CN108141795B

CN108141795B - Position information distribution method, device and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN108141795B
Application number: CN201580083297.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 舒林; 曹龙雨; 张艳平
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-11-16
Filing date: 2015-11-16
Publication date: 2021-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 2035-11-16
Also published as: CN108141795A; WO2017084010A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a device and equipment for distributing position information, and belongs to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring the position information of user equipment; determining a location area identification list allocated to the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment, wherein a location area in the location area identification list is in a service area of a user plane gateway serving the user equipment; and sending the location area identifier list to a mobility management network element so that the mobility management network element sends the location area identifier list to the user equipment. The location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment in the above manner is suitable for a network of a distributed gateway architecture.

Description

Position information distribution method, device and equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a device for allocating location information.

Background

Under an existing Evolved Packet System (EPS) network architecture, allocation of location information of a User Equipment (UE) mainly refers to allocation of a Tracking Area Identity List (TAI List), and a network side allocates a suitable TAI List to the UE to implement location management of the UE by the network side.

Currently, TAI List in EPS network is allocated as follows: in the attach or location Update process, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) allocates a suitable TAI List to the UE according to a last Visited Registered TAI (last Visited Registered TAI) reported by the UE and TAI information where the UE is currently actually located, and TAs in the allocated TAI List are all in a service Area of the MME and a Serving Gateway (S-GW), so as to reduce a Tracking Area Update (TAU) signaling load generated by the movement of the UE as much as possible. The MME is mainly responsible for session management, identity authentication and access control of the UE, and the S-GW is mainly responsible for data forwarding of the UE.

However, the above allocation method is not suitable for a Distributed Gateway (D-GW) architecture. In the distributed Gateway architecture, a service area of a User plane Gateway (U-GW) may be much smaller than that of an MME, so a TAI List allocated to a UE by the MME according to an existing allocation method may be larger than that of one U-GW, so that the UE may not initiate a TAU procedure when moving within the TAI List, but the UE may actually have moved out of a service area of a current serving U-GW and entered a service area of another U-GW. Because the TAU flow is not initiated, the user plane of the UE always performs data transmission through the original U-GW, which causes problems of extended transmission path, increased Round-Trip routing Time (RTT), and the like, thereby affecting user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problem that when the existing location information distribution method is applied to a distributed gateway architecture, when the UE moves in a TAI List and moves out of a service area of the current U-GW, a TAU flow cannot be initiated, the application provides a location information distribution method, a device and equipment.

In a first aspect, a method for allocating location information is provided, where the method includes:

acquiring the position information of user equipment;

determining a location area identification list allocated to the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment, wherein a location area in the location area identification list is in a service area of a user plane gateway serving the user equipment;

and sending the location area identifier list to a mobility management network element serving the user equipment, so that the mobility management network element sends the location area identifier list to the user equipment.

The control plane gateway allocates a location area identifier list to the user equipment in the above manner, and since the location area in the location area identifier list is within the service area of the user plane gateway serving the user equipment, the user equipment does not move out of the service area of the user plane gateway when moving in the location area identifier list, and when the user equipment moves out of the service area of the user plane gateway, the user equipment inevitably moves out of the location area in the location area identifier list, so that a location area update process is initiated; in addition, the above method also ensures that the user equipment is always in the service area of the user plane gateway serving the user equipment when the user equipment moves in the location area identification list, so that the user plane gateway serving the user equipment is the optimal user plane gateway of the user equipment, and the user service experience is ensured.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first implementation manner of the first aspect, the obtaining location information of the user equipment includes:

receiving a request message sent by the mobility management network element, where the request message carries location information of the user equipment, and the request message is a request for creating a session, a request for modifying a bearer, a request for modifying an access bearer, or a request for changing a notification.

In the implementation mode, the control plane gateway receives the location information of the user equipment sent by the control plane gateway through creating a session request or modifying a bearer request or modifying an access bearer request or changing a notification request, so that transmission by adopting a new message is avoided, and transmission resources are saved.

With reference to the first aspect or the first implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second implementation manner of the first aspect, the location information of the user equipment is a registered location area visited by the user equipment last time or a location area where the user equipment is currently located.

The location information of the user equipment is the registration location area visited by the user equipment last time or the location area where the user equipment is currently located, and the location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment by the control plane gateway is allocated according to the location where the user equipment appears (the registration location area visited by the user equipment last time or the location area where the user equipment is currently located), so that the accuracy of the location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment is higher.

With reference to the first aspect, the first implementation manner of the first aspect, or the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, according to the location information of the user equipment, a location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment includes:

acquiring service area information of the user plane gateway;

and distributing the location area identification list for the user equipment within the service area information range of the user plane gateway according to the location information of the user equipment.

The control plane gateway firstly acquires the service area information of the user plane gateway, then allocates a position area identification list for the user equipment in the service area information range of the user plane gateway, and ensures that the allocated position area identification list allocated to the user equipment is in the service area of the user plane gateway.

Optionally, the location area in the location area identifier list is, in addition to the location area to be in the service area of the user plane gateway, a part or all of the location area in the location area identifier list that is currently located by the user equipment (or the registered location area that the user equipment visited last time), or a location area located in a set range around the location area that the user equipment is currently located by the user equipment (or the registered location area that the user equipment visited last time), so that the location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment is allocated according to the location where the user equipment has appeared, and the accuracy of the location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment is ensured.

