PCRF Gx Session Recovery via IP Gateway Mapping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In telecommunication networks, the failure of Gx binding information at the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) leads to inability to find established Gx sessions, resulting in error messages and call failures, which can cause a spike in traffic to circuit-switched networks, potentially overwhelming them.
Innovation Solution
The PCRF maintains a mapping table linking UE IP addresses with corresponding gateways, allowing it to restore or create a new Gx session when binding information is unavailable, thereby avoiding error messages and ensuring continuous service.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the PCRF relies solely on Gx binding information to identify established Gx sessions, then the system maintains simplicity in session management, but the reliability deteriorates when binding information fails, causing call failures and error messages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing a mapping table that links UE IP addresses with gateway identifiers before Gx binding information failure occurs. This mapping table serves as a preparatory backup mechanism that enables the PCRF to immediately restore Gx sessions without complex real-time analysis when binding information becomes unavailable, thus improving reliability without significantly increasing operational complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mapping table as an intermediary structure between the UE IP address and the gateway identifier. This mapping table acts as a mediator that facilitates session restoration by providing an alternative path to identify the correct gateway when direct Gx binding information is unavailable, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity
2Loss of information
If the PCRF cannot find established Gx sessions due to binding information failure, then the system avoids maintaining redundant session data, but harmful effects increase through error messages and call failures that overwhelm circuit-switched networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of Gx binding information failure into a beneficial outcome by using the failure scenario as a trigger to query the mapping table. When binding information is unavailable, the system benefitfully utilizes the pre-established mapping relationships to restore sessions, thereby transforming what would be error-generating situations into opportunities for resilient session recovery that prevents call failures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by pre-populating the mapping table with UE IP address to gateway identifier associations before any failure occurs. This preparatory cushioning mechanism ensures that when Gx binding information fails, the PCRF has pre-established alternative information to rely on, preventing the generation of error messages and call failures that would otherwise overwhelm circuit-switched networks
Data Source
AI summary
A Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) can maintain a mapping table that associates gateway identifiers of gateways in a packet core network with corresponding IP address ranges. Based on an IP address of user equipment (UE), the PCRF can identify which of the IP address ranges in the mapping table over the UE's IP address, and which gateway identifier is mapped to that IP address range. The PCRF can accordingly contact the identified gateway to establish a Gx session for the UE with the gateway, such as restoring a previous Gx session or establishing a new Gx session.