Core network monitoring method and system

Abstract

The invention relates to a core network monitoring method, which is executed by a processing device, and comprises the following steps: detecting an online state of a main core network, when judging that the main core network is disconnected according to the online state of the main core network, outputting a first control signal to a base station connected with the main core network, and starting to time a time length, wherein the first control signal indicates that the antenna transmitting power of the base station is reduced, and when the time length is equal to or greater than a preset time length, outputting a second control signal to the base station, the second control signal indicating that the antenna transmitting power is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of computer technology, and in particular to a core network monitoring method and system. Background Art

[0002] In the existing 5G standalone (SA) architecture, when a core network failure occurs and the user device connection needs to be transferred, the base station needs to automatically switch the connection to another core network, and the user device needs to re-register to restore the connection.

[0003] However, when a core network failure occurs, connected user devices are not notified and can only passively rely on the user device's own detection mechanism, which is unable to quickly react and reconnect. Furthermore, if the user device's own detection mechanism has a long cycle time, it will significantly affect the user device's reconnection time, resulting in prolonged network outage for 5G terminal applications. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above, the present invention provides a core network monitoring method and system for solving the above problems.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a core network monitoring method is executed by a processing device, including: detecting the online status of the main core network; when the main core network is determined to be disconnected based on the online status of the main core network, outputting a first control signal to a base station connected to the main core network and starting to count the time length, wherein the first control signal indicates to reduce the antenna transmission power of the base station; and when the time length is equal to or greater than a preset time length, outputting a second control signal to the base station, wherein the second control signal indicates to increase the antenna transmission power.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a core network monitoring system includes: a main core network, a base station, and a processing device. The base station includes an antenna and is connected to the main core network. The processing device is connected to the main core network and the base station, and the processing device is used to perform: detecting the online status of the main core network; when the main core network is determined to be disconnected based on the online status of the main core network, outputting a first control signal to the base station and starting to count the time length, wherein the first control signal indicates to reduce the antenna transmission power of the antenna of the base station; and when the time length is equal to or greater than a preset time length, outputting a second control signal to the base station, wherein the second control signal indicates to increase the antenna transmission power.

[0007] In summary, according to the core network monitoring method and system of one or more embodiments of the present invention, when a primary core network failure occurs, a base station can be triggered to reduce antenna transmit power and then increase it after a preset time. This proactively and quickly responds to user equipment (UE), quickly triggering the UE to reconnect to the core network, thereby improving the overall efficiency of terminal network failure recovery. Furthermore, a buffer mechanism with a preset time length can reduce the probability of UE misjudgment.

[0008] The above description of the contents of the present disclosure and the following description of the embodiments are intended to demonstrate and explain the spirit and principles of the present invention, and to provide further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 FIG1 is a block diagram of a core network monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a core network monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a process of detecting the connection status of a primary core network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012]

Explanation of symbols

[0013] 1: Core network monitoring system

[0014] 11: Base Station

[0015] 110: Antenna

[0016] 12: Main core network

[0017] 13: Backup core network

[0018] 14: Processing device

[0019] S101, S103, S105, S107, S109, S111, S201, S203, S205, S207, S209: Steps DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following detailed description of the features and advantages of the present invention is provided in the following embodiments. The details are sufficient to enable anyone skilled in the art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly. Furthermore, based on the disclosure of this specification, the scope of the claims, and the accompanying drawings, anyone skilled in the art can readily understand the relevant objectives and advantages of the present invention. The following examples further illustrate the concepts of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0021] Please refer to Figure 1 ,in Figure 1 FIG is a block diagram of a core network monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the core network monitoring system 1 includes a base station 11, a primary core network 12, a backup core network 13, and a processing device 14. The processing device 14 is connected to the base station 11, the primary core network 12, and the backup core network 13.

