Patent Publication Number: US-2023156460-A1

Title: User equipment (ue) identification in a wireless communication network

Description:
RELATED CASES 
     This United States Patent Application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/331,442 that was filed on May 26, 2021 and is entitled “USER EQUIPMENT (UE) IDENTIFICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK.” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/331,442 is hereby incorporated by reference into this United States Patent Application. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 
     Wireless communication networks provide wireless data services to wireless user devices. Exemplary wireless data services include machine-control, internet-access, media-streaming, and social-networking. Exemplary wireless user devices comprise phones, computers, vehicles, robots, and sensors. The wireless user devices execute user applications that use the wireless data services. For example, a smartphone may execute a social-networking application that communicates with a content server over a wireless communication network. 
     The wireless communication networks have wireless access nodes which exchange wireless signals with the wireless user devices over radio frequency bands. The wireless signals use wireless network protocols like Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WIFI), and Low-Power Wide Area Network (LP-WAN). The wireless access nodes exchange network signaling and user data with network elements that are often clustered together into wireless network cores. The network elements comprise Interworking Functions (IWFs), Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs), Session Management Functions (SMFs), User Plane Functions (UPFs), Policy Control Functions, (PCFs), Network Exposure Functions (NEFs), Unified Data Management (UDMs), Uniform Data Repositories (UDRs), and the like. 
     The UDRs store and serve user data for the wireless user devices like device identifiers, subscribed services, and service policies. The device identifiers may be Subscriber Permanent Identifiers (SUPIs). The subscribed services may comprise network names and slices for network products like internet-access, low-power communications, media-streaming, and robotic control. The service policies indicate user information like service quality, geographic restrictions, and data limits. 
     To authenticate a wireless user device, the wireless communication network issues a random number to the wireless use device which hashes its SUPI and the random number to generate and transfer a hash result back to the network. The wireless communication network hashes the expected SUPI and the random number to generate an expected hash result and matches the device&#39;s hash result to the expected hash result to properly identify the wireless user device. The network elements retrieve data for the authenticated wireless user device from the UDR like SUPI, subscribed services, and service policies. The network elements deliver the subscribed services to the wireless user device based on the service policies. 
     When multiple UDRs are used, the UDRs synchronize their SUPIs with one another to avoid duplicate SUPIs. When different wireless user devices are issued a duplicate SUPI, one of these devices will likely get locked out and lose its subscribed services. The locked-out wireless user device re-acquires the subscribed services when the device operator contacts the wireless communication network in response to the loss-of-service, and the network reconfigures the wireless user device with a new SUPI. New SUPIs are constantly required for new and reconfigured wireless user devices. When the multiple UDRs cannot synchronize their SUPIs, duplicate SUPIs and the resulting wireless communication service disruptions become a serious risk. Unfortunately, the UDRs do not effectively handle UDR communication outages. Moreover, the UDRs do not efficiently manage the risk of duplicate SUPIs. 
     TECHNICAL OVERVIEW 
     A wireless communication system serves wireless user devices based on wireless user device Identifiers (IDs). The wireless communication system detects a loss of synchronization between data repositories, and in response, identifies the wireless user device IDs that were allocated to the data repositories during the loss of synchronization. The wireless communication system reallocates the identified wireless user device IDs to the data repositories. The wireless communication system synchronizes the reallocated wireless user device IDs across the data repositories. The wireless communication system serves wireless data communications to the wireless user devices based on the reallocated and synchronized wireless user device IDs. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a wireless communication network to identify wireless User Equipment (UEs). 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an exemplary operation of the wireless communication network to identify the wireless UEs. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an exemplary operation of the wireless communication network to identify the wireless UEs. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a Fifth Generation (5G) wireless communication network to identify wireless UEs. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a UE in the 5G wireless communication network. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates non-3GPP access nodes in the 5G wireless communication network. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a 5G New Radio (5GNR) gNodeB in the 5G wireless communication network. 
         FIG.  8    illustrates a wireless network core in the 5G wireless communication network. 
         FIG.  9    illustrates an exemplary operation of the 5G wireless communication network to identify the wireless UEs. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    illustrates wireless communication network  100  to identify wireless User Equipment (UEs)  101 - 106 . UEs  101 - 106  comprise computers, phones, vehicles, sensors, robots, or some other data appliances with data communication circuitry. Wireless communication network  100  comprises Radio Access Networks (RANs)  111 - 112 , network elements  113 - 114 , Unified Data Repositories (UDRs)  115 - 116 , and recovery system  117 . Wireless communication network  100  is simplified and typically includes more UEs, RANs, network elements, and UDRs than shown. 
