Access Gateway Policy Selection and Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of content delivery due to more computing devices and online video services is degrading network performance, as existing systems struggle to efficiently manage subscriber and service policy rules, leading to suboptimal user experiences and increased frustration among end users and service providers.
Innovation Solution
A communication system that includes an access gateway capable of receiving and processing requests for services, determining specific service policies, and interacting with multiple Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) servers to dynamically manage subscriber and service policies, allowing for efficient policy selection and switching, and enabling the formation of subscriber groups for aggregated policy application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional policy control architecture is used, then system simplicity is maintained, but network performance degrades and policy management becomes inefficient under increasing traffic complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic PCRF architecture into multiple specialized policy control units, each handling specific policy types (subscriber policy, service policy, traffic management policy). This segmentation distributes the policy management workload, improving efficiency while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic policy selection and switching mechanisms that adapt to varying network conditions, subscriber profiles, and service requirements. The system dynamically selects appropriate policy control units and switches between different policy sets in real-time, enhancing policy management efficiency without requiring a completely complex static architecture.
2Loss of time
If multiple PCRF servers are introduced for dynamic policy management, then policy selection efficiency improves, but network element complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-configures multiple PCRF servers with different policy sets and establishes selection criteria beforehand. When a policy request arrives, the system quickly matches the request against pre-defined criteria to select the appropriate PCRF server, reducing policy retrieval latency without requiring complex real-time decision-making logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a policy selection function that acts as an intermediary between the access gateway and multiple PCRF servers. This mediator receives policy requests, determines the appropriate PCRF server based on pre-configured criteria, and routes the request accordingly, simplifying the interaction complexity while enabling efficient parallel policy management.
3Adaptability or versatility
If default policies are applied to all subscribers, then system operation is simplified, but service differentiation and quality of service deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different policy characteristics to different subscriber groups and service types. Instead of uniform policies, the system configures specific policy attributes (QoS parameters, bandwidth limits, priority levels) tailored to local requirements of each subscriber profile or service category, enabling service differentiation while maintaining manageable configuration complexity through structured policy templates.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method, code logic and network device are provided. The method includes the steps of receiving a request for a service for a subscriber (CPE) 12 at an access gateway 16; receiving a default sub¬ scriber policy and a default service policy at the access gateway; re¬ ceiving a subscriber policy and a service policy for the service being requested at the access gateway; receiving the service being request¬ ed at the access gateway; and communicating the service being re¬ quested from the access gateway to the subscriber in response to the request. The access gateway may evaluate the behavior associated with the subscriber in order to respond to subscriber policy requests for particular network services associated with the subscriber. The ac¬ cess gateway may further determine a subset of subscribers access¬ ing similar services, and to group the subset of subscribers into a sub¬ scriber group for which a specific group policy is applied to, where¬ in the subscriber group is formed based on usage trends and current services associated with the subset of subscribers.