gNB-CU-UP Data Plane High Availability via Passive POD Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cloud infrastructure does not ensure high availability with zero downtime for gNB-CU-UP nodes, leading to significant service disruptions when a data-plane POD crashes, affecting a substantial subscriber base.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an internal controller to identify data-plane POD crashes, initiate procedures to switch a passive POD to an active state, maintain backup flows, migrate IP, and launch a new passive POD for backup, ensuring rapid recovery and minimizing service disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single active data-plane POD is used for gNB-CU-UP, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates because any POD crash causes service disruption
Solution Approach 1:
A passive POD is prepared in advance with all necessary configurations, flows, and IP addresses before any crash occurs. When the active POD crashes, the passive POD is already ready to immediately take over without requiring complex recovery procedures, thus improving reliability while maintaining simple operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The passive POD serves as a complete copy of the active POD, containing identical flow tables, IP addresses, and configuration data. This copying approach ensures that failover is seamless and maintains service continuity without requiring complex synchronization mechanisms during operation.
2Reliability
If a passive POD with backup flows is maintained for high availability, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional POD management
Solution Approach 1:
The passive POD automatically performs self-service by maintaining all necessary flows and configurations in standby mode. When failover is needed, the POD autonomously activates without requiring manual intervention or complex orchestration, simplifying management while ensuring high availability.
Solution Approach 2:
All backup flows and configurations are prepared in advance in the passive POD. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time flow migration or configuration synchronization during failover, making the system easier to operate while maintaining high reliability.
3Reliability
If rapid failover from active to passive POD is implemented, then reliability is improved with minimal downtime, but device complexity increases due to coordinated switching procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The passive POD maintains an identical copy of all active POD resources including IP addresses and flow tables. This copying strategy enables immediate failover without complex migration procedures, as the passive POD is already configured to handle all traffic seamlessly upon activation.
Solution Approach 2:
All failover necessary actions are performed in advance during the passive POD setup phase. Flow tables, IP addresses, and configurations are pre-synchronized, eliminating the need for complex coordinated switching procedures during actual failover events and enabling rapid service continuity.
Data Source
AI summary
The presently described invention provides gNB-CU-UP data plane high availability in a public or private cloud. In one embodiment, a method of providing gNB-CU-UP data plane high availability in public/private cloud includes identifying, by an internal controller, when a data-plane Pod crashes; initiating, by the internal controller, procedures to make a passive POD to an active state; the procedures including at least one of: maintaining, by the passive POD, all flows of all active PODs in it as backup; identifying, by the passive POD, flows of the impacted data-plane POD and marking those flows to an active state; marking remaining non-active flows at the passive POD to be removed; triggering, by the internal controller, label changing of the passive data-plane POD; migrating data-plane Internet Protocol (IP) of crashed POD to the passive data-plane POD; and launching, by a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), a new passive POD for backup.