CN106034363B

CN106034363B - Data forwarding method and mobile anchor point

Info

Publication number: CN106034363B
Application number: CN201510119992.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴蕴璐; 高音
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2015-03-18
Filing date: 2015-03-18
Publication date: 2020-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 2035-03-18
Also published as: CN106034363A; WO2016145979A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a data forwarding method and a mobile anchor point, wherein the data forwarding method is applied to the mobile anchor point established between an MeNB and an SeNB, and comprises the following steps: and when the interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB passes through the mobility anchor point, the mobility anchor point allocates the GPRS tunnel protocol information and informs the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information to the MeNB or the SeNB.

Description

Data forwarding method and mobile anchor point

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a data forwarding method and a mobility anchor point.

Background

With the continuous evolution of wireless communication technology and standards, mobile packet services have been developed greatly, and data throughput of User Equipment (UE), or terminal, has been improved. Taking a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system as an example, the system can support data transmission with a downlink maximum rate of 100Mbps within a 20M bandwidth, and in a subsequent LTE-advanced network, the transmission rate of data will be further increased, even reaching 1 Gbps.

In order to meet the growing demand of data traffic and the uneven characteristics of the traffic in regions, operators are also increasing Low Power Nodes (LPNs) in the process of deploying new generation communication networks (e.g. LTE). The LPN has the characteristics of low cost, low power, convenience in deployment and the like, generally comprises two deployment scenes of hot spot deployment and enhanced coverage, can effectively improve the data rate of high-rate data service in indoor or outdoor hot spot areas, and improves the edge coverage of remote areas or cells. In general, LPNs may also be referred to as small base stations, which may include, but are not limited to: a home base station (HeNB), a pico base station (pico), a radio remote unit/head (RRU/RRH), and a Relay Node (RN).

However, as LPN cells increase, the network deployment environment becomes more complex, and also causes some problems. First, because the coverage area of LPN cells is much smaller than that of Macro cells (Macro cells), and the capacity is relatively small, some LPN cells may be overloaded due to being occupied by users, thereby affecting the throughput of user data, while other LPN cells or Macro cells may be at a relatively low load level, if load balancing is needed, the network side is required to perform load balancing operation, but the process is not flexible enough, and especially when there are many cells, the load imbalance caused by the lack of flexibility is more serious. In addition, since the number of LPN cells is large, when the UE moves in the network, frequent inter-cell Handover (Handover) may be caused, which may cause frequent data service interruption and even call drop, which may also cause degradation of data throughput and user experience of the user. Meanwhile, such frequent handover may also cause the terminal and the network, especially the core network, to receive a large amount of signaling impact, which may cause system resource congestion and even paralysis.

Currently, to solve the above problems, many companies and operators tend to seek a new enhancement, one of which is Dual Connectivity (DC). In a dual-connectivity network architecture, a UE may simultaneously maintain connections with two or more network nodes (the dual connectivity described herein is a generic term and does not limit the number of connections). Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of dual connectivity in the related art. The primary node is referred to as a Master base station (MeNB, Master eNB) and generally refers to a macro base station node, and the other nodes are referred to as controlled base stations (SeNB, Secondary eNB) and generally refer to micro base stations or low power nodes. Therefore, the UE is simultaneously connected with the macro cell and the LPN cell, and when the network load is unbalanced, the network side can regulate and control the transmission data volume of the UE on the MeNB node and the SeNB node in real time; meanwhile, if the SeNB cell is changed due to UE movement or other reasons, another cell can also maintain connection, and such change does not cause excessive signaling impact.

As shown in FIG. 1, for each UE, in the control plane, the MeNB is connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) through S1-C, and the MeNB and the SeNB are connected through X2-C. On the user plane, for the MCG bearer, the MeNB is connected to a Serving Gateway (S-GW) through S1-U, and the SeNB does not participate in data transmission on the user plane. For split bearer, the MeNB is connected to the S-GW via S1-U and the MeNB is connected to the SeNB via X2-U. For SCG bearer, SeNB is connected to S-GW through S1-U, and MeNB is not involved in data transmission to the user plane.

