CN109842879B

CN109842879B - Call switching method and device

Info

Publication number: CN109842879B
Application number: CN201711213373.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林文锋; 李炳辉; 关伟杰; 戴传智; 孙剑骏
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Group Guangdong Co Ltd
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Group Guangdong Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-28
Filing date: 2017-11-28
Publication date: 2021-09-21
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-28
Also published as: CN109842879A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a call switching method and a call switching device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a pre-switching request initiated by UE after meeting a call switching trigger condition; initiating an authentication and authorization request to a policy server; if the authentication result is authentication authorization completion, forwarding the pre-switching request to the P-GW, and receiving a pre-switching result returned by the P-GW according to the user service operation strategy; and if the pre-switching result is that switching is allowed, receiving a call switching request initiated by the UE and used for indicating switching from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to the target WI-FI network, and forwarding the received call switching request to the P-GW so as to enable the P-GW to execute call switching from the LTE network to the target WI-FI network. The device is used for executing the method. The method and the device provided by the embodiment of the invention can simplify the subsequent call switching process, shorten the call switching time and improve the user experience.

Description

Call switching method and device

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of mobile communication, in particular to a call switching method and a call switching device.

Background

Currently, multimedia communication over LTE (Voice over LTE) based on LTE (Long Term Evolution) network is gradually becoming the main communication mode in the 4G (the 4th Generation mobile communication technology, fourth Generation mobile communication technology) era, and in consideration of wide deployment of WI-FI (WIreless FIdelity) network, multimedia communication over WI-FI (Voice over WI-FI, WI-FI based communication) based on WI-FI network will become an effective supplement to VOLTE, and is widely concerned in the industry.

VOWIFI integrates a WI-FI network into a 4G Core network EPC (Evolved Packet Core) in an untrusted manner by introducing an ePDG (Evolved Packet Data Gateway) as a Security Gateway based on an untrusted access architecture defined by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard organization, so that a UE (User Equipment) is connected to the ePDG through an IPSEC (Internet Protocol Security) tunnel traversing the WI-FI network and then connected to the EPC network.

In terms of network handover, the handover of the user call connection between the LTE network and the WI-FI network is performed based on 3GPP standard-related procedures. From the existing 3GPP standards and existing network deployments, the handover of a multimedia phone from an LTE network to a WI-FI network involves a relatively long handover time and a risk of packet loss due to lack of an acknowledgement mechanism.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the defects in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a call handover method and apparatus, which can simplify a call handover procedure, shorten a call handover time, and improve user experience.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a call handover method, including:

receiving a pre-switching request initiated by User Equipment (UE) after meeting a call switching triggering condition;

initiating an authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to a policy server so as to execute authentication and authorization between the policy server and the UE;

if the authentication result returned by the policy server is authentication authorization completion, forwarding the pre-switching request to a public data network gateway P-GW, and receiving a pre-switching result which is returned by the P-GW according to a user service operation policy preset in the policy server and corresponds to the pre-switching request;

if the pre-switching result is that switching is allowed, receiving a call switching request initiated by the UE and used for indicating that the current UE resides in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to a target switching wireless fidelity (WI-FI) network, and forwarding the received call switching request to the P-GW to enable the P-GW to execute call switching from the LTE network to the target switching WI-FI network.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a call handover apparatus, including:

the pre-switching receiving module is used for receiving a pre-switching request initiated by User Equipment (UE) after meeting a call switching triggering condition;

the authentication request module is used for initiating an authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to a policy server so as to execute authentication and authorization between the policy server and the UE;

the pre-switching forwarding module is used for forwarding the pre-switching request to a public data network gateway P-GW if the authentication result returned by the policy server is that authentication authorization is completed, and receiving a pre-switching result which is returned by the P-GW according to a user service operation policy preset in the policy server and corresponds to the pre-switching request;

and a call switching module, configured to receive, if the pre-switching result is that switching is allowed, a call switching request initiated by the UE and used to indicate that switching from a long term evolution LTE network where the UE currently resides to a target wireless fidelity WI-FI network is performed, and forward the received call switching request to the P-GW, so that the P-GW performs call switching from the LTE network to the target switching WI-FI network.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device, including a processor, a memory, and a bus, where:

the processor and the memory complete mutual communication through a bus;

the processor may invoke a computer program in memory to perform the steps of the above-described method.

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor implements the steps of the above-mentioned method.

