CUPS Control Plane Traffic Filtering for Edge Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
In CUPS-based communications networks, such as 5G networks, monitoring tools at edge locations are overwhelmed by irrelevant control plane traffic, making scalable traffic monitoring challenging due to the distribution of control plane data across multiple locations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a network node with the capability to receive network location information and filter control plane messages, sending only relevant traffic to network tools for processing, thereby reducing unnecessary data load on monitoring systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If control plane traffic is broadcast to all edge locations in a CUPS environment, then centralized control plane functionality is achieved, but monitoring tools at edge locations are overwhelmed with irrelevant control plane data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and filters out relevant control plane traffic from the broadcast stream at edge locations. Network probes or monitoring tools selectively extract only the control plane messages relevant to their specific edge location, discarding irrelevant traffic. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining centralized control plane functionality while reducing the quantity of data that monitoring tools must process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements location-specific filtering where each edge location's monitoring tools are configured with local quality attributes (such as location identifiers, cell IDs, or subscriber information) that determine which control plane traffic is relevant. This ensures that each edge location receives and processes only the control plane data appropriate to its specific context, reducing overall data load while maintaining functional adaptability.
2Reliability
If monitoring tools process all received control plane traffic, then complete monitoring coverage is achieved, but resource utilization and scalability are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary filtering actions before control plane traffic reaches monitoring tools. By pre-filtering control plane messages at the network probe or gateway level based on location information, subscriber data, or message type, the system ensures that only relevant traffic is forwarded to monitoring tools. This preliminary action maintains complete monitoring coverage for relevant traffic while significantly improving scalability by reducing the volume of data requiring monitoring resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial processing where monitoring tools focus exclusively on the subset of control plane traffic relevant to their specific edge location rather than attempting to process all control plane traffic. This partial action approach ensures reliable monitoring of local traffic while avoiding the excessive resource consumption that would result from processing all control plane messages, thereby improving scalability.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one method for control plane traffic filtering in a control and user plane separation (CUPS) environment, the method occurs at a network node implemented using at least one processor and at least one memory. The method includes receiving, from one or more sources, network location information associated with a first network location; receiving control plane messages for different network locations; filtering the control plane messages based on the network location information; and sending traffic including data from the filtered control plane messages to at least one network tool.