JP5953169B2 - Communication method and communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication method and a communication system that support peer-to-peer communication between a calling terminal and a receiving terminal.

  With the recent development of network communication and information equipment, in addition to conventional communication terminals such as mobile phones and personal computers, communicable terminals are widely spread. For example, game machines equipped with a communication module are widely used, and it is possible to play against other game users online.

  Further, P2P (Peer to Peer) connection using packet communication is also widespread between terminals having such a communication module. This P2P connection is also used in 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), which is a communication standard for mobile phones and smartphones (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).

  When a P2P connection is realized in 3GPP, a path is set in a core / wireless network, and then a packet is returned by a server via a PDN (Public Data Network), and a packet is received by a terminal at a connection destination. Specifically, a description will be given with reference to the communication system 907 in FIG. When connecting from the originating terminal 901a to the terminating terminal 901b, the packet is transmitted from the originating base station 902a, originating subscriber packet switch 903a, originating relay packet switch 904a, application server 906, terminating relay packet switch 904b, terminating subscriber. Through the user packet switch 903b and the destination base station 902b.

  Here, the originating terminal 901a receives an IP address from the originating relay packet switch 904a, and the receiving terminal 901b communicates with each other by receiving an IP address from the terminating relay packet switch 904b.

  In the core network, it is impossible to grasp the connection destination terminal of the transmission terminal 901a by IP connection. Therefore, a method is adopted in which the application server 906 receives an identifier of the incoming terminal 901b such as a mail address, searches for the incoming terminal 901b based on the identifier of the incoming terminal 901b, and matches the IP address.

  When each device is applied to 3G or LTE specifications, the originating base station 902a and the terminating base station 902b correspond to RNC (Radio Network Controller) or eNodeB (evolved Node B). The calling subscriber packet switch 903a and the called subscriber packet switch 903b correspond to SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) or S-GW (Serving Gateway) and MME (Mobility Management Entity). The originating side relay packet switch 904a and the destination side relay packet switch 904b correspond to a GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) or a P-GW (PDN Gateway).

  Here, the architecture in 3GPP is described in Chapter 5.4 of Non-Patent Document 1, and the calling process is described in Chapter 9 of Non-Patent Document 1, particularly Chapter 9.2.2. The architecture in LTE is described in Chapter 4 of Non-Patent Document 2, and the call processing is described in Chapters 5.3.2 and 5.3.4 of Non-Patent Document 2.

3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project), “3GPP Specification detail”, [online], June 8, 2012, 3GPP, [June 18, 2012 search], Internet <http://www.3gpp.org /ftp/Specs/html-info/23060.htm> 3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project), “3GPP Specification detail”, [online], June 8, 2012, 3GPP, [June 18, 2012 search], Internet <http://www.3gpp.org /ftp/Specs/html-info/23401.htm>

  However, in the case of the connection mode as shown in FIG. 10, there is a problem that a lot of network resources are required when connecting from the calling terminal 901a to the receiving terminal 901b.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, six control plane paths (C-Plane paths) of PC911 to PC916 are set. Furthermore, when the direct tunnel is not applied, as shown in FIG. 10, eight user plane paths (U-Plane paths) of PU911 to PU918 are set. Even when the direct tunnel is applied, between the originating terminal 901a and the originating base station 902a, between the originating base station 902a and the originating relay packet switch 904a, between the originating relay packet switch 904a and the application server 906, A total of six user planes between the application server 906 and the destination relay packet switch 904b, between the receiving terminal 901b and the destination base station 902b, and between the destination base station 902b and the destination relay packet switch 904b. A path is set.

  Thus, many network resources are required for P2P, and there is a problem that resources cannot be effectively used.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication method and a communication system that support efficient peer-to-peer communication between a calling terminal and a receiving terminal.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first feature of the present invention relates to a communication method for supporting peer-to-peer communication between a calling terminal and a receiving terminal. A communication method according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a transmitting terminal, a receiving terminal, a calling base station that accommodates the calling terminal, a called base station that accommodates the receiving terminal, a calling base station, and other A packet switch, a calling subscriber packet switch that exchanges packets, a destination base station and other packet switches, a called subscriber packet switch that exchanges packets, a calling subscriber packet switch, and a called subscriber The present invention is used in a communication system including a subscriber information management server connected to a packet switch. The communication method includes a step in which a subscriber information management server receives an incoming terminal identifier and an incoming subscriber packet switch identifier from a destination subscriber packet switch, and stores them in the switch address data. When performing peer-to-peer connection with a terminal, a step of transmitting the identifier of the calling terminal and the identifier of the receiving terminal to the calling subscriber packet switch via the calling base station, and the calling subscriber packet switch performs subscriber information management Transmitting the identifier of the terminating terminal to the server, obtaining the address of the destination subscriber packet switch from the subscriber information management server, and based on the address acquired by the calling subscriber packet switch from the subscriber information management server; Requesting the destination subscriber packet switch to set the path, and the calling terminal or the receiving terminal Through it, comprising the step of assigning an IP address to the communication destination terminal.

