KR20130047831A - Home subscriber management apparatus and method for managing information of subscriber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A home subscriber management device and a subscriber information management method thereof are provided to store detailed information by reducing data by storing data in a system parameter or a specific DB(DataBase) table. CONSTITUTION: A location registration DB(210) in each subscriber stores location registration information of a terminal connected to a communication network. A communication unit(200) receives MME(Mobility Management Entity) identify information related to the location registration of a terminal. A subscriber information management unit(204) stores first data of an area where the data is changed according to the change of the MME as the location registration information in the location registration DB. The subscriber information management unit provides the MME identity information by combining the first data and second data with a stored parameter. [Reference numerals] (200) Communication unit; (202) Control unit; (204) Subscriber information management unit; (206) Storage unit; (208) Subscriber profile DB; (210) Each subscriber location registration DB; (212) Additional information table

Description

HOME SUBSCRIBER MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING INFORMATION OF SUBSCRIBER}

The present invention relates to subscriber information management in HLR / HSS of an evolved packet core (EPC) network, and more particularly, to subscriber information management in a home subscriber management apparatus according to location registration of a user element (UE) in an EPC network. When registering the location of the terminal, the subscriber's location registration DB (data base) provides information about packet data network gateway (PDN-GW) information and MME identification information provided from a mobility management entity (MME). A method of managing a home subscriber management device and a subscriber information to reduce a DB size of a home subscriber management device by storing only a part of the information and storing detailed information in a separate DB table or system parameter. It is about.

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) mobile communication systems based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) radio access technology are widely deployed around the world. HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), which can be defined as the first evolutionary phase of WCDMA, provides 3GPP mobile communication system with highly competitive wireless access technology in the mid-term future.

However, as the requirements and expectations of users and operators continue to increase and competition for developing wireless access technologies continues, there is a need to evolve new technologies in 3GPP mobile communication systems in order to gain competitiveness in the future. Reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, the use of flexible frequency bands, simple structure and open interface, and adequate power consumption of the terminal are demanding requirements. In addition, the prevention of unnecessary latency in the network node and the efficient use of network resources can also promote the technology evolution in 3GPP.

In 3GPP Release 8, a Network Architecture called Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is described as one of mobile communication systems for meeting the above-mentioned requirements. EPC is a set of network nodes for 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) system. The EPC evolves the core network of the existing 3GPP system architecture to support Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which is an evolved RAN, And has an efficient network structure that simplifies the network node. A wireless communication system including an EPC and an E-UTRAN is called an EPS (Evolved Packet System).

The EPC network is divided into three logical entities: Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW), Serving Gateway (S-GW), and Mobility Management Entity (MME). do.

First, in the user plane, the PDN-GW is a global mobility anchor for mobility between 3GPP access technology and non-3GPP access technology (such as CDMA2000, WiMAX, or WIFI) and a gateway to an external network. It is a session control and user plane that interworks with external internet network and non-3GPP network, and maintains routing information with S-GW and external network for packet service, tunneling and IP. Has routing function.

Next, as another user plane entity, the S-GW is a mobility anchor for mobility between 3GPP accesses (E-UTRAN, UTRAN, GERAN). S-GW is a session control and user plane node that handles payload traffic according to the established session, interworking with eNodeB through S1-U interface, and supports Inter LTE / 3GPP handover. .

Next, the mobility management entity (MME) is a control plane entity that is in charge of mobility management of a user element (UE) moving between different EUTRAN base stations (eNodeBs), and also manages session management.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0050858 Date published May 20, 2009 discloses a technique for a cell re-search method in the GSM / GPRS system.

Meanwhile, in the above EPC network, when the UE attaches to the EPC network, a PDN-GW to perform call processing for the UE is allocated, and the PDN- allocated to the UE in this way for location management for the UE. Information of the GW is transmitted to the HLR or HSS, which is the home subscriber management apparatus.

Then, the home subscriber management apparatus stores the information of the PDN-GW allocated to the terminal, and if the location registration is performed by changing the location or handover of the terminal, the home subscriber management apparatus stores the stored PDN-GW information. By providing this, data sessions can be made through the same PDN-GW.

