PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10587503-B2
Application Number: US-201616084674-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: User-plane path selection for the edge service

Abstract:
Techniques for a selection or reselection a user-plane path in a mobile network are disclosed herein. A user-plane gateway (GW-U) can be configured to decode a packet received from a control plane gateway (GW-C) in a packet data network gateway (PGW) to determine a forwarding policy. Additionally, the GW-U can decode, from an evolved node B (eNB), an internet protocol (IP) packet having a header field. Furthermore, the GW-U can determine a user-plane path for the IP packet based on a comparison of the header field and the forwarding policy. Based on the determined user-plane path, the GW-U can forward the IP packet to a local application server (AS), encapsulate and forward the IP packet to the PGW, or discard the IP packet. Moreover, the GW-U can encode the IP packet for transmission based on the determined user-plane selection.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus of a user-plane gateway (GW-U), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, configured to:
 decode a packet received from a control plane gateway (GW-C) in a packet data network gateway (PGW) over an Xc interface to determine a forwarding policy; and 
 decode, from an evolved node B (eNB), first and second internet protocol (IP) packets, each of the first and second IP packets having a respective header field; 
 determine respective user-plane paths for the first and second IP packets based on a comparison of the respective header fields of the first and second IP packets and the forwarding policy, wherein based on the determined respective user-plane paths, the processing circuitry is configured to: 
 forward the first IP packet to a local application server (AS) response to the header field of the first IP packet corresponding to a rule from the forwarding policy that is associated with the local AS; and 
 encapsulate and forward the second IP packet to the PGW in response to the header field of the second IP packet not corresponding to a rule from the forwarding policy; and 
 encode the first and second IP packets for transmission based on the respective determined user-plane paths. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first IP packet is forwarded to the local AS without encapsulation in response to the header field of the first IP packet corresponding to the rule. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first IP packet is forwarded to the local AS by offloading the first IP packet to a local network. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the header field of the first packet corresponds to the rule when the header field of the first packet matches the rule associated with the local AS. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the header field includes an IP source address, an IP destination address, a port source address, a port destination address, and a protocol identity. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 increment a counter associated with the local AS in response to forwarding the first IP packet to the local AS. 
 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 refrain from incrementing a counter in response to forwarding the second IP packet to the PGW. 
 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the determined user plane path for the second IP packet is through an evolved packet core (EPC). 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the determined user-plane path further includes discarding a third IP packet in response to the third IP packet having a header field corresponding to another rule from the forwarding policy associated with discarding IP packets. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the first and second IP packets is a domain name system (DNS) request received from a user equipment (UE). 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 transmit the DNS request to a global server load balancing (GSLB) system, the GSLB system having an address name (ANAME) record associated with an IP address of a local AS for the DNS request; 
 receive a DNS response from the GSLB system, the DNS response having the IP address; and 
 transmit the DNS response to the UE; and 
 wherein the memory is further configured to store the IP address corresponding with the local AS. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the forwarding policy is configured by an application server (AS) management and orchestration (MANO) entity. 
     
     
       13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for selecting a user-plane path, the operations configured to:
 decode a packet received a packet data network gateway (PGW) to determine a forwarding policy; and 
 decode first and second internet protocol (IP) packets, each of the first and second IP packets having a respective header field; 
 determine respective user-plane paths for the first and second IP packets based on a comparison of the respective header fields of the first and second IP packets and the forwarding policy, wherein based on the determined respective user-plane paths, the operations are further configured to: 
 forward the first IP packet to a local application server (AS) in response to the header field of the first IP packet corresponding to a rule from the forwarding policy that is associated with the local AS; and 
 encapsulate and forward the second IP packet to the PGW in response to the header field of the second IP packet not corresponding to a rule from the forwarding policy; and 
 encode the first and second IP packets for transmission based on the respective determined user-plane paths. 
