FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AVOIDING SUSPENSION OF ONE OR MORE NETWORK FUNCTIONS FROM A NETWORK”
We, Jio Platforms Limited, an Indian National, of Office - 101, Saffron, Nr. Centre Point, Panchwati 5 Rasta, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380006, Gujarat, India.
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
2
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AVOIDING SUSPENSION OF ONE OR MORE NETWORK FUNCTIONS FROM A NETWORK
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
5
[0001]
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to managing network function profile in a network. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network.
10
BACKGROUND
[0002]
The following description of the related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the 15 present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section is used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure, and not as admissions of the prior art.
[0003]
Wireless communication technology has rapidly evolved over the past few 20 decades, with each generation bringing significant improvements and advancements. The first-generation of wireless communication technology was based on analog technology and offered only voice services. However, with the advent of the second-generation (2G) technology, digital communication and data services became possible, and text messaging was introduced. Third-generation 25 (3G) technology marked the introduction of high-speed internet access, mobile video calling, and location-based services. The fourth-generation (4G) technology revolutionized wireless communication with faster data speeds, better network coverage, and improved security. Currently, the fifth-generation (5G) technology is being deployed, promising even faster data speeds, low latency, and the ability to 30 connect multiple devices simultaneously. With each generation, wireless
3
communication technology has become more advanced, sophisticated, and capable
of delivering more services to its users.
[0004]
In the 5G communication system, there is provided a plurality of network functions (NFs), for example an Access and Mobility Management Function 5 (AMF), session management function (SMF), Authentication Server function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), Policy control function (PCF), a Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF) and the like. One or more of the aforementioned NFs communicate with each other, to implement multiple activities on the 5G communication system. One of the 10 network functions, the Network Repository Function (NRF) provides management, discovery, and subscription services for other Network Functions (NFs) within the network. Each NF registered with NRF sends periodic status messages to apprise NRF of its status and enable continued provisioning of services. The NRF also allows the extension of subscription validity time provided by the NRF at the time 15 of subscription. It provides new validity time for subscriptions upon the reception of subscribe update request from a previously subscribed NF. Each NF periodically sends subscription update for created subscription before its expiration. In this way, all the services in the network at any given point of time can be monitored using NRF. 20
[0005]
Each NF that has previously registered in NRF shall contact the NRF periodically (heart-beat), by invoking the NFUpdate service operation, in order to show that the NF is still operative. The time interval at which the NRF shall be contacted is deployment-specific, and it is returned by the NRF to the NF Service 25 Consumer as a result of a successful registration. When the NRF detects that a given NF has not updated its profile for a configurable amount of time (longer than the heart-beat interval), the NRF changes the status of the NF to SUSPENDED and considers that the NF and its services can no longer be discovered by other NFs via the NFDiscovery service. The NRF notifies NFs subscribed to receiving 30 notifications of changes of the NF Profile that the NF status has been changed to
4
SUSPENDED.
Many time it happens that the NRF becomes overloaded due to incoming traffic higher than its configured capacity, then the heart-beat message or subscribe update requests may either get lost or get delayed from being processed. This can cause the NRF to erroneously conclude that the NF is inactive, thereby leading to the suspension of the NF from the network. Also, this may lead to 5 expiration and removal of its services and may also lead to removal of the expired subscription.
[0006]
In the event of a Split-Brain scenario (i.e., the state of a server cluster where nodes diverge from each other and have conflicts when handling incoming 10 input/output operations) within the NRF cluster during a switchover to a spare instance, a discrepancy arises. This discrepancy may result in a loss of communication between the NRF and its spare instances. Because of this discrepancy or communication failure, one of the spare instance may suspend a network function prematurely. Therefore, the spare-active instance needs to be 15 prevented from suspending the NF or prevented from suspending the NF without notifying the network.
[0007]
Thus, there exists an imperative need in the art to provide a method and a system for accurate handling of suspension of a network function by network 20 repository function, which the present disclosure aims to address.
SUMMARY
[0008]
This section is provided to introduce certain aspects of the present disclosure 25 in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0009]
An aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a method for avoiding 30 suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network. The method
5
comprises
detecting, by a detection unit, a network congestion at a node in the network. Further, the method comprises performing, by an execution unit, one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions 5 comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs.
[0010]
In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the node in the network is a Network Repository Function (NRF). 10
[0011]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more NFs are registered at the node.
[0012]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the network 15 congestion is detected at the node based on one or more events detected at the node by the detection unit.
[0013]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more events comprise at least a network traffic exceeding a pre-defined threshold and a 20 split-brain at the node.
[0014]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the node receives, by a transceiver unit, a heartbeat message and an update subscription request, from the one or more NFs within a time interval associated with the fixed timer, to be 25 processed at the node, if the network traffic is detected by the detection unit, less than the pre-defined threshold.
[0015]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a processing unit fails to process the heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the node, 30
6
received from the one or more NFs in the event the network traffic detected by the
detection unit, exceeds the pre-defined threshold at the node.
[0016]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further comprises detecting, by the detection unit, the network traffic below the pre-defined 5 threshold at the node. The method further comprises processing, by the processing unit, at the node, the heartbeat message and the update subscription request received from the one or more NFs. Also, the method further comprises assessing, by the processing unit, at the node, an actual state and a subscription status associated with the one or more NFs. 10
[0017]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the split-brain at the node comprises detecting, by a high availability unit at the node, a communication failure with one or more instances of the node.
15
[0018]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, one of an active instance and a spare-active instance of the one or more instances of the node, receives, by a transceiver unit, a heartbeat message and an update subscription request from the one or more NFs, within a fixed time interval associated with the fixed timer, to be processed at one of the active instance and the spare-active 20 instance of the node.
[0019]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the processing unit at the node, fails to process the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, in the event 25 of split-brain at the node.
[0020]
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further comprises detecting, by the high availability unit, a recovery of communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node. Then the method 30 further comprises processing, by the processing unit, at one of the active instance,
7
the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request from the one or
more NFs. The method then comprises assessing, by the processing unit, at the active instance of the node, an actual state and a subscription status of the one or more NFs by exchanging data between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node. 5
[0021]
Another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a system for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network. The system comprises a detection unit, and an execution unit connected with each other. The detection unit is configured to detect, a network congestion at a node in the network. 10 Then the execution unit is configured to perform, one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a 15 subscription of the one or more NFs.