However, the PDN-GW information managed by the home subscriber management device for location registration of the terminal is composed of access point name (APN), PDN-GW IPv4 address, PDN-GW Name, etc., and includes PDN-GW information in advance for all subscribers. If space is allocated for the DB, the size of the DB managed by the home subscriber management apparatus becomes too large and there is a problem that resources are wasted.

In addition, MME identification information, such as the MME name (name) of the path that the terminal is connected to the home subscriber management device is provided to distinguish which MME the location registration through the terminal access in the EPC network.

At this time, the MME identification information as described above is stored in the DB of the home subscriber management apparatus represented in the form of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) as shown in [Table 1] below, and such MME-FQDN information in the existing WCDMA network. If the data size is larger than the subscriber information and all the information is stored intact for each subscriber, the size of the DB managed by the home subscriber management apparatus becomes too large, resulting in waste of resources.

[Table 1]

Therefore, in the present invention, in the subscriber information management in the home subscriber management apparatus according to the location registration of the terminal in the EPC network, the subscriber's location registration DB for the PDN-GW information and the MME identification information provided from the MME when the terminal is registered. The present invention provides a home subscriber management apparatus and a subscriber information management method for reducing a DB size of a home subscriber management apparatus by storing only a part of information and storing detailed information in a separate DB table or system parameter.

The present invention described above is a home subscriber management apparatus, comprising: a subscriber location registration DB for storing location registration information for each subscriber of a terminal connected to a communication network, a communication unit for receiving MME identification information related to location registration of the terminal, and the MME And a subscriber information management unit that stores, as subscriber-specific location registration information, the first data in a region where the data is changed in accordance with the change of the MME among the data constituting the identification information.

In addition, the subscriber information management unit, when re-location registration of the terminal is requested, combines the first data of the MME identification information of the terminal stored in the location registration DB and the second data previously stored in the system storage parameter MME Characterized in that the identification information provided.

The MME identification information may be transmitted from an MME to which the terminal in the communication network is connected.

In addition, the re-location registration request of the terminal, characterized in that generated by the change of location or handover of the terminal.

In addition, the present invention is a home subscriber management apparatus, subscriber location registration DB for storing the location registration information for each subscriber of the terminal connected to the communication network, and PDN-GW for performing the call processing of the terminal associated with the location registration of the terminal And a communication unit for receiving the information and indicating that the PDN-GW information is present in a field for indicating the presence or absence of the PDN-GW information on the location registration DB for each subscriber upon reception of the PDN-GW information. The detailed data of the GW information includes a subscriber information management unit which is stored in a separate additional information table.

The subscriber information management unit may search for and provide PDN-GW information of a corresponding terminal stored in the additional information table associated with the location registration DB when re-location registration of the terminal is requested.

The PDN-GW information may include APN (access point name), an IPv4 address of the PDN-GW, an IPv6 address of the PDN-GW, and name information of the PDN-GW.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for managing subscriber information in a home subscriber management apparatus, the method comprising: receiving location registration information of the terminal from an MME according to a terminal's communication network connection; Storing the data in a subscriber-specific location registration DB; and when re-location registration of the terminal is requested, first data of MME identification information of the corresponding terminal stored in the location registration DB and previously stored in the system storage parameter. Combining the two data to provide MME identification information.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for managing subscriber information in a home subscriber management apparatus, the method comprising: receiving PDN-GW information allocated for call processing of the terminal from an MME according to a terminal's communication network connection;

Indicates that the PDN-GW information is present in a field for indicating the presence or absence of the PDN-GW information on a location registration DB for each subscriber, and the detailed data table of the PDN-GW information in addition to the location registration DB. And storing the PDN-GW information of the terminal stored in the additional information table associated with the location registration DB when re-registration of the terminal is requested.

In the present invention, in the subscriber information management in the home subscriber management apparatus according to the location registration of the terminal in the EPC network, the subscriber registration location registration DB for the PDN-GW information and the MME identification information provided from the MME when the terminal is registered; By storing only a part of the information and storing the detailed information in a separate DB table or system parameter, the amount of data is reduced and stored, thereby reducing the DB size of the home subscriber management apparatus.