[0022] Base station 11 includes an antenna 110 and is connected to a main core network 12. Base station 11 may be a 5G base station. Base station 11 may be configured to receive packets from user equipment (UE) and output the packets from the main core network 12 to a data network. User equipment may include mobile terminal devices and fixed terminal devices. Specifically, mobile terminal devices may include 5G mobile phones and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that support standalone (SA) networking; fixed terminal devices may include 5G customer premise equipment (CPE) routers that support standalone networking, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0023] The primary core network 12 and the backup core network 13 may each include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a unified data management function (UDM), and a user plane function (UPF). The AMF is responsible for managing the access and mobility of 5G devices. After establishing a connection with a base station, it provides registration, authentication, and authorization services for user equipment access.

[0024] The processing device 14 is configured to control the antenna transmit power of the antenna 110 based on the connection status of the primary core network 12. The processing device 14 may include one or more processors, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microcontroller (MCU), a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other processors with signal processing capabilities. Furthermore, the processing device 14 may be a processing device included in the base station 11 or a processing device on a network management platform (e.g., a service management and orchestration (SMO) platform).

[0025] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 ,in Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a core network monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, core network monitoring methods include:

[0026] Step S101: Detecting the connection status of the primary core network;

[0027] Step S103: Determine whether the main core network is disconnected;

[0028] When the determination result of step S103 is "No", step S101 is executed again;

[0029] When the determination result of step S103 is “yes”, step S105 is executed: outputting a first control signal to the base station;

[0030] Step S107: Counting time length;

[0031] Step S109: Determine whether the time length is equal to or greater than the preset time length; when the determination result of step S109 is "No", execute step S107 again;

[0032] And when the determination result of step S109 is “yes”, step S111 is executed: outputting a second control signal to the base station.

[0033] In step S101, the processing device 14 may use an automated mechanism such as a program, instruction, or script to detect the connection status of the primary core network 12. The processing device 14 may use the connection status between the primary core network 12 and the base station 11 as the connection status of the primary core network 12. For example, the processing device 14 may use the connection status of the access and mobility management function (AMF) of the primary core network 12 as the connection status of the primary core network 12. In step S103, the processing device 14 determines whether the primary core network 12 is disconnected based on the connection status of the primary core network 12. When the processing device 14 determines that the primary core network 12 is not disconnected, the processing device 14 may execute step S101 again to continue monitoring the connection status of the primary core network 12.

[0034] When processing device 14 determines that primary core network 12 is disconnected, in step S105 , processing device 14 outputs a first control signal to base station 11 connected to primary core network 12 , wherein the first control signal instructs to reduce the antenna transmit power of antenna 110 of base station 11 . Specifically, reducing the antenna transmit power of antenna 110 of base station 11 may involve lowering the antenna transmit power to a predetermined lower limit or directly shutting down antenna 110 of base station 11 . By reducing the antenna transmit power of antenna 110 of base station 11 , the user equipment can be forced to disconnect from base station 11 .

[0035] In step S107 , the processing device 14 measures the time length during which the antenna transmission power is reduced (or the antenna 110 is turned off), wherein the initial value of the time length may be 0. The processing device 14 may start measuring the time length while outputting the first control signal.

[0036] In step S109, the processing device 14 determines whether the time length is equal to or greater than a predetermined time length, where the predetermined time length is, for example, 5 to 10 seconds, but the present invention is not limited thereto. If the processing device 14 determines that the time length is not equal to or greater than the predetermined time length, the processing device 14 may execute step S107 again, i.e., continue to measure the time length.

[0037] When processing device 14 determines that the time length is equal to or greater than the predetermined time length, in step S111, processing device 14 outputs a second control signal to base station 11, wherein the second control signal instructs to increase the antenna transmit power of antenna 110 of base station 11. Furthermore, the second control signal may include an instruction to increase the antenna transmit power to a default value for normal operation, an instruction to activate antenna 110, or an instruction to connect base station 11 to backup core network 13 (e.g., connecting base station 11 to the access and mobility management components of backup core network 13). Accordingly, under the control of the second control signal, user equipment can be controlled to automatically reconnect to primary core network 12 or backup core network 13. Furthermore, by connecting base station 11 to backup core network 13, the time it takes for user equipment to reconnect to the core network can be effectively reduced, thereby improving the efficiency of overall terminal network failure recovery.