     Various examples of network operation and configuration are described herein. In some examples, UDRs  115 - 116  determine UE Identifiers (IDs) for UE  101  and UE  104 . UDRs  115 - 116  successfully synchronize the UE IDs with one another to avoid duplicate UE IDs. UDR  115  serves the UE ID for UE  101  to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the UE ID for UE  104  to network elements  114 . Network elements  113 - 114  use the UE IDs to serve wireless data communications to UE  101  and UE  104 . UE  101  wirelessly exchanges network signaling and user data with RAN  111 . RAN  111  exchanges network signaling and user data with network elements  113  to serve UE  101 . UE  104  wirelessly exchanges network signaling and user data with RAN  112 . RAN  112  exchanges network signaling and user data with network elements  114  to serve UE  104 . 
     UDRs  115 - 116  then determine UE IDs for UE  102  and UE  105 . UDRs  115 - 116  are not able to successfully synchronize these UE IDs with one another, so the UE IDs for UE  102  and UE  105  may be duplicates. UDR  115  serves the UE ID for UE  102  to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the UE ID for UE  105  to network elements  114 . Network elements  113 - 114  use the UE IDs to serve wireless data communications to UE  102  and UE  105 . UE  102  wirelessly exchanges network signaling and user data with RAN  111 . RAN  111  exchanges network signaling and user data with network elements  113  to serve UE  102 . UE  105  wirelessly exchanges network signaling and user data with RAN  112 . RAN  112  exchanges network signaling and user data with network elements  114  to serve UE  105 . When the UE IDs for UE  102  and UE  105  are duplicates, network elements  113  and UDR  115  may serve UE  102  but would likely not serve UE  105  when it presents its duplicate UE ID. Likewise, network elements  114  and UDR  116  may serve UE  105  but would likely not serve UE  102  when it presents its duplicate ID. 
     UDRs  115 - 116  then determine UE IDs for UE  103  and UE  106 . UDRs  115 - 116  successfully synchronize these UE IDs with one another to avoid duplicates. UDR  115  serves the UE ID for UE  103  to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the UE ID for UE  106  to network elements  114 . Network elements  113 - 114  use the UE IDs to serve wireless data communications to UE  103  and UE  106 . UE  103  wirelessly exchanges network signaling and user data with RAN  111 . RAN  111  exchanges network signaling and user data with network elements  113  to serve UE  103 . UE  106  wirelessly exchanges network signaling and user data with RAN  112 . RAN  112  exchanges network signaling and user data with network elements  114  to serve UE  106 . 
     In response to the unsuccessful synchronization of the UE IDs for UE  102  and UE  105 , UDR recovery system  117  reallocates the UE IDs to avoid duplication. UDR recovery system  117  successfully synchronizes the reallocated UE IDs and indicates the reallocated-synchronized UE IDs to UDRs  115 - 116 . UDR  115  serves the reallocated-synchronized UE ID for UE  102  to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the reallocated-synchronized UE ID for UE  106  to network elements  114 . Network elements  113 - 114  use the reallocated-synchronized UE IDs to serve wireless data communications to UE  102  and UE  105 . Since the UE IDs for UE  102  and UE  105  are not duplicates, network elements  113  and UDR  115  would now serve UE  105  when it presents its reallocated-synchronized UE ID. Likewise, network elements  114  and UDR  116  would serve UE  102  when it presents its reallocated-synchronized UE ID. Advantageously, UDRs  115 - 116  effectively handle their communication outages. Moreover, UDRs  115 - 116  efficiently manage the risk of duplicate SUPIs through automatic replacement. 
     The UE IDs comprise Subscriber Permanent Identifiers (SUPIs), Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) codes, or some other data that uniquely identifies individual UEs  101 - 106 . Network elements  113 - 114  comprise Interworking Functions (IWFs), Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs), Session Management Functions (SMFs), User Plane Functions (UPFs), Policy Control Functions, (PCFs), Network Exposure Functions (NEFs), Unified Data Management (UDMs), and the like. Although not required, UDRs  115 - 116  may be located in different geographic areas. In some examples, recovery system  117  is integrated within at least one of UDRs  115 - 116 . 
