Selection of a serving node in a wireless communication system

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is provisional application Ser. No. 14/659,435, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 20, 2003.

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to serving node selection in wireless communication systems.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephone, video, data, messaging and broadcast. Such wireless technologies represent many stages of improvement in various telecommunication standards, each providing protocols that enable various wireless devices to communicate at the city, national, regional, and global levels. It's been a while. Such wireless communication systems may include various components such as user equipment (UE), radio access network (RAN) nodes, and serving nodes. An example of an existing telecommunications standard is Long Term Evolution (LTE), sometimes called Evolved Packet System (EPS). In LTE, a RAN node may be an evolved Node B (eNB) and a serving node may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME).

In existing communication systems (eg, LTE), serving node (eg, MME) selection may be performed based in part on load balancing. Load balancing may avoid disproportionate overloading of one serving node to another serving node. However, existing communication systems may not be able to best accommodate the complexity introduced by the device types and/or services operable on different UEs. Therefore, existing communication systems can benefit from features that better accommodate such complexity and provide a further improvement in the overall user experience.

<p>The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure, but is intended to identify key or essential elements of all aspects of the disclosure, whether any aspect or It is not intended to delineate the scope of every aspect. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.</p><p>In one aspect, the disclosure provides a method of wireless communication operable in a user equipment (UE). The method may include transmitting a connection request message configured to request an initial connection with a radio access network (RAN) node, the connection request message including information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE. can include Certain aspects of the disclosure provide a UE configured for wireless communication. The UE may include a transceiver, memory, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory. The at least one processor may be configured to utilize the transceiver to transmit a connection request message configured to request an initial connection with a RAN node, the connection request message indicating a service profile of the UE. may include information configured to: Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium containing computer-executable code. The computer executable code may be configured to send a connection request message configured to request an initial connection with a RAN node, the connection request message including information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE. can contain. Certain aspects of the disclosure provide a UE configured for wireless communication. The UE may include means for sending a connection request message configured to request an initial connection with a RAN node, the connection request message comprising information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE.</p><p>In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of wireless communication operable in a RAN node. The method may include receiving a connection request message from the UE, the connection request message may include information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE. The method may also include selecting a serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's service profile. The method may also include forwarding the connection request message to the selected serving node. Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a RAN node configured for wireless communication. The RAN node may include a transceiver, memory, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory. The at least one processor may be configured to utilize the transceiver to receive a connection request message from the UE, the connection request message may include information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. The at least one processor may be further configured to select a serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's service profile. The at least one processor may be further configured to utilize the transceiver to forward the connection request message to the selected serving node. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium containing computer-executable code. The computer executable code may be configured to receive a connection request message from the UE, the connection request message may include information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. The computer executable code may be further configured to select a serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's service profile. The computer executable code may be further configured to forward the connection request message to the selected serving node. Certain aspects of the present disclosure are configured for wireless communication Serving RAN nodes. The RAN node may include means for receiving a connection request message from the UE, the connection request message including information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. The RAN node may also include means for selecting a serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's service profile. The RAN node may also include means for forwarding the connection request message to the selected serving node.</p><p>In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of wireless communication operable at a serving node. The method may include receiving a connection request message from the RAN node, the connection request message may be configured to establish communication with the UE and may include a service profile corresponding to the UE. The method may also include determining an identifier for the UE, where the identifier may be a function of the service profile corresponding to the UE. The method may also include sending a connection accept message to the RAN node, the connection accept message may include an identifier for the UE. Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a serving node configured for wireless communication. The serving node may include a transceiver, memory, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory. The at least one processor may be configured to utilize the transceiver to receive a connection request message from the RAN node, the connection request message may be configured to establish communication with and corresponds to the UE. It may contain service profiles. The at least one processor may be further configured to determine an identifier for the UE, the identifier being a function of a service profile corresponding to the UE. The at least one processor may be further configured to utilize the transceiver to send a connection accept message to the RAN node, the connection accept message may include an identifier for the UE. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium containing computer-executable code. The computer executable code may be configured to receive a connection request message from the RAN node, the connection request message may be configured to establish communication with the UE and may include a service profile corresponding to the UE. The computer-executable code may be further configured to determine an identifier for the UE, and the identifier may be a function of a service profile corresponding to the UE. compilation The computer executable code may be configured to send a connection accept message to the RAN node, the connection accept message may include an identifier for the UE. Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a serving node configured for wireless communication. The serving node may include means for receiving a connection request message from the RAN node, the connection request message may be configured to establish communication with the UE and may include a service profile corresponding to the UE. The serving node may also include means for determining an identifier for the UE, the identifier being a function of the service profile corresponding to the UE. The serving node may also include means for sending a connection accept message to the RAN node, the connection accept message may include an identifier for the UE.</p><p>These and other aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood upon consideration of the detailed description below. Other aspects, features and embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following description of specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Although features of the present disclosure may be described with respect to several embodiments and drawings below, all embodiments of the present disclosure have one or more of the advantageous features described herein. Can contain multiple. In other words, while one or more embodiments may be described as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be described herein. May be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, although exemplary embodiments may be described below as device, system, or method embodiments, such exemplary embodiments may be used in various devices, systems, and methods. It should be understood that it can be implemented.</p>

<figref num="1">1 illustrates an example network architecture for Evolved Packet System (EPS), according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.</figref><figref num="2">1 illustrates an example access network, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.</figref><figref num="3">[0014] Figure 3 illustrates an example of a downlink (DL) frame structure in an EPS network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="4">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an example of an uplink (UL) frame structure in an EPS network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="5">[0014] Figure 3 illustrates an example radio protocol architecture for the user plane and control plane, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="6">1 illustrates an example radio access network (RAN) node and user equipment (UE) in an access network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.</figref><figref num="7">FIG. 2 illustrates an example network topology for an EPS network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="8">1 illustrates an example network architecture, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.</figref><figref num="9">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an example of establishing communication between a RAN node and a serving node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="10">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an example of establishing communication between a UE and various components of a network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="11">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an example of serving node reselection, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;</figref><figref num="12">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an example of various methods and/or processes operable in a UE;</figref><figref num="13">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates another example of various methods and/or processes operable in a UE;</figref><figref num="14">[0014] Figure 4 illustrates an example of various methods and/or processes operable in a RAN node;</figref><figref num="15">1 illustrates an example of various methods and/or processes operable at a serving node; FIG.</figref><figref num="16">FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware implementation of a UE including a processing system;</figref><figref num="17">FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware implementation of a RAN node including a processing system;</figref><figref num="18">1 illustrates an example hardware implementation of a serving node that includes a processing system; FIG.</figref>

The detailed description set forth below with respect to the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations, and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. To provide various non-limiting examples to illustrate some of the aspects of the present disclosure, the following discussion describes Long Term Evolution as it may be defined according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Certain features and embodiments may be described in the context of an (LTE) architecture. However, any LTE-specific terminology or entities are provided as non-limiting examples only, and some aspects of this disclosure may be implemented in any suitable network or technology.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example network architecture for an evolved packet system (EPS) 100, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. The network architecture of EPS 100 may be an LTE network architecture or any other network architecture without departing from the scope of this disclosure. EPS 100 includes one or more User Equipment (UE) 102, Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 104, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 110, Home Subscriber Server. (HSS) 120 and the operator's IP service 122 . EPS 100 may interconnect with other access networks (not shown). Although EPS 100 provides packet-switched services, as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the various concepts presented throughout this disclosure can be extended to networks that provide circuit-switched services.

E-UTRAN 104 may include radio access network (RAN) nodes 106 . A non-limiting example of a RAN node 106 is an evolved Node B (eNB). E-UTRAN 104 may also include other RAN nodes 108 (eg, other eNBs). RAN node 106 provides termination of user plane and control plane protocols towards UE 102 . RAN nodes 106 may be connected to other eNBs 108 via X2 interfaces (eg, backhaul). A RAN node 106 may also be called a base station, base transceiver station, base radio station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), or some other suitable terminology. RAN node 106 provides UE 102 with an access point to EPC 110 . Examples of UE102 are cellular phones, smart phones, tablet computers, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players ( MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, home appliances (eg, washing machines), or any other similar functional device. UE 102 may be defined by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal. , a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable term.

RAN node 106 is connected to EPC 110 by an S1 interface. EPC 110 may include Serving Gateway (SGW) 116 and Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 118 . EPC 110 also includes serving node 112 . A non-limiting example of serving node 112 is mobility management entity (MME) 112 . EPC 110 may also include various other serving nodes 114 (eg, other MMEs). A serving node (SN) 112 may be a control node that handles signaling between UE 102 and EPC 110 . In general, serving node 112 performs bearer management and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through SGW 116 , which itself is connected to Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway 118 . The PDN Gateway 118 provides IP address allocation for UEs, as well as other functions. The PDN gateway 118 is connected to the operator's IP service 122 . The operator's IP services 122 include Internet, intranet, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), and Packet Switched Streaming Service (PSS).

Within the EPS 100, the serving node 112 performs non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and security, access stratum (AS) security control, tracking area list management, PDN gateway 118 and SGW 116 selection, inter-serving node (e.g. inter-MME) handover. , inter-core network node signaling for mobility across 3GPP access networks, roaming and authentication, and EPS bearer management. Details of these functions and interfaces can be found in the 3GPP technical specifications numbered 23.401, 23.402 and 23.002, which are incorporated herein by reference. Serving node 112 generally manages which services are active as well as UE mobility. That is, the serving node 112 manages how to connect to the UE. When a UE is connected, serving node 112 knows which RAN node the UE is connected to. When the UE is idle, the serving node 112 enumerates the RAN nodes to page the UE.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access network 200 in the LTE network architecture. In this example, access network 200 is divided into a number of cellular regions (cells) 202 . One or more low power class RAN nodes 206 may have overlapping cellular regions 210 with one or more of the cells 202 . A low power class RAN node 206 may be a femtocell (eg, home eNB (HeNB)), picocell, microcell, or remote radio head (RRH). Macro RAN nodes 106 are each assigned to a respective cell 202 and configured to provide all UEs 102 within cell 202 with an access point to EPC 110 . Although there is no centralized controller in this example of access network 200, a centralized controller may be used in alternative configurations. RAN node 106 is responsible for all radio-related functions including radio bearer control, admission control, mobility control, scheduling, security, and connectivity to SGW 116 . A RAN node may support one or more (eg, three) cells (also called sectors). The term "cell" can refer to the smallest coverage area of a RAN node and/or RAN node subsystem serving a particular coverage area. Further, the terms "RAN node", "eNB", "base station" and/or "cell" may be used interchangeably herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The modulation and multiple access schemes employed by access network 200 may vary depending on the particular telecommunications standard being deployed. In LTE applications, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is used on the downlink (DL) and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is used on the uplink (UL) to achieve frequency division duplexing. (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) are both supported. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate from the detailed description below, the various concepts presented herein are well suited for LTE applications. However, these concepts can be easily extended to other telecommunication standards employing other modulation and multiple access techniques. By way of example, these concepts can be extended to Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). EV-DO and UMB are air interface standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000 family of standards, which employ CDMA to provide broadband Internet access to mobile stations. These concepts also include Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which employs Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA), and other variants of CDMA such as TD-SCDMA; Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), which employs TDMA; registered trademark)), as well as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) that employs OFDMA, IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802. 20, and can be extended to Flash-OFDM. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, and GSM are described in documents from the 3GPP body. CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from the 3GPP2 organization. The actual wireless communication standards and multiple access techniques employed will depend on the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the system.