In addition, in the LTE User Plane Data Protocol stack shown in fig. 2, downlink Data received from the core network via the User Plane GPRS tunnel Protocol (GTP-U) is unpacked and then processed via the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sublayer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) Protocol sublayer, the Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol sublayer and the physical layer (PHY) and then sent to the User equipment; the transmission of the upstream data is opposite to that of the downstream data. Furthermore, when discussing Release 12 dual connectivity, the third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) has two user plane offloading methods: one is 1A, the UE bearer user plane on MeNB and SeNB is directly connected to S-GW, as shown in fig. 3; the other is 3C, where the MeNB is used as a offloading anchor point, and data is offloaded in the PDCP layer and the RLC layer and sent to the MeNB and the SeNB, respectively, for delivery, as shown in fig. 4.

Based on the above theory, in the previous discussion of dual connectivity architecture by 3GPP, Mobility Anchor (MA) is adopted as a proxy of S1 interface to reduce a large amount of signaling impact on the core network due to frequent handover of UE. Similarly, in the dual-connection architecture shown in fig. 5, it may be considered that the mobility anchor having the X2 interface proxy function performs both control plane convergence and user plane convergence, that is, signaling of the control plane and data of the user plane are forwarded through the mobility anchor. However, when aggregating the mobility anchor having the X2 interface proxy function as the user plane, it is necessary to open a path for data transmission or forwarding through the mobility anchor having the X2 data plane proxy function so that the user plane data is transmitted from the MeNB or SeNB to the SeNB or MeNB of the opposite end through the mobility anchor.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a data forwarding method and a mobility anchor, which can open a data transmission or forwarding channel of the mobility anchor having an X2 data plane proxy function, so that user plane data is transmitted from an MeNB or an SeNB to an opposite SeNB or an MeNB via the mobility anchor.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is realized as follows:

the embodiment of the invention provides a data forwarding method, which is applied to a mobile anchor point established between a master control base station MeNB and a controlled base station SeNB, and comprises the following steps:

and when the interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB passes through the mobility anchor point, the mobility anchor point allocates the GPRS tunnel protocol information and informs the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information to the MeNB or the SeNB.

In the foregoing solution, in the dual connectivity SCG bearer, the notifying the MeNB or SeNB of the GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor includes:

in the process of preparing for adding the SeNB, the mobility anchor point informs the MeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by a mobility anchor point end for forwarding the carried downlink data aiming at the MeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by a mobility anchor point end for forwarding the carried uplink data aiming at the MeNB;

or, in the initial SeNB release process of the MeNB, the mobility anchor notifies the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor end for forwarding the carried downlink data to the SeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor end for forwarding the carried uplink data to the SeNB;

or, in the initial SeNB modification preparation process of the MeNB, for bearer release, the mobility anchor point notifies the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point end for forwarding the carried downlink data to the SeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point end for forwarding the carried uplink data to the SeNB; and for receiving the bearer addition, the mobile anchor point informs the MeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end for forwarding the borne downlink data aiming at the MeNB and the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end for forwarding the borne uplink data aiming at the MeNB.

In the foregoing solution, in the dual connectivity split bearer, the notifying, by the mobility anchor, the MeNB or SeNB of the allocated tunneling protocol information includes:

in the process of adding preparation of the SeNB, the mobility anchor point informs the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by a carried mobility anchor point end aiming at the SeNB and informs the MeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobility anchor point end aiming at the MeNB;

or, in the initial SeNB release process of the MeNB, the mobility anchor notifies the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated to the SeNB by a mobility anchor end for forwarding the carried downlink data;

or, in the initial SeNB modification preparation process of the MeNB, for adding a bearer or modifying a bearer, the mobility anchor notifies the SeNB of GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for the SeNB; for deleting the bearer, the mobile anchor point informs the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by a mobile anchor point end for the SeNB, wherein the mobile anchor point forwards the carried downlink data; for accepting the bearer addition or accepting the bearer modification, the mobility anchor point informs the MeNB of GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point of the bearer for the MeNB.

In the above solution, when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, the notifying, by the mobility anchor, the MeNB or the SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information includes:

and the mobile anchor point adds the distributed GPRS tunnel protocol information into the interactive messages of the MeNB and the SeNB and informs the SeNB or the MeNB.

In the above solution, when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, the notifying, by the mobility anchor, the MeNB or the SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information includes:

the mobility anchor point adds the distributed GPRS tunnel protocol information to an interactive message of the MeNB and the SeNB independent of the X2message transmission message and informs the SeNB or the MeNB;

or, the mobility anchor point encapsulates the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information in an interactive message in an X2message transmission message, and notifies the SeNB or the MeNB.