     UEs  101 - 106  wirelessly communicate with RANs  111 - 112  over technologies like Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WIFI), Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Low-Power Wide area Network (LP-WAN), or some other wireless communication protocol. RANs  112 - 113 , network elements  113 - 114 , UDRs  115 - 116 , and recovery system  117  communicate over metallic wiring, glass fibers, radio channels, or some other communication media. The data links use IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), Time Division Multiplex (TDM), Data Over Cable System Interface Specification (DOCSIS), WIFI, 5GNR, LTE, IP, General Packet Radio Service Transfer Protocol (GTP), virtual switching, inter-processor communication, bus interfaces, and/or some other data communication protocols. UEs  101 - 106  and RANs  111 - 112  comprise radios. UEs  101 - 106 , RANs  112 - 113 , network elements  113 - 114 , UDRs  115 - 116 , and recovery system  117  comprise microprocessors, software, memories, transceivers, bus circuitry, and the like. The microprocessors comprise Digital Signal Processors (DSP), Central Processing Units (CPU), Graphical Processing Units (GPU), Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), and/or the like. The memories comprise Random Access Memory (RAM), flash circuitry, disk drives, and/or the like. The memories store software like operating systems, user applications, radio applications, and network functions. The microprocessors retrieve the software from the memories and execute the software to drive the operation of wireless communication network  100  as described herein. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates an exemplary operation of wireless communication network  100  to identify wireless UEs  101 - 106 . UDRs  115 - 116  determine UE IDs ( 201 ). UDRs  115 - 116  attempt to synchronize the UE IDs to avoid duplication ( 201 ). When the UE IDs are successfully synchronized ( 202 ), UDRs  115 - 116  serve the UE IDs to network elements  113  ( 203 ), and network elements  113 - 114  use the UE IDs to serve wireless data communications to the UEs ( 204 ). When the UE IDs are not successfully synchronized ( 202 ), UDR  115  serves its UE IDs to network elements  113 , and UDR  116  serves its UE IDs to network elements  114  ( 205 ). UDRs  115 - 116  also indicate the unsynchronized UE IDs to recovery system  117  ( 205 ). Network elements  113 - 114  use the unsynchronized UE IDs to serve wireless data communications to the UEs ( 206 ). Recovery system  117  reallocates and synchronizes the UE IDs to avoid duplication ( 207 ). Recovery system  117  indicates the reallocated-synchronized UE IDs to UDRs  115 - 116  ( 207 ). UDR  115  serves the reallocated-synchronized UE IDs to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the reallocated-synchronized UE IDs to network elements  114  ( 208 ). Network elements  113 - 114  use the reallocated-synchronized UE IDs to serve wireless data communications ( 209 ). 
       FIG.  3    illustrates an exemplary operation of wireless communication network  100  to identify wireless UEs  101 - 106 . In this example, UDRs  115 - 116  synchronize all of their UE IDs through recovery system  117 , although this differs from other examples. UDR  115  determines a first UE ID for UE  101 , and UDR  116  determines a second UE ID for UE  104 . UDRs  115 - 116  successfully synchronize the first and second UE IDs over recovery system  117 . Recovery system  117  may log and pass the UE IDs for synchronization by UDRs  115 - 116 , or recovery system  117  may receive, synchronize, and indicate the synchronized UE IDs to UDRs  115 - 116 . UDR  115  serves the synchronized first UE ID to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the synchronized second UE ID to network elements  114 . Network elements  113  use the first UE ID to exchange UE data with UE  101 . Network elements  114  use the second UE ID to exchange UE data with UE  104 . UE  101  may also use its synchronized first UE ID with network elements  114 , and UE  104  may use its synchronized second UE ID with network elements  113 . 
     UDR  115  determines a third UE ID for UE  102 , and UDR  116  determines a fourth UE ID for UE  105 . UDRs  115 - 116  cannot successfully synchronize the third and fourth UE IDs over recovery system  117 —typically due to a UDR networking issue. UDR  115  serves the unsynchronized third UE ID to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the unsynchronized fourth UE ID to network elements  114 . Network elements  113  use the third UE ID to exchange UE data with UE  102 . Network elements  114  use the fourth UE ID to exchange UE data with UE  105 . UE  102  may have a problem using its unsynchronized third UE ID with network elements  114 , and UE  105  may have trouble using its unsynchronized fourth UE ID with network elements  113 . 
