CN108377524B

CN108377524B - Terminal data packet transmission method and device

Info

Publication number: CN108377524B
Application number: CN201610889209.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李海民; 郑震铎
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-10-11
Filing date: 2016-10-11
Publication date: 2020-12-04
Anticipated expiration: 2036-10-11
Also published as: CN108377524A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for transmitting a terminal data packet, wherein a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses are distributed to a terminal, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a data packet; according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses, the data packet is transmitted, and when the data packet passes through the PGW, the virtual IP address is modified into the actual IP address in the uplink direction or the actual IP address is modified into the virtual IP address of the terminal in the downlink direction, so that the strict corresponding relation of the actual IP address, the PGW and a transmission route behind an SGi interface when the terminal uses the actual IP address as a service address is eliminated, the service address of the terminal side is kept unchanged in the terminal moving process, the PGW is easy to change, the optimal route can be selected according to the service, the problem of alternate route is avoided, and the Qos and the user experience of the terminal service are improved.

Description

Terminal data packet transmission method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for transmitting a terminal data packet.

Background

A 4G mobile communication Core network, also called an Evolved Packet Core (EPC, Evolved Packet Core), mainly includes an MME (Mobility Management Entity), an SGW (Serving Gateway), and a PGW (PDN Gateway), where the MME completes functions of terminal access, authentication, Mobility Management, connection Management, and the like; the SGW is a serving gateway, serving as a forwarding Node for connecting an eNB (evolved Node Base) and a PGW, and is responsible for handling mobility of a terminal between enbs; the PGW is responsible for terminal address allocation, routing of terminal service data, mapping of service data and bearer, and policy control of service.

In the EPC, a terminal establishes a default bearer during an attach process, a PGW selects from a locally configured address pool or allocates an IP address to the terminal by using technologies such as DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), and the terminal accesses the Internet and a server in the PDN by using the IP address as a service address; after the terminal service data packet passes through the PGW, the GTP (GPRS tunneling Protocol) tunnel encapsulation is removed, so that the IP address is exposed in the transmission network after the SGi interface, and is used as the addressing identifier of the service data route. This way of allocating and using IP addresses for terminals is an actual IP address way, which is also an IP address allocation way defined in the current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standard.

Because the actual IP address of the terminal directly appears at the SGi interface and the IP service packet passing through the router uses the actual address, the actual address of the terminal must be attached to the subnet corresponding to the SGi interface of the PGW in order to ensure that the packet can be routed correctly. Different SGi interfaces of the same PGW, and subnets of SGi interfaces of different PGWs are different.

When the terminal needs to be replaced from the PGW1 to the PGW2 as the terminal moves, the PGW2 will assign a new IP address and routing relationship to the terminal, which will have the following effects on the service data:

(1) after the terminal is switched to the PGW2, a new IP address is allocated, and the service in progress is interrupted, so that the continuity of the service cannot be guaranteed;

(2) the PGW2 allocates a new IP Address, but does not notify the terminal of the new IP Address, but adds a NAT (Network Address Translation) in the transmission Network behind the SGi interface, and needs to use the NAT to perform routing mapping between the PGW2 and the PGW 1; however, the real-time control of the NAT on the service flow level is very complex and difficult to realize;

(3) after the terminal is switched to the PGW2, the terminal uses the IP address allocated by the PGW1, the PGW2 needs to modify the terminal IP address allocation policy, record which PGW the IP of the terminal is allocated to, and the PGW1 also needs to record that the IP address is already allocated, because the terminal IP address belongs to the subnet of the PGW1, the transmission network still routes the packet to the PGW1 in the downlink direction, and the problem of detour routing caused by changing the PGW is not completely solved.

As can be seen, the current 3GPP standard does not support the reallocation of the PGW, but improves the Qos (Quality of Service) of the Service, reduces the Service delay, and needs to select the optimal route according to the Service provider, but the reallocation of the PGW is difficult at present, which causes the problem of a detour route in the mobile core network, thereby affecting the Qos of the terminal Service and the user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method and a device for transmitting a terminal data packet, which can solve the problem that the current 3GPP standard does not support the reallocation of PGW, which causes a detour route in a mobile core network and affects the Qos of terminal services and user experience.

In order to solve the above problem, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for transmitting a terminal data packet, where a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses are allocated to a terminal, and the method includes:

receiving a data packet;

and transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses.