 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the packet is received from a control plane gateway (GW-C) over an Xc interface, and wherein the IP packet is received from an evolved node B (eNB). 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the first IP packet is forwarded by offloading to the local AS without encapsulation responsive to the header field of the first packet corresponding to the rule, and wherein the local AS is a local network. 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the header fields of the first and second IP packets each includes an IP source address, an IP destination address, a port source address, a port destination address, and a protocol identity. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the operations are further configured to:
 refrain from incrementing a counter when the second IP packet is forwarded to the PGW. 
 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the determined user-plane path further includes discarding a third IP packet in response to a header field of the third packet corresponding to another rule from the forwarding policy associated with discarding IP packets. 
     
     
       19. An apparatus of a user-plane gateway (GW-U), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, configured to:
 decode a packet received from a control plane gateway (GW-C) in a packet data network gateway (PGW) over an Xc interface to determine a forwarding policy; and 
 decode, from an evolved node B (eNB), first and second internet protocol (IP) packets, each of the first and second IP packets having a respective header field; 
 determine, using a processor, respective user-plane paths for the first and second IP packets based on a comparison of the respective header fields of the first and second IP packets and the forwarding policy, wherein based on the determined respective user-plane paths, the processor further configured to: 
 forward the first IP packet to a local application server (AS) in response to the header field of the first IP packet corresponding to a first rule from the forwarding policy that is associated with the local AS; and 
 discard the second IP packet in response to the header field of the second packet corresponding to a second rule from the forwarding policy associated with discarding IP packets; and 
 transmit the first IP packet. 
 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the first IP packet is forwarded to the local AS without encapsulation in response to the header field of the first IP packet corresponding to the first rule, and wherein the first IP packet is forwarded to the local AS by offloading the first IP packet to a local network.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application is a U.S. National Stage Filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 from International Application No. PCT/US2016/049418, filed Aug. 30, 2016 and published in English as WO 2017/176307 on Oct. 12, 2017, which is a continuation of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 to International Application No. PCT/CN2016/078780, filed Apr. 8, 2016, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A (LTE Advanced) networks, and fifth generation (5G) networks, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The selection or reselection ((re)selection) of an efficient user-plane paths can be difficult and complicated. In some instances, the reselection of the user-plane path between a user equipment (UE) and a service hosting entity residing close to the edge may not be feasible, when the previous path become inefficient. For example, the UE may have to establish the user-plane path with the edge service hosting as long as the user-plane path is available because of the low latency involved with the reselection process. Accordingly, the (re)selection process encounters the challenges with signaling overhead, the path switching latency, and a burden of third party service provider. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a system architecture of a mobile network, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example selection and reselection rule definition, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example communication  300  for a user-plane path (re)selection, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an electronic device, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another electronic device, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example flowchart for a (re)selection a user-plane path, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example flowchart for performing different actions based on the user-plane path determined in  FIG. 6 , in accordance with some embodiments; and 
         FIG. 8  illustrates example components of a UE, in accordance to some example embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a system architecture of a mobile network, in accordance with some embodiments. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, techniques are described for the (re)selection of efficient user plane paths. In current implementations, there has been issues with the reselection of user-plane path between a UE and a service hosting entity residing close to the edge (including the radio access network) when the previous path becomes inefficient. For example, the UE may establish the user-plane path with the edge service hosting as long as it is available because the low latency is enabled with such selection. In current implementations, a local IP access (LIPA) or selected IP traffic offload (SIPTO) tries to resolve the (re)selection issues, but current implementations encounters the challenges in the signaling overhead, the path switching latency and a burden on the third party service provider. 
     In contrast, according to some embodiments, the (re)selection process reduces signaling overhead. The user-plane path (re)selection is performed with policy updates only triggered upon a change in the edge service deployment. As a result, it is estimated that the amount of signaling messages using the embodiments described herein is reduced by 30% in comparison with the LIPA or SIPTO (LIPA/SIPTO) implementations. 
     In some instances, the (re)selection latency is reduced in comparison with the LIPA/SIPTO implementations. Unlike the LIPA/SIPTO implementations, the traffic offloaded to the local network does not have need interaction between the evolved Node-B (eNB) and the evolved packet core (EPC) entities, such as the serving gateway (SGW) and the mobility management entity (MME). 
     Furthermore, the (re)selection techniques described herein can reduce the burden on the third party service provider. For example, unlike the techniques described herein, the LIPA/SIPTO implementations asked for architectural update in the platform of the third party service provider, which increased implementation cost. 
     The Traffic Offload Function (TOF) is extended as the distributed user-plane (U-plane) gateway (GW) (GW-U)  105  coupled with the evolved nodeB (eNB or eNodeB)  110  and transparent to the user equipment (UE)  115 . It allows the connection to the Internet through the network address translation (NAT) functionality. 
     The controller or control circuitry in the controller-plane (C-plane) of the Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW)  120  (GW-C)  125  may configure the U-plane path selection policy defined as the flow table in the GW-U  130  through the Xc interface  135 . The user-plane traffic from and to the UE  115  passes through distributed GW-U  105  where the (General Packet Radio Service) GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP) decapsulation and encapsulation is conducted for the selection or reselection ((re)selection) policy checking. The distributed GW-U  105  forwards the user-plane traffic to GW-U  130  in the PGW  120  in default given the absence of the matched (re)selection policy. In some embodiments, the distributed GW-U  105  is to act as the transparent domain name system (DNS) proxy to the UE  115 . 
     The application server (AS)  140  acts as the service providing entity residing close to the network edge. The AS Management and Orchestration (MANO)  145  entity is in charge of the service deployment in the AS  140 . The third party service provider may rely on the AS MANO  145  to deploy its service in the specific AS  140  adjacent to the network edge. The AS MANO  145  is able to have the policy and changing rules function (PCRF)  150  configure the (re)selection policy in the distributed GW-U  105  for the traffic offloading to the AS  140  with the edge service through the reception (Rx) interface  155 . 
     In accordance with various embodiments, the (re)selection policy may be defined according to the flow table  200  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . It should be noted that the (re)selection policy may be referred to as a “policy,” a “selection policy,” a “reselection policy,” a “forwarding policy,” a “routing policy,” and the like. The rule section  205  indicates the header field of the packet delivered in the user-plane which can be used as the matching metric for packet forwarding. The five tuples in the Internet protocol (IP) header are currently used for the offloading policy matching. The five tuples include an IP source address  210 , an IP destination address  215 , a port source address  220 , a port destination address  225 , and a protocol identity  230 . 
     According to some embodiments, the rule sets can be extended by introducing other header fields  245 . For instance, the tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) in the GTP header can be used as the matching rule as well. In some instances, the packet is matches the specific rule only when its header matches all the fields. 
     For example, given a rule that the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packet with the destination port of  53  are to be offloaded, the distributed GW-U  105  can act as the transparent DNS proxy to the UE  115  because all the DNS requests would be forwarded to it. 
     The action  240  shows how the GW-U  105  handles the packet with the matching field. Based on a first action  245 , the packet is forwarded to a local AS  140 , which refer that the user-plane path is switched to the local network. Based on a second action  250 , the packet is encapsulated and forwarded to PGW  120 , which indicates that the user-plane path is through the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Based on a third action  255 , the packet is dropped, which means that the packet can be discarded. 
     Additionally, the counter  260  is used to calculate the payload of the packet matching the rule  205 . The counter  260  can enable the offline charging without the PGW  120 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an example communication  300  for a user-plane path (re)selection, according to some embodiments. The (re)selection can be enabled with the involvement of both an operator&#39;s network element and a third party service provider&#39;s infrastructure 
     At operation  302 , a third party service provider  350  uses the AS MANO  145  entity to setup its service at the AS  140 . Then, at operation  304 , the third party service provider has its own Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) system  355  that creates an Address Name (ANAME) record associating the IP address of the AS  140  where the service is deployed with the distributed GW-U  105  connecting the AS  140 . Meanwhile, at operation  306 , the AS MANO  145  notifies the GW-C  125  in the PGW  120  to configure the forwarding policy in the distributed GW-U  105  so that the IP packets destined to the AS  140  can be offloaded to the local network. 
