CUPS Policy Version Exchange for Coordinated Control and User Plane Upgrades
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Solution Overview
Problem
The separation between control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) functions in Mobile Packet Core implementations for LTE and 5G Option 3X leads to operational complexity during upgrades, migrations, and service changes due to static policy configurations, resulting in failed subscriber attaches, improper treatments, and undesirable alarms, necessitating significant operational effort and customer impacts.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for coordinating policy rule bases between the control plane and user plane architectures by identifying a common version and pre-positioning policies for simultaneous deployment, allowing for efficient upgrades and alignments without requiring evacuation of subscriber sessions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If static policy configurations are used in CUPS architecture, then configuration simplicity is maintained, but operational complexity during upgrades and migrations increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic configuration capability to the CUPS architecture, allowing policy configurations to be updated and applied without requiring static, long-term deployments. The system enables dynamic coordination between control plane and user plane elements during upgrades, transforming the rigid static configuration model into a flexible dynamic one that adapts to changing network requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by allowing configuration changes to be prepared and validated before actual deployment. The system can pre-position new policies and configurations in advance, enabling coordinated updates across multiple CUPS elements without requiring immediate service disruption or complex real-time coordination during the upgrade process.
2Ease of operation
If coordinated configurations are deployed sequentially one at a time, then configuration management is simplified, but deployment time and operational impact increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple configuration deployments into a single coordinated operation. Instead of deploying configurations one element at a time sequentially, the system combines and synchronizes configuration updates across multiple control plane and user plane elements, enabling parallel processing and reducing total deployment time while maintaining coordination integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a universal configuration coordination mechanism that can handle multiple configuration types and elements simultaneously. The system provides a unified approach for managing diverse configuration changes across different CUPS elements, allowing a single coordination framework to handle multiple deployment tasks rather than requiring separate management processes for each configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple policy versions are supported concurrently, then adaptability during upgrades is improved, but configuration complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that enable control plane and user plane elements to communicate their supported policy versions and configuration states. This feedback loop allows the system to automatically coordinate compatible version deployments, ensuring that configurations are applied consistently across elements while maintaining the ability to support multiple versions during transition periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the configuration management function into separate control plane and user plane coordination processes. By dividing the complexity of multi-version coordination into distinct manageable segments, the system can handle version compatibility issues locally at each element while maintaining overall synchronization, reducing the coordination burden compared to a monolithic approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining first information identifying each version of a policy rule base to which a control plane architecture of a wireless network has access; obtaining second information identifying each version of a policy rule base to which a user plane architecture of the wireless network has access; selecting as a selected version a common version of a policy rule base to which each of the control plane architecture and the user plane architecture has access; and communicating an identification of the selected version to each of the control plane architecture and the user plane architecture. Other embodiments are disclosed.