SDF-Based Network Access Control for CGN-Aware UP Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic steering solutions in SDN-based networks do not consider the availability of carrier-grade network address translation (CGN) resources when selecting user planes (UPs) for user equipment, leading to potential allocation failures.
Innovation Solution
A steering decision function (SDF) is introduced to manage CGN resources across multiple UPs, ensuring that a UP with available CGN resources is allocated to user equipment by maintaining a CGN resource pool and utilizing service-level agreement (SLA) policies to optimize traffic steering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traffic steering solution is implemented to balance load across multiple UPs, then network load balancing is improved, but CGN resource availability cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the SDF pre-obtain CGN resource information from multiple UPs before traffic steering decisions are made. The SDF maintains a mapping between CGN resources and UPs, ensuring that when user equipment needs to be steered to a UP, the target UP is guaranteed to have available CGN resources. This resolves the contradiction by preparing resource information in advance, preventing both load imbalance and CGN resource unavailability.
2Productivity
If multiple UPs are configured for BNG to handle large quantity of user equipments, then network access capacity is improved, but resource allocation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the SDF as an intermediary between the CP and multiple UPs. The SDF centralizes the management of CGN resource information and handles the complexity of resource allocation. When user equipment needs to access the network, the SDF queries the CGN resource pool, determines which UP has available resources, and returns the appropriate UP to the CP. This intermediary approach maintains high network access capacity through multiple UPs while reducing allocation complexity by centralizing decision-making in the SDF.
Data Source
AI summary
A network device having at least one processor and one or more non-transitory memories storing programming instructions that are associated with a steering decision function (SDF) in a network system and including instructions to obtain a carrier-grade network address translation (CGN) resource pool by receiving CGN resources reported by a plurality of user planes (UPs), where the network system includes the SDF, the plurality UPs, and a control plane (CP), receive a CGN instance obtaining request sent by the CP, the CGN instance obtaining request indicating to allocate a CGN instance to a user equipment, allocate a first CGN instance to the user equipment based on the CGN resource pool, the first CGN instance indicating a first UP, of the plurality of UPs, having an available CGN resource, and send the first CGN instance to the CP.