For efficiency and cost reduction, some telecommunications providers bind subscribers to specific policy and charging rules function (PCRF) servers selected from a pool of PCRF servers for the telecommunications network, e.g., a long-term evolution (LTE) network. The PCRF is configured to make and manage policy decisions for the bound subscribers, so it can be more efficient in terms of computing and network resources for a subscriber to always use the same PCRF server. By binding subscribers to specific PCRF servers, different PCRF servers do not have to retrieve and maintain the data for subscribers bound to other PCRF servers. However, if a PCRF server fails, a subscriber may lose service as they can no longer access the needed policy data from the failed PCRF server.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer readable media for detecting and managing suspect subscriber bindings, so that subscribers can re-bind to a functioning PCRF server after a failure and reacquire service.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds