CN115460635A

CN115460635A - Fault detection method, device, equipment and computer storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115460635A
Application number: CN202110636045.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蒋帅; 郭兰珂; 周丽; 向益其
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Group Chongqing Co Ltd
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Group Chongqing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-08
Filing date: 2021-06-08
Publication date: 2022-12-09

Abstract

The application discloses a fault detection method, a fault detection device, fault detection equipment and a computer storage medium. The fault detection method is applied to SMF and comprises the following steps: receiving M heartbeat messages sent by a first UPF, wherein each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, the preset fields are used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment, and M and N are positive integers; matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result; and generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, wherein the fault detection result is used for indicating whether the first UPF has a fault or not. The embodiment of the application is beneficial to realizing comprehensive and flexible detection of the first UPF fault and improving the fault detection effect.

Description

Fault detection method, device, equipment and computer storage medium

Technical Field

The present application belongs to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a device, and a computer storage medium for fault detection.

Background

Fifth generation mobile communication technology (5 th generation mobile networks, 5G) is widely used at present. In the 5G service architecture, a User Plane Function (UPF) and a Session Management Function (SMF) are usually included. The UPF can switch to the standby SMF for communication under the condition that the corresponding main SMF is sensed to have a fault.

However, in the prior art, the fault of the UPF is difficult to be effectively detected.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a fault detection method, a fault detection device, equipment and a computer storage medium, and aims to solve the problem that the fault of a UPF (unified power flow) is difficult to effectively detect in the prior art.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a fault detection method, which is applied to an SMF, and the method includes:

receiving M heartbeat messages sent by a first UPF, wherein each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, the preset fields are used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment thereof, and M and N are positive integers;

matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result;

and generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, wherein the fault detection result is used for indicating whether the first UPF has a fault.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a fault detection apparatus, which is applied to an SMF, and includes:

the receiving module is used for receiving M heartbeat messages sent by a first User Plane Function (UPF), each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, the preset fields are used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment, and M and N are positive integers;

the matching module is used for matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result;

and the first generating module is used for generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, and the fault detection result is used for indicating whether the first UPF has a fault or not.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, where the device includes: a processor and a memory storing computer program instructions;

the processor, when executing the computer program instructions, implements the fault detection method described above.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium, where computer program instructions are stored, and when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the fault detection method described above is implemented.

The fault detection method provided by the embodiment of the application receives M heartbeat messages sent by a first UPF, wherein each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, and the preset fields can be used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment; and matching the non-preset fields in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field conditions to obtain matching results, and generating fault detection results for indicating whether the first UPF has faults or not according to the matching results. In the embodiment of the application, the heartbeat message comprises a preset field indicating interactive data between the first UPF and the external equipment, and whether data interaction abnormity exists between the first UPF and the external equipment can be judged through matching of the preset field and preset field conditions, so that comprehensive and flexible detection of the fault of the first UPF is facilitated, and the fault detection effect is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly described below, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings may be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of an architecture to which a fault detection method provided by an embodiment of the present application may be applied;

fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a fault detection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary connection structure between an SMF and a UPF in a specific application;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a fault detection method in a specific application example;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a fault detection apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present application will be described in detail below, and in order to make objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of, and not restrictive on, the present application. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present application may be practiced without some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is merely intended to provide a better understanding of the present application by illustrating examples thereof.

It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrases "comprising 8230; \8230;" comprises 8230; "does not exclude the presence of additional like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

In order to solve the prior art problems, embodiments of the present application provide a fault detection method, apparatus, device, and computer storage medium. First, a framework to which the fault detection method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied is described below.

The fault detection method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to a 5G service architecture. As shown in fig. 1, fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication connection relationship between several functional units in a 5G service architecture.

As shown in fig. 1, the 5G service architecture may include a Session Management Function (SMF) 11, a User Plane Function (UPF) 12, a 5G base station (gNB) 13, and a Data Network (DN) 14.

The SMF may select the UPF based on a Data Network Name (DNN), single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI), or Tracking Area Code (TAC), for example. To ensure network robustness of the 5G service architecture, a UPF POOL (UPF POOL) may typically be composed of multiple UPFs for selection by the SMF.

The UPF may receive a session initiated by a User Equipment (UE) 15 through the gNB. In addition, the UPF can also interact with the DN through data.

In the 5G service architecture, data interaction can be performed between the functional units through preset interfaces, and the interfaces usually have a relatively fixed name. Such as: the SMF and the UPF can perform data interaction through an N4 interface; data interaction can be carried out between the UPF and the gNB through an N3 interface; data interaction can be carried out between the UPF and the DN through an N6 interface; data interaction can be carried out between different UPFs through an N9 interface.

The following describes a fault detection method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic flowchart of a fault detection method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied to the SMF, as shown in fig. 1, and specifically includes:

step 201, receiving M heartbeat messages sent by a first user plane function UPF, where each heartbeat message includes N preset fields, the preset fields are used for indicating data interaction between the first UPF and an external device thereof, and M and N are positive integers;

step 202, matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result;

and 203, generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, wherein the fault detection result is used for indicating whether the first UPF has a fault.