     UDR  115  determines a fifth UE ID for UE  103 , and UDR  116  determines a sixth UE ID for UE  106 . UDRs  115 - 116  successfully synchronize the fifth and sixth UE IDs over recovery system  117 . UDR  115  serves the synchronized fifth UE ID to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the synchronized sixth UE ID to network elements  114 . Network elements  113  use the fifth UE ID to exchange UE data with UE  103 . Network elements  114  use the sixth UE ID to exchange UE data with UE  106 . UE  103  may also use its synchronized fifth UE ID with network elements  114 , and UE  106  may use its synchronized sixth UE ID with network elements  113 . 
     Recovery system  117  detects the successful synchronization for the first and second UE IDs, the unsuccessful synchronization for the third and fourth UE IDs, and the loss-of-synchronization for the fifth and sixth UE IDs. In response, recovery system  117  reallocates and synchronizes the unsynchronized third and fourth UE IDs. The reallocated-synchronized third UE ID is now designated as third′ and the reallocated-synchronized fourth UE ID is now designated as fourth′. The reallocated-synchronized UE IDs avoid duplication with one another and with prior UE IDs for UEs  101 ,  103 ,  104 , and  106 . Recovery system  117  indicates the reallocated-synchronized third′ UE ID to UDR  115 . Recovery system  117  indicates the reallocated-synchronized fourth′ UE ID to UDR  116 . UDR  115  serves the reallocated-synchronized third′ UE ID to network elements  113 . UDR  116  serves the reallocated-synchronized fourth′ UE ID to network elements  114 . Network elements  113 - 114  use the reallocated-synchronized third′ UE ID and fourth′ UE ID to serve UEs  102  and  105 . UE  102  may also use its synchronized third′ UE ID with network elements  114 , and UE  105  may use its synchronized fourth′ UE ID with network elements  113 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates Fifth Generation (5G) wireless communication network  100  to identify wireless UEs  101 - 103 . 5G wireless communication network  400  comprises an example of wireless communication network  100 , although network  100  may differ. 5G wireless communication network  400  comprises: UEs  401 - 402 , network elements  410 , WIFI Access Node (AN)  411 , Ethernet (ENET) AN  412 , 5GNR gNodeB  413 , non-3GPP Interworking Function (IWF)  414 , Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)  415 , Session Management Function (SMF)  416 , User Plane Function (UPF)  417 , Policy Control Function (PCF)  418 , Unified Data Manager (UDM)  419 , Network Exposure Function (NEF)  420 , Unified Data Repositories (UDR)  421 - 424 , UDR Recovery Functions (URFs)  425 - 428 . Network elements  410  comprise ANs, gNodeBs, IWFs, AMFs, SMFs, UPFs, PCFs, UDMs, and NEFs. UDRs  421 - 424  are be located in different geographic areas. In some examples, URFs  425 - 428  are integrated within at least one and possibly all of UDRs  421 - 424 . 
     UEs  401  and UPF  417  exchange user data over at least one of the following data paths: WIFI AN  411 -IWF  414 , ENET AN  412 -IWF  414 , or 5GNR gNodeB  413 . UPF  417  may exchange the user data with external systems like the internet. To enable the wireless data services, UDRs  421 - 424  first determine individual Subscriber Permanent Identifiers (SUPIs) for individual UEs  401 - 402 . UDRs  421 - 424  successfully synchronize the SUPIs to avoid duplication. A duplicate SUPI may eventually cause confusion and possibly a sudden loss-of-service for one of UEs  401 - 402  that shares the duplicate SUPI. 
     UDR  421  serves some of the SUPIs to PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420 . PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420  use the SUPIs to deliver wireless data services to UEs  401 . For example, UDM  419  and AMF  415  authenticate individual UEs  401  by verifying their individual SUPIs. PCF  418  and UDM  419  store network policies and service qualities for individual UEs  401  in UDR  421  in association with their individual SUPIs. NEF  420  stores network event and status information for individual UEs  401  in UDR  421  in association with their individual SUPIs—typically for exposure to other network functions. UDRs  422 - 424  serve the other SUPIs to the PCFs, UDMs, and NEFs in network elements  410 . The PCFs, UDMs, and NEFs use the other SUPIs to deliver the wireless data services to UEs  402 . 