     Additionally, at operation  308 , the UE  115  initiates the service request with the sending of the DNS request which is forwarded to the distributed GW-U  105 . Then, if there is no cached record in the GW-U  105 , at operation  310 , the DNS request is delivered to the GSLB system  355  owned by the third party service provider  350  by following the Canonical Name (CNAME) record in the Public DNS  360  maintained by the operator. CNAME records may be used to associate one name or service to another name or another service. At operation  312 , the DNS response from the GSLB system  355  to the GW-U  105  notifies that the IP address of the AS  140  should be the target for the service delivery. After the reception of the DNS response, the GW-U  105  forwards it to the UE  115  at operation  314 . 
     Furthermore, with the IP address of the AS  140 , the UE  115  attempts to establish the connection with the AS  140 , at operation  316 . In addition, the returned DNS response, at operation  312 , is cached in the GW-U  105  for the potential request in the future. 
     Subsequently, after the service session has been initiated, the IP packets, with the destination address to the AS  140 , are transmitted to the AS  140  from the UE  115 . Then the distributed GW-U  105  forwards the packets to the AS  140  in the local network by following the forwarding policy configured by the GW-C  125  in the PGW  120 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a device  400  in accordance with some embodiments. Device  400  may include control circuitry  410  coupled with the interface circuitry  420 . 
     As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware. 
     The interface circuitry  410  may be configured to communicate with other network entities over various interfaces using appropriate networking communication protocols. The interface circuitry  410  may be capable of communicating over any number of wired or wireless communication interfaces. In some embodiments, the interface circuitry  410  may communicate over Ethernet or other computer networking technologies using a variety of physical media interfaces such as, but not limited to, coaxial, twisted-pair compare, and fiber-optics media interfaces. 
     The control circuitry  420  may be configured to provide higher-layer operations that include generating and processing signals transmitted and received by the interface circuitry  410 . 
     In some embodiments, the device  400  may be a UE (e.g., UE  115 ), an eNB (e.g., eNB  115 ), a gateway (e.g., GW-C  125 , GW-U  105 ), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), a serving gateway (SGW), a PGW (e.g., PGW  120 ), an AS (e.g., AS  140 ), a PCRF (e.g., PCRF  150 ), an AS MANO (AS MANO  145 ), or any other suitable network element as described herein with respect to various embodiments. The control circuitry  420  may be configured to provide the geographical identifier in the various messages transmitted by the interface circuitry as described herein. In some embodiments, the device  400  may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, and/or methods as described herein, or portions thereof. 
     In some embodiments where the device  400  is, implements, is incorporated into, or is otherwise part of a GW-U  105 , the control circuitry  420  may be to control the interface circuitry  410  to communicate with the NB  110  over a first interface (e.g., S1-U interface), communicate with the GW-C  125  over a second interface (e.g., Xc interface  135 ), and communicate with the AS  140  over a third interface (e.g., SGi interface). 
     In embodiments where the device  400  is, implements, is incorporated into, or is otherwise part of an AS MANO  145 , the control circuitry  420  can include instruction to instruct the PCRF  150  to configure the GW-U  105  with a forwarding or reselection policy. Additionally, the interface circuitry  410  can transmit the instruction to the PCRF  150  over an Rx interface  155 . 
     Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software.  FIG. 5  illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a computing apparatus  500 , which may comprise, be part of, or be implemented in be a UE (e.g., UE  115 ), an eNB (e.g., eNB  115 ), a gateway (e.g., GW-C  125 , GW-U  105 ), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), a serving gateway (SGW), a PGW (e.g., PGW  120 ), an AS (e.g., AS  140 ), a PCRF (e.g., PCRF  150 ), an AS MANO (AS MANO  145 ), or any other suitable electronic device. 
     The computing apparatus  500  may include one or more processors  510  coupled with one or more storage media  520 . The processors  510  may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors including, for example, digital signal processors (DSPs), central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, memory controllers (integrated or discrete), and so on. 
     The storage media  520  may be used to load and store data or instructions (collectively “logic”)  530  for operations performed by the processors  510 . The storage media  520  may include any combination of suitable volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The storage media  520  may include any combination of various levels of memory/storage including, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) having embedded software instructions (e.g., firmware), random access memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), cache, buffers, and so on. The storage media may be shared among the various processors or dedicated to particular processors. 
     In some embodiments, one or more of the processors  510  may be combined with one or more storage media  520  and, possibly other circuitry in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. 
     The computing apparatus  500  may perform one or more of the operations described above with respect to the control circuitry  410  or with respect to the interface circuitry  420 . 
     In some embodiments, the computing apparatus  500  may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, and/or methods as described herein, or portions thereof. Some of these processes are described in the following examples. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the computing apparatus  500  may be configured to implement the control circuitry or the interface circuitry described with regard to  FIG. 4 . 
     In some embodiments, the electronic devices of  FIGS. 4 and 5  may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods as described herein, or portions thereof.  FIGS. 6 and 7  describe processes that can be performed by the electronic devices of  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     Techniques in Selecting a User-Plane Path 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the operation of a method  600  for a (re)selection of a user-plane path, in accordance with some embodiments. Method  600  can be performed by the GW-U  105 , the electronic device  400  and the computing apparatus  500 , and so on. Embodiments are not limited to these configurations, however, and some or all of the techniques and operations described herein may be applied to any systems or networks. 
     It is important to note that embodiments of the method  600  may include additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparison to what is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . In addition, embodiments of the method  600  are not necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in  FIG. 6 . In describing the method  600 , reference may be made to  FIGS. 1-5 , although it is understood that the method  600  may be practiced with any other suitable systems, interfaces, and components. 
     In addition, while the method  600  and other methods described herein may refer to GW-U  105 , eNBs  110 , or UEs  115  operating in accordance with 3GPP or other standards, embodiments of those methods are not limited to just those GW-U  105 , eNBs  110  or UEs  115  and may also be practiced by the PGW  120 , the serving gateway (SGW), the AS MANO  145 , or other mobile devices, such as a Wi-Fi access point (AP) or user station (STA). Moreover, the method  600  and other methods described herein may be practiced by wireless devices configured to operate in other suitable types of wireless communication systems, including systems configured to operate according to various IEEE standards such as IEEE 802.11. 
     The method  600  can be performed by an apparatus of the GW-U  105  configured to operate for the edge service in a mobile network. The mobile network can be a fifth generation (5G) mobile network or beyond. 
     At operation  610  of the method  600 , an apparatus of a user-plane gateway (GW-U) (e.g., GW-U  105 ) can be configured to decode a packet received from a control plane gateway (GW-C) in a packet data network gateway (PGW) over an Xc interface to determine a forwarding policy. For example, as previously described at operation  306  in  FIG. 3 , the packet contains the forwarding policy and is received from the GW-C  125  in the PGW  120 . The forwarding policy can be configured by the AS MANO  145  entity. The apparatus can comprise of memory and processing circuitry. In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     At operation  620 , the GW-U  105 , using the processing circuitry, can decode an internet protocol (IP) packet to determine the header field contained in the IP packet. The IP packet can be received from the UE  115  via the eNB  110 . For example, operation  316  in  FIG. 3  illustrates the GW-U  105  receiving the IP packet. Additionally, the header field can include an IP source address, an IP destination address, a port source address, a port destination address, and a protocol identity. In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     At operation  630 , the GW-U  105 , using the processing circuitry, can determine a user-plane path for the IP packet based on a comparison of the header field and the forwarding policy. As previously mentioned, the header field can be received from the eNB  110  at operation  620 , and the forwarding policy can be received from the GW-C  125  at operation  610 . In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     Additionally, the operation  630  further includes an action being performed on the IP packet, by the GW-U  105 , based on the determined user-plane path. For example, as previously described, the action  240  in  FIG. 2  illustrates how the GW-U  105  handles the packet with the matching field. Method  700  in  FIG. 7  further describes the different actions that can be performed by the GW-U  105  based on the determined user-plane path. In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     At operation  640 , the GW-U  105 , using processing circuitry, can encode the IP packet transmission based on the user-plane path determined at operation  630 . For example, the IP packet is forwarded to a local AS  140 , the IP packet is encapsulated and forwarded to PGW  120 , or the IP packet is dropped. In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     Additionally, the method  600  can include an operation where the processing circuitry is further configured to increment a counter associated with the local AS when the IP packet is forwarded to the local AS. Alternatively, the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from incrementing a counter when the IP packet is forwarded to the PGW. 
