PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11997547-B2
Application Number: US-201917288263-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Mobility management in information centric networking

Abstract:
Systems and methods of handover in an information-centric network are described. The ICN-CF receives an update request from an ICN ICN-AMF indicating handover of a UE from a source NG-RAN to a target NG-RAN. The ICN-CF transmits, to an ICN router, an update request to update a PIT and/or FIB table to enable data communications with the UE after handover. The request includes the UE and target NG-RAN, and if the source and target ICN-PoA are different, the source and target ICN-PoA and the ICN-GW.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus, comprising:
 a memory; and 
 processing circuitry in communication with the memory, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
 decode an information-centric networking (ICN) context information update request from an ICN Access and Mobility Function (ICN-AMF), the ICN context information update request indicating handover of a user equipment (UE) from a source radio access node (RAN) to a target RAN; 
 determine an ICN-Point of Attachment (ICN-PoA) to which the UE is attached based on the source RAN; 
 in response to a determination, based on the target RAN, that another ICN-PoA is to be selected for the UE after handover, encode, for transmission to an ICN router, an update indication to update the ICN router to indicate data communication with the UE is to occur through the target RAN, wherein the update indication includes a trigger routing update message to update a routing table of the ICN router; 
 decode, from the ICN router in response to transmission of the update indication, an acknowledgment that the ICN router has been updated; and 
 encode, for transmission to the ICN-AMF in response to reception of the acknowledgment, an ICN context information update response that indicates that the ICN router has been reconfigured. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine the UE from a UE identity (ID) and the target RAN from a target RAN ID in the ICN context information update request. 
 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 determine an ICN-Point of Attachment (ICN-PoA) to which the UE is attached based on the source RAN; and 
 determine whether another ICN-PoA is to be selected for the UE after handover based on the target RAN. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 3 ,
 wherein the ICN router is the ICN-PoA, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 in response to a determination that the ICN-PoA is to be used if the UE is attached to the target RAN, determine that an update of at least one of a Pending Interest Table (PIT) or Forward Information Base (FIB) table is to be performed in the ICN-PoA; and 
 encode at least one of a PIT Update indication or FIB table Update indication as the update indication to the ICN-PoA, the at least one of a PIT Update or FIB table Update indication comprising a name that the ICN-PoA is to update in the at least one of the PIT or FIB table. 
 
 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 4 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the update of the at least one of the PIT or FIB table is:
 if the UE is a consumer, only an incoming face of the PIT for interest packets sent by the UE; and 
 if the UE is a producer, only an outgoing face of the FIB table for data packets to be forwarded to the UE. 
 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the trigger routing update message indicates the UE and a source ICN-PoA, a target ICN-PoA and an ICN gateway (ICN-GW) through which the UE is able to be reached. 
 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 6 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to encode the trigger routing update message to a plurality of ICN routers and decode a routing update acknowledgment from each of the ICN routers whose routing table has been updated. 
 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 determine that the ICN context information update request has been received from a target ICN-AMF that is different from a source ICN-AMF stored in the memory as being associated with the UE; 
 in response to a determination that the ICN context information update request has been received from the target ICN-AMF, determine routing information to be updated in each of a plurality of ICN routers in the network to communicate with the UE; and 
 encode, for transmission to each of the plurality of ICN routers, a trigger routing update message that contains the routing information. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a target ICN-Point of Attachment (ICN-PoA) to which the UE is to be attached based on the target RAN; and 
 wherein the routing information comprises an update of at least one of a Pending Interest Table (PIT) or Forward Information Base (FIB) table that comprises the target ICN-PoA that the ICN router is to update in the at least one of the PIT or FIB table. 
 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 decode a routing update acknowledgment from each of the ICN routers whose routing table has been updated; 
 determine whether the routing table in each of the ICN routers in the network has been updated; and 
 in response to a determination that the routing table in each of the ICN routers in the network has been updated, encode, for transmission to the target AlVIF, a confirmation that the routing table in each of the ICN routers in the network has been updated to communicate with the UE. 
 
 
     
     
       11. An apparatus, comprising:
 a memory; and 
 processing circuitry in communication with the memory, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
 decode a trigger routing update message from an information-centric networking (ICN) Control Function (ICN-CF), the trigger routing update message indicating handover of a user equipment (UE) from a source radio access node (RAN) to a target RAN; 
 in response to reception of the trigger routing update message, update at least one of a face of a Pending Interest Table (PIT) or a face of a Forward Information Base (FIB) table to enable communication of data with the UE after handover, wherein, when the UE is a consumer, only an incoming face of the PIT for interest packets sent by the UE is updated, and wherein, when the UE is a producer, only an outgoing face of the FIB table for data packets to be forwarded to the UE is updated; and 
 encode, for transmission to the ICN-CF in response to updating of the at least one of the PIT or FIB table an acknowledgment that the at least one of the PIT or FIB table has been updated. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the trigger routing update message comprises a UE identity (ID) of the UE and a target RAN ID of the target RAN. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 12 ,
 wherein the trigger routing update message further comprises identification of a source ICN Point of Attachment (ICN-PoA) to which the UE is attached before the handover and a target ICN-PoA to which the UE is to be attached after the handover. 
