KR101366270B1 - Method of transmitting MIH protocol message in Wireless Access System - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and relates to a method of transmitting and broadcasting a Media Independent Handover (MIH) protocol message. The present invention provides a method for transmitting a MIH message between heterogeneous networks at a source in a wireless access system, the method comprising receiving a primitive including a broadcast MIHF ID and requesting MIH to MIHF nodes using the broadcast MIHF ID. The message is broadcast, and the broadcast MIHF ID is set in the form of an unknown length or a zero length string configured as a predetermined number of '0' columns. The present invention can solve the technical deficiencies in the transport connection by presenting a method for handling an unknown destination MIHF ID when broadcasting a MIH protocol message.

MIH, MIH protocol message, broadcast, MIH performance discovery procedure

Description

Method of transmitting MIH protocol message in heterogeneous networks in wireless access system

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and relates to a method of transmitting and broadcasting a Media Independent Handover (MIH) protocol message.

Since the following description relates to handovers of different types of networks, i.e., heterogeneous networks, heterogeneous medium-independent handover will be described.

IEEE 802.21, which is under international standardization for media independent handover (MIH), provides seamless handover and service continuity between heterogeneous networks, Thereby improving user convenience.

In this specification, the mobile terminal is a multi-mode node that supports one or more interface types, and the interface may be in various forms. For example, a wire-line type such as IEEE 802.3-based Ethernet, a wireless interface based on the IEEE 802.XX series including IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15 or IEEE 802.14, and cellular such as 3GPP and 3GPP2. (Cellular) interface defined by the standardization organization is possible.

A mobile terminal having a multi-mode has a physical layer of each mode and a medium access control layer (MAC), and an MIH layer is located below the IP layer. In addition, the MIHF (MIHF) of the mobile terminal is a logical entity and can be freely positioned while interfacing through each layer and a service access point (SAP) in the protocol stack.

Media Independent Handover (MIH) should be defined between the IEEE 802 family interface or between the IEEE 802 family interface and the non-IEEE 802 family interface (3GPP, 3GPP2) mentioned above, such as Mobile IP and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A higher layer mobility support protocol should be supported for handover and seamless service.

The MIHF Identifier is a MIHF unique identifier and serves to identify an endpoint of the MIHF carrying the MIH service. The MIHF ID is used for all messages required at the MIH registration and the endpoint of the MIHF.

If the source wants to send a MIH protocol message to the destination, the MIHF identifier (MIHF ID) of the destination and the transport address of the destination must be mapped so that the message including the data can be correctly transmitted from the source to the desired destination.

In general, however, when broadcasting MIH protocol messages to any destination, it is rare for the source to know all of the MIHF IDs of each of the MIHF entities included in the multiple destinations. Thus, there was no way to handle the MIHF IDs of unknown destinations. That is, even though a problem occurs in which a technical defect occurs in a transport connection part for transmitting a broadcast message, a discussion about this has not been made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to propose a method of broadcasting a MIH protocol message from a source to an arbitrary destination.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a method of broadcasting by connecting a broadcast MIHF ID and a transport address when delivering a MIH protocol message.

It is still another object of the present invention to propose a method of periodically broadcasting a message including information on the MIH capability of a network node to neighboring MIHF entities.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention proposes a linking process of a transport address for transmitting a broadcast type MIH protocol message.

In one aspect of the present invention, in a method for transmitting a heterogeneous MIH message at a source of a wireless access system, the present invention provides a method for receiving a primitive including a broadcast MIHF ID and a broadcast MIHF ID. Broadcasting the MIH request message to the MIHF nodes using the broadcast MIHF ID, which is a zero length string configured as an unknown form or a predetermined number of '0' columns. string).

In the present invention, the broadcasting of the request message may include mapping a transport address corresponding to the broadcast MIHF ID and a transport address corresponding to the source MIHF ID to the request message and the source. And broadcasting the request message including information on the MIH service that can be provided in the MIHF ID.

In addition, the present invention preferably further comprises the step of receiving a MIH response message including the MIHF ID and the transport address of the MIHF nodes, after broadcasting the MIH request message, the request message and the response message Is preferably transmitted via a data plane.

In the present invention, when the source is the first mobile terminal and the MIHF node receiving the broadcast MIH request message is the second mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal ignores the MIH request message.

In another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method for transmitting a MIH message in a wireless access system, the method comprising: receiving a MIH request message including a broadcast MIH ID expressed in zero length string format; And mapping the transport address corresponding to the MIHF ID of the originating source and the transport address corresponding to its MIHF ID to the response message and transmitting the response message to the source.