In the above scheme, the GPRS tunneling protocol information includes a transport layer address and a tunnel endpoint identifier.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a mobile anchor point, which is established between the MeNB and the SeNB and comprises an allocation module and a notification module;

the distribution module is used for distributing GPRS tunnel protocol information by the mobile anchor point when the interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB passes through the mobile anchor point;

the notifying module is configured to notify the MeNB or the SeNB of the GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the allocating module.

In the above scheme, in the dual-connection SCG bearer, the notification module includes a first notification sub-module; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the first notification submodule is used for notifying the MeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the carried downlink data forward-transmitted mobile anchor point end aiming at the MeNB and the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the carried uplink data forward-transmitted mobile anchor point end aiming at the MeNB in the SeNB addition preparation process;

the first notifying sub-module is further configured to notify, to the SeNB, GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point for forwarding the carried downlink data to the SeNB and GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point for forwarding the carried uplink data to the SeNB in an initial SeNB release process of the MeNB;

the first notifying sub-module is further configured to, for bearer release, notify the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor point end for forwarding downlink data of a bearer to the SeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor point end for forwarding uplink data of the bearer to the SeNB in an initial SeNB modification preparation process of the MeNB; and for receiving the bearer addition, notifying the MeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end for carrying downlink data forward transmission aiming at the MeNB and the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end for carrying uplink data forward transmission aiming at the MeNB.

In the above scheme, in the dual-connection split bearer, the notification module includes a second notification submodule; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the second notifying submodule is used for notifying the SeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the carried mobile anchor point end aiming at the SeNB and notifying the MeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end aiming at the MeNB in the process of the SeNB addition preparation;

the second notification submodule is further configured to notify the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information, which is allocated to the SeNB by the mobility anchor terminal for forwarding the loaded downlink data, in an initial SeNB release process of the MeNB;

the second notification sub-module is further configured to notify, to add a bearer or modify a bearer, a mobility anchor that notifies the SeNB of GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for the SeNB in an initial SeNB modification preparation process of the MeNB; for deleting the bearer, the mobile anchor point informs the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by a mobile anchor point end for the SeNB, wherein the mobile anchor point forwards the carried downlink data; for accepting the bearer addition or accepting the bearer modification, the mobility anchor point informs the MeNB of GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point of the bearer for the MeNB.

In the foregoing solution, the notifying module is configured to add the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB and notify the SeNB or the MeNB when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in the X2message transmission message.

In the foregoing solution, the notifying module is further configured to, when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, add the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB that is independent of the X2message transmission message, and notify the SeNB or the MeNB; or, the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information is encapsulated in an interactive message in the X2message transmission message, and notified to the SeNB or MeNB.

The data forwarding method and the mobile anchor point provided by the embodiment of the invention are applied to the mobile anchor point established between the MeNB and the SeNB, and comprise the following steps: and when the interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB passes through the mobile anchor point, the mobile anchor point allocates the GPRS tunnel protocol information and notifies the allocated tunnel protocol information to the MeNB or the SeNB. In this way, in the dual connectivity architecture, when the mobility anchor having the X2 interface proxy function is aggregated as the user plane, a channel for data transmission or forwarding through the mobility anchor having the X2 data plane proxy function can be effectively opened, so that the user plane data is transmitted from the MeNB or SeNB to the SeNB or MeNB of the opposite end through the mobility anchor.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture for dual connectivity in the related art;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a user plane data protocol stack of LTE;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane 1A under the dual connectivity architecture;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a user plane 3C under the dual connectivity architecture;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture for dual connectivity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an implementation flow of a data forwarding method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a first schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of a data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation flow of a data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a third schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of the data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of a fourth implementation of the data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of the data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a sixth implementation of the data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a mobile anchor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a notification module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the embodiment of the invention, when the interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB passes through the mobility anchor point, the mobility anchor point can timely allocate the GPRS tunnel protocol information and inform the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information to the MeNB or the SeNB.

Here, it should be added that the GPRS tunneling protocol information may be referred to as GTP information for short. Wherein the GTP information comprises a transport layer address and a Tunnel Endpoint Identification (TEID).

