Dynamic fault recovery improves 5g core network uptime and resilience
A Dynamic UPF Fault Recovery Mechanism for Enhanced Resilience in 5G Core Networks
Networking and Internet Architecture
Summary
5G networks need to quickly fix problems when parts fail to keep apps running smoothly. The authors developed a way to detect and fix failures in a key 5G component called the User Plane Function (UPF) that moves data. Their method quickly restores connections and keeps packet loss low, helping reduce interruptions for users. They also use failure history to choose more reliable UPFs over time, making the network more dependable.
What this means in practice
- •For 5g network engineers: Implement dynamic UPF failure recovery to maintain low-latency service during network faults in 5G cores.
- •For telecom operations teams: Use failure-aware UPF selection to enhance network reliability by avoiding recently failed UPFs.
Authors
Shirin Behnaminia, Pardis Yavari, Zeinab Zali, Mohammad Reza Heidarpour
Abstract
Ensuring fault tolerance in the User Plane Function is essential to maintain service continuity in 5G networks, particularly as latency-sensitive applications become more prevalent. This paper presents a novel mechanism for dynamic UPF failure detection and recovery within an OpenAirInterface-based 5G core environment. The approach introduces an application-layer session restoration mechanism to ensure service continuity and minimize disruptions during UPF failures. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mechanism reduces UPF downtime while maintaining low packet loss and enabling rapid service recovery. In tests with TCP and UDP traffic, connectivity was restored within a few seconds, minimizing service degradation. Furthermore, our failure-aware UPF selection mechanism improves long-term system resilience by considering recent failure history. The results highlight the effectiveness of our lightweight framework in improving the overall reliability of 5G networks, making it a valuable contribution to network robustness.