     UDRs  421 - 424  monitor the quality of their data communications during the SUPI synchronization process. In particular, UDRs  421 - 424  monitor error rate and communication delay on communications traffic between UDRs  421 - 424 . When the error rate and/or the communication delay exceed thresholds that correlate to faulty synchronization, UDRs  421 - 424  note their own SUPIs that they independently generate and serve out to 5G wireless communication network  400 . For example, communications between UDRs  421 - 424  may go down for several hours, and UDRs  421 - 424  would record the new SUPIs that they generate and serve during the outage. 
     When the error rate and/or the communication delay improve (and fall below the thresholds) to levels that indicate adequate synchronization, UDRs  421 - 424  transfer their noted SUPIs to URFs  425 - 428  and stop noting new SUPIs for URF resolution. URFs  425 - 428  process the noted SUPIs in from the newest to the oldest to identify duplicate SUPIs if any. When a duplicate SUPI is encountered, URFs  425 - 428  award that SUPI to the one of UEs  401 - 402  that was most recently given that SUPI, and URFs  425 - 428  generate and synchronize a new SUPI for the losing one of UEs  401 - 402  that had the duplicate SUPI longer. 
     URFs  425 - 428  indicate the now synchronized SUPIs to UDRs  421 - 424 . UDRs  421 - 424  receive the synchronized SUPIs from URFs  425 - 428  and responsively swap out the old and noted SUPIs with the new and synchronized SUPIs across network  400 . For example, UDR  421  might instruct PCF  418  to replace a duplicate SUPI for one of UEs  401  with a new and synchronized SUPI. UDR  422  might instruct a NEF in network elements  410  to replace a duplicate SUPI for one of UEs  402  with a new and synchronized SUPI. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates one of UEs  401  in 5G wireless communication network  400 . UE  401  comprises an example of UEs  101 - 102  and  402 , although UEs  101 - 102  and  402  may differ. UE  401  comprises WIFI radio  501 , 5GNR radio  502 , Ethernet (ENET) card  503 , user circuitry  504 , and user components  505 . Radios  501 - 502  comprises antennas, amplifiers, filters, modulation, analog-to-digital interfaces, DSP, memory, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. Ethernet card  503  comprises ports, analog-to-digital interfaces, DSP, memory, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. User circuitry  504  comprises memory, CPU, user interfaces and components, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. The memory in user circuitry  504  stores an operating system, user apps (APP), and network applications for WIFI, ENET, 5GNR, and IP. The network applications comprise components like Physical Layer (PHY), Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaption Protocol (SDAP), and Radio Resource Control (RRC). 
     The antennas in WIFI radio  501  are wirelessly coupled to WIFI AN  411  over a WIFI link. The antennas in 5GNR radio  502  are wirelessly coupled to 5GNR gNodeB  413  over a 5GNR link. The port in ENET card  503  is wireline coupled to ENET AN  412  over an Ethernet link. Transceivers (XCVRs) in radios  501 - 502  and card  503  are coupled to transceivers in user circuitry  504 . Transceivers in user circuitry  504  are coupled to user components  505  like displays, controllers, interfaces, and memory. The CPU in user circuitry  504  executes the operating system, user apps, and network applications to exchange network signaling and user data with: WIFI AN  411  over WIFI radio  501 , ENET AN  412  over ENET card  503 , and 5GNR gNodeB  413  over 5GNR radio  502 . Some of the WIFI, ENET, and/or 5GNR components could be omitted from UE  401 . UE  401  could be a WIFI-only device, ENET-only device, WIFI/ENET device, 5GNR/WIFI device, or use some other technology combination device. 
       FIG.  6    illustrates non-3GPP ANs  411 - 412  in 5G wireless communication network  400 . Non-3GPP access nodes  411 - 412  comprise an example of RANs  111 - 112 , although RANs  111 - 112  may differ. WIFI AN  411  comprises WIFI radio  601  and node circuitry  602 . WIFI radio  601  comprises antennas, amplifiers, filters, modulation, analog-to-digital interfaces, DSP, memory, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. Node circuitry  602  comprises memory, CPU, user interfaces and components, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. The memory in node circuitry  602  stores an operating system, user applications, and network applications for IP and WIFI. The antennas in WIFI radio  601  are wirelessly coupled to UE  401  over a WIFI link. Transceivers in WIFI radio  601  are coupled to transceivers in node circuitry  602 . Transceivers in node circuitry  602  are coupled to transceivers in IWF  414 . The CPU in node circuitry  602  executes the operating systems, user applications, and network applications to exchange network signaling and user data with UE  401  and with IWF  414 . 
