CN117796132A

CN117796132A - User plane forwarding between user plane functions and application functions

Info

Publication number: CN117796132A
Application number: CN202180100919.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: R·西瓦西瓦·加尼森; 晁华; P·安德烈斯·马尔多纳多; B·盖伊克; M·S·伊索马基; L·蒂埃博
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2021-07-29
Filing date: 2021-07-29
Publication date: 2024-03-29
Also published as: WO2023004697A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF. The method includes receiving a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between a second device and a third device; generating configuration information for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and transmitting the configuration information to the third device. In this way, forwarding of IEEE messages between UPF and AF is achieved and new capabilities for the corresponding functional entity can be introduced.

Description

User plane forwarding between user plane functions and application functions

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications and, in particular, relate to an apparatus, method, device, and computer readable storage medium for user plane forwarding between User Plane Functions (UPFs) and Application Functions (AFs).

Background

It is believed that industrial networks using Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1Q standard protocols may need to be integrated with the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) 5G system (5 GS).

The 3GPP envisages that wireless 5GS connections can be used with fixed line IEEE ethernet based networks in an industrial environment to provide flexibility, scalability and lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF.

In a first aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving, at the first device, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device; generating configuration information for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and transmitting the configuration information to the third device.

In a second aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting, from the second device, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device; and performing an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving, at the third device, configuration information from the first device for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device; and causing the switch path to be established based on the configuration information.

In a fourth aspect, a first apparatus is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receiving, at the first device, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device; generating configuration information for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and transmitting the configuration information to the third device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is caused to receive the request by: receiving a policy control request from a fourth device; and retrieving the request from the policy control request.

In some example embodiments, the request associated with the IEEE signaling exchange indicates attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be exchanged.

In some example embodiments, the attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be exchanged includes at least one of: the type of ethernet within the IEEE signaling, address information within the IEEE signaling, or an ethernet port associated with the IEEE signaling.

In some example embodiments, the request includes at least one of: a request to send IEEE signaling from the second device to the third device, a request to send IEEE signaling from the third device to the second device, or address information associated with the second device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is caused to generate the configuration information by: configuration information is generated based on at least one of address information associated with the second device or attribute information of IEEE signaling to be transmitted.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is caused to generate the configuration information by: receiving, from the third device, additional address information associated with the third device; and forwarding further address information associated with the third device towards the second device.

In some example embodiments, the further address information associated with the third device is forwarded towards the second device via at least one of the fourth device and the fifth device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is caused to generate the configuration information by: determining one or more parameters associated with at least one of a packet detection rule, a forwarding action rule, or a traffic routing rule; and generating configuration information based on the request and the one or more parameters.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is caused to generate the configuration information by: determining, based on the request, an identity of a switch path between the first device and the third device for IEEE signaling associated with a port of the third device; and generating configuration information based on the identification of the switch path.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is further caused to: mapping an exchange path between the first device and the third device using address information associated with the second device; and performing an IEEE signaling exchange via the switch path based on the mapping between the switch path and the port.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a session management function, the second apparatus comprises an application function, and the third apparatus comprises a user plane function.

In some example embodiments, the fourth apparatus comprises a policy control function.

In some example embodiments, the fifth apparatus comprises a network exposure function entity.

In a fifth aspect, a second apparatus is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmitting, from the second device, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device; and performing an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is caused to transmit the request by transmitting at least one of: a request to send IEEE signaling from the second device to the third device, a request to send IEEE signaling from the third device to the second device, or address information associated with the second device.

In some example embodiments, the request to transmit IEEE signaling indicates attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be transmitted.

In some example embodiments, the attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be exchanged includes at least one of an ethernet type within the IEEE signaling, address information within the IEEE signaling, or an ethernet port associated with the IEEE signaling.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is caused to send the request by: the request is transmitted to the first device via the fourth device by a policy control request transmitted from the fourth device to the first device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is further caused to send the request to a fifth apparatus to cause the fifth apparatus to authorize a request for an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and a third apparatus, the request for the IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus being obtained through interaction with a fourth apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is caused to perform an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus by: receiving additional address information associated with a third device from the first device; and performing an IEEE signaling exchange via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based on the address information associated with the second device and the further address information associated with the third device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is caused to perform an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus by: in accordance with a determination that an indication associated with an event of an IEEE signaling exchange is received from a third device via a fifth device, the fifth device has subscribed to the IEEE signaling event with the third device, performing the IEEE signaling exchange.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is caused to perform an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus by: receiving an indication that the second device is allowed to subscribe to the IEEE signaling event with the third device, and sending a request for subscribing the second device to the third device; and performing an IEEE signaling exchange in accordance with a determination that the second device has subscribed to the third device and an indication associated with an event of the IEEE signaling exchange is received from the third device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is caused to perform an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus by: in accordance with a determination that IEEE signaling is to be sent from the second device to the third device, an IEEE signaling exchange is performed based on an identification of an exchange path between the first device and the third device for the IEEE signaling, the IEEE signaling being associated with a port of the third device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is further caused to acquire IEEE capabilities of a port associated with the third apparatus.

In a sixth aspect, a third apparatus is provided. The third device includes at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: receiving, at the third device, configuration information from the first device for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device; and causing the switch path to be established based on the configuration information.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus is caused to cause the switch path to be established by: in accordance with a determination that address information associated with the second device is obtained from the configuration information, additional address information associated with the third device is sent to the first device for use in establishing the switch path.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus is caused to cause the switch path to be established by: receiving, from a first apparatus, an indication of one or more parameters associated with at least one of a packet detection rule, a forwarding action rule, or a traffic routing rule; and causing a switch path to be established based on the one or more parameters.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus is further caused to transmit at least a portion of the information on a port of the third apparatus in accordance with the determination that the information was received from the second apparatus or the fifth apparatus.