RAN node 106 may have multiple antennas that support multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. The use of MIMO technology allows RAN nodes 106 to exploit the spatial domain to support spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and transmit diversity. Spatial multiplexing may be used to transmit different streams of data simultaneously on the same frequency. A data stream may be sent to a single UE 102 to increase the data rate, or may be sent to multiple UEs 102 to increase overall system capacity. This involves spatially precoding each data stream (i.e., applying amplitude and phase scaling) and then transmitting each spatially precoded stream over multiple transmit antennas on the DL. realized by The spatially precoded data streams arrive at the UE 102 with different spatial signatures, enabling each UE 102 to recover one or more data streams intended for that UE 102. On the UL, each UE 102 transmits a spatially precoded data stream, which allows the RAN node 106 to identify the source of each spatially precoded data stream.

Spatial multiplexing is generally used when channel conditions are good. When channel conditions are less favorable, beamforming may be used to focus the transmission energy in one or more directions. This may be achieved by spatially precoding the data for transmission over multiple antennas. Single-stream beamforming transmission may be used in combination with transmit diversity to achieve good coverage at the edge of the cell.

In the detailed description below, some aspects of the access network are described with reference to a MIMO system supporting OFDM on the DL. OFDM is a spread spectrum technique that modulates data across a number of subcarriers within an OFDM symbol. Subcarriers are spaced at exact frequencies. The spacing provides "orthogonality" that allows the receiver to recover the data from the subcarriers. In the time domain, a guard interval (eg, cyclic prefix) may be added to each OFDM symbol to eliminate OFDM inter-symbol interference. UL may use SC-FDMA in the form of discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM signals to compensate for high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).

FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 showing an example of a DL frame structure in LTE. A frame (10ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes. Each subframe may include two consecutive time slots. A resource grid may be used to represent two time slots, each time slot containing resource blocks. A resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements. In LTE, for a normal cyclic prefix, a resource block covers 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain for a total of 84 resource elements. include. For the extended cyclic prefix, a resource block contains 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain for a total of 72 resource elements. Some of the resource elements denoted as R302, 304 contain DL reference signals (DL-RS). DL-RS includes cell-specific RS (CRS) (sometimes called common RS) 302 and UE-specific RS (UE-RS) 304 . A UE-RS 304 is transmitted only on resource blocks onto which the corresponding physical DL shared channel (PDSCH) is mapped. The number of bits carried by each resource element is determined by the modulation scheme. Therefore, the more resource blocks the UE receives and the higher the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for the UE.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 showing an example of a UL frame structure in LTE. Resource blocks available to the UL may be partitioned into data sections and control sections. Control sections may be formed at the two edges of the system bandwidth and may have configurable sizes. Resource blocks in the control section may be assigned to UEs for transmission of control information. The data section may contain all resource blocks not included in the control section. The UL frame structure causes the data section to contain contiguous subcarriers, which may allow a single UE to be assigned all of the contiguous subcarriers in the data section.

A UE may be assigned resource blocks 410a, 410b in the control section to transmit control information to a RAN node. A UE may also be assigned resource blocks 420a, 420b in the data section to transmit data to the RAN node. A UE may send control information in a physical UL control channel (PUCCH) on resource blocks assigned in the control section. A UE may transmit data only or both data and control information in a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on resource blocks allocated in the data section. UL transmissions may span both slots of a subframe and may hop across frequencies.

A set of resource blocks may be used to perform initial system access and achieve UL synchronization on the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) 430 . PRACH 430 carries random sequences and cannot carry any UL data/signaling. Each random access preamble occupies a bandwidth corresponding to 6 consecutive resource blocks. The starting frequency is specified by the network. That is, the transmission of random access preambles is limited to some time and frequency resources. For PRACH there is no frequency hopping. PRACH attempts are carried in a single subframe (1ms) or in a sequence of a few consecutive subframes, and the UE only makes a single PRACH attempt per frame (10ms). I can't.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example radio protocol architecture for user plane and control plane in LTE. The radio protocol architecture for UE and RAN nodes is shown with three layers: Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3. Layer 1 (L1 layer) is the lowest layer and implements various physical layer signal processing functions. The L1 layer is referred to herein as the physical layer 506 . Layer 2 (L2 layer) 508 sits above the physical layer 506 and is responsible for the link between the UE and the RAN nodes via the physical layer 506.

In the user plane, the L2 layer 508 includes a media access control (MAC) sublayer 510, a radio link control (RLC) sublayer 512, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer 514, which are terminated in RAN nodes on the network side. be. Although not shown, the UE may have several higher layers above the L2 layer 508, which are the network layer (eg, IP layer) terminated in the network side PDN gateway 118, and other connections. It includes an application layer terminated at the end (eg, far-end UE, server, etc.).

The PDCP sublayer 514 multiplexes between various radio bearers and logical channels. The PDCP sublayer 514 also provides header compression of higher layer data packets to reduce radio transmission overhead, security by ciphering data packets, and handover support between RAN nodes for UEs. The RLC sublayer 512 performs segmentation and reassembly of upper layer data packets, retransmission of lost data packets, and reordering of data packets to compensate for out-of-order reception due to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). I do. The MAC sublayer 510 multiplexes between logical channels and transport channels. The MAC sublayer 510 is also responsible for allocating various radio resources (eg, resource blocks) within one cell among UEs. The MAC sublayer 510 is also responsible for HARQ operations.

In the control plane, the radio protocol architectures for UE and RAN nodes are substantially the same for physical layer 506 and L2 layer 508, except for the lack of header compression functionality for the control plane. The control plane also includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) sublayer 516 in Layer 3 (L3 layer). The RRC sublayer 516 is responsible for acquiring radio resources (eg, radio bearers) and configuring lower layers using RRC signaling between RAN nodes and UEs.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a RAN node 106 communicating with a UE 102 in an access network. In the DL, higher layer packets from the core network are provided to controller/processor 675 . Controller/processor 675 implements the functions of the L2 layer. In the DL, controller/processor 675 performs header compression, ciphering, packet segmentation and reordering, multiplexing between logical and transport channels, and radio resource allocation to UE 102 based on various priority metrics. I do. Controller/processor 675 is also responsible for HARQ operations, retransmission of lost packets, and signaling to UE 102 .

A transmit (TX) processor 616 implements various signal processing functions for the L1 layer (ie, physical layer). Signal processing functions include coding and interleaving to facilitate forward error correction (FEC) in the UE 102, as well as various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase including mapping to signal constellations based on shift keying (M-PSK), multi-level quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols are then split into parallel streams. Each stream is then mapped onto OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from channel estimator 674 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and/or channel state feedback transmitted by UE 102 . Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 620 via a separate transmitter 618TX. Each transmitter 618TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At UE 102, each receiver 654RX receives the signal through its respective antenna 652. Each receiver 654 RX recovers the information that is modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 656 . RX processor 656 performs various signal processing functions for the L1 layer. RX processor 656 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams intended for UE 102 . Multiple spatial streams may be combined into a single OFDMA symbol stream by RX processor 656 when intended for UE 102 . RX processor 656 then transforms the OFDMA symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). A frequency-domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by RAN node 106 . These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by channel estimator 658 . The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the RAN node 106 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to controller/processor 659 .

Controller/processor 659 implements the L2 layer. The controller/processor can be associated with memory 660 that stores program codes and data. Memory 660 is sometimes referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 659 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signaling to recover upper layer packets from the core network. process. The upper layer packet is then provided to a data sink 662 representing all protocol layers above the L2 layer. Various control signals may also be provided to data sink 662 for L3 processing. Controller/processor 659 is also responsible for error detection using acknowledgment (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgment (NACK) protocols to support HARQ operation.

In the UL, a data source 667 is used to supply upper layer packets to controller/processor 659 . Data source 667 represents all protocol layers above the L2 layer. Similar to the functions described for DL transmission by RAN node 106, controller/processor 659 performs header compression, ciphering, packet segmentation and reordering, and logical and transport channels based on radio resource allocation by RAN node 106. It implements the L2 layer for the user plane and control plane by multiplexing between and. Controller/processor 659 is also responsible for HARQ computation, retransmission of lost packets, and signaling to RAN node 106 .

Channel estimates derived by channel estimator 658 from reference signals or feedback transmitted by RAN node 106 are used by TX processor 668 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. obtain. The spatial streams generated by TX processor 668 may be provided to different antennas 652 via separate transmitters 654TX. Each transmitter 654TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

UL transmissions are processed at RAN node 106 in a manner similar to that described for the receiver function at UE 102 . Each receiver 618RX receives the signal through its respective antenna 620. Each receiver 618RX recovers information that is modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to an RX processor 670. RX processor 670 may implement the L1 layer.

A controller/processor 675 implements the L2 layer. Controller/processor 675 can be associated with memory 676 that stores program codes and data. Memory 676 is sometimes referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 675 performs demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover upper layer packets from the UE 102. I do. Upper layer packets from the controller/processor 675 may be provided to the core network. Controller/processor 675 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and/or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

FIG. 7 shows the network topology of the EPS network. Specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates some aspects of mobility procedures within an EPS network. An EPS network may include different cells that may be served by different RAN nodes (eg, eNBs). An EPS network may also include various serving nodes (eg, MMEs). An EPS network may also include various SGWs that may be grouped into one or more coverage areas. For example, Service Area 1 may include SGW1 and SGW2 and Serving Node Pool 1, which includes Serving Node 1 and Serving Node 2. Service Area 2 may include SGW3 and SGW4 and Serving Node Pool 2, which includes Serving Node 3 and Serving Node 4. Each service area may include one or more Tracking Areas (TAs). For example, Service Area 1 may include Tracking Area 1, Tracking Area 2, and Tracking Area 3. Service area 2 may include tracking area 4 and tracking area 5 . Each tracking area may contain one or more RAN nodes. UE 102 may be in active mode or idle mode. In active mode, UE 102 may perform handover 702 as UE 102 . In idle mode, the UE 102 may perform cell reselection 706 and/or TA update 704. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that an EPS network may include any number of tracking areas, cells, SGWs, serving node pools, serving nodes, and/or RAN nodes that may be implemented without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. right. For example, multiple serving nodes may be included in the coverage area of the same serving node pool. The coverage areas of various serving nodes and/or MMEs may overlap with each other.