According to the call switching method and device provided by the embodiment of the invention, after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition, pre-switching is carried out through the UE, the policy server and the P-GW before the UE initiates the call switching request, so that the user authentication and the construction of an uplink channel and a downlink channel required by the WI-FI call are realized, the subsequent call switching process can be simplified, the call switching time is shortened, and the user experience is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 shows an architectural diagram of a general system for call handover according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 2 shows an architecture diagram of an ePDG-based call handover system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a call handoff method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of a call handover method according to yet another embodiment of the invention;

fig. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a call switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 shows a physical structure diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the present invention will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

As used in this application, the terms "module," "device," and the like are intended to encompass a computer-related entity, such as but not limited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a module may be, but is not limited to: a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. For example, an application running on a computing device and the computing device may both be a module. One or more modules may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a module may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

The technical scheme of the invention is explained in detail in the following with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, an architecture diagram of a general call handover system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

As shown in fig. 1, a general call handover system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: UE, eNB (evolved node B) in an LTE network, AP (Access, Point Access Point) in a WI-FI network, a policy server, a location server, WHC (WI-FI Handover controller), P-GW (Public data network-GateWay), and an IMS network.

The UE supports the establishment of LTE call connection to an EPC network through an eNB and a P-GW in an LTE network, and realizes communication with an IMS network; and the WI-FI call connection to the EPC network is established through the AP, the ePDG and the P-GW in the WI-FI network, so that the communication with the IMS network is realized.

The WHC is used for pre-switching the UE through network elements such as a policy server and a P-GW after the UE meets a call switching triggering condition, and controlling the UE to carry out call switching from an LTE network to a WI-FI network under the condition of allowing switching.

Further, under the condition that the Wi-Fi network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled Wi-Fi network, the WHC can also acquire access network information of candidate controlled Wi-Fi networks and provide the access network information to the UE through the policy server and the location server based on the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID of the Wi-Fi network to which the UE is currently attached, so that the UE selects one controlled Wi-Fi network from the candidate controlled Wi-Fi networks as a target switching Wi-Fi network.

Based on the general call handover system 100, refer to fig. 2, which shows an architecture diagram of an ePDG-based call handover system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, a system 200 for switching a call based on an ePDG according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: UE, AP of WI-FI network, AAA (Authentication Authorization Accounting Server) Server or HSS (Home Subscriber Server), ePDG, P-GW, PCRF and location Server.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the WHC in the call handover general system 100 may be implemented based on the ePDG in the call handover system 200; the policy server in call handover generic system 100 may be implemented based on PCRF, as well as AAA server or HSS in call handover system 200.

Based on the above-mentioned call handover general system 100 and the ePDG-based call handover system 200, refer to fig. 3, which shows an exemplary flowchart of a call handover method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 3, an exemplary flow chart of a call handover method according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown.

As shown in fig. 3, the call handover method provided in the embodiment of the present invention may include the following steps:

s310: and receiving a pre-switching request initiated by the UE after meeting the call switching triggering condition.

The call switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention is suitable for the WHC in the call switching general system 100 and the ePDG in the ePDG-based call switching system 200. The ePDG will be described as an example.

In order to guarantee call continuity, after the UE meets a call handover triggering condition, before the P-GW performs call handover, the UE continues to reside in the LTE Network and a PDN (Public Data Network) connection is maintained in the EPC, so that uplink and downlink Data of the call are still transmitted through the LTE Network.

In the embodiment of the invention, after the UE meets the triggering condition of call switching, the UE starts to attach and access a WI-FI network; in the WI-FI network attachment process, the UE needs to complete access authentication with the WI-FI network currently attached. In practical applications, access authentication may be performed through a password or a SIM (Subscriber identity Module) card. If the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is provided by the AAA server or the HSS, the access authentication procedure will be performed in the AAA server or the HSS.

Wherein, the handover triggering condition may include but is not limited to: (1) move to the eNB coverage edge or the area where LTE signals are weak during an In-Call (with talk), (2) move to the eNB coverage edge or the area where LTE signals are weak In an idle state, (3) WI-FI signaling occurs with default WI-FI priority. In practical application, when the UE meets different handover triggering conditions, different call handover triggering reasons are correspondingly recorded for being subsequently used as one of the reference factors for determining whether to allow handover. For example, when the UE satisfies the trigger condition (1), the trigger reason for the call handover recorded correspondingly is: carrying out In-Call emergency switching with a Call; when the UE meets the trigger condition (2), the trigger reason of the call switching corresponding to the record is as follows: emergency switching in an idle state; when the UE meets the triggering condition (3), the triggering reason of the call switching corresponding to the record is as follows: WI-FI prioritized switching.