     ENET AN  412  comprises ENET card  603  and node circuitry  604 . ENET card  603  comprises ports, analog-to-digital interfaces, DSP, memory, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. Node circuitry  604  comprises memory, CPU, user interfaces and components, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. The memory in node circuitry  604  stores an operating system, user applications, and network applications for IP and ENET. The ports in ENET card  603  are wireline coupled to UE  401  over an ENET link. Transceivers in ENET card  603  are coupled to transceivers in node circuitry  604 . Transceivers in node circuitry  604  are coupled to transceivers in IWF  414 . The CPU in node circuitry  604  executes the operating systems, user applications, and network applications to exchange network signaling and user data with UEs  401  and with IWF  414 . 
       FIG.  7    illustrates 5G New Radio (5GNR) gNodeB  413  in 5G wireless communication network  400 . 5GNR gNodeB  413  comprises an example of RANs  111 - 112 , although RANs  111 - 112  may differ. 5GNR gNodeB  413  comprises 5GNR radio  701  and node circuitry  702 . 5GNR radio  701  comprises antennas, amplifiers, filters, modulation, analog-to-digital interfaces, DSP, memory, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. Node circuitry  702  comprises memory, CPU, user interfaces and components, and transceivers that are coupled over bus circuitry. The memory in node circuitry  702  stores an operating system, user applications, and network applications for IP and 5GNR. The antennas in 5GNR radio  701  are wirelessly coupled to UE  401  over a 5GNR link. Transceivers in 5GNR radio  701  are coupled to transceivers in node circuitry  702 . Transceivers in node circuitry  702  are coupled to transceivers in AMF  415  and UPF  417 . The CPU in node circuitry  702  executes the operating systems, user applications, and network applications to exchange network signaling and user data with UEs  401 , AMF  415  and UPF  417 . 
       FIG.  8    illustrates wireless network core  800  in the 5G wireless communication network. Wireless network core  800  comprises an example of network elements  113 - 114 , UDRs  115 - 116 , and recovery system  117 , although these components of network  100  may differ. Wireless network core  800  comprises Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) hardware  801 , NFVI hardware drivers  802 , NFVI operating systems  803 , NFVI virtual layer  804 , and NFVI Virtual Network Functions (VNFs)  805 . NFVI hardware  801  comprises Network Interface Cards (NICs), CPU, RAM, Flash/Disk Drives (DRIVE), and Data Switches (SW). NFVI hardware drivers  802  comprise software that is resident in the NIC, CPU, RAM, DRIVE, and SW. NFVI operating systems  803  comprise kernels, modules, applications, containers, hypervisors, and the like. NFVI virtual layer  804  comprises vNIC, vCPU, vRAM, vDRIVE, and vSW. NFVI VNFs  805  comprise non-3GPP Interworking Function (IWF)  814 , Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)  815 , SMF Session Management Function (SMF)  816 , User Plane Function (UPF)  817 , Policy Control Function (PCF)  818 , Unified Data Management (UDM)  819 , Network Exposure Function (NEF  820 ), Unified Data Repository (UDR)  821 , and UDR Recovery Function (URF)  825 . Other VNFs like Authentication Server Function (AUSF) and Network Repository Function (NRF) are typically present but are omitted for clarity. 
     Wireless network core  800  may be located at a single site or be distributed across multiple geographic locations. The NIC transceivers in NFVI hardware  801  are coupled to WIFI AN  411 , ENET AN  412 , 5GNR gNodeB  413 , URFs  426 - 428 , UDRs  422 - 424 , and network elements  410 . NFVI hardware  801  executes NFVI hardware drivers  802 , NFVI operating systems  803 , NFVI virtual layer  804 , and NFVI VNFs  805  to form and operate IWF  414 , AMF  415 , SMF  416 , UPF  417 , PCF  418 , UDM  419 , NEF  420 , UDR  421 , and URF  425 . 