[0038] If the time difference between antenna power-off and power-on is too short, the user device may misjudge that the primary core network is operating normally, resulting in the user device being unable to effectively disconnect. Therefore, a buffer mechanism with a preset time length can reduce the probability of user device misjudgment.

[0039] Through the core network monitoring method and system described in one or more of the above embodiments, when a failure occurs in the main core network, the base station can be triggered to reduce the antenna transmission power and increase the antenna transmission power after a preset time period, so as to actively and quickly respond to the user equipment, thereby quickly triggering the user equipment to reconnect to the core network, thereby improving the efficiency of the overall terminal network fault recovery.

[0040] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 3 ,in Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a process of detecting the connection status of a primary core network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 Can be regarded as Figure 2 A specific flow chart of an embodiment of step S101 in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, detecting the connection status of the main core network 12 includes:

[0041] Step S201: Sending a test packet to the primary core network;

[0042] Step S203: Determine whether a response signal corresponding to the test packet is received;

[0043] When the determination result of step S203 is "yes", step S201 is executed again;

[0044] When the judgment result of step S203 is "No", step S205 is executed: counting the number of tests;

[0045] Step S207: Determine whether the number of tests is equal to or greater than a preset number;

[0046] When the determination result of step S207 is “No”, step S201 is executed again; and when the determination result of step S207 is “Yes”, step S209 is executed: determining whether the primary core network is disconnected.

[0047] Steps S201 , S203 , S205 and S207 may be considered as a testing procedure.

[0048] In step S201, processing device 14 sends a test packet to primary core network 12. For example, processing device 14 may be a component of the access and mobility management function that sends the test packet to primary core network 12. The test packet may include the address of processing device 14 and / or primary core network 12, and the present invention is not limited to the specific content of the test packet.

[0049] In step S203, the processing device 14 determines whether a response signal corresponding to the test packet is received from the primary core network 12, wherein the response signal may include an acknowledgment (ACK) packet. It should be noted that in step S203, the processing device 14 may start timing after outputting the test packet and determine whether a response signal is received from the primary core network 12 within a preset waiting time. The preset waiting time mentioned here may be the same as that in the reference Figure 2 The preset time lengths described in step S109 may be the same or different, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, when the processing device 14 determines that a response signal is received from the primary core network 12, the processing device 14 may reset the number of tests described below to zero.

[0050] When the processing device 14 determines that a response signal corresponding to the test packet has been received from the primary core network 12, the processing device 14 may execute step S201 again to continue monitoring the connection status of the primary core network 12. Furthermore, when the processing device 14 determines that a response signal has been received within the default waiting period, the processing device 14 may execute step S201 again.

[0051] When the processing device 14 determines that no response signal corresponding to the test packet is received from the primary core network 12, the processing device 14 executes step 205. Further, when the processing device 14 determines that no response signal is received within the default waiting time, the processing device 14 executes step S205.

[0052] In step S205 , the processing device 14 counts the number of tests, where the initial value of the number of tests may be 0. Specifically, when the determination result of step S203 is “No”, it indicates that the test has failed, so the processing device 14 adds 1 to the number of tests to record the number of failures.

[0053] In step S207, the processing device 14 determines whether the number of tests is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. The predetermined number may be 3, but the present invention is not limited thereto. If the processing device 14 determines that the number of tests is not equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the processing device 14 may re-execute step S201 to continue monitoring the connection status of the primary core network 12. In other words, if the processing device 14 determines that the number of tests is not equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the processing device 14 may re-execute the test procedure.

[0054] When the processing device 14 determines that the number of tests is equal to or greater than the preset number, the processing device 14 executes step S209 to determine that the main core network 12 is disconnected, which corresponds to Figure 2 The judgment result of step S103 is "yes".