  Here, when the calling subscriber packet switch requests the setting of a path not applying the direct tunnel, the step of setting the user plane path between the calling subscriber packet switch and the called subscriber packet switch is performed. In addition, the transmitting terminal or the receiving terminal may assign an IP address to the communication destination terminal via the user plane path.

  In addition, when the calling subscriber packet switch requests setting of a path to which a direct tunnel is applied, the calling subscriber packet switch further includes a step of setting a user plane path between the calling base station and the called base station, The receiving terminal may assign an IP address to the communication destination terminal via the user plane path.

  A second aspect of the present invention relates to a communication system that supports peer-to-peer communication of a terminal. That is, a communication system according to the second aspect of the present invention is connected to a terminal, a base station that accommodates the terminal, a base station and other packet switches, a subscriber packet switch that exchanges packets, and a subscriber packet switch. A subscriber information management server. The subscriber information management server includes a storage device for storing switch address data in which an identifier of a terminal is associated with an identifier of a subscriber packet switch corresponding to the position of the terminal. When a terminal makes a peer-to-peer connection with a receiving terminal, a packet transmitting / receiving means for transmitting the identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the receiving terminal to a subscriber packet switch connected to the base station via a base station accommodating the terminal And IP address processing means for assigning an IP address to a communication destination terminal when performing peer-to-peer connection. When the subscriber packet switch receives the identifier of the originating terminal and the identifier of the receiving terminal of the peer-to-peer communication from the base station accommodated by the subscriber packet switch, the subscriber packet switch from the subscriber information management server to the base station accommodating the receiving terminal. Exchange address processing means for obtaining the address of the subscriber packet exchange to be connected, and path setting means for sending a path setting request to the subscriber packet exchange corresponding to the address obtained by the exchange address processing means.

Here, in the subscriber packet switch, when the path setting unit is requested to set a path that does not apply the direct tunnel, between the subscriber packet switch requesting the path setting and the subscriber packet switch, Set user plane path and
The IP address processing means may assign an IP address to the communication destination terminal via the user plane path.

  Further, in the subscriber packet switch, the path setting means, when requested to set a path using a direct tunnel, is between the originating base station accommodating the originating terminal and the terminating base station accommodating the terminating terminal. The user plane path may be set, and the IP address processing means may assign an IP address to the communication destination terminal via the user plane path.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the communication method and communication system which support efficient peer-to-peer communication of a transmission terminal and a receiving terminal can be provided.

It is a figure explaining the system configuration | structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram explaining the communication method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (Part 1) It is a sequence diagram explaining the communication method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (Part 2) It is a sequence diagram explaining the communication method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (Part 3) It is a figure explaining the functional block of each apparatus of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the system configuration | structure of the communication system which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a sequence diagram explaining the communication method which concerns on the modification of this invention. (Part 1) It is a sequence diagram explaining the communication method which concerns on the modification of this invention. (Part 2) It is a figure explaining the example of mounting of the communication system concerning an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the conventional P2P communication.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

(Outline of communication system)
The communication system 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention supports peer-to-peer communication between the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b. The communication system 7 effectively uses network resources by completing routing within the core / wireless network without routing packets to the PDN. In the embodiment of the present invention, an indirect communication method that does not apply a direct tunnel will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a communication system 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a calling terminal 1a, a receiving terminal 1b, a calling base station 2a, a calling base station 2b, a calling subscriber packet switch 3a, A subscriber packet switch 3b and a subscriber information management server 5 are provided. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the outgoing side relay packet switch 4a and the incoming side relay packet switch 4b are also described. However, in the P2P connection between the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b according to the embodiment of the present invention, The packet switch 4 need not operate at all.