A UE 102 may roam without having to change serving nodes. A service area may be served by one or more serving nodes in parallel. In existing LTE and EPS networks, serving nodes have become more complex over time as additional functions for serving nodes have been defined in successive releases. In such networks, serving node selection is mainly performed for load balancing and RAN sharing. Such network functions have defined serving node pools, and serving node selection is based on the device's identifier (eg, Globally Unique Temporary Identifier (GUTI)).

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary network architecture 800 including a UE 102, a RAN node 106 and various serving nodes 112,814,816. Non-limiting examples of RAN nodes 106 are eNBs and non-limiting examples of serving nodes 112, 814, 816 are various MMEs, as described in more detail above. UE 102 may perform various communications within a particular RAN 820 . UE 102 in RAN 820 may communicate with RAN node 106 . UE 102 may communicate with various other RAN nodes (eg, other RAN nodes 108) without departing from the scope of this disclosure. A RAN node 106 may communicate with one or more serving nodes 112 , 814 , 816 . A serving node may be part of a core network (CN). For example, serving node 112 may be part of core network A 802, another serving node 814 may be part of core network B 804, and another serving node 816 may be part of core network C 806. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that network architecture 800 may include various other components not shown in FIG. 8 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Conventional Initial Connection Establishment and Serving Node Selection FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating the initial establishment of a communication interface between a RAN node 106 (eg, eNB) and a serving node 112 (eg, MME). Communication between RAN node 106 and serving node 112 is accomplished through a signaling interface, such as the S1-MME interface in the LTE standard. During initial establishment of a communication interface between RAN node 106 and serving node 112 , RAN node 106 may send S1 setup request 902 to serving node 112 . After receiving the S1 setup request 902, the serving node 112 may send an S1 setup response 904 to the RAN node 106. Such a signaling interface may be established when the RAN node 106 and serving node 112 connect to each other during initial provisioning. In general, the purpose of such signaling interface setup procedures is to exchange application level data required for the RAN node 106 and serving node 112 to interoperate correctly over the signaling interface. Such a signaling interface setup procedure may erase some existing application level configuration data in the RAN node 106 and serving node 112, and replace the existing application level configuration data with the received application level configuration data. can be replaced. As part of the signaling interface setup, RAN nodes 106 may be configured with a relative capacity information element (IE) for each serving node in the pool. Therefore, the probability that a RAN node 106 selects a particular serving node (eg, serving node 112) within its serving node pool is proportional to its relative capacity. Relative capacity is typically set according to the serving node's capacity relative to other serving nodes.

Conventional UE Connection Establishment and Serving Node Reselection When a UE 102 reaches a RAN node 106 and attempts to connect or attach to the RAN node 106, the UE 102 is configured to request connection establishment to the RAN node 106. Send a request message. Such messages are sometimes referred to as membership requests 1002 . Such messages may be sent to RAN node 106 . If the UE 102 has registered with the serving node 112 (eg, MME), the UE 102 provides the RAN node 106 with a globally unique temporary identifier (eg, GUTI). The identifier may provide unambiguous identification of UE 102 and may allow identification of serving node 112 and the network. Such identifiers may be used by the network and the UE 102 to establish the UE's identity during signaling between the UE 102 and the network. The identifier has two components: a first component that uniquely identifies the serving node 112 that allocated the identifier, and a second component that uniquely identifies the UE 102 within the serving node 112 that allocated the identifier. and

The identifier is a globally unique serving node identifier (e.g., a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) when the serving node 112 is an MME) and a serving node temporary mobile subscriber identity (e.g., , Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI). GUMMEI consists of a Mobile Country Code (MCC) that identifies the country of the mobile subscriber's address, a Mobile Network Code (MNC) that identifies the mobile subscriber's Home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), an MME Group Identifier (MMEGI), and May contain an MME code (MMEC).

If the UE 102 has not yet registered with any serving node 112 , the UE 102 does not provide information as a registered serving node entity to be forwarded to the serving node 112 by the RAN node 106 . At this stage, RAN node 106 may perform serving node selection for UE 102 . The RAN node 106 selects the serving node 112 for the UE 102 based on the relative capacity IE, as described in more detail above. A load balancing function is performed based on the relative capacities of the serving nodes. Load balancing guides UEs into serving node pools to appropriate serving nodes in a manner that achieves load balancing among serving nodes.

In some existing networks, during connection establishment signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC) signaling) between UE 102 and RAN node 106, UE 102 provides several establishment cause IEs to RAN node 106. . Among other things, the Establishment Cause IE contains parameters indicating what connection is to be used, such as for emergency calls, for mobile terminated access, for mobile originated signaling or for data. Therefore, the RAN node 106 can determine whether the UE 102 is configured for low access priority based on information received in connection establishment signaling, and utilize this information for serving node selection. can do. However, this information still lacks indications about the UE 102 itself, such as device type, or services operating on the UE 102, and such indications can better improve serving node selection.

Once the RAN node 106 selects a serving node 112, the RAN node 106 sends an initial UE message to the selected serving node 112. That is, over a signaling interface (eg, S1-MME interface), RAN node 106 sends an initial UE message to serving node 112 to deliver information corresponding to the UE's connection request message. This message may include a NAS message (eg, a Membership Request message), a UE signaling reference ID, and other S1 (ie, signaling interface) addressing information. Serving node 112 may utilize the identifier in the initial UE message to determine whether serving node 112 has an existing UE context. Serving node 112 begins creating a UE context by storing UE network capability information, packet data network (PDN) connectivity requests, etc., which are later used during security activation and bearer establishment. Serving node 112 replies to RAN node 106 with a NAS Attribution Accept message. The RAN node 106 may then pass the message with the NAS attribution received from the serving node to the UE 102 (unless this message is passed to the UE 102 otherwise). The selected serving node performs serving node selection on behalf of the UE 102 when the UE 102 is moving away from the coverage area of the selected serving node.

Enhanced Initial Connection Establishment and Serving Node Selection According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the setup procedure for establishing a new signaling interface (eg, S1-MME connection) between RAN node 106 and serving node 112 is , may be modified or extended to include one or more additional information elements. For example, referring to FIG. 9, in some aspects of the present disclosure, the S1 setup request from RAN node 106 to serving node 112 may be useful to serving node 112 for different techniques (e.g., different RATs, different UE device type, and/or different UE services, etc.). For example, in response to a signaling interface setup request, serving node 112 may, without limitation, create a supported device type list, a supported service list, an initial device identifier prefix list, and/or a radio access technology (RAT) list. may provide the RAN node 106 with information related to the serving node's capabilities, including:

Table 1 below provides some non-limiting examples of parameters that may be included in the serving node S1 Setup Response message.

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Table 1 (above) lists some non-limiting examples of various parameters, one or more of which, in some aspects of the present disclosure, are from serving node 112 to RAN node 106. A device type list may be an enumerated list of device types that serving node 112 supports, and a service list may be an enumerated list of services that serving node 112 supports.

Some non-limiting examples of services supported by UE 102 include data services, voice services, video services, Internet services, and any other suitable services operable on UE 102. The initial device identifier prefix list may be an enumerated list of device identifier prefixes that serving node 112 supports. RAN node 106 may select this serving node 112 for devices or UEs 102 whose initial identifiers appear in this list. A RAT list may be an enumerated list of RATs supported for access by serving node 112 . That is, not only may a particular serving node 112 serve different device types, but in some aspects of the present disclosure different serving nodes may also serve different RATs. For example, one serving node may serve fifth generation (5G) and fourth generation (4G) devices, while another serving node may serve only wireless local area network (WLAN) devices. Therefore, the RAT list provided by the serving node can aid in serving node selection. Such parameters may be provided from serving node 112 to RAN node 106 in S1 setup response 904 in addition to one or more other parameters corresponding to serving node 112 (eg, relative capacity IE). In this manner, RAN node 106 may store these parameters for serving node 112 in its memory. Such parameters may be utilized when connecting to the UE 102 for serving node selection.

In some aspects of the present disclosure, S1 setup response message 904 sent from serving node 112 to RAN node 106 may include one or more device identifier prefixes supported by serving node 112 . That is, the UE 102 may implicitly indicate its device type by part of its device identifier. Now, by storing a list of supported device identifier prefixes for a serving node 112, the RAN node 106 can select this serving node 112 for UEs that indicate identifiers in such list. In some other aspects of the present disclosure, in addition to or alternatively to the S1 setup response message 904, the serving node 112 parameters described above are RAN node utilizing operation and maintenance (OAM) configuration messaging. 106 may be provided. i.e. Table 1 (Table 1) (above) may be included in one or both of the S1 setup response 904 and/or OAM signaling in some configurations of this disclosure.

Enhanced UE Connection Establishment FIG. 10 is a drawing 1000 illustrating an initial connection establishment procedure between a UE 102 and an EPS network, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. UE 102 may select a core network among multiple core networks or virtualized core networks, eg, according to a network identifier such as PLMN-ID. Before attempting to belong to a particular RAN node 106, the UE 102 may first determine the RAN node 106 to which it wishes to belong. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a UE 102 has a signaling interface (eg, an S1-MME interface) with a serving node that can support the device type and/or service corresponding to the UE 102. may be enabled to determine whether to have For example, a RAN node 106 may be configured to broadcast one or more messages indicating information related to serving nodes 112 associated with that RAN node 106 . where these broadcasts are the Table 1 (Table 1) (above). For example, such information may include a device type list, service list, initial device identifier prefix list, and/or RAT list. Accordingly, the UE 102 may utilize such information (in addition to existing mechanisms for selecting a RAN node 106) to determine whether to attempt to attach to that RAN node 106.

As another example, UE 102 may be configured with a list of RAN nodes 106 . UE 102 may utilize the appropriate identifier for RAN node 106 . Non-limiting examples of such identifiers include PLMN-ID, Tracking Area Code, and/or Cell-ID, if support for the device type corresponding to UE 102 is available. Thus, in some configurations, a UE 102 may be configured to attempt to belong to a particular cell according to its list of RAN nodes 106. In some configurations, the device type of UE 102 may relate to services running on UE 102 . For example, UE 102 may be a washing machine that connects to a network. A washing machine may indicate that it is an Internet-of-everything (IOE) device, and the services it performs are related to that device type (eg, services related to washing machines). However, in some other configurations, the UE's device type may not be related to the services running on the UE 102 . That is, a particular device type does not necessarily imply a particular type of service. For example, UE 102 may be a tablet computer. A tablet computer may connect to a network, but the tablet may run multiple different services (eg, voice, Internet, data, video, etc.).

