DESC:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REGISTERING A USER EQUIPMENT IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Jio Platforms Limited, an Indian company, having registered address at Office -101, Saffron, Nr. Centre Point, Panchwati 5 Rasta, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380006, Gujarat, India

The following complete specification particularly describes the disclosure and the manner in which it is performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a field of wireless communication networks. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and a method for registering a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The subject matter disclosed in the background section should not be assumed or construed to be prior art merely due to its mention in the background section. Similarly, any problem statement mentioned in the background section or its association with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed or construed to have been previously recognized in the prior art.
[0003] With the recent developments in Fifth Generation (5G) wireless communication systems, more users are attracted to migrate from Fourth Generation (4G) communication system to 5G communication system. The 5G communication system provides lower latency, higher capacity, and increased bandwidth compared to the 4G communication system. To migrate from the 4G communication system to the 5G communication system, a User Equipment (UE) needs to be registered to 5G network.
[0004] Further, in the 5G network, network slicing is performed to support different service requirements of the 5G network. In the process of the network slicing, a physical network is divided into multiple counterparts. Through the network slicing, the 5G network provides optimized, dynamic, and flexible communication services for diverse application scenarios. The UE in the 5G network can access multiple network slices, and these network slices can each provide different application service to the UE.
[0005] Further, a UE policy association establishment is required for the UE which are subscribed for the multiple network slices to access different application services.
[0006] In conventional methods for registering of the UE with the 5G network, the UE initiate network registration process to establish a connection with the 5G network. The network registration process involves authentication and authorization procedures to ensure that the UE is allowed access to 5G network services. The UE sends a registration request to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network function. During network registration, the AMF initiates the UE policy association for each of the UE registering on the 5G network. The AMF forwards the UE policy association establishment to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network function.
[0007] The UE policy association establishment for every UE registering on the 5G network results in large number of UE policy sessions and transactions between the AMF and the PCF thereby resulting in wastage of network resources and increase of latency in the network.
[0008] Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method for registering the UE in the wireless communication network which optimizes the network resources and reduces the latency in the network.
SUMMARY
[0009] The following embodiments present a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed invention. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
[0010] In an embodiment, a method for registering a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a reception module, a registration request from the UE. The method further includes initiating, by a processing module, the registration of the UE based on the registration request. Further, the method includes fetching, by a retrieving module during the registration of the UE, a subscription data of the UE from a Unified Data Management (UDM). Furthermore, the method includes determining, by the processing module, whether the subscription data includes information indicating that the UE is subscribed to a plurality of network slices. Thereafter, the method includes initiating, by the processing module, UE policy association establishment with a Policy Control Function (PCF) based on a result of the determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE is subscribed to the plurality of network slices.
[0011] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes transmitting, by a transmitting module, a registration response to the UE based on the registration of the UE.
[0012] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes skipping, by the processing module, the initiation of the UE policy association establishment with the PCF based on a determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE is subscribed to a single network slice.
[0013] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes receiving, by the reception module, an updated subscription data of the UE from the UDM, the updated subscription data includes information indicating that UE subscription is changed from the single network slice to the plurality of network slices.
[0014] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes initiating, by the processing module, the UE policy association establishment with the PCF based on the updated subscription data.
[0015] In another embodiment, disclosed is a system for registering a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network. The system includes a reception module configured to receive a registration request from the UE. The system further includes a processing module configured to initiate the registration of the UE based on the registration request. Further, the system includes a retrieving module configured to fetch, during the registration of the UE, a subscription data of the UE from a Unified Data Management (UDM). The processing module is further configured to determine whether the subscription data includes information indicating that the UE is subscribed to a plurality of network slices. Further, the processing module is further configured to initiate UE policy association establishment with a Policy Control Function (PCF) based on a result of the determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE is subscribed to the plurality of network slices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] Various embodiments disclosed herein will become better understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings constitute a part of the present disclosure and illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts disclosed herein. Further, components and elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, similar components and elements are annotated by reference numerals in the exemplary drawings.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram depicting an environment of a wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 2A illustrates a general block diagram of a system for registering a User Equipment (UE) in the wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of the system comprising one or more modules of a processing engine in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates a network architecture depicting core network entities, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates a process flow diagram depicting a communication between the UE, a Radio Access Network (RAN), and the core network entities, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow diagram depicting a method for registering the UE in the wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Inventive concepts of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples of one or more embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Further, the one or more embodiments disclosed herein are provided to describe the inventive concept thoroughly and completely, and to fully convey the scope of each of the present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, it should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are not mutually exclusive concepts. Accordingly, one or more components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present or used in any other embodiment.