[0055] In other words, according to Figure 2 and Figure 3In an embodiment, the processing device 14 may continuously detect (ping) the access and mobility management function components of the main core network 12 and trigger a mechanism to reduce antenna transmission power when it is determined that the number of consecutive failures has reached a preset number based on the number of tests.

[0056] In summary, according to the core network monitoring method and system of one or more embodiments of the present invention, when a primary core network failure occurs, the base station can be triggered to reduce the antenna transmission power and increase the antenna transmission power after a preset time period, so as to proactively and quickly respond to the user equipment, thereby quickly triggering the user equipment to reconnect to the core network, thereby improving the efficiency of the overall terminal network failure recovery. In addition, through a buffer mechanism with a preset time length, the probability of misjudgment of the user equipment can be reduced. In addition, by connecting the base station to the backup core network, the time it takes for the user equipment to reconnect to the core network can be effectively reduced, thereby improving the efficiency of the overall terminal network failure recovery.

[0057] In one embodiment of the present invention, the core network monitoring method of the present invention can be applied to a system consisting of a 5G private network and a 5G small base station.

[0058] While the present invention is disclosed above with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications and variations that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Please refer to the attached claims for the scope of protection defined by the present invention.

Claims

1. A core network monitoring method, executed by a processing device, comprising: detecting the online status of the main core network; When it is determined based on the connection status of the primary core network that the primary core network is disconnected, outputting a first control signal to a base station connected to the primary core network and starting to count a time length, wherein the first control signal instructs to reduce the transmission power of an antenna of the base station; as well as When the time length is equal to or greater than a preset time length, a second control signal is output to the base station, wherein the second control signal instructs to increase the antenna transmission power.

2. The core network monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein reducing the antenna transmission power comprises: The antenna of the base station is turned off.

3. The core network monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein detecting the connection status of the primary core network comprises: Executing a test program, the test program comprising: Sending a test packet to the primary core network; When it is determined that a response signal corresponding to the test packet is not received, counting a test number; and Determining whether the number of tests is equal to or greater than a preset number; When it is determined that the test number is not equal to or greater than the preset number, the test procedure is executed again, wherein Determining the disconnection of the main core network according to the connection status of the main core network is performed when the number of tests is equal to or greater than the preset number of tests.

4. The core network monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein detecting the connection status of the primary core network comprises: The connection status between the main core network and the base station is used as the connection status of the main core network.

5. The core network monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein increasing the antenna transmission power comprises: The base station is connected to a backup core network.

6. A core network monitoring system comprising: One main core network; a base station comprising an antenna and connected to the main core network; as well as a processing device connected to the main core network and the base station, the processing device being configured to detect the connection status of the main core network, and when determining that the main core network is disconnected based on the connection status of the main core network, output a first control signal to the base station and start timing a time length, and when the time length is equal to or greater than a preset time length, output a second control signal to the base station, The first control signal instructs to reduce the transmission power of an antenna of the antenna, and the second control signal instructs to increase the transmission power of the antenna. 7 . The core network monitoring system according to claim 6 , wherein the first control signal instructs to turn off the antenna of the base station.

8. The core network monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein The processing device executes a test program, and the test program includes: Sending a test packet to the primary core network; When it is determined that a response signal corresponding to the test packet is not received, counting a test number; as well as Determining whether the number of tests is equal to or greater than a preset number; When it is determined that the test number is not equal to or greater than the preset number, the test procedure is executed again, wherein Determining the disconnection of the main core network according to the connection status of the main core network is performed when the number of tests is equal to or greater than the preset number of tests.

9. The core network monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein the processing device uses the connection status between the main core network and the base station as the connection status of the main core network.

10. The core network monitoring system according to claim 6, further comprising: A backup core network, wherein the second control signal includes an instruction to connect the base station to the backup core network.

Images