  In this specification, when the calling terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b are not distinguished, they may be simply referred to as the terminal 1. When the originating side subscriber packet switch 3a and the destination side subscriber packet switch 3b are not distinguished from each other, they may be simply referred to as the subscriber packet switch 3. When the originating side relay packet switch 4a and the destination side relay packet switch 4b are not distinguished, they may be simply referred to as the relay packet switch 4.

  The terminal 1 is an information terminal including a P2P communication module, and is, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a game machine, or the like. The base station 2 provides a wireless network to the terminal 1 and relays packets between the terminal 1 and the subscriber packet switch 3. The subscriber packet switch 3 relays packets between the base station 2, the relay packet switch 4 and other subscriber packet switches 3.

  The subscriber information management server 5 is a server that manages subscriber information, such as HSS (Home Subscriber Server). In the embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber information management server 5 holds the address information of the terminal 1 in association with the address of the subscriber packet switch 3 connected to the base station 2 that accommodates the terminal 1.

  The communication system 7 shown in FIG. 1 explains a control plane path and a user plane path when P2P connection is established between the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b without applying a direct tunnel. Between the originating terminal 1a and the originating base station 2a, between the originating base station 2a and the originating subscriber packet switch 3a, between the originating subscriber packet switch 3a and the terminating subscriber packet switch 3b, 5 control plane paths of PC11 to PC15 and 5 PU11 to PU15, respectively, between the side subscriber packet switch 3b and the destination base station 2b, and between the destination base station 2b and the receiving terminal 1b, respectively. A user plane path is created.

  Thereby, the communication system 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention can reduce one user plane path compared to the case shown in FIG.

(Communication method)
With reference to FIG. 2 thru | or FIG. 4, the communication method which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  First, the receiving terminal 1 b registers the position of the receiving terminal 1 b in the subscriber information management server 5. Specifically, the receiving terminal 1b transmits a location registration request together with the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b to the called subscriber packet switch 3b in step S101. When receiving the location registration request from the receiving terminal 1b, the terminating subscriber packet switch 3b sends the location information to the subscriber information management server 5 together with the address of the terminating subscriber packet switch 3b and the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b in step S102. Send a registration request.

  When the subscriber information management server 5 receives the location registration request, in step S103, the subscriber's location switch address is registered using the subscriber identifier as a key. Here, the subscriber identification number is, for example, the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b. The subscriber's location switch address is the address of the destination subscriber packet switch 3b.

  When the location registration of the receiving terminal 1b is completed, in step S104, the subscriber information management server 5 transmits a location registration response to step S102 to the called subscriber packet switch 3b. In step S105, the called subscriber packet switch 3b transmits a location registration response to step S101 to the receiving terminal 1b.

  Thus, the visited exchange address of the receiving terminal 1 b is registered in the subscriber information management server 5.

  When the calling terminal 1a establishes a P2P connection with the receiving terminal 1b, the calling terminal 1a transmits a packet call request to the calling subscriber packet switch in step S201 as shown in FIG. This packet transmission request includes the telephone number of the transmitting terminal 1a, the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b, and information indicating that it is a P2P transmission. Along with this packet transmission request, the control plane paths of the PC 11 and PC 12 are set.

  When receiving the packet transmission request, the calling subscriber packet switch 3a analyzes the packet transmission request in step S202. Here, the packet transmission request indicates that the transmission terminal 1a desires a P2P connection with the reception terminal 1b. Accordingly, in step S203, the calling subscriber packet switch 3a transmits a location inquiry request to the subscriber information management server 5 in order to inquire about the location of the receiving terminal 1b. This location inquiry request includes the telephone numbers of the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b. In step S204, the subscriber information management server 5 searches for the visited exchange address of the receiving terminal 1b. The visited exchange address searched here is the address of the called subscriber packet exchange 3b registered in step S103 of FIG. When the visited exchange address is searched, the subscriber information management server 5 transmits the visited exchange address of the receiving terminal 1b to the originating side subscriber packet exchange 3a in step S208.

  On the other hand, the originating side subscriber packet switch 3a performs a call origination analysis in step S202, and then transmits a radio bearer setting request to the originating base station 2a in step S205. In step S206, when a radio bearer is set up between the calling terminal 1a and the calling base station 2a, in step S207, the calling base station 2a sends a response to the effect that the radio bearer has been set up to the calling subscriber packet switch. Send to 3a. Thereby, the user plane paths of PU11 and PU12 are set.

