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US 12,745,070 B2Granted
User plane function event exposure
AssigneeBoost SubscriberCo L.L.C.
InventorsJinsook Ryu, Kazi Bashir, Mehdi Alasti, Siddhartha Chenumolu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Various arrangements for obtaining a cellular network address are presented herein. A request can be received from a network function residing outside of a cellular network core. The request can indicate an external Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a piece of user equipment (UE). A network exposure function (NEF) of the cellular network core can route the request to a user plane function (UPF) of the cellular network core. The UPF can determine a cellular network address for the UE that corresponds to the external IP address. The NEF can transmit an indication of the determined cellular network address to the network function.
Claims15
A method for obtaining a cellular network address, the method comprising:
- receiving a request from a network function residing outside of a cellular network core of a cellular network, the request indicating an external Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a user equipment (UE) and the request includes an indication of a data network name (DNN), an indication of single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), or both, wherein the network function resides outside of the cellular network;
- selecting, by a network exposure function (NEF) of the cellular network core, a user plane function (UPF) from a plurality of UPFs of the cellular network core, using the indication of DNN, the indication of S-NSSAI, or both;
- routing, by the NEF of the cellular network core, the request to the selected UPF of the plurality of UPFs of the cellular network core;
- determining, by the UPF, the cellular network address for the UE that corresponds to the external IP address;
- in response to the request, routing, by the UPF, an indication of the determined cellular network address to the NEF;
- and
- transmitting, by the NEF, the indication of the determined cellular network address to the network function residing outside of the cellular network core.
4 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a cellular network core that comprises a user plane function (UPF) and a network exposure function (NEF), wherein the cellular network core is configured to:
- receive a request from a network function residing outside of the cellular network core, the request indicating an external Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a user equipment (UE) and the request includes an indication of a data network name (DNN), an indication of single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), or both, wherein the network function resides outside of the cellular network;
- select, via a network exposure function (NEF) of the cellular network core, a user plane function (UPF) from a plurality of UPFs of the cellular network core, using the indication of DNN, the indication of S-NSSAI, or both;
- route, by the NEF, the request to the selected UPF of the plurality of UPFs;
- determine, by the UPF, a cellular network address for the UE that corresponds to the external IP address;
- in response to the request, route, by the UPF, an indication of the determined cellular network address to the NEF;
- and
- transmit, by the NEF, the indication of the determined cellular network address to the network function residing outside of the cellular network core.
5 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a network function, residing outside of a cellular network core of a cellular network, that is authorized to communicate with a network exposure function (NEF) of the cellular network core, wherein the network function communicates with one or more application functions (AFs) residing outside of the cellular network;
- a radio access network (RAN), comprising a plurality of gNodeBs, that is in communication with the cellular network core;
- and
- the cellular network core that comprises a user plane function (UPF) and the NEF, wherein the cellular network core is configured to:
- receive a request from the network function residing outside of the cellular network core, the request indicating an external Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a user equipment (UE) and the request includes an indication of a data network name (DNN), an indication of single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), or both, wherein the network function resides outside of the cellular network;
- select, by the NEF, a user plane function (UPF) from a plurality of UPFs of the cellular network core, using the indication of DNN, the indication of S-NSSAI, or both;
- route, by the NEF, the request to the selected UPF of the plurality of UPFs;
- determine, by the UPF, a cellular network address for the UE that corresponds to the external IP address;
- in response to the request, route, by the UPF, an indication of the determined cellular network address to the NEF;
- and
- transmit, by the NEF, the indication of the determined cellular network address to the network function residing outside of the cellular network core.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.