5G Overload Control Information Scope Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 5G network technologies face challenges in effectively managing overload conditions within network function (NF) service consumers and producers, particularly in determining the scope of overload information for throttling notifications, which affects the efficiency of load and overload control in 5GC service-based architecture.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves transmitting and receiving overload control information (OCI) with scope information that can be set to a notification URI, NF Service Instance, NF Service Set, NF Instance, or NF Set, along with an optional service name, allowing NF service producers to throttle or redirect notifications based on the scope, thereby reducing traffic and managing overload effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If overload control information is transmitted without scope information, then the overload control mechanism is simple, but the ability to selectively throttle specific notification types is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The overload control information is segmented into distinct scope parameters (NF instance, NF service instance, NF service set, NF set) that can be independently selected and configured. This allows the system to apply overload control at different granularities - from specific notification types to entire network function sets - providing selective throttling capability while maintaining a modular, manageable structure that doesn't overly complicate the overall mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to overload control by organizing scope information into multiple levels (instance level, service level, set level). This dimensional hierarchy enables the system to selectively apply overload control to specific dimensions of the network architecture, allowing fine-grained control without requiring complex point-to-point configuration for each notification type
2Reliability
If overload control applies to all notifications, then the overload protection is comprehensive, but the network traffic reduction is excessive and may impact legitimate services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by allowing different overload control parameters (such as traffic reduction percentages, throttling durations) to be applied to different scopes (specific NF instances, services, or sets). This enables the system to provide comprehensive overload protection where needed while maintaining normal throughput for unaffected services, ensuring that overload control is applied locally to only the affected portions of the network rather than globally across all notifications
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by enabling selective throttling of only the notification types or services that are actually experiencing overload conditions. The scope information parameters allow the network function to specify exactly which notifications should be throttled, applying just enough control to manage the overload situation without excessively impacting legitimate network traffic that should continue to flow normally
3Measurement precision
If scope information is added to OCI, then the precision of overload control is improved, but the signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scope information parameters are designed to be dynamic and adaptable - the network function can select and populate only the scope parameters that are relevant to the current overload condition. This dynamic approach allows the system to achieve high precision overload control when needed by specifying detailed scopes, while also allowing for more compact signaling when broader scope control suffices, thus balancing precision requirements with signaling overhead in a flexible manner
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for load and/or overload control in 5GC SBA are provided. One method may include transmitting, from a network function (NF) service consumer, overload control information (OCI) comprising scope information to a network function (NF) service producer or service communication proxy (SCP). The scope information may include at least one of: scope set to a notification uniform resource identifier (URI), or scope set to one of network function (NF) service instance, network function (NF) service set, network function (NF) instance, or network function (NF) set, and optionally a service name.