Method and system for serving requests at binding support function

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method (500) and system (108) for serving one or more requests at a Binding Support Function (BSF) in a network (100). The method (500) involves receiving (502), by a receiving unit at a first network function (NF), one or more requests from a second NF. The method further includes determining (504), by a processing engine, an operational status of an external database, indicating availability or unavailability. Upon determining unavailability, the processing engine stores (506) data associated with the requests in a local memory integrated within the BSF. Upon determining availability, the processing engine transfers (508) the stored data to the external database in a sequential order and performs (510) one or more checks including a multisession binding check and a timestamp check to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data, thereby serving the requests at the BSF under intermittent database accessibility.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SERVING REQUESTS AT BINDING SUPPORT FUNCTIONRESERVATION OF RIGHTS

[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to intellectual property rights such as, but are not limited to, copyright, design, trademark, Integrated Circuit (IC) layout design, and / or trade dress protection, belonging to Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) or its affiliates (hereinafter referred as owner). The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. All rights to such intellectual property are fully reserved by the owner.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a telecommunications network. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and a system for serving Hypertext Transfer Protocol / 2 (HTTP / 2) requests at Binding Support Function (BSF) when a database is unreachable or unavailable.DEFINITION

[0003] As used in the present disclosure, the following terms are generally intended to have the meaning as set forth below, except to the extent that the context in which they are used to indicate otherwise.

[0004] The term ‘Binding Support Function (BSF)’ used hereinafter in the specification refers to a network function that allows a Policy Control Function (PCF) to register, update, and remove the binding information from it. The BSF manages bindings between subscriber identifiers and network resources or services. The bindings are the association between different parameters within the communication network. The bindings associate or link the subscriber-specific information to network resources, sessions, or policies.

[0005] The term ‘Policy Control Function (PCF)’ used hereinafter in the specification refers to a network function that manages different policy rules for controlling the communication network behavior and ensuring compliance with service requirements.

[0006] The term ‘Network Function (NF)’ used hereinafter in the specification refers to a specific software or hardware component within a network and is designed to perform a particular function, such as routing, switching, firewalling, load balancing, traffic optimization, and the like, to enable network operations and enhance performance.

[0007] The term ‘binding information” used hereinafter in the specification refers to the data that describes the association between different network entities, parameters, or sessions. The binding information includes the subscriber information (such as session Identifiers (IDs), Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and resources), policy information (such as bandwidth limits, and access controls), network function information (such as addresses of selected PCF for a specific session) and the like.

[0008] The term ‘HTTP / 2’ refers to hypertext transfer protocol version 2. The HTTP / 2 requests are sent by the PCF to the BSF to manage bindings required for enforcing policies related to the subscriber session and services. The BSF uses HTTP / 2 requests to retrieve the binding information.

[0009] These definitions are in addition to those expressed in the art.BACKGROUND

[0010] The following description of related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section be used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure,and not as admissions of prior art.

[0011] In modem cellular telecommunications systems, including the Fifth Generation (5G) network architecture defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), network operations are disaggregated across several virtualized or physical network functions (NFs). These network functions collectively facilitate subscriber authentication, session establishment, mobility management, policy enforcement, charging, and service continuity across heterogeneous network components. Among these, a binding support function (BSF) plays a critical role in managing associations between various policy control sessions and service data flows, thereby enabling appropriate policy enforcement across different network segments.

[0012] A BSF typically interfaces with other NFs such as the policy control function (PCF), and charging function (CHF), among others. These interactions occur using standardized protocols such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Version 2 (HTTP / 2), which underpins service-based interfaces (SBIs) in the 5G servicebased architecture (SBA). HTTP / 2 requests exchanged between these entities often encapsulate complex contextual information such as session identifiers, devicespecific attributes, timestamps, and custom headers used to determine the validity and sequence of bindings.

[0013] To perform its binding operations, the BSF typically relies on persistent access to a backend database or storage system. The database stores binding records, session states, and other metadata that are essential for evaluating and responding to incoming service requests. For example, when a PCF sends a request to register or modify a binding, the BSF consults its database to determine whether to insert, update, or reject the binding based on existing records and validation rules. These rules may include timestamp comparisons, multi-session checks, and enforcement of precedence logic among policy sessions.

[0014] Several existing solutions attempt to improve the survivability and availability of cache systems during database failures. Certain approaches utilizepersistent or non-volatile memory to store a cache that can survive across crashes, thereby reducing the need to reinitialize session states after recovery. In some systems, metadata or redo logs are stored redundantly on secondary persistent storage to enable failover recovery in case the primary instance becomes inoperative. Other techniques focus on controlling the persistence of write operations through write-ahead logging and file cache coordination to maintain database consistency.

[0015] In the context of BSF operations, prior systems have addressed aspects of timestamp-based binding conflict resolution and collocated deployment scenarios where the BSF and SMF operate together and share binding data internally. Some approaches have also proposed ways to handle binding requests in cases where timestamps from multiple PCFs must be reconciled to avoid stale data acceptance.

[0016] Despite these advancements, existing systems remain critically dependent on the availability of backend databases for processing incoming requests. In real-world network environments, backend databases may become temporarily unavailable due to system crashes, network partitioning, resource exhaustion, or maintenance activities. During such outages, BSF instances that receive binding-related HTTP / 2 requests may be unable to retrieve or persist necessary data, leading to dropped requests, rejected service flows, or inconsistent binding records. The lack of robust fallback mechanisms during such periods can further lead to data integrity issues, including conflicts among BSF instances, erroneous policy decisions, and degraded service continuity.

[0017] Accordingly, there exists a need to address the technical challenges associated with handling HTTP / 2 binding requests at the BSF when the associated database is unreachable, ensuring data integrity, request continuity, and synchronization of state information across distributed BSF instances without relying solely on persistent database access.OBJECTIVES OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0018] Some of the objectives of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:

[0019] An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for serving hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) / 2 (HTTP / 2) requests at a Binding Support Function (BSF) when a database is unreachable or unavailable.

[0020] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide an optimized approach for managing the BSF when the database is unavailable with proper logic handling.

[0021] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system that ensures increased availability for serving HTTP / 2 requests at the BSF, leading to uninterrupted service delivery and improved consumer experience.