After the UE meets the call handover triggering condition and passes the access authentication of the currently attached WI-FI network, the UE may construct an IPSEC channel with the ePDG based on the currently attached WI-FI network, and initiate a pre-handover request to the ePDG through the IPSEC channel. In practical application, the UE supports an IKE (Internet Key Exchange) protocol extension at the SWu interface to interface with the ePDG, and the ePDG supports an IKE extension at the SWu interface to interface with the UE; the IPSEC channel established through the SWu interface can be used as an uplink and downlink channel between the UE and the ePDG.

Accordingly, the ePDG may receive, through the IPSEC channel, a pre-handover request initiated by the UE after the call handover trigger condition is satisfied.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the pre-switching request may include, but is not limited to: the identification information of the UE, the access network information of the currently attached WI-FI network and the call switching trigger reason.

S320: and initiating an authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to a policy server.

Specifically, after receiving the pre-handover request initiated by the UE, the ePDG may first initiate an authentication authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to the policy server, so that a standard EAP-AKA authentication procedure is performed between the UE and the policy server. The policy server specifically includes: AAA servers or HSS. Technical means commonly used by those skilled in the art can be adopted for the authentication and authorization process between the UE and the policy server, and are not described in detail here.

In practical application, the ePDG supports DIAMETER (direct) protocol flow and attribute extension at SWm interface to interface with the policy server; the AAA server or HSS supports DIAMETER flows and attribute extensions at the SWm interface to interface epdgs.

In the embodiment of the invention, while the authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE is initiated to the policy server, the ePDG can initiate a network quality test to the UE in a non-emergency switching state so as to perform the network quality test on the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE. The network quality test may be performed based on an IKE DPD (Dead Peer Detection) message. As to how to perform network quality test based on IKE DPD message, reference may be made to common technical means of those skilled in the art, and details thereof are not described herein.

S330: and if the authentication result returned by the policy server is that authentication authorization is completed, forwarding the pre-switching request to the P-GW, and receiving a pre-switching result which is returned by the P-GW according to a user service operation policy preset in the policy server and corresponds to the pre-switching request.

The user service operation Policy refers to a Charging Policy and a service control Policy provided by an operator for different users and services in RCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function).

Specifically, after initiating an authentication, authentication and authorization request to the AAA server or the HSS through step S320, the ePDG may receive an authentication result returned by the AAA server or the HSS, where the authentication result may include: and the authentication and authorization are failed and completed. In practical application, after receiving the authentication result returned by the AAA server or the HSS as the authentication authorization completion, the ePDG may obtain the user subscription data of the UE from the AAA server or the HSS, so as to perform handover control based on the user subscription data.

In the embodiment of the invention, after receiving the authentication result returned by the AAA server or the HSS as the authentication authorization completion, the ePDG can forward the pre-switching request to the P-GW so that the P-GW can acquire the user service operation strategy corresponding to the UE from the strategy server according to the received pre-switching request. The policy server specifically includes: and the PCRF.

In practical application, the P-GW may obtain a user service operation policy corresponding to the UE from the PCRF according to the pre-handover request, and then determine whether to allow the UE to perform call handover according to the pre-handover request and the user service operation policy, so as to form a corresponding pre-handover result; and returns the pre-switching results to the ePDG. Wherein, the pre-switching result is to allow or prohibit switching.

Optionally, the P-GW may take the user package and the current user service usage as considerations for whether to allow the UE to perform call handover. In practical application, the PCRF may formulate a flexible policy applicable based on the service for different UEs, for example, the call handover trigger reason is WI-FI priority handover under the non-emergency handover condition, and may consider the User package and the service use request condition to limit the call handover from the LTE network to the WI-FI network for the User to stay in the LTE network continuously, so as to ensure the necessary ARPU (Average income Per User).

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present invention, the forwarding the pre-handover request to a public data network gateway P-GW may include;

forwarding a pre-switching request carrying the call switching trigger reason of the UE to the P-GW so that the P-GW generates a pre-switching result corresponding to the pre-switching request according to the call switching trigger reason and a preset user service operation strategy;

the call handover triggering reason is specifically any one of the following reasons:

In-Call emergency switching with Call, idle state emergency switching and WI-FI priority switching.

In practical application, the ePDG supports a GTP (General packet radio service tunneling Protocol) extension flow at the S2b interface to interface with the P-GW; the P-GW supports GTP extension procedures at the S2b interface to interface with the ePDG. The ePDG can transmit the pre-switching request or other messages to the P-GW through a GTP channel constructed by the S2b interface, and the GTP channel can be used as an uplink channel and a downlink channel between the ePDG and the P-GW.