Preferably, the data packet includes a downlink data packet, the downlink data packet uses an actual IP address, and the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses includes:

judging whether a matched downlink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table according to the actual IP address, wherein the downlink service flow template index table simultaneously comprises a virtual IP address and an actual IP address;

if a matched downlink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table, modifying the actual IP address in the downlink data packet into the virtual IP address;

determining corresponding load bearing by adopting the downlink service flow template;

encapsulating the downlink data packet into a tunnel format corresponding to the bearer;

and sending the downlink data packet encapsulated into the tunnel format to a terminal corresponding to the virtual IP address through the bearer.

Preferably, the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses further includes:

and if the matched downlink service flow template does not exist in the preset service flow template index table, discarding the downlink data packet.

Preferably, the data packet includes an uplink data packet, the uplink data packet uses a virtual IP address, and the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses includes:

removing the encapsulation of the tunnel format for the uplink data packet, wherein the uplink data packet removed from the encapsulation of the tunnel format comprises a virtual IP address and a target IP address;

modifying the virtual IP address into an actual IP address;

judging whether a matched uplink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table or not;

and if the matched uplink service flow template exists in the preset service flow template index table, sending the modified uplink data packet to a network.

and if the matched uplink service flow template does not exist in the preset service flow template index table, discarding the uplink data packet.

Preferably, before the step of receiving the data packet, the method further comprises:

in the bearing activation process of a terminal, distributing a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses for the terminal, and distributing a bearing tunnel endpoint identifier for the terminal;

an uplink service flow template is constructed according to the virtual IP address, and a downlink service flow template is constructed according to the actual IP address;

configuring a preset service flow template index table according to the downlink service flow template;

and sending the uplink service flow template to the terminal.

Preferably, the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses allocated by the terminal are:

in the bearing activation process of a terminal at one or more service anchor Points (PGW), distributing a virtual IP address of the terminal to an Access Point (APN) in an evolution packet core network, and distributing actual IP addresses associated with the virtual IP address to one or more service anchor Points (PGW) connected with the terminal under the same APN;

or,

in the bearing activation process of a terminal at one or more service anchor points PGW, the service anchor points PGW in the same area in an evolution packet core network are distributed with a virtual IP address of the terminal, and one or more service anchor points PGW connected with the terminal in the same area are respectively distributed with an actual IP address associated with the virtual IP address;

or,

in the bearing activation process of the terminal at one or more service anchor points PGW, a virtual IP address is allocated to the unique identification code of the terminal in an evolution packet core network, and the one or more service anchor points PGW connected with the terminal are respectively allocated with an actual IP address associated with the virtual IP address corresponding to the unique identification.

Preferably, the PGW comprises PGW1 and PGW2, the method further comprising:

for a data packet being transmitted in an evolved packet core network, if a PGW1 is switched to a PGW2, establishing a tunnel between the PGW1 and the PGW 2;

when the data packet is a downlink data packet, sending the downlink data packet from the PGW2 to the PGW1 through the tunnel;

when the data packet is uplink data packet, the uplink data packet is sent from the PGW1 to the PGW2 through the tunnel.

Preferably, the method further comprises:

for an uplink data packet being transmitted in a terminal, if the uplink data packet is switched from the PGW1 to the PGW2, establishing a tunnel between the PGW1 and the PGW 2;

when the uplink data packet belongs to the PGW1, sending the uplink data packet from the PGW2 to the PGW1 through the tunnel;

when the uplink data packet belongs to the PGW2, sending the uplink data packet to the PGW 2.

On the other hand, the embodiment of the invention also discloses a transmission device of the terminal data packet, which comprises the following steps:

the receiving module is used for receiving the data packet;

and the transmission module is used for transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses.

Preferably, the transmission module includes:

a downlink service flow template judging submodule for judging whether a matched downlink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table according to the actual IP address, wherein the downlink service flow template index table simultaneously comprises a virtual IP address and an actual IP address;

an actual IP address modification sub-module, configured to modify an actual IP address in the downlink data packet into the virtual IP address if a matching downlink traffic flow template exists in a preset traffic flow template index table;

a downlink bearer determining submodule, configured to determine a corresponding bearer by using the downlink service flow template;

a data packet encapsulation sub-module, configured to encapsulate the downlink data packet into a tunnel format corresponding to the bearer;

and the downlink data packet sending submodule is used for sending the downlink data packet which is packaged into the tunnel format to the terminal corresponding to the virtual IP address through the bearer.

