Sx Interface Traffic Redirection via Response Codes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies do not support traffic redirection triggered by response codes or timeouts in the context of separated control plane and user plane, specifically over the Sx interface, which limits the flexibility and effectiveness of traffic management in communication systems.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves extending the Sx protocol to support redirection based on response codes or timeouts by allowing the User Plane to indicate its capability to the Control Plane through the Sx interface, enabling the activation of traffic redirection mechanisms, including the creation of necessary packet detection rules and forwarding actions, to redirect traffic when specific conditions are met.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the Sx interface protocol is extended to support redirection based on response codes or timeouts, then traffic management flexibility and effectiveness are improved, but protocol complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the redirection functionality into distinct components: capability indication messages for negotiation, packet detection rules for condition matching, and forwarding action rules for execution. This modular approach allows the system to achieve enhanced traffic management flexibility while managing protocol complexity through structured, separable functional elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by requiring the User Plane to indicate its redirection capability to the Control Plane through Sx interface messages before actual redirection operations. This advance capability negotiation and configuration of packet detection and forwarding rules enables the system to prepare redirection mechanisms in advance, allowing flexible response to traffic conditions while maintaining controlled protocol complexity through pre-established rules.
2Reliability
If traffic redirection enforcement is implemented in the User Plane function, then redirection effectiveness is improved, but the complexity of the User Plane increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the Sx interface as an intermediary between the Control Plane and User Plane. The Control Plane creates and manages packet detection rules and forwarding action rules, then communicates these to the User Plane through standardized Sx messages. This intermediary approach enables effective redirection enforcement in the User Plane while the Control Plane maintains centralized control, balancing effectiveness with manageable complexity through clear separation of concerns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements redirection by changing parameters in the User Plane function - specifically, by configuring packet detection rules and forwarding action rules that modify how the User Plane handles traffic. These parameter changes enable the User Plane to enforce redirection effectively while maintaining a relatively simple architecture, as the complexity is managed through configurable parameters rather than structural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method performed by a user plane, UP. The method includes determining whether a redirect message should be sent to a user equipment, UE, that has transmitted a first message intended for a first server, wherein the determining comprises: i) receiving a message transmitted by the first server and determining, based on the message, whether a redirect message should be sent to the UE or ii) detecting a timeout with respect to the first server; and, as a result of determining that redirect message should be sent to the UE, sending to the UE the redirect message, wherein the redirect message is configured to cause the UE to send a second message to a second server.