     In some instances, the IP packet is a domain name system (DNS) request received from UE  115 . When the IP packet is a DNS request, the method  600  can include an operation where the GW-U is further configured to transmit the DNS request to GSLB system  355 . The GSLB system  355  can have an address name (ANAME) record associated with an IP address of a local AS for the DNS request. Additionally, the GW-U  105  can receive a DNS response from the GSLB system  355 . The DNS response having the IP address. Moreover, the GW-U  105  can transmit the DNS response to the UE. Furthermore, the memory in the GW-U  105  is further configured to store the IP address corresponding with the local AS. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates the operation of a method  700  for performing different actions based on the user-plane path determined in method  600 , in accordance with some embodiments. Method  700  can be performed by the GW-U  105 . It is important to note that embodiments of the method  700  may include additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparison to what is illustrated in  FIG. 7 . In addition, embodiments of the method  700  are not necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in  FIG. 7 . In describing the method  700 , reference may be made to  FIGS. 1-6 , although it is understood that the method  700  may be practiced with any other suitable systems, interfaces, and components. 
     In addition, while the method  700  and other methods described herein may refer to the GW-U  105  operating in accordance with 3GPP or other standards, embodiments of those methods are not limited to just those the GW-U  105  and may also be practiced by the PGW  120 , eNB  110 , or other mobile devices, such as a Wi-Fi AP or STA. Moreover, the method  700 , and other methods described herein, may be practiced by wireless devices configured to operate in other suitable types of wireless communication systems, including systems configured to operate according to various IEEE standards such as IEEE 802.11. 
     The method  700  can be performed by an apparatus of the GW-U  105  configured to operate for the edge service in a mobile network. The mobile network can be a fifth generation (5G) mobile network or beyond. 
     As previously discussed, the user-plane path is determined by operation  630  in  FIG. 6 . Based on the determined user-plane path, the GW-U  105  can perform an action with regards to the IP packet received at operation  620  in  FIG. 6 . The action performed is either operation  710 , operation  720 , or operation  730  based on the determined user-plane path. 
     At operation  710 , the apparatus of the GW-U  105 , using processing circuitry, can forward the IP packet to a local AS (e.g., AS  140 ) when the header field corresponds to a rule from the forwarding policy. The rule is associated with the local AS. As previously discussed, the forwarding policy is received at operation  610  in  FIG. 6 , and the IP packet is received at operation  620  in  FIG. 6 . In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     Additionally, the operation  710  can include an operation where the processing circuitry is further configured to increment a counter associated with the local AS when the IP packet is forwarded to the local AS. 
     For example, at operation  710 , the IP packet is forwarded to the local AS without encapsulation when the header field corresponds to the rule. The local AS can be a local network. Therefore, the forwarding at operation  710  can be performing by offloading the IP packet at the local network. 
     Moreover, the header field corresponds to the rule when the header field matches the rule associated with the local AS. For example, the header field includes an IP source address, an IP destination address, a port source address, a port destination address, and a protocol identity. The header field matches the rule associated with the local AS when the IP source address, the IP destination address, the port source address, the port destination address, and the protocol identity of the header field match with the IP source address, the IP destination address, the port source address, the port destination address, and the protocol identity of the rule. In some instances, the header field matches the rule when one or more of the header fields (e.g., IP source address, an IP destination address, a port source address, a port destination address, and a protocol identity) match. 
