Roaming Firewall Idle Timer Adjustment for IoT Power Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
User equipment devices in M2M and IoT networks experience frequent disconnection due to short idle timers in roaming firewalls, leading to excessive power consumption when reattaching to the home network after extended power-saving modes.
Innovation Solution
A network entity that adjusts the idle timer for firewall sessions based on the user equipment device's inactivity phase, allowing the device to maintain a connection without reattachment by transmitting a timer duration value to the home network, enabling longer power-saving mode durations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the idle timer in the roaming firewall is set to a short duration (e.g., 1 hour or 24 hours), then the firewall session table remains small and security monitoring is efficient, but the user equipment device must frequently reattach to the home network, consuming excessive power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the idle timer duration adjustable rather than fixed. The network entity dynamically adapts the idle timer value based on the actual inactivity phase characteristics of the user equipment device. This allows the system to optimize between maintaining connectivity (reducing power consumption from frequent reattachments) and managing firewall session resources efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying the idle timer parameter of the firewall session based on observed device behavior. The network entity monitors the device's inactivity patterns and adjusts the timer duration accordingly, transforming a static security parameter into a dynamic one that adapts to actual usage patterns.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the idle timer is extended to match the device's inactivity phase, then power consumption is reduced by avoiding frequent reattachments, but the firewall session table grows larger and security monitoring complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts idle timer durations based on actual device inactivity patterns rather than using fixed conservative values. This dynamic adaptation allows the firewall to maintain appropriate session durations without excessive resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The network entity automatically monitors device activity patterns and self-adjusts the idle timer parameters without requiring manual configuration or intervention. The system serves itself by learning from observed behavior and optimizing its own parameters.
3Ease of operation
If the network uses standard idle timers for firewall sessions, then security monitoring is simplified and session tables remain manageable, but M2M and IoT devices with extended power-saving modes experience frequent disconnections and excessive power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static, one-size-fits-all idle timer approach into a dynamic system that adapts to different device types and their specific power-saving patterns. The network entity learns and adapts to each device's inactivity phase, providing optimized timer values.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the idle timer parameter from a fixed standard value to a dynamically adjusted value based on device-specific characteristics. This parameter adaptation allows the firewall to accommodate diverse device requirements while maintaining manageable complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a network entity 200 for creating a transmission session for a user equipment device 300 in a visited network 500. The transmission session is configured for transmitting data between the visited network 500 and a home network 501. The user equipment device 300 comprises an inactivity phase in which no transmission is sent. The transmission between the visited network 500 and the home network 501 is observed by a roaming firewall 503, 504 that is configured to check data transmitted between the visited network 500 and the home network 501. The roaming firewall 503, 504 is configured to create a firewall session for the user equipment device 300, the firewall session comprising an idle timer for quitting the firewall session after an idle time in which no transmission is sent via the transmission session. The network entity 200 comprises an interface 202 that is configured to receive a first control message, the control message comprising a timer duration value indicating a duration of the inactivity phase of the user equipment device 300. The network entity comprises a processor 201 that is configured to create a second control message according to a data transmission protocol and to include the received timer duration value into the control message so that the roaming firewall 503, 504 is able to read the timer duration value. The interface 202 is configured to transmit the control message towards a home network entity 502 of the home network 501 via the roaming firewall 503, 504. The invention further relates to a network system a method for configuring an idle timer of a roaming firewall and a computer program product.