S340: and if the pre-switching result is that switching is allowed, receiving a call switching request initiated by the UE and used for indicating switching from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to the target WI-FI network, and forwarding the received call switching request to the P-GW so as to enable the P-GW to execute call switching from the LTE network to the target WI-FI network.

Specifically, after receiving the pre-switching result returned by the P-GW, the ePDG may generate a switching instruction according to the pre-switching result, and send the generated switching instruction to the UE.

Under the condition of knowing that the handover is allowed, the UE may execute a formal handover procedure to initiate a call handover request to the ePDG. The call switching request initiated by the UE is used for indicating the switching of the WI-FI network from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to a target.

Accordingly, after receiving the call handover request initiated by the UE, the ePDG may forward the received call handover request to the P-GW through the GTP tunnel, so that the P-GW performs call handover from the LTE network to the target handover WI-FI network.

In the call handover method provided in the embodiment of the present invention, before the ePDG receives the call handover request initiated by the UE, because the initiation and the response of the pre-switching request are completed between the UE and the ePDG in the pre-switching process, the forwarding and the response of the pre-switching request are completed between the ePDG and the P-GW, and the authentication and authorization are completed between the UE and the policy server, therefore, the ePDG can directly forward the call switching request initiated by the UE to the P-GW after receiving the call switching request initiated by the UE, so that the P-GW performs the call switching from the LTE network to the target switching WI-FI network, so that the establishment of the uplink and downlink channels between the UE and the ePDG and the establishment of the uplink and downlink channels between the ePDG and the P-GW are not needed in the formal switching process, and authentication and authorization between the UE and the policy server simplify the formal flow of call switching, shorten the call switching time and improve the user experience.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, in the call handover method provided in another embodiment of the present invention, the pre-handover request further carries access network information of a WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

Accordingly, before the receiving a call handover request initiated by the UE to indicate a handover from an LTE network where the UE currently resides to a target WI-FI network, the method further comprises:

judging whether the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is a controlled WI-FI network preset in the policy server or not according to access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE;

if the current WI-FI network attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network, issuing a first switching instruction to the UE so that the current WI-FI network attached to the UE serves as the target switching WI-FI network, and initiating the call switching request;

and if the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, issuing a second switching instruction carrying access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks to the UE, so that the UE selects one candidate controlled WI-FI network as the target switched WI-FI network for attachment according to the access network information of each candidate controlled WI-FI network, and initiates the call switching request.

Wherein the access network information includes but is not limited to: SSID (Service Set Identifier), AP-MAC (Access Point-Media Access Control) address, CELL-ID (CELL Identifier). And the candidate controlled WI-FI network is selected according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

Specifically, the ePDG may query the AAA server or the HSS while initiating the authentication and authorization request to the AAA server or the HSS to determine whether the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is the preset controlled WI-FI network. Optionally, the ePDG may obtain and store preset access network information of each controlled WI-FI network from the AAA server or the HSS in advance. In this way, after the ePDG receives the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, it can directly determine whether the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is the controlled WI-FI network according to the stored access network information of each controlled WI-FI network.

And under the condition that the ePDG determines that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is the controlled WI-FI network, if the pre-switching result returned by the P-GW is that switching is allowed, the ePDG can issue a first switching instruction to the UE. In this way, after receiving the first handover indication, the UE may initiate a call handover request indicating from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to the currently attached WI-FI network.

And under the condition that the ePDG determines that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, if the pre-switching result returned by the P-GW is that switching is allowed, the ePDG can issue a second switching instruction to the UE.

The second switching indication comprises access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks selected according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

In this way, after receiving the second handover instruction, the UE may select one candidate controlled WI-FI network as a target handover WI-FI network for reattachment, and initiate a call handover request for instructing from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to the reselected and attached WI-FI network.

Other steps of the embodiment of the present invention are similar to those of the previous embodiment, and are not described again in the embodiment of the present invention.

According to the call switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the target switching WI-FI network of the call switching is limited, so that the target switching WI-FI network is the controlled WI-FI network in the policy server, and the safety of the call switching of the user can be guaranteed.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, a method for call handover according to another embodiment of the present invention is a method for determining, according to access network information of a WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, whether the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is a controlled WI-FI network preset in the policy server, including:

adding access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached to the authentication and authorization request initiated to the policy server so that the policy server searches for the controlled WI-FI network matched with the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached from a preset controlled WI-FI network library;

if the policy server finds a controlled WI-FI network matched with the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE, determining that the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network; and otherwise, determining that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network.

