Lockless Charging Node Resource Quota Sharing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing communications network resource quota sharing methods, particularly in shared plans, face challenges such as increased latency and performance issues due to the use of locks to prevent over-consumption, which can complicate distributed architectures handling multiple members of a shared plan.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a lockless communications network resource quota sharing system where a charging node provides a temporary resource quota without locking the shared resources plan, allowing initial resource consumption while reserving additional resources from another node, thereby mitigating latency and complexity in distributed architectures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If locks are used to prevent resource over-consumption in shared resources plans, then resource over-consumption is prevented, but latency and network performance deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource over-consumption preventionVSAvoidlatency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-allocates a portion of the shared resource quota to the requesting member before the resource is actually consumed. This preliminary action establishes a reserved amount that is immediately available, eliminating the need for locking during the actual resource access. The pre-allocation ensures that the member cannot over-consume while allowing immediate resource access, thus preventing both over-consumption and latency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If locks are used to manage shared resources plan, then resource quota control is ensured, but network performance and throughput deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource quota controlVSAvoidnetwork performance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The shared resource quota is segmented into multiple portions, with a first portion pre-allocated to the requesting member and a second portion managed by the charging system. This segmentation allows the pre-allocated portion to be accessed without locking, improving network performance, while the second portion maintains control through the charging system. The segmentation effectively divides the resource management into concurrent operations that do not require mutual exclusion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If synchronous locking is used in distributed charging system, then resource quota accuracy is maintained, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource quota accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The locking mechanism is extracted and replaced with a pre-allocation approach. Instead of using synchronous locks to maintain resource quota accuracy, the system pre-allocates a reserved amount to each member and tracks consumption against this reserved amount. This extraction eliminates the complexity of distributed locking while maintaining accuracy through the pre-allocation and tracking mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Reliability

If locks are used to handle concurrent requests from multiple members, then resource over-consumption is prevented, but request processing speed decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource over-consumption preventionVSAvoidrequest processing speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary pre-allocation of resource quotas to members before concurrent requests are processed. This preliminary action creates reserved amounts that are immediately available for consumption, allowing multiple members to access resources concurrently without requiring locks during the actual request processing. The pre-allocation prevents over-consumption while enabling high-speed concurrent access.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4062627B1Methods, systems, and computer readable media for lockless communications network resource quota sharing
Publication Date: 2024.08.14 ORACLE INT CORP
  • EP4062627B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4062627B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4062627B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

An example method for lockless communications network resource quota sharing occurs at a first charging node of a distributed charging system comprising multiple charging nodes. The example method comprises: receiving, from a requesting entity, a first communications network resource quota request for requesting a first resource amount from the shared resources plan; without confirming that the shared resources plan has enough available resources to allot the first resource amount, providing, to the requesting entity, a first communications network resource quota for the first member, wherein the first communications network resource quota indicates a second resource amount less than the first resource amount and/or wherein the first communications network resource quota is associated with a validity time indicating when the first communications network resource quota expires; and sending, to a second charging node, a first resource reservation request for reserving resources of the shared resources plan.