The first UPF may be any UPF of UPF POOLs selectable by the SMF.

In this embodiment, a heartbeat message may be exchanged between the SMF and the first UPF. For example, the SMF and the first UPF may send a predetermined message to each other according to a certain frequency. In other words, during normal data interaction, the SMF and the first UPF may always send a preset packet to each other periodically, where the preset packet corresponds to a heartbeat packet.

In an interaction period of a heartbeat message, the SMF may actively send a heartbeat message (denoted as message a), and the first UPF feeds back the heartbeat message (denoted as message B) to the SMF when receiving the message a. Certainly, in practical application, the first UPF may also actively send the packet B, and the SMF feeds back the packet a to the first UPF in response to the received packet B.

Generally, for the SMF, when the heartbeat packet sent by the first UPF is not received for a long time, it may be considered that the first UPF has an exception.

In some examples, the longer time may correspond to a time threshold. For example, when the duration of not receiving the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF exceeds the time threshold, it is considered that the first UPF is abnormal.

And combining some practical application scenes, the SMF sends a heartbeat message, and after no UPF response is received for more than a preset number of times, the first UPF is considered to be abnormal. The preset number of times can be regarded as a ratio of a time threshold to a heartbeat message interaction period.

However, in practical applications, the first UPF may not normally interact with other functional units due to some faults, for example, the first UPF cannot normally interact with the gNB, or the first UPF cannot normally interact with the DN, and the like. In some cases, the SMF may normally receive the heartbeat packet sent by the first UPF, but cannot sense the actual failure of the first UPF.

In this embodiment, in order to effectively detect the fault of the first UPF, N preset fields may be added to the heartbeat message, and the preset fields may be used to indicate the interactive data between the first UPF and the external device.

In other words, the N preset fields may be considered as heartbeat extension fields added in a simple heartbeat message.

For the first UPF, the external device may be considered as a device with which a communication connection exists, that is, data interaction between the first UPF and the external device may be performed.

In conjunction with the 5G service architecture shown in fig. 1, the external device of the first UPF may be a gNB, an SMF, a DN, or another UPF in the UPF POOL to which the first UPF belongs. Of course, in practical applications, the external device may also be other types of functional units, which are not illustrated herein.

Data interaction can be carried out between the first UPF and external equipment, accordingly, interaction data can be acquired by the first UPF, and corresponding preset fields can be added into the heartbeat message according to the interaction data.

For example, there may be uplink and downlink traffic between the first UPF and the gNB, and the uplink and downlink traffic may be used as one of the preset fields. For another example, there may be a session record between the first UPF and the SMF, and the session establishment success rate of the first UPF and the SMF may be obtained through the session record, and the session establishment success rate may be used as another preset field.

According to the preset field in the heartbeat message, whether interaction abnormity exists between the first UPF and the external equipment can be judged. From another perspective, it may be determined whether the first UPF is malfunctioning. The specific determination process will be described below.

In step 201, the SMF may receive M heartbeat packets sent by the first UPF, and detect whether there is a failure in the first UPF based on the M heartbeat packets. M is a positive integer, that is, in practical application, according to the actual requirement for the reliability of the fault detection result, one heartbeat packet may be selected to determine whether the first UPF has a fault; or at least two heartbeat messages are selected to judge whether the first UPF has a fault.

In step 202, each preset field in each heartbeat message may be matched with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a comparison result.

The following mainly describes a matching process of each preset field in a heartbeat message and a corresponding preset field condition.

For example, the heartbeat message includes a preset field of uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB, where preset field conditions corresponding to the preset field may be an upper limit of the uplink traffic, a lower limit of the uplink traffic, or an upper and lower limits of the uplink traffic.

For example, the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB indicated in the heartbeat message is 200MB, and the corresponding preset field condition is the lower limit of the uplink traffic of 100MB, and at this time, the preset field of the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB may be considered to be matched with the corresponding preset field condition. Conversely, if the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB indicated in the heartbeat message is 10MB, it indicates that the preset field of the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB at this time may be considered as not matching the corresponding preset field condition.

Similarly, other preset fields in the heartbeat message may have corresponding preset field conditions. And matching results can be obtained through matching of each preset field with the corresponding preset field condition. In other words, the matching result may indicate whether each preset field in the heartbeat packet matches with its corresponding preset field condition.

In practical applications, the preset field condition may be a preset field set, in addition to the upper limit or the lower limit to indicate the value range. For example, the preset field may be a word or a letter, and accordingly, the preset field set may include a plurality of fields.

When the preset field has a corresponding field in the preset field set, the preset field may be considered to match the preset field condition. For example, the preset field of the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB may be described by "high", "medium", and "low", and the corresponding set of preset fields is { "high", "medium" }. If the preset field is 'high', the preset field is matched with the preset field condition; if the default field is "low", it indicates that the default field does not match the default field condition.