 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 13 ,
 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
 determine whether the source ICN-PoA serves at least one UE other than the UE; and 
 if the source ICN-PoA serves the at least one UE, update the at least one of the PIT or FIB table to enable data communication with the UE and the at least one UE other than the UE. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 13 ,
 wherein the trigger routing update message further comprises identification of an ICN gateway (ICN-GW) through which the UE is able to be reached. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the handover is an N2-based handover as there is no Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN. 
 
     
     
       17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of an information-centric networking Control Function (ICN-CF) in a 5 th  generation (5G) network, the one or more processors to configure the ICN-CF to, when the instructions are executed:
 receive an ICN context information update request from an ICN Access and Mobility Function (ICN-AMF), the ICN context information update request indicating handover of a user equipment (UE) from a source radio access node (RAN) to a target RAN; 
 transmit, to an ICN router, an update indication to update at least one of a Pending Interest Table (PIT) or Forward Information Base (FIB) table in the ICN router to enable data communications with the UE, wherein, when the UE is a consumer, only an incoming face of the PIT for interest packets sent by the UE is updated, and wherein, when the UE is a producer, only an outgoing face of the FIB table for data packets to be forwarded to the UE is updated; 
 receive, from the ICN router in response to transmission of the update indication, an acknowledgment that the at least one of the PIT or FIB table of the ICN router has been updated; and 
 transmit, to the ICN-AMF in response to reception of the acknowledgment, an ICN context information update response that the ICN router has been reconfigured. 
 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 ,
 wherein a trigger routing update message comprises a UE identity (ID) of the UE and a target RAN ID of the target RAN, and 
 wherein, if a source ICN Point of Attachment (ICN-PoA) is used before the handover and a target ICN-PoA is used after the handover, the trigger routing update message further comprises a source ICN-PoA ID of the source ICN-PoA and a target ICN-PoA ID of the target ICN-PoA. 
 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 ,
 wherein the trigger routing update message further comprises identification of an ICN gateway (ICN-GW) through which the UE is able to be reached. 
 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 ,
 wherein the handover is an N2-based handover as there is no Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN.

Description:
This application is a U.S. National Stage filing of International Application No. PCT/US2019/058860, filed Oct. 30, 2019, titled “Mobility Management in Information Centric Networking,” which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/755,262, filed Nov. 2, 2018, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments pertain to radio access networks (RANs). Some embodiments relate to cellular networks, including Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), 4 th  generation (4G) and 5 th  generation (5G) New Radio (NR) (or next generation (NG)) networks. Some embodiments relate to mobility management in information centric networking (ICN) NG networks. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The use of various types of systems has increased due to both an increase in the number and types of user equipment (UEs) using network resources as well as the amount of data and bandwidth being used by various applications, such as video streaming, operating on these UEs. Bandwidth, latency, and data rate enhancement may be used to deliver the continuously-increasing demand for network resources. The next generation wireless communication system will provide ubiquitous connectivity and access to information, as well as ability to share data, by various users and applications. NG systems are expected to have a unified framework in which different and sometimes conflicting performance criteria and services are to be met. For example, in ICN systems, tracking of UE mobility may differ from methodology used in 4G systems. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various aspects discussed in the present document. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates combined communication system in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an information-centric networking (ICN) request/response in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an ICN 5G architecture in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    is an inter-NG-RAN ICN handover procedure in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    is another inter-NG-RAN ICN handover procedure in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  7 A  is a first portion of an inter-NG-RAN N2-based handover procedure in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  7 B  is a second portion of the inter-NG-RAN N2-based handover procedure of  FIG.  7 A  in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  8    is an ICN handover method in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  9    is an ICN context update method in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  10    is an ICN service request method in accordance with some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific aspects to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other aspects may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in, or substituted for, those of other aspects. Aspects set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a combined communication system in accordance with some embodiments. The system  100  includes 3GPP LTE/4G and 5G network functions. A network function can be implemented as a discrete network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g., dedicated hardware or a cloud infrastructure. 
     The evolved packet core (EPC) of the LTE/4G network contains protocol and reference points defined for each entity. These core network (CN) entities may include a mobility management entity (MME)  122 , serving gateway (S-GW)  124 , and paging gateway (P-GW)  126 . 
     In the NG network, the control plane and the user plane are separated, which may permit independent scaling and distribution of the resources of each plane. The UE  102  may be connected to a radio access network (RAN)  110  and connected to the NG-RAN  130  (gNB) or an Access and Mobility Function (AMF)  142 . The RAN  110  may be an eNB or a general non-3GPP access point, such as that for Wi-Fi. The NG core network may contain multiple network functions besides the AMF  112 . The UE  102  may generate, encode and perhaps encrypt uplink transmissions to, and decode (and decrypt) downlink transmissions from, the RAN  110  and/or gNB  130  (with the reverse being true by the RAN  110 /gNB  130 ). 