With reference to the third implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the first aspect, the obtaining service area information of the user plane gateway includes:

sending an information request message to the user plane gateway, and receiving service area information of the user plane gateway sent by the user plane gateway according to the information request message; or,

and acquiring the service area information of the user plane gateway from the configuration data.

When the control plane gateway acquires the service area information of the user plane gateway, the control plane gateway can not only acquire the service area information of the user plane gateway from the user plane gateway through the information request message in real time, but also search the service area information of the user plane gateway stored in advance through the configuration data stored in local.

With reference to the third implementation manner or the fourth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the first aspect, before the obtaining service area information of the user plane gateway, the determining, according to location information of the user equipment, a location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment further includes:

and determining the user plane gateway according to the position information of the user equipment.

Before obtaining the service area information of the user plane gateway, the control plane gateway needs to determine a preferred user plane gateway according to the location of the user equipment, and then obtains the service area information of the preferred user plane gateway, so as to ensure that a subsequent location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment is also preferred.

With reference to any one of the third implementation manner to the fifth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the first aspect, when the user plane gateway includes more than one user plane gateway, the acquiring service area information of the user plane gateway further includes:

sending a request message to the more than one user plane gateway, and receiving service area information of the more than one user plane gateway sent by the more than one user plane gateway according to the request message; or

And acquiring the service area information of the more than one user plane gateway from the configuration data.

With reference to the sixth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, according to the location information of the user equipment, a location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment further includes:

and distributing the location area identification list for the user equipment within the range of the service area information of more than one user plane gateway according to the location information of the user equipment.

With reference to the seventh implementation manner of the first aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the first aspect, the allocating, to the user equipment, the location area identifier list within a range of service area information of more than one user plane gateway includes:

allocating the location area identifier list to the user equipment in all the merging areas of the service areas of the more than one user plane gateway; or,

allocating the location area identification list to the user equipment in an intersection area of service areas of the more than one user plane gateway; or,

allocating the location area identification list to the user equipment in any merging area of the service areas of the more than one user plane gateway; or,

and allocating the location area identification list to the user equipment in the service area of any one of the more than one user plane gateway.

Alternatively, the control plane gateway may perform screening combination according to the service area information of more than one user plane gateway, determine information of all merged areas of the service areas of more than one user plane gateway (or other areas in the foregoing implementation manners), and then allocate the location area identifier list to the user equipment according to the information of all merged areas of the service areas of more than one user plane gateway (or other areas in the foregoing implementation manners).

In a second aspect, a method for allocating location information is provided, the method including:

acquiring a location area identification list of the user equipment, which is sent by a control plane gateway serving the user equipment, wherein the location area identification list is determined by the control plane gateway according to location information of the user equipment, and a location area in the location area identification list is in a service area serving the user plane gateway of the user equipment;

and processing the position area identification list according to the service area of the mobile management network element, and sending the processed position area identification list to the user equipment.

The mobile management network element allocates a location area identifier list to the user equipment in the above manner, and since the location area in the location area identifier list is in the service area of the user plane gateway serving the user equipment, the user equipment does not move out of the service area of the user plane gateway when moving in the location area identifier list, and when the user equipment moves out of the service area of the user plane gateway, the user equipment inevitably moves out of the location area in the location area identifier list, so that a location area updating process is initiated; in addition, the above method also ensures that the user equipment is always in the service area of the user plane gateway serving the user equipment when the user equipment moves in the location area identification list, so that the user plane gateway serving the user equipment is the optimal user plane gateway of the user equipment, and the user service experience is ensured.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first implementation manner of the second aspect, the processing the location area identifier list according to a service area of a mobility management network element, and sending the processed location area identifier list to the user equipment includes:

if the location area identifier list contains a location area which is not in the service area of the mobility management network element, deleting the location area which is not in the service area of the mobility management network element from the location area identifier list, and sending the updated location area identifier list to the user equipment; or

And if the location areas contained in the location area identifier list are all in the service area of the mobile management network element, sending the location area identifier list to the user equipment.

The mobility management network element may receive the location area identifier list of the user equipment directly sent by the control plane gateway, and after receiving the location area identifier list of the user equipment directly sent by the control plane gateway, the mobility management network element determines whether a location area that does not belong to the service area of the mobility management network element exists in the received location area identifier list of the user equipment, and if the location area does exist, the location area identifier list is deleted.

With reference to the second aspect or the first implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second implementation manner of the second aspect, before the obtaining the location area identity list of the user equipment sent by the control plane gateway serving the user equipment, the method further includes:

and sending the position information of the user equipment to the control plane gateway.

Before obtaining the location area identifier list of the user equipment sent by the control plane gateway serving the user equipment, the mobility management network element needs to send the location information of the user equipment to the control plane gateway, so that the control plane gateway can determine the location area identifier list of the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment and then send the location area identifier list to the mobility management network element.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third implementation manner of the second aspect, the location information of the user equipment is a registered location area visited by the user equipment last time or a location area where the user equipment is currently located.

Optionally, the mobility management network element receives an attach request or a location update request sent by the user equipment, where the attach request or the location update request includes a registered location area identifier visited by the user equipment last time;

and acquiring the registration location area identifier accessed by the user equipment last time in the attachment request or the location updating request.

