CN110798853B

CN110798853B - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN110798853B
Application number: CN201810872691.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周志宏; 袁乃华; 范晨; 熊途; 刘海君
Original assignee: Chengdu TD Tech Ltd
Current assignee: Chengdu TD Tech Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-02
Filing date: 2018-08-02
Publication date: 2023-04-25
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-02
Also published as: CN110798853A

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method, a device and a system, which are used for determining the state of each MME according to the state of an S1 link between a base station and each MME in an MME pool, acquiring the identification of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in a fault state in the MME pool, broadcasting a first message to a terminal, wherein the first message comprises the identification of the first MME so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration flow, and the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool; through the communication method, after the MME in the MME pool fails, the UE registered in the MME can timely acquire the state of the MME and timely re-register the state in the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through the network registration flow, so that the UE cannot be in a service unreachable state for a long time, and the service of a user is prevented from being influenced.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method, apparatus, and system.

Background

A mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME) POOL (MME POOL) mechanism is introduced in the 3GPP standard, so that resource sharing and load balancing among multiple MMEs can be realized. Specifically, the MME pool is composed of one or more MMEs, and all MMEs in the MME pool correspond to the same Tracking Area (TA), and a base station (eNB) in the Tracking Area is fully connected to the MMEs in the MME pool (i.e., the enbs are simultaneously connected to each MME in the MME pool). When a User Equipment (UE) newly enters the tracking area, an eNB selects a certain MME in an MME pool for the UE to attach according to a load balancing mechanism; when the UE roams in the MME pool, the UE is served by the MME and does not need to switch among the MME.

In the prior art, the load balancing function of the MME pool enables the MME pool to have a certain disaster recovery capability. For example: when a certain MME in the MME pool fails, after the eNB identifies the MME failure, the failed MME is not considered any more when MME selection is performed on newly accessed UE; and for the UE registered in the fault MME, the eNB can also transfer the new service initiated by the UE to other normal MMEs in the MME pool.

However, the UE that has registered with the failed MME only performs registration with other normal MMEs through a periodic tracking area update (Tracking Area Update, TAU) procedure in the case that the UE does not actively initiate new traffic. However, the TAU period is long (typically around one hour), during which the called service of the UE is not reachable, which affects the service of the user.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a communication method, a device and a system, wherein when a base station detects an MME fault in an MME pool, the base station can timely inform a terminal to re-register to other normal MMEs in the MME pool, so that the influence on the service of a user is avoided.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a communication method, applied to a base station, including:

determining the state of each MME according to the state of an S1 link between the base station and each MME in a mobility management entity MME pool;

acquiring an identifier of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in the MME pool in a fault state;

and broadcasting a first message to the terminal, wherein the first message comprises the identification of the first MME so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration process, and the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

Optionally, the first message is a paging message or a system message.

Optionally, the broadcast duration of the first message is less than the period of the tracking area update TAU.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a communication method, applied to a terminal, including:

receiving a first message broadcast by a base station, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of a first Mobility Management Entity (MME), and the first MME is an MME in a fault state in an MME pool;

if the identifier of the first MME is the same as the identifier of the MME registered by the terminal, re-registering the first MME to a second MME in the MME pool through a network registration flow, wherein the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

Optionally, the network registration procedure is an attach procedure.

Optionally, the network registration procedure is a tracking area update TAU procedure.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a communication apparatus, applied to a base station, comprising:

a determining module, configured to determine a state of each MME according to a state of an S1 link between the base station and each MME in a MME pool;

an obtaining module, configured to obtain, according to the status of each MME, an identifier of a first MME, where the first MME is an MME in a failure state in the MME pool;

a broadcasting module, configured to broadcast a first message to a terminal, where the first message includes an identifier of the first MME, so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration procedure, where the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

Optionally, the first message is a paging message or a system message.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a communication device, applied to a terminal, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first message broadcast by a base station, where the first message includes an identifier of a first mobility management entity MME, and the first MME is an MME in a failure state in an MME pool;

and the registration module is used for re-registering a second MME in the MME pool through a network registration process if the identification of the first MME is the same as the identification of the MME registered by the terminal, wherein the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

Optionally, the network registration procedure is an attach procedure.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a base station, comprising: at least one processor and memory;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory causes the at least one processor to perform the communication method of any of the first aspects.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a terminal, including: at least one processor and memory;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory causes the at least one processor to perform the communication method of any of the second aspects.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method according to any one of the first aspects, or the communication method according to any one of the second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, the present invention provides a communication system comprising: an MME pool consisting of at least two mobility management entities MME, at least one base station according to the fifth aspect, at least one terminal according to the sixth aspect.