     The network functions may include a User Plane Function (UPF)  146 , a Session Management Function (SMF)  144 , a Policy Control Function (PCF)  132 , an Application Function (AF)  148 , an Authentication Server Function (AUSF)  152  and User Data Management (UDM)  128 . The various elements are connected by the NG reference points shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     The AMF  142  may provide UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc. The AMF  142  may be independent of the access technologies. The SMF  144  may be responsible for session management and allocation of IP addresses to the UE  102 . The SMF  144  may also select and control the UPF  146  for data transfer. The SMF  144  may be associated with a single session of the UE  102  or multiple sessions of the UE  102 . This is to say that the UE  102  may have multiple 5G sessions. Different SMFs may be allocated to each session. The use of different SMFs may permit each session to be individually managed. As a consequence, the functionalities of each session may be independent of each other. The UPF  126  may be connected with a data network, with which the UE  102  may communicate, the UE  102  transmitting uplink data to or receiving downlink data from the data network. 
     The AF  148  may provide information on the packet flow to the PCF  132  responsible for policy control to support a desired QoS. The PCF  132  may set mobility and session management policies for the UE  102 . To this end, the PCF  132  may use the packet flow information to determine the appropriate policies for proper operation of the AMF  142  and SMF  144 . The AUSF  152  may store data for UE authentication. The UDM  128  may similarly store the UE subscription data. 
     The gNB  130  may be a standalone gNB or a non-standalone gNB, e.g., operating in Dual Connectivity (DC) mode as a booster controlled by the eNB  110  through an X2 or Xn interface. At least some of functionality of the EPC and the NG CN may be shared (alternatively, separate components may be used for each of the combined component shown). The eNB  110  may be connected with an MME  122  of the EPC through an S1 interface and with a SGW  124  of the EPC  120  through an S1-U interface. The MME  122  may be connected with an HSS  128  through an Sha interface while the UDM is connected to the AMF  142  through the N8 interface. The SGW  124  may connected with the PGW  126  through an S5 interface (control plane PGW-C through S5-C and user plane PGW-U through S5-U). The PGW  126  may serve as an IP anchor for data through the internet. 
     The NG CN, as above, may contain an AMF  142 , SMF  144  and UPF  146 , among others. The eNB  110  and gNB  130  may communicate data with the SGW  124  of the EPC  120  and the UPF  146  of the NG CN. The MME  122  and the AMF  142  may be connected via the N26 interface to provide control information there between, if the N26 interface is supported by the EPC  120 . In some embodiments, when the gNB  130  is a standalone gNB, the 5G CN and the EPC  120  may be connected via the N26 interface. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the communication device may be a UE (including an IoT device and NB-IoT device), eNB, gNB or other equipment used in the 4G/LTE or NG network environment. For example, the communication device  200  may be a specialized computer, a personal or laptop computer (PC), a tablet PC, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In some embodiments, the communication device  200  may be embedded within other, non-communication-based devices such as vehicles and appliances. 
     Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules and components are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations. 
     Accordingly, the term “module” (and “component”) is understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time. 
     The communication device  200  may include a hardware processor  202  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a GPU, a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory  204  and a static memory  206 , some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus)  208 . The main memory  204  may contain any or all of removable storage and non-removable storage, volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The communication device  200  may further include a display unit  210  such as a video display, an alphanumeric input device  212  (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device  214  (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit  210 , input device  212  and UI navigation device  214  may be a touch screen display. The communication device  200  may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit)  216 , a signal generation device  218  (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device  220 , and one or more sensors, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device  200  may further include an output controller, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.). 
     The storage device  216  may include a non-transitory machine readable medium  222  (hereinafter simply referred to as machine readable medium) on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions  224  (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions  224  may also reside, successfully or at least partially, within the main memory  204 , within static memory  206 , and/or within the hardware processor  202  during execution thereof by the communication device  200 . While the machine readable medium  222  is illustrated as a single medium, the term “machine readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions  224 . 
     The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device  200  and that cause the communication device  200  to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine-readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. 
     The instructions  224  may further be transmitted or received over a communications network using a transmission medium  226  via the network interface device  220  utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks. Communications over the networks may include one or more different protocols, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax, IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, a NG/NR standards among others. In an example, the network interface device  220  may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the transmission medium  226 . 
     The communication device  200  may be an IoT device (also referred to as a “Machine-Type Communication device” or “MTC device”), a narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device, or a non-IoT device (e.g., smart phone, vehicular UE), any which may communicate with the core network via the eNB or gNB shown in  FIG.  1   . The communication device  200  may be an autonomous or semiautonomous device that performs one or more functions, such as sensing or control, among others, in communication with other communication devices and a wider network, such as the Internet. If the communication device  200  is IoT device, in some embodiments, the communication device  200  may be limited in memory, size, or functionality, allowing larger numbers to be deployed for a similar cost to smaller numbers of larger devices. The communication device  200  may, in some embodiments, be a virtual device, such as an application on a smart phone or other computing device. 
     Current networking architecture is based on IP to transport IP, Ethernet and non-IP packets. That is, communication is host-to-host and content delivery relies on sessions between two end points (protocol data unit (PDU) sessions inside the cellular network and, typically, TCP sessions between client and server). The maintenance of these end-to-end sessions may be complex and error-prone. Additionally, bottlenecks can be created anywhere in the network because multiple users might be requesting the same content without the network having any knowledge of the multiple requests, causing a non-optimal utilization of the link resources. Moreover, inside the network (core network and/or data network), it may be impossible to share the content among different users requesting the same content. 
     To combat this, Information Centric Networking (ICN) may be used.  FIG.  3    illustrates an information-centric networking (ICN) request/response in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, ICN works in a pull-based model, in which two types of packets are defined: an interest packet and a data packet. An interest packet (request) may flow from a consumer (e.g., a laptop or smartphone) through an access point and content router(s) to a producer of the content (e.g., server) or to a network device having a cached copy of the content. The content is retrieved from the producer and the data packet (response) traverses the path in the opposite direction. ICN is based on a data structure that includes a Pending Interest Table (PIT), Forward Information Base (FIB) table, and Content Store (CS). ICN may also use interest forwarding strategies which take input from both FIB table and network/device measurements to make interest forwarding decisions. 
     With more specificity, the requestor (consumer/client) may send an interest packet with an indicator (e.g., a prefix) to identify the desired content (e.g., by the name of the content). ICN packets may be constructed in a Type-Length-Value (TLV) format. The prefix value may be generally the “name” to identify a content, although another type of indicator may be used. The type field of an outer TLV can indicate whether the ICN packet is an interest packet or data packet. The Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is widely used to name the resources, which is constructed based on a naming convention; the indicator, however, may use an identifier other than the URI. Each of the forwarding nodes may check the prefix of the interest packet and check the CS to see whether the forwarding node has the requested content cached therein. If so, the forwarding node may reply with a data packet that matches the prefix. If there is no match, the interest packet is passed to the PIT to find a matching name; if no match is found, the node records the interest in its PIT and forwards the interest to the next hop(s) towards the requested content based on the information in its FIB table (the next of which may again have a cached copy of the requested data or may be closer to the producer). The interest packet can also reach the source (producer, which may be a server) and obtain the data packet from the source. As above, the data packet, wherever retrieved, traverses the path to the consumer in the opposite direction as the interest packet. 
     As is apparent, ICN may be a session-less protocol in which a consumer (client) requests content (e.g., a chunk of data) to the network and data is retrieved from wherever the content is in the network. Accordingly, ICN brings application layer optimizations down to the networking layer. That is, functionalities that were previously implemented in the application layer such as Edge Computing (caching), are naturally supported by ICN in the network layer (L3). 
     Mobility management in IP networks has been an active field because IP was not designed taking into account mobility. Therefore, multiple enhancements to IP have been standardized with the goal of transparent transport/route IP packets to mobile devices. Mobile ICN mobility may be viewed from three different perspectives: i) Subscriber/Consumer mobility; ii) Publisher/Producer mobility; and iii) Subscriber and Publisher mobility. Named Data Networking (NDN) and Content-Centric Networking (CCN) are implementations of ICN and indicate that subscriber/consumer mobility may be natively supported in their architectures because any interest packet that is not satisfied (received a data packet in response) due to the consumer mobility may be retransmitted from the consumer&#39;s new location. In NDN and CCN, publisher&#39;s mobility may be more difficult to handle compared to subscriber/consumer mobility, instead using methods such as Kite for NDN, Map-Me for CCN and ID/Locator split for NDN/CCN. Kite may use a rendezvous server (RV) to create a hop-by-hop path between the RV and a mobile producer by exchanging Interest-Data packets. Map-Me may create a new type of packet called Interest Update (IU), which the mobile producer may send from its new location to itself in its previous location. This IU may be used to update the routing tables of the nodes between the new and old locations. And ID/Locator split may rely on splitting the ICN namespace to support the use of persistent names. This may be achieved by a Mobility Service (MS) agent in each ICN router in the edge of the network (wireless side), each of which may be controlled by a MS controller. 
     In ICN, consumer mobility may be handled by retransmitting the interest packets that have not been satisfied. This mechanism, however, may bring packet losses and delay. On the other hand, producer mobility may use some type of additional “signaling” (e.g. interest updates) to keep track of the mobile producer. Currently, continuity of service in ICN may not be of paramount import as most of the traffic is not time-sensitive traffic, such as video streaming. 
