CN102905388B

CN102905388B - Method and system, the network side element of Access Control

Info

Publication number: CN102905388B
Application number: CN201110210469.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邓云
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2011-07-26
Filing date: 2011-07-26
Publication date: 2017-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 2031-07-26
Also published as: CN102905388A; WO2013013531A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a kind of method of Access Control, methods described includes：Network side obtains the Access Control EAB on extension of the user equipment (UE) of access network type information by core network element, and implements Access Control according to the UE type information on EAB.The present invention discloses a kind of system for the Access Control for realizing the above method, and network side element.For the present invention by carrying out Access Control to the different terminals about EAB types, ensure that communication system is not in network congestion, ensures the QoS when terminal access quantity is excessive, improves the Consumer's Experience of access terminal user.

Description

Access control method and system, and network side network element

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an access control technology based on EAB in wireless communication, and in particular, to an access control method and system, and a network element on a network side.

Background

When a User Equipment (UE) accesses a network, access control needs to be performed on the UE to determine whether the UE can initiate a service request, so as to avoid causing overload on the network side, such as random access overload or signaling overload. In a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) System, a UE may be classified into 16 Access Classes (ACs), where ACs 0 to 9 belong to a common class and are randomly allocated to UEs; AC 10 represents an emergency call (not configured to the terminal); the AC 11 is used for network operation; the AC 12 is a security service; the AC 13 is a public service class (such as water and gas suppliers); AC14 represents emergency services; AC 15 represents an operator staff. A terminal can be configured to have one level of AC 0-9 and one or more levels of AC 11-15, and the configuration information is stored in a USIM (Universal subscriber Identity Module).

The network side of UMTS broadcasts system messages including Access class control (ACB) parameters, and for different Access classes, the network side broadcasts corresponding ACBs configured as an enumeration type, where the types include barred (barred) and allowed (not barred). If UE needs to initiate service request, firstly checking whether ACB parameter broadcasted by accessed cell is access grade of barred (barred) itself, if yes, service request can not be initiated; if not, a service request may be initiated.

The network side of the long term evolution system can also broadcast the ACB parameters, and for the terminals of AC 0-9, the network side can broadcast an access proportional factor (AC-BarringFactor) for controlling the probability of the user equipment accessing the network. When UE needs to initiate service request, randomly generating a uniformly distributed number (RAND) between 0 and 1, if the RAND is lower than the access scale factor, the UE can initiate service request; otherwise, the UE cannot initiate a service request.

In the implementation process of the internet of things, a large number of Machine type communication devices (MD) are introduced. Since the number of these devices is large, which far exceeds the number of existing UEs, in order to prevent signaling overload or random access overload, an Extended access control (EAB) mechanism is introduced at the network side, and a user equipment (UE configured with EAB in the USIM card of the UE) suitable for EAB needs to determine whether to allow the network to initiate a service request according to EAB parameters broadcasted at the network side.

When configuring the EAB parameters, the network side may set corresponding extended access control parameters for roaming characteristics of the user equipment, and specifically, the network side transmits the EAB parameters through a common channel such as a system message. The roaming characteristics of current user equipments can be classified into three types as follows:

type a (Category a or 1): all user equipment applicable to EAB;

type B (or type 2): user equipment which is suitable for EAB and is not in a local public land Mobile Network (HPLMN, Home public land Mobile Network) and an Equivalent local public land Mobile Network (EHPLMN, Equivalent Home public land Mobile Network);

type C (or type 3): user equipment adapted for EAB and not in HPLMN, EHPLMN and Preferred public land mobile network (Preferred PLMN).

The USIM card of the UE stores identification information of a local public land mobile network (plmn) to which the UE is subscribed, an equivalent local public land mobile network (plmn), and a preferred public land mobile network (plmn) and selects a network when the UE accesses the network. And the UE can judge the type of the UE according to the selected PLMN identification, the HPLMN, the EHPLMN and the Preferred PLMN in the USIM card. When the UE adapted to EAB needs to initiate a service, it needs to determine whether it can initiate random access immediately or not according to the EAB parameter corresponding to its type, and whether it can initiate a service request or not.

However, the above access technology has a problem that, according to the existing protocol, the network side cannot acquire the load information of different types of UEs, and cannot correctly set EAB parameters.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the main objective of the present invention is to provide an access control method, system and network element on the network side, which can implement access control on the type of UE according to the EAB type of the UE, so as to avoid that the network service cannot be normally performed due to too many UEs accessing.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:

a method of access control, comprising:

the network side obtains the type information of the EAB of the UE accessing the network through a core network element, and implements access control according to the type information of the EAB of the UE.