     Alternatively, at operation  720 , the GW-U  105 , using processing circuitry, can discard the IP packet when the header field corresponds to another rule from the forwarding policy associated with discarding the IP packet. For example, the forwarding policy can have a rule that an IP packet from a specific IP source address or to a specific IP destination is to be discarded. As previously discussed, the forwarding policy is received at operation  610  in  FIG. 6 , and the IP packet is received at operation  620  in  FIG. 6 . In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     Alternatively, at operation  730 , the GW-U  105 , using processing circuitry, can encapsulate and forward the IP packet to the PGW  120  when the header field does not correspond to a rule from the forwarding policy. In some instances, the determined user plane path is through an evolved packet core (EPC) when the IP packet is forwarded to the PGW. As previously discussed, the forwarding policy is received at operation  610  in  FIG. 6 , and the IP packet is received at operation  620  in  FIG. 6 . In some instances, the processing circuitry can be the control circuitry  410  of the electronic device  400  in  FIG. 4 , or the processors  510  of the computer apparatus  500  in  FIG. 5 . 
     Additionally, the operation  730  can include an operation where the processing circuitry is further configured processing circuitry is configured to refrain from incrementing a counter when the IP packet is forwarded to the PGW. 
     Example UE 
     As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware. 
     Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software.  FIG. 8  illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a User Equipment (UE) device or a gateway  800 , such as a user-plane gateway (GW-U). In some instances, the gateway  800  can be the GW-C  125 , the GW-U  105 , the electronic device  400  or the computing apparatus  500 . In some instances, the UE device in  FIG. 8  can be UE  115 . In some embodiments, the gateway  800  may include application circuitry  802 , baseband circuitry  804 , Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry  806 , front-end module (FEM) circuitry  808  and one or more antennas  810 , coupled together at least as shown. 
     The application circuitry  802  may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry  802  may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system. 
     The baseband circuitry  804  may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry  804  may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry  806  and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry  806 . Baseband processing circuitry  804  may interface with the application circuitry  802  for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry  806 . For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  804  may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor  804   a , third generation (3G) baseband processor  804   b , fourth generation (4G) baseband processor  804   c , and/or other baseband processor(s)  804   d  for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry  804  (e.g., one or more of baseband processors  804   a - d ) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry  806 . The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry  804  may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry  804  may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. 
     In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  804  may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU)  804   e  of the baseband circuitry  804  may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP)  804   f . The audio DSP(s)  804   f  may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry  804  and the application circuitry  802  may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC). 
     In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  804  may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry  804  may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry  804  is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry. 
     RF circuitry  806  may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry  806  may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry  806  may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  808  and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry  804 . RF circuitry  806  may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry  804  and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry  808  for transmission. 
     In some embodiments, the RF circuitry  806  may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry  806  may include mixer circuitry  806   a , amplifier circuitry  806   b  and filter circuitry  806   c . The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry  806  may include filter circuitry  806   c  and mixer circuitry  806   a . RF circuitry  806  may also include synthesizer circuitry  806   d  for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  808  based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry  806   d . The amplifier circuitry  806   b  may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry  806   c  may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry  804  for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry  806   d  to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry  808 . The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry  804  and may be filtered by filter circuitry  806   c . The filter circuitry  806   c  may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  806   a  may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation. 
     In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry  806  may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry  804  may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry  806 . 
     In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  806   d  may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry  806   d  may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. 
     The synthesizer circuitry  806   d  may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry  806   a  of the RF circuitry  806  based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  806   d  may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer. 
     In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry  804  or the applications processor  802  depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor  802 . 
     Synthesizer circuitry  806   d  of the RF circuitry  806  may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle. 
     In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry  806   d  may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry  806  may include an IQ/polar converter. 
     FEM circuitry  808  may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas  1140 , amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry  806  for further processing. FEM circuitry  808  may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry  806  for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas  810 . 
