Shared Subscription Profile Aliases for Lower Control-Plane Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increase in redundant data transmission due to redundant subscription information across user equipment (UE) registrations in telecommunications networks leads to congestion in control plane traffic, particularly in core network nodes, which can be costly to scale without additional infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a master subscription profile and its alias representation across nodes in the telecommunications network, where the mobility management node signals support for the alias to the subscription database, allowing it to respond with the alias instead of the full profile, thereby reducing redundant data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the subscription database transmits a full subscription profile for each UE registration, then the mobility management node receives complete subscription information, but the transmission mechanism experiences congestion due to redundant data
Solution Approach 1:
The subscription profile is segmented into a master subscription profile (containing shared attributes) and a unique subscriber identifier. Instead of transmitting the entire profile for each UE registration, only the unique identifier is transmitted, which references the master profile already cached at the mobility management node. This segmentation eliminates redundant data transmission while ensuring the mobility management node has access to complete subscription information.
Solution Approach 2:
The master subscription profile is preliminarily cached at the mobility management node before actual UE registrations occur. This preliminary action allows subsequent UE registrations to reference the cached profile rather than receiving redundant copies, significantly reducing transmission volume while maintaining information completeness.
2Ease of manufacture
If the network scales to handle increased traffic without additional infrastructure, then infrastructure costs are reduced, but the transmission mechanism becomes congested from redundant control plane traffic
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating and transmitting redundant copies of the full subscription profile for each UE registration, the system uses a reference (unique identifier) to the master profile that is already cached. This copying approach minimizes data transmission while ensuring the mobility management node can access complete subscription information when needed, thereby reducing transmission congestion without requiring additional infrastructure capacity.
3Quantity of substance
If the mobility management node caches the master subscription profile, then transmission load is reduced, but cache memory is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The cached master subscription profile serves multiple functions: it provides subscription information for multiple different UEs that share the same profile, enables rapid authentication and service provisioning, and reduces transmission load for all subsequent registrations. This multi-functionality justifies the cache memory consumption by eliminating redundant transmissions across multiple UE registration events.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobility management node and a subscription database of a telecommunications network are described herein. The mobility management node and subscription database receive a master subscription profile from a central repository. The master subscription profile includes data that is shared across subscribers. When registering a user equipment (UE) with the telecommunications network, the mobility management node can signal support for an alias for the master subscription profile to the subscription database. The alias is a representation of the master subscription profile that is smaller than the master subscription profile. The subscription database receives the signal of support for the alias and provides it to the mobility management node in place of the master subscription profile. In response to another message from a mobility management node that does not indicate support for an alias, the subscription database provides the master subscription profile.