Preferably, the performing access control according to the type information of the UE regarding the EAB is:

the network side measures the total amount of resources used by all the UE of the EAB type of the UE and sets EAB parameters of the UE of the type; or performing access control on the UE according to the type information of the UE regarding the EAB.

Preferably, for UMTS, the network side is a radio network controller RNC, and the network element of the core network is an MSC or SGSN; for LTE, the network side is an evolution base station, and the core network element is an MME.

Preferably, the type information about EAB of the UE accessing the network, which is obtained by the network side through the network element of the core network, is:

for the case of a UMTS system,

the MSC or the SGSN sends EAB type information of the UE to the RNC through Iu interface signaling;

or, the MSC or the SGSN sends subscription data of the UE to the RNC through an Iu interface signaling, and the RNC determines the type of the UE with respect to the EAB according to the subscription data of the UE and access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs;

for the case of the LTE system,

the MME sends EAB type information of the UE to the evolution base station through S1 interface signaling;

or, the MME sends subscription data of the UE to the enodeb through an S1 interface signaling, and the enodeb determines the type of the UE regarding EAB according to the subscription data of the UE and access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs.

Preferably, the method further comprises:

the MSC or the SGSN or the MME acquires type information of the UE about EAB from a Home Subscriber Server (HSS); or acquiring subscription data of the UE, and determining EAB type information of the UE according to the access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs.

Preferably, the subscription data of the UE includes: local public land mobile network, HPLMN, information for the UE;

or comprises the following steps: HPLMN information and equivalent local public land mobile network EHPLMN information;

or comprises the following steps: HPLMN information and prioritized public land mobile network information;

or comprises the following steps: HPLMN information, EHPLMN information, and prioritized public land mobile network information.

Preferably, the type of the UE with respect to the EAB includes at least one of the following types:

all UE information applicable to EAB;

UEs that are applicable to EAB and not in HPLMN and EHPLMN;

a user UE adapted for EAB and not in HPLMN, EHPLMN and preferred public land mobile network.

A system for access control comprises a network side and a core network element, wherein,

and the network side is used for acquiring the EAB type information of the UE accessing the network through the core network element and implementing access control according to the EAB type information of the UE.

Preferably, the network side is further configured to measure a total amount of resources used by all UEs of the type EAB of the UE, and set EAB parameters for the type of UE; or access control according to the UE with respect to the EAB type.

Preferably, the mobile station is, for a UMTS system,

the MSC or the SGSN is further used for sending EAB type information of the UE to the RNC through Iu interface signaling;

or, the MSC or the SGSN is further configured to send subscription data of the UE to the RNC through an Iu interface signaling; the RNC is further used for determining the type of EAB of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE and the access network information of the current access cell of the UE;

for the case of the LTE system,

the MME is further used for sending EAB type information of the UE to the evolution base station through S1 interface signaling;

or, the MME is further configured to send subscription data of the UE to the enodeb through S1 interface signaling; the evolution base station is further used for determining the type of the UE about the EAB according to the subscription data of the UE and the access network information of the current access cell of the UE.

Preferably, the system further comprises a HSS;

the MSC, the SGSN or the MME is further used for acquiring the type information of the UE about EAB from the HSS; or acquiring subscription data of the UE, and determining EAB type information of the UE according to the access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs.

all UE information applicable to EAB;

UEs that are applicable to EAB and not in HPLMN and EHPLMN;

A network side network element comprises an acquisition unit and an implementation unit; wherein,

the device comprises an acquisition unit, a processing unit and a processing unit, wherein the acquisition unit is used for acquiring type information about EAB of UE accessing a network through a core network element;

an implementation unit is configured to implement access control according to type information about the EAB of the UE.

Preferably, the implementing unit is further configured to measure a total amount of resources used by all UEs of the UE regarding the EAB type, set an EAB parameter for the UE of the type, or perform access control according to the type of the UE regarding the EAB.

Preferably, for UMTS, the network element on the network side is a radio network controller RNC, and the network element on the core network is an MSC or SGSN; for LTE, the network element at the network side is an evolution base station, and the network element at the core network is an MME.

Preferably, for UMTS, the obtaining unit directly obtains the EAB type information of the UE through Iu interface signaling; or, the obtaining unit obtains subscription data of the UE through Iu interface signaling, and determines the type of the EAB of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE and access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs;

for an LTE system, the acquiring unit directly acquires EAB type information of the UE through S1 interface signaling; or, the obtaining unit obtains subscription data of the UE through an S1 interface signaling, and determines the type of the EAB of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE and access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs.