The mobile management network element transmits the registration location area identifier accessed by the user equipment last time through the attachment request or the location updating request sent by the user equipment, so that the transmission of acquiring the registration location area identifier accessed by the user equipment last time by adopting a new message is avoided, and transmission resources are saved.

Optionally, the mobility management network element receives the location information of the user equipment reported by the base station, and the mobility management network element obtains the location information of the user equipment through the reporting of the base station.

In a third aspect, a location information distributing apparatus is provided, which includes several units, such as an acquiring unit, a processing unit and a transmitting unit, which are used to implement the method provided in the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a location information distribution apparatus is provided, which comprises several units, such as an acquisition unit, a processing unit and a sending unit, for implementing the method provided by the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a location information distribution apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface; the memory is used for storing software programs and modules, and the processor realizes the following by running or executing the software programs and/or modules stored in the memory:

acquiring the position information of user equipment;

and sending the location area identifier list to a mobility management network element serving the user equipment through the communication interface, so that the mobility management network element sends the location area identifier list to the user equipment.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a location information assigning apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface; the memory is used for storing software programs and modules, and the processor realizes the following by running or executing the software programs and/or modules stored in the memory:

and processing the location area identifier list according to the service area of the mobile management network element, and sending the processed location area identifier list to the user equipment through the communication interface.

In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is used for storing program codes executed by the aforementioned processor when allocating the position information. The program code comprises instructions for implementing the method provided by the first aspect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a distributed gateway architecture provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a C-GW provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of another location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of another location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of another location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a position information distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another position information distribution device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention, a distributed gateway architecture is first described with reference to fig. 1. The distributed gateway architecture is an enhanced network architecture provided on the existing EPS network architecture based on the idea of separating a network function control plane from a user plane. As shown in fig. 1, the distributed Gateway architecture includes a Control plane Gateway (C-GW) and a U-GW. The C-GW is a centralized control plane Gateway, integrates functions of an S-GW and a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) control plane in the existing EPS Network, and is used to specially process control plane signaling in the EPS Network, including functions of mobility management, session management, address management, path management, charging management, and the like. The U-GW is a distributed user plane gateway, integrates the functions of an S-GW and a P-GW user plane in the existing EPS network, and is used for specially processing user plane data in the 3GPP EPS network, wherein the functions comprise routing forwarding, data packet inspection, data packet statistics, service quality execution and the like. The C-GW realizes the control and management of the user plane data processing through the interaction with the U-GW, and the U-GW realizes the processing of the user plane data under the control and management of the C-GW. It should be noted that, for one UE, only one C-GW serves it at any time, but multiple U-GWs may serve it at the same time, and the C-GW serving the UE may be referred to as a C-GW serving the UE, or may be referred to as a serving C-GW of the UE; the U-GW serving the UE may be referred to as a U-GW serving the UE, and may also be referred to as a serving U-GW for the UE.

The U-GW and the C-GW can be connected by adopting an S18 interface, and an S18 interface can reuse an interface protocol between the S-GW and the P-GW, such as: the general packet radio service tunneling Protocol (GTP) may also be other interface protocols or a newly defined Protocol, which is not limited in the present invention. It should be noted that, here, the S18 interface is only a naming mode of an interface between the U-GW and the C-GW, and the interface may also be named by other names, such as S15 or S20, which is not limited by the present invention.

The distributed gateway architecture also comprises UE and MME, wherein the UE is connected with the MME and the U-GW through an Evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). The MME has the functions of being responsible for session management, identity authentication, access control and the like.

In the invention, the MME and the C-GW can also be used for being responsible for the distribution of the position information of the UE.

The UE related to the present invention may include a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication function, and various forms of UEs, Mobile Stations (MSs), terminals (terminals), Terminal Equipment (Terminal Equipment), and so on. For convenience of description, in the present invention, it is simply referred to as UE.

In addition, the distributed gateway architecture also includes network devices and networks in a common EPS network architecture, such as a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), and both the network devices and the networks in the distributed gateway architecture can be connected in a manner in the existing EPS network.

In the distributed gateway architecture of the invention, the U-GW can perform distributed deployment according to the service requirement and realize the local access of the UE, thereby shortening the RTT of the user plane data of the UE and improving the user experience. When the UE is deployed, the position of the U-GW is closer to a metropolitan area network or even a base station controller of the UE than the position of a P-GW in a common EPS network architecture, and the service area of the U-GW is much smaller than that of an MME in the EPS network architecture along with the change of the position of the U-GW, so that the change probability of the U-GW in the moving process of the UE is increased.

If the MME still allocates the location area identity list to the UE according to the TAI information of the TA where the UE is currently located, regardless of the service area of the U-GW, there will likely be a TA in the location area identification list assigned to the UE that is outside the service area of the U-GW currently serving the UE, in this case, if the UE moves out of the service area of the current serving U-GW into another TA, and the other TA exists in the location area identification list but belongs to the service area of the other U-GW (i.e. does not belong to the service area of the U-GW currently providing service for the UE), the UE will not initiate the TAU procedure, and still use the U-GW currently providing service for the UE for data transmission of the user plane, and at this time, the other U-GW, being closer to the UE, may provide better service to the UE, but the UE cannot. Therefore, the invention provides a method for allocating location information, which can ensure that all the TAs in a location area identifier list allocated to the UE are located within the service area of the U-GW currently providing service for the UE, so that once the UE moves out of the service area of the U-GW currently providing service for the UE, a TAU procedure is initiated, the U-GW is reselected in the procedure, the U-GW closer to the UE (i.e., the other U-GW) is selected to provide service for the UE, and the optimization of RTT is ensured, thereby ensuring user experience. It should be noted that, in the distributed gateway architecture based on the EPS network enhancement, the location area identifier List is a tracking area identifier List TAI List.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a possible hardware structure of the C-GW shown in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the C-GW includes a processor 10, a memory 20, and a communication interface 30. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the configuration shown in fig. 2 is not intended to be limiting of the C-GW and may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components in combination, or a different arrangement of components. Wherein:

the processor 10 is a control center of the C-GW, connects respective parts of the entire C-GW using various interfaces and lines, and performs various functions of the C-GW and processes data by running or executing software programs and/or modules stored in the memory 20 and calling data stored in the memory 20, thereby performing overall control of the C-GW. The processor 10 may be implemented by a CPU, or may be implemented by a Network Processor (NP) having a control plane function.

The memory 20 may be used to store software programs and modules. The processor 10 executes various functional applications and data processing by executing software programs and modules stored in the memory 20. The memory 20 may mainly include a storage program area and a storage data area, wherein the storage program area may store the operating system 21, the obtaining module 22, the processing module 23, the sending module 24, and an application program 25 (such as location area identifier list allocation) required by at least one function, and the like; the storage data area may store data created according to the use of the C-GW (such as location information of the UE, etc.), and the like. The Memory 20 may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile Memory device or combination thereof, such as a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic Memory, a flash Memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. Accordingly, the memory 20 may also include a memory controller to provide the processor 10 access to the memory 20.

The processor 10 executes the following functions by operating the acquisition module 22: acquiring the position information of the UE; the processor 10 performs the following functions by operating the processing module 23: determining a position area identification list distributed to the UE according to the position information of the UE, wherein the position area in the position area identification list is in a service area of a U-GW serving the UE; the processor 10 performs the following functions by executing the sending module 24: the location area identity list is sent to the MME serving the UE over the communication interface 30 to cause the MME to send the location area identity list to the UE.

One possible hardware structure diagram of the MME shown in fig. 1 may be the same as the structure of the C-GW shown in fig. 2. Wherein, the processor 10 of the MME executes the following functions by running the obtaining module 22: acquiring a location area identification list of the UE sent by a C-GW serving the UE, wherein the location area identification list is determined by the C-GW according to the location information of the UE, and the location area in the location area identification list is in the service area of a U-GW serving the UE; the processor 10 performs the following functions by operating the processing module 23: processing the position area identification list according to the service area of the MME; the processor 10 performs the following functions by executing the sending module 24: the processed list of location area identities is sent to the UE via the communication interface 30.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed by the C-GW in the aforementioned distributed gateway architecture, and as shown in fig. 3, the method includes the following steps.

Step 201: and acquiring the position information of the UE.

Step 202: and determining a location area identification list allocated to the UE according to the location information of the UE, wherein the location area in the location area identification list is in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE.

Step 203: and sending the location area identification list to the MME so that the MME sends the location area identification list to the UE.

In the embodiment of the invention, the C-GW allocates the position area identification list for the UE through the mode, and because the position area in the position area identification list is in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE, the UE cannot move out of the service area of the U-GW when moving in the position area identification list, and when the UE moves out of the service area of the U-GW, the UE inevitably moves out of the position area in the position area identification list, so that a TAU flow can be initiated; in addition, the above method also ensures that the UE is always in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE when the UE moves in the location area identification list, so that the U-GW serving the UE is always the optimal U-GW for the current location of the UE, and the user service experience is ensured.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method may be performed by an MME in the aforementioned distributed gateway architecture, as shown in fig. 4, and includes the following steps.

Step 301: and acquiring a location area identification list of the UE sent by a C-GW serving the UE, wherein the location area identification list is determined by the C-GW according to the location information of the UE, and the location area of the location area identification list is in the service area of a U-GW serving the UE.

Step 302: and processing the location area identification list according to the service area of the MME, and sending the processed location area identification list to the UE.

In the embodiment of the invention, the MME allocates the position area identification list for the UE in the mode, and because the position area in the position area identification list is in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE, the UE cannot move out of the service area of the U-GW when moving in the position area identification list, and when the UE moves out of the service area of the U-GW, the UE inevitably moves out of the position area in the position area identification list, so that a TAU flow can be initiated; in addition, the above method also ensures that the UE is always in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE when the UE moves in the location area identification list, so that the U-GW serving the UE is always the optimal U-GW for the current location of the UE, and the user service experience is ensured.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the method, the location information allocation action of the UE is performed by the C-GW, and as shown in fig. 5, the method includes the following steps.

Step 401: the UE sends an attachment request or a location update request or a Packet Data Network (PDN) connection request to the MME, and the MME receives the attachment request or the location update request or the Packet Data Network (PDN) connection request sent by the UE. And the MME receives the attachment request or the location updating request or the packet data network connection request, namely, the UE location information distribution process is started. This step is prior art.

Optionally, if the UE stores the last visited registered location area identifier, for example: last Visited Registered tai (last Visited Registered tai), the UE may include the registration location area identifier Visited by the UE last time in the attach request or the location update request, and send the registration location area identifier to the MME.

Optionally, the packet data network connection request may include an Access Point Name (APN).

