Separate PFCP Session Model for Residential Gateway Network Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing 5G network architectures face challenges in efficiently managing network access for residential gateways, particularly in separating control and user planes, which affects the scalability and flexibility of network deployment.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a control and user plane separation (CUPS) architecture with an aggregate gateway function (AGF) that establishes separate packet forwarding control protocol sessions for each packet data unit (PDU) session between the residential gateway and the network, facilitating independent scaling of control and user planes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If control and user planes are integrated in traditional network architecture, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but scalability and flexibility of network deployment are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the network gateway into two separate planes: control plane (AGF-CP) and user plane (AGF-UP). The control plane handles signaling and session management, while the user plane handles data forwarding. This separation allows independent scaling and deployment of each plane, improving network flexibility and adaptability without requiring complete redesign of the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The control plane functions are extracted from the traditional integrated gateway and placed in a separate AGF-CP entity. This extraction enables the control plane to be independently deployed, managed, and scaled, allowing network operators to implement control functions in centralized or distributed manner based on specific deployment requirements, thereby improving versatility.
2Measurement precision
If separate PFCP sessions are established for each PDU session, then network management precision and control granularity are improved, but signaling overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing the control plane infrastructure and PFCP session management capabilities before actual PDU sessions are created. The AGF-CP maintains ready-to-use PFCP connections with UPFs, and session templates are prepared in advance. When a PDU session needs to be established, the system can quickly instantiate sessions using these pre-configured resources, reducing the time penalty of fine-grained session management.
Solution Approach 2:
The control plane (AGF-CP) is designed with universal PFCP session management capabilities that can handle multiple PDU sessions through a single unified control interface. This multi-functional design allows the same control plane instance to manage numerous PFCP sessions simultaneously, reducing the overhead of having separate control plane instances for each session while maintaining precise control over individual sessions.
Data Source
AI summary
A network element includes at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network element to: establish, via the aggregate gateway function, a separate packet forwarding control protocol session for each packet data unit (PDU) session between the residential gateway and the network; and facilitate, via the aggregate gateway function, network access by the residential gateway via each PDU session according to a corresponding, separate packet forwarding control protocol session.