SLF Subscriber Data Rebalancing via Provisioning Gateway
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Solution Overview
Problem
In 5G and other networks, SLF instances can become overloaded or unavailable due to imbalances of subscriber records, leading to congestion and unavailability, which is undesirable given the high availability requirements of SLFs.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for rebalancing SLF subscriber data using a provisioning gateway that generates a rebalancing report, initiates re-provisioning of subscriber data among SLF instances, and signals the SLF instances to move subscriber database records transparently, ensuring no downtime and maintaining high availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If subscriber database size grows to accommodate increasing numbers of subscribers and devices, then the SLF can handle more subscribers, but the SLF becomes congested with excessive query traffic and may become unavailable
Solution Approach 1:
The subscriber database is segmented into multiple SLF instances (SLF1, SLF2, etc.), each maintaining a portion of the subscriber records. This segmentation allows the system to scale horizontally by adding more instances while maintaining availability, as queries are distributed across multiple instances rather than overwhelming a single database.
Solution Approach 2:
The SCP (Service Communication Proxy) acts as an intermediary that performs delegated discovery, managing the mapping between subscriber identifiers and SLF instances. This intermediary handles the complexity of data distribution and rebalancing, allowing individual SLF instances to remain simple and available while the system as a whole scales to accommodate growing subscriber numbers.
2Productivity
If subscriber records are rebalanced among SLF instances, then database capacity is optimized, but service interruption may occur during the rebalancing process
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining mapping information in the SCP that indicates which SLF instance holds which subscriber records. Before actual data movement occurs, the SCP can route queries to the appropriate destination instance, ensuring service continuity during the rebalancing process. This preliminary setup of routing information prevents service interruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The rebalancing process maintains continuous service availability by using the SCP to intercept and redirect queries during the transition period. While subscriber records are being moved between SLF instances, the SCP continues to handle discovery requests and routes them to the correct destination, ensuring that the useful action of subscriber lookup continues uninterrupted throughout the rebalancing process.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for rebalancing SLF subscriber data includes, generating, by a provisioning gateway, a rebalancing report and transmitting the report to a provisioning system. The method further includes receiving, at the provisioning gateway and from the provisioning system, a request to initiate re-provisioning of subscriber data among SLF instances, the request for re-provisioning identifying a first range of subscriber identifiers currently assigned to a first SLF instance to be re-assigned to a second SLF instance. The method further includes, in response to the request to initiate the re-provisioning, signaling, by the provisioning gateway, transparently from the provisioning system, and with the first and second SLF instances to move subscriber database records having subscriber identifiers in the first range from a subscriber database maintained by the first SLF instance to a subscriber database maintained by the second SLF instance.