Patent application EP20171954A (EP), filed 2020-04-29
Publication number: EP3735006A1
Title: EFFICIENT COMPUTING OF APPLICATION DATA IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK
Abstract: There is provided a solution for balancing application content processing in a mobile communication network. According to an aspect, a method comprises: determining to handover content processing of application data of a terminal device from a first network element to a second network element, wherein one of the first network element and the second network element is configured to perform multi-access edge computing and the other one of the first network element and the second network element is an application server in a core network or beyond the core network from a perspective of the multi-access edge computing; and transmitting at least one handover message to handover the content processing of the application data from the first network element to the second network element.
IPC codes: H04L  29/    08            A I
H04W  36/    00            A I
H04W   4/    50            A I
H04L  67/    10            A I
H04L  67/  1012            A I
H04L  67/  1027            A I
H04L  67/   289            A I
H04W  36/    12            A I
Claims: number: 1
text: An apparatus comprising:
number: 2
text: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the content processing of the application data comprising application layer analysis of the application data or application layer transformation of the application data.
number: 3
text: The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to determine the handover on the basis of at least one of the following handover criteria: processing load in the multi-access edge computing, latency requirement of the application data, location or mobility of the terminal device, and preference of the terminal device, and preference of the application server.
number: 4
text: The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one handover message comprises a handover message directed to the application server and a handover command directed to a session management function (208) controlling user plane traffic routing of the terminal device.
number: 5
text: The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the handover message directed to the application server comprises an application identifier of an application associated with the application data and an identifier indicating the terminal device.
number: 6
text: The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to receive, in response to the handover message directed to the application server, a traffic steering configuration, and to transmit the traffic steering configuration to the session management function in the handover command.
number: 7
text: The apparatus of any preceding claim 4 to 6, wherein the at least one handover message further comprises a handover message directed to the network element of the multi-access edge computing, and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to receive, in response to the handover message directed to the network element of the multi-access edge computing, application context information, and to transmit the application context information to the session management function in the handover command.
number: 8
text: The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to implement a policy control function (200) in a mobile communication network comprising the terminal device, the first network element, and the second network element, and to transmit the handover message to a network exposure function (202) of the mobile communication network.
number: 9
text: The apparatus of any preceding claim 1 to 7, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to implement a network exposure function (202) of a mobile communication network and to provide an application programming interface between a policy control function (200) of the mobile communication network and each of the first network element and the second network element, to perform said determining on the basis of a handover message received from the policy control function.
number: 10
text: The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to transmit a processing load query request to the network element of the multi-access edge computing and to receive, in response to the processing load request, a processing load response from the network element of the multi-access edge computing, the processing load response indicating processing load of the network element of the multi-access edge computing.
number: 11
text: The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is the terminal device.
number: 12
text: The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one handover message steers, from the first network element to the second network element, application layer content processing tasks of a session of the terminal device.
number: 13
text: A method comprising:
number: 14
text: The method of claim 13, wherein the method is carried out by a policy control function (200) of the mobile communication network, and wherein the handover message is transmitted to a network exposure function (202) of the mobile communication network.
number: 15
text: The method of claim 13, wherein the method is carried out by a network exposure function (202) of the mobile communication network, the network exposure function providing an application programming interface between a policy control function (200) of the mobile communication network and each of the first network element and the second network element, and wherein the network exposure function performs said determining on the basis of a handover message received from the policy control function.
number: 16
text: A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable medium and comprising a computer program code readable by a computer, wherein the computer program code configures the computer to carry out a computer process comprising:
Office action: search_report, dated 2020-11-04
Rejection reasons: novelty_epc_54
Prior art cited: ref_id: US2017272365A1
ref_type: patent
severity: background
ref_id: US2017272365A1
ref_type: patent
severity: background
ref_id: US2018192390A1
ref_type: patent
severity: background
ref_id: - "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Study on architecture enhancements for EPS and 5G System to support advanced V2X services (Release 16)", 3GPP STANDARD; TECHNICAL REPORT; 3GPP TR 23.786, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, vol. SA WG2, no. V0.7.0, 10 July 2018 (2018-07-10), pages 1 - 57, XP051474960
ref_type: npl
severity: background
ref_id: US2017272365
ref_type: patent
severity: novelty_destroying
ref_id: US2018192390
ref_type: patent
severity: background
ref_id: - "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Study on architecture enhancements for EPS and 5G System to support advanced V2X services (Release 16)", 3GPP STANDARD; TECHNICAL REPORT; 3GPP TR 23.786, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, (20180710), vol. SA WG2, no. V0.7.0, pages 1 - 57, XP051474960 [A] 4,6-11,14,15 * paragraph  [06.8] *
ref_type: npl
severity: background
Final disposition: pending (2020-11-04)