5G Core NF Binding for Backup Instance Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network function (NF) systems in 5G Core lack efficient mechanisms for providing backup NF instances or service instances, leading to suboptimal load balancing and redundancy management during failures or re-balancing, as the current binding indications do not adequately support the selection of appropriate backup entities.
Innovation Solution
The method involves transmitting and receiving information about backup NF or NF service instances within a binding indication, allowing network nodes to select appropriate backup entities based on their IDs, ensuring redundancy and failover capabilities by specifying backup NF instances or service instances through enhanced binding indications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If NF instances are deployed for distribution and redundancy, then service reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple NF instances and backup entity management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the NF management into primary NF instances and backup NF instances, with distinct roles and responsibilities. Each NF instance is independently manageable, allowing the system to handle complexity through modular organization rather than monolithic structure, thus improving reliability while controlling complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring backup NF entities and establishing binding indications before failures occur. The network node proactively sets up alternative routing paths and backup entity identifiers, so when a primary NF fails, the switch to backup entities is immediate and seamless, improving reliability without requiring complex real-time decision-making during failures.
2Reliability
If binding indication mechanisms are implemented for NF selection, then service continuity is improved during failures, but information overhead increases due to additional binding indication data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the binding indication information into a separate, dedicated data structure that can be independently managed and transmitted. By separating binding indications from other NF communication data, the system minimizes information overhead in general communications while ensuring service continuity through targeted transmission of only the necessary binding information when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating lightweight references (binding indications) to backup NF entities rather than duplicating entire NF configurations. The binding indication contains essential routing information and entity identifiers that enable fast failover without requiring complete copies of backup NF data, thus maintaining service continuity while minimizing information overhead.
3Loss of time
If backup NF entities are pre-configured, then failover time is reduced, but network resource consumption increases due to maintaining standby entities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial action by maintaining backup NF entities with just enough resources to handle failover scenarios. Rather than keeping fully activated backup entities consuming maximum resources, the system maintains them in a standby state with essential configurations and binding indications pre-set, reducing network resource consumption while ensuring fast failover when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring binding indications and essential routing information for backup entities before failures occur. This allows the system to have backup entities ready with minimal resource allocation, and only activate full functionality when actually needed, thus reducing ongoing network resource consumption while maintaining rapid failover capability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a method in a network node implementing a Network Function, NF. The method includes: transmitting, to another NF, information indicating an identifier, ID, of each of one or more backup entities for one or more contexts in the NF. The information is included in a binding indication or a separate indication from the binding indication. The one or more backup entities are one or more backup NF instances or one or more backup NF service instances.