US-12627743-B2 - Methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing for efficient auditing of network function (NF) profiles by service communication proxies (SCPs)

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing for efficient auditing of NF profiles by SCPs are described. One method includes storing, by an NRF, NF profiles of producer NFs and associated last update timestamps and providing, by the NRF, a timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API that receives, as input, a timestamp, and that provides, as output, NF profiles having last update timestamps that indicate times after a time indicated by the timestamp received as input. The method further includes receiving, by the NRF and from an SCP, a request message via the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API and that includes a first timestamp. The method further includes generating, by the NRF, a response message that includes NF profiles for which last update timestamps indicate times that are after a time indicated by the first timestamp. The method further includes transmitting the response message from the NRF to the SCP.

Inventors

• Amarnath JAYARAMACHAR
• Yesh Goel

Assignees

• ORACLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240416

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method for providing for efficient auditing of network function (NF) profiles by service communication proxies (SCPs), the method comprising: storing, by an NF repository function (NRF), NF profiles of producer NFs registered with the NRF; storing, by the NRF, last update timestamps associated with the NF profiles; providing, by the NRF, a timestamp-based NF profile retrieval application programming interface (API) that receives, as input, a timestamp, and that provides, as output, NF profiles associated with last update timestamps that indicate times that are after a time indicated by the timestamp received as input; receiving, by the NRF and from an SCP via the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API, a request message that includes a first timestamp; generating, by the NRF, a response message that includes NF profiles for which last update timestamps indicate times that are after a time indicated by the first timestamp; and transmitting the response message from the NRF to the SCP.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 wherein storing the last update timestamps includes storing the last update timestamps in an NRF cache.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 comprising maintaining, by the NRF, a plurality of load buckets for the producer NFs registered with the NRF and updating the last update timestamps associated with the NF profiles when changes in loading of the producer NFs cause load values of the producer NFs to move between ranges of loading associated with the load buckets.
4. 4 . The method of claim 3 wherein maintaining the load buckets includes maintaining different ranges of loading per NF type.
5. 5 . The method of claim 3 comprising refraining from updating the last update timestamps associated with the producer NFs in response to changes in loading of the producer NFs that do not cause the load values to move between ranges of loading associated with the load buckets.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 comprising updating the last update timestamps in response to NF profile updates from the producer NFs.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API includes providing a custom representational state transfer (REST) API.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a request message via the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API includes receiving a message including a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) GET method with the first timestamp as a query parameter.
9. 9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the first timestamp is equal to a time of a last audit request by the SCP.
10. 10 . The method of claim 1 wherein generating the response message comprises including, in the response message, only the NF profiles of the producer NFs for which the last update timestamps indicate times that are after a time indicated by the first timestamp.
11. 11 . A system for providing for efficient auditing of network function (NF) profiles by service communication proxies (SCPs), the system comprising: an NF repository function (NRF) including at least one processor and a memory; an NF profiles database embodied in the memory for storing NF profiles of producer NFs registered with the NRF; and an NF profiles data manager implemented by the at least one processor for storing last update timestamps associated with the NF profiles, providing a timestamp-based NF profile retrieval application programming interface (API) that receives, as input, a timestamp, and that provides, as output, NF profiles associated with last update timestamps that indicate times that are after a time indicated by the timestamp received as input, the NF profiles data manager for receiving, from an SCP, a request message via the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API and that includes a first timestamp, generating a response message that includes NF profiles for which last update timestamps indicate times that are after a time indicated by the first timestamp, and transmitting the response message to the SCP.
12. 12 . The system of claim 11 wherein the NF profiles data manager is configured to store the last update timestamps in an NRF cache.
13. 13 . The system of claim 11 wherein the NF profiles data manager is configured to maintain a plurality of load buckets for the producer NFs registered with the NRF and update the last update timestamps associated with the NF profiles when changes in loading of the producer NFs cause load values of the producer NFs to move between ranges of loading associated with the load buckets.
14. 14 . The system of claim 13 wherein the NF profiles data manager is configured to maintain different ranges of loading per NF type.
15. 15 . The system of claim 13 wherein the NF profiles data manager is configured to refrain from updating the last update timestamps associated with the producer NFs in response to changes in loading of the producer NFs that do not cause the load values to move between ranges of loading associated with the load buckets.
16. 16 . The system of claim 11 wherein the NF profiles data manager is configured to update the last update timestamps in response to NF profile updates from the producer NFs.