[0022] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system to improve consistency in the database even when it is unavailable, thereby reducing communication errors in the communication network and enhancing data integrity.

[0023] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for dynamically regulating memory usage during database outages through configurable thresholds, enabling efficient resource management and preventing overload conditions.

[0024] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for performing multisession binding checks and timestamp validation during database restoration, ensuring accurate state synchronization and preventing stale or conflicting entries from being committed.

[0025] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for improving network fault tolerance by enabling BSF instances to autonomously queue, reject, or process requests based on real-time resource availability and database accessibility status.

[0026] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for reducing the impact of signaling storms during large-scale database failures by implementing intelligent request rejection with standard- compliant error codes.

[0027] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system for enabling ordered recovery of stored requests in the same sequence they were received, thereby preserving logical service continuity and preventing session state corruption.

[0028] Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a system that supports scalable and distributed BSF deployment across multiregion or edge environments, with self-contained failover and recovery mechanisms to ensure consistent service performance across diverse network topologies.

[0029] Other objectives and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.SUMMARY

[0030] The present disclosure relates to a method, system, and computer program product for handling one or more requests in a network, particularly within telecommunications environments where multiple network functions exchange data with external databases. The disclosure enables processing of incoming network function requests by accounting for the operational status of the external database and ensuring data consistency through intermediate storage and verification mechanisms.

[0031] In an embodiment, a method for handling one or more requests in a network is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a receiving unit at a first network function (NF), the one or more requests from a second network function(NF). The method further includes determining, by a processing engine at the first NF, an operational status of an external database, wherein the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database or unavailability of the external database. Upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database, the method includes storing, by the processing engine, data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory. Upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database, the method includes transferring, by the processing engine, the stored data from the local memory to the external database. The method also includes performing, by the processing engine, one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory to the external database to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database.

[0032] In some embodiments of the method, the first network function is a binding support function (BSF) and the second network function comprises one or more network functions.

[0033] In some embodiments of the method, the local memory is integrated within the first network function.

[0034] In some embodiments of the method, the data associated with the one or more requests is stored in the local memory in a sequence corresponding to the sequence in which the one or more requests are received from the second network function.

[0035] In some embodiments of the method, the processing engine is configured to determine whether the local memory has reached a predefined storage limit. In response to determining that the predefined storage limit has been reached, the processing engine rejects the one or more requests from the second network function with a preconfigured error response.

[0036] In some embodiments of the method, the one or more checks comprise at least one of: a multisession binding check and a timestamp check.

[0037] In some embodiments of the method, the one or more requests received from the second network function are Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests.

[0038] In some embodiments of the method, determining the operational status of the external database comprises transmitting, by the processing engine, one or more connection requests to the external database and receiving, by the processing engine, one or more responses from the external database within a predefined time threshold, wherein the one or more responses comprise one of: a success message or a failure message indicating the availability of the external database or the unavailability of the external database.

[0039] In an embodiment, a system for handling one or more requests in a network is disclosed. The system comprises a receiving unit at a first network function (NF) configured to receive the one or more requests from a second NF. The system further comprises a processing engine at the first NF configured to determine an operational status of an external database, where the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database or unavailability of the external database. The processing engine is configured to store data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database. The processing engine is further configured to transfer the stored data from the local memory to the external database upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database. The processing engine is additionally configured to perform one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory to the external database to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database.

[0040] In an embodiment, a computer program product comprising a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions is disclosed. When executed by one or more processors, the instructions cause execution of a method for handling one or more requests in a network. The method includes receiving, bya receiving unit at a first network function (NF), the one or more requests from a second NF. The method further includes determining, by a processing engine at the first NF, an operational status of an external database, where the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database or unavailability of the external database. Upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database, the method includes storing, by the processing engine, data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory. Upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database, the method includes transferring, by the processing engine, the stored data from the local memory to the external database. The method also includes performing, by the processing engine, one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory to the external database to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING

[0041] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Some drawings may indicate the components using block diagrams and may not represent the internal circuitry of each component. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that disclosure of such drawings includes the disclosure of electrical components, electronic components or circuitry commonly used to implement such components.

[0042] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network architecture of a system configured for serving hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) / 2 (HTTP / 2) requests at a binding support function (BSF) when a database is unavailable in a communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the system configured for serving HTTP / 2 requests at the BSF when the database is unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system architecture of the system configured for serving HTTP / 2 requests at the BSF when the database is unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process flow for serving HTTP / 2 requests at the BSF when the database is unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process flow of a method for handling one or more requests in a network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer system in which or with which the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0048] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed description of the disclosure.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS100 - Network Architecture102 - User(s)104 -User Equipments (UEs)106 - Network108 - System200 - Block diagram02 - Processor(s) 04 - Memory 06 -Interface(s) 08 - Processing Engine 10 - Database300 - System Architecture302 - Policy Control Function (PCF)304 - Binding Support Function (BSF)306 - Cache400 - Flow Diagram500 - Flow Diagram600 - Computer System610 - External Storage Device620 - Bus630 - Main Memory640 - Read Only Memory650 - Mass Storage Device660 - Communication Port670 - ProcessorDETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or might address only some of the problems discussed above. Some of the problems discussed above might not be fully addressed by any of the features described herein. Example embodiments of the present disclosure are described below, as illustrated in various drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings.

[0050] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth.

[0051] Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

[0052] Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional steps not included in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination can correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.

[0053] The word “exemplary” and / or “demonstrative” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and / or “demonstrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive like the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements.

[0054] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “an instance” or “one instance” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0055] The terminology used herein is to describe particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting the disclosure. As used herein, the singularforms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and / or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It should be noted that the terms “mobile device”, “user equipment”, “user device”, “communication device”, “device” and similar terms are used interchangeably for the purpose of describing the invention. These terms are not intended to limit the scope of the invention or imply any specific functionality or limitations on the described embodiments. The use of these terms is solely for convenience and clarity of description. The invention is not limited to any particular type of device or equipment, and it should be understood that other equivalent terms or variations thereof may be used interchangeably without departing from the scope of the invention as defined herein.