Step 402: and the MME sends the position information of the UE to the C-GW, and the C-GW receives the position information of the UE sent by the MME.

Optionally, the location information of the UE is a registered location area visited by the UE last time or a location area where the UE is currently located. The Location Area includes, but is not limited to, TA, Location Area (LA), and Routing Area (RA).

Optionally, the MME may send the location information of the UE to the C-GW by sending a request message, where the request message carries the location information of the UE. Optionally, the Request message is a Create Session Request (Create Session Request) or a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request) or a Modify Access Bearer Request (Modify Access Bearers Request) or a Change Notification Request (Change Notification Request). Alternatively, the request message may be other requests.

Correspondingly, the C-GW receives a request message sent by the MME, wherein the request message carries the position information of the UE.

Optionally, before step 402, the method further includes the MME acquiring a location area where the UE is currently located.

Optionally, the obtaining, by the MME, the location area where the UE is currently located may include: and receiving the current location area of the UE reported by the base station which the UE is currently accessed to. This reporting mechanism is prior art.

The MME acquiring the location information of the UE may further include: and receiving an attachment request or a location updating request sent by the UE, and acquiring a registered location area visited by the UE last time from the attachment request or the location updating request.

Alternatively, the MME acquires the location information of the UE from the memory, and the location information may be stored in the memory after being received in advance.

Optionally, if the MME receives the packet data network connection request, the MME further sends the access point name APN in the packet data network connection request to the C-GW.

Step 403: and the C-GW determines the U-GW serving the UE according to the position information of the UE.

Optionally, if the C-GW receives the APN sent by the MME in step 402, the C-GW determines a U-GW serving the UE according to the location information of the UE and the APN, and if the APN is different from the APN connected to the PDN of the UE, the serving U-GW determined by the MME may be different from the serving U-GW connected to the PDN of the UE, so that the UE has more than one serving U-GW at the same time, and the serving C-GW of the UE can know the number of the current serving U-GWs of the UE.

Step 404: the C-GW acquires service area information of a serving U-GW of the UE.

An optional implementation manner for the C-GW to obtain the service area information of the U-GW is that the C-GW obtains the service area information of the U-GW from the configuration data, and the C-GW does not need to send a request message to the serving U-GW.

Another optional implementation is that the C-GW sends a request message to the U-GW, requesting the U-GW to send service area information to the C-GW; and the service U-GW sends the service area information of the service U-GW to the C-GW in a response message according to the request message. The Request message may be a Create Session Request (Create Session Request), a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request), or a Modify Access Bearer Request (Modify Access Bearers Request), or may be another Request message, which is not limited. Correspondingly, the Response message may be a Create Session Response (Create Session Response) or a Modify Bearer Response (Modify Bearer Response) or a Modify Access Bearer Response (Modify Access Bearers Response), or may be another Response message, which is not limited.

Optionally, the C-GW acquiring the service area information of the U-GW may acquire the service area information of one U-GW, or acquire the service area information of more than one U-GW.

Similarly, an alternative implementation for the C-GW to obtain the service area information of more than one U-GW is to obtain the service area information of more than one U-GW from the configuration data, and the C-GW does not need to send a request message to the serving U-GW.

Another alternative embodiment is shown in fig. 5, where the C-GW sends a request message to each U-GW, requesting the U-GW to send service area information to the C-GW; and the service U-GW sends the service area information of the service U-GW to the C-GW in a response message according to the request message. The Request message may be a Create Session Request (Create Session Request) or a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request) or a Modify Access Bearer Request (Modify Access Bearers Request). Alternatively, the request message may be other requests. Correspondingly, the Response message may be a Create Session Response (Create Session Response) or a Modify Bearer Response (Modify Bearer Response) or a Modify Access Bearer Response (Modify Access Bearer Response). Alternatively, the response message may be another response.

Optionally, the service area information of the U-GW may include one or more location area identifications, e.g., the service area of the U-GW may be { TA1, TA2, TA3 }.

Step 405: and the C-GW allocates a location area identification list for the UE in the service area information range of the U-GW according to the location information of the UE.

When the C-GW determines that there is only one U-GW serving the UE, the C-GW directly allocates a location area identity list to the UE within the range of the service area information of the one U-GW in step 405.

And when the C-GW determines that there is more than one U-GW serving the UE, the C-GW allocates a location area identity list for the UE within the range of the service area information of the more than one U-GW in step 405.

Optionally, allocating a location area identifier list to the UE within the range of the service area information of more than one U-GW, including:

allocating a location area identification list for the UE in all the merging areas of the service areas of more than one U-GW; or,

allocating a location area identification list for the UE in the crossed area of the service areas of more than one U-GW; or,

allocating a location area identification list to the UE in any merging area of the service areas of more than one U-GW; or,

and allocating a location area identification list to the UE in the service area of any U-GW in the more than one U-GW.

Optionally, the C-GW may determine a configuration policy first, and perform screening combination on the service area information of more than one U-GW according to the configuration policy to determine information of all merged areas (or other areas in the foregoing implementation manner) of the service areas of more than one U-GW. The configuration policy corresponds to the intersection or merging area of the service areas of more than one U-GW, for example:

all merging areas of the service areas of more than one U-GW correspond to a union set of position area identification sets in all U-GW service area information;

the intersection area of the service areas of more than one U-GW corresponds to the intersection of the position area identification sets in all the U-GW service area information;

any merging area of the service areas of more than one U-GW corresponds to a subset of a union set of the position area identification sets in all U-GW service area information;

the service area of any U-GW in more than one U-GW corresponds to the position area identification set in any U-GW service area information.