  Thereafter, in step S209, the calling subscriber packet switch 3a transmits a path setting request to the called subscriber packet switch 3b. This path setting request includes information indicating a direct tunnel flag, an originating exchange address, a terminating local exchange address, an originating base station address, and a P2P connection. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the direct tunnel flag is set to “No”. The originating side exchange address is an address of the originating side subscriber packet exchange 3a, and is used to set the user plane path PU13 and the control path PC13. The called-side visited exchange address is the address of the called-side subscriber packet exchange 3b, and is the address acquired in step S208. The originating base station address is the address of the base station that accommodates the originating terminal 1a, and is the address of the originating base station 2a. Here, the address of the originating base station 2a may not be included in the path setting request when the direct tunnel flag set by the originating side is “No”.

  When receiving the path setting request, in step S210, the destination subscriber packet exchange 3b determines whether the path setting request received in step S209 has an incoming call in step S211 based on whether or not it has a flag for applying a direct tunnel. A radio bearer setting request is transmitted to the side base station 2b. Here, a process when the direct tunnel is not applied will be described.

  When the direct tunnel is not applied, this radio bearer setting request includes the destination exchange address and the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b. The destination exchange address is used to set the user plane path of the PU 14 between the destination base station 2b and the destination subscriber packet switch 3b. The telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b is used to set up a radio bearer between the receiving terminal 1b and the called base station 2b.

  In step S212, when a radio bearer is set up between the receiving terminal 1b and the callee base station 2b, in step S213, the callee base station 2b sends a response indicating that the radio bearer has been set to the callee subscriber packet switch 3b. Send. Thereby, the control plane path of PC14 and PC15 and the user plane path of PU14 and PU15 are set.

  In step S214, the called subscriber packet switch 3b transmits a path setting response to step S209 to the calling subscriber packet switch 3a. Here, the path setting response includes the destination exchange address. When the originating side subscriber packet switch 3a receives the path setting response, the control plane path of the PC 13 and the user plane path of the PU 13 are set. In step S215, the originating side subscriber packet switch 3a transmits a packet transmission response to step S201 to the transmitting terminal 1a.

  When resources are allocated to PU11 to PU15 and these user plane paths are set in this way, the process proceeds to FIG. Specifically, in step S301, the receiving terminal 1b activates the DHCP server function, and in step S302, the originating terminal 1a activates the DHCP client function.

  In step S303, the transmitting terminal 1a transmits a DHCP Discover command to the receiving terminal 1b. On the other hand, in step S304, the receiving terminal 1b transmits a DHCP Offer command to the transmitting terminal 1a. Further, in step S305, the transmitting terminal 1a transmits a DHCP Request command to the receiving terminal 1b. On the other hand, in step S306, the receiving terminal 1b transmits a DHCP Ack command to the transmitting terminal 1a.

  Here, in steps S303 to S306, data is transmitted and received through five user plane paths of PU11 to PU15. By such processing, IP addresses are issued to the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b, and P2P connection can be realized based on the IP address.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the case where the receiving terminal 1b activates the DHCP server function and the originating terminal 1a activates the DHCP client function has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the calling terminal 1a may activate the DHCP server function, and the receiving terminal 1b may activate the DHCP client function.

(Outline of communication system)
With reference to FIG. 5, functional blocks of each device of the communication system 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Each device of the communication system 7 is realized by a computer executing a program.

  The subscriber information management server 5 includes exchange address data 51, location registration means 52, and exchange address response means 53.

  The exchange address data 51 is data stored in the storage device, and is data in which the identifier of the terminal 1 is associated with the identifier of the subscriber packet switch 3 corresponding to the position of the terminal 1. Here, the identifier of the terminal 1 is MSISDN or the like, specifically a telephone number. As shown in FIG. 2, the exchange address data 51 associates the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b with the address of the destination subscriber packet exchange 3b.

  The location registration means 52 associates the identifier of the terminal 1 with the address of the requesting subscriber packet switch 3 and stores it in the switch address data 51 based on the request from the subscriber packet switch 3. The address of the subscriber packet switch 3 is, for example, an IP address. The processing of the position registration means 52 corresponds to Step S102 to Step S104 in FIG.

  When the identifier of the terminal 1 is input from the subscriber packet switch 3 based on the request of the subscriber packet switch 3, the switch address response means 53 receives the subscription corresponding to the identifier of the terminal 1 input from the switch address data 51. The identifier of the operator packet switch 3 is acquired. Further, the exchange address response means 53 transmits the acquired identifier of the subscriber packet exchange 3 to the requesting subscriber packet exchange 3. The processing of the exchange address response means 53 corresponds to the processing of steps S203, S204, and step S208 in FIG.

