Transferring a session for user equipment to a different basestation running a needed edge application

摘要

Mobile network services are performed in a mobile data network in a way that is transparent to most of the existing equipment in the mobile data network. The mobile data network includes a radio access network and a core network. A breakout component in the radio access network breaks out data coming from a basestation connected to user equipment, and hosts edge applications that perform one or more mobile network services at the edge of the mobile data network based on the broken out data. When a breakout component is not running a needed edge application, the session for the user equipment may be transferred to a neighboring basestation that is running the needed edge application.

主权项

1. A method for processing data packets in a mobile data network that includes a radio access network coupled to a core network, the method comprising the steps of:
a plurality of antennas sending and receiving network messages between user equipment and a plurality of basestations in the radio access network, each basestation communicating with a corresponding one of the plurality of antennas; a breakout component in the one of the plurality of basestations connected to first user equipment that performs the steps of:
defining an existing first data path in the radio access network for non-broken out data;defining a second data path for broken out data;identifying first data received from a corresponding basestation as data to be broken out;sending the first data on the second data path;forwarding other data that is not broken out on the first data path; andproviding a first service with respect to internet protocol (IP) data sent to the first user equipment in response to an IP data request in the first data from the first user equipment by determining when the breakout component is not hosting an edge application requested by the first user equipment, and in response, identifying a neighboring breakout component that is running the requested edge application, and transferring a session for the first user equipment to the neighboring breakout component; registering all edge applications running on the breakout component with an edge application registry in the core network; determining edge applications running on the neighboring breakout components from the edge application registry in the core network; and identifying the neighboring breakout component that is running the requested edge application.