The communication method, the device and the system provided by the invention are characterized in that the state of each MME is determined according to the state of an S1 link between the base station and each MME in an MME pool, the identity of a first MME is acquired according to the state of each MME, the first MME is the MME in a fault state in the MME pool, a first message is broadcasted to a terminal, the first message comprises the identity of the first MME, so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration flow, and the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool; through the communication method, after the MME in the MME pool fails, the UE registered in the MME can timely acquire the state of the MME and timely re-register the state in the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through the network registration flow, so that the UE cannot be in a service unreachable state for a long time, and the service of a user is prevented from being influenced.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the drawings which are used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described, it being obvious that the drawings in the description below are only some embodiments of the invention, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive faculty for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a signaling flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a second signaling flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic hardware structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth" and the like in the description and in the claims and in the above drawings, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged where appropriate such that the embodiments of the invention described herein may be implemented, for example, in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where, as shown in fig. 1, the communication system includes: MME pool, base station and terminal. The MME pool is composed of one or more MMEs, and all MMEs in the MME pool correspond to the same Tracking Area (TA), and a base station (eNB) in the Tracking Area is fully connected with the MMEs in the MME pool (i.e., the eNB is simultaneously connected to each MME in the MME pool). The UE may access the network through one of the base stations in fig. 1 and register with any MME in the MME pool.

As shown in fig. 1, in the networking of the MME pool, since the eNB is connected to a plurality of MMEs in the MME pool, when a UE in a tracking area corresponding to the MME pool initiates a new service, the eNB may select one MME from the pool for the UE according to a load balancing principle.

For the sake of description, the MME pool network illustrated in fig. 1 is simplified, and it is assumed that MME pools include MME1 and MME2, and enbs are connected to MME1 and MME2, respectively. The load balancing procedure of the MME pool is described below.

Assuming that the effective user capacity of MME1 is 4 and the effective user capacity of MME2 is 3, the eNB may access the UE to MME1 and MME2 according to a ratio of 4:3, and the specific distribution effect depends on the implementation manner of the eNB. It can be appreciated that the eNB needs to first obtain the load weight information of each MME.

In one embodiment, when the eNB establishes S1 connection with each MME, the MME notifies the eNB of its own load weight. Specifically, the user configures the load weight of each MME according to the proportional relation of the available capacity of each MME in the MME pool; MME stores the respective load weight, eNB initiates SCTP establishment request to MME and establishes successfully, eNB sends S1Setup Req message to MME to establish S1 connection, MME sends S1Setup Rsp message to eNB to resend the load weight of MME to eNB, eNB stores the load weight information of MME as the basis for selecting MME when UE is accessed.

In another embodiment, the MME informs the eNB of its own load weight after S1 connection establishment. Specifically, the user modifies the load weight of the MME according to the network condition, the MME stores the modified load weight, and the MME actively transmits an MME configuration update message to all connected eNBs, wherein the load weight information of the MME is carried, and the eNB updates the load weight of the MME as a basis for selecting the MME when the subsequent UE is accessed.

Through the load balancing process of the MME networking, the MME pool has a certain disaster recovery capability. When a certain MME in the MME pool fails, the eNB can identify that the MME is in a failure state by monitoring the state of the S1 link, and further, when the eNB selects the MME of a newly accessed user, the failed MME is not considered any more, so that disaster recovery of the MME pool is realized.

However, for a UE that has registered in a failed MME, in the prior art, the eNB will select a normal MME in the MME pool for the UE to register only if the UE actively initiates new traffic. Under the condition that the UE does not actively initiate new services, the UE only realizes the registration in other normal MMEs through a periodic TAU flow. Because the TAU period is long (typically about one hour), during this period, the called service of the UE is not reachable, which affects the service of the user.

In the communication system provided by the embodiment of the invention, when the eNB detects the MME fault in the MME pool, the eNB can timely inform the UE to re-register to other normal MMEs in the MME pool, thereby avoiding the influence on the service of the user.

The technical scheme of the invention is described in detail below by specific examples. The following embodiments may be combined with each other, and some embodiments may not be repeated for the same or similar concepts or processes.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present invention, where the method in this embodiment may be performed by any eNB shown in fig. 1, as shown in fig. 2, and the method in this embodiment may include:

s201: and determining the state of each MME according to the state of the S1 link between the base station and each MME in the MME pool.

S202: and acquiring the identification of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in the MME pool in the fault state.

