# US 11,445,515 B2 · Network slice selection based on requested service

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- Number: US 11,445,515 B2
- Document ID: US11445515B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/247,193
- Filed: 2020-12-03
- Published: 2021-04-08
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2018-12-12
- Assignees: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
- Applicants: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
- Inventors: Kristen S. Young; Kalyani Bogineni; Jignesh S. Panchal; Ratul Kumar Guha
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11445515B2

## CPC

- H04W 48/18: Selecting a network or a communication service
- H04W 72/53: based on regulatory allocation policies
- H04W 24/02: Arrangements for optimising operational condition
- H04W 76/12: Setup of transport tunnels
- H04W 72/54: based on quality criteria
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

An example method can include receiving, from a user equipment, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). The method can include determining a resource sharing configuration (RSC) associated with the S-NSSAI and determining whether the S-NSSAI is associated with a network slice instance (NSI) of the network. When the S-NSSAI is determined to be associated with a first NSI, the method can include mapping the S-NSSAI to the first NSI to permit the user equipment to communicate via the first NSI using a protocol data unit (PDU) session associated with the S-NSSAI. When the S-NSSAI is not determined to be associated with an NSI, the method can include forming a second NSI of the network according to the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI and mapping the S-NSSAI to the second NSI to permit the user equipment to communicate via the second NSI using a PDU session associated with the S-NSSAI.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method, comprising:
receiving, by a device and from a user equipment, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI);
identifying, by the device, a slice differentiator (SD) field associated with the S-NSSAI;
determining, by the device, a resource sharing configuration (RSC) associated with the S-NSSAI;
determining, by the device, whether the S-NSSAI is associated with a first network slice instance (NSI) based on information associated with the SD field of the S-NSSAI and the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI;
provisioning a protocol data unit (PDU) session, associated with the user equipment, to utilize the first NSI or a second NSI,
wherein the second NSI is formed according to the RSC based on determining that the S-NSSAI is not associated with the first NSI;
determining a traffic type of the PDU session;
overriding, based on the determined traffic type of the PDU session, the S-NSSAI by assigning an NSSAI to the user equipment; and
provisioning the PDU session according to the assigned NSSAI.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the S-NSSAI is associated with a network, and
wherein the SD field includes at least one or more of:
a network slice type (NEST) field that identifies one or more characteristics of the network that are to be supported by the NSI,
a service field, of the network, that is to be utilized by the user equipment,
an entity association field associated with the user equipment, or
an inter-slice priority level (ISPL) field that identifies that a particular NSI that is mapped to the S-NSSAI has a priority relative to other NSIs of the network.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the ISPL field includes a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the NSI that is to be selected from the S-NSSAI, and
wherein selecting the NSI comprises:
selecting the NSI based on the priority level of the NSI.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
selectively mapping the S-NSSAI to:
the first NSI when the S-NSSAI is determined to be associated with the first NSI, or
the second NSI that is formed according to the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI when it is determined that the S-NSSAI is not associated with the first NSI.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein determining the RSC comprises:
determining resource layers that can be shared with another user equipment associated with the S-NSSAI or another user equipment associated with another S-NSSAI,
wherein the RSC is determined based on the resource layers.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the S-NSSAI is configured to have a length of 32 bits, and
wherein 8 bits are allocated to a slice/service type (SST) field and 24 bits are allocated to the SD field.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein determining the RSC is based on a mapping,
wherein the mapping identifies a plurality of RSCs of corresponding S-NSSAIs, and
wherein the plurality of RSCs include the RSC, and the corresponding S-NSSAIs include the S-NSSAI.