In the present invention, the receiving of the MIH request message preferably includes receiving the MIH request message if the AID indicates a positive acknowledgment according to a state of an operation identifier (AID) included in the MIH request message, If so, further including ignoring the MIH request message.

In addition, when the source is the first mobile terminal and the destination is the second mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal preferably ignores the received MIH request message.

In still another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method for exchanging information on MIH performance with a second network node even when a mobile terminal does not request a request from a first network node, and information on MIHF performance of the first network node. Or generating a MIH message including information on the MIHF capability of the second network node and transmitting the MIH message to a mobile terminal connected to the first network node.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of exchanging information about a MIH performance with a second network node even when a mobile terminal does not request a request from the first network node, and information about the MIHF performance of the first network node or the first information. Generating a MIH message including information about the MIHF capability of the two network nodes and broadcasting the MIH message to neighboring mobile terminals.

The present invention has the following effects.

First, when the MIH protocol message is broadcast from the source to any destination, the present invention can provide a method of accurately associating the MIH protocol message with the transport address, thereby solving the technical defect occurring in the transport connection portion.

Second, the present invention provides an accurate transport association method by providing a method of mapping a broadcast MIHF ID and a corresponding transport address in a process of associating a broadcast message with a transport address.

Third, the present invention provides an effective MIH protocol message transmission method by proposing a method of processing broadcast MIHF ID by proposing a broadcast MIHF ID in a zero length string format composed of '0' columns.

Fourth, the present invention exchanges MIH performance information between network entities that are connected to each other even if the mobile terminal does not request MIH performance discovery, and periodically advertises it in a unicast or broadcast format to the mobile terminal. It is possible to provide efficient MIH service by providing performance information.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and relates to a method for transmitting and broadcasting a Media Independent Handover (MIH) protocol message.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to explain one embodiment of the present invention, a brief description will be given of terms used in this specification. In addition, specific terms used in the present specification are provided to help the understanding of the present invention, and the use of the specific terms may be changed into other forms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Self-explanatory to those who have knowledge.

The following techniques can be used in various communication systems. Communication systems may be widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, packet data, and the like. This technique can be used for a downlink or an uplink. Downlink means communication from a network node or a base station (BS) to a mobile station or a mobile station (MS), and uplink means communication from a mobile terminal to a network node. Means. A network node generally refers to a fixed point or fixed station that communicates with a mobile terminal. Other terms such as node-B (BTS), base transceiver system (BTS), and access point (AP) include: terminology). The mobile terminal may be fixed or mobile and may be used in other terms such as a user equipment (UE), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), and a wireless device.

Media Independent Handover (MIH) provides seamless continuity and service continuity between heterogeneous networks to improve user convenience of a mobile terminal. To this end, the Media Independent Handover Function (MIHF) is an asymmetric service such as an event service (ES) and a command service (CS) to upper layers and lower layers through a service access point (SAP) And so on. The medium independent handover technology may provide event services (ES), command services (CS), and information services (IS).

The event service (ES) is information transferred from the link layer to the upper layers, and the upper layers can receive the event service by the registration procedure. Upper layers including the mobility management protocol need to receive information indicating that a handover will occur soon to perform handover or link layer information such as that a handover has been performed.

Event Service propagates from Link Event terminated in MIHF and higher layers registered by MIHF from entity that generated events in lower layers (second layer or lower). It may be divided into a MIH event. The link event and the MIH event are classified into a local event and a remote event depending on the area to be propagated.

When events are originated from the event source in the local stack and forwarded to the local MIHF or upstream from the local MIHF to the upper layers, it is called a local event and is transmitted from the remote event source to the remote MIHF , And it is also referred to as Remote Events when it is communicated remotely from the remote MIHF to the local MIHF.

The Command Service is a protocol that allows the upper layers and other MIH users to determine the link state and transmit the lower layers (less than the second layer) from the upper layers (higher than the third layer) to adjust the optimized operation of the multi- These are the commands that are sent to. Similar to the event services, the command service is divided into a link command and a MIH command.

The link command and the MIH command can be classified into a local command and a remote command depending on the area to be propagated. The local MIH command (Local MIH command) is generated in upper layers and transferred to the MIHF. For example, MIHF or Policy Engine in higher layer mobility management protocol is transmitted to MIHF. The local link commands are generated in the MIHF to coordinate the lower layer entities and are transmitted to lower layers. For example, it is delivered from the MIHF to the media access control (MAC) layer or from the MIHF to the physical layer. The remote MIH command is a command that occurs in the upper layers and is transmitted to the remote peer stack, and the remote link command is generated in the MIHF and is transmitted to lower layers of the remote peer stack.