     This, however, may change as cellular networks satisfy stringent requirements for the services they provide (time-sensitive and non-time-sensitive applications) and the architecture is designed to enable seamless mobility (using control plane and Xn interface). That is, the gNB may keep track of the active users and properly hand the UEs over to other gNBs based on various measurements. In other words, the network may have knowledge of the location of the UEs at all times. Unfortunately, ICN may not efficiently support this as mobility is not being tracked by any point of attachment (PoA). 
     Accordingly, procedures to handle mobility management are presented herein. The handover procedures are for inter NG-RAN handover without N2 interface involvement and inter NG-RAN handover based on the N2 interface. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates an ICN 5G architecture in accordance with some embodiments. The architecture shown in  FIG.  4    may support ICN in next generation cellular networks. The ICN Point of Attachment (ICN-PoA) and ICN Gateway (ICN-GW) are two entities that i) report ICN event information to ICN Control Function (ICN-CF) to generate charging records for ICN and ii) receive from ICN-CF information about rules and policies to be applied to ICN traffic. 
     The ICN-PoA may serve as the first ICN-aware user plane entity for UEs running ICN applications/services. The ICN-GW may be a user plane ICN entity that interfaces with the DN. It should be noted that the ICN-GW and the UPF PSA (PDU Session Anchor) could be in the same entity. In particular, an ICN-UPF entity could be instantiated, where the functionality of the ICN-GW could be part of the UPF (PSA). The ICN-CF may handle the ICN related information and policy and generate ICN transaction history among other ICN related functionalities. As the various ICN entities may be functional entities, they can be part of existing CN entities to ensure a flexible implementation of ICN. 
     The new functional entities (ICN-CF, ICN-PoA, ICN-GW) shown in  FIG.  4    may enable ICN in NG cellular networks from the perspective of exchanging ICN related information in the network. The ICN-PoA may serve as the first ICN-aware user plane entity for UEs running ICN applications and the ICN-GW may be a user plane ICN entity that interfaces with the DN, which may also support ICN-based schemes. The ICN-GW and the UPF PDU Session Anchor (PSA) may, in some embodiments, be in the same entity. That is, an ICN-UPF entity could be instantiated, where the functionality of the ICN-GW could be part of (or combined with) the UPF (PSA). The ICN-CF may handle the ICN related information and policy and generate ICN transaction history among other ICN related functionalities. These entities may be functional entities and can be incorporated within existing 5GC entities for flexibility. As used herein, transmissions between various entities may include encoding at the transmitting entity and decoding at the receiving entity. 
       FIG.  5    is an inter-NG-RAN ICN handover procedure in accordance with some embodiments. It will be apparent that  FIG.  5    is merely an example, and other embodiments may modify or omit some operations shown in  FIG.  5   , include additional operations not shown in  FIG.  5   , and/or perform operations in a different order as appropriate. The procedure shown in  FIG.  5    may be used to hand over a UE  502  from a source NG-RAN  504  to a target NG-RAN  506  when both source and target NG-RANs  504 ,  506  are connected to the same ICN-PoA  512  using the Xn interface. As shown, prior to engaging in handover, the UE  502 , source NG-RAN  504 , and target NG-RAN  506  may engage in handover preparation. This may include, among others, the UE  502  measuring reference signals from the source NG-RAN  504  and target NG-RAN  506  and sending the measurements or RRC messaging to the source NG-RAN  504  that handover is desired. The source NG-RAN  504  may, in turn, communicate with the target NG-RAN  506  to prepare for handover of the UE  502 , which may or may not be accepted by the target NG-RAN  506 . After acceptance but before completion of the handover procedure, the source NG-RAN  504  may transmit interest packets from the UE  502  to the target NG-RAN  506 , and the target NG-RAN  506  may transmit data packets for the UE  502  to the source NG-RAN  504 . 
     The target NG-RAN  506  may then, at operation 1, transmit an ICN context info update request to the AMF  508 . The ICN context info update request may indicate the handover to the AMF  508 . The context info update may include the identity (ID) of the UE, the identity of the source cell and the identity of the target cell. 
     At operation 2, the AMF  508  may pass information about the handover to the ICN-CF  510 . The ICN info update request may include the UE ID for the ICN-CF  510  to identify the name(s)/prefix(es) that the UE  502  is using to request data and/or provide content. Moreover, since the ICN-CF  510  knows the ICN-PoA  512  that the UE  502  is attached to through the Source NG-RAN  504 , the ICN-CF  510  can know whether a change in ICN-PoA is to be undertaken, or, if not, whether PIT and/or FIB table updates are to be performed in the current ICN-PoA  512 . 
     If PIT and/or FIB table updates are to be performed, at operation 3, the ICN-CF  510  may indicate this to the current ICN-PoA  512  using a PIT Update (Incoming face) and/or FIB table Update (Outgoing face). Based on the UE&#39;s ID, the ICN-CF  510  may indicate the name(s) that the ICN-PoA  512  is to update in the PIT and/or the name(s) to be updated in the FIB table. 