In the invention, the network side acquires the type information of the UE about the EAB through the network element of the core network, and the network side acquires the total amount of resources used by the UE of different types through measurement, so that corresponding access control strategies can be adopted for the UE of different types of the network to be accessed, reasonable extended access control parameters are set, and different access control is realized for the UE of different types of the network to be accessed. The invention solves the problems that the network side in the existing system can not acquire the resource quantity used by different types of UE which have been accessed to the network and can not adopt reasonable access control to the UE which is to be accessed to the network. The invention ensures that the communication system does not have network congestion by carrying out access control on different EAB type-related terminals, ensures the service quality when the number of the terminals is excessive, and improves the user experience of the access terminal users.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a type of UE;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating UE access based on access control according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a UE access flow chart based on access control according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of UE access based on access control according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a network element on a network side according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The basic idea of the invention is as follows: the network side acquires the information about EAB types of the UE accessing the network, so that the total amount of resources used by the UE of different types is obtained through measurement, an access control strategy can be adopted for the UE of different types of the network to be accessed, reasonable extended access control parameters are set, and different access control is realized for the UE of different types of the network to be accessed.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of examples.

Example one

The embodiment describes a method for configuring extended access control parameters on the network side in an LTE system.

In this embodiment, UE1 and UE2 reside in cell 1 under the jurisdiction of base station 1 and are in an idle state. UE1 and UE2 are both configured as EAB-compliant UEs. In addition, the USIM card of UE1 indicates that the Access Class of the UE is 2, i.e., Access Class is 2. The USIM cards of UE1 and UE2 also store HPLMN identifiers, and may also include EHPLMN identifiers and preferred public land mobile network identifiers (preferred PLMNs). In this embodiment, the HPLMN stored in the USIM card of the UE1 is PLMN1, the EHPLMNs are PLMN2 and PLMN3, and the preferred PLMN is PLMN 4. The PLMN broadcast in the system message for cell 1 is PLMN 4. The HPLMN stored in the USIM card of the UE2 is PLMN2, the EHPLMN is PLMN4, and Preferred PLMN is not set.

According to the classification criteria of the user equipment:

type a (category a): all user equipment applicable to EAB;

type B: user equipment adapted for EAB and not in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) and Equivalent Home Public Land Mobile Network (EHPLMN);

type C: user equipment adapted for EAB and not in HPLMN, EHPLMN and preferred public land mobile network (PreferredPLMN).

FIG. 1 illustrates these three types of dependencies, and it can be seen that the extent of Category A is greater than the extent of Category B; the range of Category B is equal to or greater than the range of Category C. Here, Category a and B, C are used to represent different types, and Category 1, 2, and 3 may be used to represent different types. In the following embodiments of the present invention, corresponding access control is also performed based on the above three types of UEs, and the following embodiments are not described in detail.

Cell 1 in which UE1 resides is PLMN4, which belongs to neither HPLMN (PLMN1) nor EHPLMN (PLMN2 and PLMN3) of UE1, but to Preferred PLMN of UE 1; and the UE is configured to apply EAB, when the UE1 satisfies both Category of Category a and Category B. From the perspective of describing the most accurately (or best matching) the characteristics of the UE1, the UE1 belongs to Category B.

According to the type of the resident cell and the cell identifier corresponding to each type stored by the UE itself, the UE2 belongs to Category a because it does not satisfy the conditions of Category B and C.

When the UE1 needs to initiate a service, it needs to determine whether to allow the access network to initiate a service request according to the EAB parameter or the ACB parameter broadcast by the cell 1 (transmitted through a system message). At this time, because the load of the base station 1 is low, there are enough resources to meet the access request of the new user, so the base station 1 does not configure the EAB parameter (i.e. the EAB parameter is not set in the system message); the UE1 finds that the EAB parameter is not set in the system message, the ACB parameter is adopted to implement the access judgment, if the judgment result is allowed (notbarred), the UE1 can initiate the random access, and sends an RRC connection request to the network side when the random access is successful; if the decision is not allowed (barred), random access cannot be initiated immediately, and it is necessary to wait for a period of time to make an access decision again.

Fig. 2 is a UE access flow chart based on access control according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the result of performing the access decision by the UE1 according to the ACB parameter is allowed to access, the UE1 initiates random access according to the random access resource in the system message, and establishes an RRC connection, and the access flow of the UE1 mainly includes the following steps:

in step 201, the UE1 sends an RRC connection Request (RRC connection Request) to the base station 1, where the connection Request carries identification information of the UE 1.