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

Example one

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of the data forwarding method according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 6, the data forwarding method according to the embodiment of the present invention includes:

steps S101 to S102: and when the interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB passes through the mobility anchor point, the mobility anchor point allocates the GPRS tunnel protocol information and informs the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information to the MeNB or the SeNB. Wherein, the GPRS tunnel protocol information comprises a transport layer address and a tunnel endpoint identifier. Specifically, based on the dual connectivity network architecture shown in fig. 5, in the dual connectivity SCG bearer, the notifying, by the mobility anchor, the MeNB or SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information includes:

Similarly, based on the dual-connectivity network architecture shown in fig. 5, in the dual-connectivity split bearer, the notifying, by the mobility anchor, the MeNB or SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information includes:

Here, the notifying, by the mobility anchor, the MeNB or SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information includes:

when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, the mobility anchor point adds the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB and informs the SeNB or the MeNB;

when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, the mobility anchor may add the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB independent of the X2message transmission message, and notify the SeNB or the MeNB; alternatively, the mobility anchor may encapsulate the allocated tunneling protocol information in an interactive message in an X2message transmission message, and notify the SeNB or the MeNB.

Thus, with the data forwarding method according to the embodiment of the present invention, in a dual connectivity architecture shown in fig. 5, when a mobility anchor with an X2 interface proxy function is used as a user plane aggregation, a channel for data transmission or forwarding through the mobility anchor with an X2 data plane proxy function can be effectively opened, so that user plane data is transmitted from an MeNB or an SeNB to an SeNB or an MeNB of an opposite end through the mobility anchor.

Example two

Fig. 7 is a first schematic flow chart of an implementation of the data forwarding method of an application example according to the present invention, where the application example uses SCG bearer as an example, and relates to a SeNB addition preparation process in a dual connectivity framework, and the process is a case where an interaction message between an MeNB and an SeNB is encapsulated in an X2message transmission message. As shown in fig. 7, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 201: the MeNB sends an X2MESSAGE TRANSFER (X2MESSAGE TRANSFER) MESSAGE to the mobility anchor, where a SeNB ADDITION REQUEST (SeNB ADDITION REQUEST) MESSAGE is encapsulated in the X2MESSAGE TRANSFER MESSAGE.

Specifically, the MeNB encapsulates the SeNB addition request message into an X2 messaging message, and adds the identifier of the source MeNB and the identifier of the target SeNB as routing information in an X2 messaging message; thereafter, the MeNB sends an X2 messaging message encapsulating the SeNB addition request message to the mobility anchor.

Here, the SeNB addition request message includes a MeNB X2APID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, UE Security Capabilities (UE Security Capabilities), a SeNB Security Key (SeNB Security Key), a UE Aggregate Maximum data Rate (SeNB UE Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate) in the SeNB, bearer information, and the like. The bearing information comprises bearing identification, bearing quality of service (QoS) parameters and bearing GTP information of an S-GW terminal. Wherein the GTP information comprises a transport layer address and a Tunnel Endpoint Identification (TEID).

Step 202: the mobile anchor point forwards the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB addition request message to a target SeNB;

specifically, the mobility anchor forwards the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB addition request message to the target SeNB according to the target SeNB identifier carried in the X2message transmission message.

Step 203: the SeNB sends an X2message transmission message to the mobile anchor point, wherein a SeNB ADDITION acknowledgement (SENB ADDITION ACKNOWLEDGE) message is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message;

specifically, the SeNB encapsulates the SeNB addition confirmation message into an X2message transmission message, and carries the identifier of the source SeNB and the identifier of the target MeNB as routing information in an X2message transmission message; after that, the SeNB sends an X2 messaging message encapsulating the SeNB addition acknowledgement message to the mobility anchor.

Here, the SeNB addition confirmation message includes an MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, an SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, a bearer identifier, GTP information of the SeNB end of the bearer, GTP information of the SeNB end forwarded by the downlink data of the bearer, and GTP information of the SeNB end forwarded by the uplink data of the bearer. Wherein, the GTP information comprises a transport layer address and a tunnel endpoint identifier.

Step 204: the mobility anchor forwards the X2 messaging message encapsulating the X2 messaging message of the SeNB addition acknowledgement message to the target MeNB.

