Egress Router Load Balancing for 5G Edge Computing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In 5G edge computing networks, load imbalances occur due to minor differences in distance causing some application instances to be over-utilized while others are under-utilized, especially during events or high-density urban movements.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method by egress routers to obtain capacity and load indices of application servers, encode these into packets, and transmit them to ingress routers, allowing for a more complex cost metric in routing decisions that supports load balancing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If anycast routing is used to route packets to the closest application server, then routing speed and simplicity are improved, but load balancing deteriorates causing some servers to be over-utilized while others are under-utilized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the routing parameters from simple distance-based metrics to composite cost metrics that incorporate server capacity, current load, and distance. Egress routers calculate and advertise these composite cost values to ingress routers, enabling load-balanced anycast routing that considers both proximity and server utilization status.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where egress routers continuously monitor application server capacity and load indices, then advertise updated cost values to ingress routers. This feedback loop allows the routing system to dynamically adjust traffic distribution based on real-time server conditions, preventing both over-utilization and under-utilization.
2Loss of time
If application servers are placed closer to mobile network towers to reduce latency, then user experience is improved, but during high-density events load imbalance worsens as too many users concentrate on the same servers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates capacity index and load index as additional routing parameters beyond physical distance. This allows the system to maintain geographically distributed servers close to users while using composite cost metrics to steer traffic away from overloaded servers, effectively balancing load across multiple locations even during high-density events.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the routing system dynamic by continuously updating cost values based on real-time server capacity and load conditions. During high-density events, the system dynamically adjusts traffic routing to distribute load across available servers, preventing concentration on single overloaded instances while maintaining low latency through proximity-based server selection.
3Device complexity
If simple distance-based routing is used, then routing complexity is reduced, but the ability to balance load across multiple application servers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces egress routers as intermediaries that calculate composite cost values incorporating capacity and load indices. These egress routers advertise the pre-calculated cost values to ingress routers, allowing the ingress routers to make load-balanced routing decisions without implementing complex calculation logic themselves, thus distributing the computational burden and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A method used by an egress router is disclosed. The egress router obtains a capacity index of an application server attached to the egress router. The egress router further obtains a load index describing a load measurement between the egress router and the application server during a certain time period. The egress router encodes the capacity index and the load index into a packet. The egress router transmits the packet to one or more routers in an Internet protocol (IP) network.