[0056] As used herein, an “electronic device”, or “portable electronic device”, or “user device” or “communication device” or “user equipment” or “device” refers to any electrical, electronic, electromechanical, and computing device. The user device is capable of receiving and / or transmitting one or parameters, performing function / s, communicating with other user devices, and transmitting data to the other user devices. The user equipment may have a processor, a display, a memory, a battery, and an input-means such as a hard keypad and / or a soft keypad. The user equipment may be capable of operating on any radio access technology including but not limited to IP-enabled communication, Zig Bee, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Near Field Communication, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, etc. For instance, the user equipment may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, smartphone, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, mainframe computer, or any other device as may be obvious to aperson skilled in the art for implementation of the features of the present disclosure.

[0057] Further, the user device may also comprise a “processor” or “processing engine” includes processing engine, wherein processor refers to any logic circuitry for processing instructions. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a Digital Signalling Processing (DSP) core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable Gate Array circuits, any other type of integrated circuits, etc. The processor may perform signal coding data processing, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the working of the system according to the present disclosure. More specifically, the processor is a hardware processor.

[0058] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment, as well as other embodiments of the disclosure, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

[0059] In conventional techniques, a Binding Support function (BSF) relies on a database to handle Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) / 2 (HTTP / 2) requests. When an HTTP / 2 request is received, the database is unavailable or unreachable, it directly rejects or denies the HTTP / 2 request. As a result, the database may become inconsistent, leading to a lack of consistent data even when the database is available. This limitation affects the data integrity for other BSFs, that rely on the database for making decisions for new HTTP requests, which may further lead to potential errors in service delivery and degraded performance of a communication network.

[0060] To address the challenges in the conventional techniques, the present disclosure enables HTTP / 2 requests to be served even when the database is inaccessible by getting rid of data inconsistency.

[0061] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0062] The various embodiments throughout the disclosure will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. 1- FIG. 6.

[0063] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network architecture 100 of a system 108 configured for serving hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) / 2 (HTTP / 2) requests at a binding support function (BSF) when a database is unavailable in a communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the network architecture 100 may include one or more User Equipments (UEs) 104-1, 104-2. . . 104-N associated with one or more users 102-1, 102-2. . . 102-N in an environment. A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that one or more users 102-1, 102-2... 102-N may be collectively referred to as the users 102. Similarly, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that one or more UEs 104-1, 104-2. . . 104-N may be collectively referred to as the UE 104 or the UEs 104. Although only three UE 104 are depicted in FIG. 1, however, any number of the UE 104 may be included without departing from the scope of the ongoing description.

[0064] In an embodiment, the UE 104 may include smart devices operating in a smart environment, for example, an Internet of Things (loT) system. In such an embodiment, the UE 104 may include, but are not limited to, smartphones, smart watches, smart sensors (e.g., a mechanical, a thermal, an electrical, a magnetic, etc.), networked appliances, networked peripheral devices, networked lighting system, communication devices, networked vehicle accessories, networked vehicular devices, smart accessories, tablets, a smart television (TV), computers, a smart security system, a smart home system, other devices for monitoring or interacting with or for the users 102 and / or entities, or any combination thereof. Aperson of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the UE 104 may include, but not limited to, intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected devices, that may integrate seamlessly with each other and / or with a central server or a cloudcomputing system or any other device that is network-connected.

[0065] Additionally, in some embodiments, the UE 104 may include, but not limited to, a handheld wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a smartphone, a phablet device, and so on), awearable computer device (e.g., aheadmounted display computer device, a head-mounted camera device, a wristwatch computer device, and so on), a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or another type of portable computer, a media playing device, a portable gaming system, and / or any other type of computer device with wireless communication capabilities, and the like. In an embodiment, the UE 104 may include, but are not limited to, any electrical, electronic, electromechanical, or equipment, or a combination of one or more of the above devices, such as virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, a laptop, a general-purpose computer, a desktop, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer, a mainframe computer, or any other computing device. Further, the UE 104 may include one or more in-built or externally coupled accessories including, but not limited to, a visual aid device such as a camera, an audio aid, a microphone, a keyboard, and input devices for receiving input from the user 102 or an entity such as a touchpad, a touch-enabled screen, an electronic pen, and the like. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the UE 104 may not be restricted to the mentioned devices and various other devices may be used.

[0066] In FIG. 1, the UE 104 may communicate with the system 108 through a network 106 (e.g., a Radio Access Network (RAN) for sending or receiving various types of data. In an embodiment, the network 106 may include at least one of a 5G network, a Sixth Generation (6G) network, or the like. The network 106 may enable the UE 104 to communicate with other devices in the network architecture 100 and / or with the system 108. The network 106 may include a wireless card or some other transceiver connection to facilitate thiscommunication. In another embodiment, the network 106 may be implemented as, or include any of a variety of different communication technologies such as a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless network, a mobile network, a Virtual Private Network (VPN), the Internet, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or the like.

[0067] In an embodiment, the network 106 may include, by way of example but not limitation, at least a portion of one or more networks having one or more nodes that transmit, receive, forward, generate, buffer, store, route, switch, process, or a combination thereof, etc. one or more messages, packets, signals, waves, voltage or current levels, some combination thereof, or so forth. The network 106 may also include, by way of example but not limitation, one or more of the RAN, a wireless network, a wired network, an internet, an intranet, a public network, a private network, a packet-switched network, a circuit-switched network, an ad hoc network, an infrastructure network, a Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cable network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a fiber optic network, or some combination thereof.

[0068] In an embodiment, the UE 104 is communicatively coupled with the network (RAN) 106. The network 106 may receive a connection request from the UE 104. The network 106 may send an acknowledgment of the connection request to the UE 104. The UE 104 may transmit a plurality of signals in response to the connection request.

[0069] In an embodiment, the system 108 is configured to receive HTTP / 2 requests from another network function, such as a policy control function (PCF), operating in accordance with service-based interface principles of a 5G core network. Upon receiving the request, a processing engine within the system 108 determines whether an external database required for processing is currently available or unavailable. The determination may be based on connection attempts made within a predefined time threshold, and the results of such attempts, such as a success message or a failure message, are used to indicate the database status.

[0070] If the database is unavailable, the system 108 may store the data associated with each request into a local memory module. This local memory is configured to persist request data in the exact sequence in which the requests were received, ensuring proper replay and ordering when the database becomes accessible again. This configuration is crucial for maintaining transactional integrity when reconstructing the database state.