Specifically, the mobility anchor forwards the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB addition acknowledgement message to the target MeNB according to the target MeNB identifier carried in the X2message transmission message.

Here, in another application example, the mobility anchor may further include, in the X2message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor for forwarding the data to the MeNB, specifically including GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor for forwarding the downlink data to the MeNB and GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor for forwarding the uplink data to the MeNB. Or, the mobility anchor may also include, in the SeNB addition request message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the data to the MeNB, specifically including GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the downlink data to the MeNB and GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the uplink data to the MeNB.

EXAMPLE III

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation flow of the data forwarding method according to an application example of the present invention, where the application example uses split bearer as an example, and relates to a SeNB addition preparation process in a dual connectivity architecture, and the process is a case where an interaction message of an MeNB and an SeNB is not encapsulated in an X2 messaging message. As shown in fig. 8, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 301: the MeNB sends a SeNB addition request message to the mobility anchor point;

here, the SeNB addition request message is not encapsulated in the X2 messaging message, but is directly sent to the mobility anchor via the MeNB, and includes the identity of the source MeNB and the identity of the target SeNB. The SeNB addition request message includes an MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, bearer information, and the like. The bearer information includes bearer identification, bearer quality of service parameters, and GTP information of the MeNB end of the bearer.

Step 302: and the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB addition request message to the target SeNB according to the identification of the target SeNB in the received SeNB addition request message.

Specifically, the mobility anchor may add GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor to the SeNB in the SeNB addition request message; and then, the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB addition request message to the target SeNB according to the identification of the target SeNB in the received SeNB addition request message.

Step 303: the SeNB sends an addition confirmation message to the mobile anchor point;

here, the SeNB addition confirmation message is not encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, but is directly sent to the mobility anchor through the SeNB, and includes the identifier of the source SeNB and the identifier of the target MeNB. The SeNB addition confirmation message includes MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB uniquely identifying the UE on the X2 interface, SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB uniquely identifying the UE on the X2 interface, and GTP information of the SeNB end of the bearer.

Step 304: and the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB addition confirmation message to the target MeNB according to the identification of the target MeNB in the received SeNB addition confirmation message.

Specifically, the mobility anchor may add GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor for the MeNB in the SeNB addition confirmation message; and then, the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB addition confirmation message to the target MeNB according to the identification of the target MeNB in the received SeNB addition confirmation message.

Example four

Fig. 9 is a third schematic view of an implementation flow of the data forwarding method of an application example according to the present invention, where the application example uses SCG bearer as an example, and relates to an initial SeNB release procedure of an MeNB in a dual connectivity framework, and the procedure is a case where an interaction message between the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in an X2message transmission message. As shown in fig. 9, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 401: the MeNB sends an X2message transfer message to the mobility anchor, which X2message transfer message encapsulates a SeNB RELEASE REQUEST (SeNB RELEASE REQUEST) message.

Specifically, the MeNB encapsulates the SeNB release request message into an X2 messaging message, and adds the identifier of the source MeNB and the identifier of the target SeNB as routing information in an X2 messaging message; thereafter, the MeNB sends an X2 messaging message encapsulating the SeNB release request message to the mobility anchor.

Here, the SeNB release request message includes an MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, an SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, GTP information of the MeNB end forwarded by the carried downlink data, and GTP information of the MeNB end forwarded by the carried uplink data.

Step 402: the mobile anchor point forwards the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB release request message to a target SeNB;

specifically, the mobility anchor sends the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB release request message to the target SeNB according to the target SeNB identifier carried in the X2message transmission message.

In another application example, the mobility anchor may further include, in the X2message transmission message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the data to the SeNB, specifically GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the downlink data to the SeNB, and GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the uplink data to the SeNB; or, the mobility anchor may also include, in the SeNB release request message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the data to the SeNB, specifically including GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the downlink data to the SeNB and GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the uplink data to the SeNB.

EXAMPLE five

Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a fourth implementation flow of the data forwarding method of an application example according to the present invention, where the application example uses a split bearer as an example, and relates to an MeNB initial SeNB release procedure in a dual connectivity architecture, and the procedure is a case where an interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in an X2 messaging message. As shown in fig. 10, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 501: the MeNB sends a SeNB release request message to the mobility anchor point;

here, the SeNB release request message is not encapsulated in the X2 messaging message, but is directly sent to the mobility anchor via the MeNB, and includes the identity of the source MeNB and the identity of the target SeNB. The SeNB release request message includes an MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB uniquely identifying the UE on an X2 interface, an SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB uniquely identifying the UE on an X2 interface, and GTP information of the MeNB end forwarded by the carried downlink data. Step 502: and the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB adding request message to the target SeNB according to the identification of the target SeNB in the received release request message.