17. 17 . The system of claim 11 wherein the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API includes a custom representational state transfer (REST) API.
18. 18 . The system of claim 11 wherein the request message received via the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API includes a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) GET method with the first timestamp as a query parameter.
19. 19 . The system of claim 11 wherein the first timestamp is equal to a time of a last audit request by the SCP.
20. 20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a computer control the computer to perform steps comprising: storing, by a network function (NF) repository function (NRF), NF profiles of producer NFs registered with the NRF; storing, by the NRF, last update timestamps associated with the NF profiles; providing, by the NRF, a timestamp-based NF profile retrieval application programming interface (API) that receives, as input, a timestamp, and that provides, as output, NF profiles having last update timestamps that indicate times that are after a time indicated by the timestamp received as input; receiving, by the NRF and from a service communication proxy (SCP), a request message via the timestamp-based NF profile retrieval API and that includes a first timestamp; generating, by the NRF, a response message that includes NF profiles for which last update timestamps indicate times that are after a time indicated by the first timestamp; and transmitting the response message from the NRF to the SCP.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The subject matter described herein relates to synchronizing NF profile information between an NRF and an SCP. More particularly, the subject matter described herein relates to methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing for efficient auditing of NF profiles by SCPs. BACKGROUND In 5G telecommunications networks, a network function that provides service is referred to as a producer NF or service producer. A network function that consumes services is referred to as a consumer NF or NF service consumer. A network function can be a producer NF, a consumer NF, or both, depending on whether the network function is consuming, producing, or consuming and producing services. The terms “producer NF” and “NF service producer” are used interchangeably herein. Similarly, the terms “consumer NF” and “NF service consumer” are used interchangeably herein. A given producer NF may have many service endpoints, where a service endpoint is the point of contact for one or more NF instances hosted by the producer NF. The service endpoint is identified by a combination of Internet protocol (IP) address and port number or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) that resolves to an IP address and port number on a network node that hosts a producer NF. An NF instance is an instance of a producer NF that provides a service. A given producer NF may include more than one NF instance. It should also be noted that multiple NF instances can share the same service endpoint. NFs register with a network function repository function (NRF). The NRF maintains profiles of available NF instances identifying the services supported by each NF instance. The profile of an NF instance is referred to in 3GPP TS 29.510 as an NF profile. NF instances can obtain information about other NF instances that have registered with the NRF through the NF discovery service operation. According to the NF discovery service operation, a consumer NF sends an NF discovery request to the NRF. The NF discovery request includes query parameters that the NRF uses to locate the NF profiles of producer NFs capable of providing the service identified by the query parameters. NF profiles are data structures that define the type of service provided by an NF instance as well as contact and capacity information regarding the NF instance. A service communication proxy (SCP) can also invoke the NF discovery service operation to learn about available producer NF instances. The case where the SCP uses the NF discovery service operation to obtain information about producer NF instances on behalf of consumer NFs is referred to as delegated discovery. Consumer NFs connect to the SCP, and the SCP load balances traffic among producer NF service instances that provide the required services or directly routes the traffic to the destination producer NF instances. One problem that can occur in 5G and subsequent generation networks relates to inefficiencies in the processes by which SCPs obtain NF profile information from an NRF. An SCP needs to learn network topology information from the NRF in order to route messages to producer NF instances. SCPs obtain NF topology information from the NRF using the NF discovery service operation, through periodic auditing of NF profiles, and through subscriptions with the NRF. Producer NF instances update their NF profiles with the NRF when changes in producer NF loading or changes in the NF profiles occur. Due to the dynamic nature of NF profiles, SCPs maintain a cache of NF profiles and periodically audit the NRF to keep the NF profile information in the cache synchronized with the NF profile information stored with the NRF. The audit procedure is a brute force procedure in which the SCP uses a list retrieval application programming interface (API) to obtain a list of NF profiles registered with the NRF, followed by a profile retrieval API to obtain the NF profiles whose identities were learned using the list retrieval API. The NRF, in response to a request sent via the profile retrieval API, sends all of the requested NF profiles to the SCP, even though the SCP may already have current information for some of the NF profiles. Sending unnecessary NF profile information across the network wastes network bandwidth and processing resources of the NRF and the SCP. Accordingly, in light of these and other difficulties, there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing for efficient auditing of NF profile information by SCPs. SUMMARY A method for providing for efficient auditing of network function (NF) profiles by service communication proxies (SCPs) includes storing, by an NF repository function (NRF), NF profiles of producer NFs registered with the NRF. The method further includes storing, by the NRF, last update timestamps associated with the NF profiles. The method further includes providing, by the NRF, a timestamp-based NF profile retrieval application programming interface (API) tha