KR102145943B1 - Backhaul system and apparatus and control method applied to the same - Google Patents

Abstract

In the present invention, for a terminal for a specific purpose, such as a backhaul terminal serving as a router in a wireless backhaul, a separate network device (specific MME) different from a network device (commercial MME) used by a terminal of a general user can be used, A backhaul system capable of separately operating a core network for a general user's terminal and a specific-purpose terminal, and a terminal device and a terminal device operating method applied thereto are proposed.

Description

Backhaul system, terminal device applied thereto, and operation method of terminal device {BACKHAUL SYSTEM AND APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD APPLIED TO THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a technology for separating and operating a core network, and more particularly, a separate network device (specific MME) different from a network device (commercial MME) used by a terminal of a general user is used for a terminal for a specific purpose. The present invention relates to a backhaul system capable of separately operating a core network for a terminal of a general user and a terminal for a specific purpose, and a terminal device and a method of operating the terminal device applied thereto.

Communication between the base station and the terminal for mobile communication service is wireless, but the backhaul, which is the connection between the base station and the core network, is not necessarily fixed to use wired or wireless in the standard, and this is an implementation issue that can be selected by the operator implementing the mobile communication network. .

However, in most cases, the backhaul of the base station is implemented as a wired method capable of stable communication packet transmission, and is implemented as a mmWave-based wireless method only in some areas.

In the case of the existing mmWave-based wireless backhaul implemented by a wireless method, a relatively high frequency is used compared to a mobile communication network such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), but the straightness of the radio wave is very large due to the use of the high frequency, so the transmitter (e.g.: Limitations that can be used only in a line of sight (LOS) environment without obstacles between the base station) and the receiver (e.g., core network equipment), and the effective transmission distance is hundreds of meters to 2 km because the path loss is high, which is attenuation of radio waves according to the distance. There are disadvantages such as the limit of the degree, severe performance deterioration due to attenuation of precipitation in rainy weather.

Accordingly, the current situation is implementing (using) mmWave-based wireless backhaul in some areas where it is difficult to implement backhaul by wired method, for example, in remote areas or islands, despite the aforementioned disadvantages.

Accordingly, in the present invention, by proposing a backhaul agent and a backhaul terminal that implements a backhaul between a base station and a core network in a wireless manner, a wireless backhaul is realized in which all the disadvantages of the existing mmWave-based wireless backhaul are improved. For a backhaul terminal that acts as a router in the backhaul system, it is possible to use a separate network device (specific MME) different from the network device (commercial MME) used by the general user's terminal, so that it can be used for the terminal of the general user and the terminal for a specific purpose. For each core network, we would like to propose a method of separate operation.

The present invention was created in view of the above circumstances, and an object to be reached in the present invention is a network device (commercial MME) used by a terminal of a general user for a terminal for a specific purpose, such as a backhaul terminal that acts as a router in a wireless backhaul. ), a separate network device (specific MME) can be used, so that the core network is separately operated for the terminal of the general user and the terminal for a specific purpose.

A terminal device according to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises: an information holding unit for holding device information of a specific network device belonging to a specific core network that is distinct from a commercial core network; A request providing unit for providing an access request for the core network to a base station device; And providing the previously held device information to the base station device when providing the access request, so that the base station device can process the access procedure of the terminal device to the specific core network through the specific network device among a plurality of network devices. It includes a connection control unit to enable.

Preferably, the plurality of network devices may be divided into a commercial network device belonging to the commercial core network, and the specific network device belonging to a backhaul agent that implements a backhaul between the device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner. have.

Preferably, the base station device may process an access procedure for the commercial core network through the commercial network device for a terminal device that does not provide the device information when providing an access request for the core network.

Preferably, the device information of the specific network device may be previously retained only when the terminal device is a backhaul terminal that implements a backhaul between a device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner.

In the backhaul system according to the second aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, when receiving the first communication packet from at least one device that generates a first communication packet by inserting the first route information into the communication packet, the A backhaul terminal for inserting identification path information for identifying a device generating the first communication packet into the first communication packet and transmitting it to the base station apparatus; And when the second communication packet is received from the base station device that generates a second communication packet by inserting second route information into the first communication packet received from the backhaul terminal, the second communication packet is received from the second communication packet. And a backhaul agent for deleting information and the identification path information and providing the first communication packet to a commercial core network, so that the commercial core network only needs to delete the first route information from the first communication packet; The backhaul terminal is connected to a specific core network to which the specific network device belongs through a specific network device in the backhaul agent.

Preferably, when the backhaul terminal provides the access request to the core network to the base station device, the device information of the specific network device already held is provided to the base station device, so that the base station device Through this, the access procedure of the backhaul terminal to the specific core network can be processed.

In order to achieve the above object, a method of operating a terminal device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes an information holding step of holding device information of a specific network device belonging to a specific core network that is distinct from a commercial core network; A request providing step of providing an access request for the core network to a base station device; And providing the previously held device information to the base station device when providing the access request, so that the base station device can process the access procedure of the terminal device to the specific core network through the specific network device among a plurality of network devices. Includes a connection control step to enable.

Preferably, the specific network device belongs to a backhaul agent that implements a backhaul between a device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner, and the device information of the specific network device includes the terminal device between the device and the commercial core network. It can only be retained in the case of a backhaul terminal that implements the backhaul wirelessly.

Accordingly, according to the backhaul system according to the present invention and the terminal device and the operating method of the terminal device applied thereto, for a terminal for a specific purpose, such as a backhaul terminal serving as a router in a wireless backhaul, a network used by a terminal of a general user By allowing the use of a separate network device (specific MME) different from the device (commercial MME), the effect of separately operating the core network for the terminal of the general user and the terminal for a specific purpose is derived. In addition, the effect of giving a specific QoS (Quality of Service) policy for data processing of the backhaul terminal through the separate operation of each core network can be expected.

1 is a block diagram showing a communication system to which a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.
2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flow chart showing a method of operating a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing a backhaul system in which a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied as a backhaul terminal.
5 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a backhaul agent and a backhaul terminal in a backhaul system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an exemplary view showing the structure of a backhaul system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as an example.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram showing a communication system to which a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system includes a base station device 40 and a terminal device 300 that attempts to access the core network by providing a request for access to the core network to the base station device 40. do.

Here, the terminal device 300 proposed by the present invention always retains device information of a specific network device regardless of whether or not a previously connected network device exists.

At this time, the network device mentioned above is used to control signals between the base station device and the equipment in the core network (eg, SGW (Serving Gateway)) and determine where to route the incoming call (eg, communication packet) to the terminal. As a device that plays a role, it is preferable that it is a Mobility Management Entity (MME).

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the names of the network device and the MME will be mixed.

That is, the terminal device 300 always retains device information of a specific network device, that is, a specific MME, regardless of the existence of a previously connected network device, that is, a previously connected MME.

The terminal device 300 provides a request for connection to the core network to the base station device 40 in order to attempt access to the core network.

For example, when the terminal device 300 switches from a power-off state to an on-state, the terminal device 300 attempts to access the core network through the access base station, that is, the base station device 40 at the same time as the power-on state. This will be the same for not only the terminal device 300 of the present invention, but also a general existing terminal (hereinafter, a general user's terminal).

However, when the terminal device 300 of the present invention attempts to access the core network by providing the access request to the core network to the base station device 40 as described above, the device information previously held together with the provision of the access request Is provided to the base station apparatus 40.

In other words, when the terminal device 300 of the present invention provides the access request to the core network to the base station device 40, the device information of a specific MME that is always fixedly previously held is provided to the base station device 40. will be.

When a general base station apparatus receives an access request for a core network from a terminal attempting to access the core network, it determines whether or not the MME device information has been received from the terminal.

Accordingly, the base station device determines the MME according to a round robin method or a weight factor-based method for each MME, among a number of MMEs interworking with the base station device, if the device information of the MME is not received together with the access request to the core network. Thereafter, the access procedure of the terminal to the core network is processed through the determined MME.

On the other hand, the base station device processes the access procedure of the terminal to the core network only through the corresponding MME according to the device information, without determining the MME, if the device information of the MME is received together with the access request to the core network. .

This is, when the terminal of the general user provides the access request to the core network to the base station device, the device information of the MME stored internally is provided to the base station device together with the MME that was previously connected to the base station only when there is a previously connected MME. This is due to the technical background.

From this point of view, the base station apparatus 40 applied to the present invention also interlocks with a plurality of network devices, that is, a plurality of MMEs.

Here, the plurality of MMEs interlocked with the base station device 40 are at least one commercial network device (eg, MME_1, MME_2, MME_3) belonging to the commercial core network 10 and a specific core, as shown in FIG. 1. It includes a specific network device (eg, backhaul agent MME) belonging to the network 120.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the reference number 22 is used for the commercial MME belonging to the commercial core network 10, and the reference number 122 is used for the specific MME belonging to the specific core network 120. would.

Accordingly, when the base station apparatus 40 also receives an access request for the core network from the terminal attempting to access the core network, it determines whether the MME device information has been received from the terminal.

Accordingly, the base station device 40, when the MME device information is not received together with the access request to the core network, that is, when providing the access request to the core network, for a terminal that does not provide the device information of the MME, the base station device ( 40) After determining the commercial MME (22) according to the round-robin method or weight factor-based method for each MME among commercial network devices (e.g., MME_1, MME_2, MME_3) interworking with itself, the commercial core network through the commercial MME (22) Processes the access procedure of the terminal to (10).

In this case, the terminal that does not provide the device information of the MME will necessarily be a general existing terminal (a terminal of a general user).

On the other hand, the base station device 40, when the MME device information is received together with the access request to the core network, that is, when providing the access request to the core network, for the terminal providing the device information of the MME, the process of determining the MME Without, the access procedure of the terminal to the core network is processed only through the corresponding MME according to the device information.

At this time, the terminal providing the device information of the MME may be a general existing terminal (the terminal of a general user) in which the device information of the commercial MME connected previously (just before) is stored therein, or the terminal device of the present invention ( 300).

However, if the terminal providing the device information of the MME is a general existing terminal (the terminal of a general user), the device information of the provided MME will be the device information of the commercial MME 22 connected to the previous (just before), and the MME When the terminal providing the device information of the terminal device 300 of the present invention, the device information of the provided MME will be the device information of the specific MME (122).

In other words, when the terminal device 300 of the present invention provides the access request to the core network to the base station device 40 as described above, the device information of the specific MME 122 that is previously held fixedly is always transmitted to the base station device ( 40), the base station device 40 processes the access procedure of the terminal device 300 to the specific core network 120 to which the specific MME 122 belongs through a specific MME 122 among a plurality of MMEs. To be able to do it.

Hereinafter, a configuration of a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

As shown in Fig. 2, the terminal device 300 according to the present invention includes an information holding unit 350 for holding device information of a specific network device belonging to a specific core network that is distinct from a commercial core network, and a core A request providing unit 360 that provides an access request for a network to the base station device 40, and the previously held device information is provided to the base station device 40 when providing the access request to the base station device 40 It includes an access control unit 370 for processing the access procedure of the terminal device 300 to the specific core network through the specific network device of the network devices of.