Specifically, the mobility anchor may add GTP information allocated to the SeNB by the mobility anchor end that forwards the carried downlink data to the SeNB in the SeNB release request message; and then, the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB release request message to the target SeNB according to the identification of the target SeNB in the received SeNB release request message.

EXAMPLE six

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation flow of the data forwarding method of an application example according to the present invention, where the application example uses a split bearer as an example, and relates to an initial SeNB modification procedure of an MeNB in a dual connectivity architecture, and the procedure is a case where an interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in an X2 messaging message. As shown in fig. 11, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 601: the MeNB sends a SeNB MODIFICATION REQUEST (SeNB MODIFICATION REQUEST) message to the mobility anchor;

here, the SeNB modification request message is not encapsulated in the X2 messaging message, but is sent directly to the mobility anchor via the MeNB, and includes the identity of the source MeNB and the identity of the target SeNB. The SeNB modification request message includes MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, SCG change indication, UE security capability, SeNB security key, UE aggregate maximum data rate in the SeNB, bearer-related information, and the like. The bearer related information includes added bearer information, modified bearer information, and deleted bearer information. The added bearing information comprises a bearing identifier, a bearing service quality parameter and GTP information of a bearing S-GW terminal. The modified bearing information comprises bearing identification, bearing service quality parameters and bearing GTP information of the S-GW terminal. The bearer release information includes a bearer identifier, GTP information of the MeNB end forwarded by the downlink data of the bearer, and GTP information of the MeNB end forwarded by the uplink data of the bearer.

Step 602: and the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB modification request message to the target SeNB according to the identification of the target SeNB in the received SeNB modification request message.

Specifically, the mobility anchor may add, in the SeNB modification request message, GTP information allocated to the SeNB by the mobility anchor that forwards the carried downlink data and GTP information allocated to the SeNB by the mobility anchor that forwards the carried uplink data; and then, the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB modification request message to the target SeNB according to the identification of the target SeNB in the received SeNB modification request message.

Step 603: the SeNB sends a SeNB MODIFICATION request confirmation (SeNB MODIFICATION request NOWLEDGE) message to the mobility anchor;

here, the SeNB modification request acknowledgement message is not encapsulated in the X2 messaging message, but is directly sent to the mobility anchor via the MeNB, and includes the identity of the source SeNB and the identity of the target MeNB. The SeNB modification request acknowledgement message includes an MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, an SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, and bearer-related information. The bearer related information includes information to accept bearer addition, information to accept bearer modification, and information to receive bearer release. The information for receiving bearer addition includes bearer identification, GTP information of the SeNB end of the bearer, GTP information of the SeNB end for forwarding the downlink data of the bearer, and GTP information of the SeNB end for forwarding the uplink data of the bearer. The information for accepting bearer modification comprises bearer identification and GTP information of the SeNB end of the bearer. The information accepting bearer deletion includes a bearer identification.

Step 604: and the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB modification request confirmation message to the target MeNB according to the identification of the target MeNB in the received SeNB modification request confirmation message.

Specifically, the mobility anchor may add, in the SeNB modification request acknowledgment message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the carried downlink data to the MeNB and GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor that forwards the carried uplink data to the MeNB; and then, the mobile anchor point sends the SeNB modification request confirmation message to the target MeNB according to the identification of the target MeNB in the received SeNB modification request confirmation message.

EXAMPLE seven

Fig. 12 is a sixth schematic flow chart of an implementation flow of the data forwarding method of an application example according to the present invention, where the application example takes a split bearer as an example, and relates to an initial SeNB modification preparation procedure of an MeNB in a dual connectivity architecture, and the procedure is a case where an interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in an X2message transport message. As shown in fig. 12, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 701: the MeNB sends an X2message transmission message to the mobility anchor, wherein the X2message transmission message is packaged with the SeNB modification request message.