When UE 102 is about to attach to RAN node 106, UE 102 may send a connection request message. A non-limiting example of a connection request message is a membership request 1002 . However, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, the membership request 1002 sent from the UE 102 to the RAN node 106 may contain information that the RAN node 106 may utilize for serving node selection. For example, the membership request 1002 may include a device ID or other suitable identifier for the UE, one or more device types corresponding to the UE 102, one or more services that may be utilized by the UE 102. For example, a UE 102 may send a membership request 1002 that includes the UE 102's "service profile". A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 102 . In some aspects of the disclosure, the device type indication from UE 102 to RAN node 106 for serving node selection by RAN node 106 may be explicit and/or implicit.

For implicit indication of the UE's device type, the RAN node 106 may select the serving node 112 for the UE 102 according to the indication of the UE identifier. The identifiers utilized for serving node selection signaled by the UE 102 include, but are not limited to, the UE's International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). identity) or any suitable identifier, including the UE 102's media access control identifier (MAC-ID). For example, an identifier may be defined to contain information related to the device type of the UE. The UE identifier may be utilized by the RAN node 106 to select the serving node 112, eg, based on IMSI prefix matching. A list of IMSI prefix matches may be provided from serving node 112 to RAN node 106 by utilizing OAM configuration or during S1 setup signaling. Explicit when the UE 102 explicitly indicates in the initial NAS message from the UE 102 when the connection is established the device types and/or services for the UE 102 that are required to be supported by the serving node 112. There may be serving node selection. In some aspects of the present disclosure, information configured to indicate the UE's service profile may only be included in the Attachment Request 1002 when the UE 102 has not yet been attached to a network. That is, device type information may only be included in the initial belonging message and not included in subsequent connection establishment signaling.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE 102 may have multiple device types. Such a UE 102 may perform separate attachment procedures for each device type, resulting in separate connections (eg, one connection per device type). For example, a smartphone may be configured to connect to serving node 112 for telephony services. A smartphone may establish a separate connection for the video player service. The smartphone may establish yet another connection for low power services, such as the connection configured to send logs.

Service types and access point names (APNs) may be configured in various configurations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some configurations, a particular service may map to one or more associated APNs (eg, Internet APN, voice APN, data APN, etc.). For example, certain applications running on UE 102 may utilize voice APNs and data APNs. In some configurations, one or more applications may be mapped to a single APN. For example, a video application and an Internet browsing application running on UE 102 may both be mapped to an Internet APN. In some configurations, a particular APN may be deactivated if service for that particular APN is not active. For example, if a voice-related application is mapped to a data APN and the user is not currently making voice calls, the data APN may be deactivated. APNs may be activated and deactivated based on active services utilizing that APN. In some configurations, some services may be mapped to their own dedicated APN. For example, operator voice services may utilize their own dedicated APN.

At block 1004 , RAN node 106 may select serving node 112 . RAN node 106 may determine the set of serving nodes 112 that can handle the device type and/or service corresponding to UE 102 . This information from serving node 112 to RAN node 106 may be stored in memory at RAN node 106 and may be provided from serving node 112 to RAN node 106 utilizing OAM configuration signaling and/or S1 setup procedure signaling. RAN node 106 may select a particular serving node 112 from among the set accordingly based on such parameters as well as relative capacities IE to facilitate load balancing across different serving nodes. In some aspects of the disclosure, serving node 112 may assign a GUTI to UE 102 . The assigned GUTI may be a function of the UE 102's device type and/or service or subscription profile. After RAN node 106 selects serving node 112 , RAN node 106 may send a membership request 1006 to serving node 112 . After receiving Attachment Request 1006 , serving node 112 may send Attachment Acceptance 1008 to RAN node 106 . In response, the RAN node 106 may send an Attribution Acceptance 1010 to the UE 102 .

When a serving node (eg, serving node 112) is to be selected according to a particular device type of UE 102, the selected serving node (eg, serving node 112) generally handles all of the services associated with that device type. It should be possible to For example, UE 102 may be a smart phone. When a smartphone connects to a serving node 112, that serving node 112 should generally be able to handle all (eg, up to tens or hundreds) of services that a smartphone may perform. If the smartphone activates a service that is not currently available or supported at the selected serving node 112, the serving node 112 may select another serving node that supports that particular service, as described in more detail below. Serving node reselection to the node may be performed.

Enhanced Serving Node Reselection FIG. 11 is a drawing 1100 illustrating a serving node reselection procedure, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. As described in more detail above, the selected serving node (eg, serving node 112) should be able to process all of the services associated with the UE's device type. If the UE 102 attempts to activate a service that is not currently available or supported by the current serving node, the serving node 112 performs serving node reselection (eg, reselection to another serving node 1112). can. The RAN node 106 may utilize the UE's device type and/or signaled service to select the target RAN node 106 for handover of the UE 102 . In some configurations, the UE 102's selected device type and/or service may be provided by the UE 102 during RRC signaling. In some configurations, selected device types and/or services for UE 102 are provided by serving node 112 and/or source RAN node 106 in S1/X2 handovers for selecting target cells for future handovers. obtain. For example, the RAN node 106 may exchange device types and/or available services from its connected serving node as part of the X2 setup procedure. In general, the X2 setup procedure sets up the X2 interface between various RAN nodes 106 (eg, eNBs). Thus, when a connected UE 102 is preparing handover, the RAN node 106 limits the set of candidate RAN nodes 106 to cells connected to serving nodes that support the UE's device type and/or service. can do. As described in more detail above, UE 102 may send Attachment Request message 1002 to RAN node 106 . be. Thereafter, at block 1004, the RAN node 106 may perform serving node selection. A detailed description relating to such steps is provided above with reference to FIG. 10 and will therefore not be repeated.

Various circumstances may trigger the serving node reselection procedure. In some situations, after the UE 102 is connected to the serving RAN node 106, the UE 102 may indicate one or more new services to the RAN node 106 and/or introduce new or different device types to the RAN node. 106 may be shown. If the currently connected serving node 112 does not support such indicated UE 102 service and/or device type, serving node reselection may occur in such situations. In some other situations, a UE 102 with an existing serving node connection may move locations. Due to location movement, a UE 102 may change its tracking area and/or move out of the coverage area of its selected serving node 112 . In such situations, serving node reselection may occur.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, UE 102 may send some information to RAN node 106, such as a service or tracking area update (TAU) request. Such transmissions may contain information suitable for serving node selection, as described in more detail above. Such information may include, but is not limited to, device ID, one or more device types, and/or one or more services utilized by UE 102 . A RAN node may perform a serving node selection procedure as described in more detail above. The RAN node 106 may check device types and/or services to ensure they are supported by the existing serving node 112 indicated in the device ID. The RAN node 106 may forward the request to the current serving node 112 if the device type and/or service is supported by the existing serving node 112 indicated (eg, by the UE's GUTI).

The RAN node 106 may determine that a new serving node 1112 should be selected if the device type and/or service of the UE 102 is not supported by the existing serving node 112 . As explained above, the RAN node 106 may consult information stored in its memory, such as received from serving nodes 112, 1112 to find the appropriate serving node 1112 for the UE 102. A set of serving nodes capable of processing a device type and/or service may be selected among those serving nodes for which such information is stored at the RAN node 106 . From this set of serving nodes, the RAN node 106 may then select a particular serving node 1112 based on the relative capacity IE to achieve load balancing among the serving nodes.

To select a new serving node 1112, the RAN node 106 may send a service or TAU request 1106 to the new serving node 1112. The new serving node 1112 may then send a context request 1108 to the existing (eg, "old") serving node 112, which in response sends a context response 1110 to the new serving node 1112. can send. In response to receiving the context response 1110, the new serving node 1112 may send a Service or TAU Request Accept 1114 to the RAN node 106, which forwards the Service or TAU Request Accept 1116 to the UE 102. . Accordingly, the newly elected serving node 1112 may retrieve the context of the UE 102 from the existing serving node 112 based on GUTI. New serving node 1112 may also select a new GUTI and assign it to UE 102 . A new serving node 1112 may assign a GUTI that is a function of the UE 102's device type, service, and/or subscription profile.

Various Methods and/or Processes Operational in a UE FIG. 12 is a drawing 1200 that illustrates an example of various methods and/or processes operational in a UE 102 . At step 1202, the UE 102 may determine whether to include the UE 102's service profile in the connection request message. For example, referring to FIG. 10, the connection request message can be a membership request 1002. FIG. Such determination may be performed according to numerous configurations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some configurations, the UE 102 may determine whether to include the UE 102's service profile in the connection request message (eg, the affiliation request 1002) if the UE 102 is not already registered with the network. In some other configurations, the UE 102 may include the UE 102's service profile in the connection request message (e.g., affiliation request 1002) if the service profile has changed since the UE 102 last established a connection in the network. You can decide whether to include In some other configurations, the UE 102 uses a network identifier, a tracking area code, a cell ID, or a number known to the UE 102 to support the service profile of the UE 102 according to a list of RAN nodes stored in memory at the UE 102. It may be determined that an initial connection with the RAN node 106 should be established following the determination that the RAN node 106 is associated with at least one of the SSIDs.

Thereafter, at step 1204, the UE 102 may send a connection request message (eg, affiliation request 1002) configured to request an initial connection with the RAN node 106. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the service profile of UE 102 . A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 102 . As described in more detail above, the UE 102's service profile may include an implicit indication of the UE 102's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the UE 102's device type. Device types of UE 102 may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and services operable in UE 102 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

After sending the connection request message, UE 102 may receive a connection accept message in step 1206 . The connection accept message may include information configured to indicate the selected serving node based at least in part on the UE 102's service profile. For example, referring to FIG. 10, a UE 102 may receive an attributed admission 1010 from a RAN node 106, which may include information indicating a serving node selected based at least in part on the UE 102's service profile. .

In some situations, the service profile of UE 102 may change. For example, the UE 102 may have a change in one or more of the device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 102 . In such situations, in step 1208, the UE 102 may send information to the RAN node 106 to indicate the change in service profile. For example, referring to FIG. 11, a UE's 102 device type and/or service may not be supported by an existing serving node 112 . Therefore, RAN node 106 may need to decide that it should select a new serving node 1112 . Thereafter, at step 1210, the UE 102 may receive information indicating a change in the selected serving node. A change in the selected serving node may be due to the UE 102's changed service profile. For example, information may indicate a change from serving node 112 to serving node 1112 . The serving node 1112 may be changed (to another serving node 1112) as the serving node 1112 can accommodate the UE 102's changed service profile.

FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 illustrating another example of various other methods and/or processes operable in the UE 102. As shown in FIG. In some configurations, the UE 102's service profile may include the UE 102's device type. At step 1302 UE 102 may receive a broadcast message from RAN node 106 . The broadcast message may include information indicating whether at least one serving node associated with the RAN node supports the UE's device type. For example, referring to FIG. 10, such information may indicate whether at least one of the serving nodes 112, 1112 associated with the RAN node 106 supports a particular device type of the UE 102. At step 1304, the UE 102 may determine that an initial connection with the RAN node 106 should be established. UE 102 may determine that it should establish an initial connection with RAN node 106 according to the received broadcast message. For example, referring to FIG. 10, the UE 102 may determine that an initial connection with the RAN node 106 should be established because at least one of the serving nodes 112, 1112 supports the UE 102's particular device type.

Thereafter, in step 1306, the UE 102 may send a connection request message (eg, affiliation request 1002) configured to request an initial connection with the RAN node 106. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the service profile of UE 102 . A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 102 . As described in more detail above, the UE 102's service profile may include an implicit indication of the UE 102's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the UE 102's device type. Device types of UE 102 may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and services operable in UE 102 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

In some configurations, in step 1308 the UE 102 may send a TAU request message. The TAU request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 102's service profile. For example, such transmissions may include information suitable for serving node selection, as described in more detail above. Such information may include, but is not limited to, device ID, one or more device types, and/or one or more services utilized by UE 102 . As described above with reference to FIG. 11, the RAN node 106 is configured to ensure that the device type and/or service is supported by the existing serving node 112 indicated in the device ID. , device type and/or service. The RAN node 106 may forward the request to the current serving node 112 if the device type and/or service is supported by the existing serving node 112 indicated (eg, by the UE's GUTI). To select a new serving node 1112, the RAN node 106 may send a service or TAU request 1106 to the new serving node 1112. The new serving node 1112 may then send a context request 1108 to the existing serving node 112, and the serving node 112 may send a context response 1110 to the new serving node 1112 in response. In response to receiving the context response 1110, the new serving node 1112 may send a Service or TAU Request Accept 1114 to the RAN node 106, which forwards the Service or TAU Request Accept 1116 to the UE 102. . Thus, at step 1310, the UE 102 may receive a TAU request accept message. The TAU Request Accept message is selected based at least in part on the UE 102's service profile.

Various Methods and/or Processes Operable at a RAN Node FIG. 14 is a diagram 1400 illustrating an example of various methods and/or processes operable at a RAN node . At step 1402, the RAN node 106 may receive information from the serving node. Such information may indicate one or more UE device types and/or services supported by the selected serving node. Such information may also include an identifier that identifies UE 102 . Such information may include various aspects described herein with respect to UE 102's service profile. At step 1404, the RAN node 106 may store such information in its memory. In some configurations, such information may be received by the RAN node 106 as signaling including part of the establishment signaling to establish the interface between the RAN node 106 and the selected serving node. In some other configurations, such information may be received by the RAN node 106 as OAM signaling between the RAN node 106 and the selected serving node.

At step 1406, the RAN node 106 may broadcast a message containing information indicating the supported service profiles of the set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node. By broadcasting such messages, the RAN node 106 may provide UEs with notification of the capabilities of the set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node 106 to support various support profiles. For example, referring to FIG. 11, RAN node 106 may broadcast such a message to indicate the supported service profiles of serving node 112 and serving node 1112 .

At step 1408 , RAN node 106 may receive a connection request message from UE 102 . For example, referring to FIG. 10, RAN node 106 may receive a membership request 1002 from UE 102 . A connection request message (eg, affiliation request 1002) may include information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. Additional information related to UE 102's service profile is provided above and is therefore not repeated.

At step 1410, the RAN node 106 may select a serving node for the UE 102 based at least in part on the UE 102's service profile. For example, referring to FIG. 10, at block 1004, the RAN node 106 may select the serving node 112, at least in part because the serving node 112 supports the service profile of the UE 102. In some configurations, the RAN node 106 (i) determines a set of one or more serving nodes that can belong to the UE 102 having a device type as indicated in the UE 102's service profile; and (ii) for the UE 102 by selecting a serving node from among the set of one or more serving nodes according to a capacity information element received from each serving node of the set of one or more serving nodes. serving nodes. At step 1412, the RAN node 106 may forward the connection request message to the selected serving node. For example, referring to FIG. 10, RAN node 106 may forward a membership request 1006 to serving node 112 .

In some situations, the service profile of UE 102 may change. For example, the UE 102 may have a change in one or more of the device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 102 . In such a situation, at step 1414, the RAN node 106 may receive information from the UE 102 indicating a change in the service profile of the UE 102. Following the determination that the selected serving node does not support the UE 102's changed service profile, in step 1416 the RAN node 106 selects a new serving node for the UE 102 based at least in part on the UE 102's changed service profile. can be selected. For example, referring to FIG. 11, if the serving node 112 determines that it does not support the changed serving profile for the UE 102, the RAN node 106 will not support the changed service profile for the UE 102 because the existing serving node 112 does not support the changed service profile for the UE 102. of new serving nodes 1112 may be selected. At step 1418 , the RAN node 106 may transmit an indication to the UE 102 as a new serving node 1112 or an existing serving node 112 .

Various Methods and/or Processes Operational at a Serving Node FIG. 15 is a diagram 1500 illustrating an example of various methods and/or processes operational at a serving node. At step 1502 , the serving node may receive a request from the RAN node 106 to establish an interface between the RAN node 106 and the serving node 112 . For example, referring to FIG. 9, serving node 112 may receive an S1 setup request 902 from RAN node 106 to establish an interface between RAN node 106 and serving node 112 . At step 1504, the serving node may send a response containing information related to one or more service profiles supported by the serving node. For example, referring to FIG. 9, serving node 112 may send S1 setup response 904 to RAN node 106, and S1 setup response 904 may include information related to service profiles supported by serving node 112.

Such information may be provided in various configurations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some configurations, such information may indicate one or more RATs supported by serving node 112 . A service profile may indicate one or more device types supported by serving node 112 . In some other configurations, such information may include one or more device identifier prefixes supported by serving node 112 . The service profile of serving node 112 may be provided in various configurations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. A service profile may indicate one or more service profiles supported by serving node 112 . Additional discussion relating to service profiles is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

At step 1506 , the serving node may receive the connection request message from RAN node 106 . For example, referring to FIG. 10, serving node 112 may receive a membership request 1006 from RAN node 106 . A connection request message (eg, affiliation request 1006 ) may be configured to establish communication with UE 102 . A connection request message may include a service profile corresponding to UE 102 . At step 1508, the serving node may determine an identifier for the UE 102. The identifier may be a function of the service profile corresponding to UE 102. At step 1510 , the serving node may send a connection accept message to the RAN node 106 . The connection accept message may include an identifier for UE 102 . For example, referring to FIG. 10, serving node 112 may send an attribution admission 1008 , which may include an identifier for UE 102 .

In some situations, the service profile of UE 102 may change. For example, the UE 102 may have a change in one or more of the device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 102 . In such a situation, in step 1512 the serving node may receive a message indicating an update to the service profile corresponding to the UE. For example, referring to FIG. 11, serving node 112 may receive context request 1108 . In step 1514, the serving node may determine that the received message indicates that UE 102 is no longer supported by the serving node (eg, serving node 112). For example, serving node 112 may determine that serving node 112 may no longer be able to support UE 102's updated service profile. Thereafter, in step 1516, the serving node may send information to another serving node that supports the updated service profile corresponding to UE 102. For example, referring to FIG. 11, serving node 1112 may support an updated service profile corresponding to UE 102. Accordingly, serving node 112 may send context response 1110 to serving node 1112 . In some configurations, in step 1518 the serving node may also send information to the RAN node 106 for the UE 102 to indicate to the UE 102 other serving nodes (eg, serving node 1112).

UE Hardware Implementation FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UE hardware implementation including processing system 1601 . By way of example and not limitation, the UE 1600 described herein with reference to FIG. Or it may be the same as the UE 102 described herein with reference to FIG. In some configurations, processing system 1601 may include user interface 1612 . User interface 1612 may be configured to receive one or more inputs from a user of processing system 1601 . User interface 1612 may also be configured to display information (eg, text and/or images) to a user of processing system 1601 . User interface 1612 may exchange data to and/or from processing system 1601 via bus interface 1608 .

Processing system 1601 may also include transceiver 1610 . Transceiver 1610 may be configured to communicate with another device to receive data and/or transmit data. Transceiver 1610 provides a means for communicating with another device over a wired and/or wireless transmission medium. Transceiver 1610 may be configured to carry out such communications using various types of technology. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many types of techniques can be used to carry out such communication without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Processing system 1601 may also include memory 1614 , one or more processors 1604 , computer readable media 1606 , and bus interface 1608 . Bus interface 1608 may provide an interface between bus 1603 and transceiver 1610 . Memory 1614 , one or more processors 1604 , computer readable media 1606 , and bus interface 1608 can be connected together via bus 1603 . Processor 1604 can be communicatively coupled to transceiver 1610 and/or memory 1614 .

Processor 1604 may include receiver circuitry 1620 , control circuitry 1621 , transmitter circuitry 1622 , and/or other circuitry 1623 . In general, receive circuitry 1620, control circuitry 1621, transmit circuitry 1622, and/or other circuitry 1623 may individually or collectively perform the functions, methods, operations, processes, features, and/or features described herein with respect to the UE. or may include various hardware components and/or software modules capable of performing and/or enabling any one or more of the aspects.

In some configurations, control circuitry 1621 may be configured to determine whether the service profile of UE 1600 should be included in the connection request message. Such determinations can be performed according to a number of configurations, which are described in more detail herein. For example, control circuitry 1621 may perform such a determination if UE 1600 is not yet registered with the network. As another example, control circuitry 1621 may perform such a determination if the service profile has changed since UE 1600 last established a connection in the network. As yet another example, the control circuit 1621 is configured to use network identifiers, tracking area codes, cell IDs, or network identifiers known to the UE 1600 to support a service profile for the UE 1600 according to a list of RAN nodes stored in memory at the UE 1600. Such a determination may be made according to determination that the RAN node is associated with at least one of the SSIDs that are in the network.

Transmission circuitry 1622 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1610 to transmit connection request messages, which are configured to request initial connections with RAN nodes. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 1600's service profile. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . As described in more detail above, the UE 1600's service profile may include an implicit indication of the UE 1600's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the UE 1600's device type. Device types of UE 1600 may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles , device types, and services operable in UE 1600 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

Receiving circuitry 1620 may be configured to receive the connection accept message. The connection accept message may include information configured to indicate the selected serving node based at least in part on the UE 1600's service profile. In some situations, the service profile of UE 1600 may change. For example, the UE 1600 may have a change in one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . In such a situation, transmission circuitry 1622 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1610 to transmit information to the RAN nodes to indicate changes in service profiles. A RAN node may need to decide that it should select a new serving node. Accordingly, receiving circuitry 1620 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1610 to receive information indicative of a change in the selected serving node. A change in the selected serving node may be due to the UE 1600's changed service profile. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, information may indicate a change from one serving node 1112 to another serving node 1112 because the other serving node 1112 may accommodate a changed service profile.