In step 202, the base station 1, after receiving the RRC Connection request, allocates radio resources to the UE1, and sends an RRC Connection Setup signaling (RRC Connection Setup) to the UE 1.

In step 203, after receiving the RRC Connection Setup signaling, the UE1 returns an RRC Connection Setup Complete signaling (RRC Connection Setup Complete) to the base station 1 by applying the parameter configuration therein. The signaling also contains service request information (belonging to the non-access stratum) for the UE 1.

In step 204, the base station 1 sends Initial UE Message (Initial UE Message) to a Mobility Management Entity (MME), where the Initial UE Message includes identification information of the UE and service request information (belonging to a non-access stratum).

Step 205, after receiving the Initial UE Message, the MME authenticates the UE1, and after the authentication is successful, sends an Initial Context Setup Request (Initial Context Setup Request) to the base station 1, where the Initial Context Setup Request includes configuration parameters of a Radio Access Bearer (RAB), parameters of security configuration, and type information to which the UE1 belongs.

In this step, when the MME authenticates the UE, the MME obtains the subscription information of the UE from a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) of a network element of a core network, and determines the type of the UE according to the network selected by the UE, that is, determines that the UE is Category B. The MME transfers the type information to which the UE1 belongs to the base station 1 through the initial context setup request, and in particular, when the MME needs to add an information element indicating the type information to which the UE1 belongs to the initial context setup request message.

After receiving the initial context establishment request, the base station 1 learns the Category to which the UE1 belongs, and may measure the Total amount of resources used by all the UEs in Category B, including the Total amount of radio resources and/or the Total amount of transmission resources, where the Total amount of radio resources may be represented by a Total physical resource block (Total PRB usage). The LTE system adopts a Physical Resource Block (PRB) to represent a radio Resource, and the base station 1 may obtain the total amount or ratio (compared with the total Physical Resource Block) of the Physical Resource blocks used by the Category B UE through statistics. The total amount of transmission resources refers to the rate of data transmitted by the Category B UE, and the base station 1 may count and obtain the rate of data transmitted by the Category B UE within a certain time period.

In step 206, the base station 1 sends a Security Mode Command (Security Mode Command) to the UE1, and configures an encryption algorithm and an integrity protection algorithm for the UE 1.

In step 207, the UE1 applies the ciphering algorithm and the integrity protection algorithm therein to return a Security Mode Complete signaling (Security Mode Complete) to the base station 1.

In step 208, the base station 1 sends RRC connection reconfiguration signaling (RRC connection reconfiguration) to the UE1, where the RRC connection reconfiguration signaling includes configuration parameters of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) and measurement configuration parameters. The data radio bearer is used for transmitting data, and corresponds to the radio access bearer in step 204.

In step 209, the UE1 returns an RRC connection Reconfiguration Complete signaling (RRCConnection Reconfiguration Complete) to the base station 1 by applying the configuration parameters therein.

To this end, the base station 1 establishes a bearer for the UE1 for data transmission, and the UE1 may conduct a service.

After step 205, the bs 1 will measure the total amount of resources used by the UE in Category B, and the measurement value of the total amount of resources will change dynamically. As the number of UEs accessing the cell 1 gradually increases, the total amount of resources used by the UEs gradually increases, and the base station 1 may obtain the Category of the accessed UE through the initial context setup request signaling received when the UE sets up the radio bearer, and further measure the total amount of resources used by other Category UEs. Since the total resource amount of the cell 1 is limited, the base station 1 needs to implement access control when the total resource amount used by the UE reaches a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be configured by the operator via the backend server. In this embodiment, because the total amount of resources used by different types of UEs is different, the base station 1 sets different EAB parameters for different categories, for example, sets EAB1 for Category a UE; setting EAB2 for the UE of Category B; for the UE of Category C, EAB3 is set. Base station 1 broadcasts these EAB parameters in a system message for cell 1.

At this point, the UE2 needs to access the network due to traffic demands. The UE2 obtains EAB parameters corresponding to different types of UEs through system messages, and in view of that the UE2 belongs to Category a, the UE2 needs to implement access decision according to the EAB parameters (EAB1) corresponding to Category a. If the judgment result is allowable, the UE2 may initiate random access, establish RRC connection in the cell 1, and further establish a data radio bearer; if the result of the determination is not allowed, the UE2 is not allowed to initiate random access, and needs to wait for a period of time before performing access decision again, or needs to wait for the change of EAB parameters for Category a in the system message of cell 1 before performing access decision again.