Preferably, the transmission module further includes:

and the downlink data packet discarding sub-module is used for discarding the downlink data packet if no matched downlink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table.

Preferably, the transmission module further includes:

a data packet decapsulation submodule, configured to decapsulate the uplink data packet from the tunnel format, where the decapsulated uplink data packet includes a virtual IP address and a target IP address;

a virtual IP address modification submodule for modifying the virtual IP address into an actual IP address;

an uplink service flow template judging submodule, configured to judge whether a matched uplink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table;

and the uplink data packet sending submodule is used for sending the modified uplink data packet to a network.

Preferably, the transmission module further includes:

and the uplink data packet discarding submodule is used for discarding the uplink data packet if no matched uplink service flow template exists in a preset service flow template index table.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises:

an IP address allocation module, configured to allocate a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses to a terminal in a bearer activation process of the terminal, and allocate a tunnel endpoint identifier of the bearer to the terminal;

a service flow template construction module, configured to construct an uplink service flow template according to the virtual IP address, and construct a downlink service flow template according to the actual IP address;

the index table configuration module is used for configuring a preset service flow template index table according to the service flow template;

and the first sending module is used for sending the uplink service flow template to the terminal.

Preferably, the IP address allocating module is further configured to:

or,

Preferably, the PGW includes PGW1 and PGW2, and the apparatus further includes:

a tunnel establishing module, configured to establish a tunnel between a PGW1 and a PGW2 if a PGW1 is switched to a PGW2 for a packet being transmitted in an evolved packet core network;

a second sending module, configured to send, when the data packet is a downlink data packet, the downlink data packet from the PGW2 to the PGW1 through the tunnel, and send, when the data packet is an uplink data packet, the uplink data packet from the PGW1 to the PGW2 through the tunnel.

Preferably, the second sending module is further configured to:

Compared with the prior art, the embodiment of the invention has the following advantages:

in the embodiment of the invention, the virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses are distributed for the terminal, the terminal uses the same virtual IP address in different PGWs as a service initiating address, when a data packet passes through the PGW, the virtual IP address is modified into the actual IP address in the uplink direction or the actual IP address is modified into the virtual IP address of the terminal in the downlink direction, so that the strict corresponding relation of the actual IP address and a transmission route behind a PGW and an SGi interface when the terminal uses the actual IP address as the service address is eliminated, the service address at the terminal side is kept unchanged in the terminal moving process, the PGW is easy to change, the optimal route can be selected according to the service, the problem of alternate route is avoided, and the Qos and the user experience of the terminal service are improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a traffic flow template;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a packet transmission using an actual IP address;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a route using actual IP addresses;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a method for transmitting a terminal data packet according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a method for transmitting a terminal data packet according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flow chart of a terminal packet processing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a service routing relationship after a terminal changes a PGW according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a block diagram of a terminal packet transmission apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a second block diagram of a terminal packet transmission apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in further detail below.

In order to further understand the embodiment of the present invention, the following description is made by using an example of packet transmission using an actual IP address.

Referring to a schematic diagram of a service flow template shown in fig. 1, in an EPC (core network for 4G mobile communications), a terminal allocates an actual IP address as a service address of the terminal in a default bearer activation process, so that the terminal can access the Internet and a service server. The terminal IP address allocation method defined in the 3GPP protocol is allocated in the activation process of the default bearer, the IP address allocation function is completed by the PGW, and the PGW may use an internal address pool for allocation or may use an external PDN for allocation.

The PGW constructs a service flow template according to the actual IP address, and maps the service flow template to the bottom layer load bearing. Taking the PGW as an example, after receiving the downlink data packet, the PGW searches a service flow template index table in the service flow template until finding a matching index, so as to obtain Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) of GTP (GPRS tunneling Protocol) Tunnel information connected to the SGW, and then the PGW encapsulates the downlink data packet into a GTP format and sends the GTP format to the SGW through a GTP Tunnel. According to the specification of the 3GPP protocol, a data packet between the terminal and the PGW is routed in a tunnel manner, the data packet is encapsulated in a GTP tunnel and forwarded to the eNB through the SGW, and the eNB maps the data packet to a corresponding RB (Radio Bearer) and sends the data packet to the terminal through an air interface, so that the specific value of the IP address of the terminal does not affect the forwarding process of the data packet between the terminal, the eNB, and the PGW.