An information service provides a similar framework on a hierarchical network to facilitate the discovery and selection of existing types of networks. That is, the information service provides detailed information about the network needed for network discovery and selection, and should be accessible from any network. The information service allows the mobile station to acquire information for network selection before the handover and obtains available information through information query to reduce delay after handover.

Information services can include link access parameters, security mechanisms, IP configuration methods, location, service provider and other access information, or link costs ( Information elements such as cost of link).

The MIHF identifier (MIHF ID) is used to distinguish MIH entities in the MIH protocol. The two MIH entities are paired via an MIHF registration procedure. The MIHF ID is in the form of a MIHF ID for unicast and a MIHF ID for broadcast. The broadcast MIHF ID may be used when simultaneously performing MIH function discovery and capability discovery or broadcasting a MIH protocol message for other purposes. An example of the format of the MIHF ID is shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 below shows an example of the MIHF ID format.

type Length value TYPE_HDR_TLV_MIHF Variable MIHF ID of the source where the MIHF frame originated / MIHF ID of the destination where the MIHF frame was sent

In Table 1, the MIHF ID of the source registration request message may be in FQCN or NAI format.

Table 2 below shows another example of the MIHF ID format.

type form Justice Effective area MIHF_ID OCTECT_STRING MIHF Identifier
MIHF ID may be in FQDN or NAI format.
The broadcast MIHF ID may be of null value (ie, zero length string) or 'unknown' format. N / A

The MIHF ID of Table 2 has a MIHF ID form for unicast and a broadcast MIHF ID form for broadcast messages. The broadcast MIHF ID may be used to simultaneously perform MIHF ID discovery and MIHF capability discovery, or to broadcast MIH protocol messages for some other purpose.

MIH protocol messages may be broadcast or transmitted over the data plane. The data plane includes MIH User, MIH_SAP, Media Independent Handover Function (MIHF) 102, MIH_LINK_SAP, MIH_NET_SAP, MIH_NMS_SAP, Link Layer, Layer 2 Transport, Layer 3 Transport (L3 Transport) And a network management system.

The MIH user transfers primitives to the MIHF entity through MIH_SAP, an inter-layer access point. MIH_SAP is an access point between MIHF and MIH User, which are media independent interfaces. In addition, the MIH_NMS_SAP represents an access point between the network management system which is a media independent interface and the MIHF.

The MIHF generates a protocol message using the received MIH_SAP primitive. The generated MIH protocol message is transmitted to the network node through MIH_NET_SAP. At this time, the transport address according to the MIHF ID is mapped to the MIH protocol message, and the MIH protocol message can be transmitted to the second layer L2 or the third layer L3 according to the transport type. It is assumed that the MIHF ID can be converted to a transport address.

As an example of the MIH protocol message, the MIH_Capability_discovery request message may not include the MIH message payload, may be composed of only the MIH header, and the message type is set to '1' to be transmitted. Can be. The message may be transmitted through a second layer (L2) or a third layer (L3). If the entity that transmits the message does not know the address of the counterpart entity correctly and wants to discover that the entity has the MIH function, the MIH capability discovery request message may be transmitted in the form of broadcast. In another case, when the entity transmitting the message knows the address of the correspondent entity but is trying to determine whether the entity supports the MIH function, the entity can transmit the message in a Unicast format.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be readily understood the configuration, operation and other features of the present invention.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting a MIH protocol message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 100 may include a MIH Users (100a), a MIHF (100b) and a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, the network node 1 (150) MIH User 150a, MIHF 150b, and Media Access Control (MAC) 150c may be included.

Referring to FIG. 1, a MIH request primitive including predetermined information is received from an MIH user 100a, which is a higher entity included in a mobile terminal (S101).

In step S101, the MIH request primitive may include a variety of information such as MIHF ID of the destination, MIH service information provided from the source. For example, if the MIH request primitive is used for another MIHF entity discovery or MIH performance discovery procedure, the MIHF identifier of the destination may not be known, so the broadcast MIHF ID may be used. In this case, the broadcast MIHF ID may be in a zero length string or a unkown format represented by a column of '0'.

The MIHF 100b of the mobile terminal transmits a MIH request protocol message including the information received in step S101 to another remote network node (S102).

In step S102, the MIH request protocol message may include a MIH header and a MIH payload. The MIHF ID of the mobile terminal is mapped to the source identifier area of the MIH header, and the MIHF ID of the destination is mapped to the destination identifier area. In addition, the transport address of the mobile terminal and the transport address of the destination are mapped to an area indicating the transport address of the source and destination. However, since the MIHF ID of the destination is not known when performing the MIH discovery and the MIH performance discovery procedure, the broadcast MIHF ID and the corresponding transport address are mapped instead of the destination information. In this case, when a broadcast MIHF ID is used, the MIH request message is transmitted to neighboring network nodes in a broadcast form.