  The subscriber packet switch 3 includes a switch address processing unit 31, a radio bearer setting request unit 32, and a path setting unit 33. The subscriber packet switch 3 operates differently for the calling side and the called side.

  The exchange address processing means 31 registers the address of the subscriber packet exchange in the subscriber information management server 5 and acquires the address of the subscriber packet exchange.

  When the subscriber packet switch 3 is on the called side, the switch address processing means 31 transmits the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b and the address of the called subscriber packet switch 3b to the subscriber information management server 5 to obtain the switch address data. Request registration to 51. This process corresponds to step S102 to step S104 in FIG.

  When the subscriber packet switch 3 is the originating side, the switch address processing means 31 receives the identifier of the originating terminal 1a and the identifier of the terminating terminal 1b for peer-to-peer communication from the base station 2 accommodated in the subscriber packet switch 3, From the subscriber information management server 5, the address of the subscriber packet switch 3 connected to the base station 2 that accommodates the receiving terminal 1b is acquired. Specifically, the subscriber packet switch 3 transmits the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1 b to the subscriber information management server 5, and the address of the called subscriber packet switch 3 b of the receiving terminal 1 b registered in the switch address data 51. To get. This process corresponds to steps S203, S204, and S208 in FIG.

  The radio bearer setting request unit 32 requests to set a radio bearer between the terminal 1 and the base station 2 when P2P connection is established. This process corresponds to Step S205 and Step S207 or Step S210 and Step S212 in FIG.

  The path setting means 33 is a process for setting a path between the subscriber packet switches 3. When the subscriber packet switch 3 is on the calling side, the path setting means 33 transmits a path setting request to the called subscriber packet switch 3b corresponding to the address acquired by the switch address processing means 31. When the subscriber packet switch 3 is the destination, the path setting means 33 sets a radio bearer based on the path setting request received from the calling subscriber packet switch 3a. This process corresponds to step S209 and step S214 in FIG. 3 and processes associated therewith.

  Furthermore, the path setting means 33 sets a user plane path based on whether or not to apply a direct tunnel. The direct tunnel is not applied in the embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the path setting means 33 sets a user plane path between the subscriber packet switch 3 that is a path setting request source and its own subscriber packet switch 3. Specifically, the path setting means 33 sets the user plane path of the PU 13 between the destination side subscriber packet switch 3b and the source side subscriber packet switch 3a, and also sets the user base path 2b and the destination side subscriber packet switch 3b. In the meantime, the user plane path of PU14 is set.

  The base station 2 transmits data from the terminal 1 to the subscriber packet switch 3 and transmits data from the subscriber packet switch 3 to the terminal 1. Furthermore, the base station 2 includes radio bearer setting means 21 that sets a radio bearer with the terminal 1 based on a request from the subscriber packet switch 3. This process corresponds to step S206 or step S211 in FIG.

  The terminal 1 includes a packet transmitting / receiving unit 11 and an IP address processing unit 12.

  When the terminal 1 is the calling terminal 1a, the packet transmission / reception means 11 sends the identifier of the terminal 1 and the identifier of the receiving terminal 1b to the base station 2 via the base station 2 that accommodates the terminal 1 when making a peer-to-peer connection with the receiving terminal 1b. Transmit to the subscriber packet switch 3 connected to the station 2. Specifically, the transmitting terminal 1a transmits the telephone number of the transmitting terminal 1a and the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b to the calling subscriber packet switch 3a via the calling base station 2a. Further, when a user plane path is set between the originating terminal 1a and the terminating terminal 1b, the packet transmitting / receiving means 11 receives a packet originating response from the originating subscriber packet switch 3a via the originating base station 2a. . This process corresponds to step S201 and step S215 in FIG.

  When the peer-to-peer connection is established, the IP address processing means 12 assigns an IP address to the communication destination terminal 1. At this time, the IP address processing unit 12 assigns an IP address via the already set user plane path. The IP address processing means 12 assigns an IP address to the communication destination terminal 1 by realizing a DHCP server function or a DHCP client function.

  For example, when the calling terminal 1a realizes the DHCP client function and the receiving terminal 1b realizes the DHCP server function, the IP address processing means 12 of the receiving terminal 1b assigns an IP address to the calling terminal 1a. This process corresponds to steps S301 to S306 in FIG.