Referring to fig. 2, a schematic diagram of packet transmission using an actual IP address is shown, where each service flow template includes one or more indexes, and each index is composed of the following information:

-remote address and subnet mask

Protocol number (IPv 4)/next header (IPv6)

-home address and mask

Range of home port numbers

-far end port number range

IPSec encryption parameter index (SPI)

-type of service (TOS) (IPv 4)/type of traffic (IPv6) and mask

-flow label (IPv6)

The local terminal address is an actual IP address allocated to the terminal by the PGW, the PGW allocates the actual IP address in the process of bearing activation, and indexes are constructed, wherein each index contains the information; and sending the signaling message to the SGW, the SGW forwarding the service flow template information to the MME, informing the terminal through a signaling process, and meanwhile configuring the service flow template and the corresponding relation between the service flow template and the bearer to a PGW forwarding module. After receiving the external data packet, the PGW searches the service flow template index table according to the destination IP address and the remote IP address, the protocol number, the destination port number, and the remote port number in the packet header. If the search fails, discarding the data packet; if the search is successful, the tunnel information corresponding to the GTP, including the TEID, can be obtained, the data packet is sent to the SGW through the GTP tunnel after being subjected to GTP encapsulation, and the data packet is mapped to the RB of the air interface after passing through the eNB and sent to the terminal.

Referring to a schematic diagram of routing using an actual IP address shown in fig. 3, a PGW allocates an actual IP address to a terminal as a service address, and uses the actual IP address to transmit and receive a data packet, where the actual IP address directly appears at an SGi interface.

The router distinguishes SGi interfaces through different subnets of SGi of the PGW, and routes data packets correctly. Because the actual IP address of the terminal directly appears at the SGi interface and the IP packet passing through the router uses the actual IP address, the actual IP address of the terminal must belong to the subnet corresponding to the SGi interface of the PGW in order to ensure that the packet can be routed correctly. Different SGi interfaces of the same PGW, and subnets of SGi interfaces of different PGWs are different. Therefore, the actual IP address of the terminal, the transmission route after the PGW and the SGi interface have a strict correspondence.

It can be seen that, the terminal uses the actual IP address allocated by the PGW as a service address, the transmission network behind the SGi interface routes the data packet according to the actual IP address of the terminal, when the terminal needs to change the PGW due to movement, the terminal needs to allocate a new actual IP address by the PGW, not only needs to add a control plane signaling process, but also the ongoing service will be affected.

In order to solve the above problems, one of the core concepts of the embodiments of the present invention is to allocate a unique virtual IP address to a terminal as a service address, where the virtual IP address of the terminal is only used as the service address of the terminal, and the virtual IP address is mapped to an actual IP address allocated to the terminal by a PGW after passing through the PGW, so that the virtual IP address is not present in a transmission network after an SGi interface, and a specific value of the virtual IP address allocated to the terminal does not have any influence on a service forwarding process, and the virtual IP address of the terminal, the PGW, and a transmission route after the SGi interface are decoupled, so that reallocation of the PGW and optimization of the service route are possible.

Example one

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of a first step of a method for transmitting a terminal data packet according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown, where a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses are allocated to a terminal, and the method specifically includes the following steps:

step 101, receiving a data packet;

and 102, transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses.

In practical application, when a data packet is received on a PGW in an EPC, a service flow template is constructed according to a virtual IP address of a terminal and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses, and the data packet is processed and transmitted in the EPC, specifically, a virtual IP address and an actual IP address are used, for a downlink direction, after a downlink service flow template is found in the service flow template index table, a destination IP address in the data packet is modified to a virtual IP address of the terminal according to the virtual IP address in the service flow template index table, for an uplink direction, after data packet GTP decapsulation is completed, the virtual IP address of the terminal in the data packet is modified to an actual IP address of the terminal, and after an uplink service flow template is found in the service flow template index table, the uplink data packet is sent to a network.

In the embodiment of the invention, the terminal is distributed with a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses, the terminal uses the same virtual IP address in different PGWs as a service initiating address, when a data packet passes through the PGW, the virtual IP address is modified into the actual IP address in the uplink direction or the actual IP address is modified into the virtual IP address of the terminal in the downlink direction, so that the strict corresponding relation of the actual IP address and a transmission route behind a PGW and an SGi interface when the terminal uses the actual IP address as the service address is eliminated, the service address at the terminal side is kept unchanged in the terminal moving process, the PGW is easy to change, the optimal route can be selected according to the service, the problem of alternate route is avoided, and the Qos and the user experience of the terminal service are improved.