1 is a network diagram of an EPC network to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied;
2 is a detailed block diagram of a home subscriber management device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a diagram illustrating an entire format of MME identification information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a conceptual diagram of storing PDN-GW information in a conventional subscriber registration location DB;
5 is a conceptual diagram for storing PDN-GW information in the subscriber registration location registration DB according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the operating principle of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intentions or customs of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

1 illustrates a network configuration of an EPC network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user equipment (UE) 100 communicates with network nodes or other terminals constituting a core network through a radio access network (RAN) such as an Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). Device for doing this. Such terminals include, but are not limited to, mobile stations (MSs), fixed or mobile subscriber units, cellular telephones, digital personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, or any other type of user device capable of operating in a wireless environment. It is not limited.

In addition, the terminal 100 includes a processor, a signal generation and processing means, and a transceiver for transmitting and receiving radio signals with a radio access network (RAN). Although not shown in the drawing, the terminal 100 may include a memory for storing user data or a program, a display unit for displaying various information or data of the terminal, a keypad or a touch screen. It may further include a user interface such as).

Meanwhile, a core network includes a plurality of network nodes that constitute a core of a mobile communication system. The core network is, for example, network nodes of a PS communication system such as a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), or an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which is a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) system. It may be configured as, but is not limited thereto.

In FIG. 1, only the minimum components of the core network required to describe an embodiment of the present invention are disclosed, and the configuration of the core network is not limited to the components disclosed in FIG. 1. In the following, the core network is described in the case of being composed of network nodes of the EPC, but this is merely for convenience of description and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, each component in the core network will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

First, the eNodeB 102 is a device supporting next-generation technologies and services such as LTE, such as radio frequency (RF) transmission and reception of signal strength and quality, baseband signal processing, channel card resource management, and the like. A device that performs a function.

The Serving Gateway (S-GW) 108 is a session control and user plane node that processes payload traffic according to a set session, and includes eNodeB 102 and S1. -Interwork with U interface and support Inter LTE / 3GPP handover, configure packet data network gateway (PDN-GW) 110 and EPS bearer (Tunneling) PDU (Packet Data Unit) is delivered.

The PDN-GW 110 assigns IP of the terminal 100 and is a session control and user plane that interworks with an external Internet network and a Non-3GPP network, and routes the SDN to the S-GW 108 and the external network for packet service. Maintains information and has tunneling and IP routing functions. It also delivers PDUs to the S-GW 108 and external networks.

The mobility management entity (MME) 106 is a node that manages subscriber information and mobility of the terminal 100 and is responsible for session management, idle subscriber management, paging, and subscriber authentication functions. . That is, the mobility management entity 106 processes a control signal when there is a join request or a radio bearer establishment request from the terminal 100 or another network node such as the PDN-GW 110 or the S-GW 108. It is responsible for various functions of a control plane, such as, and performs functions such as setting up EPS bearer or IP tunnel and mobility management.

Home Subscriber Server / Home Location Register (HSS) 104 is a network node that includes a database containing subscriber information for a wireless communication system. Information, authentication and location related data are stored.

Meanwhile, the home subscriber management apparatus 104 as described above stores MME identification information and PDN-GW information for each subscriber according to the location registration of the terminal 100. All information is stored for each subscriber in MME identification information and PDN-GW information. As described above, there is a problem in that resources are wasted because the DB size increases when storing.

Therefore, in the present invention, the home subscriber management apparatus 104 does not store all the MME identification information in the DB, but stores only the data portion changed according to the MME among the MME identification information, and the system storage parameter for the data portion that is not changed. To reduce the size of the DB.

In addition, in the management of the PDN-GW information, the home subscriber management apparatus 104 adds only a field indicating whether the PDN-GW information exists and receives the PDN-GW information from the MME 106. In the case where the PDN-GW information is added to the field added for the PDN-GW information of the subscriber-specific location registration DB (210). The detailed PDN-GW information is stored in a separate additional information table to reduce the DB size.

Policy & Charging Rule Function (PCR) 112 provides dynamic QoS and charging rules according to service data flow to perform communication policy and charging processing in a communication network.

Online Charging Server (OCS) 116 receives the billing information of subscribers who need real-time billing information and provides credit management function such as limit service, and EPC-GW provides packet based on charging information provided by OCS. Generates charging information of a packet flow. OFCS (OFflineCharging System) 114 collects the billing information generated by the EPC-GW, processes and transmits the billing data required by the billing system (BS). In addition, OFCS 114 provides a unified BS interface by accommodating various billing protocols such as Radius, Diameter, and GTPP.