If the UE2 accesses the network, after the MME authenticates the UE, the type information to which the UE2 belongs is carried in the initial context establishment request, and after the base station 1 obtains the type information to which the UE2 belongs accordingly, it needs to make a decision whether to allow the UE to access the network according to the current load state, where the base station 1 makes the decision of permission, and then the base station 2 needs to measure the total amount of resources used by the UE2, so as to obtain the total amount of resources used by all the Category a UEs by statistics, and the base station 1 performs access control according to the total amount of resources, and sets the EAB parameter.

In this embodiment, after the MME signals the type information of the UE through the S1 interface with the base station, the base station will measure the total amount of resources used by the UE of this type, and then set the EAB parameter accordingly. In this embodiment, the MME notifies the base station of the type information to which the UE belongs through the initial context setup request, and the MME may also carry, in the initial context setup request, a local public land mobile network (HPLMN) identifier, an equivalent local public land mobile network (EHPLMN) identifier, and a Preferred public land mobile network (Preferred PLMN) identifier subscribed to the MME, which, of course, needs to be represented by adding a corresponding information element in the initial context setup request message; since the base station knows the network selected by the UE, the base station can determine the type of the UE after receiving the RRC signaling of the local public land mobile network identifier, the equivalent local public land mobile network identifier, and the preferred public land mobile network identifier subscribed by the UE, and can further measure the total amount of resources used by different types of UEs, and set the EAB parameter accordingly.

In this embodiment, when the UE1 initially accesses the network, the base station 1 does not configure the EAB parameter, and the base station 1 may also configure a looser EAB parameter in a scenario with a lower load, and if the EAB parameter is represented by an access scale factor, the base station 1 may set the EAB parameter close to 1, so that it may be ensured that most user equipments may access the network. As the number of UEs accessing the network increases and the load increases, the base station 1 may adjust EAB parameters, such as EAB parameters with a smaller configuration value, so as to limit access of some UEs, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling the load.

Example two

The embodiment describes a method for configuring extended access control parameters on the network side in a universal mobile communication system.

In this embodiment, the UE3 and the UE4 reside in a cell 2 managed by the base station 2 and are in an idle state, and the base station 2 is managed by a Radio Network Controller (RNC). UE3 and UE4 are both configured as EAB-compliant UEs. In addition, the USIM card of UE3 indicates that the Access Class of the UE is 4, i.e., Access Class is 4. The USIM cards of UE3 and UE4 also store HPLMN identifiers, and may also include EHPLMN identifiers and preferred public land mobile network identifiers (preferred PLMNs). The HPLMN stored in the USIM card of the UE3 is PLMN1, EHPLMNs are PLMN2 and PLMN3, and preferred PLMN is PLMN 4. The HPLMN stored in the USIM card of the UE4 is PLMN2, the EHPLMN is PLMN4, and Preferred PLMN is not set. In this embodiment, the PLMN broadcasted in the system message of the cell 2 is PLMN1, and corresponding to the PLMN, UE3 is a Category a UE, and UE4 is a Category C UE.

The UE3 needs to initiate service, and the UE3 needs to determine whether to allow the access network to initiate a service request according to the EAB parameter or the ACB parameter broadcasted by the cell 2 (transmitted by the system message). At this time, because the load of the cell 2 is low and there are enough resources to satisfy the access request of the new user, the base station 3 is not configured with EAB parameters (i.e. EAB parameters are not set in the system message); the UE3 finds that the EAB parameter is not set in the system message, the ACB parameter is adopted to implement the access judgment, if the judgment result is allowed (notbarred), the UE3 can initiate the random access, and after the random access is successful, the service request is sent to the network side; if the decision is not allowed (barred), random access cannot be initiated immediately, and it is necessary to wait for a period of time to make an access decision again.

Fig. 3 is a UE access flow chart based on access control according to a second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, in this embodiment, as a result of the UE3 performing the access decision according to the ACB parameter is allowed, the UE3 initiates random access according to the random access resource in the system message, and establishes an RRC connection, the access flow of the UE3 mainly includes the following steps:

in step 301, the UE3 sends an RRC connection Request (RRC connection Request) to the RNC, where the connection Request carries identification information of the UE 3.

In step 302, after receiving the RRC Connection request, the RNC allocates radio resources to the UE3 and sends an RRC Connection Setup signaling (RRC Connection Setup) to the UE 3.

In step 303, after receiving the RRC Connection Setup signaling, the UE3 returns an RRC Connection Setup Complete signaling (RRC Connection Setup Complete) to the RNC by applying the parameter configuration therein.