Here, the aforementioned network device is preferably an MME. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the names of the network device and the MME are mixed and described.

The information holding unit 350 holds device information of a specific network device, that is, a specific MME belonging to a specific core network 120 that is distinct from the commercial core network 10.

In the following, for convenience of description, a specific MME 122 of FIG. 1 will be referred to as a specific network device.

That is, the information holding unit 350 always retains the device information of the specific MME 122 belonging to the specific core network 120 regardless of the existence of a previously connected network device, that is, a previously connected MME.

The request providing unit 360 provides a request for access to the core network to the base station apparatus 40.

That is, the request providing unit 360 provides an access request to the core network to the base station apparatus 40 in order to attempt access to the core network.

For example, when the terminal device 300 is switched from a power-off state to an on-state, the request providing unit 360 transmits a connection request to the core network at the same time as the power-on state is switched to an access base station, that is, a base station device ( By providing to 40), an attempt is made to access the core network through the base station apparatus 40.

The access control unit 370, when providing an access request to the core network by the request providing unit 360, provides the device information previously held in the information holding unit 350 to the base station device 40 together, and the base station device ( 40) can process the access procedure of the terminal device 300 to the specific core network 120 through a specific network device, that is, a specific MME 122 among a plurality of network devices, that is, a plurality of MMEs.

In other words, the access control unit 370 provides the access request for the core network to the base station device 40 as described above, so that when attempting to access the core network, the specific MME 122 The device information is provided to the base station device 40.

The base station device 40 interworks with a plurality of network devices, that is, a plurality of MMEs.

Here, the plurality of MMEs interlocked with the base station device 40 are at least one commercial network device (eg, MME_1, MME_2, MME_3) belonging to the commercial core network 10 and a specific core, as shown in FIG. 1. It includes a specific network device (eg, backhaul agent MME) belonging to the network 120.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the reference number 22 is used for the commercial MME belonging to the commercial core network 10, and the reference number 122 is used for the specific MME belonging to the specific core network 120. would.

Accordingly, when a request for connection to the core network is received from the terminal device 300, the base station device 40 determines whether the MME device information has been received from the terminal device 300.

As described above, since the terminal device 300 of the present invention provides device information of a specific MME 122 that is fixedly previously held when a connection request to the core network is requested, the base station device 40 connects to the core network. For the terminal device 300 that provided the device information of the specific MME 122 when the request is provided, the access procedure to the specific core network 120 only through the specific MME 122 according to the device information without determining the MME Process.

Hereinafter, a method of operating a terminal device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

For convenience of explanation, reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described.

The method of operating the terminal device 300 according to the present invention always retains device information of a specific network device, that is, a specific MME, regardless of the existence of a previously connected network device, that is, a previously connected MME.

In the following, for convenience of description, a specific MME 122 of FIG. 1 will be referred to as a specific network device.

That is, the method of operating the terminal device 300 according to the present invention is applied to a specific core network 120 that is separate from the commercial core network 10, regardless of the presence or absence of a previously connected network device, that is, a previously connected MME. Device information of the specific MME 122 to which it belongs is always retained.

In the operating method of the terminal device 300 according to the present invention, when attempting to connect to the core network, for example, when switching to the power-on state (S300), the device information of the specific MME 122 already held is checked ( S310).

In addition, in the method of operating the terminal device 300 according to the present invention, a request for access to the core network is provided to the base station device 40 in order to attempt access to the core network. At this time, the device of the specific MME 122 Together, the information is provided to the base station apparatus 40 (S320).

Accordingly, when a request for access to the core network is received from the terminal device 300, the base station device 40 determines whether the MME device information has been received from the terminal device 300 (S330).

As described above, since the terminal device 300 of the present invention provides the device information of the specific MME 122 that is fixedly previously held when a connection request to the core network is requested, the base station device 40 provides the specific MME 122 Is a legitimate MME interlocking with itself (S340 Yes), for the terminal device 300, the access procedure for the specific core network 120 through the specific MME 122 according to the device information is performed without the process of determining the MME. Process (S350).

As described above, according to the terminal device and the operating method of the terminal device according to the present invention, the terminal device for a specific purpose, i.e., the terminal device 300, causes a specific MME 122 regardless of the existence of a previously connected network device, that is, an MME. ), and when attempting to access the core network, the device information of a specific MME 122 is always provided together, so that the terminal device 300 for a specific purpose is a commercial MME used by general users' terminals. It is possible to use a specific MME 122 that is different from (22), and thereby, a core network for the terminal of a general user and a terminal device 300 for a specific purpose is a commercial core network 10 and a specific core network 120 Each can be operated separately.

Here, referring to a more specific example, the terminal device 300 according to the present invention, that is, the terminal device 300 for a specific purpose, is a backhaul terminal that implements a backhaul between the device and the commercial core network 10 in a wireless manner. Do.

In other words, only when the terminal device 300 is a backhaul terminal that implements a backhaul between the device and the commercial core network 10 in a wireless manner, it is preferable that the device information of the specific MME 122 is previously held.

In addition, the specific network device described above, that is, the specific MME 122, preferably belongs to a backhaul agent that implements a backhaul between the device and the commercial core network 10 in a wireless manner, and furthermore, a specific core network implemented in the backhaul agent. It is desirable to belong to 120.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 4, the terminal device according to the present invention is applied as the backhaul terminal 200, and a backhaul system implemented by the backhaul agent 100 and the backhaul terminal 200 will be described.

As shown in Fig. 4, the backhaul system according to the present invention is a system for implementing a backhaul between the device 50 and the commercial core network 10 in a wireless manner.

