RF Site Resilience via Dual Active Visitor Location Registers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems, particularly in Mission Critical applications, face service outages due to infrastructure device or link failures, leading to loss of data and communication disruptions, which are unacceptable in scenarios requiring consistent reliability.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a communication system with multiple Visitor Location Registers (VLRs) that simultaneously service an RF site, providing redundant communication paths by having two active switches cover the same geographical location, ensuring continuous data transmission and minimizing downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single switch services an RF site, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to service outages from infrastructure failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by having multiple VLRs (specifically a primary VLR and a secondary VLR) service the same RF site simultaneously, rather than using a single centralized switch. This distributes the service function locally across multiple nodes, ensuring that if one VLR fails, the other can maintain communication services, thus improving reliability without significantly increasing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements beforehand cushioning by pre-establishing a secondary VLR that is ready to take over if the primary VLR fails. This redundant configuration is set up in advance, so when infrastructure failures occur, the system can immediately switch to the secondary VLR without service interruption, cushioning against the harmful effects of failures before they impact service
2Reliability
If redundant configuration with standby switch is used, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to re-routing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves continuity of useful action by having both the primary and secondary VLRs actively service the RF site simultaneously, rather than having a standby switch that activates only after failure. This dual-active configuration ensures that communication services continue uninterrupted because the secondary VLR is already engaged and ready, eliminating re-routing delays and maintaining continuous useful action even during failures
3Loss of information
If single switch configuration is used, then device complexity is minimized, but data loss occurs during infrastructure failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining the functions of multiple VLRs (primary and secondary) to simultaneously service a single RF site. This consolidation of multiple switching functions into a coordinated dual-VLR architecture protects against data loss during failures while managing device complexity through functional integration rather than proliferation of independent systems
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system are presented in which communication redundancy is provided. Multicast packets having the same audio and/or control data are simultaneously transmitted between an RF site and different switches through different communication links. The packets from the RF site have different origination addresses and a unique ID, which permits duplicate packets having different origination addresses but the same unique ID and data to be eliminated and only one set of packets to be transmitted over the air to a receiving end device for which the packets are intended. A switch communication link between the switches permits the primary switch to establish operating characteristics for the alternate switch.