  Conversely, the receiving terminal 1b may realize a DHCP client function, and the calling terminal 1a may realize a DHCP server function. In this case, the IP address processing means 12 of the calling terminal 1a assigns an IP address to the receiving terminal 1b.

  As described above, in the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention, each terminal 1 is provided with a DHCP server function or a client function, thereby providing an IP address between the terminals 1. In the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention, a user plane path is set between the originating side subscriber packet switch 3a and the terminating side subscriber packet switch 3b. Thereby, the path in the P2P connection between the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b can be turned back in the core network.

  As a result, the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention can reduce the number of user plane paths. Specifically, in the conventional method, as shown in FIG. 10, six control plane paths and eight user plane paths are required. However, the communication method according to the present invention has five control planes. A plane path and five user plane paths are sufficient. Thereby, network resources can be used effectively. Further, since the communication path can be shortened as compared with the conventional method, an improvement in the line speed can be expected.

  Furthermore, since the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention sets a user plane path between the subscriber packet switches 3, it can be applied to P2P connection within the same carrier or P2P connection with a different carrier. .

(Modification)
A communication method according to a modification of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As in the communication system 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the communication system 7a according to the modification of the present invention completes the routing within the core / wireless network without routing the packet to the PDN. Make effective use of resources. In the modified example of the present invention, a direct communication method using a direct tunnel will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the communication system 7a according to the modification of the present invention has the same configuration as the communication system 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

  The communication system 7a shown in FIG. 6 explains a control plane path and a user plane path when the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b are connected by P2P using a direct tunnel. Between the originating terminal 1a and the originating base station 2a, between the originating base station 2a and the originating subscriber packet switch 3a, between the originating subscriber packet switch 3a and the terminating subscriber packet switch 3b, Five control plane paths of PC11 to PC15 are established between the side subscriber packet switch 3b and the destination base station 2b and between the destination base station 2b and the receiving terminal 1b, respectively. Further, between PU11 to PU13, between the originating terminal 1a and the originating base station 2a, between the originating base station 2a and the terminating base station 2b, and between the terminating base station 2b and the terminating terminal 1b. Two user plane paths are established.

Thereby, compared with the case where the communication system 7a which concerns on the modification of this invention shows in FIG.
One control plane path and five user plane paths can be reduced.

(Communication method)
With reference to FIG. 7, a communication method according to a modification of the present invention will be described. Here, the process described with reference to FIG. 2 is executed in the same manner in the communication method according to the modification of the present invention, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Further, in the communication method according to the modification of the present invention shown in FIG. 7, although the user plane path is different, the other processes are the same as those of the embodiment of the present invention, so the description will be omitted. The communication method according to the modification of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 sets a user plane path by applying a direct tunnel. Therefore, the communication method according to the modification of the present invention is different in the processing after step S212 shown in FIG.

  When receiving the path setting request, in step S210, the destination subscriber packet exchange 3b determines whether the path setting request received in step S209 has an incoming call in step S211 based on whether or not it has a flag for applying a direct tunnel. A radio bearer setting request is transmitted to the side base station 2b. Here, a process in the case of applying a direct tunnel will be described.

  When the direct tunnel is applied, this radio bearer setting request includes the originating base station address, the destination local exchange address, and the telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b. The originating base station address is used to set the user plane path of the PU 12 between the terminating base station 2b and the originating base station 2a. The destination subscriber packet switch address is used to set the control plane path of the PC 14 between the destination switch 3b and the destination base station 2b. The telephone number of the receiving terminal 1b is used to set up a radio bearer between the receiving terminal 1b and the called base station 2b.

  In step S212, when a radio bearer is set up between the receiving terminal 1b and the callee base station 2b, in step S213, the callee base station 2b sends a response indicating that the radio bearer has been set to the callee subscriber packet switch 3b. Send. Thereby, the control plane path of PC14 and PC15 and the user plane path of PU13 are set.

  In step S214, the called subscriber packet switch 3b transmits a path setting response to step S209 to the calling subscriber packet switch 3a. In step S215, the originating side subscriber packet switch 3a transmits a packet transmission response to step S201 to the transmitting terminal 1a. At this time, when the originating base station 2a receives the packet transmission response, the user plane path of the PU 12 is set with the terminating base station 2b.