The following describes, by way of example, screening and combining service area information of more than one U-GW according to a configuration policy:

for example, three U-GWs determined by the C-GW are U-GW1, U-GW2, and U-GW3, respectively, and the service area information of these three U-GWs is: service area information of U-GW1 { TA1, TA2, TA3 }; service area information of U-GW2 { TA2, TA3, TA4 }; service area information of U-GW3 { TA2, TA3, TA5 }.

The configuration policy in the C-GW may be any one of the following three:

(1) the union set of the position area identification sets in all the U-GW service area information;

(2) intersection of position area identification sets in all U-GW service area information;

(3) and the position area identification in all the U-GW service area information is a subset of the union of the sets.

According to the configuration policy (1), the service area information of the U-GW is { TA1, TA2, TA3, TA4, TA5 }; according to the configuration policy (2), the service area information of the U-GW is { TA2, TA3 }; the service area information of the U-GW may be { TA1, TA2, TA3} or { TA1, TA4, TA5} according to the configuration policy (3).

Optionally, the location area in the location area identifier list is, in addition to the location area to be in the service area of the U-GW, a part or all of the location area in the location area identifier list that the UE is currently located in (or the registered location area that the UE has visited last time), or a location area located in a set range around the location area that the UE is currently located in (or the registered location area that the UE has visited last time), so that the location area identifier list allocated to the UE is allocated according to the location where the UE has appeared, and the accuracy of the location area identifier list allocated to the UE is ensured.

Step 406: and the C-GW sends the location area identification list of the UE to the MME, and the MME receives and acquires the location area identification list of the UE sent by the C-GW.

Optionally, the C-GW may send the location area identifier list of the UE to the MME through a response message, where the response message carries the location area identifier list of the UE. Optionally, the Response message is a Create Session Response (Create Session Response) or a Modify Bearer Response (Modify Bearer Response) or a Modify Access Bearer Response (Modify Access Bearers Response) or a Change Notification Response (Change Notification Response). Alternatively, the response message may be other responses.

Correspondingly, the MME receives a response message sent by the C-GW, and the response message carries the location area identification list of the UE.

Step 407: and the MME processes the position area identification list according to the service area of the MME.

Optionally, if the location area identifier list includes a location area that is not within the service area of the MME, deleting the location area that is not within the service area of the MME from the location area identifier list, and sending the updated location area identifier list to the UE; or,

and if the location areas contained in the location area identification list are all in the service area of the MME, directly sending the location area identification list to the UE.

Step 408: and the MME sends the processed position area identification list to the UE, and the UE receives and stores the position area identification list sent by the MME.

Optionally, when the MME receives an attach request or a location update request in step 401, the MME may send the location area identity list to the UE through an attach accept message or a location update accept message.

Alternatively, when the MME receives the packet data network connection request in step 401, the MME may send the location area identifier list to the UE through a global Unique Temporary identifier (global Unique Temporary Identity) reallocation message (GUTI Relocation Command).

In the embodiment of the invention, the position area identification list is distributed to the UE in the mode, and because the position area in the position area identification list is in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE, the UE cannot move out of the service area of the U-GW when moving in the position area identification list, and the UE inevitably moves out of the position area in the position area identification list when moving out of the service area of the U-GW, so that a TAU flow can be initiated; in addition, the above method also ensures that the UE is always in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE when the UE moves in the location area identification list, so that the U-GW serving the UE is always the optimal U-GW for the current location of the UE, and the user service experience is ensured.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a location information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the method, the location information allocation action of the UE is performed by the MME, and as shown in fig. 6, the method includes the following steps.

Step 501: the UE sends an attachment request or a location update request or a packet data network connection request to the MME, and the MME receives the attachment request or the location update request or the packet data network connection request sent by the UE. And the MME receives the attachment request, the position updating request or the packet data network connection request and starts the position information distribution flow of the UE.

The specific implementation of step 501 may be the same as step 401 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

Step 502: and the MME sends the position information of the UE to the C-GW, and the C-GW receives the position information of the UE sent by the MME.

The specific implementation of step 502 may be the same as step 402 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

Step 503: and the C-GW determines the U-GW serving the UE according to the position information of the UE.

Step 504: the C-GW acquires service area information of a serving U-GW of the UE.

The specific implementation of step 503 may be the same as step 403 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and the specific implementation of step 504 may be the same as step 404 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

Step 505: the C-GW sends the service area information of the U-GW to the MME, and the MME receives the service area information of the U-GW sent by the C-GW.

Optionally, the C-GW may send the service area information of the U-GW to the MME through a response message, where the response message carries the service area information of the U-GW. Optionally, the Response message is a Create Session Response (Create Session Response) or a Modify Bearer Response (Modify Bearer Response) or a Modify Access Bearer Response (Modify Access Bearers Response) or a Change Notification Response (Change Notification Response). Alternatively, the response message may be other responses.

Correspondingly, the MME receives a response message sent by the C-GW, and the response message carries the service area information of the U-GW.

When the C-GW determines that there is only one U-GW serving the UE, the C-GW may directly transmit the service area information of the one U-GW to the MME in step 505.