[0022]
Yet another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more instructions for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, the one or more 20 instructions include executable code which, when executed by one or more units of a system, causes the one or more units to perform certain functions. The one or more instructions when executed causes a detection unit of the system to detect, a network congestion at a node in the network. The one or more instructions when executed further causes an execution unit of the system to perform, one or more 25 actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs. 30
8
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0023]
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment disclosed herein satisfies are listed herein below.
5
[0024]
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network.
[0025]
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method for accurate suspension of a network function by network repository function (NRF) 10 that addresses the issue of NRF suspending or deleting an NF's service during instances of traffic overload or split-brain scenario.
[0026]
It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution that empowers NRF to deliver services to network-resident NFs in optimal conditions. 15
[0027]
It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution that enables the efficient utilization of resources by not suspending a perfectly working healthy NF due to latency complications.
20
[0028]
It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution that facilitates providing consistent data about the NFs present in the network and maximizes the use of services provided by the NFs.
[0029]
It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution that 25 reduces the impact of split-brain scenarios before they are resolved.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030]
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute 30 a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed methods
9
and systems in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the
different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Also, the embodiments shown in the figures are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure, but the possible variants of the method and system 5 according to the disclosure are illustrated herein to highlight the advantages of the disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that disclosure of such drawings includes disclosure of electrical components or circuitry commonly used to implement such components.
10
[0031]
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram representation of 5th generation core (5GC) network architecture.
[0032]
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing device upon which the features of the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with 15 exemplary implementation of the present disclosure.
[0033]
FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure. 20
[0034]
FIG. 4 illustrates a method flow diagram for avoiding suspension of the one or more NFs from the network in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.
25
[0035]
FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow diagram for avoiding suspension of the one or more NFs from the network in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.
[0036]
The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed 30 description of the disclosure.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037]
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that 5 embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter may each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or might address only some of the problems discussed above. 10
[0038]
The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary embodiment. 15 It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth.
[0039]
Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough 20 understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits, systems, processes, and other components may be shown as components in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. 25
[0040]
It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", "primary", "secondary", "target" and the like, herein do not denote any order, ranking, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another.
30
11
[0041]
Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process 5 is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional steps not included in a figure.
[0042]
The word “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the 10 subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms 15 “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements.
20
[0043]
As used herein, a “processing unit” or “processor” or “operating processor” includes one or more processors, wherein processor refers to any logic circuitry for processing instructions. A processor may be a general-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a Digital 25 Signal Processing (DSP) core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable Gate Array circuits, any other type of integrated circuits, etc. The processor may perform signal coding data processing, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the working of the system according to the present disclosure. More specifically, the processor or 30 processing unit is a hardware processor.
12
[0044]
As used herein, “a user equipment”, “a user device”, “a smart-user-device”, “a smart-device”, “an electronic device”, “a mobile device”, “a handheld device”, “a wireless communication device”, “a mobile communication device”, “a communication device” may be any electrical, electronic and/or computing device 5 or equipment, capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure. The user equipment/device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, smart phone, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, wearable device or any other computing device which is capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure. Also, the user device may 10 contain at least one input means configured to receive an input from unit(s) which are required to implement the features of the present disclosure.
[0045]
As used herein, “storage unit” or “memory unit” refers to a machine or computer-readable medium including any mechanism for storing information in a 15 form readable by a computer or similar machine. For example, a computer-readable medium includes read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices or other types of machine-accessible storage media. The storage unit stores at least the data that may be required by one or more units of the system to perform their respective 20 functions.
[0046]
As used herein “interface” or “user interface” refers to a shared boundary across which two or more separate components of a system exchange information or data. The interface may also be referred to a set of rules or protocols that define 25 communication or interaction of one or more modules or one or more units with each other, which also includes the methods, functions, or procedures that may be called.
[0047]
All modules, units, components used herein, unless explicitly excluded 30 herein, may be software modules or hardware processors, the processors being a
13
general
-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array circuits (FPGA), any other type of integrated circuits, etc. 5
[0048]
As used herein the transceiver unit includes at least one receiver and at least one transmitter configured respectively for receiving and transmitting data, signals, information or a combination thereof between units/components within the system and/or connected with the system. 10
[0049]
As used herein a “network node” or a “node” may refer to one or more endpoints in a communication network that are used during transfer of an information. For example, the network node may refer to one or more network functions, one or more user equipment (UEs), and one or more interfaces. 15
[0050]
As used herein “network congestion” may refer to a condition in which the network is overrun with higher traffic of data packets than the bandwidth supported by the network. Network congestion may occur when a network node or a link is carrying more data than it can handle resulting in queueing delay, packet loss or 20 blocking of new connections.
[0051]
As used herein “active instance” may refer to an instance of a network function from the one or more network functions that is actively performing the functions of the respective network function. 25
[0052]
As used herein “spare-active instance” may refer to an instance of a network function from the one or more network functions that are configured to become an active instance in case of a failure of the active instance such as due to overloading, error codes, etc. 30
14
[0053]
An NF Service Consumer or a “source NF” requests NRF to be notified about events (registration, deregistration, profile change) related to an NF instance (i.e., "target NF"). The NFStatusSubscribe service operation is used to create a 5 subscription so an NF Service Consumer can request to be notified when NF instances of a given NF are registered/deregistered in NRF or when their profile is modified. The NFStatusSubscribe service operation is also used to create a subscription to a specific NF Instance so an NF Service Consumer can request to be notified when the profile of such NF Instance is modified or when the NF 10 instance is deregistered from NRF. Therefore, this service operation provides subscription for changes in the status of NF profile registered in the NRF. The subscription can be based on NF type, NF instance ID, NF Service Name. The subscription request may also include additional parameters indicating the list of attributes in the NF Profile to be monitored (or to be excluded from monitoring), in 15 order to determine whether a notification from NRF should be sent, or not, when any of those attributes is changed in the profile.
[0054]
As used herein “heartbeat message” may refer to a message used for sending a periodic signal which may be generated by hardware or software to indicate 20 normal operation or to synchronize network functions/nodes. Each NF that has previously registered in the NRF shall contact the NRF periodically in the form of a heartbeat or a heartbeat message. It may be noted that the heartbeat messages may by invoked by an update subscription request, in order to show that the NF is still operative. It may be noted that the update subscription request may refer to the 25 NFUpdate service operation for NRF NF Management Service. The NFUpdate service operation allows an NF or its instance to replace, or update partially, the parameters of its NF profile (including the parameters of the associated services) in the NRF. It also allows to add or delete individual services offered by the NF or its instance. 30
15
[0055]
As discussed in the background section, the current known solutions have several shortcomings. When the NRF detects that a given NF has not updated its profile for a configurable amount of time (longer than the heart-beat interval), the NRF changes the status of the NF to SUSPENDED and considers that the NF and its services can no longer be discovered by other NFs via the NFDiscovery service. 5 The NRF notifies NFs subscribed to receiving notifications of changes of the NF Profile that the NF status has been changed to SUSPENDED. Often it happens when the NRF becomes overloaded due to incoming traffic higher than its configured capacity, then the heart-beat message or subscribe update requests may either get lost or get delayed from being processed. This can cause the NRF to erroneously 10 conclude that the NF is inactive, thereby leading to the suspension of the NF from the network. Also, this may lead to expiration and removal of its services and may also lead to removal of the expired subscription. Further, in the event of a Split-Brain scenario (i.e., the state of a server cluster where nodes diverge from each other and have conflicts when handling incoming input/output operations) within 15 the NRF cluster during a switchover to a spare instance, a discrepancy arises. This discrepancy may result in loss of communication between the NRF and its spare instances. Because of this discrepancy or communication failure, one of the spare instances may suspend a network function prematurely. Therefore, the spare-active instance needs to be prevented from suspending the NF or prevented from 20 suspending the NF without notifying the network. The present disclosure aims to overcome the above-mentioned and other existing problems in this field of technology by providing method and system of avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network.
25
[0056]
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram representation of 5th generation core (5GC) network architecture, in accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the 5GC network architecture [100] includes a user equipment (UE) [102], a radio access network (RAN) [104], an access and mobility management function (AMF) [106], a Session 30 Management Function (SMF) [108], a Service Communication Proxy (SCP) [110],
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an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) [112], a Network Slice Specific
Authentication and Authorization Function (NSSAAF) [114], a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) [116], a Network Exposure Function (NEF) [118], a Network Repository Function (NRF) [120], a Policy Control Function (PCF) [122], a Unified Data Management (UDM) [124], an application function (AF) [126], a 5 User Plane Function (UPF) [128], a data network (DN) [130], wherein all the components are assumed to be connected to each other in a manner as obvious to the person skilled in the art for implementing features of the present disclosure.
[0057]
Radio Access Network (RAN) [104] is the part of a mobile 10 telecommunications system that connects user equipment (UE) [102] to the core network (CN) and provides access to different types of networks (e.g., 5G network). It consists of radio base stations and the radio access technologies that enable wireless communication.
15
[0058]
Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) [106] is a 5G core network function responsible for managing access and mobility aspects, such as UE registration, connection, and reachability. It also handles mobility management procedures like handovers and paging.
20
[0059]
Session Management Function (SMF) [108] is a 5G core network function responsible for managing session-related aspects, such as establishing, modifying, and releasing sessions. It coordinates with the User Plane Function (UPF) for data forwarding and handles IP address allocation and QoS enforcement.
25
[0060]
Service Communication Proxy (SCP) [110] is a network function in the 5G core network that facilitates communication between other network functions by providing a secure and efficient messaging service. It acts as a mediator for service-based interfaces.
30
17
[0061]
Authentication Server Function (AUSF) [112] is a network function in the 5G core responsible for authenticating UEs during registration and providing security services. It generates and verifies authentication vectors and tokens.
[0062]
Network Slice Specific Authentication and Authorization Function 5 (NSSAAF) [114] is a network function that provides authentication and authorization services specific to network slices. It ensures that UEs can access only the slices for which they are authorized.
[0063]
Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) [116] is a network function 10 responsible for selecting the appropriate network slice for a UE based on factors such as subscription, requested services, and network policies.
[0064]
Network Exposure Function (NEF) [118] is a network function that exposes capabilities and services of the 5G network to external applications, enabling 15 integration with third-party services and applications.
[0065]
Network Repository Function (NRF) [120] is a network function that acts as a central repository for information about available network functions and services. It facilitates the discovery and dynamic registration of network functions. 20
[0066]
Policy Control Function (PCF) [122] is a network function responsible for policy control decisions, such as QoS, charging, and access control, based on subscriber information and network policies.
25
[0067]
Unified Data Management (UDM) [124] is a network function that centralizes the management of subscriber data, including authentication, authorization, and subscription information.
18
[0068]
Application Function (AF) [126] is a network function that represents external applications interfacing with the 5G core network to access network capabilities and services.
[0069]
User Plane Function (UPF) [128] is a network function responsible for 5 handling user data traffic, including packet routing, forwarding, and QoS enforcement.
[0070]
Data Network (DN) [130] refers to a network that provides data services to user equipment (UE) in a telecommunications system. The data services may 10 include but are not limited to Internet services, private data network related services.
[0071]
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing device [200] upon which the features of the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. In an 15 implementation, the computing device [200] may also implement a method for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network utilising the system [300]. In another implementation, the computing device [200] itself implements the method for avoiding suspension of the one or more network functions NFs from the network using one or more units configured within the 20 computing device [200], wherein said one or more units are capable of implementing the features as disclosed in the present disclosure.
[0072]
The computing device [200] may include a bus [202] or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardware 25 processor [204] coupled with bus [202] for processing information. The hardware processor [204] may be, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor. The computing device [200] may also include a main memory [206], such as a random-access memory (RAM), or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus [202] for storing information and instructions to be executed by the processor [204]. The 30 main memory [206] also may be used for storing temporary variables or other
19
intermediate information during execution of the instructions to be executed by the
processor [204]. Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory storage media accessible to the processor [204], render the computing device [200] into a special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in the instructions. The computing device [200] further includes a read only memory 5 (ROM) [208] or other static storage device coupled to the bus [202] for storing static information and instructions for the processor [204].
[0073]
A storage device [210], such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or solid-state drive is provided and coupled to the bus [202] for storing information and 10 instructions. The computing device [200] may be coupled via the bus [202] to a display [212], such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), Liquid crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, Organic LED (OLED) display, etc. for displaying information to a computer user. An input device [214], including alphanumeric and other keys, touch screen input means, etc. may be coupled to the 15 bus [202] for communicating information and command selections to the processor [204]. Another type of user input device may be a cursor controller [216], such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor [204], and for controlling cursor movement on the display [212]. The input device typically has two degrees 20 of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allow the device to specify positions in a plane.
[0074]
The computing device [200] may implement the techniques described herein using customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware 25 and/or program logic which in combination with the computing device [200] causes or programs the computing device [200] to be a special-purpose machine. According to one implementation, the techniques herein are performed by the computing device [200] in response to the processor [204] executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in the main memory [206]. Such 30 instructions may be read into the main memory [206] from another storage medium,
20
such as the storage device [
210]. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the main memory [206] causes the processor [204] to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative implementations of the present disclosure, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. 5
[0075]
The computing device [200] also may include a communication interface [218] coupled to the bus [202]. The communication interface [218] provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link [220] that is connected to a local network [222]. For example, the communication interface [218] may be an 10 integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, the communication interface [218] may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such 15 implementation, the communication interface [218] sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.
[0076]
The computing device [200] can send messages and receive data, including 20 program code, through the network(s), the network link [220] and the communication interface [218]. In the Internet example, a server [230] might transmit a requested code for an application program through the Internet [228], the ISP [226], the local network [222], a host [224] and the communication interface [218]. The received code may be executed by the processor [204] as it is received, 25 and/or stored in the storage device [210], or other non-volatile storage for later execution.
[0077]
Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary block diagram of a system [300] for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, is 30 shown, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
21
disclosure. The system [300]
may comprise at least one detection unit [302], at least one execution unit [304], at least one transceiver unit [306], at least one processing unit [308], and at least one high availability unit [310]. Also, all of the components/ units of the system [300] are assumed to be connected to each other unless otherwise indicated below. As shown in the FIG. 3, all units shown within the system [300] 5 should also be assumed to be connected to each other. Also, in FIG. 3 only a few units are shown, however, the system [300] may comprise multiple such units or the system [300] may comprise any such numbers of said units, as required to implement the features of the present disclosure. In an implementation, the system [300] may reside in a server or a network entity. In yet another implementation, the 10 system [300] may reside partly in the server/ network entity.
[0078]
The system [300] is configured for avoiding suspension of the one or more NFs from the network, with the help of the interconnection between the components/units of the system [300]. 15
[0079]
It may be understood that the one or more NFs may refer to the network functions that are provided in the 5G core network architecture such as the AMF [106], the SMF [108], the AUSF [112], the NSSAAF [114], the NSSF [116], the NEF [118], the NRF [120], the PCF [122], the UDM [124], the AF [126], and the 20 UPF [128].
[0080]
The network function, NRF [120] supports multiple service operations or call-flow such as NF registration, NF subscription, etc. The NFRegister service operation allows an NF instance to register its NF profile in the NRF [120]. It 25 includes the registration of the general parameters of the NF Instance, together with the list of services exposed by the NF instance. Once an NF is registered at NRF [120], the NF shall contact the NRF [120] periodically (heart-beat), by invoking the NFUpdate service operation, in order to show that the NF is still operative. When the NF has successfully registered itself at the NRF [120], the NRF [120] returns a 30 "heart-beat timer" containing the number of seconds expected between two
22
consecutive heart
-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heartbeat request within every 20 second. Further, if the NRF [120] didn't receive a configured number of consecutive heartbeats from the NF, then the NRF [120] would mark the NF as being suspended. Further, for NF subscription, once an NF 5 creates a subscription, the NRF [120] will provide a validity time for the created subscription. The NF needs to send a request to refresh the validity time, when this time is about to expire. This is a request for extension of validity for created subscription. If the NF did not extend its subscription, then this may lead to deletion of this subscription after the validity time. Accordingly, in order to handle such 10 situations, the present disclosure provides a solution for avoiding suspension of the one or more NFs from the network.
[0081]
As shown in FIG. 3, the detection unit [302] detects, a network congestion at a node in the network. In an implementation of the present disclosure, the 15 detection unit [302] detects the network congestion based on one or more events detected at the node. In further implementations of the present disclosure, the one or more events may comprise at least a network traffic exceeding a pre-defined threshold and a split-brain at the node. The pre-defined threshold may define the capacity of the node to handle the traffic or amount of data at that node. It may be 20 noted that the traffic exceeding the pre-defined threshold may be detected based on transactions per second (TPS), request queue size, etc. It may be known that each transaction comprises receiving a request, processing the request and then sending a response after processing the request. For example, for identifying the overload condition a limit (i.e., the pre-defined threshold) is pre-configured at the NRF [120] 25 end. For example, the pre-defined threshold may be set such that if TPS crosses 15000, it is called as traffic overload.
[0082]
Further, the one or more events may comprise split-brain at the node, which may refer to an existence of a split-brain condition at the node. The split-brain 30 condition may refer to a state where nodes diverge from each other and have
23
conflicts when handling incoming operations or requests. The communication
between nodes fails and this may lead to data loss, latency issues, etc. Further, it may be noted that the one or more events may also comprise any other event due to which the node does not receive a heartbeat message, as may be considered to be obvious to a person skilled in the art and shall not be considered to be necessarily 5 limiting the scope of the invention.
[0083]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, the node in the network is a Network Repository Function (NRF) [120]. The Network Repository Function (NRF [120]) provides management, discovery, and subscription services for other 10 Network Functions (NFs) within the network.
[0084]
Accordingly, based on the one or more events being associated with network traffic, the foregoing description will provide exemplary implementations for avoiding suspension of the one or more NFs. As described earlier, the node receives, 15 by a transceiver unit [306], a heartbeat message and an update subscription request, from the one or more NFs within a time interval associated with a fixed timer, to be processed at the node, if the network traffic is less than the pre-defined threshold. The fixed timer refers to the "heart-beat timer" which is returned by the NRF [120], containing the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two 20 consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if the heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heart-beat request within every 20 second.
[0085]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, the processing unit [308] 25 fails to process the heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the node, received from the one or more NFs in the event the network traffic exceeds the pre-defined threshold at the node. For example, if the pre-defined threshold is configured as 15000 TPS, then if the network traffic crosses 15000, it results in network congestion at the node, as a result of which the node fails to process the 30 received heartbeat message and the update subscription request.
24
[0086]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, when the processing unit [308] fails to process the heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the node, received from the one or more NFs in the event the network traffic exceeds the pre-defined threshold at the node, the execution unit [304], performs one or 5 more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs. As described earlier, the fixed 10 timer refers to the "heart-beat timer" which is returned by the NRF [120], containing the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if the heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heart-beat request within every 20 second. When the NRF [120] detects that the one or more NFs have not updated 15 their profiles for a configurable amount of time (longer than the heart-beat interval), the NRF [120] changes the status of the one or more NFs to SUSPENDED and considers that the NFs and their services can no longer be discovered by other NFs via the NFDiscovery service. Further, the first action comprising adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer refers to adding a buffer time 20 to the fixed timer in order to extend the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF instance to the NRF [120]. The configurable buffer time is effectively modified through configurable parameters. The configurable parameters may be defined at run time depending on the network conditions. This is done to delay receiving of the heart-25 beat messages and provide some time for the NRF [120] to recover from the traffic overload condition till the network traffic reaches below the pre-defined threshold. If the NRF [120] modifies the heart-beat interval value of an NF instance currently registered, it shall return the new value to the registered NF in the response of the next periodic heart-beat interaction received from that NF. 30
25
[0087]
Further, the second action comprising one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs refers to stopping the suspend action taken by the NRF [120] when it fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs. When the NRF [120] fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs, it suspends the one or more NFs 5 assuming that they are no longer operative. Therefore, to avoid prematurely suspending the one or more NFs, the present disclosure provides the second action which stops NRF [120] from taking the suspend action when traffic overload condition is detected by increasing the time interval and adding an additional time to the time interval of the fixed timer. The additional time or the buffer time, may 10 in an example be 50 seconds. Also, the NRF [120] receives update subscription requests from the one or more NFs to extend the validity of the subscriptions, but because of traffic overload condition, the update subscription requests fail to get processed at the NRF [120], and as a result the NRF [120] expires the subscription prematurely by using the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation. It is executed by 15 deleting a given resource identified by a "subscriptionID". The second action comprising stopping deletion of the subscription of the one or more NFs ensures that the subscriptions do not get expired prematurely. This is done by stopping NRF [120] to issue the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation until the traffic network condition returns to normal. 20
[0088]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, when the detection unit [302] detects the network traffic returning to being below the pre-defined threshold at the node, the processing unit [308] processes, at the node, the heartbeat message and the update subscription request received from the one or more NFs. The 25 network traffic returning to being below the pre-defined threshold refers to network traffic being normal, for example lower than the pre-defined threshold of 15000 TPS. Based on the processing of the received heart-beat message and the update subscription request, the processing unit [308] assesses at the node, an actual state and a subscription status associated with the one or more NFs. The assessing of 30 actual status of the one or more NFs may refer to assessing if the one or more NFs
26
are operative and active or not. The assessing of the subscription status of the one
or more NFs may refer to assessing if the subscription is valid or expired.
[0089]
In another implementation of the present disclosure, the network may comprise an NRF [120] cluster. The NRF [120] cluster may further comprise active 5 instances and spare-active instances. The active instances perform all the functions and services under normal conditions, and spare-active instances become active instances when active instances become unavailable because of network issues. For the spare-active instances to take the role of active instances, the data between active and spare -active instances need to be synchronized to avoid data loss. In an 10 implementation of the present disclosure, one of an active instance and a spare-active instance of the one or more instances of the node, receives, by a transceiver unit [306], the heartbeat message and the update subscription request from the one or more NFs, within a fixed time interval associated with the fixed timer, to be processed at one of the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node. It 15 may be noted that either the active instance or the spare-active instance would receive the heartbeat message and the update subscription request. The fixed timer refers to the "heart-beat timer" which is returned by the NRF [120], containing the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if the heart-20 beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heart-beat request within every 20 second.
[0090]
Further, the foregoing description will provide exemplary implementations for avoiding suspension of the one or more NFs, if the one or more events is 25 detected as a split-brain at the node. In an implementation of the present disclosure, the high availability unit [308] may detect the split-brain at the node based on detecting a communication failure of the node with one or more instances of the node. The high availability unit [308] is responsible for synchronisation of data between active instances and the spare-active instances of the node and also detects 30 synchronization failure between them. If the high availability unit [308] is not able
27
to synchronize the data, it detects a communication failure between the node and its
instances. The communication failure may refer to the inability to receive the heartbeat message or any other message such as update subscription message from the one or more NFs. In an implementation of the present disclosure, the processing unit [308] at the node fails to process the received heartbeat message and the update 5 subscription request at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, in the event of split-brain at the node. During such a condition, the heart-beat message and the update subscription request, even if received by an instance of the node, do not get synchronized or updated on the other instance.
10
[0091]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, when the processing unit [308] fails to process the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, in the event of split-brain at the node, the execution unit [304], performs one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from 15 the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs. As described earlier, the fixed timer refers to the "heart-beat timer" which is returned by the NRF [120], containing 20 the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if the heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heart-beat request within every 20 second. When the NRF [120] detects that the one or more NFs have not updated their profiles for a configurable amount of time (longer than the heart-beat interval), 25 the NRF [120] changes the status of the one or more NFs to SUSPENDED and considers that the NFs and their services can no longer be discovered by other NFs via the NFDiscovery service. Further, the first action comprising adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer refers to adding a buffer time to the fixed timer in order to extend the time interval or the number of seconds 30 expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF instance to the
28
NRF [120]
. The configurable buffer time is effectively modified through configurable parameters. The configurable parameters may be defined at run time depending on the network conditions. This is done to delay receiving of the heart-beat messages and provide some time for the NRF [120] to recover from the split-brain condition and there is recovery of communication with the active instance and 5 the spare-active instance of the node. If the NRF [120] modifies the heart-beat interval value of an NF instance currently registered, it shall return the new value to the registered NF in the response of the next periodic heart-beat interaction received from that NF.
10
[0092]
Further, the second action comprising one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs refers to stopping the suspend action taken by the NRF [120] when it fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs. When the NRF [120] fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs, it suspends the one or more NFs 15 assuming that they are no longer operative. Therefore, to avoid prematurely suspending the one or more NFs, the present disclosure provides the second action which stops NRF [120] from taking the suspend action when split-brain condition is detected by increasing the time interval and adding an additional time to the time interval of the fixed timer. The additional time or the buffer time, may in an example 20 be 50 seconds. Also, the NRF [120] receives update subscription requests from the one or more NFs to extend the validity of the subscriptions, but because of split-brain condition, the update subscription requests fail to get processed at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the NRF [120], and as a result the NRF [120] expires the subscription prematurely by using the NFStatusUnSubscribe 25 service operation. It is executed by deleting a given resource identified by a "subscriptionID". The second action comprising stopping deletion of the subscription of the one or more NFs ensures that the subscriptions do not get expired prematurely. This is done by stopping NRF [120] to issue the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation until the communication with the active instance and the spare-30 active instance is recovered at the NRF [120].
29
[0093]
Further, in an implementation of the present disclosure, when the high availability unit [310] detects a recovery of communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, the processing unit [308] processes, at one of the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, the received 5 heartbeat message and the update subscription request from the one or more NFs. The recovery of communication may refer to the condition when after a period of time, the communication between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the instance is restored from the node. Once the communication has been recovered, the received heart-beat message and the update subscription request are 10 processed at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node. After, the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request are processed, the processing unit [308] assesses at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, an actual state and a subscription status of the one or more NFs by exchanging data between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the 15 node. The assessing of actual status of the one or more NFs may refer to assessing if the one or more NFs are operative and active or not. The assessing of the subscription status of the one or more NFs may refer to assessing if the subscription is valid or expired.
20
[0094]
Referring to FIG. 4, an exemplary method flow diagram [400] for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure is shown. In an implementation the method [400] is performed by the system [300]. Further, in an implementation, the system [300] may be present in a server device to implement 25 the features of the present disclosure. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the method [400] starts at step [402].
[0095]
The method [400] at step [404] comprises detecting, by a detection unit [302], a network congestion at a node in the network. In an implementation of the 30 present disclosure, the network congestion is detected at the node based on one or
30
more events detected by the detection unit [302]. In further implementations of the
present disclosure, the one or more events may comprise at least a network traffic exceeding a pre-defined threshold and a split-brain at the node. As provided above, the network congestion arises in a scenario where the node is overloaded due to traffic being higher than its capacity. The pre-defined threshold may be the capacity 5 of the node to handle the traffic or amount of data at that node. It may be noted that the traffic exceeding the pre-defined threshold may be detected based on transactions per second (TPS), request queue size, etc. It may be known that each transaction comprises when receiving a request, processing the request and then sending a response after processing the request. For example, for identifying the 10 overload condition a limit (i.e., the pre-defined threshold) is pre-configured at the NRF [120] end. For example, the pre-defined threshold may be set such that if TPS crosses 15000, it is called as traffic overload.
[0096]
Further, the one or more events may comprise the split-brain at the node, 15 may refer to an existence of a split-brain condition. The split-brain condition may refer to a state where nodes diverge from each other and have conflicts when handling incoming operations or requests. The communication between nodes fails and this may lead to data loss, latency issues, etc. Further, it may be noted that the one or more events may also comprise any other event due to which the node does 20 not receive a heartbeat message, as may be considered to be obvious to a person skilled in the art and shall not be considered to be necessarily limiting the scope of the invention.
[0097]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, the node in the network is a 25 Network Repository Function (NRF [120]) [120]. The Network Repository Function (NRF [120]) provides management, discovery, and subscription services for other Network Functions (NFs) within the network.
[0098]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, the one or more NFs may be 30 registered at the node. Once an NF is registered at NRF [120], the NF shall contact
31
the
NRF [120] periodically (heart-beat), by invoking the NFUpdate service operation, in order to show that the NF is still operative. When the NF has successfully registered itself at the NRF [120], the NRF [120] returns a "heart-beat timer" containing the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if heart-beat 5 timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heartbeat request within every 20 second. The heart-beat messages are processed at the NRF [120], which mark the NF instance as active and discoverable by other NF service consumers.
[0099]
Continuing further, after detection of the network congestion, then at step 10 [406], the method [400] involves performing, by an execution unit [304], one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping 15 deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs.
[0100]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, when the processing unit [308] fails to process the heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the node, received from the one or more NFs, in the event the network traffic 20 exceeds the pre-defined threshold at the node, the execution unit [304], performs one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and 25 stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs. As described earlier, the fixed timer refers to the "heart-beat timer" which is returned by the NRF [120], containing the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if the heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heart-beat 30 request within every 20 second. When the NRF [120] detects that the one or more
32
NFs have not updated their profiles for a configurable amount of time (longer than
the heart-beat interval), the NRF [120] changes the status of the one or more NFs to SUSPENDED and considers that the NFs and their services can no longer be discovered by other NFs via the NFDiscovery service. Further, the first action comprising adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer 5 refers to adding a buffer time to the fixed timer in order to extend the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF instance to the NRF [120]. This is done to delay receiving of the heart-beat messages and provide some time for the NRF [120] to recover from the traffic overload condition till the network traffic reaches below the pre-defined threshold. 10 If the NRF [120] modifies the heart-beat interval value of an NF instance currently registered, it shall return the new value to the registered NF in the response of the next periodic heart-beat interaction received from that NF.
[0101]
Further, the second action comprising one of stopping suspension of the one 15 or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs refers to stopping the suspend action taken by the NRF [120] when it fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs. When the NRF [120] fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs, it suspends the one or more NFs assuming that they are no longer operative. Therefore, to avoid prematurely 20 suspending the one or more NFs, the present disclosure provides the second action which stops NRF [120] from taking the suspend action when traffic overload condition is detected by increasing the time interval and adding an additional time to the time interval of the fixed timer. The additional time or the buffer time, may in an example be 50 seconds. Also, the NRF [120] receives update subscription 25 requests from the one or more NFs to extend the validity of the subscriptions, but because of traffic overload condition, the update subscription requests fail to get processed at the NRF [120], and as a result the NRF [120] expires the subscription prematurely by using the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation. It is executed by deleting a given resource identified by a "subscriptionID". The second action 30 comprising stopping deletion of the subscription of the one or more NFs ensures
33
that the subscriptions do not get expired prematurely. This is done by stopping
NRF [120] to issue the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation until the traffic network condition returns to normal.
[0102]
In an implementation of the present disclosure, when the detection unit 5 [302] detects the network traffic returning to being below the pre-defined threshold at the node, the processing unit [308] processes, at the node, the heartbeat message and the update subscription request received from the one or more NFs. The network traffic returning to being below the pre-defined threshold refers to network traffic being normal, for example lower than the pre-defined threshold of 15000 10 TPS. Based on the processing of the received heart-beat message and the update subscription request, the processing unit [308] assesses at the node, an actual state and a subscription status associated with the one or more NFs. The assessing of actual status of the one or more NFs may refer to assessing if the one or more NFs are operative and active or not. The assessing of the subscription status of the one 15 or more NFs may refer to assessing if the subscription is valid or expired.
[0103]
Further, in an implementation of the present disclosure, when the processing unit [308] fails to process the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, 20 in the event of split-brain at the node, the execution unit [304], performs one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping 25 deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs. As described earlier, the fixed timer refers to the "heart-beat timer" which is returned by the NRF [120], containing the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if the heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heart-beat request within every 30 20 second. When the NRF [120] detects that the one or more NFs have not updated
34
their profiles for a configurable amount of time (longer than the heart
-beat interval), the NRF [120] changes the status of the one or more NFs to SUSPENDED and considers that the NFs and their services can no longer be discovered by other NFs via the NFDiscovery service. Further, the first action comprising adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer refers to adding a buffer time 5 to the fixed timer in order to extend the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF instance to the NRF [120]. This is done to delay receiving of the heart-beat messages and provide some time for the NRF [120] to recover from the split-brain condition and there is recovery of communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance 10 of the node. If the NRF [120] modifies the heart-beat interval value of an NF instance currently registered, it shall return the new value to the registered NF in the response of the next periodic heart-beat interaction received from that NF.
[0104]
Further, the second action comprising one of stopping suspension of the one 15 or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs refers to stopping the suspend action taken by the NRF [120] when it fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs. When the NRF [120] fails to receive the heart-beat messages from the one or more NFs, it suspends the one or more NFs assuming that they are no longer operative. Therefore, to avoid prematurely 20 suspending the one or more NFs, the present disclosure provides the second action which stops NRF [120] from taking the suspend action when split-brain condition is detected by increasing the time interval and adding an additional time to the time interval of the fixed timer. The additional time or the buffer time, may in an example be 50 seconds. Also, the NRF [120] receives update subscription requests from the 25 one or more NFs to extend the validity of the subscriptions, but because of split-brain condition, the update subscription requests fail to get processed at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the NRF [120], and as a result the NRF [120] expires the subscription prematurely by using the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation. It is executed by deleting a given resource identified by a 30 "subscriptionID". The second action comprising stopping deletion of the
35
subscription of the one or more NFs ensures that the subscriptions do not get expired
prematurely. This is done by stopping NRF [120] to issue the NFStatusUnSubscribe service operation until the communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance is recovered at the NRF [120].
5
[0105]
Further, in an implementation of the present disclosure, when the high availability unit [310] detects a recovery of communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, the processing unit [308] processes, at one of the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request from the one or more NFs. 10 The recovery of communication may refer to the condition when after a period of time, the communication between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the instance is restored from the node. Once the communication has been recovered, the received heart-beat message and the update subscription request are processed at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node. After, the 15 received heartbeat message and the update subscription request are processed, the processing unit [308] assesses at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, an actual state and a subscription status of the one or more NFs by exchanging data between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node. The assessing of actual status of the one or more NFs may refer to assessing 20 if the one or more NFs are operative and active or not. The assessing of the subscription status of the one or more NFs may refer to assessing if the subscription is valid or expired.
[0106]
Thereafter, at step [408], the method [400] terminates. 25
[0107]
Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary process flow diagram [500] for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure is shown. In an implementation the method [500] is performed by the system [300]. Further, in an 30 implementation, the system [300] may be present in a server device to implement
36
the features of the present disclosure. Also, as shown in F
IG. 5, the process flow [500] starts at step [502].
[0108]
Then, at step [504], the method [500] involves detecting a network congestion at a node in the network. The network congestion may be due to network 5 traffic exceeding a pre-defined threshold or the split-brain condition at the node. Accordingly, if such network congestion is not detected, then the method [500] may move to step [506] to perform its operations under normal conditions. The operations of the process flow [500] under normal conditions is described now. The network function, NRF [120] supports multiple service operations or call-flow such 10 as NF registration, NF subscription, etc. The NFRegister service operation allows an NF Instance to register its NF profile in the NRF [120]. It includes the registration of the general parameters of the NF Instance, together with the list of services exposed by the NF instance. Once an NF is registered at NRF [120], the NF shall contact the NRF [120] periodically (heart-beat), by invoking the 15 NFUpdate service operation, in order to show that the NF is still operative. When the NF has successfully registered itself at the NRF [120], the NRF [120] returns a "heart-beat timer" containing the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF Instance to the NRF [120]. For example, if heart-beat timer is 20 seconds, then the NF needs to send heartbeat 20 request within every 20 second. Further, if the NRF [120] didn't receive a configured number of consecutive heartbeats from the NF, then the NRF [120] would mark the NF as being suspended. Further, for NF subscription, once an NF creates a subscription, the NRF [120] will provide a validity time for the created subscription. The NF needs to send a request to refresh the validity time, when this 25 time is about to expire. This is a request for extension of validity for created subscription. If the NF did not extend its subscription, then this may lead to deletion of this subscription after the validity time. This is called as the deletion of subscription logic.
30
37
[0109]
However, if the network congestion is detected, then for avoiding suspension of the one or more network functions from the network, one or more actions are required to be performed.
[0110]
Further, in case the network congestion is detected, then at step [508], in 5 such case, one or more actions may be performed. As provided above and described, the one or more actions may comprise a first action and a second action. The first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer. The second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping 10 deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs. The first action and the second action are not described here again for brevity purposes.
[0111]
Thereafter, at step [510], a check is made regarding the performance of the second action. Accordingly, a verification is made regarding stopping the 15 suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of the subscription of the one or more NFs. If the suspension of the one or more NFs and the deletion of the one or more NFs are stopped, then the method [500] may move to step [514], where the process flow [500] ends.
20
[0112]
Further, in case the suspension of the one or more NFs and the deletion of the one or more NFs are still not stopped, because of some action failure at the node, then at step [512], the method [500] includes performing the first action where the first action comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of the fixed timer. This further refers to adding a buffer time to the fixed timer in order to 25 extend the time interval or the number of seconds expected between two consecutive heart-beat messages from an NF instance to the NRF [120].
[0113]
At step [514], the process flow [500] terminates.
30
38
[0114]
The present disclosure further discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more instructions for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, the one or more instructions include executable code which, when executed by one or more units of a system [300], cause the one or more units to perform certain functions. The one or more 5 instructions when executed cause a detection unit [302] of the system [300]to detect, a network congestion at a node in the network. The one or more instructions when executed further cause an execution unit [304] of the system [300]to perform, one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable 10 buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs.