In some configurations, receive circuitry 1620 may be configured to receive broadcast messages from RAN nodes. The broadcast message may include information indicating whether at least one serving node associated with the RAN node supports the UE 1600's device type. Control circuitry 1621 may be configured to determine that an initial connection with a RAN node should be established according to the received broadcast message. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the UE 102 may determine that an initial connection with the RAN node 106 should be established because at least one of the serving nodes 112, 1112 supports the UE 102's particular device type. Transmission circuitry 1622 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1610 to transmit connection request messages, which may be configured to request initial connections with RAN nodes. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 1600's service profile. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and services operable in UE 1600 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

In some configurations, transmit circuitry 1622 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1610 to transmit TAU request messages. The TAU request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 1600's service profile. Such information may include, without limitation, a device ID, one or more device types, and/or one or more services utilized by UE 1600. Receive circuitry 1620 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1610 to receive TAU request accept messages. The TAU request accept message may include information indicating the serving node selected based at least in part on the UE 1600's service profile.

The above description provides a non-limiting example of processor 1604 of processing system 1601 . Although various circuits have been described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that processor 1604 may also include various other circuits 1623 that are in addition to and/or alternatives to circuits 1620, 1621, 1622. . Such other circuitry 1623 may provide means for performing any one or more of the functions, methods, acts, processes, features, and/or aspects described herein with respect to the UE. .

Computer readable media 1606 contains various computer-executable instructions. Computer-executable code may be executed by various hardware components of processing system 1601 (eg, processor 1604 or any one or more of its circuits 1620, 1621, 1622, 1623). The instructions may be part of various software programs and/or software modules. Computer readable medium 1606 may include receive instructions 1640 , control instructions 1641 , transmit instructions 1642 and/or other instructions 1643 . In general, receive instructions 1640, control instructions 1641, transmit instructions 1642, and/or other instructions 1643 may individually or collectively implement the functions, methods, acts, processes, features, and/or functions described herein with respect to the UE. or configured to perform and/or enable any one or more of the aspects.

In some configurations, control instructions 1641 may include computer-executable instructions configured to determine whether the service profile of UE 1600 should be included in the connection request message. Such a determination may be performed according to a number of configurations described in more detail above. For example, control instructions 1641 may be configured to perform such determination if UE 1600 is not yet registered with the network. As another example, control instructions 1641 may be configured to perform such determination if the service profile has changed since UE 1600 last established a connection in the network. As yet another example, the control instructions 1641 are network identifiers, tracking area codes, cell IDs, or numbers known to the UE 1600 to support a service profile for the UE 1600 according to a list of RAN nodes stored in memory at the UE 1600. It may be configured to perform such a determination according to a determination that the RAN node is associated with at least one of the SSIDs it is in.

Sending instructions 1642 may include computer-executable instructions configured to send a connection request message, where the connection request message may be configured to request an initial connection with a RAN node. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 1600's service profile. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . As described in more detail above, the UE 1600's service profile may include an implicit indication of the UE 1600's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the UE 1600's device type. Device types of UE 1600 may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and services operable in UE 1600 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

Receive instructions 1640 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive a connection acceptance message. The connection accept message may include information configured to indicate the selected serving node based at least in part on the UE 1600's service profile. In some situations, the service profile of UE 1600 may change. For example, the UE 1600 may have a change in one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . In such circumstances, sending instructions 1642 may include computer-executable instructions configured to send information to the RAN node to indicate a change in service profile. A RAN node may need to decide that it should select a new serving node. Accordingly, receiving instructions 1640 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive information indicative of a change in the selected serving node. A change in the selected serving node may be due to the UE 1600's changed service profile. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the information may indicate changes from serving node 1112 to serving node 1112 because serving node 1112 may accommodate a changed service profile.

In some configurations, receiving instructions 1640 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive broadcast messages from RAN nodes. The broadcast message may include information indicating whether at least one serving node associated with the RAN node supports the UE 1600's device type. Control instructions 1641 may include computer-executable instructions configured for determining, according to a received broadcast message, to establish an initial connection with a RAN node. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the UE 102 may determine that an initial connection with the RAN node 106 should be established because at least one of the serving nodes 112, 1112 supports the UE 102's particular device type. Sending instructions 1642 may include computer-executable instructions configured to send a connection request message, where the connection request message may be configured to request an initial connection with a RAN node. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 1600's service profile. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and services operable in UE 1600 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

In some configurations, sending instructions 1642 may include computer-executable instructions configured to send a TAU request message. The TAU request message may include information configured to indicate the UE 1600's service profile. Such information may include, without limitation, a device ID, one or more device types, and/or one or more services utilized by UE 1600. Receive instructions 1640 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive a TAU request accept message. The TAU request accept message may include information indicating the serving node selected based at least in part on the UE 1600's service profile.

The above description provides non-limiting examples of computer readable media 1606 in processing system 1601 . Although various instructions (eg, computer-executable code) have been described above, computer-readable medium 1606 may also include various other instructions 1643 that are in addition to and/or alternative to instructions 1640, 1641, 1642. Those skilled in the art will understand that. Such other instructions 1643 may be computer-implemented instructions configured to perform any one or more of the functions, methods, processes, acts, features, and/or aspects described herein with respect to the UE. It may contain possible code.

Memory 1614 may include various memory modules. The memory modules may be configured to store and read from various values and/or information by the processor 1604 or any of its circuits 1620, 1621, 1622, 1623. The memory module may also store and read various values and/or information during execution of the computer-executable code contained in the computer-readable medium 1606 or any of its instructions 1640, 1641, 1642, 1643. can be configured to In some configurations, memory 1614 may include service profile information 1630 . Service profile information 1630 may include data related to service profiles. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operating on the UE 1600 . As described in more detail above, the UE 1600's service profile may include an implicit indication of the UE 1600's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the UE 1600's device type. Device types of UE 1600 may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and services operable in UE 1600 is provided above and will therefore not be repeated. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that memory 1614 may also include various other memory modules 1632 . Other memory modules 1632 may be configured to store information therein and read information therefrom regarding any of the features, functions, methods, processes, operations, and/or aspects described herein. .

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that processing system 1601 may include alternative and/or additional elements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. According to some aspects of the disclosure, the element, or any portion of the element, or any combination of the element may be implemented using a processing system 1601 that includes one or more processors 1604 . Examples of the one or more processors 1604 are microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. Processing system 1601 may be implemented using a bus architecture represented schematically by bus 1603 and bus interface 1608 . Bus 1603 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the particular application and overall design constraints of processing system 1601 . Bus 1603 may link various circuits together including one or more processors 1604 , memory 1614 , and computer readable media 1606 . Bus 1603 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits well known in the art.

One or more processors 1604 may be responsible for overall processing, including managing bus 1603 and executing software stored in computer-readable media 1606 . The software, when executed by one or more processors 1604, causes processing system 1601 to perform various functions described below for any one or more devices. Computer readable media 1606 may also be used to store data that is manipulated by one or more processors 1604 when executing software. Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise, includes instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications. , software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like. The software can reside on computer readable media 1606 . Computer readable media 1606 may be non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer readable media include, by way of example, magnetic storage devices (e.g. hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical discs (e.g. compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory Devices (e.g. cards, sticks, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers , removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer . Computer readable media 1606 may also include, by way of example, carrier waves, transmission lines, and any other suitable medium for transmitting software and/or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer readable medium 1606 may reside within processing system 1601 , be external to processing system 1601 , or be distributed across multiple entities including processing system 1601 . Computer readable medium 1606 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer program product may include a computer readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

RAN Node Hardware Implementation FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example hardware implementation of a RAN node 1700 including a processing system 1701 . By way of example and not limitation, the RAN node 1700 described herein with reference to FIG. It may be the same as the RAN node 106 described herein with reference to FIG. Processing system 1701 may include transceiver 1710 . Transceiver 1710 may be configured to communicate with another device to receive data and/or transmit data. Transceiver 1710 provides a means for communicating with another device over a wired and/or wireless transmission medium. Transceiver 1710 may be configured to carry out such communications using various types of technology. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many types of techniques can be used to carry out such communication without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Processing system 1701 may also include memory 1714 , one or more processors 1704 , computer readable media 1706 , and bus interface 1708 . Bus interface 1708 may provide an interface between bus 1703 and transceiver 1710 . Memory 1714 , one or more processors 1704 , computer readable media 1706 , and bus interface 1708 can be connected together via bus 1703 . Processor 1704 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver 1710 and/or memory 1714 .

Processor 1704 may include receiver circuitry 1720 , control circuitry 1721 , transmitter circuitry 1722 , and/or other circuitry 1723 . In general, receive circuitry 1720, control circuitry 1721, transmit circuitry 1722, and/or other circuitry 1723, individually or collectively, may implement the functions, methods, operations, processes, features, and functions described herein with respect to a RAN node. It may include various hardware components and/or software modules capable of performing and/or enabling any one or more of the aspects.

Receive circuitry 1720 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1710 to receive information from a serving node. Such information may indicate one or more UE device types and/or services supported by the selected serving node. Such information may also include an identifier that identifies the UE. Such information may include various aspects described herein with respect to the UE's service profile. Control circuitry 1721 may be configured to store such information in memory of RAN node 1700 . In some configurations, such information may be received by the RAN node 1700 as signaling including part of the establishment signaling to establish the interface between the RAN node 1700 and the selected serving node. In some other configurations, such information may be received by RAN node 1700 as OAM signaling between RAN node 1700 and the selected serving node.

In some configurations, transmit circuitry 1722 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1710 to broadcast messages containing information indicative of supported service profiles for a set of serving nodes associated with RAN node 1700. . By broadcasting such messages, the RAN node 1700 may provide UEs with information about the capabilities of the set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node 1700 to support various support profiles. For example, referring to FIG. 11, RAN node 106 may broadcast such a message to indicate the supported service profiles of existing serving node 112 and new serving node 1112 .

In some configurations, receive circuitry 1720 may be configured to receive a connection request message from a UE. For example, referring to FIG. 10, RAN node 106 may receive a membership request 1002 from UE 102 . The connection request message may contain information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. Additional information related to the UE's service profile is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

In some configurations, control circuitry 1721 may be configured to select a serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's service profile. For example, referring to FIG. 10, at block 1004 the RAN node 106 may select the serving node 112, at least in part because the serving node 112 supports the UE 102's service profile. In some configurations, control circuitry 1721 (i) determines a set of one or more serving nodes that can belong to the UE having a device type as indicated in the UE's service profile; and (ii) for the UE by selecting a serving node from among the set of one or more serving nodes according to a capacity information element received from each serving node of the set of one or more serving nodes. of serving nodes. Transmit circuitry 1722 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1710 to forward the connection request message to the selected serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, RAN node 106 may forward a membership request 1006 to serving node 112 .