  Thus, when resources are allocated to PU11 to PU13 and these user plane paths are set, the process proceeds to FIG. The process shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the process described with reference to FIG. However, in steps S303 to S306, data is transmitted and received through three user plane paths of PU11 to PU13. By such processing, IP addresses are issued to the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b, and P2P connection can be realized based on the IP address.

  Since the subscriber packet switch 3 according to the modification of the present invention sets a path to which the direct tunnel is applied, the processing of the path setting means 33 of the subscriber packet switch 3 in FIG. 5 is different. Specifically, the path setting means 33 according to the modified example, when the setting of the path to which the direct tunnel is applied is requested, the destination base station 2a that accommodates the transmitting terminal 1a and the destination base that accommodates the receiving terminal 1b. A user plane path is set up with the station 2b.

    As described above, in the communication method according to the modification of the present invention, the user plane path is set between the originating base station 2a and the terminating base station 2b. Thereby, the path in the P2P connection between the transmitting terminal 1a and the receiving terminal 1b can be turned back in the core network. Also, in the communication method according to the present invention and the modification, each terminal 1 is provided with a DHCP server function or a client function, thereby providing an IP address between the terminals 1.

  As a result, the communication method according to the modification of the present invention can reduce the number of user plane paths. Specifically, in the conventional method, as shown in FIG. 10, six control plane paths and eight user plane paths are required. However, the communication method according to the present invention has five control planes. A plane path and three user plane paths are sufficient. Thereby, network resources can be used effectively. Further, since the communication path can be shortened as compared with the conventional method, an improvement in the line speed can be expected.

  Since the communication method according to the modification of the present invention sets a user plane path between the base stations 2, a remarkable effect can be obtained within the same carrier. Here, the direct method shown in the communication method according to the modification of the present invention is applied to the connection within the same carrier, and the indirect shown in the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the connection with a different carrier. You may combine arbitrarily, such as applying a system.

(Implementation example)
The communication system according to the embodiment and the modification of the present invention has been described with reference to FIGS. Here, with reference to FIG. 9, an example of implementation when these communication systems are applied to 3G or LTE will be described. How the communication system is implemented depends on, for example, the contract form of the subscriber and the functions installed in the terminal 1 owned by the subscriber.

  FIG. 9A shows an implementation example in the case where the subscriber contracts only with 3G and the terminal 1 has only the 3G function. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the subscriber has a contract only for 3G, and the terminal 1 has a 3G function and an LTE function, or the subscriber has a contract for 3G and LTE. The present invention can also be applied when the terminal 1 has only the 3G function.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the base station 2 corresponds to the RNC, the subscriber packet switch 3 corresponds to the SGSN, and the relay packet switch 4 corresponds to the GGSN. Here, the GGSN is a gateway for 3G subscribers, and the SGSN is a device that controls connection of RNC radio resources.

  FIG. 9B shows an implementation example in the case where the subscriber contracts with 3G and LTE, and the terminal 1 has the 3G function and the LTE function. FIG. 9B can also be applied to the case where the subscriber contracts only with LTE and the terminal 1 is equipped with the 3G function and the LTE function.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9B, the base station 2 can apply both the RNC and the eNodeB. S-GW and P-GW are devices through which user data passes, and MME serves as a control device. Therefore, the subscriber packet switch 3 corresponds to SGSN or S-GW and MME. The relay packet switch 4 corresponds to a P-GW.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9B, when the terminal 1 is connected to the RNC, the control plane path is set between the RNC and the SGSN, between the SGSN and the MME, and between the MME and the S-GW. Further, the user plane path is set between the RNC and the SGSN and between the SGSN and the S-GW when the direct tunnel is not applied. When the terminal 1 is connected to the eNodeB, the control plane path is set between the eNodeB and the MME and between the MME and the S-GW. The user plane path is set between the eNodeB and the S-GW when the direct tunnel is not applied.

  FIG. 9C is an implementation example in the case where the subscriber contracts only with LTE and the terminal 1 has only the LTE function. In the example shown in FIG. 9C, the base station 2 corresponds to eNodeB, the subscriber packet switch 3 corresponds to S-GW and MME, and the relay packet switch 4 corresponds to P-GW. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9C, as described with reference to FIG. 9B, when the terminal 1 is connected to the eNodeB, the control plane path is between the eNodeB and the MME, and between the MME and the S-GW. Set to The user plane path is set between the eNodeB and the S-GW and between the S-GW and the P-GW.