In some example embodiments, this information is included in core network service based signaling.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus is further caused to transmit information comprising IEEE signaling received on a port of the third apparatus to the second apparatus or the fifth apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the information is sent via signaling based on core network services.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus is caused to cause the switch path to be established by: obtaining, from the configuration information, an identification of a switch path between the first device and the third device for IEEE signaling, the IEEE signaling being associated with a port of the third device; and causing the switch path to be established based on the identity of the switch path.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus is further caused to perform an IEEE signaling exchange via the exchange path in accordance with determining that IEEE signaling is received from a port of the third apparatus.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between a second device and a third device; means for generating configuration information for establishing an exchange path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and means for transmitting the configuration information to the third device.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for sending, from the second device, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and a third device; and means for performing an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving configuration information from the first device for establishing an exchange path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device; and means for causing the switched path to be established based on the configuration information.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to perform a method according to the second aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to perform a method according to the third aspect.

Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following description of the particular embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the embodiments of the disclosure.

Drawings

The embodiments of the present disclosure are set forth in an illustrative sense, and the advantages thereof will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3A shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3B shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer-readable medium, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements.

Detailed Description

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described merely for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art understand and practice the present disclosure and are not meant to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an example embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish between functions of the various elements. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "including," "includes" and/or "including" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) Pure hardware circuit implementations (such as implementations using only analog and/or digital circuitry), and

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) Combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) and software/firmware, and

(ii) Any portion of the hardware processor(s), including digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s) with software that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions, and

(c) Hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or a portion of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware)

The operation is performed, but the software may not exist when the operation is not required.

The definition of circuitry is applicable to all uses of that term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also encompasses hardware-only circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or an implementation of a hardware circuit or portion of a processor and its accompanying software and/or firmware. For example, if applicable to the particular claim elements, the term circuitry also encompasses a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), and so forth. Furthermore, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication protocols, and/or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems that also do not involve 3GPP defined radios, such as communication systems that serve wired access or WLAN/WiFi access (as defined in the IEEE 802.11 specification). In view of the rapid development of communications, there will of course also be future types of communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody the present disclosure. It should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the above-described systems.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a Base Station (BS) or an Access Point (AP), e.g., a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR next generation NodeB (gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, a low power node (such as femto, pico), etc. The RAN split architecture includes a gNB-CU (centralized unit that hosts RRC, SDAP, and PDCP) that controls multiple gNB-DUs (distributed units that host RLC, MAC, and PHY). The relay node may correspond to the DU portion of the IAB node.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user Equipment (UE), subscriber Station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile Station (MS), or Access Terminal (AT). The terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer devices (CPE), internet of things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain environment), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Terminal (MT) part of an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node (also referred to as a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

Although in various example embodiments, the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and/or wireless network nodes, in other example embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a handset or tablet or laptop or desktop or mobile IoT device or fixed IoT device). For example, the user equipment device may be suitably equipped with corresponding capabilities as described in connection with the fixed and/or wireless network node(s). The user equipment device may be a user equipment and/or a control device, such as a chipset or a processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed in the user equipment. Examples of such functions include a bootstrapping server function and/or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in a user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to perform from the perspective of these functions/nodes.

It has been proposed that the entire wireless communication network will logically communicate with other network nodes in a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) as network nodes in the TSN. Such network nodes are also referred to as bridges or routers in the TSN. Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication architecture 100 in which a wireless communication network 102 is integrated with TSN systems 101-1 and 101-2 (hereinafter may also be collectively referred to as TSN system 101).

In some example embodiments, the wireless communication network 103 may be a 5G system (5 GS). The wireless communication network 102 may also be referred to as a 5GS TSN bridge. It should be appreciated that the wireless communication network 102 may also be any other type of wireless communication system or network, such as a 4G system, a 3G system, etc.

The wireless communication network 102 includes a RAN 104, which RAN 104 may be deployed to provide communication based on any radio access technology. In network integration, RAN 104 may be considered part of a logical wireless TSN bridge.

In addition to RAN 104, wireless communication network 102 may also include a core network in which Network Function (NF) elements contained therein may also be logically considered to operate in a wireless TSN bridge. The CN may also include one or more NF elements to support User Plane (UP) functions, including a User Plane Function (UPF) 120 (hereinafter sometimes also referred to as a "third device" 120). UPF 120 may be configured to forward traffic communicated between RAN 104 and TSN 101. The UPF 120 can include a network TSN converter 124 (NW-TT) for performing forwarding that typically performs address mapping between the wireless communication network 102 and the TSN system 101. The UPF 120 may also be capable of buffering traffic received from one of the wireless communication network 102 and the TSN 106 before forwarding the traffic into the other network.

The CN may also include a session management element (SMF) 110 (hereinafter sometimes also referred to as a "first device" 110) to implement session management functions in the CN. The SMF is primarily responsible for interacting with the decoupled data plane, creating update and remove Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions, and managing session context with the UPF 120. The SMF 110 and the UPF 120 may also be referred to as core network devices 110 and 120, respectively. Each of the SMF 110 and the UPF 120 may be implemented by one or more physical devices or servers.

In addition, the CN may also include other NFs, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) 160, which may be used to provide various functions related to security and access management and authorization; a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 150 (hereinafter sometimes also referred to as a "fifth device" 150) that may expose the capabilities of the NF; a Policy Control Function (PCF) 140 (hereinafter sometimes also referred to as a "fourth device" 140) that may provide policy rules for control plane functions; and an AF 130 (hereinafter sometimes also referred to as a "second device" 130) that may be responsible for interacting with the control plane of an IEEE Centralized Network Configuration (CNC) 170 in the scenario shown in fig. 1.

The granularity of the logical wireless TSN bridge is per UPF. That is, each combination of UE 130, RAN 104, CN, and different UPFs 120 may be logically considered different wireless TSN bridges. Fig. 1 shows only one UPF 120 and accordingly one wireless TSN bridge. If another UPF is deployed therein, UE 130, RAN 104, CN, and the other UPF may form another logical wireless TSN bridge. Thus, the number of logical wireless TSN bridges depends on the number of UPFs, which is not limited thereto. In some implementations, one UPF may be connected to one or more network devices (not shown in fig. 1) in RAN 104.