2 is a detailed block diagram of a home subscriber management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to Figure 2 will be described in detail the operation of each component of the home subscriber management apparatus 104 of the present invention.

First, the communication unit 200 interfaces data transmitted and received between the home subscriber management apparatus 104 and the network equipment in the EPC network such as the MME 106 or the MSC (not shown) of the WCDMA network.

The control unit 202 controls the overall operation of the home subscriber management device 104, and stores the personal information and location information, such as the subscriber-specific phone number of the terminal 100, corresponding to the location change or handover of the terminal Provide information. In addition, the subscriber information management unit 204 is controlled to manage the MME identification information provided from the MME 106 and the PDN-GW information about the PDN-GW 110 connected to the terminal at the time of location registration of the terminal 100.

The storage unit 206 includes a subscriber profile DB 208, a subscriber location registration DB 210, an additional information table 212, and the like, when a data request is received from the controller 202 or the subscriber information manager 204. Provides information requested from DB.

The subscriber profile DB 208 stores profiles for subscribers of the terminal 100 subscribed to the mobile communication service. The subscriber profile includes, for example, an identifier (eg, IMSI) that can identify the terminal 100, subscribed call service, data service, text service information, and the like.

The subscriber location registration DB 210 stores PDN-GW information, MME identification information, etc. related to the location of the terminal 100. The additional information table 212 is a DB interworking with the PDN-GW information and stores detailed information about the PDN-GW 110 connected to the terminal.

The subscriber information management unit 204 is provided with the MME identification information provided from the MME 106 and the PDN-GW 106 connected to the terminal 100 in a location registration process performed by the terminal 100 as it accesses the EPC network. Manage PDN-GW information.

That is, when the terminal 100 accesses the EPC network, the MME 106 of the EPC network uses the Diameter protocol to register the location of the terminal 100 to the home subscriber management device 104 using the Diameter protocol. This access MME identification information and the information about the PDN-GW 110 is allocated to perform the call processing for the terminal (100). Such information for location registration of the terminal 100 is authorized to the subscriber information management unit 204 through the communication unit 200, and the subscriber information management unit 204 stores and manages the corresponding information in the storage unit 206 for each subscriber. Done.

At this time, the MME identification information is configured in the MME-FQDN format as shown in [Table 1] described above, and includes a relatively large amount of data. However, the MME identification information may be divided into a data part that is always fixed and fixed in the same carrier network and a data part that changes according to the MME.

Accordingly, the subscriber information management unit 204 does not store all of the above-described MME identification information in the subscriber-specific location registration DB 210, but only the data portion changed according to the MME in the MME identification information. ) And to manage the data portion that is not changed by the system storage parameter to reduce the size of the location registration DB (210).

That is, for example, when the MME identification information of the full format is displayed as shown in FIG. 3, the total data amount of the MME identification information may be 55 bytes, and the subscriber information management unit 204 does not change the data portion (P2). ) Is stored as a system storage parameter, and only the data portion P1 changed according to the MME is stored in the location registration DB 210. In this case, the changed data portion P2 has a total of 6 bytes. Will be able to greatly reduce the size of the location registration DB (210).

Next, PDN-GW information is composed of access point name (APN), PDN-GW IPv4 address, PDN-GW Name, etc., the size of the PDN-GW information is defined as about 40 bytes. In this case, for example, since a telecommunication company can usually assign a plurality of PDN-GW information to a subscriber, assuming that eight necessary data spaces for the PDN-GW information are provided per subscriber, more than 320 bytes are required. It can be seen that much space of the location registration DB 210 is consumed only by the GW information.

Accordingly, the subscriber information management unit 204 adds only a field indicating only whether PDN-GW information exists for the subscriber to the subscriber location registration DB 210, and the PDN-GW from the MME 106. When the information is received, it is recorded that the PDN-GW information is present in the field added for the PDN-GW information of the subscriber-specific location registration DB (210). The detailed PDN-GW information is stored in a separate additional information table 212 in the storage unit 206 so that the DB size can be reduced by recording only the necessary subscribers in the location registration DB 210.