When the C-GW determines that there is more than one U-GW serving the UE, the C-GW may process the service area information of the more than one U-GW first and send the processed service area information of the U-GW to the MME in step 505.

Optionally, the C-GW processes the service area information of more than one U-GW as follows:

determining a configuration strategy, wherein the configuration strategy is used for screening and combining the service area information of more than one U-GW;

and processing the service area information of more than one U-GW according to the configuration strategy.

The configuration policy in the C-GW may be any one of the following three:

(3) and the position area identification in each U-GW service area information is a subset of the union of the sets.

According to the configuration policy (1), the service area information of the U-GW sent by the C-GW to the MME is { TA1, TA2, TA3, TA4, TA5 }; according to the configuration policy (2), the service area information of the U-GW sent by the C-GW to the MME is { TA2, TA3 }; the service area information of the U-GW that the C-GW sends to the MME may be either { TA1, TA2, TA3} or { TA1, TA4, TA5} according to the configuration policy (3).

The configuration policy is not limited to the above three types, and may be, for example, a location area identifier set in any one U-GW service area information.

Alternatively, when there is more than one U-GW, the C-GW may also directly send the service area information of the more than one U-GW to the MME, the MME processes the service area information of the more than one U-GW, and then allocates a location area identification list to the UE according to the processed service area information of the more than one U-GW.

Alternatively, the procedure for the MME to handle the service area information of more than one U-GW may be the same as the procedure for the C-GW to handle the service area information of more than one U-GW.

Step 506: and the MME allocates a location area identification list for the UE in the service area information range of the U-GW according to the location information of the UE.

The process of allocating, by the MME, the location area identifier list for the UE is the same as that of allocating, by the C-GW, the location area identifier list for the UE in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, which is not described herein again.

Step 507: and the MME sends the position area identification list allocated to the UE, and the UE receives and stores the position area identification list sent by the MME.

Optionally, when the MME receives an attach request or a location update request in step 501, the MME may send the location area identity list to the UE through an attach accept message or a location update accept message.

Alternatively, when the MME receives a packet data network connection request in step 501, the MME may send the location area identity list to the UE through a global unique temporary identity reallocation message.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a location information distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The location information allocating means may be implemented as all or a part of the C-GW by software, hardware, or a combination of both. The position information distributing apparatus may include: an acquisition unit 601, a processing unit 602, and a transmission unit 603.

An obtaining unit 601, configured to obtain location information of a UE;

a processing unit 602, configured to determine a location area identifier list allocated to the UE according to the location information of the UE acquired by the acquiring unit, where a location area in the location area identifier list is in a service area of a U-GW serving the UE;

a sending unit 603, configured to send the location area identifier list determined by the processing unit to an MME serving the UE, so that the MME sends the location area identifier list to the UE.

In the embodiment of the invention, the position area identification list is distributed to the UE in the mode, and because the position area in the position area identification list is in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE, the UE cannot move out of the service area of the U-GW when moving in the position area identification list, and the UE inevitably moves out of the position area in the position area identification list when moving out of the service area of the U-GW, so that a TAU flow can be initiated; in addition, the above method also ensures that the UE is always in the service area of the U-GW serving the UE when the UE moves in the location area identification list, so that the U-GW serving the UE is the optimal U-GW of the UE, and the user service experience is ensured.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 601 is configured to:

receiving a request message sent by an MME, wherein the request message carries the position information of the UE, and the request message is a session creation request, a bearer modification request, an access bearer modification request or a change notification request.

Optionally, the location information of the UE is a registered location area visited by the UE last time or a location area where the UE is currently located.

Optionally, the processing unit 602 is configured to:

acquiring service area information of the U-GW;

and according to the position information of the UE, allocating a position area identification list to the UE in the service area information range of the U-GW.

Optionally, the processing unit 602 is configured to:

sending an information request message to the U-GW, and receiving service area information of the U-GW sent by the U-GW according to the information request message; or,

and acquiring the service area information of the U-GW from the configuration data.

Optionally, the processing unit 602 is configured to:

and determining the U-GW according to the position information of the UE.

Optionally, when the U-GW includes more than one U-GW, the processing unit 602 is further configured to obtain service area information of the U-GW:

sending a request message to more than one U-GW, and receiving the service area information of more than one U-GW sent by more than one U-GW according to the request message; or

Service area information of more than one U-GW is obtained from the configuration data.

Optionally, the processing unit 602 is further configured to:

and according to the position information of the UE, distributing a position area identification list for the UE in the range of the service area information of more than one U-GW.

Optionally, the processing unit 602 is configured to:

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of a location information distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The location information allocating device may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both as a whole or a part of the MME. The position information distributing apparatus may include: an acquisition unit 701, a processing unit 702, and a transmission unit 703.

An obtaining unit 701, configured to obtain a location area identifier list of the UE sent by a C-GW serving the UE, where the location area identifier list is determined by the C-GW according to location information of the UE, and a location area in the location area identifier list is in a service area of a U-GW serving the UE;

a processing unit 702, configured to process the location area identifier list acquired by the acquiring unit 701 according to a service area of the MME;

a sending unit 703, configured to send the location area identifier list processed by the processing unit 702 to the UE.

Optionally, the processing unit 702 is configured to:

if the location area identification list contains a location area which is not in the service area of the MME, deleting the location area which is not in the service area of the MME from the location area identification list, and sending the updated location area identification list to the UE; or,

and if the location areas contained in the location area identification list are all in the service area of the MME, sending the location area identification list to the UE.