[0071] In scenarios where the local memory reaches a predefined storage limit, the system 108 initiates a rejection mechanism for subsequent incoming requests. For each rejected request, the system 108 responds to the originating network function with a preconfigured error message. This error message may include protocol-specific indicators such as HTTP / 2 status codes (e.g., 503), signaling that the BSF is temporarily unable to fulfill the request due to internal caching limitations caused by backend unavailability. This mechanism ensures upstream systems can implement retry logic or fallback procedures without loss of transactional intent.

[0072] Once the database becomes available, the system 108 automatically resumes database interaction. The previously cached request data is transferred from local memory to the database. During this transfer, the system 108 performs validation operations, including at least a multisession binding check and a timestamp check. In a multisession binding check, the system verifies that no conflicting bindings exist for the same subscriber across multiple active sessions, ensuring uniqueness and policy alignment. The timestamp check validates that the stored request data is chronologically more recent than existing database records, ensuring stale bindings are not incorrectly reapplied.

[0073] This integrity-assured update process guarantees that the database, once restored, reflects a consistent and accurate view of the network state. The system 108 thereby ensures reliable and uninterrupted handling of HTTP / 2 requests, even during temporary database failures, enhancing overall network resilience.

[0074] Although FIG. 1 shows exemplary components of the network architecture 100, in other embodiments, the network architecture 100 may include fewer components, different components, differently arranged components, or additional functional components than depicted in FIG. 1. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the network architecture 100 may perform functions described as being performed by one or more other components of the network architecture 100.

[0075] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram 200 of the system 108 configured for serving HTTP / 2 requests at a binding support function (BSF) when a database is unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is explained in conjunction with FIG. 1.

[0076] In an embodiment, the system 108 may include one or more processor(s) 202. The one or more processor(s) 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing engines, logic circuitries, and / or any devices that process data based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the one or more processor(s) 202 may be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory 204 of the system 108. The memory 204 may be configured to store one or more computer-readable instructions or routines in a non- transitory computer-readable storage medium, which may be fetched and executed to create or share data packets over a network service. The memory 204 may include any non-transitory storage device including, for example, volatile memory such as a Random-Access Memory (RAM), or a non-volatile memory such as an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), a flash memory, and the like.

[0077] In an embodiment, the system 108 may include an interface(s) 206. The interface(s) 206 may include a variety of interfaces, for example, interfaces for data input and output devices (RO), storage devices, and the like. The interface(s) 206 may facilitate communication through the system 108. The interface(s) 206 may also provide a communication pathway for one or more components of thesystem 108. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, a processing engine 208 and a database 210.

[0078] In an embodiment, the system 108 may include a processing engine 208 that may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the processing engine 208. In examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing engine 208 may be processorexecutable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine -readable storage medium and the hardware for the processing engine 208 may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing engine 208. In such examples, the system 108 may comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the system 108 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing engine 208 may be implemented by electronic circuitry.

[0079] In an embodiment, the system 108 may include a database 210 that includes data that may be either stored or generated as a result of functionalities implemented by any of the components of the processor 202 or the processing engine 208.

[0080] In an embodiment, the processing engine 208 may be implemented as a binding support function (BSF). The processing engine 208 is configured to manage the binding process when the database 210 is unavailable. The processing engine 208 manages bindings between user identifiers and network resources or services. In an embodiment, the database 210 may be implemented as a distributed database, a cloud database, a relational database, a non-relational database, and the like.

[0081] In an implementation, the processing engine 208 is configured to receive one or more requests from a second network function, such as a policy control function (PCF), wherein the one or more requests are Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests. Each HTTP / 2 request may correspond to operations involving creation, updating, or removal of binding entries associated with user sessions or policy enforcement states.

[0082] The processing engine 208 is further configured to determine an operational status of the external database 210. The operational status may indicate one of: availability of the external database or unavailability of the external database. For example, determining the operational status may include transmitting one or more connection requests to the database 210 and receiving one or more responses from the database 210 within a predefined time threshold. The one or more responses may comprise a success message indicating availability, or a failure message indicating unavailability, such as connection timeout, authentication failure, host unreachable, or service not responding.

[0083] Upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database 210, the processing engine 208 is configured to store data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory. The local memory may be integrated within the system 108 and can be implemented as inmemory cache, persistent disk queue, or a write-ahead log depending on deployment needs. The data is stored in a sequence corresponding to the order in which the one or more requests are received. For example, if a first request to create a binding and a second request to update a binding are received consecutively, they are stored in the same order to preserve logical and operational consistency.

[0084] In some implementations, the local memory is configured with a predefined storage limit. The processing engine 208 is further configured to determine whether the local memory has reached the predefined storage limit. In response to determining that the predefined storage limit has been reached, the processing engine 208 is configured to reject the one or more requests from thesecond network function with a preconfigured error response. The error response may include protocol-specific status codes such as HTTP / 2 503 (Service Unavailable) and may carry diagnostic information indicating memory exhaustion or backend unavailability. This mechanism prevents further overload and signals upstream systems to delay or retry transmissions at a later time.

[0085] Whenever the database 210 becomes available again, the processing engine 208 is configured to automatically connect to the database 210 and transfer the stored data from the local memory to the database 210. The transfer is performed in the same sequence in which the requests were originally received and cached. This ensures that the order of binding operations is respected and prevents any temporal or logical inconsistencies.

[0086] During the transfer, the processing engine 208 is configured to perform one or more checks on the stored data to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database 210. These checks comprise at least one of: a multisession binding check and a timestamp check. In a multisession binding check, the system verifies that multiple binding entries for the same subscriber across different sessions do not violate session isolation or policy uniqueness constraints. In a timestamp check, the processing engine 208 validates that the time stamp associated with the stored data is newer than or equivalent to existing entries to avoid overwriting recent data with outdated information. The checks may include additional criteria such as version control, policy compliance validation, and referential integrity.

[0087] By performing these operations, the processing engine 208 ensures that the restored data is aligned with the latest system state and policy rules. Once synchronization is complete, the database 210 resumes regular service for new incoming requests, thereby maintaining continuity in policy enforcement and binding resolution.

