WO2025168644A1 - Methods and apparatuses for enabling computing aware traffic steering using internet protocol (ip) address anchoring - Google Patents

Abstract

Procedures, methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems, devices, and computer program products for enabling computing aware traffic steering (CATS) using internet protocol (IP) address anchoring are described. One method may include receiving a request for a service that is offered by two or more nodes in a network domain associated with a network element. The request comprises information indicating an identifier associated with the service and CATS requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service. The method may include determining, based on an ability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service, and sending information indicating an allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix associated with the selected one of the nodes that is instantiating the service.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR ENABLING COMPUTING AWARE TRAFFIC STEERING USING INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) ADDRESS ANCHORING

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of EP Application No. 24305192.7 filed February 5, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure is generally directed to the fields of communications, software and encoding, including, for example, to methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems related to enabling computing aware traffic steering (CATS) using internet protocol (IP) address anchoring.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The internet engineering task force (IETF) CATS working group is to consider how the network infrastructure can steer traffic between clients of a service and sites offering the service. This may consider network metrics (e.g., bandwidth and latency) and compute metrics (e.g., processing, storage capabilities, and capacity).

SUMMARY

[0004] An embodiment may include a method that includes receiving, by a network element, a request for a service that is offered by two or more nodes in a network domain associated with the network element. The request comprises information indicating an identifier associated with the service and computing aware traffic steering (CATS) requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service. The method may include determining, based on an ability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service, and sending information indicating an allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix associated with the selected one of the nodes that is instantiating the service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] A more detailed understanding may be had from the detailed description below, given by way of example in conjunction with drawings appended hereto. Figures in such drawings, like the detailed description, are examples. As such, the Figures (FIGs.) and the detailed description are not to be considered limiting, and other equally effective examples are possible and likely. Furthermore, like reference numerals ("ref") in the FIGs. indicate like elements, and wherein: [0006] FIG. 1 A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system;

[0007] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmi t/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A;

[0008] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;

[0009] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;

[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates an example system diagram depicting an example of the problem that may be addressed by some example embodiments;

[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates a system diagram depicting an architecture for connectivity and computing aware service instantiation and traffic steering, according to an embodiment; and [0012] FIG. 4 illustrates an example signaling diagram that depicts IP address service-specific anchoring for CATS, according to certain embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the CATS query message or request implemented as a PBU message, according to one embodiment;

[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a CATS response or ACK implemented as a PBA message, according to an embodiment;

[0015] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a format for the CR ID option, according to an embodiment;

[0016] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a format for the Service lD option, according to an embodiment;

[0017] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a format for the CATS requirements/conditions option, according to an embodiment;

[0018] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a format for the service prefix mobility option, according to an embodiment; and

[0019] FIG. 11 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments and/or examples disclosed herein. However, it will be understood that such embodiments and examples may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail, so as not to obscure the following description. Further, embodiments and examples not specifically described herein may be practiced in lieu of, or in combination with, the embodiments and other examples described, disclosed or otherwise provided explicitly, implicitly and/or inherently (collectively "provided") herein. Although various embodiments are described and/or claimed herein in which an apparatus, system, device, etc. and/or any element thereof carries out an operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and/or any portion thereof, it is to be understood that any embodiments described and/or claimed herein assume that any apparatus, system, device, etc. and/or any element thereof is configured to carry out any operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and/or any portion thereof.

[0021] The methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein are well-suited for communications involving both wired and wireless networks. An overview of various types of wireless devices and infrastructure is provided with respect to FIGs. 1A-1D, where various elements of the network may utilize, perform, be arranged in accordance with and/or be adapted and/or configured for the methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein.

[0022] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), singlecarrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail (ZT) unique-word (UW) discreet Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block- filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104/113, a core network (CN) 106/115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a "station" and/or a "STA", may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include (or be) a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi- Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d, or any other WTRU mentioned or described herein, may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0024] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, e.g., to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106/115, the Internet 110, and/or the networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be any of a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B (NB), an eNode-B (eNB), a Home Node-B (HNB), a Home eNode-B (HeNB), a gNode-B (gNB), a NR Node-B (NR NB), a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

[0025] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104/113, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and/or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in an embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each or any sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desired spatial directions. [0026] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), micro wave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0027] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104/113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0028] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE- A Pro).

[0029] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0030] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0031] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV -DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like. [0032] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node-B, Home eNode- B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish any of a small cell, picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106/115.

[0033] The RAN 104/113 may be in communication with the CN 106/115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106/115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1 A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104/113 and/or the CN 106/115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104/113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104/113, which may be utilizing an NR radio technology, the CN 106/115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing any of a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or Wi-Fi radio technology.

[0034] The CN 106/115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104/114 or a different RAT.

[0035] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0036] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. IB, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other elements/peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0037] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. IB depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together, e.g., in an electronic package or chip.

[0038] The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/ detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals. [0039] Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. IB as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receive elements 122. For example, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0040] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0041] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0042] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel -zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0043] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and/or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0044] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other elements/peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules/units that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the elements/peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (e.g., for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and/or augmented reality (VR/AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The elements/peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and/or a humidity sensor.

