Optimized Context for MME Resiliency

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Solution Overview

Problem

In wireless communication systems, when a Mobility Management Entity (MME) fails, the lack of context storage by other MMEs leads to significant downtime for mobile devices, as they cannot receive new traffic until reattachment to the cellular network, which can take up to 30 minutes.

Innovation Solution

Implementing an optimized context that includes less information and is smaller in size, allowing it to be stored and transmitted between MMEs, enabling a backup MME to establish a connection with the Serving Gateway (SGW) and the user device without waiting for reattachment, thus ensuring continuous traffic transmission.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the full context is stored in backup MME, then the user device can be quickly reconnected after MME failure, but the storage space requirement increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveMME resiliencyVSAvoidstorage space

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential elements needed for MME resiliency from the full context. The optimized context includes only critical information (user device identifier, serving gateway identifier, and base station identifier) while excluding unnecessary data, thereby reducing storage requirements while maintaining the ability to quickly reconnect users after MME failure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the context into two parts: the optimized context stored in backup MME for quick resiliency, and the full context stored in the primary MME for complete operational use. This segmentation allows each MME to store only what it needs, reducing overall storage requirements while maintaining full functionality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of time

If the optimized context is transmitted to backup MME, then the transmission time and bandwidth are reduced, but the information completeness for backup purposes is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontext transmission timeVSAvoidcontext information completeness

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts precisely the information elements required for backup MME functionality: user device identifier, serving gateway identifier, and base station identifier. This extraction reduces transmission time and bandwidth requirements while ensuring all necessary information for maintaining service continuity is preserved

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter of context size by selecting only essential elements for the optimized context. This parameter change achieves faster transmission while maintaining sufficient information completeness for backup operations, as the extracted elements are exactly what is needed for MME resiliency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS8929865B2Optimizing user device context for mobility management entity (MME) resiliency

Publication Date: 2015.01.06 VERIZON PATENT & LICENSING INC

AI summary

A first mobility management entity (MME) device receives an attachment request that includes information associated with a user device. The first MME device creates a context for the user device based on the information, stores the context, and creates an optimized context based on the context, wherein a size of the optimized context is smaller than a size of the context. The first MME device also identifies a second MME device that is a backup for the first MME device, and transmits the optimized context to the second MME device.