US 12,476,882 B2
Method, apparatus and system for NF selection
Rodrigo Alvarez Dominguez, Madrid (ES); and Miguel Angel Muñoz De La Torre Alonso, Madrid (ES)
Assigned to TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL), Stockholm (SE)
Appl. No. 18/547,355
Filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (PUBL), Stockholm (SE)
PCT Filed Apr. 21, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/060297
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 22, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/179713, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 1, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 21382156 (EP), filed on Feb. 24, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0137290 A1, Apr. 25, 2024
Prior Publication US 2024/0235958 A9, Jul. 11, 2024
Int. Cl. H04L 41/40 (2022.01); H04L 41/082 (2022.01); H04L 43/0852 (2022.01); H04L 43/0888 (2022.01); H04L 43/20 (2022.01)
CPC H04L 41/40 (2022.05) [H04L 41/082 (2013.01); H04L 43/0852 (2013.01); H04L 43/0888 (2013.01); H04L 43/20 (2022.05)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
16. A method performed in a wireless communication network that comprises a first Network Function, NF, a Network Repository Function, NRF, and a second NF, wherein the method comprises:
sending, by the first NF to the NRF, a request to register or update an NF profile of the first NF in the NRF, wherein the request comprises a hardware acceleration characteristic, wherein the hardware acceleration characteristic indicates specialized hardware associated with the first NF for performing the at least one function, wherein the at least one function comprises at least one of encryption, digital signal processing, packet header processing, packet buffering, packet scheduling, and compression of one or more data files by the first NF;
receiving, by the NRF from a second NF, a request for discovery of the NF profile of the first NF in the NRF, wherein the request comprises the hardware acceleration characteristic;
determining, by the NRF, that the NF profile of the first NF includes the hardware acceleration characteristic indicating the specialized hardware associated with the first NF;
based on the NF profile of the first NF including the hardware acceleration characteristic indicating the specialized hardware associated with the first NF, sending, by the NRF to the second NF, a list with the NF profile and an NF identifier for at least the first NF; and
selecting, by the second NF, the first NF based on the list with the NF profile and the NF identifier for the first NF obtained from the NRF.