[0045] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the uplink (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the uplink (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0046] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0047] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0048] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink (UL) and/or downlink (DL), and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface. [0049] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0050] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an SI interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

[0051] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the SI interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode-B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0052] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0053] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. [0054] Although the WTRU is described in FIGs. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network. [0055] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0056] A WLAN in infrastructure basic service set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic into and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.1 le DLS or an 802.1 Iz tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" mode of communication.

[0057] When using the 802.1 lac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0058] High throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadj acent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0059] Very high throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above-described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to a medium access control (MAC) layer, entity, etc.

[0060] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11 af and 802. 11 ah relative to those used in 802.1 In, and 802.1 lac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV white space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802. 11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802. 11 ah may support meter type control/machine-type communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0061] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802. l ln, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802. 1 lah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and/or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0062] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.1 lah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0063] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0064] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and/or gNB 180c).

[0065] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., including a varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0066] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and/or anon-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non- standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with/connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0067] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards user plane functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, and the like. As shown in FIG. ID, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0068] The CN 115 shown in FIG. ID may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one session management function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and at least one Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0069] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b, e.g., to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and/or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3 GPP access technologies such as WiFi. [0070] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0071] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, e.g., to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multihomed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0072] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In an embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0073] In view of FIGs. 1 A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to any of: WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a- b, eNode-Bs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a- b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and/or any other element(s)/device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation elements/devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulate network and/or WTRU functions.

[0074] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and/or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0075] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

[0076] Embodiments disclosed herein are representative and do not limit the applicability of the apparatus, procedures, functions and/or methods to any particular wireless technology, any particular communication technology and/or other technologies. The term network in this disclosure may generally refer to one or more base stations or gNBs or other network entity which in turn may be associated with one or more Transmission/Reception Points (TRPs), or to any other node in the radio access network.

[0077] It is noted that, throughout example embodiments described herein, the terms “serving base station”, “base station”, “gNB”, collectively “gNB” may be used interchangeably to designate any network element such as, e.g., a network element acting as a serving base station. Embodiments described herein are not limited to gNBs and are applicable to any other type of base stations.

[0078] As introduced above, CATS addresses how the network infrastructure can steer traffic between clients of a service and sites offering the service. This considers both network metrics (e.g., bandwidth and latency) and compute metrics (e.g., processing, storage capabilities, and capacity). For example, this might be useful for use cases such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and/or extended reality (XR), where the delay and the computing resources required for running the AR, VR, XR service or application are relevant. It is noted that AR, VR and XR are provided as just an example, as other use cases may also be applicable since other services can also benefit from compute and connectivity traffic steering. As such, it should be understood that example embodiments discussed herein are not limited to AR, VR, and/or XR applications. [0079] As an example, when a terminal is running an AR/VR/XR application, part of this service is executed in the network infrastructure, posing some requirements on the connectivity (e.g., delay between the terminal and the node where the service is executed in the network infrastructure) and computing resources (e.g., capabilities to render the XR video within a certain latency budget). Within the network domain where the terminal is connected to, there are multiple sites capable of hosting the service, each with potentially different connectivity and computing characteristics. FIG. 2 illustrates an example system diagram depicting an example of the problem that may be addressed by some example embodiments described herein. In the example of FIG. 2, considering the connectivity and computing latencies (just as an example of metrics), the best service site may be #n-l.

[0080] The network does not yet have mechanisms to enable service-specific connectivity and computing-aware traffic steering, which benefit from optimal service instance location selection and traffic steering. Current networking systems mainly take into consideration connectivity characteristics when deciding how to route traffic. Joint compute and networking solutions are missing. In addition, there are no network-based solutions that enable service instantiation decisions coupled with connectivity requirements.

[0081] Example embodiments provide at least solutions to enable the network to select the best site to instantiate a service requested by a terminal, for example, by taking into account servicespecific requirements jointly for connectivity and computing. Thus, as described herein, certain example embodiments address at least issues relating to what information the network may need to receive in order to be able to determine the most suitable site to instantiate the service at. Additionally, some example embodiments can provide solutions for how to steer the traffic between the terminal and the selected service site, whilst ensuring the steering remains transparent to both the network forwarding infrastructure and the terminal.

