Gateway User Plane Signaling Processing via Control Plane Rules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gateway technologies have fixed signaling packet processing capabilities, making it costly to support new protocols as existing gateways may not be able to process new-protocol-based signaling packets, requiring the deployment of new gateways.
Innovation Solution
A system architecture that separates gateway functions into user plane and control plane entities, where the gateway user plane entity processes signaling packets based on processing information provided by the gateway control plane entity, allowing flexible processing of new-protocol-based packets without the need for additional gateway deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a gateway with fixed signaling packet processing capability is deployed, then the gateway can reliably process signaling packets of its designated protocol type, but it cannot process signaling packets of new or different protocol types, requiring additional gateway deployments
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway is segmented into two independent functional modules: a control plane module that generates service control rules for different protocol types, and a user plane module that executes packet forwarding based on these rules. This segmentation allows the user plane module to handle multiple protocol types by simply receiving updated control rules, without requiring gateway replacement, thus resolving the contradiction between processing reliability and protocol adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway's forwarding behavior is made dynamic through the control plane module that can generate and update service control rules in real-time. Instead of static, fixed forwarding capabilities, the gateway can dynamically adapt its processing behavior to different protocol types by receiving updated control rules, enabling flexible protocol support while maintaining reliable packet processing
2Adaptability or versatility
If new gateways are deployed to support new protocols, then the network can process new-protocol-based signaling packets, but network costs increase due to additional hardware deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway is transformed into a universal processing platform where the user plane module can handle multiple protocol types by receiving service control rules from the control plane module. This multi-functionality eliminates the need to deploy separate gateways for each protocol type, as a single gateway can be reconfigured via control rules to support new protocols, thereby reducing the total quantity of gateways required in the network
3Device complexity
If the gateway uses a fixed processing procedure for signaling packets, then the processing is simple and reliable, but the gateway cannot accommodate new protocols requiring different processing procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The protocol-specific processing logic is extracted from the user plane module and relocated to the control plane module. The control plane module generates service control rules that contain the processing procedures for different protocol types, while the user plane module simply executes these rules. This extraction allows the gateway to accommodate new protocols by generating new control rules without complicating the user plane processing logic, maintaining simplicity while improving adaptability
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a signaling packet processing method and an entity. The method may include: obtaining, by a gateway user plane entity, processing information of a target signaling packet; and receiving, by the gateway user plane entity, the target signaling packet, and processing the target signaling packet according to the processing information. Network costs can be reduced in the embodiments of the present invention.