[0088] This architecture enables the system 108 to operate reliably even in the presence of intermittent database failures and network function overloadscenarios. The configuration ensures improved system resilience, data integrity, and graceful degradation and recovery of BSF operations.

[0089] To summarize, in an embodiment, a system (108) for handling one or more requests in a network ( 100) is provided in the present disclosure . According to an aspect, the system (108) comprises a receiving unit at a first network function (NF) configured to receive the one or more requests from a second NF. The system (108) further comprises a processing engine (208) at the first NF configured to determine an operational status of an external database (210), wherein the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database (210) or unavailability of the external database (210). The processing engine (208) is further configured to store data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory (204) upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database (210), and transfer the stored data from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database (210). The processing engine (208) is also configured to perform one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database (210).

[0090] According to another aspect, the first NF is a binding support function (BSF) and the second NF is one or more NFs.

[0091] According to another aspect, the local memory (204) is integrated within the first NF.

[0092] According to another aspect, the data associated with the one or more requests is stored in the local memory (204) in a sequence corresponding to the sequence in which the one or more requests are received from the second NF.

[0093] According to another aspect, the processing engine (208) is further configured to determine whether the local memory (204) has reached a predefined storage limit, and reject the one or more requests from the second NF with apreconfigured error response in response to determining that the predefined storage limit of the local memory (204) has been reached.

[0094] According to another aspect, the one or more checks comprise at least one of: a multisession binding check and a timestamp check.

[0095] According to another aspect, the one or more requests are Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests.

[0096] According to another aspect, determining the operational status of the external database (210) comprises transmitting one or more connection requests to the external database (210), and receiving one or more responses from the external database (210) within a predefined time threshold, wherein the one or more responses comprise one of: a success message or a failure message indicating the availability or unavailability of the external database (210).

[0097] The system (108) of the present disclosure provides improved request handling in the network (100) by enabling continuous operation of the BSF even during database (210) unavailability, reducing service disruption, and ensuring consistency and integrity of data once the database (210) becomes available. The use of local memory (204) integrated within the BSF allows for temporary storage of requests in sequence, while features such as multisession binding checks and timestamp checks during data restoration improve operational accuracy and prevent conflicts or data corruption. Additionally, the preconfigured error response capability ensures controlled rejection of requests when memory thresholds are reached, thereby maintaining stability and reliability of the system (108).

[0098] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system architecture 300 of the system108 configured for serving hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) / 2 (HTTP / 2) requests at the BSF when the database 210 is unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is explained in conjunction with FIG. 2.

[0099] In the system architecture 300, a communication flow is illustratedbetween a policy control function (PCF) 302, a binding support function (BSF) 304, a cache 306, and a database 210. The PCF 302 represents a second network function (NF) that is configured to send HTTP / 2 requests to the BSF 304, which operates as the first NF. The PCF 302 may transmit one or more HTTP / 2 requests associated with binding registration, modification, or removal as part of service-based architecture (SBA) operations within a 5G core network. The BSF 304 includes a receiving unit that is configured to receive the one or more requests from the PCF 302, and a processing engine that handles the logic described herein. The BSF 304 may be implemented as part of the system 108 shown in FIG. 2, with the processing engine mapped to the processing engine 208 and the external database mapped to the database 210.

[0100] Upon receiving the HTTP / 2 request from the PCF 302, the BSF 304 initiates an operation to determine the operational status of the database 210. This determination involves the processing engine transmitting one or more connection requests to the database 210 and awaiting one or more responses. The operational status may indicate either availability or unavailability of the database 210. If a success message is received from the database 210 within a predefined time threshold, the operational status is marked as available. Alternatively, if a failure message such as a timeout, host unreachable, or error acknowledgment is received, the database 210 is determined to be unavailable.

[0101] Upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the database 210, the BSF 304 acknowledges the incoming HTTP / 2 request and begins storing the data associated with the request in a local memory. The local memory may be implemented as the cache 306 and integrated within the BSF 304. The local memory serves as a temporary buffer to preserve request data and to ensure that network functionality is not disrupted due to the unavailability of the backend storage. The data stored in the cache 306 includes information such as binding contexts, user identity mappings, session identifiers, policy parameters, or any service-specific metadata that would otherwise be written to the database 210.

[0102] In accordance with one configuration, the BSF 304 is configured to store the data in the cache 306 in a sequence corresponding to the sequence in which the requests are received from the PCF 302. This chronological ordering preserves temporal request dependencies and ensures correct replay semantics during deferred execution. For example, if three requests are received in the order of binding registration, binding modification, and binding deletion, then storing and replaying them in the same order prevents stale or inconsistent data states.

[0103] In an embodiment, the processing engine in the BSF 304 periodically evaluates whether the cache 306 has reached a predefined storage limit. The predefined storage limit may be expressed as a maximum number of entries, a memory usage threshold, or a disk quota, configurable by the operator. Upon determining that the cache 306 has reached or exceeded the predefined limit, the BSF 304 is configured to reject subsequent HTTP / 2 requests received from the PCF 302. The rejection is performed by the processing engine and is executed with a preconfigured error response. The error response may be an HTTP / 2 -compliant status code, such as 503 Service Unavailable, or a custom-defined 5G error header that explicitly indicates the cause of rejection as internal memory resource exhaustion during external database unavailability. By performing such conditional rejection, the BSF 304 avoids over-commitment of local memory and protects against request overflow, while also notifying the PCF 302 of the failure reason.

[0104] When the BSF 304 determines that the database 210 has become available again, based on a success acknowledgment from a newly issued connection request, the BSF 304 proceeds to transfer the stored data from the cache 306 to the database 210. The transfer is performed by the processing engine in the same sequence in which the requests were originally received and stored. This ordered restoration guarantees that the database 210 reflects a consistent state that aligns with original network transaction chronology.

[0105] During the transfer process, the BSF 304 performs one or more checks on the stored data to ensure consistency between the stored data and the pre-existing data in the database 210. The checks include at least one of a multisession binding check and a timestamp check. The multisession binding check verifies that bindings associated with distinct user sessions do not overwrite or conflict with each other, particularly in scenarios involving multiple simultaneous sessions from the same or different user equipment. The timestamp check involves validating that each stored binding entry has a timestamp newer than the most recently committed entry for the corresponding session in the database 210, thereby preventing stale or duplicate data from being committed. For instance, if a binding modification was stored locally at 10:02 AM, and the database has an existing entry timestamped at 10:03 AM, then the stored entry is discarded or flagged as invalid. Conversely, if the stored entry is timestamped at 10:04 AM, then it is accepted and committed.