In the integrated deployment shown in fig. 1, a 5GS TSN bridge may typically be provided as the first or last hop of a bridge in the communication path from two TSN nodes, such that a wireless TSN bridge is directly connected to one or more TSN nodes. The 5GS TSN bridge 102 may include a device side of the bridge 103, which may include a device side TSN converter (DS-TT) 121 and a UE 123.

UE 123 may be capable of accessing RAN 104 and may be referred to as a wireless communication terminal. To enable communication, UE 123 may establish a connection with one or more network devices in RAN 104. The UE 123 may also be linked to a TSN node, such as TSN system 101-1, and receive data to be transmitted from the TSN system 101-1 via an ethernet port 122 of a device side TSN converter (DS-TT) 121, which DS-TT 121 may be collocated with the UE 123. In the event that UE 123 has established a connection with a network device in RAN 104, the network device may operate to transfer traffic from UE 123 to another TSN node, such as TSN system 101-2. Thus, traffic for TSN system 101-1 is delivered to TSN system 101-2 via wireless network 102. Also, communication may be implemented in the opposite direction from TSN system 101-1 to TSN system 101-2.

Depending on the communication technology, network 100 may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, or any other network. The communications discussed in network 100 may conform to any suitable standard including, but not limited to, new radio access (NR), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA2000, global system for mobile communications (GSM), and the like. Furthermore, the communication may be performed according to any generation communication protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies described above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of these techniques are described below for LTE, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below.

As described above, an end-to-end (e 2 e) IEEE network and 3gpp 5gs integration scenario has been considered, wherein an industrial network using IEEE 802.1Q standard protocols may need to integrate with 3gpp 5 gs.

The 3GPP envisages that wireless 5GS connections can be used with fixed line IEEE ethernet based networks in an industrial environment to provide flexibility, scalability and lower TCO. The 3GPP has finally completed research on 5GS enhanced support for vertical and LAN services, and an option to transparently integrate 5GS into ethernet as a TSN bridge was adopted for 3GPP specification work, and in release 16 substantially completed specification work on 5GS support for this approach integrated with TSN. This integration approach requires that the 5GS appear as an IEEE TSN bridge with full protocol compatibility between the 3GPP and IEEE TSN bridged ethernet. This adds significant complexity to the 5GS and places restrictions on the 5GS and the data network to which it is connected.

The integration scenario considered by 3gpp 5gs release 16 separates the control plane and the user plane so that the AF is responsible for control plane interaction with IEEE CNC, while NW-TT (integrated with UPF)/DS-TT (collocated with UE) handles user plane processing. The NW-TT and DS-TT are aware of the integration with IEEE 802.1Q and the corresponding TSN extensions. The result is a coupling between the IEEE TSN and the 3GPP standards because specific IEEE 802.1Q and IEEE 802.1AB management objects are specified in the 3GPP standards for transmissions between AF and NW-TT or DS-TT. Furthermore, the integration scenario considered by 3gpp 5gs release 16 focuses on the TSN fully centralized configuration model.

As an alternative to the TSN fully centralized configuration model, IEEE standardized the TSN fully distributed configuration model, which was originally directed to audio/video use cases, and which was also applicable to industrial use cases, as it can achieve greater configuration flexibility and efficiency in terms of resource usage.

One of the challenges in supporting the IEEE protocol and configuration model is the dependence of the 3GPP technical specifications on the IEEE standard, i.e. the 3GPP TS can only be initiated when the corresponding IEEE standard is finalized, and this may require an update of the 3GPP TS whenever the IEEE standard evolves. Furthermore, while the IEEE specification supports different configuration models with a large number of network setup and parameterization options, these options are limited when interworking with 5 GS. This is mainly due to the fact that 3GPP selects a specific 802.1Q management object for inclusion in the 3GPP standard. This dependency is particularly evident in the case of TSNs, which are currently devoted to the expansion of TSN fully distributed configurations towards industrial IoT use cases.

Furthermore, in future cases where a 5G system will be used as a "network as a service", it is expected that 5GS will support more and more protocols depending on the system in which it is deployed. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the dependence of the 3GPP standard on parameters of the external protocol. A mechanism for coupling the 5G system with the understanding of IEEE messages has been proposed, and thus, dependency on IEEE parameters has been proposed. Here, the key idea is that the 5GS detects the message and forwards the message to/from the AF, and the processing of the message is performed at the AF.

Conventional mechanisms suggest using existing CP mechanisms or extensions thereof to forward messages between the UPF/NW-TT and the AF. Details of the forwarding mechanism, the necessary extensions, and the new parameters that need to be added to the existing 5GS process to enable such a generic (protocol independent) forwarding mechanism remain open.

Messages received by TT(s) (DS-TT and NW-TT) are forwarded to AF via 5GS CP (control plane signaling via SMF, PCF and related N4, N7 and N5 interfaces of 3gpp 5 gc) have been specified in R16. When considering the further case of integrating 5GS within an IEEE technology based network, the amount of signaling exchange between TT(s) and AF, and the delay caused by the use of 5GS CP signaling, makes this use of 5GS CP signaling a not optimal solution.

Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes a mechanism for more direct forwarding of IEEE messages between UPF and AF. In this solution, the SMF may receive a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the UPF and the AF, and generate configuration information for establishing an exchange path for the IEEE signaling between the UPF and the AF based on the configuration information. The SMF may then send the configuration information to the UPF.

The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 2-6, with fig. 2-6 respectively showing an exemplary process of user plane forwarding between UPF and AF.

Fig. 2 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process 200 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 200 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Process 200 may involve SMF 110, UPF 120, AF 130, PCF 140, NEF 150, AMF 160, NW-TT 124, UE 123, and DS-TT 121 as shown in fig. 1.

The process 200 may involve using a complete variant of the message exchange between the NW-TT/UPF and the AF of the user plane exchange, where the user plane path may extend directly between the UPF and the AF. That is, the SMF is used to assist configuration at the UPF, with the UPF and AF establishing a direct user plane tunnel. The user plane path may use any protocol between the UPF and the AF, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), internet Protocol (IP) tunneling protocol, such as Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) or GTP-u.