Specifically, the MeNB encapsulates the SeNB modification request message into an X2 messaging message, and adds the identifier of the source MeNB and the identifier of the target SeNB as routing information in an X2 messaging message; thereafter, the MeNB sends an X2 messaging message encapsulating the SeNB modification request message to the mobility anchor.

Here, the SeNB modification request message includes an MeNB X2AP ID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, an SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, an SCG change indication, bearer-related information, and the like. The information related to the bearer comprises adding bearer information, modifying bearer information and deleting bearer information. The bearer adding information comprises bearer identification, bearer service quality parameters and bearer GTP information of the MeNB terminal. The modified bearer information comprises bearer identification, quality of service parameters of the bearer and GTP information of the MeNB terminal of the bearer. The release bearer information includes bearer identification and GTP information of the MeNB end forwarded by the downlink data of the bearer.

Step 702: the mobile anchor point forwards the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB modification request message to a target SeNB;

specifically, the mobility anchor sends the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB modification request message to the target SeNB according to the target SeNB identifier carried in the X2message transmission message.

In another application example, the mobility anchor may also include adding bearer information, modifying bearer information, and deleting bearer information in the X2 messaging message. The adding bearing information and the modifying bearing information comprise GTP information which is distributed by a mobile anchor point end of the bearing aiming at the SeNB; and deleting the bearer information, wherein the bearer information comprises GTP information which is distributed by the mobile anchor point end of the forwarded downlink data of the bearer and aims at the SeNB. Or, the mobility anchor may further include, in the addition bearer information of the SeNB modification request message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor to the SeNB, include, in the modification bearer information of the SeNB modification request message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor to the SeNB, and include, in the deletion bearer information of the SeNB modification request message, GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor to the SeNB, where the carried downlink data is forwarded.

Step 703: the SeNB sends an X2message transmission message to the mobility anchor point, wherein the X2message transmission message is encapsulated with a modification request confirmation message;

specifically, the SeNB encapsulates the SeNB modification request acknowledgement message into an X2message transmission message, and carries the identifier of the source SeNB and the identifier of the target MeNB as routing information in an X2message transmission message; after that, the SeNB sends an X2 messaging message encapsulating the modification request acknowledgement message to the mobility anchor.

Here, the SeNB modification request confirm message includes an MeNB X2APID of the MeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, an SeNB X2AP ID of the SeNB that uniquely identifies the UE on the X2 interface, and bearer-related information. The bearer related information includes information to accept bearer addition, information to accept bearer modification, and information to receive bearer release. Wherein, the information for accepting bearer addition includes bearer identification and GTP information of the SeNB end of the bearer; the information for accepting bearer modification comprises bearer identification and GTP information of the SeNB end of the bearer. The information accepting bearer deletion includes a bearer identification.

Step 704: the mobile anchor point forwards the X2 messaging message encapsulating the SeNB modification request acknowledgement message to the target MeNB.

Specifically, the mobility anchor forwards the X2message transmission message encapsulated with the SeNB modification request acknowledgement message to the target MeNB according to the target MeNB identifier carried in the X2message transmission message.

Here, in another application example, the mobility anchor may further include information of accepting bearer addition and information of accepting bearer modification in the X2 messaging message, where the information of accepting bearer addition and the information of accepting bearer modification include GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor of the bearer for the MeNB; or, the mobility anchor may further include GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor for the MeNB in the information of accepting bearer addition of the SeNB modification request acknowledgement message, and include GTP information allocated by the mobility anchor for the MeNB in the information of accepting bearer modification of the SeNB modification request acknowledgement message.

Example eight

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobility anchor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 13, the mobility anchor is established between an MeNB and an SeNB, and the mobility anchor includes an allocation module 801 and a notification module 802;

the allocating module 801 is configured to, when an interaction message passes through a mobility anchor point between the MeNB and the SeNB, allocate GPRS tunneling protocol information to the mobility anchor point;

the notifying module 802 is configured to notify the MeNB or the SeNB of the GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the allocating module 801.

In an embodiment, the notifying module 802 is configured to add the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB to notify the SeNB or the MeNB when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in the X2 messaging message.