[0106] By executing these checks and restoring stored data through a sequence-preserving transfer mechanism, the BSF 304 ensures that the resulting database state is accurate, consistent, and compliant with 5G service orchestration requirements. Furthermore, by retaining the functional parity of real-time validation during the deferred write operation, the system 108 maintains policy integrity and network continuity across transient database outages.

[0107] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process flow 400 for serving HTTP / 2 requests at the BSF 304 when the database 210 is unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is explained in conjunction with FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0108] At step 402, a receiving unit at the BSF 304 receives one or more Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) / 2 Network Binding Support Function (nbsf) management requests from a second network function (NF), which in this case is exemplified by the PCF 302. The HTTP / 2 protocol enables multiplexed streams of request-response pairs over a single connection, improving efficiency. The HTTP / 2 nbsf management requests comprise operations such as Nbsf_Management_Register, Nbsf_Management_Update, andNbsf_Management_Deregister. These operations enable the creation, update, orremoval of bindings that associate user or session identifiers to specific network functions or policy contexts. The requests from the PCF 302 are transmitted over the service-based interface defined in the 5G core architecture.

[0109] At step 404, a processing engine at the BSF 304 determines the operational status of an external database 210. The determination includes transmitting one or more connection requests to the database 210 and awaiting one or more responses within a predefined time threshold. If a success message is received within the threshold, the database 210 is determined to be available. Alternatively, if a failure message such as a timeout or unresponsive host is returned, the operational status is marked as unavailable. This check may involve ICMP-based reachability tests, application-level health queries, or socket-level probe attempts to validate TCP-level connectivity with the database 210.

[0110] At step 406, upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the database 210, the BSF 304 directly serves the requested HTTP / 2 nbsf management operation. The serving process may involve executing create, update, or delete operations on binding records, applying session-related metadata, or retrieving stored entries, depending on the request type. This processing ensures that the binding states maintained in the BSF 304 reflect the real-time service policies applicable for each user session.

[0111] At step 408, upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the database 210, the BSF 304 enables a database failure handling logic. This logic initiates the fallback procedure to preserve incoming request data locally. As part of this logic, the processing engine checks whether the cache 306, implemented as a local memory, has reached a predefined storage limit.

[0112] At step 410, if it is determined that the predefined storage limit of the cache 306 has been reached, the processing engine rejects one or more requests received from the PCF 302 with a preconfigured error response. The error response may include a 5G-defined HTTP / 2 status code such as 503 Service Unavailable, or a custom header indicating a temporary processing block due to backend resourceconstraints. By performing such conditional rejection, the BSF 304 prevents uncontrolled memory growth and provides deterministic failure feedback to the requesting network function.

[0113] At step 412, if the cache 306 has not reached the predefined storage limit, the BSF 304 stores data associated with the one or more requests in the local memory. The data is stored in a sequence corresponding to the order in which the requests are received. This sequential storage guarantees request-order preservation, which is essential when handling overlapping updates or binding transitions that are sensitive to chronological ordering. For example, if a registration request is followed by a deregistration request for the same binding, reordering may cause stale data to be committed to the database 210.

[0114] At step 414, the processing engine continues to monitorthe database 210 and upon determining that the operational status of the external database has changed to available, the BSF 304 automatically reestablishes a connection with the database 210.

[0115] At step 416, once the database 210 is reachable, the processing engine transfers the stored data from the local memory (cache 306) to the database 210. During the transfer, the processing engine performs one or more checks on the stored data to ensure consistency between the stored data and the pre-existing data in the database 210. The one or more checks comprise at least one of a multisession binding check and a timestamp check. The multisession binding check validates that each binding belongs to a distinct session context and does not overwrite entries belonging to concurrent sessions. For instance, if the same user is associated with multiple sessions across different access points, binding data must remain isolated. The timestamp check verifies that each stored entry is newer than any corresponding entry already committed in the database 210, ensuring that outdated or duplicate data is not inserted. If an entry is found to be older than the last committed timestamp, it may be discarded or logged for audit purposes.

[0116] At step 418, upon completing consistency checks and successfulsynchronization of stored data with the database 210, the BSF 304 resumes realtime handling of new HTTP / 2 nbsf management requests from the PCF 302 in parallel with ongoing data restoration. By doing so, the BSF 304 ensures that the database 210 is consistent, service continuity is maintained, and subsequent network requests are handled correctly in accordance with updated binding policies.

[0117] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram representing an example method 500 for handling one or more requests in a network when an external database is temporarily unavailable, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0118] At step 502 of method 500, a receiving unit at a first network function (NF), such as a binding support function (BSF), receives one or more requests from a second NF, such as a policy control function (PCF). The received requests may include HTTP / 2 -based service requests conforming to standardized 3GPP binding operations such as Nbsf_Management_Register, Nbsf_Management_Update, or Nbsf_Management_Deregister. Each request carries payload data corresponding to binding identifiers, session identifiers, device-specific metadata, and policy associations required for enforcing network behavior. The receiving unit operates over a service-based interface, implementing HTTP / 2 transport with multiplexed stream handling to ensure support for concurrent inbound sessions.

[0119] At step 504 of method 500, a processing engine at the first NF determines an operational status of an external database. The operational status indicates one of two possibilities: availability or unavailability of the external database. The processing engine is configured to transmit connection probes to the database endpoint using SQL ping, RESTfiil queries, or health check APIs. The processing engine waits for a response within a predefined time threshold (e.g., 1000 milliseconds). If a success message such as “HTTP 200 OK” or “DB connection accepted” is received within the threshold, the database is considered available. Otherwise, if a failure response such as “host unreachable,” “timeout,”“connection refused,” or absence of any response is observed, the processing engine flags the database as unavailable. These determinations may use built-in retry logic and exponential backoff strategies to handle transient outages.