Specifically, the eNB may monitor the S1 link state between the base station and each MME in real time or periodically, and for a certain S1 link, if the S1 link state is normal, determine that the corresponding MME is in a normal state; if the S1 link state is abnormal, it may be determined that the corresponding MME is in a failure state.

When one or more MME in the MME is determined to be in a fault state, acquiring the identity of the MME in the fault state. Specifically, when the eNB establishes S1 connection with each MME, the eNB has acquired the identification information of each MME, and has established a correspondence between each S1 link and each MME identifier, and according to the correspondence, the eNB may acquire the identifier of the MME corresponding to the S1 link in an abnormal state.

S203: and broadcasting a first message to the terminal, wherein the first message comprises the identification of the first MME so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration process, and the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

After the eNB acquires the identity of the MME in the fault state, a first message can be broadcast to all the UEs accessing the eNB, and the identity of the MME in the fault state is carried in the first message.

The first message may multiplex an existing message in the prior art, or may be implemented by negotiating and adding a new message between the eNB and the UE, which is not limited in this embodiment, as long as the eNB sends the first message in a broadcast manner.

It may be appreciated that at a certain moment, there may be one or more MME in the MME pool in a failure state, and thus, in the first message, the identifier of one first MME may be included, or the identifiers of a plurality of first MMEs may be included, and the number of the identifiers of the first MME included in the first message is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

Since the eNB sends the first message in a broadcast manner, all UEs accessing the eNB may receive the first message. After the UE receives the first message, whether the UE registers in the MME in the failure state can be determined according to the identity of the MME in the failure state carried in the first message, and if yes, the UE can re-register in the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through a network registration procedure.

Specifically, when the UE accesses the network, the network assigns a globally unique temporary UE identity (Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity, GUTI) to the UE, including the identity of the MME to which the UE is registered. Therefore, after the UE accesses the network, the UE can acquire the identity of the MME registered by the UE according to the received GUTI. Further, the UE may compare the identifier of the MME registered by itself with the identifier of the MME in the failure state carried in the first message, and if the identifier of the MME in the failure state is the same, determine that the UE is registered in the MME in the failure state.

After the UE determines that the UE is in the MME in the failure state, the UE may re-register to the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through the existing network registration procedure. The present embodiment is not limited to the network registration procedure.

According to the communication method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the state of each MME is determined according to the state of an S1 link between the base station and each MME in an MME pool, the identity of a first MME is obtained according to the state of each MME, the first MME is the MME in a fault state in the MME pool, a first message is broadcasted to a terminal, the first message comprises the identity of the first MME, so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration flow, and the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool; through the communication method, after the MME in the MME pool fails, the UE registered in the MME can timely acquire the state of the MME and timely re-register the state in the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through the network registration flow, so that the UE cannot be in a service unreachable state for a long time, and the service of a user is prevented from being influenced.

The communication method of the present invention will be described in detail with specific examples.

Fig. 3 is a signaling flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, the method in this embodiment may include:

s301: and the base station determines the state of each MME according to the state of the S1 link between each MME and each MME in the MME pool.

S302: and the base station acquires the identification of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in the MME pool in the fault state.

In this embodiment, specific implementation manners of S301 and S302 are similar to those of S201 and S202 in the foregoing embodiments, and are not repeated here.

S303: and broadcasting a paging message to the UE by the base station, wherein the paging message comprises the identification of the first MME.

In this embodiment, after detecting an MME failure in the MME pool, the eNB broadcasts an identifier of the MME in the failure state to the UE through a paging message.

Optionally, the broadcast duration of the paging message is less than the period of the tracking area update TAU.

S304: the terminal determines whether the registered MME is identical to the first MME in terms of identity, and if so, executes S305.

S305: the terminal sends an attachment request to the base station, and registers according to a second MME in an MME pool selected by the base station for the UE in the attachment process, wherein the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

In this embodiment, after receiving the paging message, if the UE determines that the identity of the MME registered by the UE is the same as the identity of the first MME carried in the paging message, the UE immediately sends an attach request to the eNB. After the UE sends the attach request, the subsequent attach procedure is the same as in the prior art, and will not be described here again. In the attach procedure, the eNB may select an MME in a normal state in the MME pool for the UE to register.

According to the communication method provided by the embodiment of the invention, a base station determines the state of each MME according to the state of an S1 link between each MME in an MME pool, acquires the identification of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in a fault state in the MME pool, broadcasts a paging message to UE, the paging message comprises the identification of the first MME, a terminal judges whether the identification of a registered MME is the same as the identification of the first MME, if so, sends an attachment request to the base station, and selects a second MME in the MME pool for the UE to register according to the base station in an attachment flow, wherein the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool; through the communication method, after the MME in the MME pool fails, the UE registered in the MME can timely acquire the state of the MME and timely re-register the state in the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through the attachment process, so that the UE cannot be in a service unreachable state for a long time, and the service of a user is prevented from being influenced.