In step 304, the UE3 sends an Initial Direct Transfer (Initial Direct Transfer) signaling to the RNC, where the signaling includes service request information of the UE 3.

In step 305, the RNC sends Initial UE Message (Initial UE Message) to the core network, which includes the service request of the UE 3.

In UMTS, the core network is divided into a CS domain and a PS domain, the network element of the core network of the CS domain is a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), and if the UE3 initiates a service request of the CS domain, the RNC sends the service request to the MSC. The core network element of the PS domain is a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), and if the UE3 initiates a service request of the PS domain, the RNC sends the service request to the SGSN.

Step 306, after receiving the service Request, the core network authenticates the UE3, and after the authentication is successful, sends a Radio Access Bearer Assignment Request (Radio Access Bearer Assignment Request) to the RNC, where the Radio Access Bearer Assignment Request includes configuration parameters of the Radio Access Bearer and type information of the UE 3.

In this step, when the core network authenticates the UE3, the subscription information of the UE is obtained from a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) of a network element of the core network, and the type of the UE3, that is, Category a, is determined according to the network selected by the UE 3. The core network sends the type information to which the UE3 belongs to the RNC through a radio access bearer assignment request, which requires an information element to be added in the signaling to carry the type information to which the UE3 belongs. The method for the base station to obtain the type information of the UE includes two expression forms, one is that the radio access bearer assignment request sent by the core network element to the network side (in this embodiment, the RNC) directly carries the type information of the UE, such as information of Category a in this example; the other is that the network element of the core network sends network information (UE subscription data) subscribed by the UE to the network side, such as indicating the HPLMN of the UE, and may further include EHPLMN and preferred PLMN, and the RNC itself determines that the type of the UE3 is category a. In the UE subscription data, EHPLMN and preferred public land mobile network are optional.

After obtaining the type information of the UE3, the RNC may measure the total amount of resources used by all Category a UEs, including the total amount of radio resources and/or the total amount of transmission resources, where the total amount of radio resources may be represented by spreading code resources. The RNC may count the total amount of spreading code resources used by the UEs that obtain Category a, or a ratio (compared to the total spreading code resources). The total transmission resource amount refers to the rate of data transmitted by the Category a UE, and the RNC may count and obtain the rate of data transmitted by the Category a UE within a certain time period. If the RNC obtains the network information subscribed by the UE through the wireless access bearer assignment request, the RNC needs to judge the type of the UE by combining the network selected by the UE, and then measures the total amount of resources used by the Category AUE.

During the process of step 306, there is also a flow of configuring the security mode in order to configure the UE3 with ciphering and integrity protection algorithms.

In step 307, the RNC sends a Radio Bearer Setup signaling (Radio Bearer Setup) to the UE3, where the Radio Bearer Setup signaling (Radio Bearer Setup) includes configuration parameters of a Data Radio Bearer (DRB). The data radio bearer is used for transmitting data, and corresponds to the radio access bearer in step 306.

In step 308, the UE3 returns a radio bearer Setup Complete signaling (radio bearer Setup Complete) to the RNC by using the configuration parameters.

To this end, the RNC establishes a bearer for the UE3 for data transmission, and the UE3 may conduct a service.

The RNC, after step 306, will always measure the total amount of resources used by the UE of Category a, which will change dynamically. As the number of UEs accessing the cell 2 gradually increases, the total amount of resources used by them also gradually increases, and the RNC may obtain the Category of the accessed UE through the core network, and further measure the total amount of resources used by other Category UEs. Since the total resource amount of the cell 1 is limited, the RNC needs to implement access control when the total amount of resources used by the UE reaches a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be configured by the operator via the backend server. In this embodiment, since the total amount of resources used by different types of UEs is different, the RNC sets different EAB parameters for different categories, for example, setting EAB1 for Category a UE; setting EAB2 for the UE of Category B; for the UE of Category C, EAB3 is set. The RNC broadcasts these EAB parameters in a system message for cell 2.

At this point, the UE4 needs to access the network due to traffic demands. The UE4 obtains EAB parameters corresponding to different types of UEs through system messages, and in view of that the UE4 belongs to Category C, the UE4 needs to implement access decision according to the EAB parameters (EAB3) corresponding to Category C. If the judgment result is allowable, the UE4 may initiate random access, establish RRC connection in the cell 2, and further establish a data radio bearer; if the result of the determination is not allowed, the UE4 is not allowed to initiate random access, and needs to wait for a period of time before performing access decision again, or needs to wait for the change of EAB parameters for Category C in the system message of the cell 4 before performing access decision again.