Example two

Referring to fig. 5, a flowchart illustrating a second step of a method for transmitting a terminal data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the terminal is assigned with a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses, and the method specifically includes the following steps:

step 201, in the process of activating the bearer of the terminal, allocating a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses to the terminal, and allocating a tunnel endpoint identifier of the bearer to the terminal.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in order to ensure that the virtual IP address of the terminal remains unchanged during the moving process, the virtual IP address of the terminal may be allocated in the following manner:

the first method is as follows: in the process of bearing and activating the terminal at one or more PGWs, a virtual IP address of the terminal is allocated to an access point APN in an evolution packet core network, and one or more PGWs connected with the terminal under the same access point APN are respectively allocated with an actual IP address associated with the virtual IP address; specifically, a method for configuring a virtual IP address of a terminal in a mobile core network may configure a virtual IP address of a terminal for each APN, configure different virtual IP addresses for different APNs, use the same virtual IP address for the same APN, and when a terminal changes a PGW, the PGW2 does not need to allocate a virtual IP address to the terminal.

The second method comprises the following steps: in the process of bearing activation of a terminal at one or more PGWs, a virtual IP address of the terminal is allocated to the PGW in the same area in an evolved packet core network, and an actual IP address associated with the virtual IP address is allocated to one or more PGWs connected with the terminal in the same area respectively; specifically, the PGWs are divided into different areas, and the PGWs in the same area are assigned the same virtual IP address, so that when the terminal replaces the PGWs in the same area, the virtual IP address does not need to be reassigned.

The third method comprises the following steps: in a bearer activation process of a terminal at one or more PGWs, a virtual IP address is allocated to a unique identifier of the terminal in an evolved packet core network, and an actual IP address associated with the virtual IP address corresponding to the unique identifier is allocated to each of the one or more PGWs connected to the terminal, and specifically, the virtual IP address may be mapped according to an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber identity Number) or an MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber International ISDN/PSTN Number) of the terminal.

Through the three modes, the virtual IP address of the terminal can be kept unchanged when the PGW is changed in the moving process of the terminal, the PGW does not need to re-allocate the virtual IP address to the terminal, and only needs to allocate the actual IP address of the terminal and establish the corresponding relation between the virtual IP address and the actual IP address.

Step 202, an uplink service flow template is constructed according to the virtual IP address, and a downlink service flow template is constructed according to the actual IP address;

step 203, configuring a preset service flow template index table according to the downlink service flow template;

step 204, sending the uplink service flow template to the terminal;

the PGW allocates a virtual IP address used by the terminal, allocates an actual IP address of the terminal for the SGi interface, constructs a downlink service flow template by using the actual IP address, and constructs an uplink service flow template by using the virtual IP address. The terminal virtual IP address and the uplink service flow template inform the terminal through a signaling process, and are used for mapping an uplink data packet to RB load; the method comprises the steps that a downlink service flow template, a virtual IP address and an actual IP address of a terminal and a tunnel endpoint identifier are configured to a forwarding module and used for mapping downlink data packets to a GTP tunnel, the forwarding module receives configuration information, and a service flow template index table is configured according to the virtual IP address, the actual IP address, a home port, a far address, a protocol type, the tunnel endpoint identifier and the like of the terminal.

Step 205, receiving a data packet;

in this embodiment of the present invention, the data packet received by the PGW may include an uplink data packet of the SGW and a downlink data packet received from the SGi interface.

And step 206, transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the data packet received by the PGW may be a downlink data packet, and step 102 may include the following sub-steps:

and a substep S11 of determining whether a matched downlink traffic flow template exists in a preset traffic flow template index table according to the actual IP address, wherein the traffic flow template index table simultaneously comprises a virtual IP address and an actual IP address, and if a matched downlink traffic flow template exists, executing substeps S12-S15, otherwise, executing substep S16.

And a substep S12, modifying the actual IP address in the downlink data packet into the virtual IP address if there is a matching downlink traffic flow template in the preset traffic flow template index table.

And a substep S13, determining a corresponding bearer by using the downlink service flow template.

And a substep S14, encapsulating the downlink data packet into a tunnel format corresponding to the bearer.

And a substep S15, sending the downlink data packet encapsulated into the tunnel format to a terminal corresponding to the virtual IP address through the bearer.

And a substep S16, if there is no matching downlink traffic flow template in the preset traffic flow template index table, discarding the downlink data packet.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the data packet received by the PGW may also be an uplink data packet, where the uplink data packet uses a virtual IP address, and step 102 may include the following sub-steps:

and a substep S21, decapsulating the tunnel format for the upstream packet, where the decapsulated upstream packet includes a virtual IP address and a destination IP address.

Substep S22, modifying the virtual IP address to an actual IP address.

And a substep S23 of determining whether there is a matching upstream traffic flow template in the preset traffic flow template index table, if so, executing a substep S24, otherwise, executing a substep S25.

And a substep S24, if there is a matching uplink service flow template in the preset service flow template index table, sending the modified uplink data packet to the network.

And a substep S25, if there is no matched upstream traffic flow template in the preset traffic flow template index table, discarding the upstream data packet.

In the embodiment of the invention, in the downlink direction, a PGW receives a downlink data packet from an SGi interface, and matches in a service flow template index table through parameters such as a far-end IP address, a port number, a target IP address (an actual IP address of a terminal), the port number, a protocol type and the like in the downlink service data packet, and if no proper match is found, the downlink data packet is discarded; and if the proper match is found, modifying the target IP address as the virtual IP address of the terminal, then carrying out GTP encapsulation on the downlink data packet, and sending the downlink data packet to the terminal through a GTP tunnel.

In the uplink direction, the PGW receives an uplink data packet encapsulated by GTP sent by a terminal, and because the service address in the uplink data packet is the virtual IP address of the terminal, after decapsulation, the PGW modifies the virtual IP address in the packet header of the uplink data packet into the actual IP address of the terminal; in addition, the uplink data packet may carry a virtual IP address of the terminal, such as an SDP (Session Description Protocol) message in a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) message body, and since the message is sent by the terminal, the IP address carried in the message packet is the virtual IP address of the terminal, and the virtual IP address needs to be modified into an actual IP address of the terminal. And then matching in a service flow template according to parameters such as a home terminal IP address (an actual IP address of a terminal), a port number, a far-end IP address, a port number, a protocol type and the like, if a proper match is found, sending an uplink data packet to a network through an SGi interface, and if no proper match is found, discarding the uplink data packet.

In the embodiment of the present invention, due to the movement of the terminal, when the PGW of the service anchor is changed from PGW1 to PGW 2:

for a data packet being transmitted in an evolved packet core network, if the PGW1 is switched to the PGW2, a tunnel is established between the PGW1 and the PGW 2;

when the data packet is downlink data packet, the downlink data packet is sent from the PGW1 to the PGW2 through the tunnel, and when the data packet is uplink data packet, the uplink data packet is sent from the PGW2 to the PGW1 through the tunnel.

In the embodiment of the present invention, during the moving process of the terminal, it may be that a data packet has been sent to the eNB but the data packet has not been sent to the network through the SGi, or the data packet is transmitted from the network to the PGW1 but not transmitted to the terminal, in order to maintain continuity of a service, a tunnel may be established between the PGW1 and the PGW2, and the data packet in the downlink direction still passes through the PGW1, is forwarded to the PGW2 through the tunnel by the PGW1, and is sent to the terminal by the PGW 2; after passing through the PGW2, the uplink packet is forwarded to the PGW1 through the tunnel between the PGW2 and the PGW 1. After the PGW1 completes the mapping between the virtual IP address and the actual IP address, it sends the mapping to the network through the SGi interface.

For an uplink packet being transmitted in the terminal, if the uplink packet is switched from the PGW1 to the PGW2, a tunnel is established between the PGW1 and the PGW 2;

when the uplink data packet belongs to the PGW1, the uplink data packet is sent to the PGW1 through the PGW2 through a tunnel;

and when the uplink data packet belongs to the PGW2, sending the uplink data packet to the PGW 2.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the PGW is changed, the terminal may be establishing a packet, and a destination IP address included in the packet may be a remote IP address received by the PGW1, and the packet may be exchanged between the PGW1 and the PGW2 through a signaling process of a control plane, that is, after the PGW2 receives an uplink packet of the terminal, a service belonging to the PGW1 is forwarded to the PGW1 for forwarding according to the service flow information of the PGW1, or other nodes on a service forwarding path implement distribution of the service flow between the PGW1 and the PGW 2.

In addition, the unique virtual IP address of the terminal can be allocated through the whole network configuration or according to the access point ANP configuration or the unique identifier of the terminal, and the PGW is replaced in the terminal moving process without allocating a new virtual IP address to the terminal, so that interaction of control signaling about IP allocation between the evolved packet core network and the terminal is not needed, and the flow of reallocating the PGW is simplified.

