How it Works

The SMF starts the procedure SLA timer at the start of the dedicated bearer procedure, and stops at the end of the procedure. The endpoint configuration allows defining the SLA timer at the interface (N11, N7, N40) level. For configuration details, see the Configuring Dedicated Bearer Procedure Failure Handling Feature section in this guide.

Procedure SLA is supported for the following transactions that start a dedicated bearer procedure:

  • N7 Policy Notify Request (PCF-initiated Modification)

  • Delete Bearer Command (SGW-initiated Deletion)

  • Any internal transaction that starts a Dedicated Bearer Procedure. For example, NintSelfTxnExpPcfUpdNotifyReq has SLA timeout handling similar to N7 Policy Notify Request (PCF-initiated Modification).

When the procedure timer expires, required clean-up is performed at SMF and peer nodes. This clean-up action is based on the stage at which the dedicated bearer call flow is present. This operation helps in identifying the procedure instances which are waiting for peers response for longer duration and handling them accordingly.