In some situations, the UE's service profile may change. For example, a UE may have a change in one or more of the UE's device type and/or one or more services in operation at the UE. In such situations, receive circuitry 1720 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1710 to receive information from the UE indicative of changes in the UE's service profile. Upon determining that the selected serving node does not support the UE's changed service profile, control circuitry 1721 is configured to select a new serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's changed service profile. can be configured to For example, as shown in FIG. 11, if the serving node 112 decides not to support the changed serving profile for the UE 102, then the RAN node 106 will provide of new serving nodes 1112 may be selected. Transmit circuitry 1722 may be configured to transmit an indication to the UE as a new serving node (eg, serving node 1112) or an existing serving node (eg, serving node 112).

The above description provides a non-limiting example of processor 1704 of processing system 1701 . Although various circuits have been described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that processor 1704 may also include various other circuits 1723 that are in addition to and/or alternatives to circuits 1720, 1721, 1722. . Such other circuitry 1723 provides means for performing any one or more of the functions, methods, acts, processes, features, and/or aspects described herein with respect to the RAN node. obtain.

Computer readable media 1706 contains various computer-executable instructions. Computer-executable code may be executed by various hardware components of processing system 1701 (eg, processor 1704 or any one or more of its circuits 1720, 1721, 1722, 1723). The instructions may be part of various software programs and/or software modules. Computer readable medium 1706 may include receive instructions 1740 , control instructions 1741 , transmit instructions 1742 , and/or other instructions 1743 . In general, receive instructions 1740, control instructions 1741, transmit instructions 1742, and/or other instructions 1743 may individually or collectively implement the functions, methods, acts, processes, features, and functions described herein with respect to RAN nodes. /or may be configured to perform and/or enable any one or more of the aspects.

Receive instructions 1740 may include computer-executable code configured to receive information from a serving node. Such information may indicate one or more UE device types and/or services supported by the selected serving node. Such information may also include an identifier that identifies the UE. Such information may include various aspects described herein with respect to the UE's service profile. Control instructions 1741 may include computer-executable code configured to store such information in memory of RAN node 1700 . In some configurations, such information may be received by the RAN node 1700 as signaling including part of the establishment signaling to establish the interface between the RAN node 1700 and the selected serving node. In some other configurations, such information may be received by RAN node 1700 as OAM signaling between RAN node 1700 and the selected serving node.

In some configurations, transmission instructions 1742 may include computer executable code configured to broadcast a message including information indicative of supported service profiles for a set of serving nodes associated with RAN node 1700. By broadcasting such messages, the RAN node 1700 may provide UEs with information about the capabilities of the set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node 1700 to support various support profiles. For example, referring to FIG. 11, RAN node 1700 may broadcast such a message to indicate the supported service profiles of serving node 112 and serving node 1112 .

In some configurations, receive instructions 1740 may include computer-executable code configured to receive a connection request message from a UE. For example, referring to FIG. 10, RAN node 106 may receive a membership request 1002 from UE 102 . The connection request message may contain information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. Additional information related to the UE's service profile is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

In some configurations, control instructions 1741 may include computer executable code configured to select a serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's service profile. For example, referring to FIG. 10, at block 1004, the RAN node 106 may select the serving node 112, at least in part because the serving node 112 supports the service profile of the UE 102. In some configurations, the control instructions 1741 (i) determine a set of one or more serving nodes that can belong to the UE having a device type as indicated in the UE's service profile; and (ii) for the UE by selecting a serving node from among the set of one or more serving nodes according to a capacity information element received from each serving node of the set of one or more serving nodes. may include computer executable code configured to select a serving node of the . Sending instructions 1742 may include computer-executable code configured to forward the connection request message to the selected serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, RAN node 106 may forward a membership request 1006 to serving node 112 .

In some situations, the UE's service profile may change. For example, a UE may have a change in one or more of the UE's device type and/or one or more services in operation at the UE. In such circumstances, receiving instructions 1740 may include computer-executable code configured to receive information from the UE indicative of a change in the UE's service profile. Upon determination that the selected serving node does not support the UE's changed service profile, control instructions 1741 are for selecting a new serving node for the UE based at least in part on the UE's changed service profile. may include computer-executable code configured in For example, as shown in FIG. 11, if the serving node 112 decides not to support the changed serving profile for the UE 102, then the RAN node 106 will provide of new serving nodes 1112 may be selected. Transmission instructions 1742 may include computer executable code configured to transmit an indication to the UE as a new serving node (eg, serving node 1112) or an existing serving node (eg, serving node 112). .

The above description provides non-limiting examples of computer readable media 1706 of processing system 1701 . Although various instructions (eg, computer-executable code) have been described above, computer-readable medium 1706 may also include various other instructions 1743 that are in addition to and/or alternative to instructions 1740, 1741, 1742. Those skilled in the art will understand that. Such other instructions 1743 may be computer configured to perform any one or more of the functions, methods, processes, acts, features and/or aspects described herein with respect to the RAN node. It may contain executable code.

Memory 1714 may include various memory modules. The memory modules may be configured to store and read from various values and/or information by the processor 1704 or any of its circuits 1720, 1721, 1722, 1723. The memory module may also store and read various values and/or information during execution of the computer-executable code contained in the computer-readable medium 1706 or any of its instructions 1740, 1741, 1742, 1743. can be configured to In some configurations, memory 1714 may include service profile information 1730 . Service profile information 1730 may include data related to service profiles. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of any device and/or one or more services running on that device. As described in more detail above, a device's service profile may include an implicit indication of such device's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the device's device type. Device types may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and operable services is provided above and will therefore not be repeated. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that memory 1714 may also include various other memory modules 1732 . Other memory modules 1732 may be used for storing information therein and reading information therefrom regarding any of the features, functions, methods, processes, acts, and/or aspects described herein with respect to the RAN node. can be configured.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that processing system 1701 may include alternative and/or additional elements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. According to some aspects of the disclosure, the elements, or any portion of the elements, or any combination of the elements may be implemented using a processing system 1701 that includes one or more processors 1704 . Examples of the one or more processors 1704 are microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. Processing system 1701 may be implemented using a bus architecture represented schematically by bus 1703 and bus interface 1708 . Bus 1703 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the particular application and overall design constraints of processing system 1701 . Bus 1703 may link various circuits together including one or more processors 1704 , memory 1714 , and computer readable media 1706 . Bus 1703 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits well known in the art.

One or more processors 1704 may be responsible for general processing, including managing bus 1703 and executing software stored in computer-readable media 1706 . The software, when executed by one or more processors 1704, causes processing system 1701 to perform various functions described below for one or more devices. Computer readable media 1706 may also be used to store data that is manipulated by one or more processors 1704 when executing software. Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise, includes instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications. , software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like. Software may reside on a computer readable medium 1706 . Computer readable media 1706 may be non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer readable media include, by way of example, magnetic storage devices (e.g. hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical discs (e.g. compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory Devices (e.g. cards, sticks, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers , removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. con Computer readable media 1706 may also include, by way of example, carrier waves, transmission lines, and any other suitable medium for transmitting software and/or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer readable medium 1706 may reside within processing system 1701 , be external to processing system 1701 , or be distributed across multiple entities including processing system 1701 . Computer readable medium 1706 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer program product may include a computer readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

Serving Node Hardware Implementation FIG. 18 illustrates an example hardware implementation of a serving node 1800 that includes a processing system 1801 . By way of example and not limitation, the serving node 1800 described herein with reference to FIG. It may be the same serving node 112, 1112 described herein with reference. Processing system 1801 may include transceiver 1810 . Transceiver 1810 may be configured to communicate with another device to receive data and/or transmit data. Transceiver 1810 provides a means for communicating with another device over a wired and/or wireless transmission medium. Transceiver 1810 may be configured to carry out such communications using various types of technology. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many types of techniques can be used to carry out such communication without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Processing system 1801 may also include memory 1814 , one or more processors 1804 , computer readable media 1806 , and bus interface 1808 . Bus interface 1808 may provide an interface between bus 1803 and transceiver 1810 . Memory 1814 , one or more processors 1804 , computer readable media 1806 , and bus interface 1808 can be connected together via bus 1803 . Processor 1804 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver 1810 and/or memory 1814 .

Processor 1804 may include receiver circuitry 1820 , control circuitry 1821 , transmitter circuitry 1822 , and/or other circuitry 1823 . In general, receive circuitry 1820, control circuitry 1821, transmit circuitry 1822, and/or other circuitry 1823, individually or collectively, implement the functions, methods, operations, processes, features, and functions described herein with respect to serving nodes. It may include various hardware components and/or software modules capable of performing and/or enabling any one or more of the aspects.

Receiving circuitry 1820 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1810 to receive requests from RAN nodes to establish an interface between the RAN node and a serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, serving node 112 may receive an S1 setup request 902 from RAN node 106 to establish an interface between RAN node 106 and serving node 112 . Transmit circuitry 1822 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1810 to transmit responses containing information related to one or more service profiles supported by the serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, serving node 112 may send S1 setup response 904 to RAN node 106, and S1 setup response 904 may include information related to service profiles supported by serving node 112.

Such information may be provided in various configurations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some configurations, such information may indicate one or more RATs supported by the serving node. A service profile may indicate one or more device types supported by a serving node. In some other configurations, such information may include one or more device identifier prefixes supported by the serving node. A serving node's service profile may be provided in various configurations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. A service profile may indicate one or more service profiles supported by a serving node. Additional discussion relating to service profiles is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

Receiving circuitry 1820 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1810 to receive connection request messages from RAN nodes. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, serving node 112 may receive a membership request 1006 from RAN node 106 . A connection request message may be configured to establish communication with the UE. A connection request message may include a service profile corresponding to the UE. Control circuitry 1821 may be configured to determine an identifier for the UE. The identifier may be a function of the service profile corresponding to the UE. In some configurations, transmit circuitry 1822 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1810 to transmit connection accept messages to RAN nodes. The connection accept message may include an identifier for the UE. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, serving node 112 may send an attribution admission 1008, which may include an identifier for UE 102. For example, as shown in FIG.

In some situations, the UE's service profile may change. For example, a UE may have a change in one or more of the UE's device type and/or one or more services in operation at the UE. In such circumstances, receiving circuitry 1820 may be configured to utilize transceiver 1810 to receive messages indicating updates to the service profile corresponding to the UE. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, serving node 112 may receive context request 1108 . Control circuitry 1821 may be configured to determine that the received message indicates that the UE is no longer supported by the serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, serving node 112 may determine that serving node 112 no longer supports UE 102's updated service profile. Accordingly, transmit circuitry 1822 can be configured to utilize transceiver 1810 to transmit information to another serving node that supports the updated service profile corresponding to the UE. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, serving node 1112 may support an updated service profile corresponding to UE 102. FIG. Accordingly, serving node 112 may send context response 1110 to serving node 1112 . In some configurations, the transmit circuitry also utilizes transceiver 1810 to transmit information to the RAN node for the UE to indicate other serving nodes (eg, serving node 1112) to the UE. can be configured.