Fig. 4 is a second signaling flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, where the method of this embodiment may include:

s401: and the base station determines the state of each MME according to the state of the S1 link between each MME and each MME in the MME pool.

S402: and the base station acquires the identification of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in the MME pool in the fault state.

In this embodiment, the specific implementation of S401 and S402 is similar to S201 and S202 in the above embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

S403: and broadcasting a system message to the UE by the base station, wherein the system message comprises the identification of the first MME.

In this embodiment, after detecting an MME failure in the MME pool, the eNB broadcasts an identifier of the MME in the failure state to the UE through a system message. The system message may be MIB (Master Information Block) message or any one of SIB (System Information Blocks) messages, which is not limited in this embodiment.

Optionally, the broadcast duration of the system message is less than the period of the tracking area update TAU.

S404: the terminal determines whether the registered MME is identical to the first MME in terms of identity, and if so, S405 is executed.

S405: the terminal sends a TAU request to the base station, and registers according to a second MME in an MME pool selected by the base station for the UE in the TAU process, wherein the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

In this embodiment, after receiving the system message, if the UE determines that the identity of the MME registered by the UE is the same as the first MME carried in the system message, the UE immediately sends a TAU request to the eNB. After the UE sends the TAU request, the subsequent TAU procedure is the same as in the prior art, and will not be described here again. In the TAU procedure, the eNB may select an MME in a normal state in the MME pool for the UE to register.

According to the communication method provided by the embodiment of the invention, a base station determines the state of each MME according to the state of an S1 link between each MME in an MME pool, acquires the identification of a first MME according to the state of each MME, wherein the first MME is the MME in a fault state in the MME pool, broadcasts a system message to UE, the system message comprises the identification of the first MME, and a terminal judges whether the identification of the registered MME is the same as the identification of the first MME or not, if so, sends a TAU request to the base station, and registers according to a second MME in the MME pool selected by the base station for the UE in a TAU flow, wherein the second MME is the MME in a normal state in the MME pool; through the communication method, after the MME in the MME pool fails, the UE registered in the MME can timely acquire the state of the MME and timely re-register the state in the MME in the normal state in the MME pool through the TAU flow, so that the UE cannot be in a service unreachable state for a long time, and the service of a user is prevented from being influenced.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the communication device according to the embodiment may be disposed in a base station, as shown in fig. 5, and the communication device 500 according to the embodiment may include: a determining module 501, an acquiring module 502 and a broadcasting module 503.

The determining module 501 is configured to determine the state of each MME according to the state of the S1 link between the base station and each MME in the MME pool.

An obtaining module 502, configured to obtain, according to the status of each MME, an identifier of a first MME, where the first MME is an MME in a failure state in the MME pool.

A broadcasting module 503, configured to broadcast a first message to a terminal, where the first message includes an identifier of the first MME, so that the terminal registered to the first MME is re-registered to a second MME through a network registration procedure, where the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

Optionally, the first message is a paging message or a system message.

The communication device of the present embodiment may be used to execute the technical solution on the base station side in any of the above method embodiments, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and are not repeated here.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a second structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the communication device according to the embodiment may be disposed in a terminal, as shown in fig. 6, and the communication device 600 according to the embodiment may include: a receiving module 601 and a registering module 602.

The receiving module 601 is configured to receive a first message broadcast by a base station, where the first message includes an identifier of a first mobility management entity MME, and the first MME is an MME in a failure state in an MME pool.

A registration module 602, configured to re-register, if the identifier of the first MME is the same as the identifier of the MME that the terminal has registered, to a second MME in the MME pool through a network registration procedure, where the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

Optionally, the network registration procedure is an attach procedure.

The communication device of the present embodiment may be used to execute the technical solution of the terminal side in any of the above method embodiments, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and are not repeated here.

Fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 7, a base station 700 according to this embodiment may include: at least one processor 701 and a memory 702. The processor 701 and the memory 702 are connected by a bus 703.

In a specific implementation process, at least one processor 701 executes computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 702, so that at least one processor 701 executes the communication method at the base station side in any of the method embodiments described above.

The specific implementation process of the processor 701 can be referred to the above method embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and this embodiment will not be described herein again.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 8, a terminal 800 according to this embodiment may include: at least one processor 801 and a memory 802. The processor 801 and the memory 802 are connected by a bus 803.

