Lawful Interception Issue Reporting with Incremented Counters
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Solution Overview
Problem
In lawful interception systems, network elements (NE) may not reliably report issues to the lawful interception administrative function (LI ADMF), leading to unnoticed unreceived ReportIssue requests, which can cause misalignment and hinder recovery during network problems or misconfigurations, resulting in inefficiencies and potential data loss.
Innovation Solution
A method where the NE prepares and sends a Report Issue request message with an incremented Issue count, allowing the LI ADMF to identify and request information on missed messages, and includes mechanisms like Ping or Keep Alive responses to maintain real-time alignment and reduce unnecessary network overload by resending only missed data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the NE sends Report Issue request messages to the LI ADMF without reliable delivery confirmation, then the issue reporting process is simple, but the LI ADMF may not receive some messages leading to misalignment and data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the NE send a notification message before the actual Report Issue request, allowing the LI ADMF to prepare for receipt and track expected messages. This advance notification enables the LI ADMF to implement reliable delivery confirmation without complicating the core reporting mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through confirmation messages exchanged between NE and LI ADMF. The LI ADMF sends confirmation messages to acknowledge received Report Issue requests, and the NE can detect missing confirmations to identify undelivered messages. This feedback loop ensures reliable delivery while maintaining protocol simplicity.
2Reliability
If the LI ADMF requests information about all Report Issue messages periodically, then message alignment between NE and LI ADMF is maintained, but network overload occurs due to unnecessary resending of data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary information for synchronization by having the LI ADMF request details of specific missing Report Issue messages rather than all messages. The NE identifies which messages lack confirmation and sends only those specific messages for retransmission, eliminating unnecessary data transfer and reducing network overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by implementing selective retransmission of only missing messages rather than periodic retransmission of all messages. This approach maintains synchronization reliability while minimizing network bandwidth consumption by transmitting only the minimum necessary data.
3Reliability
If the NE resends all Report Issue messages periodically to ensure delivery, then message delivery reliability is improved, but network overload increases due to unnecessary resending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses feedback mechanisms where the LI ADMF sends confirmation messages for received Report Issue requests. The NE monitors these confirmations and only resends messages that lack confirmation, achieving reliable delivery without redundant transmissions. This feedback-driven selective retransmission maintains network efficiency while ensuring delivery reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action through advance notification messages that allow the LI ADMF to prepare for message receipt and implement tracking. This enables the system to distinguish between delivered and undelivered messages, preventing unnecessary retransmissions and maintaining network efficiency.
4Reliability
If the system implements comprehensive message tracking and confirmation mechanisms, then message delivery reliability is improved, but the complexity of the communication protocol increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication protocol into distinct, simple components: notification messages for advance alerting, Report Issue requests for actual reporting, and confirmation messages for acknowledgment. Each message type has a specific, simple function, making the overall protocol manageable while achieving comprehensive tracking and high reliability through the coordinated interaction of these segmented elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A method (200) performed by a communication device hosting a network element, NE, the method comprising: —preparing (202) a Report Issue request message for reporting an Issue; —incrementing (204) an Issue count to obtain a current Issue count of Issues reported by the NE to a lawful interception, LI, administrative function, ADMF; —adding (206) the current Issue count to the Report Issue request message; —sending (208) the Report Issue request message (610) including the current Issue count to the LI ADMF; —receiving (210) a request message (620) from the LI ADMF requesting information about at least one Report Issue request message sent by the NE and not received by the LI ADMF; and —sending (212) a response message (622) including the requested information.