Specifically, the ePDG initiates an authentication and authorization request to the AAA server or the HSS, where the authentication and authorization request carries access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached. Thus, the AAA server or the HSS can inquire whether the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network or not according to the access network information such as SSID, AP-MAC, CELL-ID and the like of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE and a preset controlled WI-FI network library, and return an inquiry result to the ePDG.

If the AAA server or the HSS finds the controlled WI-FI network matched with the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE from the preset controlled WI-FI network library, the query result returned to the ePDG is as follows: the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is the controlled WI-FI network. Correspondingly, the ePDG determines that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is a controlled WI-FI network; if the AAA server or the HSS does not find the controlled WI-FI network matched with the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE from the preset controlled WI-FI network library, the query result returned to the ePDG is as follows: the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network. Accordingly, the ePDG determines that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network.

According to the call switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention, whether the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network or not is inquired in real time through the policy server, so that the subsequent target switching WI-FI network is ensured to be the controlled WI-FI network in the policy server, and the safety of user call switching is improved.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, in a call handover method provided in another embodiment of the present invention, after determining that a WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, the method further includes:

and receiving access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks selected by the policy server according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

Specifically, under the condition that an authentication authorization request initiated by the ePDG to the AAA server or the HSS carries access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, if it is determined that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, the AAA server or the HSS may find, according to an AP-MAC address and a CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, a plurality of controlled WI-FI networks adjacent to the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached from a preset controlled WI-FI network library as candidate controlled WI-FI networks, and return access network information of the selected candidate controlled WI-FI networks to the ePDG.

In this way, in case the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, the ePDG may receive access network information for several candidate controlled WI-FI networks from the AAA server or the HSS.

In the call switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network provided by the policy server is received under the condition that the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the uncontrolled WI-FI network, so that the follow-up UE can be attached to the controlled WI-FI network for call switching, and the safety of user call switching is improved.

providing the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached to a preset position server, so that the position server finds out a plurality of WI-FI networks adjacent to the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached;

sending the access network information of a plurality of adjacent WI-FI networks searched by the position server to the policy server so that the policy server screens out controlled WI-FI networks from the adjacent WI-FI networks;

and receiving access network information of the controlled WI-FI network returned by the policy server, and taking the access network information as the access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network.

Specifically, under the condition that an authentication and authorization request initiated by the ePDG to the AAA server or the HSS carries access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, if the AAA server or the HSS does not provide the ePDG with the access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network, the ePDG may search for a neighboring AP through an AP-MAC address and a CELL-ID of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, by using a location server provided by an operator or a third party.

In the embodiment of the invention, the found WI-FI network corresponding to the adjacent AP can be called as the adjacent WI-FI network of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE.

The ePDG may send the access network information of the neighboring WI-FI network found by the location server to the AAA server or the HSS. And the AAA server or the HSS screens a plurality of controlled WI-FI networks from the adjacent WI-FI networks according to a preset controlled WI-FI network library and returns the controlled WI-FI networks to the ePDG.

Correspondingly, the ePDG receives the access network information of the controlled WI-FI network returned by the AAA server or the HSS, and the access network information is used as the access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network.

According to the call switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network is acquired through the position server and the policy server under the condition that the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the uncontrolled WI-FI network, so that the follow-up UE can be attached to the controlled WI-FI network to perform call switching, and the safety of user call switching is improved.

On the basis of the above embodiments, another embodiment of the present invention provides a call handover method.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of a call handover method according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.

As shown in fig. 4, the call handover method provided in the embodiment of the present invention may include the following steps:

s401: and after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition, the UE starts to attach and access one WI-FI network.

S402: and the UE and the current attached WI-FI network finish access authentication.

If the currently attached WI-FI network is provided by the AAA server or the HSS, the AAA server or the HSS performs access authentication.

S403: and the UE constructs an IPSEC channel with the ePDG through the currently attached WI-FI network.

S404: the UE initiates a pre-handover request to the ePDG over the IPSEC tunnel.

S405: the ePDG initiates an authentication authorization request to the AAA server or the HSS.

S406: standard EAP-AKA authentication procedures are performed between the UE and the AAA server, and/or between the UE and the HSS.

S407: the ePDG receives the authentication result returned by the AAA server or the HSS.

S408: and if the authentication result is that the authentication and authorization are completed, the ePDG forwards the pre-switching request to the P-GW.

S409: and the P-GW returns a pre-switching result to the ePDG according to a user service operation strategy preset in the RFCF.

S410: and when the pre-switching result is that the switching is allowed, the ePDG sends a switching indication to the UE.