As shown in fig. 2, the AF 130 may generate a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the AF 130 and the UPF 120. The request may indicate a transmission direction of the IEEE signaling. For example, the request may indicate that IEEE signaling be sent from AF 130 to UPF 120, or that IEEE signaling be sent from UPF 120 to AF 130, or both.

In some example embodiments, the request may also indicate attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be transmitted. The attribute information may relate to a type of IEEE signaling to be transmitted, such as an ethernet type associated with the IEEE signaling, address information associated with the IEEE signaling, or an ethernet port associated with the IEEE signaling.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the request may also include address information for the AF 130, which may indicate how to address the AF to send the AF IEEE signaling to send. For example, the address information should be port specific, e.g., packets from or to be sent through a particular port at NW-TT/DS-TT should be associated with a particular UP tunnel or Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

AF 130 may send 202 the request to NEF 150. NEF 150 may forward 204 the request to PCF 140 to authorize the request via a policy authorization service. After authorizing the request, PCF 140 may send 206 a response to NEF 150. The NEF may forward 208 the response to the AF 130 to indicate that the request has been authorized.

PCF 140 may then forward 210 the request to SMF 110 via an npcf_sm policy control_update request. The SMF may generate configuration information for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling exchange between the AF 130 and the UPF 120. In such a scenario, the SMF may generate configuration information based at least on the AF address information and possibly based on attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be transmitted. The SMF 110 may then send 212 configuration information to the UPF 120 via the N4 session modification to configure 214AF address information for the UPF, the AF address information being used to forward IEEE signaling directly using the user plane tunnel.

For IEEE signaling sent by the UPF 120 on behalf of (on behalf of) AF 130, the UPF 120 can report 216 to the SMF 110 how addressed by the AF. SMF 110 may then forward 218 the address configuration of UPF 120 to PCF 140 via an Npcf_SM policy control_update response.

In some example embodiments, packet classification and processing at the UPF 120 may rely on Packet Detection Rules (PDR)/Forwarding Action Rules (FAR) rules configured by the SMF 110, or traffic routing rules received from the AF 130 via a user plane node management information container (UMIC), or a combination of both. The UPF/NW-TT may use a combination or both to detect and forward IEEE signaling.

PCF 140 may receive the UPF address information from SMF 110 and forward 220 the UPF address information to NEF 150 via npcf_policyauthorization_notify. The NEF 150 may inform 222 the AF 130 of the address information to complete the establishment of the signaling exchange path between the UPF 120 and the AF 130.

After the exchange path between the UPF 120 and the AF 130 has been established, when IEEE signaling 224 or 226 is received from the DS-TT 121 or NW-TT 124 side, the UPF 120/NW-TT 124 may detect IEEE signaling to be forwarded to the AF (e.g., matching attribute information of the IEEE signaling indicated by the SMF 110 through N4 in 212) and send 228 the IEEE payload via the previously established direct tunnel with the AF 130. The UPF 120 may add metadata to assist in the processing of IEEE messages (e.g., ingress port information) at the AF 130. The IEEE signaling may then be processed 230 by the AF 130 based on the received ethernet type.

Another variant of message exchange between NW-TT/UPF and AF using user plane exchange is also contemplated, wherein UPF is able to expose user plane events to NEF. Reference is now made to fig. 3A and 3B.

Fig. 3A shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process 300 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 300 may involve the SMF 110, UPF 120, AF 130, PCF 140, NEF 150, AMF 160, NW-TT 124, UE 123, and DS-TT 121 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3A, acts 302-308 may be the same as or similar to acts 202-208 shown in FIG. 2. The AF 130 may generate a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the AF 130 and the UPF 120. The request may indicate a transmission direction of the IEEE signaling. For example, the request may indicate that IEEE signaling be sent from UPF 120 to AF 130.

AF 130 may send 302 the request to NEF 150. NEF 150 may forward 304 the request to PCF 140 to authorize the request via a policy authorization service. After authorizing the request, PCF 140 may send 306 a response to NEF 150. The NEF may forward 308 the response to the AF 130 to indicate that the request has been authorized.

PCF 140 may then forward 310 the request to SMF 110 via an npcf_sm policy control_update request. The SMF 110 may send 312Npcf_SM PolicyControl_Update a response to the PCF 140. The SMF 110 may then report the corresponding local UPF ID or address to the local NEF 150 via nsmf_eventExposure_notify.

The SMF 110 may also generate configuration information for user plane management of the UPF 120 and utilize the configuration information to configure 314 the user plane of the UPF 120 via N4 session modification. In addition, SMF 110 may also configure event exposure towards NEF 150. In some example embodiments, packet classification and processing at the UPF 120 may rely on Packet Detection Rules (PDR)/Forwarding Action Rules (FAR) rules configured by the SMF 110, or traffic routing rules received from the AF 130 via the UMIC, or a combination of both. The UPF/NW-TT may use a combination or both to detect and forward IEEE signaling.

The SMF 110 may then report 316 the corresponding local UPF ID or address to the NEF 150 via nsmf_eventExposure_notify. The NEF 150 may expose 318 the event to the AF 130. For example, the event may include a successful IEEE signaling subscription configuration and any additional metadata to assist the AF in processing the IEEE message.

In some example embodiments, if the AF intends to request that IEEE signaling be forwarded from the AF to the TT, at least a portion of acts 302 through 318 described above may need to be repeated 328 again to configure the other direction of signaling forwarding.

The IEEE signaling may be received 322 or 324 from either the DS-TT 121 or the NW-TT 124 side. The UPF 120/NW-TT 124 can detect the IEEE signaling and expose 326 the IEEE event to the NEF 150. The UPF 120 may add metadata to assist in the processing of IEEE messages (e.g., ingress port information) at the AF 130. The NEF 150 may report 328 the event to the AF 130. The IEEE signaling may then be processed 330 by the AF 130 based on the received ethernet type.