     In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry  808  may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry  806 ). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry  808  may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry  806 ), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas  810 . 
     In some embodiments, the gateway  800  may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output ( 110 ) interface. 
     Examples 
     Example 1 is an apparatus of a user-plane gateway (GW-U), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry, configured to: decode a packet received from a control plane gateway (GW-C) in a packet data network gateway (PGW) over an Xc interface to determine a forwarding policy; and decode, from an evolved node B (eNB), an internet protocol (IP) packet, the IP packet having a header field; determine a user-plane path for the IP packet based on a comparison of the header field and the forwarding policy; and encode the IP packet for transmission based on the determined user-plane path. 
     Wherein based on the determined user-plane path, the processing circuitry is configured to: forward the IP packet to a local application server (AS) when the header field corresponds to a rule from the forwarding policy that is associated with the local AS; or encapsulate and forward the IP packet to the PGW when the header field does not correspond to a rule from the forwarding policy. 
     Example 2 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the IP packet is forwarded to the local AS without encapsulation when the header field corresponds to the rule. 
     Example 3 includes the apparatus of Example 1 or 2, wherein the IP packet is forwarded to the local AS by offloading the IP packet to a local network. 
     Example 4 includes the apparatus of Example 1-3, wherein the header field corresponds to the rule when the header field match the rule associated with the local AS. 
     Example 5 includes the apparatus of Example 1-4, wherein the header field includes an IP source address, an IP destination address, a port source address, a port destination address, and a protocol identity, and wherein the IP source address, the IP destination address, the port source address, the port destination address, and the protocol identity match the rule associated with the local AS. 
     Example 6 includes the apparatus of Example 1-5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: increment a counter associated with the local AS when the IP packet is forwarded to the local AS. 
     Example 7 includes the apparatus of Example 1-5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: refrain from incrementing a counter when the IP packet is forwarded to the PGW. 
     Example 8 includes the apparatus of Example 1-7, wherein the determined user plane path is through an evolved packet core (EPC) when the IP packet is forwarded to the PGW. 
     Example 9 includes the apparatus of Example 1-8, wherein the determined user-plane path further includes discarding the IP packet when the header field corresponds to another rule from the forwarding policy associated with discarding the IP packet. 
     Example 10 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the IP packet is a domain name system (DNS) request received from a user equipment (UE). 
     Example 11 includes the apparatus of Example 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: transmit the DNS request to a global server load balancing (GSLB) system, the GSLB system having an address name (ANAME) record associated with an IP address of a local AS for the DNS request; receive a DNS response from the GSLB system, the DNS response having the IP address; and transmit the DNS response to the UE; and wherein the memory is further configured to store the IP address corresponding with the local AS. 
     Example 12 includes the apparatus of Example 1-11, wherein the forwarding policy is configured by an application server (AS) management and Orchestration (MANO) entity. 
     Example 13 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for any of the Examples 1-12. 
     Example 14 is the GW-U of any of the Examples 1-12. 
     Example 15 is the network entity of any of Examples 1-12. 
     Example 16 may include any of the methods of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein. 
     Example 17 may include any of the systems for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. 
     Example 18 may include any of the devices for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. 
     The foregoing description of one or more implementations provide illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various implementations of the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     Language 
     Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein. 
     Although an overview of the inventive subject matter has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single disclosure or inventive concept if more than one is, in fact, disclosed. 
     The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed. Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 
     As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive or exclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, or structures described herein as a single instance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources, operations, modules, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presented as separate resources in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single resource may be implemented as separate resources. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of the present disclosure as represented by the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160830
Publication Date: 20200310
Grant Date: 20200310
Priority Date: 20160408
Inventors: Yu, Yifan
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04L67/1038", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L69/22", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/1036", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L45/38", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L65/1036", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L45/38", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L65/1036", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/1036", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/1038", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/1511", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L69/22", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/563", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/53", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/4511", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/4511", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L69/22", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 60000597