S411: the UE initiates a call handover request to the ePDG. The call switching request initiated by the UE is used for indicating the switching of the WI-FI network from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to a target.

S412: the ePDG forwards the received call switching request to the P-GW.

S413: the P-GW performs call handover from the LTE network to the target handover WI-FI network.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, in step S405: in the process that the ePDG sends an authentication and authorization request to the AAA server or the HSS, the ePDG inquires the AAA server or the HSS to determine whether the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is a controlled WI-FI network preset in the AAA server or the HSS.

Optionally, when the ePDG determines, according to a query result returned by the AAA server or the HSS, that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is the controlled WI-FI network, if the pre-handover result returned by the P-GW is to allow handover, the ePDG may issue a first handover indication to the UE. In this way, after receiving the first handover indication, the UE may initiate a call handover request indicating from the LTE network where the UE currently resides to the currently attached WI-FI network.

In practical application, in the process of performing authentication and authorization with the UE, the AAA server or the HSS may not only inquire whether the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is a controlled WI-FI network, but also select a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, which is provided by the ePDG, when the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, and return the access network information of the selected candidate controlled WI-FI networks to the ePDG together with the inquiry result and the authentication result.

And under the condition that the ePDG determines that the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is an uncontrolled WI-FI network according to the query result returned by the AAA server or the HSS, if the pre-switching result returned by the P-GW is allowed to be switched, the ePDG can issue a second switching instruction to the UE.

Optionally, when the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, if the information returned by the AAA server or the HSS to the ePDG does not include access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network, the ePDG may send an inquiry request to the location server, and the location server searches for a neighboring AP according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached. In the embodiment of the invention, the found WI-FI network corresponding to the adjacent AP can be called as the adjacent WI-FI network of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE.

The ePDG may send the access network information of the neighboring WI-FI network found by the location server to the AAA server or the HSS. And the AAA server or the HSS screens a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks from the adjacent WI-FI networks according to a preset controlled WI-FI network library and returns the candidate controlled WI-FI networks to the ePDG.

Optionally, the pre-handover request includes a call handover trigger reason of the UE.

Correspondingly, the P-GW generates a pre-switching result corresponding to the pre-switching request according to the call switching trigger reason and a preset user service operation strategy. The call handover triggering reason is specifically any one of the following reasons: In-Call emergency switching with Call, idle state emergency switching and WI-FI priority switching.

According to the call switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention, after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition, the UE completes pre-switching before initiating the call switching request through the UE, the ePDG, the AAA server or the HSS and the P-GW, so that the user authentication and the construction of the uplink and downlink channels required by the WI-FI call are realized, the subsequent call switching process can be simplified, the call switching time is shortened, and the user experience is improved.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, another embodiment of the present invention provides a call switching apparatus.

Referring to fig. 5, a schematic structural diagram of a call switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

As shown in fig. 5, a call switching apparatus 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: pre-hand off receiving module 501, authentication request module 502, pre-hand off forwarding module 503 and call switching module 504.

The pre-handover receiving module 501 is configured to receive a pre-handover request initiated by a user equipment UE after a call handover trigger condition is met.

The authentication request module 502 is configured to initiate an authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to a policy server, so that authentication and authorization are performed between the policy server and the UE.

The pre-switching forwarding module 503 is configured to forward the pre-switching request to a public data network gateway P-GW if the authentication result returned by the policy server is that authentication and authorization are completed, and receive a pre-switching result corresponding to the pre-switching request returned by the P-GW according to a user service operation policy preset in the policy server.

The call handover module 504 is configured to receive a call handover request initiated by the UE to indicate that the UE currently resides in a long term evolution LTE network to a target handover WI-FI network if the pre-handover result indicates that handover is allowed, and forward the received call handover request to the P-GW, so that the P-GW performs call handover from the LTE network to the target handover WI-FI network.

Optionally, the pre-handover receiving module 501 is further configured to receive, before a pre-handover request initiated by a user equipment UE after meeting a call handover trigger condition, an IPSEC channel between the UE and the UE based on a WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is constructed on the premise that the UE meets the call handover trigger condition and is authenticated by an access of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

Accordingly, the pre-handover request is received through an IPSEC tunnel with the UE.

Optionally, the pre-handover request further carries access network information of a WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached. Correspondingly, the call switching module 504 is further configured to determine whether the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network preset in the policy server according to the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE.

