PCRF Fault Tolerance via Diameter Session State Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional PCRF systems face performance impacts and inefficiencies when recovering from failures, as they often require replaying all state information, which can be unnecessary and burdensome, especially with multiple Gx clients handling large numbers of sessions.
Innovation Solution
The method involves sending a message to a Diameter peer to validate the accuracy of maintained session state information, requesting only missing information through an educated guess or sequential auditing, minimizing unnecessary data retrieval and reducing performance impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the PCRF requests a replay of all state information from Gx clients to recover lost state information after failure, then the PCRF can recover complete state information, but the network performance is negatively impacted due to the burden of replaying all sessions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the state information recovery process by dividing Gx sessions into different groups and selectively replaying only those sessions that are likely to have changed state, rather than replaying all sessions. This is achieved through maintaining state information about active sessions and using this information to determine which sessions require replay, thus reducing the overall replay burden while ensuring recovery of necessary state information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by requesting replay of only a subset of Gx sessions rather than all sessions. By using the maintained state information to identify which sessions may have state changes, the system performs a partial replay that is sufficient for recovery purposes without the excessive burden of replaying every session, thereby balancing recovery completeness with network performance.
2Loss of information
If the PCRF requests replay of all Gx sessions state information to ensure complete recovery, then no state information is lost, but the time and resources required for recovery increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by maintaining state information about active Gx sessions during normal operation, before any failure occurs. This pre-maintained state information is then used after failure to quickly identify which sessions require replay, eliminating the need for a time-consuming complete replay of all sessions and enabling faster recovery while ensuring no necessary state information is lost.
3Productivity
If the PCRF maintains detailed state information about active Diameter sessions, then recovery can be more efficient, but the complexity of the PCRF system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (such as a Diameter signaling router or separate state information storage mechanism) that maintains state information about active Gx sessions. This intermediary acts as a mediator between the PCRF and Gx clients, allowing the PCRF to efficiently recover state information after failure without requiring the PCRF itself to maintain complex state tracking logic, thus improving recovery efficiency while managing system complexity through separation of concerns.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer readable media for PCRF fault tolerance are disclosed. One exemplary method for PCRF fault tolerance includes sending, from the PCRF to a Diameter peer, a message concerning Diameter application session state information associated with Diameter application sessions currently or previously managed by the PCRF. The method further includes receiving, by the PCRF, a message from the Diameter peer in response to the message concerning the Diameter application session state information. The method further includes, determining, by the PCRF and based on the response, whether the Diameter application session state information maintained by the PCRF is accurate. The method further includes, in response to determining that the Diameter application session state information maintained by the PCRF is not accurate, requesting, by the PCRF, Diameter application session state information.