in response to the request, wherein the indication is received from the NSQM function. 
     According to some embodiments, the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity comprises a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional wireless device to register with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity comprises a request for an indication of whether the network slice has capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: receive a request from a wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice, wherein the request for an indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity is provided based at least in part on the request from the wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity indicates that the network slice does not have additional capacity, wherein the cellular network element is further configured to: reject the request from the wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice based at least in part on the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity; and provide a cause code indicating that the network slice does not have additional capacity to the wireless device based at least in part on the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: configure a backoff timer for the wireless device for one or more of registering with the network slice or establishing a packet session with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the request from the wireless device comprises a request to register with the network slice, wherein the cellular network element is further configured to: receive, at a later time, an indication that the network slice has additional capacity for a wireless device to register with the network slice; select the wireless device to register with the network slice based at least in part on the indication that the network slice has additional capacity for a wireless device to register with the network slice; and provide an indication to the wireless device that the wireless device is allowed to register with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity indicates that the network slice has additional capacity, wherein the cellular network element is further configured to: accept the request from the wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice based at least in part on the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity; and provide indication to modify capacity information for the network slice to the NSQM function based at least in part on accepting the request from the wireless device to register with the network slice or to establish a packet session with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: receive a request from a wireless device to establish a packet session with the network slice, wherein the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity indicates that the network slice does not have capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice, wherein the indication of whether the network slice has additional capacity further indicates a number of dormant packet sessions for the network slice; release a dormant packet session with the network slice based at least in part on the request from the wireless device to establish a packet session with the network slice and the indication that the network slice does not have capacity for an additional packet session to be established with the network slice; and accept the request from the wireless device to establish a packet session with the network slice based at least in part on releasing the dormant packet session with the network slice. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: notify a wireless device associated with the dormant packet session that the dormant packet session has been released in response to releasing the dormant packet session. 
     According to some embodiments, a wireless device associated with the dormant packet session is not notified that the dormant packet session has been released. 
     According to some embodiments, the cellular network element is further configured to: provide a request for an address of the NSQM function to a network function repository function (NRF); and receive an indication of the address of the NSQM function from the NRF. 
     Yet another exemplary embodiment may include a method, comprising: by a device: performing any or all parts of the preceding examples. 
     A yet further exemplary embodiment may include a non-transitory computer accessible memory medium comprising program instructions which, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all parts of any of the preceding examples. 
     A still further exemplary embodiment may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all parts of any of the preceding examples. 
     Yet another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples. 
     Still another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause a device to perform any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples. 
     It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of various forms. For example some embodiments may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodiments may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs. 
     In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets. 
     In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE  106 , a BS  102 , a network element  600 ) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms. 
     Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20221010
Publication Date: 20240910
Grant Date: 20240910
Priority Date: 20200103
Inventors: PRABHAKAR, ALOSIOUS PRADEEP
VENKATARAMAN, VIJAY
KISS, KRISZTIAN
NIMMALA, SRINIVASAN
XING, LONGDA
Agud Ruiz, Jordi
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04L41/0897", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W48/18", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/0895", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/042", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/5009", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/0897", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/0816", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/5054", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W48/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W24/02", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/34", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/10", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W60/06", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/0895", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W60/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/042", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L41/5009", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W48/18", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 74068235