IoT UPF-Gateway GRE Tunneling for Load-Balanced Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing internet of things (IoT) device communication technologies face challenges in large-scale deployment due to high manpower and material resource consumption in direct connections, poor disaster tolerance in VPN solutions, and inadequate interconnection between intranets.
Innovation Solution
Establishing Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnels between User Plane Functions (UPFs) and multiple gateway devices for load balancing, enabling seamless data transmission and disaster tolerance by switching to healthy gateways in case of failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct connection solution is used between IoT devices and network devices, then connection stability is improved, but manpower and material resource consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces gateway devices as intermediaries between IoT devices and network devices. Instead of direct connections, data packets are routed through gateways which perform routing and forwarding functions. This mediator approach maintains connection stability while dramatically reducing the complexity of direct wiring and deployment resources required for large-scale IoT networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The network is segmented into multiple gateway devices that independently handle routing for different IoT devices or device groups. Each gateway manages a portion of the network traffic, dividing the overall system complexity into manageable segments. This segmentation reduces the manpower and materials needed compared to a monolithic direct connection approach.
2Reliability
If VPN solution is used to establish network links, then security is improved, but interconnection between intranets is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway devices are designed with multi-functionality, serving both security functions (similar to VPN) and intranet interconnection functions simultaneously. The routing and forwarding capabilities enable gateways to handle both encrypted secure connections and direct intranet communication, making the system adaptable to different communication requirements without sacrificing either security or interconnection capability.
3Device complexity
If single gateway device is used, then device complexity is reduced, but transmission pressure on the gateway increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network is divided into multiple gateway devices, each handling a portion of the total transmission load. This segmentation distributes the traffic pressure across multiple nodes, preventing any single gateway from becoming a bottleneck. While this increases the number of gateway devices, it maintains individual gateway complexity at manageable levels while significantly improving overall transmission efficiency through parallel processing of data packets.
4Productivity
If multiple gateways are deployed for load balancing, then transmission efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway devices are designed with self-service capabilities including automatic health status monitoring and self-healing mechanisms. When a gateway detects failures or performance degradation, it automatically adjusts routing decisions or redirects traffic to healthy gateways without requiring complex centralized management. This self-service approach mitigates the complexity increase from having multiple gateways by enabling autonomous operation and fault tolerance at the gateway level.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network communication method and device of an internet of things device. The method includes: determining a target UPF to which an internet of things device belongs in response to receiving a plurality of pieces of communication data between the internet of things device and a network device, the target UPF being configured to provide a routing and forwarding function of a user plane data packet, where each UPF is connected to at least two gateways and realizes load balancing by crossed GRE tunnels; determining a GRE tunnel corresponding to each of at least two gateway devices corresponding to the target UPF; and transmitting the plurality of pieces of communication data through the GRE tunnel, where the plurality of pieces of communication data include first communication data and second communication data.