     As above, in ICN the data packets may follow the reverse path of the interest packets to reach the consumer (UE  502 ). When the UE  502  is a consumer and since the ICN-PoA  512  is the first ICN-aware element from the UE&#39;s perspective, in some embodiments only the incoming face (from the Source NG-RAN  504  to the Target NG-RAN  506 ) of the PIT of the ICN-PoA  512  may be updated/changed for the interest packets sent by the UE  502 . When the UE  502  is a producer, only the outgoing face of the FIB table of the ICN-PoA  512  may be updated/changed for the data packets to be forwarded to the UE&#39;s new location (through the target NG-RAN  506 ). 
     After updating/changing the PIT and FIB table, the ICN-PoA  512  may at operation 4 acknowledge to the ICN-CF  510  successful execution of the PIT and/or FIB table update. In response, at operation 5, the ICN-CF  510  may send an ICN info update response to the AMF  508 . The ICN info update response may confirm update of the PIT and/or FIB table at the ICN-PoA  512 . 
     At operation 6, the AMF  508  may send an ICN context info update response to the target NG-RAN  506 . The ICN context info update response may confirm that the ICN-PoA  512  was properly reconfigured (i.e., PIT and/or FIB table were updated). 
     At operation 7, the target NG-RAN  506  may then send a Release Resources message to the source NG-RAN  504 . The Release Resources message may confirm the success of the handover to the source NG-RAN  504  and may trigger the release of resources in the source NG-RAN  504 . 
     At operation 8, the UE  502  may initiate a Mobility Registration Update under different circumstances. The Mobility Registration Update may be initiated when changing to a new Tracking Area (TA) outside the UE&#39;s Registration Area in both CM-CONNECTED and CM-IDLE state. In addition, the Mobility Registration Update may be initiated when the UE  502  is to update its capabilities or protocol parameters that are negotiated in Registration procedure with or without changing to a new TA. 
       FIG.  6    is another inter-NG-RAN ICN handover procedure in accordance with some embodiments. It will be apparent that  FIG.  6    is merely an example, and other embodiments may modify or omit some operations shown in  FIG.  6   , include additional operations not shown in  FIG.  6   , and/or perform operations in a different order as appropriate. Specifically,  FIG.  6    shows an inter NG-RAN handover embodiment in which the ICN-PoA is re-allocated; that is when the source and target NG-RANs  604 ,  606  are connected to different ICN-PoAs using the Xn interface. 
     Similar to  FIG.  5   , in  FIG.  6    prior to engaging in handover, the UE  602 , source NG-RAN  604 , and target NG-RAN  606  may engage in handover preparation. After acceptance but before completion of the handover procedure, the source NG-RAN  604  may transmit interest packets from the UE  602  to the target NG-RAN  606 , and the target NG-RAN  606  may transmit data packets for the UE  602  to the source NG-RAN  604 . 
     At operation 1, an ICN context info update request may be sent by the target NG-RAN  606  to the AMF  608 . The ICN context info update request may indicate the handover to the AMF  608 . The AMF  608  may provide this information to the ICN routers  612  through the ICN-CF  610 . The ICN routers  612  may include one or more ICN-PoAs. The context info update may include the UE ID, source cell ID and target cell ID. 
     At operation 2, the AMF  608  may pass the information about the handover to the ICN-CF  610 . The ICN info update request may include the UE ID for the ICN-CF  610  to identify the name(s)/prefix(es) that the UE  602  is using to request data and/or provide content. The request may also include the source and target cell IDs. The ICN-CF  610  may use the source and target cell IDs to confirm that the source and target cell are not attached to the same ICN-PoA. The ICN-CF  610  may use the UE&#39;s ID to know the name(s)/prefix(es) that are used to request/provide content. 
     Operations 3 and 4 show the handover communication between the ICN-CF  610  and the ICN routers  612  (including ICN-PoAs and ICN-GW). The routing table updates may thus be sent through the I 4  (ICN-CF—ICN router) interface. Since the ICN-PoA is changed, the ICN-CF  610  may at operation 3 signal all the ICN routers  612  in the core network to update their routing tables indicating the target ICN-PoA through which the name(s)/prefix(es) can be reached. That is, the trigger routing update message may include information about the faces (in PIT and FIB tables) and name(s)/prefix(es) to be updated in the routing tables of the ICN routers  612 . The ICN routers  612  may include the source ICN-PoA, target ICN-PoA and ICN-GW. If the source ICN-PoA is serving the name(s)/prefix(es) for more than one UE, the routing tables may be updated accordingly such that the handover UE  602  and the other UEs can still reach the content. At operation 4, all ICN routers  612 , including ICN-PoAs, may acknowledge the routing table update. 
     At operation 5, the ICN-CF  610  may send an ICN info update response to the AMF  608 . The ICN info update response may confirm that the routing table for each ICN router  612  was updated. 
