NRF Locality Prioritization for Lower-Latency NF Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
In 5G telecommunications networks, consumer NFs may select producer NFs that are farther away due to incorrect or missing preferred-locality parameters in NF discovery requests, leading to increased latency and suboptimal network communication.
Innovation Solution
The NRF overrides or applies preferred-locality criteria by using its own locality or the nearest locality to a heart-beating producer NF, ensuring that producer NFs closer to the consumer NF are prioritized in the discovery response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the NRF uses registered priority alone to prioritize producer NF profiles without applying preferred-locality criteria, then the NF discovery process is simple and fast, but producer NFs that are farther away may be selected over closer ones, resulting in increased latency
Solution Approach 1:
The NRF pre-determines and stores locality information for each producer NF during registration. When processing discovery requests, the NRF retrieves this pre-stored locality data and applies it to prioritize NF profiles, rather than calculating distances in real-time. This preliminary preparation reduces processing complexity while enabling latency optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The NRF changes the prioritization parameter from using only registered priority to a composite parameter that combines registered priority with locality-based distance metrics. By modifying the prioritization criteria to include locality information, the system can select closer producer NFs while maintaining a balance with registered priorities, thus reducing latency without completely overriding the registration-based priority system.
2Ease of operation
If the consumer NF specifies a preferred-locality parameter in the NF discovery request, then the NRF can prioritize local producer NFs, but the parameter may have no meaning to the NRF if it specifies a locality in another network
Solution Approach 1:
The NRF acts as an intermediary that receives the preferred-locality parameter from the consumer NF, validates whether it corresponds to a known locality in its network, and if not, overrides it with the NRF's own locality or a default locality. This mediation ensures that the consumer NF's preference is respected when valid, while preventing errors when the parameter is meaningless to the current NRF.
Solution Approach 2:
The NRF performs a preliminary check to detect when the preferred-locality parameter has no meaning in its network (e.g., specifies a locality in another network). Upon detecting this condition, the NRF preemptively overrides the invalid parameter with a valid locality, preventing the subsequent error of prioritizing based on meaningless data. This preliminary anti-action eliminates the reliability issue before it can affect NF selection.
3Loss of time
If the NRF overrides the preferred-locality attribute with its own locality, then producer NFs closer to the consumer NF are prioritized, but the consumer NF's original preference is not respected
Solution Approach 1:
The NRF dynamically adjusts the preferred-locality attribute based on the specific conditions of each discovery request. When the consumer NF's preferred locality is valid and meaningful to the NRF, the system respects and applies it. When the preferred locality is invalid or meaningless, the system dynamically overrides it with the NRF's own locality. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to balance between respecting consumer preferences and optimizing for actual proximity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for applying or overriding preferred locality criteria in processing NF discovery requests includes, at an NRF including at least one processor, maintaining an NF profiles database including NF profiles of producer NFs registered to provide service to other NFs, receiving, from an NF, an NFDiscover request including a preferred-locality attribute or lacking a preferred-locality attribute, accessing the NF profiles database to identify NF profiles of producer NFs capable of providing a service indicated by query parameters in the NFDiscover request, generating an NFDiscover response including the NF profiles identified as capable of providing the service indicated by the query parameters in the NFDiscover request, prioritizing the NF profiles in the NFDiscover response in a manner that overrides the preferred-locality attribute in the NFDiscover request or applies a preferred locality attribute selected by the NRF, and transmitting the NFDiscover response to the NF that transmitted the NFDiscover request.