  The implementation example described with reference to FIG. 9 is an example for implementing the communication system according to the embodiment or the modification of the present invention, and of course, other implementation examples may be included. is there. In addition, the communication system according to the embodiment or the modification of the present invention can be applied to a change in standardization or a new standardization.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the embodiments of the present invention and the modifications thereof have been described. However, it should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples, and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  For example, the processing order described in the sequence diagrams shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, 7, and 8 is an example, and may be executed in any order as long as there is no contradiction.

  It goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,901 Terminal 2,902 Base station 3,903 Subscriber packet switch 4,904 Relay packet switch 5,905 Subscriber information management server 7 Communication system 11 Packet transmission / reception means 12 IP address processing means 21 Radio bearer setting means 31 Switch address Processing means 32 Radio bearer setting request means 33 Path setting means 51 Switch address data 52 Location registration means 53 Switch address response means 906 Application server

Claims (6)

A communication method for supporting peer-to-peer communication between a calling terminal and a receiving terminal,
The communication method is
A calling terminal, a receiving terminal,
An originating base station that accommodates the originating terminal;
A terminating base station that accommodates the terminating terminal;
The originating base station and other packet switches, and the originating subscriber packet switch for exchanging packets;
The destination base station and other packet switches, and a destination subscriber packet switch for exchanging packets;
A subscriber information management server connected to the calling subscriber packet switch and the called subscriber packet switch;
Used in a communication system comprising:
The communication method is
The subscriber information management server receiving an identifier of the receiving terminal and an identifier of the called subscriber packet switch from the called subscriber packet switch, and storing them in switch address data;
The originating terminal, when making a peer-to-peer connection with the terminating terminal, transmitting the originating terminal identifier and the terminating terminal identifier to the originating subscriber packet switch via the originating base station;
The calling subscriber packet switch sends an identifier of the terminating terminal to the subscriber information management server, and obtains the address of the called subscriber packet switch from the subscriber information management server;
The calling subscriber packet switch requesting the destination subscriber packet switch to set a path based on an address obtained from the subscriber information management server;
The communication method comprising the step of: the transmitting terminal or the receiving terminal assigning an IP address to a communication destination terminal via a set path. When the calling subscriber packet switch requests a path setting that does not apply a direct tunnel,
Further comprising the step of setting a user plane path between the originating subscriber packet switch and the terminating subscriber packet switch;
The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting terminal or the receiving terminal allocates an IP address to a communication destination terminal via the user plane path. When the calling subscriber packet switch requests the setting of a path using a direct tunnel,
Further comprising setting a user plane path between the originating base station and the terminating base station;
The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting terminal or the receiving terminal allocates an IP address to a communication destination terminal via the user plane path. A communication system supporting peer-to-peer communication of a terminal,
A terminal,
A base station accommodating the terminal;
A subscriber packet switch for exchanging packets with the base station and other packet switches;
A subscriber information management server connected to the subscriber packet switch,
The subscriber information management server includes:
A storage device for storing switch address data in which the identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the subscriber packet switch corresponding to the position of the terminal are associated;
The terminal
A packet transmitting / receiving means for transmitting the identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the receiving terminal to a subscriber packet switch connected to the base station via the base station accommodating the terminal when performing peer-to-peer connection with the receiving terminal;
IP address processing means for assigning an IP address to a communication destination terminal when performing peer-to-peer connection,
The subscriber packet switch is
Upon receiving the identifier of the originating terminal and the terminating terminal of the peer-to-peer communication from the base station accommodated by the subscriber packet switch, the subscriber packet connected to the base station accommodating the terminating terminal is received from the subscriber information management server. An exchange address processing means for obtaining an address of the exchange;
A path setting means for transmitting a path setting request to a subscriber packet switch corresponding to the address acquired by the switch address processing means. In the subscriber packet switch,
When the path setting unit is requested to set a path that does not apply the direct tunnel,
A user plane path is set between the subscriber packet switch requesting the path setting and the subscriber packet switch;
In the terminal,
The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the IP address processing unit assigns an IP address to the communication destination terminal via the user plane path. In the subscriber packet switch,
When the path setting unit is requested to set a path using a direct tunnel,
Set up a user plane path between the originating base station that accommodates the originating terminal and the terminating base station that accommodates the terminating terminal,
In the terminal,
The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the IP address processing unit assigns an IP address to the communication destination terminal via the user plane path.

Images