### Claim 8

A device, comprising:
one or more processors to:
receive, from a user equipment, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI),
wherein the S-NSSAI includes a slice/service type (SST) field and a slice differentiator (SD) field;
determine a resource sharing configuration (RSC) associated with the S-NSSAI;
determine whether the S-NSSAI is associated with a first network slice instance (NSI) based on information associated with the SD field, the SST field of the S-NSSAI, and the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI;
provision a protocol data unit (PDU) session, associated with the user equipment, to utilize the first NSI or a second NSI,
wherein the second NSI is formed according to the RSC based on determining that the S-NSSAI is not associated with the first NSI;
determine a traffic type of the PDU session;
override, based on the determined traffic type of the PDU session, the S-NSSAI by assigning an NSSAI to the user equipment; and
provision the PDU session according to the assigned NSSAI.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the S-NSSAI is associated with a network, and
wherein the SD field includes at least one or more of:
a network slice type (NEST) field that identifies one or more characteristics of the network that are to be supported by the NSI,
a service field, of the network, that is to be utilized by the user equipment,
an entity association field associated with the user equipment, or
an inter-slice priority level (ISPL) field that identifies that a particular NSI that is mapped to the S-NSSAI has a priority relative to other NSIs of the network.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein S-NSSAI is configured to have a length of 32 bits, and
wherein 8 bits are allocated to SST field and 24 bits are allocated to the SD field.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are to:
selectively map the S-NSSAI to:
the first NSI when the S-NSSAI is determined to be associated with the first NSI, or
the second NSI that is formed according to the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI when it is determined that the S-NSSAI is not associated with the first NSI.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors, when determining the RSC, are to:
determine resource layers that can be shared with another user equipment associated with the S-NSSAI or another user equipment associated with another S-NSSAI,
wherein the RSC is determined based on the resource layers.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors, when determining the RSC, are to:
determine the RSC based on a mapping,
wherein the mapping identifies a plurality of RSCs of corresponding S-NSSAIs, and
wherein the plurality of RSCs include the RSC, and the corresponding S-NSSAIs include the S-NSSAI.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The device of claim 9, wherein the SD field includes the NEST field, the service field, the entity association field, and the ISPL field.

### Claim 15

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:
one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
receive, from a user equipment, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI);
identify a slice differentiator (SD) field associated with the S-NSSAI;
determine a resource sharing configuration (RSC) associated with the S-NSSAI;
determine whether the S-NSSAI is associated with a first network slice instance (NSI) of the network based on information associated with the SD field and the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI;
provision a protocol data unit (PDU) session, associated with the user equipment, to utilize the first NSI or a second NSI,
wherein the second NSI is formed according to the RSC based on determining that the S-NSSAI is not associated with the first NSI;
determine a traffic type of the PDU session;
override, based on the determined traffic type of the PDU session, the S-NSSAI by assigning an NSSAI to the user equipment; and
provision the PDU session according to the assigned NSSAI.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the S-NSSAI is associated with a network, and
wherein the SD field includes at least one or more of:
a network slice type (NEST) field that identifies one or more characteristics of the network that are to be supported by the NSI,
a service field, of the network, that is to be utilized by the user equipment,
an entity association field associated with the user equipment, or
an inter-slice priority level (ISPL) field that identifies that a particular NSI that is mapped to the S-NSSAI has a priority relative to other NSIs of the network.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
selectively map the S-NSSAI to:
the first NSI when the S-NSSAI is determined to be associated with the first NSI, or
the second NSI that is formed according to the RSC associated with the S-NSSAI when it is determined that the S-NSSAI is not associated with the first NSI.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to determine the RSC, cause the one or more processors to:
determine resource layers that can be shared with another user equipment associated with the S-NSSAI or another user equipment associated with another S-NSSAI,
wherein the RSC is determined based on the resource layers.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, the S-NSSAI is received in at least one of:
a request from the user equipment to register the user equipment with the network, or
a request to initiate a PDU session.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to determine the RSC, cause the one or more processors to determine the RSC based on a mapping,
wherein the mapping identifies a plurality of RSCs of corresponding S-NSSAIs, and
wherein the plurality of RSCs include the RSC, and the corresponding S-NSSAIs include the S-NSSAI.