In step 203, a failure detection result is generated according to the matching result, and the failure detection result can be used for indicating whether the first UPF has a failure.

In combination with the above example, the number of heartbeat messages used for determining whether the first UPF has a fault may be one or multiple, and one or multiple preset fields may also exist in each heartbeat message. To a certain extent, the matching result obtained in step 102 may be considered as a matching result including M × N preset fields and preset field conditions corresponding to the M × N preset fields (which may be referred to as a sub-matching result).

It is easy to understand that, in practical applications, when one of the sub-matching results indicates a mismatch, it is considered that the first UPF has a fault; or, a plurality of sub-matching results may be required to indicate a mismatch at the same time, and the first UPF may be considered to have a failure.

For example, the heartbeat message includes a preset field of the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB. When the uplink flows of the first UPF and the gNB in the M heartbeat messages are not matched with the corresponding preset field conditions, it can be determined that the first UPF has a fault.

For another example, the heartbeat message includes two preset fields, that is, the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the gNB and the uplink traffic of the first UPF and the DN, and when the two preset fields in the M heartbeat messages are not matched with the corresponding preset field conditions, it may be determined that the first UPF has a fault.

Of course, whether the first UPF has a fault or not may be considered as the type, number, or combination of the preset fields when the conditions of the preset fields are not matched, and the considered contents may be preset according to actual needs. In general, however, the SMF may generate a fault detection result based on the matching result obtained in step 102.

The fault detection method provided by the embodiment of the application receives M heartbeat messages sent by a first UPF, wherein each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, and the preset fields can be used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment; and matching the non-preset fields in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field conditions to obtain matching results, and generating a fault detection result for indicating whether the first UPF has faults or not according to the matching results. In the embodiment of the application, the heartbeat message comprises a preset field for indicating the interactive data between the first UPF and the external equipment, and whether data interaction abnormity exists between the first UPF and the external equipment can be judged through matching of the preset field and the preset field condition, so that comprehensive and flexible detection on the fault of the first UPF is facilitated, and the fault detection effect is improved.

In some embodiments, the N preset fields include at least one of:

the first field is used for indicating traffic data between the first UPF and the base station, wherein the external device comprises the base station, and the interactive data comprises the traffic data;

a second field for indicating traffic data between the first UPF and a data network, wherein the external device includes the data network;

a third field, configured to indicate traffic data between the first UPF and the second UPF, where the external device includes the second UPF;

and a fourth field, configured to indicate a session establishment success rate between the first UPF and the SMF, where the interactive data includes the session establishment success rate.

The external device of the first UPF, which is described above in relation to the first UPF, may be a device to which a communication connection exists. And the external device of the first UPF embodied in the preset field can be selected according to actual needs.

The following description will be made for each preset field.

The first field is used to indicate traffic data between the first UPF and the base station. The base station may be, for example, a radio base station of the type of the above-mentioned gNB, and may perform data interaction with the first UPF, which is not illustrated here.

In conjunction with the above description, data interaction between the first UPF and the base station may be performed through an N3 interface, and the specific data interaction may include traffic data and the like.

Accordingly, the first UPF may obtain traffic data associated with the N3 interface, such as: the total uplink flow, the total downlink flow, the average uplink flow or the average downlink flow in a heartbeat message interaction period, and the like. And the first field may indicate such uplink and downlink traffic data.

The second field is used to indicate traffic data between the first UPF and the data network. The data network may correspond to the DN described above.

The data interaction between the first UPF and the DN may be via an N6 interface. The first UPF may obtain uplink and downlink traffic data associated with the N6 interface and may include the uplink and downlink traffic data in the second field.

The third field is to indicate traffic data between the first UPF and the second UPF. As indicated above, for SMFs, a UPF POOL may typically be configured, and the second UPF may be any UPF in the UPF POOL other than the first UPF.

The UPFs may perform data interaction through the N9 interface, and accordingly, the first UPF may obtain uplink and downlink traffic data between the first UPF and the second UPF through the N9 interface, and reflect the uplink and downlink traffic data in the third field.

The fourth field is used to indicate a session establishment success rate between the first UPF and the SMF. The first UPF and the SMF may be data interactive via an N4 interface.

It is easy to understand that the first UPF may count session records between the first UPF and the SMF, such as the number of times of initiating a session in one heartbeat message interaction period, the number of times of successfully establishing a session with the SMF, and the like. Based on these session records, a session establishment success rate may be obtained and embodied in the fourth field.

Therefore, in the embodiment, the preset fields in the heartbeat message can be flexibly assembled, so that the requirement for flexibly detecting the fault of the first UPF is met.

The heartbeat message may include basic fields for determining whether the heartbeat message is in a communication connection, and the N preset fields may be considered as extension fields on the basic fields. In some examples, the extension field in the heartbeat message may be represented as:

optionally, in step 202, matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result, where the matching result includes:

respectively matching a first preset field in each heartbeat message with a corresponding preset field condition, wherein the first preset field is any one of N preset fields;

and under the condition that the number of first heartbeat messages in the M heartbeat messages is greater than a first number threshold value, generating a matching result indicating that the first preset field is abnormal, wherein the first heartbeat messages are heartbeat messages which comprise the first preset field and have unmatched preset field conditions.