Fig. 3B shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process 300' of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 300' will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 300' may involve the SMF 110, UPF 120, AF 130, PCF 140, NEF 150, AMF 160, NW-TT 124, UE 123, and DS-TT 121 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3B, acts 332-338 may be the same or similar to acts 202-208 shown in FIG. 2. The AF 130 may generate a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the AF 130 and the UPF 120. The request may indicate a transmission direction of the IEEE signaling. For example, the request may indicate that IEEE signaling be sent from UPF 120 to AF 130.

AF 130 may send 332 the request to NEF 150. NEF 150 may forward 334 the request to PCF 140 to authorize the request via a policy authorization service. After authorizing the request, PCF 140 may send 306 a response to NEF 150. The NEF may forward 308 the response to the AF 130 to indicate that the request has been authorized.

PCF 140 may then forward 340 the request to SMF 110 via an npcf_sm policy control_update request. The SMF 110 may send 342Npcf_SM PolicyControl_Update a response to the PCF 140. The SMF 110 may then report the corresponding local UPF ID or address to the local NEF 150 via nsmf_eventExposure_notify.

The SMF 110 may then report 344 the corresponding local UPF ID or address to the NEF 150 via nsmf_eventExposure_notify. The NEF 150 may further invoke 346Nupf_Event Exposure_Subscribe service operations to subscribe to real-time information in the UPF. The UPF may then use the subscription event information to determine 348 an N4 session to which the subscription maps and establish an internal filter to match the PDR/FAR that has been configured by the SMF 110. The UPF 120 may reply 350NEF 150 with the corresponding information according to the network information exposure indication.

The NEF 150 may expose 352 the event to the AF 130. For example, the event may include a successful IEEE signaling subscription configuration and any additional metadata to assist the AF in processing the IEEE message.

In some example embodiments, if the AF intends to request that IEEE signaling be forwarded from the AF to the TT, at least a portion of the actions 332-352 described above may need to be repeated 354 again to configure the other direction of signaling forwarding.

The IEEE signaling may be received 356 or 358 from either the DS-TT 121 or the NW-TT 124 side. The UPF 120/NW-TT 124 can detect IEEE signaling and expose 360 IEEE events to the NEF 150. The UPF 120 may add metadata to assist in the processing of IEEE messages (e.g., ingress port information) at the AF 130. The NEF 150 may report 362 the event to the AF 130. IEEE signaling may then be processed 364 by the AF 130 based on the received ethernet type.

In an additional variant of message exchange between NW-TT/UPF and AF using user plane exchange, reporting UPF events to AF using NEF can be avoided and a direct exposed interface between UPF 120 and AF 130 can be implemented. Reference is now made to fig. 4.

Fig. 4 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process 400 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 400 will be described with reference to fig. 1. The process 400 may involve the SMF 110, UPF 120, AF 130, PCF 140, NEF 150, AMF 160, NW-TT 124, UE 123, and DS-TT 121 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, acts 402-412 may be the same as or similar to acts 302-312 shown in FIG. 3A, and corresponding descriptions may be omitted herein.

After the SMF 110 sends the npcf_smpolicy control_update response to the PCF 140, the SMF 110 may further generate configuration information for user plane management of the UPF 120 and configure 416 the user plane of the UPF 120 with the configuration information via N4 session modification.

In some example embodiments, packet classification and processing at the UPF 120 may rely on PDR/FAR rules configured by the SMF 110, or traffic routing rules received from the AF 130 via the UMIC, or a combination of both. The UPF/NW-TT can use a combination of both to detect and forward IEEE signaling.

The UPF 120 can provide 418UPF addressing information to the AF 130, where the AF 130 can send IEEE signaling from the AF that the UPF 120 will forward on behalf of (on behalf of) AF 130.

The AF 130 may request 420 a subscription to the event of the UPF 120. In some example embodiments, if the subscription may be configured using the service configuration in acts 402-412, acts 418 and 420 between the UPF 120 and the AF 130 may not be needed. Thus, the policyAuthorization response may include service subscription information. The signaling flow examples of acts 418 and 420 shown in fig. 4 may be used to clarify how the UPF and AF directly exchange subscription or notification information for exposure.

The UPF may obtain 422 the corresponding QoS flow by querying the UE IP address and application flow information and respond 424 to the AF 130 with the corresponding information according to the network information exposure indication.

In some example embodiments, if the AF intends to request that IEEE signaling be forwarded from the AF to the TT, at least a portion of acts 402 through 426 described above may need to be repeated 428 again to configure the other direction of signaling forwarding.

The IEEE signaling may be received 430 or 432 from the DS-TT 121 or NW-TT 124 side. The UPF 120/NW-TT 124 may detect IEEE signaling and expose 434 IEEE events to the AF 130. The UPF 120 may add metadata to assist in the processing of IEEE messages (e.g., ingress port information) at the AF 130. The IEEE signaling may then be processed 438 by the AF 130 based on the received ethernet type.

The exchange of messages between NW-TT/UPF and AF user plane exchange may be achieved by the solutions described with reference to fig. 2-4. The NW-TT/UPF may report to the AF the IEEE signaling received from one of its N6 interfaces or from the DS-TT. The AF may also ask the NW-TT/UPF to send IEEE signaling to one of its N6 interfaces or to the DS-TT.

In the proposed solution of the present disclosure described with reference to fig. 2-4, new capabilities of the AF to subscribe to the reception of specific IEEE signaling via a port specific tunnel may be introduced. This capability may represent the transfer of the AF requirements via PCF and SMF (N5, N7 and N4 interfaces). The AF request may include a traffic filter informing the AF which IEEE signaling it wishes to receive. In some example embodiments, the IEEE protocol may be identified by an IEEE EtherType or destination MAC address in an ethernet frame header or by some IP addressing information. The request may also include an indication of where and how the AF wishes to receive such signaling. That is, the request may include an indication of address information such as an HTTP URI, GRE tunnel Id, GTP-uF-TEID, and corresponding protocol.