     The AMF  608  may at operation 6 send the ICN context info update response to the target NG-RAN  606 . The ICN context info update response may confirm that the ICN routers  612  were properly reconfigured (i.e., routing tables were updated). 
     The target NG-RAN  606  may then at operation 7 send a Release Resources message to the source NG-RAN  604 . The Release Resources message may confirm the success of the handover and trigger the release of resources in the source NG-RAN  604 . 
     At operation 8, the UE  502  may initiate a Mobility Registration Update under different circumstances. The Mobility Registration Update may be initiated when changing to a new Tracking Area (TA) outside the UE&#39;s Registration Area in both CM-CONNECTED and CM-IDLE state. In addition, the Mobility Registration Update may be initiated when the UE  502  is to update its capabilities or protocol parameters that are negotiated in Registration procedure with or without changing to a new TA. 
       FIGS.  7 A and  7 B  show an inter-NG-RAN N2-based handover procedure in accordance with some embodiments. It will be apparent that  FIGS.  7 A and  7 B  is merely an example, and other embodiments may modify or omit some operations shown in  FIGS.  7 A and  7 B , include additional operations not shown in  FIGS.  7 A and  7 B , and/or perform operations in a different order as appropriate. Specifically,  FIGS.  7 A and  7 B  show handover of a UE  702  when no X2 connection exists between the source and target NG-RANs  704 ,  706 . In this case, the source and target AMFs  708 ,  710  are used to relay the handover information between the source and target NG-RANs  704 ,  706 . 
     In particular, the UE  702  may communicate data with the ICN Routers  714  (which may include the ICN-PoAs and ICN-GW) via the S-NG-RAN  704 . Rather than starting with the handover preparation between the source and target NG-RANs, as shown in  FIGS.  5  and  6   , since the source and target NG-RANs  704 ,  706  may be unable to communicate directly, the source NG-RAN  704  may determine that handover of the UE  702  is to occur based on the measurements sent by the UE  702 . After the source NG-RAN  704  determines that handover of the UE  702  is to occur, at operation 1 the S-NG-RAN  704  may send a Handover required message to the source AMF  708 . The Handover required message may include information about the target NG-RAN  706  as well as information about the data radio bearers (DRBs) from the source NG-RAN  704  to be used by the target NG-RAN  706 . 
     In response to reception of the Handover required message, the S-AMF  708  at operation 2 may select the T-AMF  710  to serve the UE  702  when the S-AMF  708  is unable to further serve the UE  702 . The selection may be based on the information carried in the Handover required message. 
     After selection of the T-AMF  710 , the S-AMF  708  may initiate a Handover resource allocation procedure. In particular, the S-AMF  708  may at operation 3 send a Namf_Communication_CreateUEContext request for ICN service operation towards the T-AMF  710  to initiate the Handover resource allocation procedure. 
     In response to reception of the Namf_Communication_CreateUEContext request, the T-AMF  710  may transmit at operation 4 a Handover request to the T-NG-RAN  706 . The Handover request may include the identification of the Source NG-RAN  704  and other control information to support ICN service. 
     Upon reception of the Handover request from the T-AMF  710 , the T-NG-RAN  706  may at operation 5 send a Handover Request Acknowledge message to the T-AMF  710 . The Handover Request Acknowledge message may include a UE container with an access stratum part and a NAS part. The UE container may be sent transparently via the T-AMF  710 , S-AMF  708  and S-NG-RAN  704  to the UE  702 . The UE container may also include information about the DRBs that can be supported and served. 
     After transmission of the Handover Request Acknowledge message, at operation 6 the T-AMF  710  may send a Namf_Communication_CreateUEContext Response to the S-AMF  708 . The Namf_Communication_CreateUEContext Response may include all N2 information for the S-AMF  708  to send a Handover Command to the S-NG-RAN  704 . 
     After reception of the Namf_Communication_CreateUEContext Response, the S-AMF  708  may send a Handover Command to the S-NG-RAN  704  at operation 7. In response to reception of the Handover Command from the S-AMF  708 , the S-NG-RAN  704  may at operation 8 send a Handover Command to the UE  702 . The Handover Command received by the UE  702  may include a UE container with information about the T-NG-RAN  706 . 
     After transmission of the Handover Command to the UE  702 , the S-NG-RAN  704  may forward DL data received from the ICN Routers  714  for the UE  702  to the T-NG-RAN  706 . The UE  702  may then attempt to synchronize with the T-NG-RAN  706 . 
     After the UE  702  successfully synchronizes with the T-NG-RAN  706 , the UE  702  may send a Handover Confirm message to the S-NG-RAN  704  at operation 9. After reception of the Handover Confirm message, the S-NG-RAN  704  may start transmission of buffered DL data for the UE  702  to the UE  702 . 