[0024] The following description presents various embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments disclosed herein are presented as teaching examples and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified, omitted, or expanded upon without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0025] The following description contains specific information pertaining to embodiments in the present disclosure. The detailed description uses the phrases “in some embodiments” which may each refer to one or more or all of the same or different embodiments. The term “some” as used herein is defined as “one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” In view of the same, the terms, for example, “in an embodiment” refers to one embodiment and the term, for example, “in one or more embodiments” refers to “at least one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments.”
[0026] The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to;” it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion in the so-described one or more listed features, elements in a combination, unless otherwise stated with limiting language. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “have,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
[0027] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features.
[0028] The description provided herein discloses exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing any of the exemplary embodiments. Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it may be understood by one of the ordinary skilled in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details.
[0029] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein the description, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural forms unless the context of the invention indicates otherwise.
[0030] The terminology and structure employed herein are for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and do not limit, restrict, or reduce the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art.
[0031] The various aspects including the example aspects are now described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the various aspects of the disclosure are shown. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the aspects set forth herein. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and complete, and fully conveys the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity.
[0032] Various aspects of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method for registering a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network.
[0033] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the system and the method reduce utilization of network resources for UE policy association establishment between core network entities.
[0034] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the system and the method optimize network resources and reduces latency in the network.
[0035] In the present disclosure, various embodiments are described using terms such as extensible radio access network (xRAN), and open-radio access network (O-RAN)) that are commonly used in communication standards (e.g., 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), but these are merely examples for description. Various embodiments of the disclosure may also be easily modified and applied to other communication systems.
[0036] Several key terms used in the description play pivotal roles in facilitating the system functionality. In order to facilitate an understanding of the description, the key terms are defined below.
[0037] A “Core Network (CN)” in the present disclosure may be a core part of a cellular communication system for providing services to subscribers or end users. The core network offers authentication and authorization and maintains the location of the users to facilitate delivery of services.
[0038] A “Network Function” in the present disclosure may be a processing function in the network, which has defined functional behaviour and defined interfaces. The network function can be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g. on a cloud infrastructure.
[0039] A “Network Slice” in the present disclosure may be a logical network that provides specific network capabilities and network characteristics.
[0040] A “Network Slice instance” in the present disclosure may be a set of Network Function instances and required resources (for example, compute, storage and networking resources) which form a deployed Network Slice.
[0041] A “Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI)” in the present disclosure may be used for identification of the Network Slice. A single UE may be served by at most eight Network Slices at a time. The NSSAI signalled by the UE to the network, assists the network in selecting a particular Network Slice instance.
[0042] A “network slice identity” in the present disclosure may be used to uniquely identify a logical node in the network slice.
[0043] An “Authentication Server Function (AUSF)” in the present disclosure may act as an authentication server. The AUSF contains mainly an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) authentication server functionality and acts as storage for keys and provides keying material to a requester NF.
[0044] An “Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)” in the present disclosure may be a key component of the Core Network and handles the registration of the UE to the network. The AMF authenticates the UE and authorizes access to the services. The AMF carries out termination of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signalling, NAS ciphering & integrity protection, registration management, connection management, mobility management, access authentication and authorization, security context management. The AMF also includes the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF).
[0045] A “Session Management Function (SMF)” in the present disclosure may carry out session management (session establishment, modification and release), UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation & management, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) functions, termination of NAS signalling related to session management, downlink data notification and traffic steering configuration for proper traffic routing.
[0046] A “User Plane Function (UPF)” in the present disclosure may carry out packet routing & forwarding, packet inspection, Quality of Service (QoS) handling, acts as external Packet Data Unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to Data Network (DN), and is an anchor point for intra- & inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) mobility.
