US 12,413,972 B2
Authenticating radio access network components using distributed ledger technology
Om Prakash Suthar, Bolingbrook, IL (US); Rajiv Asati, Morrisville, NC (US); and Santanu Dasgupta, Fremont, CA (US)
Assigned to CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on May 22, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/321,133.
Application 18/321,133 is a division of application No. 16/546,826, filed on Aug. 21, 2019, granted, now 11,706,617.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/787,784, filed on Jan. 3, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0292123 A1, Sep. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. G06F 16/182 (2019.01); H04L 9/40 (2022.01); H04W 12/041 (2021.01); H04W 12/06 (2021.01); H04W 60/00 (2009.01); H04W 76/25 (2018.01)
CPC H04W 12/06 (2013.01) [G06F 16/1824 (2019.01); H04L 63/101 (2013.01); H04W 12/041 (2021.01); H04W 60/00 (2013.01); H04W 76/25 (2018.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
obtaining at a radio resource unit entity of a radio access network, a registration request from a user equipment device for the user equipment device to attach to the radio access network, the registration request including registration type information to indicate an extended authentication procedure for the user equipment device;
obtaining, by the radio resource unit entity, from a distributed ledger an authorization for attachment of the user equipment device to proceed;
providing, by the radio resource unit entity, the registration request to a virtual distributed unit entity of the radio access network;
obtaining, by a virtualized distributed unit entity, from the distributed ledger an authorization for attachment of the user equipment device to proceed;
providing, by the virtualized distributed unit entity, to a virtual control unit control plane entity an attach request;
obtaining, by a virtualized control unit control plane entity, from the distributed ledger an authorization for attachment of the user equipment device to proceed;
selecting, by the virtualized control unit control plane entity, an access management function, in a mobile core network; and
providing, by the virtualized control unit control plane entity, to the access management function, an attach request for the user equipment device, the attach request including information indicating that the user equipment device is capable of the extended authentication procedure.