[0120] At step 506 of method 500, upon determining that the operational status indicates unavailability of the external database, the processing engine stores data associated with the one or more received requests in a local memory. The local memory is configured as a queue, circular buffer, or persistent log store integrated within the BSF. Each entry stored includes a timestamp, session ID, binding operation type, and policy metadata. The storage process preserves the order in which the requests were received. For example, if the PCF sends three register requests consecutively, the processing engine indexes and writes the entries into the local memory in the same order, supporting replay and chronological traceability. This configuration ensures that the requests are not lost and are eventually served in the same sequence.

[0121] At step 508 of method 500, upon determining that the operational status of the external database indicates availability, the processing engine initiates the transfer of the stored data from the local memory to the external database. The transfer operation involves reading entries from the local memory in sequence and replaying the binding management logic. Each entry is mapped to the appropriate database table, such as BindingRegistry, SessionState, or PolicyMap, and committed using transactional write operations to maintain atomicity and consistency. If a record already exists in the database, the logic applies a merge strategy or overwrite policy based on the timestamp or versioning schema.

[0122] At step 510 of method 500, the processing engine performs one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer to ensure consistency between the stored data and the pre-existing data in the external database. The checks include at least one of a multisession binding check and a timestamp check. The multisession binding check verifies that multiple simultaneous binding entries related to the same user or device do not result in conflict. For instance, if multiplesession IDs are linked to a single subscriber ID, the processing engine ensures the bindings are valid across parallel sessions and conform to configured session caps. The timestamp check ensures that stale or outdated entries do not overwrite more recent information. Each entry’s timestamp is compared with the corresponding entry in the database. If the stored entry is older than the existing one, the entry is skipped or flagged for manual review. By performing such checks, the processing engine ensures that the database remains consistent, prevents corruption, and reflects the most recent valid network state.

[0123] By performing steps 502 through 510 as described in method 500, the network achieves enhanced reliability and graceful degradation in the presence of temporary database failures, while ensuring eventual consistency and correctness in network policy enforcement.

[0124] Aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors (202), cause the one or more processors (202) to execute a method (500) for handling one or more requests in a network (100).

[0125] In an embodiment, the method (500) includes receiving (502), by a receiving unit at a first network function (NF), the one or more requests from a second network function (NF). The method (500) further includes determining (504), by a processing engine (208) at the first NF, an operational status of an external database (210), wherein the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database (210) or unavailability of the external database (210). Upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database (210), the method (500) includes storing (506), by the processing engine (208), data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory (204). Upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database (210), the method (500) includes transferring (508), by the processing engine (208), the stored data from the local memory (204) to the external database(210). The method (500) further includes performing (510), by the processing engine (208), one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database (210).

[0126] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer system 600 in which or with which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 6, the computer system 600 may include an external storage device 610, a bus 620, a main memory 630, a read-only memory 640, a mass storage device 650, communication port(s) 660, and a processor 670. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the computer system 600 may include more than one processor and communication ports. The processor 670 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication port(s) 660 may be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem-based dialup connection, a 10 / 100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. The communication port(s) 660 may be chosen depending on a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system 600 connects.

[0127] The main memory 630 may be a Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. The read-only memory 640 may be any static storage device(s) e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information e.g., start-up or Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) instructions for the processor 670. The mass storage device 650 may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store information and / or instructions. Exemplary mass storage device 660 includes, but is not limited to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and / or Firewire interfaces), one or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage, e.g. an array of disks.

[0128] The bus 620 communicatively couples the processor 670 with the other memory, storage, and communication blocks. The bus 620 may be, e.g. a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives, and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects the processor 670 to the computer system 600.

[0129] Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g. a display, keyboardjoystick, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to the bus 520 to support direct operator interaction with the computer system. Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through the communication port(s) 560. Components described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computer system 500 limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0130] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

[0131] The method and system of the present disclosure may be implemented in a number of ways. For example, the methods and systems of the present disclosure may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. The above-described order for the steps of the method is for illustration only, and the steps of the method of the present disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above unless specifically stated otherwise. Further, in some embodiments, the present disclosure may also be embodied as programs recorded in a recording medium, the programsincluding machine-readable instructions for implementing the methods according to the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure also covers a recording medium storing a program for executing the method according to the present disclosure.

[0132] The present disclosure provides a technical advancement in the field of 5G core network service-based architecture by enabling a Binding Support Function (BSF) to autonomously process and respond to HTTP / 2 service management requests from connected network functions, such as the Policy Control Function (PCF), even during transient or persistent database outages. The disclosed architecture integrates a local caching mechanism, health-check-based failover detection, bounded memory utilization control, and autonomous decision-making logic to maintain service responsiveness, prevent uncontrolled resource consumption, and ensure deterministic signaling outcomes under fault conditions. The system further improves fault recovery speed and data integrity by performing automated validation checks, ordered backfill of session states, and timestampbased write-order preservation, thereby avoiding policy enforcement errors and misconfigurations. Additionally, by decoupling real-time signaling workflows from persistent storage access, the solution minimizes latency, reduces signaling delays, and mitigates signaling storms during large-scale outages, resulting in improved transaction throughput, enhanced network resilience, and compliance with telecom regulatory requirements. The self-contained failover and recovery design also supports scalable deployment across distributed cloud and edge environments without dependency on centralized fault management systems, enabling greater flexibility and service continuity in multi -region deployments.

[0133] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoingdescriptive matter is to be implemented merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

[0134] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for serving HTTP / 2 requests at a Binding Support Function (BSF) by accepting or denying the HTTP / 2 requests even when the database is unavailable. The architecture enables the BSF to remain responsive to incoming service management requests from other network functions (NFs), such as the Policy Control Function (PCF), even under transient or persistent database outages. By implementing a local caching mechanism integrated within the BSF, the system retains critical binding -related data temporarily, enabling continued logical handling of HTTP / 2 requests and deferring database transactions until recovery.

[0135] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for enabling seamless failover management in a service-based network environment by detecting the operational status of the database and triggering a local fallback data- handling mechanism. The system transmits health-check probes to the database and interprets real-time availability status to decide whether to route requests to persistent storage or hold them locally. This conditional bifurcation ensures uninterrupted service flow, minimizing packet loss and queuing overhead, and providing deterministic outcomes for critical signaling messages from the PCF and other connected network functions.

