Methods and apparatus for selecting network resources for UE sessions based on locations of multi-access edge computing (MEC) resources and applications

A session management function (SMF) node comprising:

• one or more processors configured to:
• receive a message which indicates a request for establishing a session for a user equipment (UE);
• and
• select a user plane function instance for the session based on a set of parameters, the set of parameters including one or more locations of one or more multi-access edge computing (MEC) resources and applications of interest for the UE,
• wherein a location of an MEC resource and application of interest is determined from a server address obtained from a domain name server (DNS) query that is processed via a user plane function.

A method comprising:

• at a user plane function (UPF) for use in a mobile network,
• receiving from a user equipment (UE) a message which indicates a domain name server (DNS) request for obtaining an address of a server associated with a multi-access edge computing (MEC) application;
• sending to an address resolution server a message which indicates a corresponding DNS request, the corresponding DNS request including a client subnet of the UE;
• receiving, from the address resolution server as a DNS response, a message which includes a client subnet location-dependent server address associated with the MEC application;
• sending, to the UE as a DNS response, a message which includes the client subnet location-dependent server address;
• caching a stored mapping or association between an identifier of the MEC application and the client subnet location-dependent server address for processing subsequent DNS requests from the UE or other UEs;
• and
• sending, to a control plane (CP) entity for session management, the client subnet location-dependent server address or location data determined from the client subnet location-dependent server address, for use by the CP for session management in selecting UPF instances for UE sessions based on location of the MEC application.