       FIG.  9    illustrates an exemplary operation of 5G wireless communication network  400  to identify wireless UEs  401 - 402 . UDR  421  generates a batch of Subscriber Permanent Identifiers (SUPIs) referred to as SUPIs “A”. UDR  423  also generates a batch of SUPIs referred to as SUPIs “B”. UDRs  421  and  423  successfully synchronize the SUPIs A and SUPIs B to avoid duplication—and any duplicate SUPIs are reallocated to remove the duplication. The synchronized SUPIs are now referred to as SUPIs A′ and SUPIs B′. UDR  421  serves synchronized SUPIs A′ to PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420 . PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420  use SUPIs A′ to deliver wireless data services. UDR  423  serves synchronized SUPIs B′ to network elements  410  (not shown here) which use SUPIs B′ to deliver wireless data services. 
     UDR  421  generates another batch of SUPIs “C”, and UDR  423  generates another batch of SUPIs “D”. UDRs  421  and  423  cannot successfully synchronize the SUPIs C and SUPIs D due to a UDR network outage. SUPIs C and SUPIs D may include duplicates. UDR  421  serves unsynchronized SUPIs C to PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420 . PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420  use unsynchronized SUPIs C to deliver wireless data services. UDR  423  serves unsynchronized SUPIs D to network elements  410  (not shown here) which use unsynchronized SUPIs D to deliver wireless data services. 
     UDRs  421  and  423  monitor the monitor error rate and communication delay on their synchronization communications. When the error rate and/or the communication delay exceed thresholds that correlate to faulty synchronization, UDR  421  and UDR  423  note and time stamp the SUPIs that they serve out. UDR  421  notes and time stamps SUPIs C, and UDR  423  notes and time stamps SUPIs D. When the error rate and/or the communication delay improve to deliver adequate synchronization, UDR  421  transfers the noted and time-stamped SUPIs C to URF  425 , and UDR  423  transfers the noted and time-stamped SUPIs D to URF  427 . URF  425  and URF  427  process the SUPIs C and SUPIs D in from newest to oldest to identify duplicate SUPIs if any. When a duplicate SUPI is are encountered, URFs  425  and  427  award the SUPI to the newest time-stamp. URFs  425  and  427  generate and synchronize a new SUPI to replace the duplicate SUPI having the older time-stamp. 
     URF  425  indicates the synchronized SUPIs C′ to UDR  421 . URF  427  indicates the synchronized SUPIs D′ to UDR  423 . UDR  421  receives the synchronized SUPIs C′ from URF  425  and responsively swaps out any old duplicate SUPIs C with their new synchronized SUPIs C′ in PCF  418 , UDM  419 , and NEF  420 . UDR  423  receives the synchronized SUPIs D′ from URF  425  and responsively swaps out any old duplicate SUPIs D with their new synchronized SUPIs D′ in network elements  410 . 
     The wireless data network circuitry described above comprises computer hardware and software that form special-purpose networking circuitry to identify wireless UEs. The computer hardware comprises processing circuitry like CPUs, DSPs, GPUs, transceivers, bus circuitry, and memory. To form these computer hardware structures, semiconductors like silicon or germanium are positively and negatively doped to form transistors. The doping comprises ions like boron or phosphorus that are embedded within the semiconductor material. The transistors and other electronic structures like capacitors and resistors are arranged and metallically connected within the semiconductor to form devices like logic circuitry and storage registers. The logic circuitry and storage registers are arranged to form larger structures like control units, logic units, and Random-Access Memory (RAM). In turn, the control units, logic units, and RAM are metallically connected to form CPUs, DSPs, GPUs, transceivers, bus circuitry, and memory. 
     In the computer hardware, the control units drive data between the RAM and the logic units, and the logic units operate on the data. The control units also drive interactions with external memory like flash drives, disk drives, and the like. The computer hardware executes machine-level software to control and move data by driving machine-level inputs like voltages and currents to the control units, logic units, and RAM. The machine-level software is typically compiled from higher-level software programs. The higher-level software programs comprise operating systems, utilities, user applications, and the like. Both the higher-level software programs and their compiled machine-level software are stored in memory and retrieved for compilation and execution. On power-up, the computer hardware automatically executes physically-embedded machine-level software that drives the compilation and execution of the other computer software components which then assert control. Due to this automated execution, the presence of the higher-level software in memory physically changes the structure of the computer hardware machines into special-purpose networking circuitry to identify wireless UEs. 
     The above description and associated figures teach the best mode of the invention. The following claims specify the scope of the invention. Note that some aspects of the best mode may not fall within the scope of the invention as specified by the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described above can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. Thus, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but only by the following claims and their equivalents.