In addition, the MIH payload may include various types of information. For example, MIHF performance information of the source may be included. The MIHF capability information may include information about a supported MIH event list, a supported MIH command list, a supported MIH information list, and a supported transport type. .

Upon receiving the MIH request protocol message, the network node 1 150 generates a MIH response protocol message corresponding thereto and transmits the generated MIH response protocol message to the mobile station (S103).

In step S103, the MIH response protocol message may include MIH information of the network node 1. For example, the MIHF ID and the transport address corresponding to the MIHF ID of the network node 1 may be included in the MIH header, and the MIHF service information supported by the network node 1 may be included in the MIH payload.

However, the MIHF 150b of the network node 1 may ignore the message when the MIH request protocol message includes a MIHF ID other than the MIHF ID of the network node 1. However, if the MIH header of the MIH request protocol message includes an action identifier (AID) and the AID is represented by '1' or otherwise indicates that the action identifier is activated, the MIHF of the network node 1 May receive a MIH request protocol message. That is, even if the MIH request protocol message includes the broadcast MIHF ID other than the MIHF ID of the MIHF 150b, if the AID indicates '1', the MIH request protocol message may be received and respond to the MIH performance discovery procedure.

In step S103, the MIH header of the MIH response protocol message includes the MIHF ID of the network node 1 in the region indicating the source identifier and the MIHF ID of the mobile terminal in the region indicating the identifier of the destination. In addition, the transport address corresponding to the MIHF ID of the mobile terminal and the transport address corresponding to the MIHF ID of the network node 1 are mapped to the area indicating the transport address. Network node 1 transmits a response message to which the MIHF ID and the transport address are mapped to the mobile station.

The MIHF 100b of the mobile terminal that receives the MIH response protocol message transmits a MIH response primitive to the MIH user 100a, which is a higher entity included in the mobile terminal (S104).

In step S104, the MIH response primitive may include the MIHF ID, transport address, and other MIH information of the network node 1 included in the MIH response protocol message. Therefore, the MIH user of the mobile terminal can use the information included in the MIH response primitive in subsequent data transmission.

The MIH request primitive, the MIH request protocol message, the MIH response primitive, and the MIH response protocol message used in FIG. 1 may be used for various purposes within the scope of the inventive concept. Therefore, it can be used in MIH capability discovery request and response, MIH registration request and response, MIH performance advertisement message, and the like, and can be widely used for messages having the same function without being limited to the term.

2 illustrates a flowchart of performing a MIHF discovery and MIHF performance discovery procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, the mobile terminal A 200 may include a MIH Users 200a, a MIHF 200b, and a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the first network node 220. ) May include MIH Users (220H), MIHF (220b) and the Media Access Control (MAC, 220c) layer. In addition, the second network node 240 may include a MIH Users 240a, a MIHF 240b and a Media Access Control (MAC) 240c layer. Mobile terminal B 260 may include a MIH Users 260a, a MIHF 260b, and a Media Access Control (MAC) 260c layer. In this case, the first and second network nodes represent a plurality of network nodes.

Referring to FIG. 2, the MIH user 200a, the upper entity of the mobile terminal A 200, transmits a MIH capability discovery request (MIH_Capability_Discovery.request) primitive to the MIHF 200b to discover MIH performance (S201).

In step S201, the MIH capability discovery request primitive is generated when the MIH user 200a wants to discover the capability of the local MIHF or the remote MIHF. The MIH user 200a may optionally piggyback performance information of the local MIHF. Accordingly, the local MIHF and the remote MIHF may know the mutual MIH performance through primitives for one performance discovery. In addition, the primitive may be used in the process of discovering the MIHF ID of the partner network node.

Table 3 below shows an example of the MIH capability discovery request (MIH_Capability_discovery.request) primitive.

construction Length Contents MIH_Capability_discovery.request {  Destination_Identifier The identifier of the local MIHF or remote MIHF of the destination of this request.  Supported_MIH_Event_List List of events supported by MIHF (optional)  Supported_MIH_Command_List List of commands supported by MIHF (optional)  Supported_IS_Query_Type_List List of supported MIIS request types (optional)  Supporter_Transport_List List of supported transport types (optional) }

The MIH_Capability_discovery.request primitive in Table 3 can be used for performance discovery requests of remote and local MIHFs. That is, event service information (eg, Supported_MIH_Event_List) parameter provided by the MIHF 200b for performance discovery between the mobile station A 200, the first network node 220, and the second network node 240. It may include a command service information (eg, Supported_MIH_Command_List) parameter provided by MIHF, an information service information (eg, Supported_Query_Type_List) parameter provided by MIHF, and a supported transport type (eg, Supported_Transport_List) parameter. have. However, since the mobile station does not yet know the MIHF IDs of the counterpart network nodes, the MIHF ID of the destination included in the MIH capability discovery request primitive is left in an 'unkown' state or includes a broadcast MIHF ID.

Referring to FIG. 2, the MIHF 200b of the mobile station A sends a MIH_Capability_Discovery request message, which is a protocol message, via a second layer L2 or a third layer L3 to be neighboring network nodes. It broadcasts to the network node 220 and the second network node 240 and the mobile terminal B (260) (S202).

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the MIH capability discovery request message is broadcasted to all entities including the MIHF entity around the mobile terminal since the purpose of discovering the MIHF entity and the capability of the counterpart MIHF entity are simultaneously known. .

That is, when the mobile station does not know the MIHF ID of the MIHF entity of the destination, the broadcast MIHF ID is included in the area including the destination MIHF ID in the MIH capability discovery request message and the data plane of the second or third layer is included. Broadcast through). In this case, the broadcast MIHF ID may be set to a zero length string configured as a column of '0'. If the mobile station knows the MIHF ID of the MIHF entity of the destination, the mobile station transmits the MIH capability discovery request message including the destination MIHF ID in the form of unicast through the second or third layer data plane. You can broadcast.

In step S202, the MIH capability discovery request message includes a MIH header field (SID = 1, Opcode = 1, AID = 1), a source MIHF identifier, a destination MIHF identifier, and the like in the MIH header. It may include. In addition, the MIH capability discovery request message may include parameters indicating the MIH capability provided by the mobile station in the MIH payload region. That is, a parameter including information on an event service supported by the MIH (Supported_MIH_Event_List), a parameter including information on a command service supported by the MIH (Supported_MIH_Command_List), a parameter including an information service supported by the MIH (Supported_IS_Query_Type_List), and It may include a parameter (Supported_Transport_List) indicating a transport type. Therefore, the MIHF entity of mobile station A 200 and other nearby networks can discover and share each other's MIH performance by exchanging MIH protocol messages.

The first network node 220 and the second network node 240 that have received the MIH capability discovery request message from the mobile station A 200 send a MIH_Capability_Discovery response message as a response message. Transmit (203a, 203b).

The MIHFs 220b and 240b of the first network node and the second network node that have received the MIH capability discovery request message confirm the destination MIHF ID included in the message directed to them. Although the destination MIHF ID does not include its own MIHF ID, if the action code (AID) included in the MIH header of the MIH capability discovery request message is set to '1', the message is received and the MIH performance discovery is performed. You can prepare a response message for the request.

In step 203a, the MIH capability discovery response message may include information about the MIH service that can be provided by the first network node. That is, parameters related to the MIH event service, the MIH command service, and the MIH information service may be included. The MIH header included in the MIH capability discovery response message is mapped to the MIHF ID of the mobile terminal included in the MIH capability discovery request message in the region indicating the MIHF ID of the destination, and the first network is mapped to the region indicating the MIHF ID of the source. You can map the node's MIHF identifier. In addition, the transport address corresponding to the MIHF ID of the first network node as the source and the MIHF ID of the mobile terminal as the destination may be mapped to an area indicating the transport address.

Since step 203b performs the same or similar operation as step 203a, a description thereof will be omitted.

Upon receipt of the MIH capability discovery response message from the first network node, the MIHF 200b of the mobile terminal discovers the information included in the MIH capability discovery response message to the MIH user 200a, the higher entity included in the mobile terminal. In response to the response (MIH_Capability_ Discovery.response) primitive (S204a).

Table 4 below shows a preferred example of the MIH performance discovery response primitive.

construction Length Contents MIH_Capability_discovery.response {  Destination_Identifier Destination MIHF ID  Supported_Links List of supported network types  Link_MACs Network type and MAC address  Supported_MIH_Event_List Event service list supported by MIHF  Supported_MIH_Command_List List of command services supported by MIHF  Supported_IS_Query_type_List List of supported MIIS request types (optional)  Supported_Transport_List List of supported transport types (optional)  MBB_Handover_Support Indicate whether MBB handover is supported.  Status Operating status }

The MIH capability discovery response primitives in Table 4 include parameters representing the identifier of the destination MIHF entity (Destination_Identifier), parameters representing the supported network type (Supported_Links), parameters containing a list of network types and MAC addresses (Link_MACs), and destination MIHF. A parameter including a list of event services supported by 220b (Supported_MIH Event_List), a parameter including a list of command services supported by the destination MIHF 220b (Supported_MIH_Command_List), and a parameter indicating whether MBB handover is supported (MBB_Handover_Support) And a parameter indicating an operating state. In addition, the MIH performance discovery response primitive may optionally include a Supported_IS_Query_Type_List parameter and a Supported_Transport_List parameter.