In this embodiment, the first preset field may be considered as any one of the N preset fields. For simplicity of description, the following description mainly takes the first preset field as the above-mentioned "N4 session establishment success rate" as an example. In the M heartbeat messages, each heartbeat message may include a first preset field, which is an "N4 session establishment success rate.

Let M =3, the first preset fields are 30%, 80%, and 85% in the 3 heartbeat messages, respectively.

The preset field condition corresponding to the first preset field of the "N4 session establishment success rate" may be "lower limit 50%". That is, when the first preset field is greater than or equal to 50%, the first preset field may be considered to be matched with the preset field condition thereof, and conversely, when the first preset field is less than 50%, the first preset field may be considered to be not matched with the preset field condition thereof.

According to matching, in 3 heartbeat messages, the first preset field in 1 heartbeat message is not matched with the corresponding preset field condition, and the first preset field in 2 heartbeat messages is matched with the corresponding preset field condition. That is, the number of the first heartbeat messages is 1.

If the first number threshold is 0, the number of the first heartbeat messages is larger than the first number threshold, which indicates that the first preset field is abnormal. And if the first number threshold is 2, the number of the first heartbeat messages is smaller than the first number threshold, which indicates that the first preset field is not abnormal.

Whether the first heartbeat message is abnormal or not can be embodied in the matching result. In other words, the matching result may indicate which specific preset fields are anomalous.

Of course, the above is only some examples of determining whether there is an exception in the first preset field of the heartbeat message. In practical application, the value of M, the preset field condition or the used quantity threshold value, etc. can be adjusted as required.

For example, the value of M may be 1, so that the abnormality of the preset field may be determined according to one heartbeat message, and the timeliness of obtaining the matching result is ensured.

In contrast, in the above example, the value of M may be greater than 1, and the value of the first number threshold may also be greater than 1, so that interference of factors such as data errors can be effectively reduced, and the reliability of the matching result is improved.

It can be seen that, the present embodiment provides some schemes for determining whether the preset field is abnormal, where the value of M or the first number threshold may be set as needed, which is helpful for meeting the requirement of obtaining timeliness or reliability of the matching result.

Optionally, in step 303, generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, where the fault detection result includes:

generating a failure detection result indicating that the first UPF has a failure in the event that the matching result indicates at least one of:

the number of the abnormal preset fields in the N preset fields is larger than a second number threshold;

and exception exists in a target field in the N preset fields.

In connection with the above example, the N preset fields may include "UPF N3 uplink and downlink traffic", "UPF N6 uplink and downlink traffic", "UPF N9 uplink and downlink traffic", and "N4 session establishment success rate".

In one example, it may be determined that the first UPF has a failure when the number of preset fields of the N preset fields in which an anomaly exists is greater than a second number threshold.

For example, the second number threshold is 2, and if 3 of the 4 preset fields are abnormal, a fault detection result indicating that the first UPF has a fault may be generated. Conversely, if there is an anomaly in only 1 preset field, it may be determined that the first UPF currently does not have a fault.

In another example, if there is an exception in the target field among the 4 preset fields, it may also be determined that the first UPF has a fault.

The target field may be preset. For example, if the "N4 session establishment success rate" is set as the target field, it may be determined that the first UPF has a failure if the "N4 session establishment success rate" does not match its preset field condition.

Of course, in practical applications, if the number of the preset fields with the abnormality in the N preset fields is greater than the second number threshold and the target field in the N preset fields has the abnormality, it may also be determined that the first UPF has the failure.

Therefore, the condition can be flexibly set to determine whether the first UPF has the fault, and the requirement of detecting the fault of the first UPF under different application scenes is met.

Optionally, in a case that the fault detection result indicates that the first UPF has a fault, the method may further include:

and responding to the fault detection result, and performing disaster recovery processing on the first UPF.

For example, when the SMF determines that the first UPF has a fault according to the fault detection result, the SMF may generate the first instruction to disconnect the communication connection between the first UPF and the external device thereof, so as to avoid that the faulty first UPF continues to operate and the related session cannot be processed in time.

It is understood that the first command may be responded by the SMF, or may be responded by the devices receiving the first command after being sent to the other devices. For example, when the SMF and the first UPF are disconnected from each other, the SMF may send a first command to the first UPF, and the first UPF disconnects the communication connection with the device such as the gNB in response to the first command.

In other words, in practical applications, the disaster recovery processing may refer to a process in which the SMF releases the coupling with the first UPF and deactivates the user session carried by the first UPF.

In some examples, when the SMF detects that the first UPF has a fault, the SMF may select another UPF in the UPF POOL to replace the first UPF for carrying the traffic, complete disaster recovery scheduling of the user plane traffic, and ensure that services such as sessions are not affected.