If the UE4 accesses the network to establish a bearer, the RNC may obtain the type information to which the UE belongs through a radio access bearer assignment request sent by the core network, and after obtaining the type information to which the UE4 belongs, the RNC measures the total amount of resources used by the UE4, and further obtains the total amount of resources used by all Category C UEs through statistics, and the RNC performs access control according to the total amount of resources and sets EAB parameters.

EXAMPLE III

In this embodiment, the UE5 resides in a cell 3 under the control of the base station 3 and is in an idle state. UE5 is configured as an EAB compliant UE. The HPLMN stored in the USIM card of UE5 is PLMN1, EHPLMN is PLMN2, and preferred PLMN is PLMN 3. The PLMN of cell 3 is PLMN3, when UE5 belongs to Category B.

The UE5 needs to initiate service, and the UE5 needs to determine whether to allow the access network to initiate service request according to EAB parameters or ACB parameters broadcasted by the cell 3 (through system message transmission). At this time, the system message of the cell 3 contains EAB parameters; the UE5 adopts EAB parameters to implement access judgment, if the judgment result is allowed (not barred), the UE5 needs to implement access judgment according to the ACB parameters, only when the access judgment is successfully implemented according to the ACB parameters, the random access can be initiated, and when the random access is successful, an RRC connection request is sent to the network side; if the result of the UE5 making an access decision depending on EAB or ACB parameters is not allowed (barred), then the UE5 cannot immediately initiate random access and needs to wait a period of time to make an access decision again.

Fig. 4 is a UE access flow chart based on access control according to a third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, in this embodiment, the results of performing access decision by the UE5 according to EAB and ACB parameters are both allowed, the UE5 initiates random access according to random access resources in the system message, and the access flow of the UE5 is as follows:

in step 401, the UE5 sends an RRC connection request to the base station 3, where the connection request carries identification information of the UE 5.

Step 402, after receiving the RRC connection request, the base station 3 allocates radio resources to the UE5 and sends an RRC connection setup signaling to the UE 5.

In step 403, after receiving the RRC connection setup signaling, the UE5 returns an RRC connection setup complete signaling to the base station 3 by applying the parameter configuration therein. The signaling also contains service request information (belonging to the non-access stratum) for the UE 5.

In step 404, the base station 3 sends initial ue information to the mobility management entity, where the initial ue information includes identification information of the ue and service request information (belonging to the non-access stratum).

Step 405, after receiving the Request, the MME authenticates the UE5, and after the authentication is successful, sends an Initial Context Setup Request (Initial Context Setup Request) to the base station 3, where the Initial Context Setup Request includes a configuration parameter of a Radio Access Bearer (RAB), a parameter of security configuration, and type information to which the UE5 belongs.

In this step, when the MME authenticates the UE5, the MME obtains the subscription information of the UE from the home subscriber server of the network element of the core network, and determines the type of the UE5, i.e., Category B, according to the network selected by the UE 5. The type information to which the UE5 belongs is then transferred to the base station 3 by initial context setup request signaling.

In step 406, after receiving the initial context setup request, the base station 3 knows the type information to which the UE5 belongs. At this time, since the number of the UEs accessing the cell 3 is large and the load of the cell 3 is large, the base station 3 makes a decision that the UE5 is not allowed to establish the radio access bearer, and the base station 3 sends an Initial Context setup failure (Initial Context setup failure) signaling to the MME, where the reason including the failure is, for example, that the radio resources are insufficient, or the type of the UEs is rejected for access.

In step 407, the base station 3 sends an RRC connection release signaling to the UE5 to release the established RRC connection. The signaling includes the reason for release, such as insufficient radio resources, or the rejection of this type of ue access.

The UE5 receives the release signaling and goes back to the idle state. The RRC connection release is also reported to the non-access stratum of the UE5, along with the release cause.

The invention describes a system for access control, comprising a network side and a core network element, wherein,

Wherein the network side is further configured to measure a total amount of resources used by all UEs of the type EAB of the UE, and set an EAB parameter for the type of UE; or access control according to the type of EAB of the UE.

The access control according to the EAB type of the UE means that when the UE is allowed to access, the network side configures radio resources for the UE and establishes radio bearers for the UE; and when the UE is not allowed to access, the network side refuses to establish a radio bearer for the UE.

For UMTS, the network side is a radio network controller RNC, and the network element of the core network is MSC or SGSN; for LTE, the network side is an evolution base station, and the core network element is an MME.