In step S204b, the MIH performance discovery response primitive is transmitted from the MIHF 200b of the mobile terminal to the MIH user 200a, which is a higher entity of the mobile terminal, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

2, in step S202, mobile station B 260 also receives a MIH capability discovery request message from mobile station A. However, even if the mobile station B included in the same broadcast domain receives the MIH capability discovery request message from the counterpart mobile station A, it is prohibited to transmit a response message (S203c). Therefore, it is not possible to share information as a broadcast message directly between mobile terminals.

The terms used in FIG. 2 used the preferred terms to describe one embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be modified as other terms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

3 is a state diagram for a MIH capability discovery request procedure at a source node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 3, the source node can be a mobile terminal and the destination node can be a network node. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a function similar to the source node or the destination node may be expressed differently without being limited to the term.

At the source node, the 'INIT' state 301 transitions to the 'SENT' state 302 when the REQ (request) without an ACK Req (Acknowledgment Request) is transmitted as a broadcast state as an initial state (S301a). The source node may receive a plurality of response messages (RSP) in the 'INIT' state. At this time, the source node stores the received response messages and maintains the current state (S301b).

When the MIH performance discovery response message is received in the 'SENT' state, the source node transitions to the 'COMPLETED' state (303) (S302a). At this time, an ACK signal is transmitted if there is an ACK request, and no action is taken if there is no ACK signal request.

In addition, when the source node does not receive the MIH performance discovery response message within a predetermined time in the 'SENT' state, the source node may re-broadcast the MIH performance discovery request message by varying the transport type (S302c). That is, if the MIH capability discovery request message is broadcast through the second layer and the MIH capability discovery response message is not received, the MIH capability discovery request message may be broadcast again through the third layer. Of course, the request message may be broadcast through the third layer, and the second layer may be used in case of failure.

When the transaction time expires in the 'SENT' state 302, the state transitions to the 'INIT' state (S302b), and the MIH performance discovery procedure may be terminated.

Receives the MIH performance discovery response message in the 'COMPLETED' state (303), and transmits the ACK signal when the MIH performance discovery response message includes the ACK signal, and maintains the 'COMPLETED' state when the ACK signal is not requested. (S303b). The source node may receive multiple MIH Performance Discovery Response messages for a specific time period. At this time, the source node stores each MIH performance discovery response message. If the MIH performance discovery response message is not received until the transmission time expires, the MIH performance discovery response message transitions to the 'INIT' state and resets the transmission time (S303a). If there is a bit set for requesting an ACK signal in the MIH capability discovery response message, the source node may behave like the destination node.

4 is a state diagram for an MIH performance discovery procedure at a destination node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the source node can be a mobile terminal and the destination node can be a network node. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a function similar to the source node or the destination node may be expressed differently without being limited to the term.

'INIT' state 401 represents an initial state. If the destination node receives the MIH performance discovery request message in the 'INIT' state but the response is difficult immediately, the node transitions to the 'RECEIVED' state 402 (S401a). In addition, the destination node may broadcast the MIH performance discovery response message at a retransmission time in the 'INIT' state (S401b).

If the MIH request message contains the ACK-Req bit set and the response is immediately available, the destination node sends a MIH capability discovery response message containing the ACK-Req bit, thereby causing the 'RESPONDING' state ( 403) and waits for the ACK signal (S402a).

When the destination node receives the ACK signal in the 'RESPONDING' state 403 or after a predetermined time elapses, the destination node transitions to the 'INIT' state and resets the processing (S403a). In addition, when a predetermined time elapses in the 'RESPONDING' state (403), the MIH performance discovery response message is transmitted and the 'RESPONDING' state is maintained (S403b). The destination node may remain in the RESPONDING state until it receives an ACK signal.

If the destination node receives the MIH capability discovery request message but fails to transmit the MIH capability discovery response message, that is, when the transmission time expires, the destination node retransmits the MIH capability discovery response message (S402d). At this time, in one embodiment of the present invention, if the MIH performance discovery response message is not transmitted to the second layer and the ACK signal is not received, the MIH performance discovery response message may be retransmitted through the third layer by changing the transport type. Of course, when the MIH performance discovery response message is not received when transmitting to the third layer, the MIH performance discovery response message may be transmitted through the second layer by changing the transport type. If the transmission time expires in the 'RECEIVED' state, the destination node transitions to the 'INIT' state and resets the processing (S402b).

