Media Gateway Controller Shared Risk Group Allocation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current telecommunications systems lack a method to ensure that secondary links in a media gateway do not share the same resources as primary links, leading to undesirable failure behavior when both are affected by resource failures.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a shared risk group package in a media gateway controller to control which resources are used for establishing primary and secondary links, ensuring that they do not share the same risk of failure by utilizing different shared risk groups for each link.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the media gateway uses CHOOSE (?) Termination ID for both primary and secondary links, then resource allocation is simplified and automatic, but both links may use related resources that share the same risk of failure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomatic resource allocationVSAvoidconnection failure resilience

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary classification of resources into shared risk groups before establishing connections. The media gateway controller assigns termination IDs based on pre-defined risk groups, ensuring that secondary links are allocated from different risk groups than primary links. This preliminary organization prevents the contradiction by proactively avoiding resource overlap before failures occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The resource pool is segmented into multiple shared risk groups, where each group represents a distinct set of resources that fail together. By segmenting resources this way, the system can allocate primary and secondary links from different segments, ensuring independence. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by structuring resources to prevent correlated failures while maintaining automated allocation through group-based assignment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Device complexity

If the media gateway establishes secondary links using the same resource selection method as primary links, then the establishment process is consistent and simple, but error resilience is compromised when resources share the same failure risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelink establishment processVSAvoiderror resilience

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different quality requirements to primary and secondary link establishment locally. While the overall process remains consistent, the secondary link establishment incorporates an additional constraint of selecting from a different shared risk group. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by maintaining procedural consistency while introducing targeted diversity where needed for reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The media gateway controller pre-configures shared risk group information and makes it available during the link establishment process. This preliminary preparation allows the consistent establishment procedure to automatically select appropriate resources from different risk groups without adding manual complexity. The preliminary action embeds the reliability requirement into the automated process itself.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If redundant links use diverse resources, then connection reliability improves, but resource management complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconnection failure resilienceVSAvoidresource management

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The shared risk group classification serves multiple functions simultaneously: it organizes resources for diversity, guides automated allocation, and provides failure analysis capability. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by making the resource management system versatile enough to handle reliability requirements without proportionally increasing complexity. The same classification structure supports both diverse resource selection and simplified control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The media gateway controller automatically performs shared risk group-based resource selection without requiring manual intervention or complex external management. The system self-services by using pre-configured risk group information to make intelligent allocation decisions. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by automating the complex task of diverse resource management, maintaining reliability while reducing operational complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS7457237B2Shared risk group handling within a media gateway

Publication Date: 2008.11.25 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

A media gateway controller (MGC) is described herein that implements a shared risk group package to control and prevent a media gateway (MG) from establishing redundant links like a primary link and a secondary link that use resources that share the same risk of failure. Essentially, the MGC uses the shared risk group package to control which resources like ephemeral terminations are used by the MG to establish the primary link and the secondary link such that if any of the resources associated with the primary link fail then the secondary link remains operational within the MG and if any of the resources associated with the secondary link fail then the primary link remains operational within the MG.