That is, the backhaul system of the present invention intends to implement the backhaul between the device 50 and the commercial core network 10 in a wireless manner while improving all the disadvantages of the existing mmWave-based wireless backhaul, and for this purpose, a relatively low frequency is used. By utilizing the mobile communication-based base station device 40, the device 50 and the commercial core network 10 can be free from line of sight (LOS) limitations, short effective transmission distance limitations, and severe performance degradation in rainy weather. We intend to implement backhaul in a wireless method.

However, if the backhaul between the device 50 and the commercial core network 10 is implemented in a wireless method using the base station device 40 of general mobile communication, not the mmWave-based wireless backhaul using the transmission method independent of the transmission/reception period, the device In the case of a base station (LTE or 3G) belonging to (50), the corresponding core network equipment must exist when communicating between the terminal and the base station (LTE or 3G), so in the case of uplink, the backhaul signal of the base station is a commercial core network (10). Because it is encapsulated several times (at least twice) before going up to, it has to be repeated several times (at least two times) in the commercial core network (10) stage, and de-encapsulation (encapsulation/de-encapsulation) several times (at least two times). In the case of the downlink, the encapsulation must be repeated several times in the commercial core network 10 stage before the backhaul signal of the base station descends from the commercial core network 10, opposite to the uplink.

In this way, if encapsulation/de-encapsulation is repeated several times in the commercial core network 10 stage, equipment in the core network (e.g., in the process of repeating encapsulation/de-encapsulation several times) : SGW(24), PGW(26) are rounded back and forth several times, resulting in additional latency of long-distance transmission, and processing capacity of equipment in the core network (e.g. SGW(24), PGW(26)) The problem is expected to increase.

Accordingly, the backhaul system of the present invention adopts the backhaul agent 100, thereby implementing the backhaul between the device 50 and the commercial core network 10 in a wireless manner using the base station device 40, while To prevent the problem of repeated encapsulation/de-encapsulation processing.

On the other hand, if the backhaul between the device 50 and the commercial core network 10 is implemented in a wireless manner using the base station device 40, the transmission path of the communication packet is divided for each base station (LTE or 3G) belonging to the device 50. There is a problem that is difficult to become.

Therefore, the backhaul system of the present invention, by adopting the backhaul terminal 200, the backhaul agent 100 and the backhaul terminal 200 equipped with a function for classifying the transmission path of communication packets for each base station, thereby preventing the problem I want to.

In the following, for convenience of explanation, the backhaul system of the present invention will be described with reference to the communication packet transmission path of the uplink among the communication packet transmission paths of the uplink/downlink.

The backhaul terminal 200 of the present invention transmits a backhaul signal (uplink) from at least one device 50 connected thereto to the base station apparatus 40 through a wireless method.

At this time, the device 50 may be an LTE base station (1, e.g., an LTE macro base station, an LTE small base station), a 3G base station 2, or a general communication device other than a base station such as the WiFi AP 3 May be.

Therefore, it is preferable that the backhaul terminal 200 has an interface conversion function so that it can be connected to the corresponding device through a communication method supported by each of the devices 50 (eg, IP communication, E1 line).

Here, in the case of the present invention, since the backhaul between the base station and the commercial core network 10 is implemented in a wireless manner, as a device connected to the backhaul terminal 200, the LTE base station 1 and the 3G base station 2 are mainly I will mention and explain.

When the LTE base station 1 and the 3G base station 2 receive an uplink signal from a terminal wirelessly connected thereto, tunneling is performed on a communication packet according to the uplink signal.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the LTE base station 1 will be described with reference to the LTE base station 1 and the 3G base station 2.

That is, the LTE base station 1 is a network equipment in the LTE core network 20, such as SGW 24, to which a call (session) is connected to a communication packet according to the uplink signal of the terminal to provide a communication service in relation to the terminal. ), a first communication packet is generated through tunneling to insert (encapsulate) the first route information for sending the communication packet.

When the backhaul terminal 200 receives the first communication packet from the LTE base station 1, that is, the backhaul signal of the LTE base station 1, it is for identification to identify the device that generated the first communication packet, that is, the LTE base station 1 The route information is inserted into the first communication packet and transmitted to the base station apparatus 40 through a wireless method.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the first communication packet after the identification path information is inserted (encapsulated) by the backhaul terminal 200 will be referred to as a first communication packet.

At this time, the identification path information included in the backhaul terminal 200 includes the address information (IP) of the corresponding device, that is, the LTE base station 1, or a unique device that is assigned to the corresponding device, that is, the LTE base station 1 from the backhaul terminal 200. An identifier (eg Flag) is included.

When the base station device 40 receives an uplink signal from the backhaul terminal 200, that is, the first communication packet of the LTE base station 1, it sends the received first communication packet to the backhaul agent 100 of the present invention. A second communication packet is generated through tunneling for inserting (encapsulation) the second path information.

The base station device 40 may be an LTE macro base station or an LTE small base station as an LTE base station, and will be described below by referring to an LTE macro base station, that is, an LTE eNB for convenience of description.

That is, when the LTE eNB 40 receives an uplink signal from the backhaul terminal 200, that is, the first communication packet of the LTE base station 1, the received first communication packet is sent to the backhaul agent 100 of the present invention. A second communication packet is generated through tunneling for inserting (encapsulation) the second path information to be sent to.

Then, the LTE eNB 40 provides the second communication packet generated as described above to the backhaul agent 100 of the present invention according to the second route information.

As shown in Figure 4, the commercial core network 10, the LTE core network 20, RNC (32), SGSN (34) composed of the MME (22), SGW (24) and PGW (26), etc. It may include a 3G core network 30 composed of GGSN 36 and the like.