The above description provides a non-limiting example of processor 1804 of processing system 1801 . Although various circuits have been described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that processor 1804 may also include various other circuits 1823 that are in addition to and/or alternatives to circuits 1820, 1821, 1822. . Such other circuitry 1823 provides means for performing any one or more of the functions, methods, acts, processes, features, and/or aspects described herein with respect to the serving node. obtain.

Computer readable media 1806 contains various computer-executable instructions. Computer-executable code may be executed by various hardware components of processing system 1801 (eg, processor 1804 or any one or more of its circuits 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823). The instructions may be part of various software programs and/or software modules. Computer readable medium 1806 may include receive instructions 1840 , control instructions 1841 , transmit instructions 1842 and/or other instructions 1843 . In general, receive instructions 1840, control instructions 1841, send instructions 1842, and/or other instructions 1843 may individually or collectively implement the functions, methods, acts, processes, features, and functions described herein with respect to serving nodes. /or may be configured to perform and/or enable any one or more of the aspects.

Receive instructions 1840 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive a request from a RAN node to establish an interface between a RAN node and a serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, serving node 112 may receive an S1 setup request 902 from RAN node 106 to establish an interface between RAN node 106 and serving node 112 . Sending instructions 1842 may include computer-executable instructions configured to send a response including information related to one or more service profiles supported by the serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, serving node 112 may send S1 setup response 904 to RAN node 106, and S1 setup response 904 may include information related to service profiles supported by serving node 112.

Such information may be provided in various configurations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some configurations, such information may indicate one or more RATs supported by the serving node. A service profile may indicate one or more device types supported by a serving node. In some other configurations, such information may include one or more device identifier prefixes supported by the serving node. A serving node's service profile may be provided in various configurations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. A service profile may indicate one or more service profiles supported by a serving node. Additional discussion relating to service profiles is provided above and will therefore not be repeated.

Receive instructions 1840 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive a connection request message from a RAN node. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, serving node 112 may receive a membership request 1006 from RAN node 106 . A connection request message may be configured to establish communication with the UE. A connection request message may include a service profile corresponding to the UE. Control instructions 1841 may include computer-executable instructions configured to determine an identifier for the UE. The identifier may be a function of the service profile corresponding to the UE. In some configurations, sending instructions 1842 may include computer-executable instructions configured to send a connection accept message to a RAN node. The connection accept message may include an identifier for the UE. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, serving node 112 may send an attribution admission 1008, which may include an identifier for UE 102. For example, as shown in FIG.

In some situations, the UE's service profile may change. For example, a UE may have a change in one or more of the UE's device type and/or one or more services in operation at the UE. In such circumstances, receiving instructions 1840 may include computer-executable instructions configured to receive a message indicating an update to the service profile corresponding to the UE. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, serving node 112 may receive context request 1108 . Control instructions 1841 may include computer-executable instructions configured to determine that the received message indicates that the UE is no longer supported by the serving node. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, serving node 112 may determine that serving node 112 no longer supports UE 102's updated service profile. Accordingly, transmission instructions 1842 may include computer-executable instructions configured to transmit information to another serving node that supports the updated service profile corresponding to the UE. For example, new serving node 1112 may support an updated service profile corresponding to UE 102, as shown in FIG. Thus, existing serving node 112 may send context response 1110 to new serving node 1112 . In some configurations, the transmit circuitry also utilizes transceiver 1810 to transmit information to the RAN node for the UE to indicate to the UE other serving nodes (eg, new serving node 1112). can be configured as

The above description provides non-limiting examples of computer readable media 1806 of processing system 1801 . Although various instructions (eg, computer-executable code) have been described above, computer-readable medium 1806 may also include various other instructions 1843 that are in addition to and/or alternative to instructions 1840, 1841, 1842. Those skilled in the art will understand that. Such other instructions 1843 may be a computer configured to perform any one or more of the functions, methods, processes, acts, features and/or aspects described herein with respect to serving nodes. It may contain executable code.

Memory 1814 may include various memory modules. The memory modules may be configured to store and read from various values and/or information by the processor 1804 or any of its circuits 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823. The memory module may also store and read various values and/or information during execution of the computer-executable code contained in the computer-readable medium 1806 or any of its instructions 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843. can be configured to In some configurations, memory 1814 may include service profile information 1830 . Service profile information 1830 may include data related to service profiles. A service profile may be configured to indicate one or more of the device type of any device and/or one or more services running on that device. As described in more detail above, a device's service profile may include an implicit indication of such device's device type and/or explicit information configured to indicate the device's device type. Device types may include voice devices, streaming media devices, web browsing devices, mission critical devices, low power devices, internet devices, sensor devices, and/or IOE devices. Additional discussion relating to service profiles, device types, and operable services is provided above and will therefore not be repeated. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that memory 1814 may also include various other memory modules 1832 . Other memory modules 1832 may be used to store information therein and read information therefrom regarding any of the features, functions, methods, processes, acts, and/or aspects described herein with respect to serving nodes. can be configured.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that processing system 1801 may include alternative and/or additional elements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. According to some aspects of the disclosure, the element, or any portion of the element, or any combination of the element may be implemented using a processing system 1801 that includes one or more processors 1804 . Examples of the one or more processors 1804 are microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. Processing system 1801 may be implemented using a bus architecture represented schematically by bus 1803 and bus interface 1808 . Bus 1803 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the particular application and overall design constraints of processing system 1801 . Bus 1803 may link various circuits together including one or more processors 1804 , memory 1814 , and computer readable media 1806 . Bus 1803 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits well known in the art.

One or more processors 1804 may be responsible for overall processing, including managing bus 1803 and executing software stored in computer-readable media 1806 . The software, when executed by one or more processors 1804, causes the processing system 1801 to perform various functions described below for any one or more devices. Computer readable media 1806 may also be used to store data that is manipulated by one or more processors 1804 when executing software. Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise, includes instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications. , software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like. Software may reside on a computer readable medium 1806 . Computer readable media 1806 may be non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer readable media include, by way of example, magnetic storage devices (e.g. hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical discs (e.g. compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory Devices (e.g. cards, sticks, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers , removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer . Computer readable media 1806 may also include, by way of example, carrier waves, transmission lines, and any other suitable medium for transmitting software and/or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Computer readable medium 1806 may reside within processing system 1801 , be external to processing system 1801 , or be distributed across multiple entities including processing system 1801 . Computer readable medium 1806 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer program product may include a computer readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

one or more of the components, steps, features and/or functions shown in FIGS. 12-15 may be rearranged and/or combined into a single component, step, feature or function; Alternatively, it may be embodied in multiple components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and/or functions may also be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. The apparatus, devices and/or components shown in FIGS. 12-15 may be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embedded in hardware. It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based on design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are intended to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless stated otherwise therein. isn't it.

As noted above, certain aspects of the telecommunications systems described herein have been presented with respect to the LTE system. As those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate, the various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be applied to other telecommunications systems, including 5G systems, or any other suitable systems defined by 3GPP or other standards bodies. , network architectures, and communication standards. The actual telecommunications standards, network architecture, and/or communication standards employed may depend on the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

Within this disclosure, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation or aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the disclosure. Similarly, the term "aspect" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation. The term "coupled" is used herein to refer to a direct or indirect connection between two bodies. For example, if object A physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, then objects A and C are still said to be coupled to each other even though they are not in direct physical contact with each other. may be considered. For example, a first die may be bonded to a second die even though the first die is not in direct physical contact with the second die within the package. The terms "circuit" and "circuitry" are used broadly and do not limit the types of electronic circuits that, when connected and configured, enable the performance of the functions described in this disclosure. It is intended to include both hardware implementations of devices and conductors, and software implementations of information and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the functions described in this disclosure to be performed.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice some aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Accordingly, the claims are not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but are to be accorded full scope consistent with the language of the claims and references to elements in the singular means "one or more" rather than "one and only" unless so specified. Unless otherwise specified, the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" shall include a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, and a, b, and c . All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the several aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference. and is intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be made available to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. Any element in a claim may be referred to as a Unless recited, it should not be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

100 Evolved Packet System (EPS)

102 User Equipment (UE)

104 Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)

106 Radio Access Network (RAN) node

108 Other RAN nodes

110 Evolved Packet Core (EPC)

112 Serving Node, Mobility Management Entity (MME)

114 other serving node

116 Serving Gateway (SGW)

118 Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway

120 Home Subscriber Server (HSS)

122 Operator's IP service

200 access network

202 Cellular area (cell)

206 Low power class RAN node

210 cellular area

506 physical layer

508 Layer 2 (L2 layer)

510 Media Access Control (MAC) Sublayer

512 Radio Link Control (RLC) sublayer

514 Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Sublayer

516 Radio Resource Control (RRC) sublayer

616 Transmit (TX) processor

618RX receiver

618TX transmitter

620 antenna

652 antenna

654 Receiving machine

656 Receive (RX) Processor

658 channel estimator

659 controller/processor

660 memory

662 data sink

667 data source

668 Transmit (TX) processor

670 Receive (RX) Processor

674 channel estimator

675 controller/processor

676 memory

702 handover

704 TA update

706 cell reselection

800 network architecture

802 Core network A

804 Core network B

806 Core network C

814 serving node

816 serving node

820 RAN

902 S1 setup request

904 S1 setup response

1002 Attribution Request, Attribution Request Message

1008 attribution reception

1010 attribution reception

1106 Service or TAU request

1108 context request

1110 context response

1112 serving node

1114 Service or TAU request reception

1116 Service or TAU request reception

1600 UE

1601 processing system

1603 bus

1604 processor

1606 computer readable medium

1608 bus interface

1610 transceiver

1612 User interface

1614 memory

1620 receiver circuit

1621 control circuit

1622 transmission circuit

1623 other circuit

1630 Service profile information

1632 other memory modules

1640 receive instruction

1641 control instruction

1642 send instruction

1643 other instructions

1700 RAN node

1701 processing system

1704 processor

1706 computer readable medium

1708 bus interface

1710 transceiver

1714 memory

1720 receiver circuit

1721 control circuit

1722 transmission circuit

1723 other circuit

1740 receive instruction

1741 control instruction

1742 send instruction

1743 other instructions

1800 serving node

1801 processing system

1803 bus

1804 processor

1806 computer readable medium

1808 bus interface

1810 transceiver

1814 memory

1820 receiver circuit

1821 control circuit

1822 transmission circuit

1823 other circuit

1832 other memory modules