[0082] As will be discussed in more detail in the following, certain example embodiments may provide methods for enabling IP address service-specific anchoring for CATS. For instance, in an embodiment, a terminal is attached to a network domain where a service may be offered by one or more serving nodes (e.g., sites) in this domain. The terminal may issue a request to the network for a particular service, including service specific connectivity and computing requirements if the terminal is CATS-aware. The network may determine the best serving site to instantiate the service requested, may instantiate the service at this site, and may send an IP address back to the terminal to access the service. This address may be anchored at a router close to, or at, the site where the selected service instance runs. [0083] In some embodiments, a terminal is attached to the network. Within the network domain there are multiple sites (e.g., multiple serving nodes) capable of running different service instances. The terminal may request a specific service from the network (e.g., the terminal may send a request to the network to request the specific service). If the terminal is CATS-aware, it may provide additional requirements (which may be referred to as CATS requirements) in order to help the network determine which site is best to choose to instantiate the service at. An ingress CATS router (ICR) may receive the terminal’s service request. The ICR may receive the service request directly from the terminal or indirectly from another node (such as a cache node, an application proxy, etc.). The ICR may determine, prior to consultation with the network, which candidate site(s) the request should be passed to in order to instantiate the service. The consultation with the network might involve receiving reports from the available sites about whether or not they can offer the service under the CATS requirements requested. These reports may be provided directly by the egress CATS routers (ECRs) associated to the sites or indirectly, e.g., via a network controller and/or orchestrator. The ECRs may be routers that are close to or located at the sites. The ICR may trigger the ECR of the chosen site, where the service is to be instantiated at, to provide an IP address and/or prefix back to the terminal. The ECR provides IP anchoring services, establishing a tunnel with the ICR where the terminal is attached to. Traffic is then steered between the terminal and the service instance, meeting the computing and connectivity requirements of the service originally issued by the terminal.

[0084] Certain embodiments define or provide new extensions for a terminal connected to a network infrastructure, to request a service with specific connectivity and computing requirements, so that the traffic is steered to an instance meeting both requirements (e.g., simultaneously meeting both requirements). Both CATS-aware and CATS-unaware terminals are considered, according to certain embodiments. Example signaling control messages and operation extending the Proxy Mobile IPv6 protocol are also provided. It is noted that a terminal as described herein may correspond to WTRU 102 discussed above in connection with FIGs. 1A-1D.

[0085] Some example embodiments can enable IP address service-specific anchoring for CATS. In the following, an example is described of operation and signaling for the network to be able to select the best site to instantiate a service to be consumed by a terminal, so traffic can be steered simultaneously meeting connectivity and computing requirements. In an embodiment, a CATS agent is defined to run on both the ingress router (e.g., the router to which the terminal is attached to) and egress router (e.g., a router close to or at the site where the service instance is running), and also at the sites capable of instantiating services. Optionally, the CATS agent functionality can also run on the terminal to aid the network decision or actively influence its site selection. [0086] According to certain embodiments, the CATS agent may have the following functionality: (i) instance selection engine, and/or (ii) traffic steering engine. The instance selection engine deals with the procedures relating to performing service and terminal specific instance selection. For example, ICRs, ECRs, and sites may need this functionality so they can exchange information to aid selecting the best site to instantiate a given service instance. Optionally, a terminal might also run this engine, to actively participate in the selection process.

[0087] The traffic steering engine deals with the ICR and ECR selection and the associated traffic steering between them, in order to meet the connectivity and computing requirements of the service. This functionality might be present at CATS agents running at ICRs and ECRs.

[0088] FIG. 3 illustrates a system diagram depicting an architecture for connectivity and computing aware service instantiation and traffic steering, according to an embodiment. It is noted that the CATS controller and the CATS agent at the terminal are optional, and might not be necessary, depending on the specific deployment/solution scenario.

[0089] As discussed in the following, certain example embodiments provide an extended terminal service request procedure enabling the network infrastructure to select a service instance meeting the connectivity and computing requirements of the service (e.g., simultaneously meeting the connectivity and computing requirements), and the setup of the required traffic steering for the service traffic. FIG. 4 illustrates an example signaling diagram that depicts IP address servicespecific anchoring for CATS, according to certain embodiments. It is noted that various modifications and variations are possible over this example signaling diagram.

[0090] FIG. 4 shows the message sequence chart of an IP address service-specific anchoring for CATS, according to some example embodiments. In the example of FIG. 4, a terminal wants to execute a service or application which may require some functionality to be run on the network infrastructure (e.g., an AR/VR/XR service). The service may have specific requirements in terms of both connectivity and computing. These requirements may be referred to as CATS requirements.

[0091] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 4, at 1, the terminal may send a service request to a network node or element, such as the ICR. The service request may include information that includes or indicates a service ID. Optionally, if the terminal is CATS aware, the information included in the service request may include or indicate a list of CATS requirements. It is noted that this request might be addressed to an ICR or just intercepted by an ICR. If present, the list of CATS requirements may include information such as but not limited to (i.e., not limited to any particular combination of parameters): (i) target bounded latency, (ii) target minimum bandwidth, (iii) target computing latency (type of operation, offered load), (iv) target required computing resources (e.g., hardware specific features), and/or (v) affinity constraints (e.g., “not to execute where function Y is already running”), etc.

[0092] The example of FIG. 4 illustrates two options (e.g., Option 1 and Option 2). The two options may be used or applied individually or may be combined in certain embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, one or more aspects of the options may be combined or may be omitted. Thus, FIG. 4 illustrates one example and modifications are contemplated according to other examples.