Therefore, the backhaul agent 100 of the present invention is capable of interworking with the corresponding core network through a communication method (eg, IP communication, E1 line) supported by each of the LTE core network 20 and the 3G core network 30. It is desirable to have an interface conversion function.

When the backhaul agent 100 receives the second communication packet generated by inserting (encapsulation) the second path information into the first communication packet'from the LTE eNB 40 as described above, the second communication packet is received, in the second communication packet. Delete (de-encapsulate) the second path information.

The backhaul agent 100 deletes the second route information from the second communication packet and then deletes the identification route information (de-encapsulation) to obtain a first communication packet, that is, the backhaul signal of the LTE base station 1 ( The first route information + communication packet) is provided to the LTE core network 20, so that only the first route information is deleted (de-encapsulated) in the LTE core network 20 and then the communication packet according to the uplink signal of the terminal. Can be exported to the external network (5).

That is, the backhaul system of the present invention uses the LTE eNB 40 to transmit a backhaul signal (uplink) between the LTE base station 1 and the LTE core network 20, while at the LTE core network 20 This is to avoid repeating the encapsulation several times.

At this time, if an embodiment in which the address information (IP) of the LTE base station 1 is included in the identification route information inserted (encapsulated) by the backhaul terminal 200 in the first communication packet, the backhaul agent 100 , In the identification route information of the'first communication packet' obtained by deleting the second route information from the second communication packet, the address information of the corresponding device, that is, the address information (IP) of the LTE base station 1 is checked, and the LTE The communication packet transmission path of the base station 1 can be distinguished.

Meanwhile, if a unique identifier (eg, Flag) is included in the identification path information inserted (encapsulated) by the backhaul terminal 200 in the first communication packet, the backhaul agent 100 From the identification route information of the first communication packet obtained by deleting the second route information from the packet, the unique identifier (e.g., the flag) of the corresponding device, that is, the LTE base station 1 is checked, and based on this, the LTE base station 1 It is possible to distinguish the transmission path of the communication packet.

Therefore, the backhaul system according to the embodiment of the present invention uses the LTE eNB 40 to transmit a backhaul signal (uplink) between the LTE base station 1 and the LTE core network 20, while the backhaul agent 100 and The communication packet transmission path of the LTE base station 1 can be classified through a function for classifying a communication packet transmission path for each device (base station) mounted on the backhaul terminal 200.

Of course, the backhaul system according to an embodiment of the present invention performs encapsulation at the LTE core network 20 stage for the downlink communication packet transmission path that is processed in reverse to the above-described uplink communication packet transmission path. It is not possible to repeat several times, and transmits downlink communication packets to the LTE base station 1 through a function for classifying communication packet transmission paths for each device (base station) mounted on the backhaul agent 100 and the backhaul terminal 200 The path can be identified.

Here, in the case of an embodiment in which a unique identifier (eg, Flag) is used to classify a communication packet transmission path, a new system in which the backhaul terminal 200 separates and manages a separate unique identifier (eg, Flag) for at least one device is established. Since it must be constructed, an embodiment using device address information (IP) is determined to be more efficient.

Therefore, in the following, in order to classify a transmission path of a communication packet, an embodiment using address information (IP) of a device will be described.

As such, the backhaul system according to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention implements the backhaul between the base station and the core network in a wireless manner using the base station device 40, that is, the LTE eNB 40, while implementing the backhaul in a wireless manner. Concerned problems, for example, a problem of repetitive encapsulation/de-encapsulation processing at the core network end, and a problem in which communication packet transmission paths cannot be distinguished for each device (base station) can be prevented in advance.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, there may be a case where a general LTE terminal 60 other than the backhaul terminal 200 is connected to the LTE eNB 40 to use a mobile communication service.

However, the backhaul terminal 200, which is a terminal device proposed in the present invention, is fixedly previously held device information of a specific MME 122 when attempting to access the core network as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 above. LTE eNB 40 is implemented in the backhaul agent 100 only through a specific MME 122, that is, the MME 122 belonging to the backhaul agent 100, according to the device information provided for the backhaul terminal 200. The access procedure for the specific core network (core function unit 120 of FIG. 5) will be processed.

Accordingly, in the backhaul system according to the present invention, the backhaul terminal 200 connected to the LTE eNB 40 is necessarily connected to the backhaul agent 100.

On the other hand, the LTE terminal 60, which is a general existing terminal (the terminal of a general user), is an MME stored internally only when there is an MME previously connected to the core network when attempting to access the core network as described above. In any case, the LTE eNB (40) uses the commercial MME (22) for the LTE terminal (60) in any case, because it provides device information (eg, device information of the commercial MME 22) or does not provide the device information of the MME. Through the commercial core network 10, in particular, the access procedure for the LTE core network 20 will be processed.

Accordingly, in the backhaul system according to the present invention, in the case of a terminal of a general user (eg, the LTE terminal 60) connected to the LTE eNB 40, without being connected to the backhaul agent 100, the LTE core To be connected to the network (20).

After all, in the backhaul system of the present invention, the terminal for a specific purpose, that is, the backhaul terminal 200, allows the previously connected network device, that is, the device information of the specific MME 122 to be pre-retained regardless of the existence of the MME. The device information of a specific MME 122 is always provided when accessing to, so that the backhaul terminal 200 is separate from the commercial MME 22 used by the general user's terminal (e.g., LTE terminal 60). It is possible to use a specific MME (122) of, and thereby, a core network for a general user's terminal (e.g., LTE terminal 60) and a backhaul terminal 200 for a specific purpose, a commercial core network 10 and a backhaul agent ( 100) can be separately operated with a specific core network 120 within.

