Media Gateway Controller Load Balancing via Self-Monitoring Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for load sharing and overload control in packet media gateways require detailed information about hardware components, are not robust, and are reactive, only addressing congestion after it occurs, limiting their effectiveness in managing resource capacity.
Innovation Solution
A method that sets threshold levels for traffic reporting intervals between media gateways and controllers, allowing for proactive load balancing and congestion management without requiring detailed hardware knowledge, using a tunable reporting interval and specific resource usage monitoring to distribute traffic and throttle as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the media gateway controller maintains detailed information on hardware components and dynamic counters, then resource capacity management is possible, but the system complexity increases and robustness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The media gateway performs self-monitoring of its own resource capacity and autonomously generates threshold exceedance notifications when resources are depleted. This eliminates the need for the media gateway controller to maintain detailed hardware component information, as the gateway itself tracks and reports its status, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining reliable resource management
Solution Approach 2:
A feedback mechanism is established where the media gateway continuously monitors resource usage and automatically notifies the controller when thresholds are exceeded. This feedback loop enables the controller to respond to actual gateway status without requiring prior detailed knowledge of hardware components, improving robustness while reducing the complexity of maintaining hardware information at the controller
2Reliability
If the media gateway controller uses reactive threshold-based traffic rejection, then congestion is addressed, but the system responds only after problems occur
Solution Approach 1:
Threshold levels for resource capacity are pre-configured and established before congestion occurs. The media gateway continuously monitors resource usage against these predetermined thresholds and proactively notifies the controller before capacity is fully depleted, enabling preventive rather than reactive congestion management and reducing response time
Solution Approach 2:
A continuous feedback mechanism monitors resource capacity in real-time and triggers notifications when thresholds are approached or exceeded. This allows the system to detect congestion conditions early and respond promptly, transitioning from reactive threshold-based rejection to proactive threshold-monitored management, thereby reducing the time loss associated with congestion
3Productivity
If the media gateway controller implements load balancing with resource capacity knowledge, then call completion is maximized, but the controller requires explicit hardware resource information
Solution Approach 1:
The media gateway autonomously tracks its own resource capacity and availability, eliminating the need for the controller to maintain explicit hardware resource information. The gateway provides this self-acquired information to the controller through notifications, enabling intelligent load balancing and maximized call completion while reducing the complexity of resource information management at the controller
Solution Approach 2:
The media gateway acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between hardware resources and the controller. It monitors resource capacity directly at the hardware level and translates this information into meaningful notifications for the controller, allowing the controller to perform load balancing and maximize call completion without requiring explicit knowledge of hardware resource details
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for load balancing and overload control of packet media gateways under control of a single media gateway controller is provided. More particularly, the invention is directed to a technique for load balancing and overload control by defining an interface between the media gateway (MG) and the media gateway controller (MGC) to handle both load balancing as well as general congestion and resource congestion. In addition, a new event strategy is defined that reports resource utilization so that the media gateway controller (MGC) can take appropriate action to maximize call completion. Such action may include evenly distributing traffic among available media gateways, smart routing around a congested media gateway or intelligent throttling of traffic based on knowledge of specific resources that are congested.