Method for synchronizing context data of network functions in a mobile network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11057463-B2
Application number	US-201716314155-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2017
Priority date	Jun 30, 2016
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

A synchronisation method implemented, in a mobile network, by a first device hosting a network function used for the connection of a mobile terminal to the mobile network. The mobile network includes second devices hosting the network function. The method includes the following steps: establishing a connection with a mobile terminal in order to execute, as the main device, the network function in association with the mobile terminal; determining context data associated with the mobile terminal; recording context data in a memory associated with the first device; and sending context data to secondary devices, from among the second devices of the mobile network, so as to synchronise the context data recorded by the first device and the secondary devices.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
synchronizing, implemented in a mobile network comprising a network core managing access to said mobile network, by a first device hosting in the network core a network function serving for connecting a mobile terminal to the mobile network, said mobile network comprising at least one second device hosting in the network core said network function, the synchronizing comprising the following acts:
establishing a connection is the mobile terminal to the first device so that said first device executes, as a main device, the network function in association with said mobile terminal;
determining context data associated with the mobile terminal, said context data being data taken as input by the network function in order to execute, in the network core of the mobile network, the network function for connecting the mobile terminal to the mobile network;
recording the context data in a memory associated with said first device; and
dispatching the context data to at least one of said at least one second device, wherein each second device to which the context is dispatched is termed a secondary device, so as to synchronize the context data in said first device and said at least one secondary device, said context data being accessible by said network function in each secondary device.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , in which, during the dispatching, the first device dispatches only modifications detected in said context data with respect to former context data, of said mobile terminal, which are recorded locally before said determining the context data.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the mobile network comprises a plurality of second devices hosting said network function, and
in which, during the dispatching act, the first device dispatches the context data only to the at least one secondary device, which is selected from among the plurality of second devices of the mobile network so that at least one unselected second device is not synchronized with the first device.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 , the method furthermore comprising obtaining, by the first device, a list identifying at least one of the at least one second device that is a neighbor of the first device in a topology of the mobile network, said selected at least one secondary device comprising said at least one neighbor second device identified in said list.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3 , in which the selected at least one secondary device to which the context data are dispatched during the dispatching is recorded in the memory associated with the first device.

6. The method as claimed in claim 3 , in which the method comprises receiving an identifier of a single secondary device in the mobile network, in which the selected at least one secondary device, to which the context data are dispatched during the dispatching act, comprises only said single secondary device.

7. The method as claimed in claim 3 , comprising the following acts:
detecting the at least one unselected second device, each of which is termed an obsolete device, to which the context data are not dispatched during the dispatching act and which hold in an associated memory of the obsolete device obsolete context data of the mobile terminal; and
dispatching a deletion command to each obsolete device so as to cause deletion of the obsolete context data.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 , in which the method comprises receiving an identifier of one of said at least one second device of the mobile network which was previously connected to said mobile terminal so as to execute, as the main device in place of said first device, the network function in association with said mobile terminal;
said at least one obsolete device being determined based on said identifier.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 , comprising dispatching an identifier of the first device to a central device of the mobile network so as to store in a centralized manner in the mobile network the identity of the first device as the main device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 , comprising, after the act of dispatching the context data, the following acts:
receiving an updating request originating from a second device of the at least one second device of the mobile network to which the context data have not been dispatched during the dispatching; and
dispatching the context data in response to said updating request.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the act of determining context data associated with the mobile terminal comprises, after the act of establishing the connection with the mobile terminal:
detecting that no context datum, associated with the mobile terminal, is contained in the memory associated with said first device;
retrieving, from a centralized device of the mobile network, an identifier of one of said at least one second device, named a former main device, of the mobile network which was previously connected to said mobile terminal so as to execute, as the main device in place of said first device, the network function in association with said mobile terminal; and
dispatching a synchronization request to said former main device corresponding to said identifier so as to retrieve the context data recorded by said second device.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the network function comprises at least one of:
a network function for managing mobility of the mobile terminal within the mobile network;
a network function for locating a user of said mobile terminal; and
a network function for managing sessions of the mobile terminal.

13. A non-transitory recording medium readable by a computer on which is recorded a computer program comprising instructions for performing a method of synchronization when the instructions are executed by a processor of a first device, the method being implemented by the first device, in a mobile network comprising a network core managing access to said mobile network, the first device hosting in the network core a network function serving for connecting a mobile terminal to the mobile network, said mobile network comprising at least one second device hosting in the network core said network function, the method comprising the following acts:
establishing a connection of the mobile terminal to the first device so that said first device executes, as a main device, the network function in association with said mobile terminal;
determining context data associated with the mobile terminal, said context data being data taken as input by the network function in order to execute, in the network core of the mobile network, the network function for connecting the mobile terminal to the mobile network;
recording the context data in a memory associated with said first device; and
dispatching the context data to at least one of said at least one second device, wherein each second device to which the context is dispatched is termed a secondary device, so as to synchronize the context data in said first device and said at least one secondary device, said context data being accessible by said network function in each secondary device.

14. The non-transitory recording medium as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the network function comprises at least one of:
a network function for managing mobility of the mobile terminal within the mobile network;
a network function for locating a user of said mobile terminal; and
a network function for managing sessions of the mobile terminal.

15. A first device hosting in a network core of a mobile network a network function, the network core

Assignees

• Orange

Inventors

• Massicot Bernard
• Daoud Triki Khadija
• Kiessling Lars

Classifications

• H04M2242/40

  Data synchronization between user terminals and central server · CPC title

• G06F11/00

  Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring (error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00) · CPC title

• H04M2242/405

  Incremental backup · CPC title

• H04M7/00

  Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres · CPC title

• H04W36/0033

  with transfer of context information · CPC title