In addition, in the backhaul system of the present invention, the core network is separately operated for a general user's terminal (e.g., LTE terminal 60) and a backhaul terminal 200 for a specific purpose in the same manner as described above. The effect of giving a specific QoS (Quality of Service) policy for data processing of 200 can also be expected.

In addition, the effect of giving a specific QoS (Quality of Service) policy for data processing of the backhaul terminal through the separate operation of each core network can be expected.

Hereinafter, functions and specific configurations of the backhaul agent 100 and the backhaul terminal 200 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5.

In particular, the backhaul terminal 200 is an information holding unit 250, which performs the same functions as the information holding unit 350, the request providing unit 360, and the access control unit 370 mentioned in FIG. 2, and a request providing unit. (260) and a connection control unit 270.

Accordingly, the backhaul terminal 200 attempts to connect to the core network by providing an access request for the core network to the access base station, that is, the LTE eNB 40 at the same time as the power-on state is switched, and the previously (directly) connected Regardless of the presence or absence of the MME, the device information of the specific MME 122 already held is provided to the LTE eNB 40 together.

Accordingly, the LTE eNB 40 is implemented in the backhaul agent 100 only through a specific MME 122, that is, the MME 122 belonging to the backhaul agent 100 according to the provided device information, for the backhaul terminal 200. The access procedure for a specific core network, that is, the core functional unit 120 will be processed.

Thereafter, at least one device 50 for transmitting a backhaul signal, that is, a communication packet, will be connected to the backhaul terminal 200 through the backhaul system of the present invention.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the communication packet transmission path (a) of the uplink will be described as the center of the communication packet transmission path (a) of the uplink and the communication packet transmission path (b) of the downlink.

Further, in FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the LTE base station 1 and the 3G base station 2 as devices connected to the backhaul terminal 200 will be described.

That is, the LTE base station 1 is a network equipment in the LTE core network 20, such as SGW 24, to which a call (session) is connected to a communication packet according to the uplink signal of the terminal to provide a communication service in relation to the terminal. ), a first communication packet is generated through tunneling for inserting (encapsulation) the first path information to be sent to.

In addition, the 3G base station 2 is connected to a communication packet according to the uplink signal of the terminal, a call (session) in the 3G core network 30 to provide a communication service related to the terminal, such as the RNC (32). ), a first communication packet is generated through tunneling for inserting (encapsulation) the first path information to be sent to.

Thereafter, the LTE base station 1 and the 3G base station 2 use the first communication packet generated through tunneling for inserting the first route information into the communication packet according to the uplink signal of the terminal, as a backhaul signal. 200).

As shown in FIG. 5, the backhaul terminal 200 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a packet receiving unit 210 (hereinafter referred to as a packet transmitting and receiving unit), a gateway function unit 230, and a modem unit 240. .

The packet transmission/reception unit 210 includes a first communication packet into which first path information is inserted as described above from at least one device 50 connected to the backhaul terminal 200, that is, an LTE base station 1 or a 3G base station 2, That is, it receives a backhaul signal.

At this time, the LTE base station (1) will provide the backhaul signal to the backhaul terminal 200 through IP communication, and the 3G base station (2) will provide the backhaul signal to the backhaul terminal 200 through the E1 line.

Therefore, the backhaul terminal 200 of the present invention performs an interface conversion function so that it can be connected through a communication method supported by each of the LTE base station 1 and the 3G base station 2 (eg, IP communication, E1 line). It is preferable to further include an interface conversion unit 220.

For example, the interface conversion unit 220, based on the virtual IP given to the 3G base station 2 connected to the backhaul terminal 200, the 3G received through the E1 line from the packet transmitting and receiving unit 210 during uplink. The backhaul signal of the base station 20, that is, the first communication packet, is converted into an IP-based first communication packet given to the 3G base station 2, and the backhaul signal of the 3G base station 20, that is, the IP-based first communication packet, in downlink May be converted into a first communication packet based on the E1 line and transmitted to the packet transmission/reception unit 210.

The gateway function unit 230 is a function unit that performs a function of classifying a transmission path of a communication packet for each device (base station).

The gateway function unit 230 inserts identification path information for identifying the device that generated the first communication packet into the first communication packet.

That is, the gateway function unit 230, when the backhaul signal of the LTE base station 1, that is, the first communication packet, is received through the packet transmission and reception unit 210, identification path information for identifying the LTE base station 1 Will be inserted into the first communication packet of the LTE base station (1).

Of course, the gateway function unit 230, if the backhaul signal of the 3G base station 2, that is, the first communication packet is received through the packet transmission and reception unit 210, identification path information for identifying the 3G base station 2 Will be inserted into the first communication packet of the 3G base station 2 converted by the interface conversion unit 220 based on IP.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the backhaul signal of the LTE base station 1, that is, the first communication packet is received.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the first communication packet received from the LTE base station 1, that is, the backhaul signal of the LTE base station 1, the communication packet from the terminal is loaded on the payload, and the SGW 24 First route information specifying IP as a destination address (DIP) and address information (IP) of the LTE base station 1 as a source address (SIP) will be inserted as a header.

In more detail, the gateway function unit 230 includes a backhaul signal of the LTE base station 1, that is, a first communication packet, received in the form as described above, and identification path information for identifying the LTE base station 1 Tunneling to insert (encapsulate) is performed.

Hereinafter, for the convenience of explanation, the first communication packet after the gateway function unit 230 inserts (encapsulates) identification path information into the first communication packet is referred to as a first communication packet. would.

