US 11,737,166 B2
Translating virtual network function
Marouane Balmakhtar, Fairfax, VA (US); and Brian Waters, Angel Fire, NM (US)
Assigned to T-Mobile Innovations LLC, Overland Park, KS (US)
Filed by T-Mobile Innovations LLC, Overland Park, KS (US)
Filed on Sep. 19, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/947,851.
Application 17/947,851 is a continuation of application No. 17/246,332, filed on Apr. 30, 2021, granted, now 11,490,450.
Prior Publication US 2023/0017184 A1, Jan. 19, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04W 80/10 (2009.01); H04L 69/22 (2022.01); H04L 69/327 (2022.01)
CPC H04W 80/10 (2013.01) [H04L 69/22 (2013.01); H04L 69/327 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
13. A method for providing a translating virtual network function by a network element, the method comprising:
providing by the network element a plurality of virtual user plane functions (UPFs), wherein each virtual UPF communicates via a different one of a plurality of IP addresses corresponding to a different Session Management Function (SMF) of a plurality of SMFs;
translating by the network element a first Packet Forwarding Control Protocol (PFCP) message received at a first Internet Protocol (IP) address using a translation method into a function-based model representation of the first PFCP message, wherein the first IP address corresponds to a first SMF of the plurality of SMFs; and
configuring by the network element a network interface controller to implement, based on the representation of the first PFCP message, a protocol data unit (PDU) session.