For the case of a UMTS system,

for the case of the LTE system,

Wherein the system further comprises a HSS;

Wherein the subscription data of the UE comprises: local public land mobile network, HPLMN, information for the UE;

Wherein the type of the UE with respect to the EAB includes at least one of the following types:

all UE information applicable to EAB;

UEs that are applicable to EAB and not in HPLMN and EHPLMN;

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing access control system does not update the architecture of the existing network system, but only improves the network element functions and the inter-network element interaction functions thereof accordingly. Above, mainly the network element with improved related functions has been described.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a network element on a network side according to the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the network element on the network side according to the present invention includes an obtaining unit 50 and an implementing unit 51; wherein,

an obtaining unit 50, configured to obtain, through a core network element, type information about EAB of a UE accessing a network;

an implementing unit 51 is configured to implement access control according to the type information about the EAB of the UE.

The implementing unit 50 is further configured to measure a total amount of resources used by all UEs of the type EAB of the UE, and set an EAB parameter for the type of UE; or performing access control according to the EAB type of the UE.

For UMTS, the network element at the network side is a radio network controller RNC, and the network element at the core network is MSC or SGSN; for LTE, the network element at the network side is an evolution base station, and the network element at the core network is an MME.

For UMTS, the obtaining unit 50 directly obtains the EAB type information of the UE through Iu interface signaling; or, the obtaining unit 50 obtains the subscription data of the UE through an Iu interface signaling, and determines the type of the EAB of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE and the access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs;

for the LTE system, the obtaining unit 50 directly obtains the EAB type information of the UE through S1 interface signaling;

or, the obtaining unit 50 obtains the subscription data of the UE through an S1 interface signaling, and determines the type of the EAB of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE and the access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the implementation functions of the processing units involved in the network side network element shown in fig. 5 of the present invention can be understood by referring to the foregoing related description of the method and system for access control. The functions of the processing units in the figures may be implemented by a program running on a processor, or may be implemented by specific logic circuits.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of access control, the method comprising:

the network side obtains the type information of the extended access control EAB of the user equipment UE accessing the network through a core network element, and implements access control on different types of UE to be accessed to the network according to the type information of the EAB of the UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing access control according to the type information of the UE about the EAB comprises:

3. The method of claim 1,

for UMTS, the network side is a radio network controller RNC, and the network element of the core network is a mobile switching center MSC or a serving GPRS support node SGSN; for LTE, the network side is an evolution base station, and the core network element is a mobility management entity MME.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the network side obtaining the type information about the EAB of the UE accessing the network through the core network element comprises:

for the case of a UMTS system,

for the case of the LTE system,

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the subscription data of the UE comprises: local public land mobile network, HPLMN, information for the UE;

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the type of the UE with respect to EAB comprises at least one of the following types:

all UE information applicable to EAB;

UEs that are applicable to EAB and not in HPLMN and EHPLMN;

8. A system for access control, comprising a network side and a core network element, characterized in that,

and the network side is used for acquiring the EAB type information of the UE accessing the network through the core network element and implementing access control on different types of UE to be accessed to the network according to the EAB type information of the UE.

9. The system of claim 8,

the network side is further used for measuring the total amount of resources used by all the UE of the type EAB of the UE and setting EAB parameters of the type UE; or access control according to the UE with respect to the EAB type.

10. The system of claim 8,

11. The system of claim 10, wherein:

for the case of a UMTS system,

for the case of the LTE system,

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising an HSS;

13. The system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the subscription data of the UE comprises: local public land mobile network, HPLMN, information for the UE;

14. The system according to any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the type of the UE with respect to EAB comprises at least one of the following types:

all UE information applicable to EAB;

UEs that are applicable to EAB and not in HPLMN and EHPLMN;

15. A network side network element is characterized by comprising an acquisition unit and an implementation unit; wherein,

and the implementation unit is used for implementing access control on different types of UE (user equipment) to be accessed to the network according to the type information of the UE on the EAB.

16. The network element on the network side of claim 15, wherein the implementing unit is further configured to measure a total amount of resources used by all UEs of the type EAB for the UE, set an EAB parameter for the type of UE, or perform access control according to the type of the UE with respect to EAB.

17. The network-side network element of claim 15 or 16,

18. The network element on the network side of claim 17, wherein for UMTS, the obtaining unit directly obtains the EAB type information of the UE through Iu interface signaling; or, the obtaining unit obtains subscription data of the UE through Iu interface signaling, and determines the type of the EAB of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE and access network information to which the current access cell of the UE belongs;