Wireless Network PCF Onboarding with Shared Standby Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication networks face service disruptions and performance degradation due to network function failures, particularly with the policy charging function (PCF), which can introduce complexity and cost when redundancy mechanisms are implemented, and still result in service continuity issues.
Innovation Solution
A network repository function (NRF) identifies an unavailable PCF and instructs a standby PCF to replace it by sending session information for active sessions, allowing the standby PCF to rebuild its database and manage sessions, ensuring continuity without disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundant systems are implemented to ensure network function availability, then network reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single standby PCF is designed to serve multiple active PCFs simultaneously. The standby PCF can replace any of the active PCFs upon failure, making it a universal backup resource rather than requiring dedicated redundant PCFs for each active one. This multi-functional approach reduces the total number of redundant components while maintaining network reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the backup functionality into a single shared standby PCF that can assume the role of multiple active PCFs. Instead of having separate redundant systems for each PCF, the backup capacity is combined into one resource that dynamically replaces failed PCFs, thereby reducing overall system complexity and cost.
2Reliability
If redundant systems are implemented to maintain service continuity, then network reliability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The standby PCF is designed as a universal backup resource that can replace multiple active PCFs. This single resource serves the function of multiple dedicated backups, reducing the total quantity of network resources (hardware, software licenses, maintenance overhead) while ensuring service continuity through efficient resource sharing.
Solution Approach 2:
The standby PCF maintains a copy of the session database and configuration information needed to replace active PCFs. This copying mechanism allows the single standby unit to assume any active PCF's role without requiring full redundant hardware for each PCF, thereby reducing resource consumption while maintaining service continuity.
3Reliability
If a PCF fails, then service disruption occurs, but implementing redundancy still allows some service continuity
Solution Approach 1:
The standby PCF is pre-configured with the session database template and replacement logic before any failure occurs. When a PCF fails, the standby can immediately begin the replacement process without needing to discover or configure itself, reducing the operational complexity of managing failover scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The network repository function (NRF) acts as an intermediary that manages the replacement process. It receives failure notifications, identifies the standby PCF, and coordinates the database transfer and session handover. This intermediary mechanism simplifies the overall system operation by centralizing the complex failover management logic in a single component.
Data Source
AI summary
Technology is disclosed herein for onboarding a policy charging function (PCF) of a wireless network to replace another network PCF. In an implementation, a network repository function (NRF) determines that a first PCF is offline or unavailable and identifies at least one other network function which is subscribed to the first PCF. The NRF instructs the network function to replace an identity of the first PCF with an identity of a second PCF in a PCF profile maintained by the network function. The network function, in response to the instruction, sends to the second PCF session information for active sessions associated with the first PCF along with a flag indicating that the active sessions are active. The second PCF receives the session information and rebuilds the active sessions in a database. The second PCF then manages the active sessions based on the session information in place of the first PCF.