Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the disclosure provides a scheme for upgrading firmware of a narrowband internet of things terminal through Control plane signaling, and in the process of releasing Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection of the narrowband internet of things terminal, a firmware upgrading small data packet is sent along with a path through an RRC connection release message, so that additional wireless connection is not required to be established, and power consumption of the narrowband internet of things terminal is saved.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a firmware upgrade method for a narrowband internet of things terminal, including:
the base station carries out inactivity detection on the narrowband Internet of things terminal, and starts an inactivity timer to time the duration of the inactive state of the narrowband Internet of things terminal;
after the inactivity timer is overtime, the base station initiates a context suspension flow of the narrowband Internet of things terminal to the core network equipment;
after the core network equipment completes the processing of suspending the context of the narrowband Internet of things terminal, the base station sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection release message to the narrowband Internet of things terminal, wherein the RRC connection release message comprises one data packet in firmware upgrading data.
In some embodiments, further comprising: before sending an RRC connection release message to the narrowband Internet of things terminal, the base station acquires all data packets of firmware upgrade data of the narrowband Internet of things terminal from a mobility management entity MME.
In some embodiments, further comprising: and the MME acquires firmware upgrading data of the narrowband Internet of things terminal from the application server.
In some embodiments, further comprising: the narrowband Internet of things terminal receives an RRC connection release message sent by the base station, acquires one data packet in firmware upgrading data in the RRC connection release message, and enters an idle state.
In some embodiments, further comprising: the narrow-band Internet of things terminal starts a discontinuous reception timer and enters a power saving mode after the discontinuous reception timer is overtime; the narrowband Internet of things terminal starts a tracking area updating period request timer, exits from a power saving mode after the tracking area updating period request timer is overtime, enters an idle state when no data are sent, and enters a connection state when data are sent.
In some embodiments, the initiating, by the base station, the context suspension procedure of the narrowband internet of things terminal to the core network device after the inactivity timer expires includes:
after the inactivity timer is overtime, the base station sends a context suspension request of the narrowband Internet of things terminal to the MME, so that the MME triggers the serving gateway S-GW to release the bearer of the narrowband Internet of things terminal;
and the base station receives a context suspension response of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal sent by the MME after the bearer of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal is released.
In some embodiments, the size of the data packet is 50-200 bytes.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a firmware upgrade method for a narrowband internet of things terminal, including:
the method comprises the steps that a narrowband Internet of things terminal receives an RRC connection release message sent by a base station after an inactive timer of the narrowband Internet of things terminal is overtime;
and the narrowband Internet of things terminal acquires one data packet in the firmware upgrading data in the RRC connection release message and enters an idle state.
In some embodiments, further comprising:
the narrow-band Internet of things terminal starts a discontinuous reception timer and enters a power saving mode after the discontinuous reception timer is overtime;
the narrowband Internet of things terminal starts a tracking area updating period request timer, exits from a power saving mode after the tracking area updating period request timer is overtime, enters an idle state when no data are sent, and enters a connection state when data are sent.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a base station, including:
a memory; and
a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform the firmware upgrade method of any of the embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a narrowband internet of things terminal, including:
a memory; and
a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform the firmware upgrade method of any of the embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication system, including:
the base station in any embodiment and the narrowband internet of things terminal in any embodiment.
In some embodiments, the communication system further comprises: the MME is configured to acquire firmware upgrading data of the narrowband Internet of things terminal from the application server, trigger the service gateway S-GW to release the bearer of the narrowband Internet of things terminal after receiving a context suspension request of the narrowband Internet of things terminal sent by the base station, and send a context suspension response of the narrowband Internet of things terminal to the base station after the bearer of the narrowband Internet of things terminal is released.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the firmware upgrade method of any of the embodiments.