[0093] As shown in the example of FIG. 4, in option 1, at 2a, the ICR may send a query to the ECRs (e.g., all ECRs) of the domain, or to a subset selected based on the location of the ICR. This query may include one or more of the following parameters: (i) service ID, (ii) terminal ID, (iii) ICR ID, and/or (iv) CATS requirements. The service ID may be an identifier of the service requested by the terminal. This allows to check if the service can be instantiated or it is already instantiated. The terminal ID may be an identifier of the terminal requesting the service. This is useful, for example, for affinity purposes. It might not include information that can be used to identify the user. The ICR ID may be an identifier of the requesting ICR. The CATS requirements may include or indicate a list of requirements, e.g., connectivity and computing requirements.

[0094] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 4, in option 1, at 2b, each ECR, possibly after checking with the CATS agent of the site(s) it provides connectivity, may send a response. The response may include information that includes or indicates the following information: (i) service ID, (ii) terminal ID, (iii) ECR ID (e.g., identifier of the ECR sending the response), (iv) CATS conditions (e.g., how the site meets each of the requirements included in the request), and/or, optionally, (v) URI to get to the service instance.

[0095] A CATS agent at a site might be collocated with the ECR. Some non-limiting examples of a CATS agent at a site are network controllers or orchestrators at the site. It is noted that the way a CATS agent at an ECR may interact with the CATS agent of the site may include, for example, using monitoring and telemetry interfaces with an orchestrator managing the site.

[0096] In the example of FIG. 4, based on the received responses, the ICR selects an ECR as shown at 4.

[0097] As shown in the example of FIG. 4, in option 2, at 3a, the ICR may send a query to a CATS controller in the domain. The query may include information including or indicating one or more of the following parameters: (i) service ID, (ii) terminal ID, (iii) ICR ID, and/or (iv) CATS requirements. The service ID may be an identifier of the service requested by the terminal. This allows to check if the service can be instantiated or it is already instantiated. The terminal ID may be an identifier of the terminal requesting the service. This is useful, for example, for affinity purposes. It might not include information that can be used to identify the user. The ICR ID may be an identifier of the requesting ICR. The CATS requirements may include or indicate a list of requirements, e.g., connectivity and computing requirements.

[0098] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 4, in option 2, at 3b, the CATS controller, which has the overall view of all the sites and ECRs of the domain, may send a response back to, e.g., the ICR. The response may include information that includes or indicates one or more of the following: (i) service ID, (ii) terminal ID, (iii) CATS conditions (e.g., how the site meets each of the requirements included in the request), and/or (iv) selected ECR (e.g., IP address of the selected ECR).

[0099] In the example of FIG. 4, at 4, at this point, there is an ECR (and/or site) selected for use for the specific service requested by the terminal. At 5, the ICR may request the proposed or selected ECR to establish a traffic steering session with it, e.g., by sending a CATS request. This request may include or indicate the same information that was included in the CATS query (e.g., to facilitate stateless operation of the ECRs while being queried). At 6, the selected ECR, if it accepts the request, may respond back with an acknowledgement (e.g., send a response including an acknowledgement), which may include or indicate one or more of the following: service ID, terminal ID, ECR ID (e.g., identifier of the ECR sending the response, CATS conditions (e.g., how the site meets each of the requirements included in the request), IP prefix assigned for the terminal to use to reach the service instance, and/or optionally a URI to get to the service instance.

[0100] As further illustrated in the example of FIG. 4, at 7, an IP tunnel is established between the ICR and the selected ECR. Forwarding may also be setup so traffic going from/to the allocated IP prefix is sent through the tunnel at the ICR/ECR. At 8, the ICR may convey or send the allocated IP prefix back to the terminal. This can be done, for example, using router Advertisements, optionally enhanced with RFC 4191 policies for the selected service. Alternatively, other options such as DHCP can be used to provide the prefix. At 9, traffic of the service for this terminal is steered using the IP tunnel.

[0101] Certain example embodiments may provide or include proxy mobile IPv6 signaling extensions to enable IP address service-specific anchoring for CATS. The control plane extensions introduced above can be implemented over different protocols. In the following, extensions to Proxy Mobile IPv6 are specified.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the CATS query message and/or request can be implemented as an extended proxy binding update (PBU) message (e.g., as defined in RFC 5213). FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the CATS query message or request implemented as a PBU message, according to one embodiment. A CATS query can be sent by an ICR to an ECR, and/or by an ICR to a CATS controller. A CATS request can be sent by an ICR to an ECR.

[0103] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 5, the message fields may include: sequence # (e.g., which may be the same as defined in RFC 6275), flags (e.g., as defined in RFC 5213, 6275 and IANA registries for the mobility flags. A new flag ‘C’ is defined to identify a CATS query. A new flag ‘X’ is defined to identify a CATS request. Note that the location of the ‘C’ and ‘X’ flags might be different from the ones shown in the figure above), lifetime (e.g., which may be the same as defined in 6275. It may indicate the number of time units remaining before the association between the ICR and the ECR (including the associated IP prefix) is considered expired), mobility options (e.g., this field contains one or more mobility options, whose encoding and formats are defined in RFC 6275. In order to uniquely identify the target terminal, the terminal identifier is contained in the Mobile Node Identifier option. This option is used to carry the terminal ID parameter described in this disclosure). Additionally, in an embodiment, the following new options can be used in this message: CR ID, service lD, and/or CATS requirements.