In other words, the process of disaster recovery processing may further include a process in which the SMF selects another UPF to replace the function of the first UPF.

Of course, in order to avoid phenomena such as a signaling storm caused by an excessive number of UPFs performing the disaster recovery processing, optionally, in step 203, after generating the fault detection result according to the matching result, the fault detection method further includes:

acquiring the number of third UPFs (user equipment) under the condition that the fault detection result indicates that the first UPF has a fault, wherein the third UPFs are UPFs which are connected with the SMF and subjected to disaster recovery processing;

and carrying out disaster tolerance processing on the first UPF under the condition that the number of the third UPF is less than or equal to a third number threshold.

In this embodiment, when it is detected that the first UPF has a fault, it may be further determined whether to perform disaster recovery processing on the first UPF by combining the number of UPFs subjected to disaster recovery processing in the UPF POOL corresponding to the SMF.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the number of the third UPFs may be obtained, and when the number of the third UPFs is less than or equal to the third number threshold, the disaster recovery processing procedure for the first UPF is triggered.

The disaster recovery processing may refer to the above processing procedure in which the SMF releases the coupling with the first UPF, deactivates the user session carried by the first UPF, and selects another UPF to replace the function of the first UPF.

As indicated above, the SMF may communicatively connect a plurality of UPFs in the UPF POOL, and the first UPF may be any one of the UPF POOLs. The SMF may also fail detect UPFs other than the first UPF. Accordingly, other UPFs may be detected by the SMF as having a fault and subjected to disaster recovery processing, and these UPFs subjected to disaster recovery processing may correspond to the third UPF described above.

The SMF may count the third UPF to obtain a number of third UPFs.

Generally, the UPF subjected to disaster recovery is terminated by the SMF. Because the number of the UPFs in the UPF POOL is limited, if the number of the third UPFs is large, if the fault detection and disaster recovery processing are continuously performed on the UPFs according to the harsher fault detection standard, the number of the remaining UPFs capable of working normally may be too small, and a signaling storm may occur.

The detecting of the fault of the first UPF based on the preset field may be considered to adopt a severer fault detection standard due to consideration of an interaction condition between the first UPF and an external device.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to avoid the situation that the excessive UPFs are determined to have faults and directly stop working, and the remaining processing capacity of the UPF POOL is difficult to process the user information, the disaster recovery processing may be performed on the first UPF when the number of the third UPFs is less than or equal to the third number threshold.

For example, if the third number threshold is 5, and if it is detected that the first UPF has a fault, the number of the third UPFs is obtained, and if the number is 3, at this time, the number of the third UPFs is smaller than the third number threshold, and the disaster recovery processing may be performed on the first UPF.

And if the number of the third UPFs is 6, at this time, the number of the third UPFs is greater than the third number threshold, and then the current working state of the first UPF is maintained without performing disaster recovery processing on the first UPF.

In summary, in this embodiment, if the first UPF has a fault, the number of the third UPFs is continuously obtained, and the disaster recovery processing is performed on the first UPF under the condition that the number of the third UPFs is less than or equal to the third number threshold, so that the situation that the signaling processing capability of the remaining UPFs is insufficient due to continuous fault detection and disaster recovery processing on the UPFs with a more severe fault detection standard under the condition that the number of the third UPFs is too large can be avoided, and the reliability of the service framework is further improved.

In one example, the number of the third UPFs may be updated in the case of disaster recovery processing of the first UPF.

In practical applications, the generation of the fault detection result indicating that the first UPF has a fault may not depend on the matching process with the preset field. For example, when the interaction process of the heartbeat packet between the SMF and the first UPF is abnormal (for example, the SMF does not receive the heartbeat packet sent by the first UPF within a preset time period), a fault detection result indicating that the first UPF has a fault may also be generated.

Generally, when the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF is not monitored within the preset time duration, it indicates that the communication connection between the SMF and the first UPF is disconnected, and the first UPF cannot continue to assume a corresponding session function.

Thus, in one embodiment, the fault detection method may further comprise:

monitoring the heartbeat message;

and carrying out disaster recovery processing on the first UPF under the condition that the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF is not monitored within a preset time length.

Generally, the process of monitoring heartbeat messages may occur during the entire communication between the SMF and the first UPF. Therefore, in combination with an application scenario, when the number of the third UPFs is greater than the third number threshold, the heartbeat message can be continuously monitored as well;

and under the condition that the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF is not monitored within the preset time, directly carrying out disaster recovery processing on the first UPF.

Generally, whether the SMF can regularly receive the heartbeat message of the first UPF may be an indicator of whether the SMF and the first UPF can normally communicate. When the SMF fails to acquire the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF within the preset time length, the SMF cannot receive the session request initiated by the first UPF, which means that the communication between the SMF and the first UPF fails.

And carrying out disaster recovery processing on the first UPF under the condition that the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF is not monitored within the preset time.