Furthermore, new capabilities may be introduced for DS-TT/UE and NW-TT/UPF indicating how it wants (address information) to send and/or receive specific IEEE signaling, which AF requests to send on the external 5GS bridge port. This may correspond to address information such as HTTP URI, GRE tunnel Id, GTP-u F-TEID, etc., and may also contain (protocols) that the UPF wishes to use to receive such signaling. The UPF or AF may agree on additional metadata to be forwarded with the IEEE signaling payload to assist in the IEEE processing.

The negotiations described above may be transparent to the PCF and SMF through the use of transparent containers (e.g., on N4, N5, N7), or involve the SMF and PCF's knowledge of the mechanism. For the case where this negotiation is transparent to the SMF and PCF, the definition of the new IEEE protocol associated with the mechanism does not affect the PCF/SMF.

Furthermore, the proposed solution of the present disclosure described with reference to fig. 2-4 may also introduce new capabilities for UPF to select an appropriate established port-specific path for the received IEEE signaling.

Referring now to fig. 5, fig. 5 presents a further solution for supporting IEEE signaling exchange between AF and UPF.

Fig. 5 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process 500 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 500 will be described with reference to fig. 1. The process 500 may involve the SMF 110, UPF 120, AF 130, PCF 140, NEF 150, AMF 160, NW-TT 124, UE 123, and DS-TT 121 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, acts 502-508 may be the same as or similar to acts 202-206 shown in FIG. 2, and corresponding descriptions may be omitted herein.

PCF 140 may configure SMF 110 to report IEEE signaling events via an smpolicy control service. SMF 110 may need to have a Policy Control Request Trigger (PCRT) associated with reporting the IEEE message to PCF 140. For this reason, PCF 140 may send to SMF 110 a 510npcf_smpolicy control_update request. SMF 110 may send 512npcf_smpolicy control_update response to PCF 140.

The SMF 110 may then determine 516 how to configure the affected N4 session and packet classification at the UPF 120 to allow the UPF 120 to forward IEEE signaling. The SMF 110 may also configure 520 an additional GTP-u tunnel between the UPF 120 and itself to enable identification of IEEE signaling portals using the TEID of the GTP-u tunnel. The UPF 120 may then update 524 its configuration for forwarding IEEE signaling. At this point, IEEE signaling from TT to AF is enabled.

The above actions may be repeated 526 to configure the AF to send IEEE signaling to a specific port of the 5GS bridge. In this case, the GTP-u tunnel may be configured in the other direction.

The IEEE signaling may be received 528 or 530 from either the DS-TT 121 or the NW-TT 124 side. The UPF 120 may detect the IEEE signaling and send 532 the IEEE signaling message via the GPT-u tunnel, with the SMF 130 previously configured for the detected ingress port.

The SMF 130 may receive the IEEE signaling along with the TEID and determine 534 the ingress port. SMF 130 may switch from the user plane (GTP-u tunnel in which packets are received) to the control plane to inform 536 PCF 140 of the receipt of the IEEE signaling. PCF 140 may further forward the IEEE signaling to AF 150. IEEE signaling may then be processed 536 by the AF 130 based on the received ethernet type.

In the solution proposed with reference to fig. 5, the SMF may associate AF requirements with rules sent to the UPF over N4 for traffic received by or to be sent by the UPF. The SMF may also identify an ingress from the received IEEE signaling via a port-specific path and forward the IEEE signaling to the AF along with ingress information.

Before the AF requests IEEE signaling, the AF may need to collect information about the 5GS bridge ports, such as DS TT and NW TT IEEE capabilities. To this end, when the UE triggers NAS signaling with the 5G network, the DS-TT may forward its container to the AF via a Port Management Information Container (PMIC), and the NW-TT may forward its container via the UMIC using any of the N4 sessions that have been established with the 5GS bridge.

Fig. 6 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process 600 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 600 will be described with reference to fig. 1. The process 600 may involve the SMF 110, UPF 120, AF 130, PCF 140, NEF 150, AMF 160, NW-TT 124, UE 123, and DS-TT 121 as shown in FIG. 1.

The UE 123 may initiate 602 a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, which may indicate the DS-TT port and the IEEE DS-TT capable PMIC. A PDU session establishment procedure may then be performed 604. The 606N4 session modification may be performed between the UPF 120 and the SMF 110. The SMF 110 may then report 608 the corresponding information to the AF 130 via the PCF 140. The corresponding information may include a DS-TT port number, a DS-TT MAC address, a bridge ID, and an IEEE DS-TT capable PMIC. The NW-TT may also report 610 the bridge address, the bridge ID, the NW-TT port number, and the IEEE NW-TT capabilities to the AF 130 via the UMIC.

In this way, forwarding of IEEE messages between UPF and AF is achieved, and new functions of the corresponding functional entity can be introduced.

Fig. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 700 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be implemented at a first device 110 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 700 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At 710, a first device receives a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between a second device and a third device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may receive a policy control request from the fourth apparatus and obtain the request from the policy control request.

In some example embodiments, the request to send IEEE signaling indicates attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be sent.

In some example embodiments, the attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be transmitted may include an ethernet type associated with the IEEE signaling, address information associated with the IEEE signaling, or an ethernet port associated with the IEEE signaling.

In some example embodiments, the request may include at least one of: a request to send IEEE signaling from the second device to the third device, or a request to send IEEE signaling from the third device to the second device, or address information associated with the second device.

At 720, the first device generates configuration information for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may generate the configuration information based on at least one of address information associated with the second apparatus or attribute information of IEEE signaling to be transmitted.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may receive, from the third apparatus, additional address information associated with the third apparatus; and forwarding the further address information associated with the third device to the second device.

In some example embodiments, the further address information associated with the third device is forwarded to the second device via the fourth device and/or the fifth device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may determine one or more parameters associated with at least one of a packet detection rule, a forwarding action rule, or a traffic routing rule, and generate configuration information based on the request and the one or more parameters.

