Methods, devices, and systems for service-driven mobility management
A UE for performing mobility management is disclosed. The UE includes at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, and at least one processor coupled to the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: transmit, to a first network node, a RRC message indicating a required network slice/service of the UE, the required network slice/service uniquely identified by S-NSSAI; receive, from the first network node, a second RRC message including information of a second network node that supports the required network slice/service of the UE when the required network slice/service identified by the S-NSSAI is not supported by the first network node; and perform a mobility management procedure based on the information of the second network node received from the first network node when the required network slice/service is not supported by the first network node.
1. A user equipment (UE) for performing mobility management, the UE comprising:
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions; and
at least one processor coupled to the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
identify, by a non-access stratum (NAS) of the UE, a required network slice/service of the UE among one or more network slices/services identified by Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI), the NAS of the UE being preconfigured with information of a set of frequency bands associated with the one or more network slices/services;
measure, by an access stratum (AS) of the UE, first signals from the set of frequency bands for cell reselection based on the information of the set of frequency bands;
select a cell that supports the required network slice/service of the UE based on measuring the first signals; and
transmit, to a first network node via the cell, a first radio resource control (RRC) message indicating the required network slice/service of the UE, the first RRC message being an RRC connection setup complete message.
2. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
send a System Information (SI) request to the first network node; and
receive network slice capability in other SI broadcast or unicast by the first network node,
wherein the network slice capability indicates one or more network slices or slices/services supported by the first network node.
3. The UE of claim 2 , wherein at least one of minimum SI or the other SI includes at least one of a Slice Identifier (ID), a Network Slice Indication, and a Slice Bitmap.
4. The UE of claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
send a second RRC message to the first network node to request network slice support information of at least one neighboring network node;
receive the network slice support information of the at least one neighboring network node via the other SI broadcast or unicast by the first network node; and
determine, based on the network slice support information, whether the required network slice/service of the UE is supported by the at least one neighboring network node.
5. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the first network node is connected to a fifth generation (5G) core network that supports network slicing.
6. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to measure second signals received from a list of neighboring network nodes broadcast or unicast by the first network node, and perform at least one of the following operations:
select a master node (MN), perform intra-MN handover without an MN change, or perform inter-MN handover to another MN based on measuring the second signals;
select or reselect a secondary node (SN), perform intra-SN handover without an SN change, modify an existing SN, or add a new SN based on measuring the second signals; and
change an anchor node of the UE to a target new radio (NR) next generation node B (gNB) or a target evolved long term evolution (eLTE) evolved node B (eNB).
7. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to receive a radio access network (RAN) notification area update through a fifth generation (5G) core network that supports network slicing, the RAN notification area update including at least one of a list of new radio (NR) next generation node B (gNB)/cell Identifiers (IDs) and a list of RAN area IDs, the list of NR gNB/cell IDs corresponding to a list of NR gNBs/cells that support the required network slice/service of the UE, and the list of RAN area IDs corresponding to a list of RAN areas that support the required network slice/service of the UE.
8. The UE of claim 1 , wherein:
the AS of the UE identifies the required network slice/service through at least one of a Slice Identifier (ID), a Network Slice Indication, and a Slice Bitmap.
9. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured to have a list of barred cells that do not support network slice capability for the UE.
10. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the set of frequency bands supports the one or more network slices/services, and the information of the set of frequency bands indicates the set of frequency bands.
11. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
transmit, by the NAS of the UE, the information of the set of frequency bands to the AS of the UE.
12. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for mobility management, the method comprising:
identifying, by a non-access stratum (NAS) of the UE, a required network slice/service of the UE among one or more network slices/services identified by Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI), the NAS of the UE being preconfigured with information of a set of frequency bands associated with the one or more network slices/services;
measuring, by an access stratum (AS) of the UE, first signals from the set of frequency bands for cell reselection based on the information of the set of frequency bands;
selecting a cell that supports the required network slice/service of the UE based on measuring the first signals; and
transmitting, to a first network node via the cell, a first radio resource control (RRC) message indicating the required network slice/service of the UE, the first RRC message being an RRC connection setup complete message.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
sending a System Information (SI) request to the first network node; and
receiving network slice capability in other SI broadcast or unicast by the first network node,
wherein the network slice capability indicates one or more network slices/services supported by the first network node.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein at least one of minimum SI or the other SI includes at least one of a Slice Identifier (ID), a Network Slice Indication, and a Slice Bitmap.
15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
sending a second RRC message to the first network node to request network slice support information of at least one neighboring network node;
receiving the network slice support information of the at least one neighboring network node via the other SI broadcast or unicast by the first network node; and
determining, based on the network slice support information, whether the required network slice/service of the UE is supported by the at least one neighboring network node.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first network node is connected to a fifth generation (5G) core network that supports network slicing.
17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
measuring second signals received from a list of neighboring network nodes broadcast or unicast by the first network node; and
performing at least one of the following operations:
selecting a master node (MN), performing intra-MN handover without an MN change, or performing inter-MN handover to another MN based on measuring the second signals;
selecting or reselecting a secondary node (SN), performing intra-SN handover without an SN change, modify an existing SN, or adding a new SN based on measuring the second signals; and
changing an anchor node of the UE to a target new radio (NR) next generation node B (gNB) or a target evolved long term evolution (eLTE) evolved node B (eNB).
18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving a radio access network (RAN) notification area update through a fifth generation (5G) core network that supports network slicing, the RAN notification area update including at least one of a list of new radio (NR) next generation node B (gNB)/cell Identifiers (IDs) and a list of RAN area IDs, the list of NR gNB/cell IDs corresponding to a list of NR gNBs/cells that support the required network slice/service of the UE, and the list of RAN area IDs corresponding to a list of RAN areas that support the required network slice/service of the UE.
19. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
identifying, by the AS of the UE, the required network slice/service through at least one of a Slice Identifier (ID), a Network Slice Indication, and a Slice Bitmap.
20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the UE is configured to have a list of barred cells that do not support network slice capability for the UE.
21. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of frequency bands supports the one or more network slices/services, and the information of the set of frequency bands indicates the set of frequency bands.
22. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the NAS of the UE, the information of the set of frequency bands to the AS of the UE.