In other words, under the condition that the first UPF cannot normally communicate with the SMF, the SMF may control to disconnect the communication connection between the first UPF and the external device, and select another UPF to carry the user session, thereby avoiding the occurrence of the condition that the signaling is blocked.

In one embodiment, the SMF may continuously receive the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF, but may choose whether to process the heartbeat message.

Specifically, in the step 202, matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result, which may specifically include:

acquiring target switch information associated with the first UPF;

and under the condition that the target switch information indicates to process the heartbeat messages, matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result.

The target switch information may be used to indicate whether to process the heartbeat message. The target switch information may be pre-stored in the SMF. For example, the target switch information may be stored in the form of "ID, value", where ID represents the identity information of the UPF and value may indicate the switch state. For example, when the value is 1, it represents that the processing process of the heartbeat message is started; when the value is 0, the processing of the heartbeat message is closed.

When receiving the heartbeat message carrying the identity information, the SMF may determine whether to further read and process a preset field in the heartbeat message according to the identity information and the target switch information.

When the target switch information is stored in the SMF, the UPFs in the UPF POOL corresponding to the target switch information can be uniformly configured in the SMF, thereby ensuring the convenience of configuration of the target switch information.

Certainly, the target switch information may also be carried in the heartbeat message, and when the SMF reads the target switch information, it determines whether to further read and process the preset field in the heartbeat message according to the target switch information.

Target switch information in the heartbeat message, the first UPF may configure the target switch information as desired. For example, when the first UPF can automatically match the target switch information according to the number of sessions currently carried.

In this embodiment, the SMF may determine whether to further process the heartbeat packet sent by the first UPF according to the target switch information associated with the first UPF, so as to effectively improve the flexibility of fault detection.

The fault detection method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to some specific application examples.

As shown in fig. 3, heartbeat messages of the SMF and the UPF may be Heartbeat messages (PFCP _ Heartbeat _ Request/Response) based on a message forwarding control protocol, and in an N4 Heartbeat message of the SMF and the UPF, a "flow state" (service flow state or signaling flow state) representation field (corresponding to N preset fields) is newly added, including but not limited to: the UPF comprises a UPF N3, N6 and N9 uplink and downlink flow rate statistic field, an N4 session establishment success rate statistic field and the like, wherein the field values are counted by the UPF according to the current value of equipment and are fed back to the SMF in heartbeat interaction.

The SMF receives the N4 heartbeat message, and adds new problem judgment and response logic aiming at the newly added extension field, and the specific mechanism comprises the following steps:

(1) The "flow state" represents the field problem judgment mechanism.

Configuring a problem determination rule for each "flow state" characterization field (such as x, y, z fields), and if the heartbeat message is received n times within the configured heartbeat number (such as n), and the value of x is continuously lower than or higher than a configured threshold value t (the threshold value may be configured artificially and statically or calculated dynamically by system statistics), determining that a problem occurs in the x characterization state, which may be (but is not limited to) x |! . When a problem occurs with the state, x! True, when no problem occurs with the state, x! Is false.

(2) UPF problem determination mechanism.

Based on the characterization status (x!, y!, z! etc.), the respective UPF problem determination rule is configured in terms of logical operators, such as the expression x! & y! (where & and operation), when the expression is true, the UPF problem is determined to be true, otherwise determined to be false.

(3) And (4) a UPF problem disaster recovery behavior mechanism.

When SMF judges that UPF problem is true, releasing the coupling with UPF, deactivating the user session carried by UPF, making user initiate session establishment again, SMF selecting normal UPF, and completing disaster tolerance operation.

(4) And (4) maximally configuring the disaster tolerance behavior of the UPF problem.

To prevent abnormal problem determination situations or the possibility of signaling storms, the SMF may set the maximum number of determination problems UPF based on "flow state", e.g. to m. When the SMF judges that the UPF has a problem, adding 1 to the UPF problem count under the SMF, and when the number of the UPF problems judged based on the flow state in the SMF is more than m, the SMF does not carry out disaster recovery processing on the subsequent UPF problems. When the SMF judges again that the UPF returns to normal, the UPF problem count under the SMF is reduced by 1.

(5) The switching mechanism is determined.

The SMF sets the switches (corresponding target switch information) for the "flow state" determination for the different UPFs: the UPF is closed to judge the 'process state', and the SMF does not correspondingly process the 'process state' representation field contained in the heartbeat message sent by the UPF; and opening UPF flow state judgment, receiving and processing a flow state representation field contained in the heartbeat message by the SMF, and entering a flow state problem UPF judgment flow.

With reference to fig. 4, on the basis of the above mechanism, the fault detection method may specifically include:

in step 401, the smf may configure a "process status" determination switch for the connected UPFs.

Step 402, the SMF receives the heartbeat message fed back from the UPF, when the "UPF judgment switch" is configured as "off", the SMF does not perform problem judgment on the "flow state" of the UPF in the message, i.e. does not process the "flow state" field in the N4 heartbeat interaction, and can judge whether the UPF fails according to the following: and when the SMF does not receive the heartbeat message feedback sent by the UPF in a certain configuration period, the SMF judges that the UPF has a fault.