[0136] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for managing data integrity and state synchronization by performing one or more validation checks, such as multisession binding checks and timestamp validation, on stored data during database recovery. The multisession binding check verifies logical consistency across concurrent sessions belonging to a single subscriber or device, while the timestamp check preserves write-order fidelity by ensuring that the most recent valid state is committed to the database. These checks are automatically applied during the backfill process from the local memory, ensuring that thedatabase reflects a reliable and temporally coherent state without human intervention.

[0137] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for dynamically regulating memory utilization and load management during periods of database unavailability. The system includes a configurable local memory threshold and preconfigured error response logic that determines whether new incoming requests are accepted or rejected based on available cache capacity. By incorporating this bounded buffering strategy, the BSF avoids uncontrolled memory growth, system crashes, or erroneous overwrites, thereby enhancing network resilience and maintaining compliance with resource constraints.

[0138] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for improving the robustness and responsiveness of 5G core network control plane services by embedding autonomous decision-making logic within the BSF. This includes logic for selectively rejecting requests with standard-compliant error codes when resource limits are reached, logic for queuing requests in arrival order, and logic for restoring database state with full fidelity once connectivity is reestablished. Such self-reliant behavior improves network autonomy, reduces dependence on manual recovery, and ensures that service-level agreements (SLAs) are upheld during fault conditions.

[0139] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for optimizing HTTP / 2 request handling efficiency in high-load 5G environments by decoupling real-time signaling management from database dependency. This approach minimizes latency by allowing the BSF to continue processing signaling workflows in-memory, even when persistent storage access is temporarily impaired, leading to improved transaction throughput and lower signaling delays.

[0140] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for reducing signaling storm impact during large-scale database outages. By controlling request acceptance based on available memory capacity and applying intelligent rejection with informative error responses, the BSF prevents overloading both itself andconnected network functions, thereby contributing to overall network stability under high-fault conditions.

[0141] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for enhancing fault recovery speed by automatically restoring stored request data in the exact order of arrival once the database is accessible. This ordered backfdl strategy ensures precise recreation of session states, preserving logical service continuity and reducing the risk of partial or corrupted recovery.

[0142] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for improving compliance with telecom policy and regulatory requirements by ensuring that binding data and session control updates are never lost during transient failures. The automated validation process guarantees that restored data fully aligns with the most recent authoritative state, thereby preventing policy enforcement errors or service misconfigurations.

[0143] The present disclosure provides a method and a system for enabling scalable deployment of BSF instances across distributed cloud environments. By implementing a self-contained failover and recovery mechanism, each BSF instance operates with minimal reliance on centralized fault management systems, supporting flexible scaling strategies and improving service continuity in multiregion or edge computing deployments.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A method (500) for handling one or more requests in a network (100), the method (500) comprising: receiving (502), by a receiving unit at a first network function (NF), the one or more requests from a second network function (NF); determining (504), by a processing engine (208) at the first NF, an operational status of an external database (210), wherein the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database (210) or unavailability of the external database (210); upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database (210), storing (506), by the processing engine (208), data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory (204); upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database (210), transferring (508), by the processing engine (208), the stored data from the local memory (204) to the external database (210); and performing (510), by the processing engine (208), one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) to ensure consistency between the stored data and preexisting data in the external database (210).

2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first NF is a binding support function (BSF) and the second NF is one or more NFs.

3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the local memory (204) is integrated within the first NF.

4. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data associated with the one or more requests is stored in the local memory (204) in a sequence corresponding to the sequence in which the one or more requests are received from the second NF.

5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the processing engine (208), whether the local memory (204) has reached a predefined storage limit; and in response to determining that the predefined storage limit of the local memory (204) has been reached, rejecting, by the processing engine (208), the one or more requests from the second NF with a preconfigured error response.

6. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more checks comprise at least one of: a multisession binding check and a timestamp check.

7. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more requests are Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests.

8. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining the operational status of the external database (210) comprises: transmitting, by the processing engine (208), one or more connection requests to the external database (210); and receiving, by the processing engine (208), one or more responses from the external database (210) within a predefined time threshold, wherein the one or more responses comprise one of: a success message or a failure message indicating the availability of the external database (210) or the unavailability of the external database (210).

9. A system (108) for handling one or more requests in a network (100), the system (108) comprising:a receiving unit at a first network function (NF) configured to receive the one or more requests from a second network function (NF); a processing engine (208) at the first NF configured to: determine an operational status of an external database (210), wherein the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database (210) or unavailability of the external database (210); store data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory (204) upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database (210); and transfer the stored data from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database (210); and perform one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) to ensure consistency between the stored data and pre-existing data in the external database (210).

10. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first NF is a binding support function (BSF) and the second NF is one or more NFs.

11. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the local memory (204) is integrated within the first NF.

12. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the data associated with the one or more requests is stored in the local memory (204) in a sequence corresponding to the sequence in which the one or more requests are received from the second NF.

13. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing engine (208) is further configured to: determine whether the local memory (204) has reached a predefined storage limit; andreject the one or more requests from the second NF with a preconfigured error response in response to determining that the predefined storage limit of the local memory (204) has been reached.

14. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the one or more checks comprise at least one of: a multisession binding check and a timestamp check.

15. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the one or more requests are Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests.

16. The system (108) as claimed in claim 9, wherein determining the operational status of the external database (210), the processing engine (208) is configured to: transmit one or more connection requests to the external database (210); and receive one or more responses from the external database (210) within a predefined time threshold, wherein the one or more responses comprise one of: a success message or a failure message indicating the availability or unavailability of the external database (210).

17. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors (202), cause the one or more processors (202) to execute a method (500) for handling one or more requests in a network (100), the method (500) comprising: receiving (502), by a receiving unit at a first network function (NF), the one or more requests from a second network function (NF); determining (504), by a processing engine (208) at the first NF, an operational status of an external database (210), wherein the operational status indicates one of: availability of the external database (210) or unavailability of the external database (210);upon determining that the operational status indicates the unavailability of the external database (210), storing (506), by the processing engine (208), data associated with the one or more requests in a local memory (204); upon determining that the operational status indicates the availability of the external database (210), transferring (508), by the processing engine (208), the stored data from the local memory (204) to the external database (210); and performing (510), by the processing engine (208), one or more checks on the stored data during the transfer from the local memory (204) to the external database (210) to ensure consistency between the stored data and preexisting data in the external database (210).

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