[0047] A “NF Repository Function (NRF)” in the present disclosure may discover network function instances. When the NRF receives an NF discovery request from a NF instance, it provides the discovered NF instances. The NRF maintains/supports Profiles of NF instances and their supported services within the network. The NRF maintains/supports Service-Based Interfaces, Management & Maintenance.
[0048] A “Policy Control Function (PCF)” in the present disclosure may carry out unified policy framework, providing policy rules to control plane functions, access subscription information for policy decisions in Unified Data Repository (UDR). The PCF provides a policy framework incorporating network slicing, roaming and mobility management.
[0049] A “Unified Data Management (UDM)” in the present disclosure may store subscriber data and profiles and carries out generation of Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) credentials, user identification handling, access authorization, subscription management.
[0050] A “Service Communication Proxy (SCP)” in the present disclosure may be network function enabling dynamic scaling and management of communication and services in a Fifth Generation (5G) network. The SCP provides an option for Core NFs to communicate indirectly. The SCP provides routing control, load balancing and delegated discovery.
[0051] An “Authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server” in the present disclosure may be a network server that is used for providing access control. Authentication identifies a user. Authorization implements policies that determine which resources and services an authenticated user may access. Accounting keeps track of time and data resources that are used for billing and analysis.
[0052] A “Binding Support Function (BSF)” in the present disclosure may represent a network function for binding a request from the AMF targeting a particular UE to a specific PCF instance.
[0053] A “Network Exposure Function (NEF)” in the present disclosure may be a network function that provides a means to securely expose services and capabilities provided by other network functions.
[0054] A “Diameter Routing Agent (DRA)” in the present disclosure may be a network function to provide real-time routing capabilities to route signalling messages for policy control and charging.
[0055] A “Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF)” in the present disclosure provides a Network Slice Selection Application Programming Interface (API) for the AMF for registration, UE Configuration Update and PDU Session Establishment, and NSSAI Availability API.
[0056] A “Charging Function Protocol Converter (CHF-PC)” in the present disclosure may be a protocol converter for converting messages received from the SMF and the PCF to diameter messages before forwarding them to an Online Charging System (OCS).
[0057] A “Equipment Identity Register (EIR)” in the present disclosure may verify a Permanent Equipment Identifier status of the UE to provide network services to the UE.
[0058] A “Short Message Service Function (SMSF)” in the present disclosure may be a network function to support Short Message Service (SMS) specific functionalities and to interact with gateway/interworking router for relaying the SMS between UE and a Service Centre. The SMSF may send and receive SMS to the AMF via the NAS.
[0059] A “Location Management Function (LMF)” in the present disclosure may be a network function to support location determination for the UE, obtain downlink location measurements or a location estimate from the UE, obtain uplink location measurements from the RAN, and obtain non-UE associated assistance data from the RAN.
[0060] A “Location Services (LCS)” in the present disclosure may provide location-based services for obtaining location information of the UE to provide emergency services to the UE.
[0061] A “Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC)” in the present disclosure may support the LCS by requesting routing information from a Home Location Register (HLR) or Home Subscriber Server HSS).
[0062] A “Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF)” in the present disclosure may be a network function to collect data from the UE and other network functions to perform network analytics and provide network insights.
[0063] A “Signalling Transfer Point (STP)” in the present disclosure may be a network entity to provide core network connectivity and routing between multiple networks.
[0064] In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure relates to the system and the method for registering the UE based on network slice subscription of the UE. The UE may be subscribed to a single network slice or multiple network slices. The network slice creates multiple independent, logical, and virtualized networks over a common physical infrastructure to provide logical network resources to satisfy specific application demands of the UE. When the UE is subscribed to multiple network slices, the UE utilizes UE Route Selection Policy (URSP) to determine if the application started in the UE uses an already established PDU Session or triggering the establishment of a new PDU Session is required. Therefore, the UE policy association establishment is required for the UE subscribed to multiple network slices to initiate URSP for every new PDU session. Further, when the UE subscribes to the single network slice, the UE initiates only one PDU session and hence the UE does not require the UE policy association establishment.