And step 403, when the UPF judgment switch is configured to be on, the SMF receives a newly added flow state field, and judges the problem represented by the flow state field based on the problem judgment rule configured to each field.

At step 404, a UPF problem determination is made based on the configured "UPF problem determination expression", such as (x! & y!), where UPF is determined to be problematic when the expression is "true" and normal when the expression is "false".

And 405, when the SMF judges that the UPF has a problem, adding 1 to the UPF problem count on the SMF, comparing the UPF problem count with the maximum UPF number m of the flow state judgment problems on the SMF, when the UPF is more than m, ending the flow, and when the UPF is less than or equal to m, executing a corresponding UPF disaster recovery behavior by the SMF.

As can be seen from the above specific application examples, the fault detection method provided in the embodiment of the present application may combine the "process state" fields, and perform UPF problem determination by setting different logical expressions. Based on the above, the SMF can judge the UPF problem more comprehensively and flexibly, and when the UPF peripheral data communication equipment fails, the UPF has a hidden failure or other N4 heartbeat interaction is normal, but the blocked service and signaling flow scenes occur, the SMF can sense the problem sharply and take disaster recovery action in time.

As shown in fig. 5, an embodiment of the present application further provides a fault detection apparatus, which is applied to an SMF, and includes:

a receiving module 501, configured to receive M heartbeat messages sent by a first UPF, where each heartbeat message includes N preset fields, each preset field is used to indicate interactive data between the first UPF and an external device, and M and N are positive integers;

a matching module 502, configured to match each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with a corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result;

a first generating module 503, configured to generate a fault detection result according to the matching result, where the fault detection result is used to indicate whether the first UPF has a fault.

Optionally, the N preset fields include at least one of:

the second field is used for indicating the flow data between the first UPF and the data network, wherein the external equipment comprises the data network;

a fourth field for indicating a session establishment success rate between the first UPF and the SMF, wherein the interactive data includes the session establishment success rate.

Optionally, the matching module 502 may include:

the first matching unit is used for respectively matching a first preset field in each heartbeat message with a corresponding preset field condition, wherein the first preset field is any one of N preset fields;

the first generating unit is configured to generate a matching result indicating that the first preset field is abnormal when the number of first heartbeat messages in the M heartbeat messages is greater than a first number threshold, where the first heartbeat messages are heartbeat messages including the first preset field and having a condition that the corresponding preset field is not matched.

Optionally, the first generating module 503 includes:

a second generating unit, configured to generate a fault detection result indicating that the first UPF has a fault if the matching result indicates at least one of the following:

and exception exists in a target field in the N preset fields.

Optionally, the fault detection apparatus may further include:

an obtaining module, configured to obtain, when the fault detection result indicates that the first UPF has a fault, the number of third UPFs, where the third UPFs are the UPFs that are connected to the SMF and that have undergone disaster recovery processing;

and the first disaster recovery processing module is used for performing disaster recovery processing on the first UPF under the condition that the number of the third UPFs is smaller than or equal to a third number threshold.

Optionally, the matching module 502 may include:

the acquisition unit is used for acquiring the target switch information related to the first UPF;

and the second matching unit is used for matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition under the condition that the target switch information indicates to process the heartbeat messages, so as to obtain a matching result.

Optionally, the fault detection apparatus may further include:

the monitoring module is used for monitoring the heartbeat message;

and the second disaster recovery processing module is used for carrying out disaster recovery processing on the first UPF under the condition that the heartbeat message sent by the first UPF is not monitored within a preset time length.

It should be noted that the fault detection apparatus is an apparatus corresponding to the fault detection method, and all implementation manners in the method embodiments are applicable to the embodiment of the apparatus, and the same technical effect can be achieved.

Fig. 6 shows a hardware structure diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

The electronic device may comprise a processor 601 and a memory 602 in which computer program instructions are stored.

Specifically, the processor 601 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or may be configured to implement one or more Integrated circuits of the embodiments of the present Application.

Memory 602 may include mass storage for data or instructions. By way of example, and not limitation, memory 602 may include a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), floppy Disk Drive, flash memory, optical Disk, magneto-optical Disk, tape, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) Drive or a combination of two or more of these. Memory 602 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media, where appropriate. The memory 602 may be internal or external to the integrated gateway disaster recovery device, where appropriate. In a particular embodiment, the memory 602 is non-volatile solid-state memory.

The memory may include Read Only Memory (ROM), random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media devices, optical storage media devices, flash memory devices, electrical, optical, or other physical/tangible memory storage devices. Thus, in general, the memory includes one or more tangible (non-transitory) computer-readable storage media (e.g., memory devices) encoded with software comprising computer-executable instructions and when the software is executed (e.g., by one or more processors), it is operable to perform operations described with reference to methods in accordance with the present disclosure.

The processor 601 realizes any one of the failure detection methods in the above embodiments by reading and executing computer program instructions stored in the memory 602.