[0104] In some example embodiments, a CATS response and/or CATS ACK can be implemented as an extended Proxy Binding Acknowledgement (PBA) message (e.g., defined in RFC 5213). FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a CATS response or ACK implemented as a PBA message, according to an embodiment. A CATS response can be sent by an ECR to an ICR, and/or by a CATS controller to an ICR. A CATS ACK can be sent by an ECR to an ICR, and/or by a CATS controller to an ICR. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 6, the message fields may include status (e.g., same as defined in RFC 6275, with new status codes defined to report: “Success, CATS sites available” and “Error, no CATS sites available”), flags (e.g., as defined in RFC 5213, 6275 and IANA registries for the mobility flags. A new flag ‘C’ is defined to identify a CATS response. A new flag ‘X’ is defined to identify a CATS ACK. Note that the location of the ‘C’ and ‘X’ flags might be different from the ones shown in the example of FIG. 6), sequence # (e.g., same as defined in RFC 6275), lifetime (e.g., same as defined in 6275. It indicates the number of time units remaining before the association between the ICR and the ECR (including the associated IP prefix) is considered expired, mobility options (e.g., this field contains one or more mobility options, whose encoding and formats are defined in RFC 6275). Additionally, in some example embodiments, the following new options can be used in this message: CR ID, service lD, CATS conditions, and/or home Network Prefix option (as defined in RFC 5213).

[0105] Some example embodiments may provide a CR ID mobility option. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a format for the CR ID option, according to an embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 7, the CR ID option may include the following fields: option type (e.g., this field may be TBA by IAN A), option length (e.g., an 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the option, in octets, excluding the Option Type and Option Length fields), CR ID Length (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the CR ID field, in octets), CR ID format (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer. Identifies the format of the CR ID. Possibles values may include: 0 - Reserved, 1 - IP address (v4 or v6, determined by CR ID Length), 2 - L2 address (48 or 64 bit, determined by CR ID Length), 3 - URI, and 4-255 - reserved for future use), and CR ID (e.g., variable length field that identifies the ECR/ICR/selected ECR).

[0106] Some example embodiments may provide a Service lD mobility option. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a format for the Service lD option, according to an embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 8, the Service lD option may include the following fields: Option Type (e.g., which may be TBA by IANA), Option Length (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the option, in octets, excluding the Option Type and Option Length fields), Service ID Length (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the Service ID field, in octets), and Service ID (e.g., variable length field that identifies Service).

[0107] Some example embodiments may provide a CATS requirements/conditions mobility option. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a format for the CATS requirements/conditions option, according to an embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 9, the CATS requirements/conditions option may include the following fields: Option Type (e.g., which may be TBA by IANA. A different value is used for the CATS requirements and for the CATS conditions. In the subfields below, the difference between the requirements and the conditions is that for the CATS conditions messages, the values included are what the associated ECR/site can provide, in reference to the target values included in the CATS requirements option), Option Length (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the option, in octets, excluding the Option Type and Option Length fields), NetMinBandwidth (e.g., 32-bit unsigned integer. NetMinBandwidth is the minimum network bandwidth that has to be guaranteed for the flow. NetMinBandwidth is specified in octets per second), NetMaxLatency (e.g., 32-bit unsigned integer. NetMaxLatency is the maximum latency between ICR and service instance for a single packet of the flow. NetMaxLatency is specified as an integer number of nanoseconds), NetMaxLatency Variation (e.g., 32-bit unsigned integer. NetMaxLatency Variation is the difference between the minimum and the maximum end-to-end, one-way latency. NetMaxLatency Variation is specified as an integer number of nanoseconds), NetMaxLoss (e.g., 32-bit unsigned integer. NetMaxLoss defines the maximum Packet Loss Rate (PLR) requirement for the flow between the ICR and the service instance and the loss measurement interval), CompMaxLatency (e.g., 32-bit unsigned integer. CompMaxLatency is the maximum latency incurred by the service instance for a single packet of the flow. CompMaxLatency is specified as an integer number of nanoseconds), and Affinity (e.g., a variable length field used to indicate affinity requirements. Different formats/types of affinity may be used.

[0108] Some example embodiments may provide a service prefix mobility option. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a format for the service prefix mobility option, according to an embodiment. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 10, the service prefix mobility option may include the following fields: Option Type (e.g., which may be TBA by IANA), Length (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the option, in octets, excluding the Option Type and Option Length fields. This field MUST be set to 18), Reserved: (e.g., this 8-bit field is unused for now. The value is initialized to 0 by the sender and is ignored by the receiver), Prefix Length (e.g., 8-bit unsigned integer indicating the prefix length of the IPv6 prefix contained in the option), and Service Prefix (e.g., a sixteen-byte field containing the IPv6 prefix used by service for the specific terminal).