If the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network, the call switching module 504 issues a first switching instruction to the UE, so that the UE switches the WI-FI network to the target WI-FI network using the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE, and initiates the call switching request;

if the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, the call switching module 504 issues a second switching instruction carrying access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks to the UE, so that the UE selects one candidate controlled WI-FI network as the target switched WI-FI network for attachment according to the access network information of each candidate controlled WI-FI network, and initiates the call switching request; and the candidate controlled WI-FI network is selected according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

Optionally, the call switching module 504 is configured to add access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached to the authentication and authorization request initiated to the policy server, so that the policy server searches for a controlled WI-FI network matching the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached from a preset controlled WI-FI network library; if the policy server finds a controlled WI-FI network matched with the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE, determining that the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network; and otherwise, determining that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network.

Optionally, the call switching module 504 is configured to receive access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks selected by the policy server according to an AP-MAC address and a CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached after determining that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network.

Or, the call switching module 504 is configured to, after determining that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, provide, to a preset location server, an access point media access control AP-MAC address and a CELL identifier CELL-ID in access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, so that the location server finds a plurality of WI-FI networks adjacent to the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached; sending the access network information of a plurality of adjacent WI-FI networks searched by the position server to the policy server so that the policy server screens out controlled WI-FI networks from the adjacent WI-FI networks; and receiving access network information of the controlled WI-FI network returned by the policy server, and taking the access network information as the access network information of the candidate controlled WI-FI network.

Optionally, the pre-handover forwarding module 503 is further configured to forward a pre-handover request carrying the call handover trigger reason of the UE to the P-GW, so that the P-GW generates a pre-handover result corresponding to the pre-handover request according to the call handover trigger reason and a preset user service operation policy.

According to the call switching device provided by the embodiment of the invention, after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition, pre-switching is carried out through the UE, the policy server and the P-GW before the UE initiates the call switching request, so that the user authentication and the construction of an uplink channel and a downlink channel required by the WI-FI call are realized, the subsequent call switching process can be simplified, the call switching time is shortened, and the user experience is improved.

The embodiment of the call switching device provided by the present invention may be specifically configured to execute the processing flows of the above method embodiments, and the functions of the embodiment are not described herein again, and refer to the detailed description of the above method embodiments.

Referring to fig. 6, a physical structure diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in fig. 6, the electronic device 600 may include: a processor (processor)601, a memory (memory)602, and a bus 603, wherein the processor 601 and the memory 602 communicate with each other via the bus 303. The processor 301 may call the computer program in the memory 602 to perform the methods provided by the method embodiments described above, including for example:

initiating an authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to a policy server so as to execute authentication and authorization between the policy server and the UE; if the authentication result returned by the policy server is authentication authorization completion, forwarding the pre-switching request to a public data network gateway P-GW, and receiving a pre-switching result which is returned by the P-GW according to a user service operation policy preset in the policy server and corresponds to the pre-switching request; if the pre-switching result is that switching is allowed, receiving a call switching request initiated by the UE and used for indicating that the current UE resides in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to a target switching wireless fidelity (WI-FI) network, and forwarding the received call switching request to the P-GW to enable the P-GW to execute call switching from the LTE network to the target switching WI-FI network.

In another embodiment, the processor 601, when executing the computer program, implements the following method:

before the pre-switching request initiated after the receiving user equipment UE meets the call switching triggering condition, on the premise that the UE meets the call switching triggering condition and passes the access authentication of the currently attached WI-FI network, establishing an IPSEC channel between the UE and the current attached WI-FI network based on the UE;

the pre-switching request also carries access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached; and

before receiving a call switching request initiated by the UE and used for indicating that the call switching request is switched from a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network where the UE currently resides to a target wireless fidelity (WI-FI) network, judging whether the WI-FI network where the UE currently attaches is a controlled WI-FI network preset in the policy server or not according to access network information of the WI-FI network where the UE currently attaches;

if the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, issuing a second switching instruction carrying access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks to the UE, so that the UE selects one candidate controlled WI-FI network as the target switching WI-FI network for attachment according to the access network information of each candidate controlled WI-FI network, and initiates the call switching request; and the candidate controlled WI-FI network is selected according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached.

the determining, according to the access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached, whether the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is a controlled WI-FI network preset in the policy server includes:

and after the fact that the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the uncontrolled WI-FI network is determined, receiving access network information of a plurality of candidate controlled WI-FI networks selected by the policy server according to the AP-MAC address and the CELL-ID in the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE.

after the fact that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is determined to be an uncontrolled WI-FI network is determined, providing an access point media access control (AP-MAC) address and a CELL identification (CELL-ID) in access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached to a preset position server, so that the position server can find out a plurality of WI-FI networks adjacent to the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached;

the pre-switching request is forwarded to a public data network gateway P-GW, including;

The electronic equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention at least has the following technical effects: after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition, pre-switching is carried out through the UE, the policy server and the P-GW before the UE initiates a call switching request, so that the construction of an uplink channel and a downlink channel required by user authentication and WI-FI calling is realized, the subsequent call switching process can be simplified, the call switching time is shortened, and the user experience is improved.