At this time, the identification path information for identifying the LTE base station 1 includes address information (IP) of the LTE base station 1.

For example, the identification path information for identifying the LTE base station 1 is the gateway function unit 130 configured in the backhaul agent 100 to be described later in correspondence with the gateway function unit 230 in the backhaul terminal 200. Address information (IP) is designated as destination address (DIP), address information (IP) of backhaul terminal 200 is designated as source address (SIP), and address information (IP) of LTE base station (1) is designated as tunneling ID. It is preferable to have a header format designated by (TEID).

The modem unit 240 transmits, to the base station apparatus 40, the first communication packet'in which the identification path information is inserted from the gateway function unit 230 as described above.

In other words, the modem unit 240 processes the first communication packet of the LTE base station 1 as an LTE radio signal and transmits it to the base station apparatus 40, that is, the LTE eNB 40 through the LTE radio method.

As described above, the backhaul terminal 200 of the present invention inserts (encapsulates) identification path information into the backhaul signal of the device connected to itself, for example, the LTE base station 1, that is, the first communication packet, and uses the LTE wireless method to It can transmit to the eNB 40.

When the base station device 40, that is, the LTE eNB 40, receives an uplink signal from the backhaul terminal 200, that is, the first communication packet of the LTE base station 1, the second path is transmitted to the received first communication packet. Insert to generate a second communication packet.

That is, when the LTE eNB 40 receives an uplink signal from the backhaul terminal 200, that is, the first communication packet of the LTE base station 1, the corresponding backhaul terminal ( 200), tunneling to insert (encapsulate) the second path information for sending to the SGW 124 in the core functional unit 120 of the backhaul agent 100 to be described later, for example, the network equipment to which the call (session) is connected Through this, a second communication packet is generated.

At this time, in the second communication packet, the first communication packet from the backhaul terminal 200 is loaded in the payload, and the IP of the SGW 124 is designated as the destination address (DIP), and the address information of the LTE eNB 40 ( The second route information designating IP) as the source address (SIP) will be inserted as a header.

The LTE eNB 40 provides the second communication packet generated as described above to the backhaul agent 100 of the present invention according to the second path information.

As shown in Fig. 5, the backhaul agent 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a packet receiving unit 110 (hereinafter referred to as a packet transmitting and receiving unit), a core function unit 130, and a gateway function unit 130. do.

In addition, the backhaul agent 100 of the present invention, so that the LTE core network 20 and the 3G core network 30 can be interlocked with the corresponding core network through a communication method supported by each (eg, IP communication, E1 line). , It is preferable to further include an interface conversion unit 140 for performing an interface conversion function.

For example, the interface conversion unit 140, based on the virtual IP assigned to the 3G base station 2 by the interface conversion unit 220, which is a corresponding configuration in the backhaul terminal 200, in the uplink, the 3G base station The backhaul signal of (20), that is, the IP-based first communication packet is converted into the E1 line-based first communication packet and transmitted to the 3G core network 30, and in the downlink, the packet transmitting and receiving unit 140 through the E1 line. The received first communication packet of the 3G base station 20 may be converted into an IP-based first communication packet.

The packet transmission/reception unit 110 receives the second communication packet of the LTE base station 1 as described above from the base station apparatus 40, that is, the LTE eNB 40.

The core function unit 120 deletes the second path information from the received second communication packet of the LTE base station 1.

This core function unit 120, as a specific core network implemented in the backhaul agent 100, as shown in Figure 5, in the LTE core network 20 encapsulation / de-encapsulation of route information related Equipment that performs a function, that is, MME (22), SGW (24) and PGW (26) and corresponding equipment may be composed of the MME (122), SGW (124) and PGW (126).

Thus, more specifically, the core function unit 120, in particular the SGW 124, transmits the received second communication packet of the LTE base station 1 to the core function unit 120, in particular, the SGW 124 according to the 2 path information. In addition, the PGW 126 deletes (de-encapsulates) the second path information from the second communication packet and provides it to the gateway function unit 130 according to the identification path information of the obtained first communication packet.

The gateway function unit 130 is a function unit that performs a function of classifying a transmission path of a communication packet for each device (base station).

The gateway function unit 130, when the first communication packet'is obtained after the second route information is deleted from the second communication packet of the LTE base station 1 by the core function unit 120, is obtained, the first communication packet' The identification route information is deleted (de-encapsulated) and the backhaul signal (first route information + communication packet) of the LTE base station 1 obtained accordingly is transferred to the LTE core network 20, that is, the first It is provided to the SGW 24 according to the first path information of the communication packet.

At this time, the core function unit 120, more specifically in the tunneling ID (TEID), the address information of the device, that is, the LTE base station, more specifically in the identification path information of the first communication packet'obtained by deleting the second route information from the second communication packet. It is possible to identify the address information (IP) of (1) and to distinguish the communication packet transmission path of the LTE base station (1) based on this.

Accordingly, in the LTE core network 20, only the first route information is deleted from the first communication packet provided from the backhaul agent 100, that is, the backhaul signal (first route information + communication packet) of the LTE base station 1 (de-in After encapsulation), the communication packet according to the uplink signal of the terminal can be sent to the external network 5.

Therefore, as can be seen from FIG. 5, in the case of the backhaul system according to the present invention, in the communication packet transmission path (a) of the uplink, a device received by the backhaul terminal 200 (e.g., LTE base station 1) A first communication packet identical to the backhaul signal (first communication packet) may be transmitted from the backhaul agent 100 end to the LTE core network 20.

Of course, according to the backhaul system of the present invention, it is obvious that the communication packet transmission path (b) of the downlink will be processed in reverse to the communication packet transmission path (a) of the uplink described above.