     In response to reception of the Handover Confirm message, the T-NG-RAN  706  at operation 10 may then send a Handover Notify message to the T-AMF  710 . The Handover Notify message may inform the T-AMF  710  of successful handover of the UE  702  to the T-NG-RAN  706 . 
     The T-AMF  710 , after reception of the Handover Notify message, may pass information about the handover to the ICN-CF  712  at operation 11 in an ICN-PoA assignment request. The information provided to the ICN-CF  712  may include the UE ID involved in the handover and the target NG-RAN ID. 
     Using the UE&#39;s ID, the ICN-CF  712  may check in its internal registers name(s)/prefix(es) associated to the UE  702  that are to be updated in the ICN routers  714 . Using the target cell ID, the ICN-CF  712  may determine the ICN-PoA assigned to the target NG-RAN  706 . The ICN-CF  712  may be able to properly construct a routing update trigger message that is sent to the ICN Routers  714  at operation 12. The routing update trigger message may include modified/updated faces for the PIT and/or FIB tables of the ICN Routers  714  (including UE, S-NG-RAN, T-NG-RAN, and GW ID). The ICN-CF  712  may thus trigger all ICN routers  714  in the core network to update their routing tables indicating the new ICN-PoA through which the prefix(es) can be reached for the UE  702  in its new location. 
     In response to reception of the routing update trigger message the ICN routers  714 , including ICN-PoAs, may acknowledge the routing table update through a routing table update acknowledgement message. At operation 13, the routing table update acknowledgement message may be sent to the ICN-CF  712  from the ICN routers  714 . 
     After reception of the routing table update acknowledgement message, the ICN-CF  712  may send an ICN info update response (ICN-PoA assignment response) to the T-AMF  710  at operation 14. The ICN info update response may confirm to the T-AMF  710  the routing table for all ICN routers were successfully updated. 
     After reception of the ICN info update response, the T-AMF  710  may at operation 15a notify the S-AMF  708  about the N2 handover Notify message received from the T-NG-RAN  706 . To provide this information, the T-AMF  710  may send a Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify message to the S-AMF  708 . A timer in the S-AMF  708  may be started to supervise when resources in the S-NG-RAN  704  are released. The S-AMF  708  may also acknowledge reception of the Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify message by sending at operation 15b a Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify ACK to the T-AMF  710 . 
     After operation 14, whether or not operations 15a and 15b have occurred, the UE  702  may initiate at operation 16 a Mobility Registration Update with a subset of the Registration Procedure. After the timer initiated at operation 15b has expired, the S-AMF  708  may transmit to the S-NG-RAN  704  a UE Context Release Command at operation 17a. In response to reception of the UE Context Release Command, at operation 17b, the source NG-RAN  704  may release its resources related to the UE  702 . The source NG-RAN  704  may then respond to the UE Context Release Command with a UE Context Release Complete message sent to the S-AMF  708 . 
       FIG.  8    is an ICN handover method in accordance with some embodiments. The method shown in  FIG.  8    may include receiving, at a target gNB from a source gNB, an ICN packet associated with a UE as part of a handover of the UE from the source gNB to a target gNB at operation  802 . In response, the target gNB or an AMF (having received an indication from the target gNB) may send to an ICN-CF, at operation  804 , a request to update ICN context information for the UE to reflect the handover. 
       FIG.  9    is an ICN context update method in accordance with some embodiments. The method shown in  FIG.  9    may include receiving, at an ICN-CF, a request to update ICN context information for a UE to reflect a handover from a source NG-RAN to a target NG-RAN at operation  902 . In response, the ICN-CF may send, to one or more ICN-Routers, a message to update a PIT, a FIB table, and/or a routing table based on the handover at operation  904 . 
       FIG.  10    is an ICN service request method in accordance with some embodiments. The method shown in  FIG.  10    may include the ICN-CF receiving a request to assign a new ICN-PoA to a UE for ICN services based on a handover from a source NG-RAN to a target NG-RAN at operation  1002 . In response, the ICN-CF may, at operation  1004 , send a message to a plurality of ICN routers to update a routing table based on the handover. The ICN-CF may also, at operation  1004 , send an assignment message to assign the new ICN-PoA to the UE. 
     For at least some of the above procedures, a routing protocol may be available for the ICN-CF trigger the routing updates. One example of such protocol is Named-data Link State Routing protocol (NLSR 
     Although an aspect has been described with reference to specific example aspects, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereof show, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specific aspects in which the subject matter may be practiced. The aspects illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other aspects may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various aspects is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 
     The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single aspect for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed aspects require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed aspect. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate aspect.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20191030
Publication Date: 20240528
Grant Date: 20240528
Priority Date: 20181102
Inventors: VIDAL, GABRIEL ARROBO
DING, Zongrui
LI, QIAN
WU, GENG
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W36/0064", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/0055", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L45/54", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/248", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L45/742", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/24", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/36", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L45/54", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/248", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L67/63", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W36/0064", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L45/54", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W40/248", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 70464161