 If the MIH capability discovery request message received in the 'RECEVIED' state 402 does not include the ACK-Req bit set and the MIH response message without the ACK-Req can be transmitted, the destination node may send the MIH response message. Transmit and transition to the 'COMPLETED' state (404) (S402c).

In the 'COMPLETED' state (404), the destination node transitions to the 'INIT' state (401) after a predetermined time elapses, and resets the process (S404a).

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of discovering MIH performance of another network node from a currently connected network node through a MIH capability discovery advertisement message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the mobile terminal A 500 may include a MIH Users 500a, a MIHF 500b, and a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the first network node 520. ) May include a MIH Users 520a, a MIHF 520b and a Media Access Control (MAC) 520c layer. In addition, the second network node 540 may include a MIH Users 540a, a MIHF 540b, and a Media Access Control (MAC) 540c layer. In this case, the first and second network nodes represent a plurality of network nodes.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is shown a method of providing MIH performance information and the like to a mobile terminal through periodic advertisement messages in a network node without a request message for the discovery of the MIH performance of the mobile terminal.

Referring to FIG. 5, it is assumed that the first network node 520 is connected to and communicates with the second network node 540. Accordingly, the second network node may share its MIH capability information by transmitting its MIH capability information through a MIH_Capability_Discovery exchange message to the first network node (S501). The MIH capability discovery exchange message is a remote protocol message and may inform the first network node of the MIHF ID of the second network node and a corresponding transport address through the MIH capability discovery exchange message.

In step S501, the first network node may know information about MIH capabilities that can be supported by the second network node. Accordingly, the first network node transmits information on the MIH capability provided by the second network node to the mobile station A 500 in a unicast format through a MIH_Capability_Discovery advertisement message periodically transmitted. It may be (S502). Mobile terminal A represents any one of terminals connected to the first network node, and the mobile terminal not connected to the first network node cannot receive the MIH capability discovery advertisement message from the first network node.

In step S502, the MIHF ID region included in the MIH header of the MIH performance discovery advertisement message may include the MIHF ID of the mobile station A and the MIHF ID of the first network node. At this time, the MIHF ID of the first network node is mapped to the region indicating the source identifier in the MIH header, and the MIHF ID of the mobile station A is mapped to the region indicating the destination identifier. In addition, transport addresses of the MIHF IDs of the MIHF 520b and the MIHF 500b are mapped to the region to which the transport address is mapped. Since the mobile station A and the first network node are connected to each other, the MIHF ID and the transport address of each other can be known.

In step S502, since the first network node knows the MIH information of the second network node, the first network node may include the MIHF ID and the transport address of the second network node in the MIH capability discovery advertisement message and transmit the same to the mobile station A.

The MIHF 500b of the mobile station A delivers a MIH capability discovery advertisement (MIH_Capability_Discovery.advertisement) primitive to deliver MIH capability information that can be provided by the second network node to the MIHF user 400a, which is a higher entity included in the mobile station. (S503). The MIH performance discovery advertisement primitive is a local primitive.

The terms used in FIG. 5 used suitable terms to describe other embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be modified and used in other terms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of obtaining MIH capability information of a second network node from a first network node through a MIH capability discovery advertisement message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, mobile terminal A 600 may include a MIH Users 600a, a MIHF 600b, and a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the first network node 620. ) May include a MIH Users 620a, a MIHF 620b and a Media Access Control (MAC) 620c layer. In addition, the second network node 640 may include a MIH Users 640a, a MIHF 640b, and a Media Access Control (MAC) 640c layer. In this case, the first and second network nodes represent a plurality of network nodes.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing MIH performance information and the like to a mobile terminal by broadcasting a MIH capability discovery advertisement message in a network node without a request message for MIH capability discovery of the mobile terminal.

Referring to FIG. 6, it is assumed that the first network node 620 is connected to the second network node 640 to communicate with each other. Accordingly, the second network node may share its MIH capability information by transmitting its MIH capability information through a MIH_Capability_Discovery exchange message to the first network node (S601). The MIH capability discovery exchange message is a remote protocol message and may inform the first network node of the MIHF ID of the second network node and a corresponding transport address through the MIH capability discovery exchange message.