In conclusion, in the case of the backhaul system according to the present invention, in the downlink communication packet transmission path (b), the same backhaul signal as the first communication packet received from the LTE core network 20 to the backhaul agent 100 (first Communication packet) may be transmitted to a corresponding device (eg, LTE base station 1) to the backhaul terminal 200.

Meanwhile, in FIGS. 4 and 5, the backhaul system of the present invention is implemented by adopting one backhaul agent 100 and backhaul terminal 200, but this is only the simplest implementation method for explanation.

In contrast, the backhaul system of the present invention may be implemented in a cascade superposition by adopting a plurality of backhaul agents #1, #2...#N and backhaul terminals #1,#2...#N. have. 6 shows an example of a backhaul system of the present invention that can be implemented superimposed by adopting a plurality of backhaul agents #1, #2...#N and backhaul terminals #1,#2...#N. .

In this way, the device connected to the backhaul terminal #1, that is, the LTE base station, is used as a communication packet transmission path for another backhaul terminal #2, and the backhaul terminals #1, #2...#N are overlapped and implemented. The backhaul system of the present invention can be implemented by overlapping backhaul agents #1, #2...#N as many as the number of overlapping backhaul terminals #1, #2...#N to correspond.

As described above, the backhaul system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention implements the backhaul between the base station and the core network in a wireless manner using the base station device 40, that is, the LTE eNB 40, while implementing the backhaul in a wireless manner. As a result, it is possible to prevent problems of concern, for example, a problem of repetitive processing of encapsulation/de-encapsulation at the core network end, and a problem in which communication packet transmission paths cannot be distinguished for each device (base station).

In addition, the backhaul system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention proposes a backhaul agent and a backhaul terminal as described above to realize a wireless backhaul that improves all the disadvantages of the existing mmWave-based wireless backhaul. For a backhaul terminal that acts as a router in the backhaul system, it is possible to use a separate network device (specific MME) different from the network device (commercial MME) used by the general user's terminal, so that the terminal of the general user and the terminal of a specific purpose can be used. For each core network, the effect of separate operation is derived.

A method of operating a terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program commands that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and usable to those skilled in computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magnetic media such as floptical disks. -A hardware device specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as magneto-optical media, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of the program instructions include not only machine language codes such as those produced by a compiler but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The above-described hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the present invention, and vice versa.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments so far, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the following claims. Anyone of ordinary skill in the art will say that the technical idea of the present invention extends to the range in which various modifications or modifications are possible.

According to the backhaul system according to the present invention and a terminal device and a terminal device operating method applied thereto, a backhaul between a base station and a core network is implemented in a wireless manner using a base station device of mobile communication, while a backhaul is implemented in a wireless manner Therefore, it is possible to prevent the expected problems in advance, and in that the core network is separately operated for the terminal and the backhaul terminal of general users, it is applied not only to the use of related technology as it exceeds the limitations of the existing technology. It is an invention that has industrial applicability because the possibility of commercialization or business of the device is sufficient as well as the degree to be practically obvious.

300: terminal device
350: information holding unit 360: request providing unit
370: connection control unit

Claims (7)

In the terminal device,
An information holding unit for holding device information of a specific network device belonging to a specific core network that is distinct from a commercial core network, irrespective of the network device to which the terminal device is previously connected;
A request providing unit for providing an access request for the core network to a base station device; And
When the access request is provided, device information of the specific network device is provided to the base station device, so that the base station device provides the specific core network through the specific network device among a plurality of network devices without determining a network device. And a connection control unit capable of processing the connection procedure of the terminal device. The method of claim 1,
The plurality of network devices,
A commercial network device belonging to the commercial core network,
A terminal device, characterized in that the terminal device is divided into the specific network device belonging to a backhaul agent that implements a backhaul between a device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The device information of the specific network device,
The terminal device, characterized in that the terminal device is already owned only when the backhaul terminal implements a backhaul between the device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner. When receiving the first communication packet from at least one device generating the first communication packet by inserting the first route information into the communication packet, identification route information for identifying the device that generated the first communication packet A backhaul terminal inserted into the first communication packet and transmitted to the base station apparatus; And
When the second communication packet is received from the base station apparatus that generates a second communication packet by inserting second route information into the first communication packet received from the backhaul terminal, the second route information is received from the second communication packet. And a backhaul agent that deletes the identification route information and provides the first communication packet to a commercial core network, so that the commercial core network only needs to delete the first route information from the first communication packet.
The backhaul terminal,
A backhaul system, characterized in that the backhaul system is connected to a specific core network to which the specific network device belongs through a specific network device in the backhaul agent. The method of claim 4,
The backhaul terminal,
In the case of providing the access request to the core network to the base station device, the device information of the specific network device already held is provided to the base station device, so that the base station device provides the base station device to the specific core network through the A backhaul system, characterized in that it enables processing of a connection procedure of a backhaul terminal. In the method of operating a terminal device,
An information holding step of retaining device information of a specific network device belonging to a specific core network that is distinguished from a commercial core network, irrespective of the network device to which the terminal device is previously connected;
A request providing step of providing an access request for the core network to a base station device; And
When the access request is provided, device information of the specific network device is provided to the base station device, so that the base station device provides the specific core network through the specific network device among a plurality of network devices without determining a network device. And an access control step of allowing the access procedure of the terminal device to be processed. The method of claim 6,
The specific network device,
Belongs to a backhaul agent that implements a backhaul between a device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner,
The device information of the specific network device,
The method of operating a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is already held only when the terminal device is a backhaul terminal that implements a backhaul between a device and the commercial core network in a wireless manner.

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