SDN Forwarding Device for Local UE Keep-Alive and Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
The management of User Equipment (UE) in Software Defined Networks (SDNs) leads to significant resource wastage due to keep-alive detection and charging processes being handled by the controller, which overloads the network and wastes bandwidth.
Innovation Solution
The forwarding device in the SDN is empowered to perform keep-alive detection and charging operations based on indication messages from the controller, reducing the load on the controller by managing UE locally.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the controller performs keep-alive detection and charging management for all users, then centralized management and control is achieved, but controller resources and network bandwidth are excessively consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments user management functions by dividing the network device into a controller plane and a forwarding plane. The controller plane handles centralized management decisions, while the forwarding plane executes local keep-alive detection and charging operations. This segmentation reduces controller resource consumption by offloading repetitive user management tasks to the forwarding plane, which processes them locally without requiring continuous controller intervention.
2Ease of operation
If the controller handles all user management functions, then uniform control is maintained, but the network device becomes a bottleneck and service quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts user management functions (keep-alive detection, charging) from the controller and relocates them to the forwarding plane. This extraction allows the forwarding plane to independently handle user management tasks, reducing the controller's processing burden and preventing it from becoming a bottleneck. Consequently, network throughput and service quality improve as the forwarding plane can process user management operations locally without waiting for controller responses.
3Loss of information
If keep-alive detection and charging are performed by the controller, then centralized monitoring is achieved, but massive bandwidth is wasted and normal network services are influenced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the forwarding plane to autonomously perform keep-alive detection and charging operations for users. Instead of relying on the controller to send periodic detection packets and charging requests, the forwarding plane independently manages user sessions and billing. This self-service approach maintains centralized monitoring capability through selective controller intervention while dramatically reducing bandwidth consumption by eliminating redundant controller-to-forwarding-plane communication for routine user management.
Data Source
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AI summary
A User Equipment (UE) processing method and device is provided. The method includes that: a forwarding device receives an indication message for managing a UE sent by a controller; and the forwarding device manages the UE according to the received indication message. The forwarding device manages the UE, such that a problem in the related art that a great amount of resources are wasted in management of UE is solved, thereby lightening the load on a network controller and saving massive network resources.