Feature Description
An interface can handle only a specified number of incoming requests. When the incoming requests exceed the specified numbers, the interface overloads. For instance, an interface is overloaded when:
There is a network element failure causing large number of re-attaches
Multiple users perform location update or transition from idle to active mode frequently
Overloading causes the interface to either drop the requests or delay processing the request. The overall network performance degrades because of overloading at the interface. This can lead to node congestion, failure or collapse which in turn causes load increase on the other nodes.
The SMF measures different resources and defines the load based on those measurements. Also, the SMF updates the NRF about the load. Currently, the SMF applies overload protection on inbound messages. The external nodes throttle towards the SMF to come out of a congestion when overload protection is applied on the inbound interface (SBA Interface).
NOTE: The scope of this feature is only on overload due to inbound requests on SBA interface.