In step S601, the first network node may know information about MIH capabilities that can be supported by the second network node. Accordingly, the first network node may transmit information on the MIH capability provided by the second network node to the mobile station A 600 in a broadcast format through a MIH_Capability_Discovery advertisement message (S602). ). Mobile terminal A then represents any device containing a MIHF entity around the first network node.

In step S602, the MIHF ID region included in the MIH header of the MIH performance discovery advertisement message may include a destination MIHF ID and a source MIHF ID. At this time, the MIHF ID of the first network node is mapped to the region indicating the source identifier in the MIH header, and the broadcast MIHF ID is mapped to the region indicating the destination identifier because the MIHF ID of the mobile station A is not known. In this case, the broadcast MIHF ID may be mapped in the form of a zero length string configured as a column of '0'. In addition, a transport address corresponding to the MIHF 620b and a transport address corresponding to the broadcast MIHF ID are mapped to the region to which the transport address is mapped. In addition, the MIH header may include an action identifier (AID). In this case, when the AID included in the MIH performance discovery advertisement message is set to '1', the mobile terminal A may receive the MIH performance discovery advertisement message even if the MIHF ID of the MIHF 600b is not.

In step S602, since the first network node knows MIH information of the second network node, the first network node broadcasts to the mobile station A including the MIHF ID and the transport address of the second network node in the MIH capability discovery advertisement message. can do.

The MIHF 600b of the mobile station A transmits the MIH capability discovery advertisement (MIH_Capability_Discovery. Advertisement) to deliver the MIH capability information provided by the first network node or the second network node to the MIHF user 600a, which is a higher entity included in the mobile terminal. ) The primitive is transmitted (S603). The MIH performance discovery advertisement primitive is a local primitive.

The terms used in FIG. 6 used suitable terms to describe other embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be modified and used in other terms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in all aspects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting a MIH protocol message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 illustrates a flowchart of performing a MIHF discovery and MIHF performance discovery procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a state diagram for a MIH capability discovery request procedure at a source node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a state diagram for an MIH performance discovery procedure at a destination node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of discovering MIH performance of another network node from a currently connected network node through a MIH capability discovery advertisement message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of obtaining MIH capability information of a second network node from a first network node through a MIH capability discovery advertisement message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (25)

In the method of transmitting a Media Independent Handover (MIH) request message of a source media independent handover function (MIHF) object in a wireless access system, Sending, by the source MIHF entity, the MIH request message to at least one unknown destination MIHF entity; And The source MIHF entity receiving at least one MIH response message from the at least one unknown destination MIHF entity in response to the MIH request message; The MIH request message includes a MIHF ID (MIHF Identifier) is set in the form of a zero length string configured as a column of '0', If the MIH response message has not been received from the at least one unknown destination MIHF entity for a predetermined time period, the MIH request message is transmitted using a different transport type. delete The method according to claim 1, The MIH request message, A method of transmitting a MIH message, which is transmitted through a data plane. The method according to claim 1, The MIH request message, MIH_Capability_Discover request message, MIH message transmission method. The method according to claim 1, The MIH request message, An action identifier (AID), an identifier of the source MIHF entity, an operation code (Opcode), and a service identifier (SID), wherein the action identifier, the operation code, and the service identifier are each '1'. MIH message transmission method is set to. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete The method according to claim 1, The MIH request message is transmitted through a second layer (L2) and a third layer (L3). The method according to claim 1, The MIH request message includes a MIH event list (MIH event list), a MIH command list, and a transport list supported by the source MIHF entity. An apparatus for transmitting a media independent handover (MIH) request message in a wireless access system, The device includes a source media independent handover function (MIHF) entity, The source MIHF entity sends the MIH request message to at least one unknown destination MIHF entity and receives at least one MIH response message from the at least one unknown destination MIHF entity in response to the MIH request message. Receive, The MIH request message includes a MIHF ID (MIHF Identifier) is set in the form of a zero length string consisting of a column of '0', If the MIH response message has not been received from the at least one unknown destination MIHF entity for a predetermined time period, the MIH request message is sent using a different transport type. 21. The method of claim 20, And the MIH request message is transmitted via a data plane. 21. The method of claim 20, And the MIH request message is a MIH_Capability_Discover request message. 21. The method of claim 20, The MIH request message, An action identifier (AID), an identifier of the source MIHF entity, an operation code (Opcode), and a service identifier (SID), wherein the action identifier, the operation code, and the service identifier are each '1'. Device, which is set to. 21. The method of claim 20, And the MIH request message is sent via a second layer (L2) and a third layer (L3). 21. The method of claim 20, And the MIH request message includes a MIH event list, a MIH command list, and a transport list that the source MIHF entity can support.

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