[0109] Certain example embodiments may provide methods for enabling IP address servicespecific anchoring for CATS. In some embodiments, a terminal is attached to the network. Within the network domain there are multiple sites (e.g., multiple serving nodes) capable of running different service instances. The terminal may request a specific service from the network (e.g., the terminal may send a request to the network to request the specific service). If the terminal is CATS- aware, it may provide additional requirements (which may be referred to as CATS requirements) in order to help the network determine which site is best to choose to instantiate the service at. An ingress CATS router (ICR) may receive the terminal’s service request. The ICR may receive the service request directly from the terminal or indirectly from another node (such as a cache node, an application proxy, etc.). The ICR may determine, prior to consultation with the network, which candidate site(s) the request should be passed to in order to instantiate the service. The consultation with the network might involve receiving reports from the available sites about whether or not they can offer the service under the CATS requirements requested. These reports may be provided directly by the egress CATS routers (ECRs) associated to the sites or indirectly, e.g., via a network controller and/or orchestrator. The ECRs may be routers that are close to or located at the sites. The ICR may trigger the ECR of the chosen site, where the service is to be instantiated at, to provide an IP address and/or prefix back to the terminal. The ECR provides IP anchoring services, establishing a tunnel with the ICR where the terminal is attached to. Traffic is then steered between the terminal and the service instance, meeting the computing and connectivity requirements of the service originally issued by the terminal.

[0110] FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 1100 for enabling or facilitating CATS, according to certain example embodiments. For instance, an embodiment may enable CATS using IP address anchoring. In an embodiment, the method of FIG. 11 may be implemented by a network element, such as an ICR discussed elsewhere herein. For example, in one embodiment, the method of FIG. 11 may be implemented by ICR #1 illustrated in FIG. 4 as discussed above. Thus, the method of FIG. 11 may include one or more of the procedures illustrated in the example of FIG. 4 as discussed above.

[OlH] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 11, the method may include, at 1105, receiving a request for a service that is offered by two or more nodes (or sites) in a network domain associated with the network element. According to an embodiment, the request may be received from a terminal (e.g., the terminal illustrated in FIG. 4) or a WTRU. For example, the request may include information indicating an identifier associated with the service (e.g., service ID) and CATS requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes (or sites) to select to instantiate the service. For example, the CATS requirements may include any of: target bounded latency, target minimum bandwidth, target computing latency, target required computing resources, and/or affinity constraints.

[0112] In the example of FIG. 11, the method may include, at 1110, determining, based on an ability or capability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service. For instance, the determining 1110 of which of the nodes (or sites) to select may include sending a query to one or more egress CATS routers in the network domain or to a network controller in the network domain and, based on the query, receiving a report indicating the ability or capability of the nodes (or sites) to provide the service under the CATS requirements. In some examples, the query comprises an indication of any of: an identifier associated with the service, an identifier associated with a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) requesting the service, an identifier associated with the network element, and/or the CATS requirements. According to some embodiments, the report may be received from the egress CATS routers associated with the nodes (or sites) or from the network controller.

[0113] In an embodiment, on condition that the report is received from the egress CATS routers, the report may include or indicate any of: an indication of the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, an identifier associated with the egress CATS router providing the report, CATS conditions, and/or a uniform resource identifier for obtaining the service.

[0114] In an embodiment, on condition that the report is received from the network controller, the report may include or indicate any of: an indication of the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, CATS conditions, and/or an internet protocol (IP) address associated with the selected node to instantiate the service. [0115] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 11, the method may include, at 1115, sending a CATS request to the egress CATS router associated with the selected node to establish a traffic steering session. In the example of FIG. 11, the method may include, at 1120, receiving an acknowledgement message from the egress CATS router associated with the selected node. In an embodiment, the acknowledgement message may include or may indicate information indicating any of: the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, the identifier associated with the egress CATS router providing the acknowledgement message, the CATS conditions indicating how the selected node meets the CATS requirements, and/or an internet protocol (IP) prefix assigned for the WTRU to use to reach an instance of the service. In some embodiments, an IP tunnel may be established between the network element and the egress CATS router associated with the selected node.

[0116] As illustrated in the example of FIG. 11, the method may include, at 1125, sending information indicating or including an allocated IP prefix (or address) associated with the selected one of the nodes that is instantiating the service. For instance, the sending 1125 may include sending the allocated IP prefix to the WTRU that requested the service. In one embodiment, the allocated IP prefix may be indicated using any of router advertisements and/or dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), for example.

[0117] FIG. 11 is provided as one example of a method, according to certain embodiments. It should be noted that the method depicted in FIG. 11 may be modified according to other embodiments discussed herein. For example, one or more of the steps of FIG. 11 may be omitted or executed in a different order. Additionally, one or more steps may be added, for example, according to the example provided in the signaling diagram of FIG. 4 or any other diagrams discussed herein.

[0118] Although features and elements are provided above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations may be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly provided as such. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods or systems.