[0065] Therefore, the present disclosure provides an option for initiating the UE policy association establishment based on the subscription of the UE comprising multiple network slice subscription. This reduces the number of UE policy sessions and transactions between the AMF and the PCF when the UE subscription data comprise information indicating that the UE is subscribed only to the single network slice.
[0066] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram depicting an environment of a wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0067] The wireless communication network 100 includes coverage regions 106-1 to 106-N (hereinafter cumulatively referred to as coverage region 106). The coverage region 106 is served by one or more Base Stations (BSs) 102-1 to 102-N. Each base station among the BSs 102-1 to 102-N may have same or similar configuration and may also be referred to as “BS 102” or “Radio Access Network (RAN) 102”. The BSs 102-1 to 102-N serve one or more User Equipment (UEs) 104-1 to 104-N in the coverage region 106. Each user equipment among the UEs 104-1 to 104-N may have same or similar configuration and may also be referred to as “UE 104”. The BSs 102-1 to 102-N are connected to a network 108 to provide one or more services to the UEs 104-1 to 104-N. The wireless communication network 100 further includes an application server 110 (also referred to as “server 110”) connected to the network 108.
[0068] The BS 102 may be at least one relay, and at least one Distributed Unit (DU). Typically, the BS 102 may be a network infrastructure that provides wireless access to one or more terminals. The BS 102 has coverage defined to be a predetermined geographic area based on the distance over which a signal may be transmitted. The BS 102 may be referred to as, in addition to “base station”, “network nodes”, “access point (AP)”, “evolved NodeB (eNodeB) (eNB)”, “5G node (5th generation node)”, “next generation NodeB (gNB)”, “wireless point”, “transmission/reception point (TRP)”, “Radio Access Network (RAN)” or other terms having equivalent technical meanings.
[0069] The UE 104 may be, at least one DU, at least one Mobile Termination (MT) unit, and at least one relay. Typically, the term “user equipment” or “UE” can refer to any component such as “mobile station”, “subscriber station”, “remote terminal”, “wireless terminal”, “receive point”, or “end user device”. The at least one second node may access the at least one first node.
[0070] The network 108 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to provide several network ports and several communication channels for transmission and reception of data related to operations of various entities of the wireless communication system 100. Each network port may correspond to a virtual address (or a physical machine address) for transmission and reception of the communication data. For example, the virtual address may be an Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPV4) (or an IPV6 address) and the physical address may be a Media Access Control (MAC) address. The network 108 may be associated with an application layer for implementation of communication protocols based on one or more communication requests from the various entities of the wireless communication system 100. The communication data may be transmitted or received via the communication protocols. Examples of the communication protocols may include, but are not limited to, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Domain Network System (DNS) protocol, Common Management Interface Protocol (CMIP), Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication protocols, or any combination thereof. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the communication data may be transmitted or received via at least one communication channel of several communication channels in the network 108. The communication channels may include, but are not limited to, a wireless channel, a wired channel, a combination of wireless and wired channel thereof. The wireless or wired channel may be associated with a data standard which may be defined by one of a Local Area Network (LAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Wireless Area Network (WAN), Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a satellite network, the Internet, an optical fiber network, a coaxial cable network, an infrared (IR) network, a radio frequency (RF) network, and a combination thereof. Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of communication channel, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies.
[0071] The server 110 may be a network of computers, a software framework, or a combination thereof, that may provide a generalized approach to create a server implementation. Examples of the server 110 may include, but are not limited to, personal computers, laptops, mini-computers, mainframe computers, any non-transient and tangible machine that can execute a machine-readable code, cloud-based servers, distributed server networks, or a network of computer systems. The server 110 may be realized through various web-based technologies or any web-application framework. In other aspects of the present disclosure, the server 110 may be configured to perform one or more data processing and/or storage operations to enable registration of the UE 104.
[0072] FIG. 2A illustrates a general block diagram of a system 200 for registering the UE 104 in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the wireless communication system 200 (hereinafter also referred to as the “system 200”) includes the network 108, the BS/gNB/RAN 102, the UE 104, the server 110 and a group of core network entities 202 (hereinafter also referred to as the “core network entities 202”) present inside the network 108.