In a specific implementation process, at least one processor 801 executes computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 802, so that at least one processor 801 executes the communication method at the terminal side in any of the method embodiments described above.

The specific implementation process of the processor 801 may refer to the above-mentioned method embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and this embodiment will not be described herein again.

In the embodiments shown in fig. 7 and 8 described above, it should be understood that the processor may be a central processing unit (english: central Processing Unit, abbreviated as CPU), or may be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (english: digital Signal Processor, abbreviated as DSP), application specific integrated circuits (english: application Specific Integrated Circuit, abbreviated as ASIC), or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the present invention may be embodied directly in a hardware processor for execution, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor for execution.

The memory may comprise high speed RAM memory or may further comprise non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk memory.

The bus may be an industry standard architecture (Industry Standard Architecture, ISA) bus, an external device interconnect (Peripheral Component, PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (Extended Industry Standard Architecture, EISA) bus, among others. The buses may be divided into address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, the buses in the drawings of the present application are not limited to only one bus or one type of bus.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement a communication method as performed by a base station as above.

The application also provides a computer readable storage medium, in which computer executable instructions are stored, which when executed by a processor, implement a communication method as performed by the above terminal.

The computer readable storage medium described above may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile memory device or combination thereof, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk. A readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

An exemplary readable storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the readable storage medium. In the alternative, the readable storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the readable storage medium may reside in an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, ASIC for short). The processor and the readable storage medium may reside as discrete components in a device.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that: all or part of the steps for implementing the method embodiments described above may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The foregoing program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The program, when executed, performs steps including the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program code, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, and not for limiting the same; although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some or all of the technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a base station, comprising:

determining whether each MME is in a fault state according to the state of an S1 link between the base station and each MME in a mobility management entity MME pool;

when one or more MME in the MME pools are determined to be in a fault state, acquiring the identification of a first MME in the fault state in the MME pools;

and broadcasting a first message to all terminals accessing the base station, wherein the first message comprises the identification of the first MME, the identification of the first MME is used for sending an attachment request or a tracking area updating TAU request to the base station when the terminal of the first MME judges that the identification of the first MME is the same as the identification of the MME registered by the terminal, and registering for a second MME in an MME pool selected by the base station for the terminal, the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool, and the broadcasting duration of the first message is less than the period of the tracking area updating TAU.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is a paging message or a system message.

3. A communication method, applied to a terminal, comprising:

receiving a first message broadcast by a base station, wherein the first message comprises an identifier of a first Mobility Management Entity (MME), the first MME is an MME in a fault state in an MME pool, and the broadcast duration of the first message is less than the period of updating TAU in a tracking area;

judging whether the identification of the first MME is the same as the identification of the MME registered by the terminal;

if the two MME are the same, sending an attachment request or a tracking area updating TAU request to the base station, and registering according to a second MME in an MME pool selected by the base station for the terminal, wherein the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

4. A communication device for use in a base station, comprising:

a determining module, configured to determine whether each MME is in a failure state according to a state of an S1 link between the base station and each MME in a mobility management entity MME pool;

an obtaining module, configured to obtain, when it is determined that one or more MME of the MME are in a failure state, an identifier of a first MME in the MME pool that is in a failure state;

a broadcasting module, configured to broadcast a first message to all terminals accessing to the base station, where the first message includes an identifier of the first MME, where the identifier of the first MME is used for sending an attach request or a tracking area update TAU request to the base station when the terminal of the first MME determines that the identifier of the first MME is the same as the identifier of an MME that the terminal has registered, and register, according to the base station, a second MME in an MME pool selected by the terminal, where the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool, and a broadcast duration of the first message is less than a period of tracking area update TAU.

5. A communication device, for use in a terminal, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first message broadcast by a base station, where the first message includes an identifier of a first mobility management entity MME, where the first MME is an MME in a failure state in an MME pool, and a broadcast duration of the first message is less than a period of a tracking area update TAU;

the registration module is configured to determine whether the identifier of the first MME is the same as the identifier of the MME to which the terminal has registered, if so, send an attach request or a tracking area update TAU request to the base station, and register according to a second MME in an MME pool selected by the base station for the terminal, where the second MME is an MME in a normal state in the MME pool.

6. A base station, comprising: at least one processor and memory;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory causes the at least one processor to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1 to 2.

7. A terminal, comprising: at least one processor and memory;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory causes the at least one processor to perform the communication method of claim 3.

8. A computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method of any one of claims 1 to 2 or the communication method of claim 3.

9. A communication system, comprising: MME pool consisting of at least two mobility management entities MME, at least one base station according to claim 6, at least one terminal according to claim 7.