In the light of 5G mobile networks IoT devices and users need faster response times. It becomes more and more difficult to fulfill ever more demanding requirements because the transfer of requests through large mobile core networks and from there to central user data repositories (UDR) is limited by the speed of light. This kicks in espacially in large countries and requires subscribers databases to take replication flexibility to a new level.

The Solution:

Instead of bringing the request to the UDR, the UDR is brought near the user. More precise: The network functions and partial data needed to fulfill the current task (usually the user profile along with user session data) is brought geographically near the users, means: near the cell they are currently checked in. Mobile edge computing locates parts of the core network equipment and storage in close proximity to these points. For the database this means the following:

• When users check into the cell, the local network functions look up their data in the local database instance. When the data is not there, the local database fetches it from the central repository.
• As long as being checked in, the users are served by the local database. Updates are replicated asynchrously to the central repository.
• When users leave the cell, they check into a neighboring one, whose local database repeats the game. The recent database removes the old user data automatically after a while based on time to live configurations.
• When configured appropriatly, local databases may also hand over the user data to the neighboring cells.

Our database offers full support for the needed replication mechanisms and time to live configurations. The dynamic caching architecture also allows for a multi level hierarchy, down from the central repository over regional databases to local instances at cell level. For more details please refer to the mobile edge chapter in our SDM technology white paper.