In some example embodiments, the first device may determine, based on the request, an identity of a switch path between the first device and the third device for IEEE signaling associated with a port of the third device; and generating configuration information based on the identity of the switched path.

In some example embodiments, a first device may map an exchange path between the first device and a third device with address information associated with a second device; and performs IEEE signaling exchange via the switch path based on the mapping between the switch path and the port.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a session management function, the second apparatus comprises an application function, the third apparatus comprises a user plane function, and the fourth apparatus comprises a policy control function.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 800 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 800 may be implemented at the second device 130 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 800 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At 810, the second device sends a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and a third device.

The request may include at least one of: a request to send IEEE signaling from the second device to the third device, or a request to send IEEE signaling from the third device to the second device, or address information associated with the second device.

In some example embodiments, the second device may send the request to the first device via the fourth device by way of a policy control request sent from the fourth device to the first device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may send the request to the fifth apparatus to cause the fifth apparatus to authorize a request for an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus, the request for the IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and the third apparatus being obtained from the above-described indication by interacting with the fourth apparatus.

At 820, the second device performs an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may receive additional address information associated with the third apparatus from the first apparatus, and perform IEEE signaling exchange via an exchange path between the second apparatus and the third apparatus established based on the address information associated with the second apparatus and the additional address information associated with the third apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may perform the IEEE signaling exchange if the second apparatus determines that an indication associated with an event of the IEEE signaling exchange is received from the third apparatus via the fifth apparatus, which has subscribed to the IEEE signaling event with the third apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second device may receive an indication that the second device is allowed to subscribe to the IEEE signaling event with the third device, send a request for the second device to subscribe to the third device. The second device may perform the IEEE signaling exchange if the second device determines that the second device has subscribed to the third device and an indication associated with an event of the IEEE signaling exchange is received from the third device.

In some example embodiments, if the second apparatus determines that IEEE signaling is to be transmitted from the second apparatus to the third apparatus, the second apparatus may perform IEEE signaling exchange based on an identification of an exchange path for IEEE signaling between the first apparatus and the third apparatus, the IEEE signaling being associated with a port of the third apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second device may obtain IEEE capabilities of a port associated with the third device.

Fig. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 900 of user plane forwarding between a UPF and an AF, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 900 may be implemented at the third apparatus 120 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 900 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At 910, the third device receives configuration information from the first device for establishing a switched path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device.

At 920, the third device causes a switch path to be established based on the configuration information.

In some example embodiments, if the third apparatus determines that address information associated with the second apparatus is obtained from the configuration information, the third apparatus may send additional address information associated with the third apparatus to the first apparatus for establishing the switch path.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus may receive an indication of one or more parameters associated with at least one of a packet detection rule, a forwarding action rule, or a traffic routing rule from the first apparatus and cause a switch path to be established based on the one or more parameters.

In some example embodiments, if the third device determines that information is received from the second device or the fifth device, the third device may send at least a portion of the information on a port of the third device.

In some example embodiments, wherein the information is included in core network service based signaling.

In some example embodiments, the third apparatus may transmit information including IEEE signaling received on a port of the third apparatus to the second apparatus or the fifth apparatus.

In some example embodiments, wherein the information is sent via signaling based on core network services.

In some example embodiments, the third device may obtain, from the configuration information, an identification of a switch path between the first device and the third device for IEEE signaling associated with a port of the third device; and causes the switch path to be established based on the identity of the switch path.

In some example embodiments, if the third apparatus determines that IEEE signaling is received from a port of the third apparatus, the third apparatus may perform IEEE signaling exchange via the exchange path.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., implemented at SMF 110) capable of performing method 700 may include means for performing the respective steps of method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, at a first apparatus, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between a second apparatus and a third apparatus; means for generating configuration information for establishing an exchange path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and means for transmitting the configuration information to the third device.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., implemented at AF 130) capable of performing method 800 may include means for performing the respective steps of method 800. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for sending, from a second apparatus, a request associated with an IEEE signaling exchange between the second apparatus and a third apparatus; and means for performing an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., implemented at the UPF 120) capable of performing the method 900 may include means for performing the respective steps of the method 900. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, at a third apparatus, configuration information from a first apparatus for establishing an exchange path for IEEE signaling between a second apparatus and the third apparatus; and means for causing the switched path to be established based on the configuration information.

Fig. 10 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 1000 suitable for implementing embodiments of the disclosure. The device 1000 may be provided to implement communication devices such as the SMF 110, AF 130, and UPF 120 shown in fig. 1. As shown, the device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1040 coupled to the processors 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 coupled to the processors 1010.

The communication module 1040 is for bi-directional communication. The communication module 1040 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communications with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 940 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 1010 may be of any type suitable to the local technology network and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

Memory 1020 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 1024, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact Disks (CD), digital Video Disks (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM) 1022 and other volatile memory that does not persist during power failure.

The computer program 1030 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 1010. Program 1030 may be stored in ROM 1020. Processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 1030 into RAM 1020.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by program 1030 such that device 1000 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure discussed with reference to fig. 2-6. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, program 1030 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in device 1000 (such as in memory 1020) or other storage device that device 1000 may access. Device 1000 may load program 1030 from the computer readable medium into RAM 1022 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig. 11 shows an example of a computer readable medium 1100 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer-readable medium has stored thereon the program 1030.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented using hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the methods 700-900 described above with reference to fig. 7-9. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions of program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are described in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at a first device, receiving a request associated with an institute of electrical and electronics engineers, IEEE, signaling exchange between a second device and a third device;

Generating configuration information for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and

and sending the configuration information to the third device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request comprises:

receiving a policy control request from a fourth device; and

the request is obtained from the policy control request.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, wherein the request associated with the IEEE signaling exchange indicates attribute information of IEEE signaling to be exchanged.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be exchanged comprises at least one of:

the type of ethernet within the IEEE signaling,

address information within the IEEE signaling, or

An ethernet port associated with the IEEE signaling.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the request comprises at least one of:

a request to send IEEE signaling from the second device to the third device,

a request to send IEEE signaling from the third device to the second device, or

Address information associated with the second device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the configuration information comprises:

generating the configuration information based on at least one of:

the address information associated with the second device, or

Attribute information of IEEE signaling to be transmitted.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, from the third device, additional address information associated with the third device; and

forwarding the further address information associated with the third device to the second device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the additional address information associated with the third device is forwarded towards the second device via at least one of a fourth device and a fifth device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the configuration information comprises:

determining one or more parameters associated with at least one of:

the packet detection rules are set to be specific,

forwarding action rules, or

A service routing rule; and

the configuration information is generated based on the request and the one or more parameters.

10. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein generating the configuration information comprises:

determining, based on the request, an identity of the switch path between the first device and the third device for the IEEE signaling, the IEEE signaling being associated with a port of the third device; and

the configuration information is generated based on the identification of the switch path.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

mapping the switch path between the first device and the third device with the address information associated with the second device; and

the IEEE signaling exchange is performed via the switch path based on the mapping between the switch path and the port.

12. The method according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first device comprises a session management function, the second device comprises an application function, and the third device comprises a user plane function.

13. A method according to claim 2 or 8, wherein the fourth means comprises a policy control function.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the fifth device comprises a network exposure function entity.

15. A method, comprising:

transmitting, from a second device, a request associated with an institute of electrical and electronics engineers, IEEE, signaling exchange between the second device and a third device; and

an IEEE signaling exchange is performed between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the request comprises sending at least one of:

a request to send the IEEE signaling from the second device to the third device,

a request to send the IEEE signaling from the third device to the second device, or

Address information associated with the second device.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the request to send IEEE signaling indicates attribute information of IEEE signaling to be sent.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the attribute information of the IEEE signaling to be transmitted includes at least one of:

the type of ethernet associated with the IEEE signaling,

address information associated with the IEEE signaling, or

An ethernet port associated with the IEEE signaling.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the request comprises:

the method includes sending a policy control request to a first device via a fourth device by sending the request to the first device from the fourth device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

the method further includes sending the request to a fifth device to cause the fifth device to authorize a request for the IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device, the request being obtained through interaction with the fourth device.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein performing the IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device comprises:

receiving, from a first device, additional address information associated with the third device; and

the IEEE signaling exchange is performed via the exchange path between the second device and the third device, the exchange path being established based on the address information associated with the second device and the further address information associated with the third device.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein performing the IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device comprises:

In accordance with a determination that an indication associated with an event of the IEEE signaling exchange is received from the third apparatus via a fifth apparatus, the fifth apparatus having subscribed to the IEEE signaling event with the third apparatus, performing the IEEE signaling exchange.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein performing the IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device comprises:

receiving an indication that the second device is allowed to subscribe to an IEEE signaling event with the third device, and sending a request for the second device to subscribe to the third device; and

in accordance with a determination that the second device has subscribed to the third device and an indication associated with an event of the IEEE signaling exchange is received from the third device, the IEEE signaling exchange is performed.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein performing the IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device comprises:

in accordance with a determination that the IEEE signaling is to be sent from the second apparatus to the third apparatus, the IEEE signaling exchange is performed based on an identification of the exchange path for the IEEE signaling between the first apparatus and the third apparatus, the IEEE signaling being associated with a port of the third apparatus.

25. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

an IEEE capability of a port associated with the third device is acquired.

26. A method according to any of claims 15 to 25, wherein the first means comprises a session management function, the second means comprises an application function, and the third means comprises a user plane function.

27. A method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the fourth means comprises a policy control function.

28. The method of claim 20 or 22, wherein the fifth means comprises a network exposure function entity.

29. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a third device, configuration information from a first device for establishing a switching path for IEEE signaling between a second device and the third device; and

causing the switch path to be established based on the configuration information.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein causing the switch path to be established comprises:

in accordance with a determination that address information associated with the second device is obtained from the configuration information, additional address information associated with the third device is sent to the first device for use in establishing the switch path.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein causing the switch path to be established comprises:

receiving, from the first apparatus, an indication of one or more parameters associated with at least one of:

the packet detection rules are set to be specific,

forwarding action rules, or

A service routing rule; and

causing the switch path to be established based on the one or more parameters.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that information is received from the second device or a fifth device, at least a portion of the information is transmitted on a port of the third device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the information is included in core network service based signaling.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

information including IEEE signaling received on a port of the third device is transmitted to the second device or the fifth device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the information is sent via signaling based on core network services.

36. The method of claim 29, wherein causing the switch path to be established comprises:

obtaining an identification of the switch path for the IEEE signaling between the first device and the third device from the configuration information, the IEEE signaling being associated with a port of the third device; and

Causing the switch path to be established based on the identification of the switch path.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

in accordance with a determination that the IEEE signaling is received from the port of the third device, the IEEE signaling exchange is performed via the exchange path.

38. A method according to any of claims 29 to 37, wherein the first means comprises a session management function, the second means comprises an application function, and the third means comprises a user plane function.

39. The method of claim 32 or 34, wherein the fifth means comprises a network exposure function entity.

40. A first apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

41. A second apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to perform the method of any one of claims 15 to 27.

42. A third apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to perform the method of any one of claims 29 to 39.

43. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a request associated with an institute of electrical and electronics engineers, IEEE, signaling exchange between the second device and the third device;

means for generating configuration information for establishing an exchange path for IEEE signaling between the second device and the third device based on the request; and

and means for transmitting the configuration information to the third device.

44. An apparatus, comprising:

means for sending a request associated with an institute of electrical and electronics engineers, IEEE, signaling exchange between a second device and a third device from the second device; and

Means for performing an IEEE signaling exchange between the second device and the third device via an exchange path between the second device and the third device established based at least on the request.

45. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving configuration information from a first device for establishing an exchange path for IEEE signaling between a second device and the third device; and

means for causing the switch path to be established based on the configuration information.

46. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any one of claims 1 to 14, or the method of any one of claims 15 to 28, or the method of any one of claims 29 to 39.