In another embodiment, the notifying module 802 is further configured to add the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB independent of the X2message transmission message to notify the SeNB or the MeNB when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message; or, the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information is encapsulated in an interactive message in the X2message transmission message, and notified to the SeNB or MeNB.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 14, in a dual-connectivity SCG bearer, the notification module 802 includes a first notification sub-module 802 a; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the first notifying sub-module 802a is configured to notify, to the SeNB, GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor for forwarding carried downlink data to the MeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor for forwarding carried uplink data to the MeNB in a preparation process for adding the SeNB;

the first notifying sub-module 802a is further configured to notify, to the SeNB, GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for forwarding the carried downlink data to the SeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for forwarding the carried uplink data to the SeNB in an initial SeNB release process of the MeNB;

the first notifying sub-module 802a is further configured to, in a preparation process of initial SeNB modification by the MeNB, for bearer release, notify the SeNB of GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor for forwarding downlink data of the bearer to the SeNB and GPRS tunnel protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor for forwarding uplink data of the bearer to the SeNB; and for receiving the bearer addition, notifying the MeNB of the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end for carrying downlink data forward transmission aiming at the MeNB and the GPRS tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end for carrying uplink data forward transmission aiming at the MeNB.

In an embodiment, in a dual connectivity split bearer, the notification module 802 includes a second notification submodule 802 b; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the second notification sub-module 802b is configured to notify the SeNB of GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for the SeNB and notify the MeNB of GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for the MeNB in a preparation process for adding the SeNB;

the second notification sub-module 802b is further configured to notify, to the SeNB, SeNB tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor for forwarding the carried downlink data to the SeNB in an initial SeNB release process of the MeNB;

the second notifying sub-module 802b is further configured to, in a preparation process of MeNB initial SeNB modification, for adding a bearer or modifying a bearer, notify the SeNB of SeNB tunneling protocol information allocated by a mobility anchor end of the bearer to the SeNB; for deleting the bearer, the mobile anchor point informs the SeNB of the SeNB tunnel protocol information distributed by the mobile anchor point end of the downlink data forward-transmission of the bearer aiming at the SeNB; for accepting bearer addition or bearer modification, the mobility anchor point informs the MeNB of SeNB tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor point of the bearer for the MeNB.

Each module in the mobile anchor point and the sub-modules included in each module can be realized by a processor in the mobile anchor point, and can also be realized by a specific logic circuit; for example, in practical applications, the motion anchor point may be implemented by a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Microprocessor (MPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A data forwarding method is applied to a mobility anchor point established between a master control base station (MeNB) and a controlled base station (SeNB), and comprises the following steps: when an interactive message passes through a mobile anchor point between the MeNB and the SeNB, the mobile anchor point allocates GPRS tunnel protocol information and notifies the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information to the MeNB or the SeNB;

wherein, in the dual connectivity SCG bearer, the notification of the GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the mobility anchor to the MeNB or SeNB includes:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the dual-connectivity split bearer, the mobility anchor informs the MeNB or SeNB of the allocated tunneling protocol information, and wherein the notifying comprises:

3. The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in an X2 messaging message, the mobility anchor informs the MeNB or the SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information, comprising:

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message, the mobility anchor informs the MeNB or the SeNB of the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information, including:

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein said GPRS tunneling protocol information comprises a transport layer address and a tunnel endpoint identification.

6. A mobility anchor, characterized in that it is established between a MeNB and a SeNB, said mobility anchor comprising an assignment module and a notification module;

the notification module is configured to notify the MeNB or the SeNB of the GPRS tunneling protocol information allocated by the allocation module;

in a dual-connectivity SCG bearer, the notification module comprises a first notification submodule; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

7. The mobility anchor of claim 6, wherein in a dual connectivity split bearer, the notification module comprises a second notification submodule; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

8. Mobility anchor point according to any of claims 6 to 7,

and the notification module is used for adding the allocated GPRS tunnel protocol information into the interactive message of the MeNB and the SeNB and notifying the SeNB or the MeNB when the interactive message of the MeNB and the SeNB is not encapsulated in the X2message transmission message.

9. Mobility anchor point according to any of claims 6 to 7,

the notification module is further configured to add the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information to the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB, which is independent of the X2message transmission message, and notify the SeNB or the MeNB when the interaction message of the MeNB and the SeNB is encapsulated in the X2message transmission message; or, the allocated GPRS tunneling protocol information is encapsulated in an interactive message in the X2message transmission message, and notified to the SeNB or MeNB.