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program including program instructions, when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can execute the methods provided by the above method embodiments, for example, the method includes:

receiving a pre-switching request initiated by User Equipment (UE) after meeting a call switching triggering condition; initiating an authentication and authorization request carrying the identification information of the UE to a policy server so as to execute authentication and authorization between the policy server and the UE; if the authentication result returned by the policy server is authentication authorization completion, forwarding the pre-switching request to a public data network gateway P-GW, and receiving a pre-switching result which is returned by the P-GW according to a user service operation policy preset in the policy server and corresponds to the pre-switching request; if the pre-switching result is that switching is allowed, receiving a call switching request initiated by the UE and used for indicating that the current UE resides in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to a target switching wireless fidelity (WI-FI) network, and forwarding the received call switching request to the P-GW to enable the P-GW to execute call switching from the LTE network to the target switching WI-FI network.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, where the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, where the computer program causes the computer to execute the method provided by the foregoing method embodiments, for example, the method includes:

In addition, the logic instructions in the memory may be implemented in the form of software functional units and may be stored in a computer readable storage medium when sold or used as a stand-alone product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

The above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and the units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the present embodiment. One of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without inventive effort.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware. With this understanding in mind, the above-described technical solutions may be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for call handover, comprising:

the UE supports the establishment of LTE call connection to an EPC network through an eNB and a P-GW in an LTE network, and realizes communication with an IMS network; the WI-FI call connection to the EPC network is established through the AP, the ePDG and the P-GW in the WI-FI network, so that the communication with the IMS network is realized;

after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition, the UE starts to be attached to a WI-FI network; in the WI-FI network attachment process, the UE needs to complete access authentication with the currently attached WI-FI network;

after the UE meets the call switching triggering condition and passes the access authentication of the currently attached WI-FI network, the UE constructs an IPSEC channel between the UE and the ePDG based on the currently attached WI-FI network and sends a pre-switching request to the ePDG through the IPSEC channel;

pre-switch requests include, but are not limited to: identification information of the UE, access network information of the currently attached WI-FI network and a call switching trigger reason;

after receiving a pre-switching request initiated by UE, ePDG initiates an authentication authorization request carrying identification information of the UE to a policy server so as to execute a standard EAP-AKA authentication process between the UE and the policy server; the policy server specifically includes: AAA servers or HSS;

when an authentication authorization request carrying identification information of the UE is initiated to a policy server, the ePDG initiates a network quality test to the UE in a non-emergency switching state so as to perform the network quality test on the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE;

the user service operation strategy refers to a charging strategy and a service control strategy which are provided by an operator aiming at different users and services in the strategy and charging rule functional unit; after receiving an authentication result returned by the AAA server or the HSS as authentication authorization completion, the ePDG acquires user subscription data of the UE from the AAA server or the HSS so as to execute switching control based on the user subscription data;

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein before receiving the pre-handover request initiated by the UE after the call handover trigger condition is satisfied, the method further comprises:

on the premise that the UE meets a call switching triggering condition and passes the access authentication of the currently attached WI-FI network, establishing an IPSEC channel between the UE and the currently attached WI-FI network based on the UE;

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the pre-handover request further carries access network information of a WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached; and

before the receiving the call handover request initiated by the UE to indicate the handover from the Long Term Evolution (LTE) network where the UE currently resides to the target handover wireless fidelity (WI-FI) network, the method further comprises:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining whether the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE is the controlled WI-FI network preset in the policy server according to the access network information of the WI-FI network currently attached to the UE comprises:

5. The method of claim 4, wherein after determining that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, the method further comprises:

6. The method of claim 4, wherein after determining that the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached is an uncontrolled WI-FI network, the method further comprises:

providing an access point media access control (AP-MAC) address and a CELL identifier (CELL-ID) in access network information of the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached to a preset position server, so that the position server finds out a plurality of WI-FI networks adjacent to the WI-FI network to which the UE is currently attached;

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said forwarding said pre-handover request to a public data network gateway P-GW comprises;

8. A call switching apparatus, comprising:

9. An electronic device comprising a processor, a memory, and a bus, wherein:

the processor and the memory complete mutual communication through a bus;

the processor may invoke a computer program in memory to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 1-7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.