[0073] The server 110 includes a communication interface 204, a processor 206, a memory 208 coupled to the processor 206, and a database 210. The processor 206 may control the operation of the server 110. The processor 206 may also be referred to as a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The memory 208 may provide instructions and data to the processor 206 for performing functions of the server 110. The memory 208 may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM) and a portion of the memory 208 may also include Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM). The processor 206 may perform logical and arithmetic operations based on instructions stored within the memory 208. The communication interface 204 may allow transmission and reception of data between the server 110 and the network 108. The communication interface 204 may include a transmitter, a receiver, and a single or a plurality of transmit antennas electrically coupled to the transmitter and the receiver.
[0074] The communication interface 204 may be configured to enable the server 110 to communicate with various entities of the system 200 via the network 108. Examples of the communication interface 204 may include, but are not limited to, a modem, a network interface such as an Ethernet card, a communication port, and/or a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, an antenna, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a coder-decoder (CODEC) chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, and a local buffer circuit. It will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the communication interface 204 may include any device and/or apparatus capable of providing wireless or wired communications between the server 110 and various other entities of the system 200.
[0075] The processor 206 may include one or more general purpose processors and/or one or more special purpose processors, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a microcontroller, a state machine, or ay any type of programmable logic array. The processor 206 may include may include an intelligent hardware device including a general-purpose processor, such as, for example, and without limitation, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Processor (AP), a dedicated processor, or the like, a graphics-only processing unit such as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a microcontroller, a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a programmable logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor 206 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 208 to cause the server 110 to perform various functions.
[0076] The memory 208 may further include, but not limited to, non-transitory machine-readable storage devices such as hard drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-Only Memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, RAMS, programmable read-only memories PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.
[0077] In addition, the memory may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The "non-transitory" storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non-transitory" should not be interpreted as the memory is non-movable. In some examples, the memory may be configured to store larger amounts of information. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache). The memory may be an internal storage unit or an external storage unit of the server, cloud storage, or any other type of external storage.
[0078] FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of the system 200 comprising one or more modules of a processing engine 220 in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processing engine 220 may be inside the server 110. In some embodiments, the processing engine 220 may be outside the server 110. In some other embodiments, the processing engine 220 may be inside the core network entities 202. In an embodiment, the one or more modules of the processing engine 220 may be combined to a single module or each module of the one or more modules of the processing engine 220 may be further subdivided into different modules with divided responsibilities.
[0079] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processing engine 220 may comprise one or more modules such as, (not limited to) a reception module 212, a processing module 214, a retrieving module 216, and a transmission module 218.
[0080] The reception module 212 may be configured to receive a registration request from the UE 104. The processing module 214 may be configured to initiate the registration of the UE 104 based on the registration request. The retrieving module 216 may be configured to fetch, during the registration of the UE 104, a subscription data of the UE 104 from the core network entities 202. The processing module 214 may be further configured to determine whether the subscription data includes information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to one or more network slices. The processing module 214 may be further configured initiate UE policy association establishment with the core network entities 202 based on a result of the determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to the one or more network slices. The transmission module 218 may transmit a registration response to the UE 104.
[0081] Embodiments of the present technology may be described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations of methods and systems according to embodiments of the technology, and/or procedures, algorithms, steps, operations, formulae, or other computational depictions, which may also be implemented as computer program products. In this regard, each block or step of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks (and/or steps) in the flowchart, as well as any procedure, algorithm, step, operation, formula, or computational depiction can be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or more computer program instructions embodied in computer-readable program code. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be executed by one or more computer processors, including without limitation a general-purpose computer or special purpose computer, or other programmable processing apparatus to perform a group of operations comprising the operations or blocks described in connection with the disclosed methods.
[0082] Further, these computer program instructions, such as embodied in computer-readable program code, may also be stored in one or more computer-readable memory or memory devices (for example, the memory 208) that can direct a computer processor or other programmable processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory or memory devices produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s).
[0083] It will further be appreciated that the term “computer program instructions” as used herein refer to one or more instructions that can be executed by the one or more processors (for example, the processor 206) to perform one or more functions as described herein. The instructions may also be stored remotely such as on a server, or all or a portion of the instructions can be stored locally and remotely.