The virtual IP address of the terminal can correspond to a plurality of actual IP addresses, and the PGW can map different service flows to different subnets according to different networking requirements of the service server on the SGi interface, thereby being beneficial to improving the isolation and the safety between different types of services.

The embodiment of the invention adds the virtual IP address, the actual IP address and the corresponding relation thereof in the PGW in the service flow template index table and the GTP tunnel, only needs to modify the virtual IP of the terminal into the actual IP for the uplink data packet, or modify the actual IP address into the virtual IP address for the downlink data packet, is simple and easy to realize, does not have great influence on the performance of the existing equipment, and does not influence the signaling process and the service forwarding flow between the evolved packet core network and the terminal and the base station.

In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of the present invention, the following description will use the transmission process of the data packet of the terminal and the transmission process of the data packet of the terminal after the PGW change.

Referring to fig. 6, a flow chart of processing a terminal packet according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the flow of processing a terminal packet includes the following steps:

step 301, the PGW allocates a virtual IP address, an actual IP address, and carried tunnel information of the terminal.

Step 302, constructing a downlink service flow template and an uplink service flow template according to the actual IP address and the virtual IP address.

Step 303, sending the uplink service flow template and the virtual IP address to the terminal through the signaling message for mapping the uplink service data packet to the RB bearer.

And step 304, configuring the downlink service flow template, the virtual IP address and the actual IP address of the terminal, and the tunnel information to a forwarding module, and mapping the downlink service data packet to a GTP tunnel and configuring a service flow template index table.

In the downstream direction:

step 305, receiving the downlink data packet, and searching the service flow template index table.

If no suitable match is found, the downlink packet is discarded, step 306.

Step 307, if a suitable match is found, modifying the home terminal IP address to the virtual IP address of the terminal.

And 308, acquiring the TEID and other information of the loaded tunnel GTP-U corresponding to the appropriate matching service flow template.

In step 309, the data packet is encapsulated in a GTP tunnel and sent to the SGW.

In the uplink direction:

in step 310, the GTP-encapsulated packet from the SGW is received, and decapsulation is completed.

Step 311, modifying the virtual IP address in the header of the uplink data packet to an actual IP address; and meanwhile, if the uplink data packet carries the virtual IP address of the terminal, modifying the virtual IP address of the terminal in the data packet into the actual IP address of the terminal.

And step 312, matching the service flow template according to the local IP address and the remote IP address, the port number and the protocol type.

If no suitable match is found, the upstream packet is discarded, step 313.

In step 314, if a suitable match is found, the uplink data packet is sent out through the SGi interface.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a service routing relationship after a terminal changes a PGW according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For ongoing data packets, a tunnel is established between the PGW2 and the PGW1, and downlink data packets are forwarded to the PGW2 by the PGW1 through the tunnel and are sent to the terminal by the PGW 2; the uplink direction data packet is forwarded to the PGW1 through the tunnel between the PGW2 and the PGW1, and the PGW1 completes the conversion between the virtual IP address and the actual IP address, and then sends the data packet to the network through the SGi interface.

For a new data packet, for a data packet in the uplink direction, the PGW2 modifies the virtual IP address of the terminal to the actual IP address allocated to the terminal by the PGW2, and sends out the data packet through the SGi interface of the PGW2, and in the downlink direction, the data packet is routed to the SGi interface of the PGW2 by the network, and is encapsulated in a GTP tunnel after the actual IP address is modified to the virtual IP address of the terminal by the PGW2, and the data packet is sent to the terminal.

For the data packets in progress by the terminal, the data packets may be exchanged between the PGW2 and the PGW1 through a signaling process of a control plane, and the PGW2 forwards the traffic belonging to the PGW1 to the PGW1 for forwarding according to the traffic flow information of the PGW1, or realizes distribution of the traffic flow between the PGW2 and the PGW1 by other nodes on a traffic forwarding path.

EXAMPLE III

Referring to fig. 8, a block diagram of a third apparatus for transmitting a terminal data packet according to the third embodiment of the present invention is shown, and specifically includes the following modules:

a receiving module 401, configured to receive a data packet;

a transmission module 402, configured to transmit the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses.

