Slave BNG LTE Backup for Wireline Node Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
In home networks, the failure of a Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) or its controller disrupts connectivity to the Internet, necessitating a reliable backup mechanism to reroute traffic and ensure continuous service.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a slave network edge node that detects master node failures, sends failure update messages to a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW), and reroutes traffic over a mobile tunnel to maintain connectivity, along with dynamic traffic load balancing among peer nodes to manage network efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a master network edge node is used to provide internet access, then network connectivity is established, but the system becomes vulnerable to single point of failure
Solution Approach 1:
The slave network edge node is pre-configured with backup functionality and monitoring capabilities before failure occurs. The node continuously monitors the master node's status and has ready-to-activate backup pathways, allowing immediate takeover without requiring complex real-time decision-making or reconfiguration when failure occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
A packet data network gateway serves as an intermediary that manages the backup channel between the slave network edge node and the core network. This intermediary handles the complexity of failover management, routing decisions, and state synchronization, isolating the complexity from the master-slave node relationship.
2Reliability
If a backup channel is implemented using LTE mobile network, then network availability is improved during wireline failure, but network complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slave network edge node is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a standby backup and an active network element. The LTE interface and mobile network connectivity are integrated into the standard network edge node functionality, allowing the same infrastructure to serve dual purposes without adding dedicated backup hardware or complex separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The slave network edge node autonomously detects master node failures through monitoring mechanisms and automatically activates the backup channel by sending failure update messages to the packet data network gateway. This self-service capability eliminates the need for external manual intervention or complex centralized control systems to manage failover.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If traffic is rerouted over mobile tunnel during failure, then service continuity is maintained, but network performance and latency may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The network system dynamically adjusts traffic routing based on real-time conditions. During normal operation, all traffic flows through the optimal wireline path. Upon failure detection, the system dynamically switches to the LTE mobile tunnel for affected traffic while maintaining wireline connectivity for other paths, optimizing performance based on current network state rather than using a static routing approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The backup channel is activated partially - only for traffic that needs to maintain continuity during wireline failure, rather than routing all traffic through the mobile network. This selective activation minimizes the performance impact by keeping high-speed wireline paths active for normal traffic while using LTE only as needed for failover.
Data Source
AI summary
A method performed by a slave network edge node (e.g., a Broadband Network Gateway BNG2) for enhancing a Long Term Evolution (LTE) backup channel in the event of a failure of a master network edge node (e.g., BNG1) in a wireline network. When BNG2 detects the failure of BNG1, BNG2 sends a failure update message to a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) of an LTE network. The PDN GW provides a backup channel for the CPE to reach the wide area network over a mobile tunnel. Before the failure the mobile tunnel has an end point at BNG1, and the failure update message notifies the PDN GW that the end point of the mobile tunnel has changed from BNG1 to BNG2. After BNG2 receives a failure acknowledgement message from the PDN GW, BNG2 routes the traffic from the PDN GW over the mobile tunnel to the wide area network.