Recurrent Policy Rule Enforcement in Telecommunications Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
The 3GPP PCC standard lacks provisions for automatically repeating the enforcement of policy rules or enforcing them according to a schedule, such as daily or weekly intervals, in telecommunications networks.
Innovation Solution
A network entity with a rules database and rules engine is implemented to maintain and recurrently enforce policy rules, using enforcement activation conditions and recurrence attributes to automatically activate and deactivate policy rule enforcement based on predefined schedules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If policy rules are installed with future activation using AVP Rule-Activation-Time, then policy enforcement can be scheduled for future points in time, but the system cannot automatically repeat or recurrently enforce the policy rules according to schedules
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by introducing an enforcement recurrence attribute that specifies how often a policy rule should be enforced (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly intervals). The rules engine automatically evaluates this attribute and schedules recurrent enforcement actions, enabling time-based periodic policy application without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by allowing policy rules to be pre-configured with future activation times and recurrence schedules before they are actually enforced. The system stores these pre-planned enforcement schedules and automatically executes them when the specified times arrive, eliminating the need for real-time manual policy deployment.
2Productivity
If manual policy rule installation and enforcement scheduling is used, then system complexity remains low, but network management efficiency and operational automation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by designing the rules engine to handle multiple policy enforcement scenarios through a single unified mechanism. The same engine processes both one-time future activations and recurrent scheduled enforcement, as well as immediate policy applications, eliminating the need for separate handling mechanisms for different enforcement types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the rules engine to automatically manage policy enforcement scheduling without external intervention. The engine monitors current time, compares it against stored activation times and recurrence schedules, and autonomously triggers appropriate enforcement actions, reducing the need for manual network management operations.
3Extent of automation
If policy rules are enforced immediately upon installation, then rapid response is achieved, but scheduled or recurrent enforcement capabilities are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by allowing policy rules to have flexible activation timing that can be adjusted based on operational needs. The system supports immediate activation, future scheduled activation, and recurrent enforcement patterns, enabling the enforcement timing to dynamically adapt to different scenarios rather than being fixed to a single approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer readable media for automatic, repetitive enforcement of a policy rule according to a schedule are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method for automatic, recurrent enforcement of a policy rule includes providing, to a node for enforcing policy rules in a telecommunications network, an automatically recurrent policy rule, the policy rule defining an enforcement activation condition and including an enforcement recurrence attribute; and using, at the node, the enforcement activation condition and the enforcement recurrence attribute to recurrently activate the enforcement of the policy rule according to the enforcement recurrence attribute.