That is, the subscriber information management unit 204 is different from recording all the PDN-GW information on the subscriber location registration DB 210 as shown in Figure 4 illustrating the conventional location registration DB, location registration DB 210 of the present invention As shown in FIG. 5 illustrating the structure of a), only a field 500 indicating whether only PDN-GW information exists for a corresponding subscriber is added, and when PDN-GW information is received from the MME 106, the location of each subscriber is determined. The PDN-GW information is recorded in the field 500 added for the PDN-GW information of the registration DB 210, and the necessary subscribers are stored by storing the detailed PDN-GW information in a separate additional information table 212. DB size can be reduced by recording DB only.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the subscriber information management in the home subscriber management apparatus according to the location registration of the terminal in the EPC network, the subscriber-specific information about the PDN-GW information and the MME identification information provided from the MME when the terminal is registered. The DB size of the home subscriber management apparatus can be reduced by storing only a part of the information in the location registration DB and storing the information as a separate DB table or a system parameter to reduce the amount of data.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the described embodiments but should be defined by the appended claims.

In the present invention, in the subscriber information management in the home subscriber management device according to the location registration of the terminal in the EPC network, the subscriber registration location registration DB for the PDN-GW information and MME identification information provided from the MME at the time of registration of the terminal; It is possible to reduce the size of the DB by storing only a part of the information and storing the detailed information in a separate DB table or a system parameter, and can be applied to a wireless communication network and a wireless communication device.

200: communication unit 202: control unit
204: subscriber information management unit 206: storage unit
208: subscriber profile DB 210: location registration DB by subscriber
212 additional information table

Claims (9)

A location registration DB for each subscriber storing location registration information for each subscriber connected to the communication network;
A communication unit for receiving MME identification information related to location registration of the terminal;
Subscriber information management unit for storing the first data of the area in which the data is changed according to the change of the MME of the data constituting the MME identification information in the location registration DB as the location registration information for each subscriber
Home subscriber management apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The subscriber information management unit,
When re-location registration of the terminal is requested, the first data of the MME identification information of the corresponding terminal stored in the location registration DB and the second data previously stored as the system storage parameter are combined and provided as MME identification information. Home subscriber management device. The method of claim 1,
The MME identification information,
Home subscriber management apparatus characterized in that the transmission from the MME connected to the terminal in the communication network. The method of claim 2,
The re-location registration request of the terminal,
Home subscriber management device characterized in that it is generated by the change of location or handover of the terminal. A location registration DB for each subscriber storing location registration information for each subscriber connected to the communication network;
A communication unit for receiving PDN-GW information for performing call processing of the terminal associated with location registration of the terminal;
When the PDN-GW information is received, it indicates that the PDN-GW information is present in a field for indicating the presence or absence of the PDN-GW information on the location registration DB for each subscriber, and detailed data of the PDN-GW information is separately provided. Subscriber information management unit to store in the additional information table
Home subscriber management apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 5, wherein
The subscriber information management unit,
When re-location registration of the terminal is requested, home subscriber management apparatus characterized in that the PDN-GW information of the terminal stored in the additional information table associated with the location registration DB to search for and provide. The method of claim 5, wherein
The PDN-GW information,
Home subscriber management device comprising an access point name (APN), IPv4 address of the PDN-GW, IPv6 address of the PDN-GW, name information of the PDN-GW. A method of managing subscriber information in a home subscriber management device,
Receiving location registration information for the terminal from the MME in accordance with the terminal's communication network connection;
Storing the first data of the region where the data of the MME identification information is changed in a subscriber location registration DB;
When relocation registration of the terminal is requested, providing MME identification information by combining first data of MME identification information of the corresponding terminal stored in the location registration DB with second data previously stored in the system storage parameter.
Subscriber information management method comprising a. A method of managing subscriber information in a home subscriber management device,
Receiving PDN-GW information allocated for call processing of the terminal from an MME according to a terminal's communication network connection;
Indicates that the PDN-GW information is present in a field for indicating the presence or absence of the PDN-GW information on a location registration DB for each subscriber, and the detailed data table of the PDN-GW information in addition to the location registration DB. Storing the image in association with the image;
Searching for and providing PDN-GW information of a corresponding terminal stored in the additional information table associated with the location registration DB when relocation registration of the terminal is requested;
Subscriber information management method comprising a.

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