NRF Cache Update Notifications for Impacted NF Discovery Results

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Solution Overview

Problem

In 5G telecommunications networks, NF discovery service consumers face difficulties in identifying NF discovery results impacted by NF profile updates, leading to processor-intensive operations and potential routing failures due to incomplete or outdated cached discovery responses.

Innovation Solution

The NRF caches NF discovery responses, query parameters, and validity times, and upon receiving an NF update, identifies and notifies consumers of affected discovery results, updating cached information to ensure synchronized and efficient retrieval of updated NF profiles.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If NF discovery service consumers perform processor-intensive operations to identify impacted NF discovery results, then NF discovery accuracy is improved, but processing load and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveNF discovery result identification accuracyVSAvoidprocessor-intensive operations

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The NRF acts as an intermediary between the producer NF and consumer NFs. When the NRF receives an NF update message, it performs the identification of impacted NF discovery results using its cached information, rather than requiring consumer NFs to perform processor-intensive identification operations. The NRF then communicates the identified impacted results to consumers, resolving the contradiction by shifting the complex processing to the intermediary (NRF) while maintaining accurate identification.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Speed

If NF discovery service consumers maintain cached NF discovery results, then retrieval speed is improved, but data staleness and routing failures increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveNF discovery retrieval speedVSAvoidrouting accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements a feedback mechanism where the NRF monitors NF profile updates and identifies when cached NF discovery results become stale. When staleness is detected, the NRF communicates the impacted NF discovery results to consumer NFs, triggering them to refresh their caches. This feedback loop ensures that cached data remains current, maintaining both fast retrieval speeds and high routing accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The NRF performs preliminary identification of impacted NF discovery results before notifying consumer NFs. By using cached information to determine which results are affected by updates, the NRF proactively prepares the system for cache invalidation or refresh operations, preventing routing failures before they occur while maintaining the performance benefits of caching.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of information

If NF discovery service consumers refresh NF discovery results frequently, then data freshness is improved, but network traffic and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveNF discovery information freshnessVSAvoidnetwork efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The feedback mechanism allows the NRF to notify consumer NFs only when NF profile updates actually impact cached NF discovery results. This event-driven approach eliminates the need for frequent unnecessary refreshes, maintaining information freshness while optimizing network efficiency by triggering updates only when required.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of refreshing all NF discovery results universally, the system performs partial refreshes only for the specific impacted results identified by the NRF. This selective approach maintains data freshness for affected entries while avoiding the overhead of refreshing unrelated cached data, thereby improving network efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS12513052B2Methods, systems, and computer readable media for identifying, to network function (NF) discovery service consumers, NF discovery results impacted by an NF profile update

Publication Date: 2025.12.30 ORACLE INT CORP

AI summary

A method for identifying cached NF discovery results impacted by an NF profile update to NF discovery service consumers includes receiving an NF discovery request including query parameters, generating an NF discovery response, communicating the NF discovery response to the NF discovery service consumer, and caching information associated with the NF discovery response. The method further includes receiving an NF update message for changing a value of at least one attribute of an NF profile of a producer NF, determining that the change in the value of at least one attribute of the NF profile of the producer NF would have impacted the NF discovery response, updating the cached information associated with the NF discovery response, and communicating, to the NF discovery service consumer, a notification message including the NF profile of the producer NF and identifying the NF discovery response as an impacted NF discovery response.