Referring to fig. 9, a block diagram of another terminal data packet transmission apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown, and specifically includes the following modules:

an IP address allocating module 501, configured to allocate a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses to a terminal in a bearer activation process of the terminal, and allocate a tunnel endpoint identifier of the bearer to the terminal;

a service flow template construction module 502, configured to construct an uplink service flow template according to the virtual IP address, and construct a downlink service flow template according to the actual IP address;

an index table configuration module 503, configured to configure a preset service flow template index table according to the service flow template;

a first sending module 504, configured to send the uplink service flow template to the terminal.

A receiving module 505, configured to receive a data packet;

a transmission module 506, configured to transmit the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses.

A tunnel establishing module 507, configured to establish a tunnel between a PGW1 and a PGW2 if a PGW1 is switched to a PGW2 for a packet being transmitted in an evolved packet core network;

a second sending module 508, configured to send, when the data packet is a downlink data packet, the downlink data packet from the PGW2 to the PGW1 through the tunnel, and send, when the data packet is an uplink data packet, the uplink data packet from the PGW1 to the PGW2 through the tunnel;

when the data packet belongs to an ongoing data packet of the terminal, the second sending module 508 is further configured to:

In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal is allocated with a virtual IP address and one or more actual IP addresses, and the IP address allocating module 501 is further configured to:

or,

In this embodiment of the present invention, the data packet includes a downlink data packet, and the transmission module 506 includes:

a downlink data packet sending submodule, configured to send the downlink data packet encapsulated in the tunnel format to a terminal corresponding to the virtual IP address via the bearer;

In this embodiment of the present invention, the data packet includes an uplink data packet, and the transmission module 506 includes:

the uplink data packet sending submodule is used for sending the modified uplink data packet to a network;

For the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is simple, and for the relevant points, refer to the partial description of the method embodiment.

The embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, apparatus, or computer program product. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, terminal devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing terminal to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing terminal, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing terminal to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing terminal to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable terminal to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable terminal provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications of these embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the embodiments of the invention.

Finally, it should also be noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or terminal that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or terminal. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or terminal that comprises the element.

The method and the device for transmitting the terminal data packet provided by the invention are introduced in detail, and a specific example is applied in the text to explain the principle and the implementation of the invention, and the description of the above embodiment is only used for helping to understand the method and the core idea of the invention; meanwhile, for a person skilled in the art, according to the idea of the present invention, there may be variations in the specific embodiments and the application scope, and in summary, the content of the present specification should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting a data packet of a terminal, wherein the terminal is assigned a virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses, the method comprising:

receiving a data packet;

transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and one or more corresponding actual IP addresses;

the method further comprises the following steps:

for a data packet being transmitted in an evolved packet core network, if a service anchor point PGW is switched from PGW1 to PGW2, establishing a tunnel between the PGW1 and the PGW 2;

when the data packet is a downlink data packet, sending the downlink data packet to the PGW2 from the PGW1 through the tunnel, and sending the downlink data packet to a terminal from the PGW 2;

when the data packet is an uplink data packet, the PGW2 sends the uplink data packet to the PGW1 through the tunnel, and the PGW1 sends the uplink data packet to a network through an SGi interface after mapping between a virtual IP address and an actual address is completed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data packet comprises a downstream data packet, wherein a real IP address is used in the downstream data packet, and wherein the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more real IP addresses comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more real IP addresses further comprises:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data packet comprises an upstream data packet, a virtual IP address is used in the upstream data packet, and the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more real IP addresses comprises:

modifying the virtual IP address into an actual IP address;

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more real IP addresses further comprises:

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to the step of receiving a packet:

and sending the uplink service flow template to the terminal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more real IP addresses assigned by the terminal are:

or,

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

9. A terminal packet transmission apparatus, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving the data packet;

the transmission module is used for transmitting the data packet according to the virtual IP address and the corresponding one or more actual IP addresses;

the device further comprises:

a second sending module, configured to, when the data packet is a downlink data packet, send the downlink data packet to the PGW2 through the tunnel by the PGW1, send the downlink data packet to a terminal by the PGW2, and when the data packet is an uplink data packet, send the uplink data packet to the PGW1 through the tunnel by the PGW2, and after the mapping between the virtual IP address and the actual address is completed by the PGW1, send the uplink data packet to a network through an SGi interface.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the transmission module comprises:

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the transmission module further comprises:

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the transmission module further comprises:

the data packet decapsulation submodule is used for decapsulating the tunnel format of an uplink data packet, wherein the decapsulated tunnel format uplink data packet comprises a virtual IP address and a target IP address;

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the transmission module further comprises:

14. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the IP address assignment module is further configured to:

or,

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second sending module is further configured to: