CN-116746132-B - Modifying IP address management of SMF

Abstract

A method for obtaining and maintaining an Internet Protocol (IP) address pool and responding to IP address allocation requests from a Service Management Function (SMF) using the IP address pool includes obtaining, at an IP address provider microservice implemented using at least one processor, a plurality of IP addresses and corresponding IP address leases from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and storing the IP addresses in the IP address pool. The steps also include maintaining an IP address lease. The method also includes receiving a request from the SMF to assign an IP address. The method also includes assigning one of the IP addresses from one of the pools to the SMF. The method further includes transmitting the IP address to the SMF.

Inventors

• Y. Goel

Assignees

• 甲骨文国际公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20211028

Priority Date

20201217

Claims (20)

1. 1. A method for obtaining and maintaining a pool of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and using the pool of IP addresses to respond to IP address allocation requests from a Service Management Function (SMF), the method comprising: at an IP address provider microservice implemented using at least one processor: obtaining a plurality of IP addresses and corresponding IP address leases from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and storing the IP addresses in an IP address pool; maintaining an IP address lease; receiving a request from the SMF for allocation of an IP address; Assigning one of the IP addresses from one of the pools to the SMF, and The IP address is transferred to the SMF.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the IP address and corresponding IP address lease from the DHCP server includes requesting allocation of IP addresses from the DHCP server until an initial number of IP addresses are present in each of the IP address pools.
3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the initial number is a static number set by a network operator.
4. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the initial number is a dynamic number dynamically set based on an amount of IP address allocation requests from the SMF.
5. 5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein maintaining IP address leases comprises, for each IP address lease: maintaining a lease renewal timer configured to expire before a lease expiration time for the IP address lease; Detecting expiration of a lease renewal timer, and In response to expiration of the lease renewal timer, a renewal request is sent to the DHCP server requesting renewal of the IP address lease.
6. 6. The method of claim 5, comprising maintaining a timer queue having an entry for each IP address lease, wherein detecting expiration of a lease renewal timer comprises detecting when a current time is equal to a timer value of an entry at a head of the timer queue and removing the entry from the head of the timer queue.
7. 7. The method of claim 6, comprising receiving a response to the renewal request from the DHCP server containing a renewed lease expiration time and creating a new entry in the timer queue at a location corresponding to the renewed lease expiration time.
8. 8. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein maintaining the IP address lease comprises transparently maintaining the IP address lease from the SMF perspective.
9. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein transparently maintaining the IP address lease from the SMF includes automatically renewing the IP address lease in response to expiration of a lease renewing timer at the IP address provider micro-service.
10. 10. The method of any of claims 1-4, comprising providing an Application Programming Interface (API) for the SMF to allocate an IP address from an IP address provider micro-service request, and wherein receiving a request to allocate an IP address comprises receiving the request via the API.
11. 11. A system for obtaining and maintaining a pool of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and using the pool of IP addresses to respond to IP address allocation requests from a Service Management Function (SMF), the system comprising: At least one processor and a memory, and An IP address provider microservice implemented using the at least one processor for obtaining a plurality of IP addresses and corresponding IP address leases from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and storing the IP addresses in a memory as a pool of IP addresses, maintaining the IP address leases, receiving a request from an SMF to allocate an IP address, allocating one of the IP addresses from one of the pools to the SMF, and transmitting the IP address to the SMF.
12. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the IP address provider micro-service is configured to obtain the IP address and the corresponding IP address lease from the DHCP server by requesting allocation of the IP address from the DHCP server until an initial number of IP addresses are present in each of the IP address pools.
13. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the initial number is a static number set by a network operator.
14. 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the initial number is a dynamic number dynamically set based on an amount of IP address allocation requests received from the SMF over a period of time.
15. 15. The system of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the IP address provider micro-service is configured to maintain IP address leases by, for each IP address lease: maintaining a lease renewal timer configured to expire before a lease expiration time for the IP address lease; Detecting expiration of a lease renewal timer, and In response to expiration of the lease renewal timer, a renewal request is transmitted from the IP address provider micro service to the DHCP server requesting renewal of the IP address lease.
16. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the IP address provider micro-service is configured to maintain a timer queue having an entry for each IP address lease, detect expiration of the lease renewal timer by determining when a current time is equal to a lease renewal timer value for an entry at a head of the timer queue, and remove the entry from the head of the timer queue.
17. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the IP address provider micro-service is configured to receive a response to the lease renewal request from the DHCP server containing a renewed lease expiration time and create a new entry in the timer queue at a location corresponding to the renewed lease expiration time.
18. 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the IP address provider micro-service is configured to transparently maintain the IP address lease from the SMF by automatically renewing the IP address lease in response to expiration of a lease renewing timer at the IP address provider micro-service.
19. 19. The system of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the IP address provider micro-service is configured to provide an Application Programming Interface (API) for the SMF to allocate an IP address from the IP address provider micro-service request, and wherein receiving the request to allocate the IP address comprises receiving the request via the API.
20. 20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer, control the computer to perform steps comprising: at an Internet Protocol (IP) address microservice implemented using the at least one processor: obtaining a plurality of IP addresses and corresponding IP address leases from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and storing the IP addresses in an IP address pool; maintaining an IP address lease; receiving a request for allocation of an IP address from a Service Management Function (SMF); Assigning one of the IP addresses from one of the pools to the SMF, and The IP address is transferred to the SMF.

Description

Modifying IP address management of SMF Priority statement The present application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/125,925, filed on 12/17/2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field The subject matter described herein relates to network addressing in 5G communication networks. More particularly, the subject matter described herein relates to methods, systems, and computer readable media for creating a pool of IP addresses from interactions with a DHCP server, automatically maintaining IP address leases for IP addresses in the pool of IP addresses, and asynchronously servicing IP address allocation requests from an SMF using the pool of IP addresses. Background In 5G telecommunication networks, the network node providing the service is called a producer Network Function (NF). The network node that consumes the service is called consumer NF. The network function may be either a producer NF or a consumer NF, depending on whether it is consuming or providing a service. A given producer NF may have many service endpoints, where a service endpoint is a contact point for one or more NF instances hosted by the producer NF. The service endpoint is identified by a combination of an Internet Protocol (IP) address and port number or a fully defined domain name that is resolved to an IP address and port number on the network node hosting the producer NF. NF instances are instances of the producer NF that provides the service. A given producer NF may include more than one NF instance. It should also be noted that multiple NF instances may share the same service endpoint. The producer NF registers with a network function repository function (NRF). The NRF maintains a service profile that identifies available NF instances of the service supported by each NF instance. The consumer NF may subscribe to receive information about the producer NF instances that have registered with the NRF. In addition to consumer NF, another network node that may subscribe to receive information about NF service instances is a service communication agent (SCP). The SCP subscribes to the NRF and obtains reachability and service profile information about the producer NF service instances. The consumer NF connects to the service communication agent and the service communication agent load balances traffic between producer NF service instances that provide the desired service or routes traffic directly to the destination producer NF instance. In addition to SCPs, other examples of intermediate proxy nodes or groups of network nodes that route traffic between producer and consumer NFs include Secure Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), service gateways, and nodes in 5G service grids. SEPP is a network node for protecting control plane traffic exchanged between different 5G Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs). Thus, SEPP performs message filtering, policing, and topology hiding on all Application Programming Interface (API) messages. One challenge presented in 5G communication network architectures is to obtain an IP address for a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session and renew the IP address lease with a DHCP server. For example, when a UE requests to establish a PDU session, the UE may indicate an IPv4 address, an IPv6 address, or both, required for the session. The UE requests IP address assignment as part of the session establishment procedure. The 5G communication network communicates with the DHCP server to obtain one or more IP addresses for the session. According to DHCP, one or more IP addresses are granted according to a lease that must be renewed. One problem or challenge with this architecture is that for each PDU session requiring an IP address lease, the process is synchronized with the SMF, because the SMF must contact the DHCP server to obtain the IP address lease, maintain a lease timer, and renew the IP address before the lease expires if the session duration exceeds the lease. The SMF is also responsible for releasing the IP address back to the DHCP server at the end of the PDU session. Since many, if not all, PDU sessions may require this procedure, the SMF burden in handling and maintaining IP address leases may cause PDU session setup delays. In view of these and other challenges, the subject matter described herein includes improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for obtaining and maintaining IP address leases in 5G communication networks. Disclosure of Invention A method for obtaining and maintaining an Internet Protocol (IP) address pool and responding to IP address allocation requests from a Service Management Function (SMF) using the IP address pool includes obtaining, at an IP address provider microservice implemented using at least one processor, a plurality of IP addresses and corresponding IP address leases from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and storing the IP addresses in the IP address pool. The method also includes m