[0119] In some example embodiments described herein, (e.g., configuration) information may be described as received by a WTRU from the network, for example, through system information or via any kind of protocol message. Although not explicitly mentioned throughout embodiments described herein, the same (e.g., configuration) information may be pre-configured in the WTRU (e.g., via any kind of pre-configuration methods such as e.g., via factory settings), such that this (e.g., configuration) information may be used by the WTRU without being received from the network.

[0120] Any characteristic, variant or embodiment described for a method is compatible with an apparatus device comprising means for processing the disclosed method, such as with a device comprising a processor configured to process the disclosed method, a computer program product comprising program code instructions and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions.

[0121] The foregoing embodiments are discussed, for simplicity, with regard to the terminology and structure of infrared capable devices, i.e., infrared emitters and receivers. However, the embodiments discussed are not limited to these systems but may be applied to other systems that use other forms of electromagnetic waves or non-electromagnetic waves such as acoustic waves. [0122] It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the term "video" or the term "imagery" may mean any of a snapshot, single image and/or multiple images displayed over a time basis. As another example, when referred to herein, the terms "user equipment" and its abbreviation "UE", the term "remote" and/or the terms "head mounted display" or its abbreviation "HMD" may mean or include (i) a wireless transmit and/or receive unit (WTRU); (ii) any of a number of embodiments of a WTRU; (iii) a wireless-capable and/or wired-capable (e.g., tetherable) device configured with, inter aha, some or all structures and functionality of a WTRU; (iii) a wireless-capable and/or wired-capable device configured with less than all structures and functionality of a WTRU; or (iv) the like. Details of an example WTRU, which may be representative of any WTRU recited herein, are provided herein with respect to FIGs. 1 A-1D. As another example, various disclosed embodiments herein supra and infra are described as utilizing a head mounted display. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a device other than the head mounted display may be utilized and some or all of the disclosure and various disclosed embodiments can be modified accordingly without undue experimentation. Examples of such other device may include a drone or other device configured to stream information for providing the adapted reality experience.

[0123] In addition, the methods provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer- readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

[0124] Variations of the method, apparatus and system provided above are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. In view of the wide variety of embodiments that can be applied, it should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are examples only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the following claims. For instance, the embodiments provided herein include handheld devices, which may include or be utilized with any appropriate voltage source, such as a battery and the like, providing any appropriate voltage.

[0125] Moreover, in the embodiments provided above, processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices that include processors are noted. These devices may include at least one Central Processing Unit ("CPU") and memory. In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by the various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations or instructions may be referred to as being "executed," "computer executed" or "CPU executed."

[0126] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. An electrical system represents data bits that can cause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electrical signals and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure or otherwise alter the CPU's operation, as well as other processing of signals. The memory locations where data bits are maintained are physical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to or representative of the data bits. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned platforms or CPUs and that other platforms and CPUs may support the provided methods. [0127] The data bits may also be maintained on a computer readable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) or non-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM)) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readable medium may include cooperating or interconnected computer readable medium, which exist exclusively on the processing system or are distributed among multiple interconnected processing systems that may be local or remote to the processing system. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned memories and that other platforms and memories may support the provided methods.

[0128] In an illustrative embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented as computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable instructions may be executed by a processor of a mobile unit, a network element, and/or any other computing device.

[0129] There is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems. The use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software may become significant) a design choice representing cost versus efficiency tradeoffs. There may be various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described herein may be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), and the preferred vehicle may vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

[0130] The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples include one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In an embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, may be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subj ect matter described herein may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a CD, a DVD, a digital tape, a computer memory, etc., and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

[0131] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein may be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system may generally include one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity, control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.

[0132] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components included within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality may be achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being "operably connected", or "operably coupled", to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewed as being "operably couplable" to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

[0133] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0134] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, where only one item is intended, the term "single" or similar language may be used. As an aid to understanding, the following appended claims and/or the descriptions herein may include usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim including such introduced claim recitation to embodiments including only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B." Further, the terms "any of' followed by a listing of a plurality of items and/or a plurality of categories of items, as used herein, are intended to include "any of," "any combination of," "any multiple of," and/or "any combination of multiples of the items and/or the categories of items, individually or in conjunction with other items and/or other categories of items. Moreover, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. Additionally, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero. And the term "multiple", as used herein, is intended to be synonymous with "a plurality".

[0135] In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

[0136] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein may be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as "up to," "at least," "greater than," "less than," and the like includes the number recited and refers to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

[0137] Moreover, the claims should not be read as limited to the provided order or elements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the terms "means for" in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, 6 or means-plus-function claim format, and any claim without the terms "means for" is not so intended.

[0138] Although various embodiments have been described in terms of communication systems, it is contemplated that the systems may be implemented in software on microprocessors/general purpose computers (not shown). In certain embodiments, one or more of the functions of the various components may be implemented in software that controls a general-purpose computer.

[0139] In addition, although some example embodiments are illustrated and described herein, the invention is not intended to just be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications and variations may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the spirit or scope invention.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method, implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: sending a request for a service to a network element associated with a network domain, wherein the service is offered by two or more nodes in the network domain, wherein the request comprises first information indicating an identifier associated with the service and computing aware traffic steering (CATS) requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service; and receiving second information indicating an allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix associated with the selected one of the nodes that instantiated the service.

