SMF Error Notification for Inconsistent PCF Policy Decisions

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current 3GPP specifications lack mechanisms for the Session Management Function (SMF) to report policy decision and condition data errors, including session rule/PCC rule reference errors and attribute errors in SmPolicyDecision, leading to inconsistent interactions and potential termination of user sessions.

Innovation Solution

Introduce an error handling mechanism for the SMF to notify the Policy Control Function (PCF) about errors in session rule/PCC rule references and attribute inconsistencies in SmPolicyDecision, using extended failure codes and notification messages.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If the SMF follows current 3GPP specifications for error reporting, then the system maintains compatibility with existing standards, but the SMF cannot report errors in policy decision attributes outside of sessRules, pccRules, gosDecs, chgDecs, traffContDecs, umDecs, and gosMonDecs, leading to information loss

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveerror informationVSAvoiderror handling mechanism

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The error reporting mechanism is extended to handle multiple types of errors universally. The SMF can now report not only rule reference errors but also errors in policy decision attributes (praInfos, policyCtrlReqTriggers, reflectiveQoSTimer, etc.) through the same Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify interface, making the error handling system multi-functional and comprehensive

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify service operation acts as an intermediary mechanism between the SMF and PCF for error reporting. This standardized interface serves as a mediator that enables the SMF to communicate various error conditions to the PCF without requiring direct changes to the PCF or SMF internal structures, maintaining system architecture integrity while enabling enhanced error reporting

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the SMF ignores errors in policy decisions, then the system maintains operational simplicity, but information inconsistencies occur between SMF and PCF, degrading user experience

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesession integrityVSAvoiderror handling

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The error reporting mechanism establishes a feedback loop from the SMF to the PCF. When the SMF detects errors in policy decisions (such as inconsistent praInfos or invalid policyCtrlReqTriggers), it sends error reports through Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify, enabling the PCF to receive feedback and correct the policy decisions, thereby maintaining session integrity and consistency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The SMF performs preliminary validation of policy decision attributes upon receiving them from the PCF. By checking for errors in praInfos, policyCtrlReqTriggers, and other attributes before enforcing them, the SMF can identify problematic policy decisions early and report them to the PCF, preventing inconsistent operations and maintaining reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the SMF terminates user sessions upon detecting errors, then session integrity is maintained, but user experience deteriorates due to unnecessary session terminations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesession integrityVSAvoiduser experience degradation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The error reporting function extracts the error notification task from the session termination process. Instead of immediately terminating sessions when errors are detected, the SMF separates the error detection and reporting functions, allowing the PCF to receive detailed error information and decide on appropriate corrective actions, thereby avoiding unnecessary session terminations and preserving user experience

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS12634159B2Methods, entities, and computer readable media for error handling

Publication Date: 2026.05.19 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

The present disclosure provides methods, entities and computer readable storage media for error handling. The method at a first entity includes: determining, based on a policy decision provisioned by a second entity, that an error in at least one of: reference of a session rule and/or a Policy and Charging Control, PCC, rule to the policy decision, or an attribute in the policy decision; and transmitting, to the second entity, a notification of the error.