Optionally, the sending unit 703 is further configured to:

and before acquiring a UE location area identification list sent by a C-GW serving the UE, sending the UE location information to the C-GW.

It should be noted that: the location information allocating apparatus provided in the above embodiment is only illustrated by dividing each of the functional units when allocating location information, and in practical applications, the function allocation may be completed by different functional units according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional units to complete all or part of the functions described above. In addition, the position information allocation apparatus and the position information allocation method provided in the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are described in the method embodiments and are not described herein again.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware, where the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for allocating location information, the method being used for a control plane gateway in a distributed gateway architecture, the method comprising:

acquiring the position information of user equipment;

acquiring service area information of more than one user plane gateway of the user equipment;

according to the position information of the user equipment, distributing a position area identification list for the user equipment in the range of the service area information of more than one user plane gateway;

sending the location area identifier list to a mobility management network element serving the user equipment, so that the mobility management network element sends the location area identifier list to the user equipment;

the allocating, according to the location information of the user equipment, the location area identifier list to the user equipment within the range of the service area information of the more than one user plane gateway includes:

distributing the location area identification list for the user equipment in all the merging areas of the service areas of the more than one user plane gateway according to the location information of the user equipment; or,

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the location information of the user equipment comprises:

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the location information of the ue is a registered location area visited by the ue last time or a location area where the ue is currently located.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein before said allocating the location area identification list to the user equipment within the service area information of the more than one user plane gateway according to the location information of the user equipment, the method further comprises:

5. The method of claim 4, wherein obtaining service area information of more than one user plane gateway comprises:

6. A method for allocating location information, which is used for a mobility management network element in a distributed gateway architecture, the method comprising:

acquiring a location area identification list of the user equipment, which is sent by a control plane gateway serving the user equipment, wherein a location area in the location area identification list is in a service area of the user plane gateway serving the user equipment;

processing the location area identification list according to the service area of the mobile management network element, and sending the processed location area identification list to the user equipment;

the location area identifier list is a location area identifier list allocated by the control plane gateway to the user equipment in all merging areas of a service area of more than one user plane gateway according to the location information of the user equipment; or,

a list of location area identities allocated to the user equipment within an intersection area of service areas of the more than one user plane gateway; or,

a location area identifier list allocated to the user equipment in any of the merging areas of the service areas of the more than one user plane gateway; or,

a list of location area identities allocated to the user equipment within a service area of any one of the more than one user plane gateway.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the processing the location area identifier list according to the service area of the mobility management element and sending the processed location area identifier list to the user equipment comprises:

if the location area identifier list contains a location area which is not in the service area of the mobility management network element, deleting the location area which is not in the service area of the mobility management network element from the location area identifier list, and sending the updated location area identifier list to the user equipment; or,

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein before the obtaining the location area identity list of the user equipment sent by the control plane gateway serving the user equipment, the method further comprises:

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the location information of the ue is a registered location area visited by the ue last time or a location area where the ue is currently located.

10. A location information distribution apparatus for a control plane gateway in a distributed gateway architecture, the apparatus comprising:

an acquisition unit configured to acquire location information of a user equipment;

a processing unit, configured to obtain service area information of more than one user plane gateway of the user equipment;

the processing unit is configured to allocate a location area identifier list to the user equipment within a range of service area information of the more than one user plane gateway according to the location information of the user equipment;

a sending unit, configured to send the location area identifier list to a mobility management network element serving the user equipment, so that the mobility management network element sends the location area identifier list to the user equipment;

the processing unit is further configured to:

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the obtaining unit is configured to:

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the location information of the ue is a registered location area visited by the ue last time or a location area where the ue is currently located.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing unit is configured to:

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

15. A location information distribution apparatus, for a mobility management network element in a distributed gateway architecture, the apparatus comprising:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a location area identifier list of a user equipment, where a location area in the location area identifier list is sent by a control plane gateway serving the user equipment, and the location area is in a service area serving the user plane gateway of the user equipment;

a processing unit, configured to process the location area identifier list obtained by the obtaining unit according to a service area of the mobility management network element;

a sending unit, configured to send the location area identifier list processed by the processing unit to the user equipment;

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing unit is configured to:

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sending unit is further configured to:

and before the position area identification list of the user equipment sent by the control plane gateway serving the user equipment is obtained, sending the position information of the user equipment to the control plane gateway.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the location information of the ue is a registered location area visited by the ue last time or a location area where the ue is currently located.

19. A location information distribution device for a control plane gateway in a distributed gateway architecture, the location information distribution device comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface; the memory is used for storing software programs and modules, and the processor realizes the following by running or executing the software programs and/or modules stored in the memory:

acquiring the position information of user equipment;

sending the location area identifier list to a mobility management network element serving the user equipment through the communication interface, so that the mobility management network element sends the location area identifier list to the user equipment;

the allocating, according to the location information of the user equipment, the location area identifier list to the user equipment within a range of service area information of more than one user plane gateway includes:

20. The device for distributing the position information is used for a mobile management network element in a distributed gateway architecture, and comprises a processor, a memory and a communication interface; the memory is used for storing software programs and modules, and the processor realizes the following by running or executing the software programs and/or modules stored in the memory:

processing the location area identifier list according to the service area of the mobility management network element, and sending the processed location area identifier list to the user equipment through the communication interface;