2. A method, implemented by a network element, the method comprising: receiving a request for a service that is offered by two or more nodes in a network domain associated with the network element, wherein the request comprises first information indicating an identifier associated with the service and computing aware traffic steering (CATS) requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service; determining, based on an ability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service; and sending second information indicating an allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix associated with the selected one of the nodes that is instantiating the service.

3. The method of claims 1 or 2, wherein the CATS requirements comprise any of: target bounded latency, target minimum bandwidth, target computing latency, target required computing resources, and/or affinity constraints.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining comprises: sending a query to one or more egress CATS routers in the network domain or to a network controller in the network domain, wherein the query comprises an indication of any of: an identifier associated with the service, an identifier associated with a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) requesting the service, an identifier associated with the network element, and/or the CATS requirements; and based on the query, receiving a report indicating the ability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, wherein the report is received from the egress CATS routers associated with the nodes or from the network controller.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, on condition that the report is received from the egress CATS routers, the report comprises any of: an indication of the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, an identifier associated with the egress CATS router providing the report, CATS conditions, and/or a uniform resource identifier for obtaining the service.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein, on condition that the report is received from the network controller, the report comprises any of: an indication of the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, CATS conditions, and/or an internet protocol (IP) address associated with the selected one of the nodes to instantiate the service.

7. The method of any of claims 4-6, comprising sending a CATS request to the egress CATS router associated with the selected one of the nodes to establish a traffic steering session.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising receiving an acknowledgement message from the egress CATS router associated with the selected one of the nodes, wherein the acknowledgement message comprises information indicating any of: the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, the identifier associated with the egress CATS router providing the acknowledgement message, CATS conditions indicating how the selected one of the nodes meets the CATS requirements, and/or an internet protocol (IP) prefix assigned for the WTRU to use to reach an instance of the service.

9. The method of any of claims 7-8, wherein an internet protocol (IP) tunnel is established between the network element and the egress CATS router associated with the selected one of the nodes.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein the allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix is indicated using any of router advertisements and/or dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP).

11. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein the network element comprises an ingress CATS router (ICR).

12. An apparatus, comprising: circuitry including any of a processor, memory, transmitter and receiver, configured to send a request for a service to a network element associated with a network domain, wherein the service is offered by two or more nodes in the network domain, wherein the request comprises first information indicating an identifier associated with the service and computing aware traffic steering (CATS) requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service; and receive second information indicating an allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix associated with the selected one of the nodes that instantiated the service.

13. An apparatus, comprising: circuitry including any of a processor, memory, transmitter and receiver, configured to receive a request for a service that is offered by two or more nodes in a network domain associated with the network element, wherein the request comprises first information indicating an identifier associated with the service and computing aware traffic steering (CATS) requirements to assist the network element to determine which one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service; determine, based on an ability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, one of the nodes to select to instantiate the service; and send second information indicating an allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix associated with the selected one of the nodes that is instantiating the service.

14. The apparatus of claims 12 or 13, wherein the CATS requirements comprise any of: target bounded latency, target minimum bandwidth, target computing latency, target required computing resources, and/or affinity constraints.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, to determine the one of the nodes to select, the circuitry is configured to: send a query to one or more egress CATS routers in the network domain or to a network controller in the network domain, wherein the query comprises an indication of any of: an identifier associated with the service, an identifier associated with a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) requesting the service, an identifier associated with the network element, and/or the CATS requirements; and based on the query, receiving a report indicating the ability of the nodes to provide the service under the CATS requirements, wherein the report is received from the egress CATS routers associated with the nodes or from the network controller.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, on condition that the report is received from the egress CATS routers, the report comprises any of: an indication of the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, an identifier associated with the egress CATS router providing the report, CATS conditions, and/or a uniform resource identifier for obtaining the service.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, on condition that the report is received from the network controller, the report comprises any of: an indication of the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, CATS conditions, and/or an internet protocol (IP) address associated with the selected one of the nodes to instantiate the service.

18. The apparatus of any of claims 15-17, configured to send a CATS request to the egress CATS router associated with the selected one of the nodes to establish a traffic steering session.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, configured to receive an acknowledgement message from the egress CATS router associated with the selected one of the nodes, wherein the acknowledgement message comprises information indicating any of: the identifier associated with the service, the identifier associated with the WTRU, the identifier associated with the egress CATS router providing the acknowledgement message, CATS conditions indicating how the selected one of the nodes meets the CATS requirements, and/or an internet protocol (IP) prefix assigned for the WTRU to use to reach an instance of the service.

20. The apparatus of any of claims 18-19, wherein an internet protocol (IP) tunnel is established between the network element and the egress CATS router associated with the selected one of the nodes.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 12-20, wherein the allocated internet protocol (IP) prefix is indicated using any of router advertisements and/or dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP).

22. The apparatus of any of claims 13-21, wherein the apparatus comprises an ingress CATS router (ICR).