[0084] Although FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2B illustrate one example of the system 100, various changes may be made to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2B. For example, the system 100 may include any number of user devices in any suitable arrangement. Further, in another example, the server 110 may include any number of components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. Further, various components in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2B may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components may be added according to particular needs.
[0085] FIG. 3 illustrates a network architecture 300 depicting the core network entities 202, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The UE 104 and the RAN 102 may be connected with the network 108 comprising the core network entities 202.
[0086] The network architecture 300 may depict the connections and interfaces between the core network entities 202, the UE 104, and the RAN 102. The core network entities 202 may comprise at least one of UPF302, Data Network (DN) 304, NEF 306, BSF 308, AMF 310, SMF 312, UDM314, PCF 316, AUSF 318, NSSF 320, 5G- EIR 322, SMSF 324, GMLC 326, LMF 328, LCS 330, NWDAF 332, STP 334, CHF-PC 336, and DRA 338. The core network entities 202 are interfaced with each other and interfaced with the UE 104 and RAN 102 using reference points N1-N52 and NL1-NL7.
[0087] The AMF 310 may be a network function for managing the mobility of the UE 104. The SMF 312 may be a network function for managing a packet data network (PDN) connection provided to the UE 104. The PCF 316 may provide a network function for applying a service policy, a charging policy, and a policy for the PDU session of a mobile communication service provider with the UE 104. The NEF 306 may access information for managing the UE 104 in the network. The NEF 306 may perform subscribing the UE 104 to a mobility management event, a session management event, requesting session-related information, configuring charging information, making a request for changing a PDU session policy, and transmitting small data for the UE 104. The UPF 302 may transmit packets that are transmitted and received by the UE 104 to the network 206. The UPF 302 may also be connected to the DN 304 leading to the Internet. The UDM 314 may be a network function for storing subscription data of the UE 104.
[0088] In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method for registering the UE 104 in the wireless communication system. The AMF 310 may initiate the UE policy association establishment during the registration process of the UE 104. The PCF 316 received the UE policy association establishment request from the AMF 310 for each new registration of the UE 104. The UE 104 may be subscribed to single or multiple network slices. Therefore, the present disclosure may provide an option for the AMF 310 to fetch the subscription data of the UE 104 from the UDM 314 before initiating the UE policy association establishment request to the PCF 316. This may reduce the need for initiating the request when the UE 104 subscription data comprise information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to only to the single network slice.
[0089] FIG. 4 illustrates a process flow diagram depicting a communication 400 between the UE 104, the RAN 102, and the core network entities 202, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication 400 comprises a series of operation steps from step 402 to step 414.
[0090] At step 402, the UE 104 may transmit a registration request to the RAN 102. The RAN 102 may forward the registration request to the AMF 310. At step 404, the AMF 310 may perform further processing of Registration Request received from the UE 104 via the RAN 102. The AMF 310 may verify the identity of UE 104 and may perform authentication procedures. Upon verifying and authenticating the UE 104, the AMF 310 may select the UDM 314 storing the information of the UE 104.
[0091] At step 406, the AMF 310 may send a request to the UDM 314 for accessing the subscription data of the UE 104 and profile information of the UE 104. The AMF 310 may send N-UDM Subscriber Data Management (Nudm¬-_SDM_Get) Request service message to the UDM 314 to retrieve the subscription data of the UE 104. At step 408, the UDM 314 may provide a response to the AMF 310 comprising the subscription data of the UE 104. The UDM 314 may send Nudm¬¬_SDM_Get Response service message to the AMF 310.
[0092] At step 410, the AMF 310 may select the PCF 316 for processing Access and Mobility (AM) Policy Association Establishment. The PCF 316 may update PDU Session and transmit the PDU Session to the AMF 310. The AMF 310 may send a UE Context Modification Request to the PCF 316 and may receive a UE Context Modification Response from the PCF 316. Upon receiving the response from the UDM 314, the AMF 310 may determine whether the subscription data of the UE 104 comprise information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to either a single network slice or multiple network slices. The AMF 310 may accept the Registration Request of the UE 104.
[0093] At step 412, the AMF 310 may determine whether the subscription data of the UE 104 comprise information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to either the single network slice or multiple network slices. If the subscription data of the UE 104 may comprise the information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to the multiple network slices, then the AMF 310 may initiate the UE policy association establishment request to the PCF 316. The AMF 310 may initiate the UE policy association establishment request based on the subscription data of the UE 104 received from the UDM 314 through the Nudm¬¬_SDM_Get Response service message.
[0094] At step 414, the PCF 316 may process the UE policy association establishment request received from the AMF 310. Once the PCF 316 process the request, the AMF 310 may complete the registration of the UE 104 by triggering a Network Slice-specific authentication and authorization procedure. To complete the registration of the UE 104 in the single network slice or the multiple network slices, the AMF 310 may send an authentication and authorization request to the AAA server specific to each of the single or multiple network slices. Once the AAA server authenticates the UE 104, the UE 104 may be registered to the single network slice or the multiple network slices based on the subscription data of the UE 104.
[0095] In some embodiments, when the UE 104 is already registered with the subscription data comprising information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to the single network slice, the UDM 314 may update the subscription data of the UE 104 comprising information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to the multiple network slices on a real time basis. The AMF 310 may then obtain the updated subscription data of the UE 104 from the UDM 314 and may initiate the UE policy association establishment of the UE 104 with the PCF 316.
[0096] In some aspects of the present disclosure, if the subscription data of the UE 104 comprise information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to the single network slice, then the AMF 310 may skip the process described in the steps 412 and 414. Further, the AMF 310 may complete the registration of the UE 104 and may transmit Network Slice-specific authentication and authorization to the UE 104.
[0097] FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow diagram depicting a method 500 for registering the UE 104 in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 500 comprises a series of operation steps indicated by blocks 502 through 510.At block 502, the reception module 212 may receive a registration request from the UE 104. The flow of the method 500 now proceed to block 504.
[0098] At block 504, the processing module 214 may initiate the registration of the UE 104 based on the registration request. The flow of the method 500 now proceed to block 506.
[0099] At block 506, the retrieving module 216 may fetch, during the registration of the UE 104, a subscription data of the UE 104 from the UDM 314. The flow of the method 500 now proceed to block 508.
[0100] At block 508, the processing module 214 may determine whether the subscription data includes information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to a plurality of network slices. The flow of the method 500 now proceed to block 510.
[0101] At block 510, the processing module 214 may initiate the UE policy association establishment with the PCF 316 based on a result of the determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to the plurality of network slices.
[0102] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the transmission module 218 may transmit a registration response to the UE 104 based on the registration of the UE 104.
[0103] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processing module 214 may skip the initiation of the UE policy association establishment with the PCF 316 based on a determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE 104 is subscribed to a single network slice.
[0104] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the reception module 212 may receive an updated subscription data of the UE 104 from the UDM 314. The updated subscription data may include information indicating that UE subscription is changed from the single network slice to the plurality of network slices.
[0105] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processing module 214 may initiate the UE policy association establishment with the PCF 316 based on the updated subscription data.
[0106] Referring to the technical abilities and advantageous effect of the present disclosure, the disclosed method and system enable registration of the user equipment in the wireless communication network based on the network slice subscription of the user equipment. Another potential advantage of the one or more embodiments may include facilitating a reduction in number of UE policy associations that need to be created between AMF and PCF thereby optimizing the resources and reducing the latency in the network.
[0107] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methodology described herein in the present disclosure may be carried out in other specific ways than those set forth herein in the above disclosed embodiments without departing from essential characteristics and features of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiments are therefore to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.