[0115]
As is evident from the above, the present disclosure provides a technically 15 advanced solution for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network. The present solution results in providing a better service as it empowers the NRF [120] to deliver services to network-resident NFs in optimal conditions. The present solution also results in better service as it caters to their subscribed needs. Further, in instances of split-brain scenarios, the services are 20 managed by imposing certain restrictions on the spare-active instance and disallowing it from executing the aforementioned actions. The present disclosure also provides a configurable buffer that can be introduced between the consecutive heartbeat requests and service expiration timings. The present disclosure also enables the configurable buffer to be effectively modified through configurable 25 parameters. The present disclosure, by utilizing these parameters and providing a delay to the actions, reduces the impact of the split-brain scenarios before they are resolved. Further, the present solution enables the efficient utilization of resources by not suspending a healthy working NF instance due to latency complications. Further, the present solution ensures consistent data about the NFs currently present 30 in the Network and maximizes the use of services provided by them. The present
39
solution
ensures that NRF [120]'s service is not affected by overload traffic, lost requests, or the Split-brain scenario while switching to a spare instance. This facilitates the NF repository management, and configurable parameters help tackle multiple scenarios requiring different timeframes.
5
[0116]
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the disclosed implementations, it will be appreciated that many implementations can be made and that many changes can be made to the implementations without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. These and other changes in the implementations of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, whereby it is to 10 be understood that the foregoing descriptive matter to be implemented is illustrative and non-limiting.
[0117]
Further, in accordance with the present disclosure, it is to be acknowledged that the functionality described for the various components/units can be 15 implemented interchangeably. While specific embodiments may disclose a particular functionality of these units for clarity, it is recognized that various configurations and combinations thereof are within the scope of the disclosure. The functionality of specific units as disclosed in the disclosure should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Consequently, alternative 20 arrangements and substitutions of units, provided they achieve the intended functionality described herein, are considered to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure.
40
We Claim:
1.
A method for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, the method comprising:
-
detecting, by a detection unit [302], a network congestion at a node in 5 the network; and
-
performing, by an execution unit [304], one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one or more 10 actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs.
2.
The method as claimed in claim1, wherein the node in the network is a Network Repository Function (NRF) [120]. 15
3.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more NFs are registered at the node.
4.
The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network congestion is detected 20 at the node based on one or more events detected at the node by the detection unit [302].
5.
The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the one or more events comprise at least a network traffic exceeding a pre-defined threshold and a split-brain at the 25 node.
6.
The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the node receives, by a transceiver unit [306], a heartbeat message and an update subscription request, from the one or more NFs within a time interval associated with the fixed timer, to be 30
41
processed at the node, if the network traffic is detected by the detection unit,
less than the pre-defined threshold.
7.
The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein, a processing unit [308] fails to process the heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the node, 5 received from the one or more NFs in the event the network traffic detected by the detection unit, exceeds the pre-defined threshold at the node.
8.
The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprises:
-
detecting, by the detection unit [302], the network traffic below the pre-10 defined threshold at the node;
-
processing, by the processing unit [308], at the node, the heartbeat message and the update subscription request received from the one or more NFs;
-
assessing, by the processing unit [308], at the node, an actual state and 15 a subscription status associated with the one or more NFs.
9.
The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the split-brain at the node comprises detecting, by a high availability unit [310] at the node, a communication failure with one or more instances of the node. 20
10.
The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein one of an active instance and a spare-active instance of the one or more instances of the node, receives, by a transceiver unit [306], a heartbeat message and an update subscription request from the one or more NFs, within a fixed time interval associated with the fixed 25 timer, to be processed at one of the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node.
11.
The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processing unit [308] at the node, fails to process the received heartbeat message and the update 30
42
subscription request at the active instance and the
spare-active instance of the node, in the event of split-brain at the node.
12.
The method as claimed in 11, further comprises:
-
detecting, by the high availability unit [310], a recovery of 5 communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node;
-
processing, by the processing unit [308], at one of the active instance, the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request from the one or more NFs; 10
-
assessing, by the processing unit [308], at the active instance of the node, an actual state and a subscription status of the one or more NFs by exchanging data between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node.
15
13.
A system [300] for avoiding suspension of one or more network functions (NFs) from a network, the system [300] comprising:
-
a detection unit [302], configured to:
o
detect, a network congestion at a node in the network;
-
an execution unit [304] connected at least with the detection unit [302], 20 wherein the execution unit [304] is configured to:
o
perform, one or more actions based on detecting the network congestion at the node, wherein a first action from the one or more actions comprises adding a runtime configurable buffer time to expiry of a fixed timer and a second action from the one 25 or more actions comprises at least one of stopping suspension of the one or more NFs and stopping deletion of a subscription of the one or more NFs.
14.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 13, wherein the node in the network is a 30 network Repository Function (NRF) [120].
43
15.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 13, wherein the one or more NFs are registered at the node.
16.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 13, wherein the detection unit [302] is 5 further configured to detect the network congestion based on one or more events detected at the node.
17.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 16, wherein the one or more events comprise at least a network traffic exceeding a pre-defined threshold and a split-10 brain at the node.
18.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 17, wherein the node receives, by a transceiver unit [306], a heartbeat message and an update subscription request, from the one or more NFs within a time interval associated with the fixed timer, 15 to be processed at the node, if the network traffic is less than the pre-defined threshold.
19.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 18, wherein the system [300] further comprises a processing unit [308] connected at least to the transceiver unit 20 [306], wherein the processing unit [308] fails to process the heartbeat message and the update subscription request at the node, received from the one or more NFs in the event the network traffic exceeds the pre-defined threshold at the node.
25
20.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 19, wherein the system [300] further comprises:
-
the detection unit [302], further configured to detect the network traffic below the pre-defined threshold at the node;
-
the processing unit [308], further configured to: 30
44
o
process, at the node, the heartbeat message and the update subscription request received from the one or more NFs;
o
assess, at the node, an actual state and a subscription status associated with the one or more NFs.
5
21.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 17, wherein the system [300] further comprises a high availability unit [310] connected at least to the processing unit [308], the high availability unit [308] configured to detect the split-brain at the node based on detecting a communication failure with one or more instances of the node. 10
22.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 21, wherein one of an active instance and a spare-active instance of the one or more instances of the node, receives, by a transceiver unit [306], a heartbeat message and an update subscription request from the one or more NFs, within a fixed time interval associated with the fixed 15 timer, to be processed at one of the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node.
23.
The system [300] as claimed in claim 22, wherein the processing unit [308] at the node fails to process the received heartbeat message and the update 20 subscription request at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, in the event of split-brain at the node.
24.
The system [300] as claimed in 23, wherein the system [300] further comprising: 25
-
the high availability unit [310], further configured to detect a recovery of communication with the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node;
-
the processing unit [308], further configured to:
45
o
process, at one of the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, the received heartbeat message and the update subscription request from the one or more NFs;
o
assess, at the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node, an actual state and a subscription status of the one or more 5 NFs by exchanging data between the active instance and the spare-active instance of the node.