In one example, the electronic device can also include a communication interface 603 and a bus 604. As shown in fig. 6, the processor 601, the memory 602, and the communication interface 603 are connected via a bus 604 to complete communication therebetween.

The communication interface 603 is mainly used for implementing communication between modules, apparatuses, units and/or devices in this embodiment.

Bus 604 comprises hardware, software, or both to couple the components of the online data traffic billing device to each other. By way of example, and not limitation, a bus may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an Enhanced Industrial Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, a Front Side Bus (FSB), a Hyper Transport (HT) interconnect, an Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an infiniband interconnect, a Low Pin Count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCI-X) bus, a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) bus, a video electronics standards association local (VLB) bus, or other suitable bus or a combination of two or more of these. Bus 604 may include one or more buses, where appropriate. Although specific buses are described and shown in the embodiments of the application, any suitable buses or interconnects are contemplated by the application.

In addition, in combination with the fault detection method in the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application may provide a computer storage medium to implement. The computer storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon; the computer program instructions, when executed by a processor, implement any of the fault detection methods in the above embodiments.

It is to be understood that the present application is not limited to the particular arrangements and instrumentalities described above and shown in the attached drawings. A detailed description of known methods is omitted herein for the sake of brevity. In the above embodiments, several specific steps are described and shown as examples. However, the method processes of the present application are not limited to the specific steps described and illustrated, and those skilled in the art can make various changes, modifications and additions, or change the order between the steps, after comprehending the spirit of the present application.

The functional blocks shown in the above structural block diagrams may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in hardware, it may be, for example, an electronic circuit, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), suitable firmware, plug-in, function card, or the like. When implemented in software, the elements of the present application are the programs or code segments used to perform the required tasks. The program or code segments may be stored in a machine-readable medium or transmitted by a data signal carried in a carrier wave over a transmission medium or a communication link. A "machine-readable medium" may include any medium that can store or transfer information. Examples of a machine-readable medium include an electronic circuit, a semiconductor memory device, a ROM, a flash memory, an Erasable ROM (EROM), a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, an optical fiber medium, a Radio Frequency (RF) link, and so forth. The code segments may be downloaded via computer networks such as the internet, intranet, etc.

It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiments mentioned in this application describe some methods or systems based on a series of steps or devices. However, the present application is not limited to the order of the above steps, that is, the steps may be performed in the order mentioned in the embodiments, may be performed in an order different from the order in the embodiments, or may be performed at the same time.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described above with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, enable the implementation of the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. Such a processor may be, but is not limited to, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, an application specific processor, or a field programmable logic circuit. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware for performing the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

As is clear to those skilled in the art, for convenience and simplicity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, modules and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again. It should be understood that the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and these modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A fault detection method is applied to a Session Management Function (SMF), and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving M heartbeat messages sent by a first User Plane Function (UPF), wherein each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, the preset fields are used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment, and M and N are positive integers;

matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with a corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result;

and generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, wherein the fault detection result is used for indicating whether the first UPF has a fault or not.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the N preset fields comprise at least one of:

a first field, configured to indicate traffic data between the first UPF and a base station, where the external device includes the base station, and the interaction data includes traffic data;

a third field for indicating traffic data between the first UPF and a second UPF, wherein the external device includes the second UPF;

a fourth field, configured to indicate a session establishment success rate between the first UPF and the SMF, where the interaction data includes the session establishment success rate.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result comprises:

respectively matching a first preset field in each heartbeat message with a corresponding preset field condition, wherein the first preset field is any one of the N preset fields;

and under the condition that the number of first heartbeat messages in the M heartbeat messages is larger than a first number threshold value, generating a matching result indicating that the first preset field is abnormal, wherein the first heartbeat messages are heartbeat messages of which the conditions of the first preset field and the corresponding preset field are not matched.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating a fault detection result based on the matching result comprises:

generating a fault detection result indicating that the first UPF has a fault if the matching result indicates at least one of:

the number of the abnormal preset fields in the N preset fields is greater than a second number threshold;

and exception exists in a target field in the N preset fields.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein after generating the fault detection result according to the matching result, the method further comprises:

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the matching each preset field in the M heartbeat messages with the corresponding preset field condition to obtain a matching result comprises:

acquiring target switch information associated with the first UPF;

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring the heartbeat message;

8. A fault detection apparatus applied to a Session Management Function (SMF), the apparatus comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving M heartbeat messages sent by a first User Plane Function (UPF), each heartbeat message comprises N preset fields, each preset field is used for indicating interactive data between the first UPF and external equipment, and M and N are positive integers;

and the first generating module is used for generating a fault detection result according to the matching result, wherein the fault detection result is used for indicating whether the first UPF has a fault or not.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that the device comprises: a processor and a memory storing computer program instructions;

the processor, when executing the computer program instructions, implements a fault detection method as claimed in any one of claims 1-7.

10. A computer storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, implement the fault detection method of any one of claims 1-7.