[0108] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Any combination of the above features and functionalities may be used in accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0109] In the present disclosure, each of the embodiments has been described with reference to numerous specific details which may vary from embodiment to embodiment. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments disclosed herein may reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be comprehended within the meaning of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and is not limited in scope.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0110] The following list is provided for convenience and in support of the drawing figures and as part of the text of the specification, which describe innovations by reference to multiple items. Items not listed here may nonetheless be part of a given embodiment. For better legibility of the text, a given reference number is recited near some, but not all, recitations of the referenced item in the text. The same reference number may be used with reference to different examples or different instances of a given item. The list of reference numerals is:
100 - Wireless communication network
102 - Base Station (BS) or Radio Access Network (RAN)
102-1 to 102-N - One or more BSs
104 - User Equipment (UE)
104-1 to 104-N -One or more UEs
106-1 to 106-N - Coverage region
108 - Network
110 - Server
200 - General block diagram of the system for registering the UE 104
202 - Core network entities
204 - Communication interface of the server 110
206 - Processor of the server 110
208 - Memory of the server 110
210 - Server database
212 - Reception module
214 - Processing module
216 - Retrieving module
218 - Transmission module
220 - Processing engine
300 - Network architecture depicting the core network entities 202
302 - User Plane Function (UPF)
304 - Data Network (DN)
306 - Network Exposure Function (NEF)
308 - Binding Support Function (BSF)
310 - Access and Mobility management Function (AMF)
312 - Session Management Function (SMF)
314 - Unified Data Management (UDM)
316 - Policy Control Function (PCF)
318 - Authentication Server Function (AUSF)
320 - Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF)
322 - Fifth Generation-Equipment Identity Register (5G-EIR)
324 - Short Message Service Function (SMSF)
326 - Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC)
328 - Location management function (LMF)
330 - Location Services (LCS)
332 - Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF)
334 - Signalling Transfer Point (STP)
336 - Charging Function Protocol Converter (CHF-PC)
338 - Diameter Routing Agent (DRA)
400 - Line diagram indicating a communication between the UE 104, the RAN 102, and core network entities 202
402- 414- Operation steps of the process flow diagram 400
500 - Method for registering the UE 104
502-510 - Operation steps of the method 500
,CLAIMS:I/We Claim:

1. A method (500) for registering a User Equipment (UE) (104) in a wireless communication network, the method (500) comprising:
receiving (502), by a reception module (212), a registration request from the UE (104);
initiating (504), by a processing module (214), the registration of the UE (104) based on the registration request;
fetching (506), by a retrieving module (216) during the registration of the UE (104), a subscription data of the UE from a Unified Data Management (UDM) (314);
determining (508), the processing module (214), whether the subscription data includes information indicating that the UE (104) is subscribed to a plurality of network slices; and
initiating (510), the processing module (214), UE policy association establishment with a Policy Control Function (PCF) (316) based on a result of the determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE (104) is subscribed to the plurality of network slices.

2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising transmitting, a transmission module (218), a registration response to the UE (104) based on the registration of the UE (104).

3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising skipping, by the processing module (214), the initiation of the UE policy association establishment with the PCF based on a determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE (104) is subscribed to a single network slice.

4. The method (500) as claimed in claim 3, further comprising receiving, by the reception module (212), an updated subscription data of the UE (104) from the UDM (314), the updated subscription data includes information indicating that UE (104) subscription is changed from the single network slice to the plurality of network slices.

5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 4, further comprising initiating, by the processing module (214), the UE policy association establishment with the PCF (316) based on the updated subscription data.

6. A system (200) for registering a User Equipment (UE) (104) in a wireless communication network, the system (200) comprising:
a reception module (212) configured to receive a registration request from the UE (104);
a processing module (214) configured to initiate the registration of the UE (104) based on the registration request;
a retrieving module (216) configured to fetch, during the registration of the UE (104), a subscription data of the UE from a Unified Data Management (UDM) (314);
the processing module (214) further configured to:
determine whether the subscription data includes information indicating that the UE is subscribed to a plurality of network slices; and
initiate UE policy association establishment with a Policy Control Function (PCF) (316) based on a result of the determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE (104) is subscribed to the plurality of network slices.

7. The system (200) as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a transmission module (218) configured to transmit a registration response to the UE (104) based on the registration of the UE.

8. The system (200) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing module (214) is further configured to skip the initiation of the UE policy association establishment with the PCF (316) based on a determination that the subscription data includes the information indicating that the UE (104) is subscribed to a single network slice.

9. The system (200) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the reception module (212) is further configured to receive an updated subscription data of the UE (104) from the UDM (314), the updated subscription data includes information indicating that UE (104) subscription is changed from the single network slice to the plurality of network slices.

10. The system (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing module (214) is further configured to initiate the UE policy association establishment with the PCF (316) based on the updated subscription data.