Detailed Description
The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
Fig. 1 illustrates a deployment diagram of a narrowband internet of things of some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown in fig. 1, the narrowband internet of things terminal accesses the base station in a wireless manner, and the base station is connected with the core network. The core Network device includes, for example, an MME (Mobility Management Entity), an SCEF (Service Capability Exposure Function) Entity, an S-GW (Serving GateWay), a P-GW (Public Data Network GateWay), an HSS (Home Subscriber Server), an AS (Application Server), and other devices. The AS refers to a FOTA (Firmware Over-The-Air, Firmware upgrade based on Over-The-Air) server, and may be deployed in a narrowband internet of things management platform. The MME is one of key network elements in a core network, and is a control plane functional entity, which temporarily stores user data, and is responsible for managing and storing user-related information, such as a user identifier, a mobility management state, user security parameters, and the like. In the LTE network, the base station is, for example, an Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB). In addition, the interface between the base station and the MME is S1-AP, the interface between the base station and the S-GW is S1-U, the interface between the MME and the S-GW is S11, the interface between the MME and the HSS is S6a, the interface between the MME and the SCEF is T6a, the interface between the S-GW and the P-GW is S5/8, the interface between the P-GW and the AS is SGi, and the interface between the HSS and the SCEF is S6T.
Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of a firmware upgrading method for a narrowband internet of things terminal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown in fig. 2, the method of this embodiment includes:
in step 210, after the narrowband internet of things terminal completes data reception and transmission with the base station and the core network device, the base station performs inactivity detection on the narrowband internet of things terminal, and starts an inactivity (inactivity) timer to time the duration of the inactivity state of the narrowband internet of things terminal;
in step 220, after the inactivity timer expires, the base station decides to Suspend the RRC connection of the narrowband internet of things terminal, initiates a Context suspension procedure of the narrowband internet of things terminal to the core network device, and sends a Context suspension Request (UE Context Suspend Request) of the narrowband internet of things terminal to the MME.
And the base station sends a context suspension request of the narrowband Internet of things terminal to the MME through an interface S1-AP.
In step 230, the MME triggers the S-GW to release the bearer of the narrowband internet of things terminal, e.g., release the S1-U bearer.
In step 240, after the bearer of the narrowband internet of things terminal is released, the MME sends a Context Suspend Response (UE Context Suspend Response) of the narrowband internet of things terminal to the base station.
In step 250, the base station receives a context suspension response of the narrowband internet of things terminal sent by the MME, which indicates that the core network device completes processing of the context suspension of the narrowband internet of things terminal, and sends an RRC Connection Release message, which includes one of the data packets in the firmware upgrade data, to the narrowband internet of things terminal.
The Firmware upgrading data is divided into 5 data packets, and all the Firmware upgrading data can be transmitted to the narrow-band internet of things terminal through 5 times of RRC connection release messages.
Before sending the RRC connection release message to the narrowband internet of things terminal, the base station acquires, for example, through a transmission cable, all data packets of the firmware upgrade data of the narrowband internet of things terminal from the MME. The MME acquires firmware upgrading data of the narrowband Internet of things terminal from an application server through a transmission cable. The application server may transmit all firmware upgrade data to the MME at once. For example, the MME acquires firmware upgrade data of the narrowband internet of things terminal from the application server through the SCEF. Therefore, in this embodiment, the firmware upgrade passes through the control plane network elements such as MME and SCEF, and the firmware upgrade does not need to pass through the user plane network elements such as S-GW and P-GW, and does not need to establish a user plane connection. The data packets transmitted over the control plane signalling associated path are smaller than the data packets transmitted over the user plane connection. The size of the data packets transmitted over the control plane signalling channel is for example 50-200 bytes.
In step 260, the narrowband internet of things terminal receives the RRC connection release message sent by the base station, acquires one of the Data packets in the firmware upgrade Data in the RRC connection release message, suspends the SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) and the DRB (Data Radio Bearer), and then enters an idle state.
The narrowband internet of things terminal starts a discontinuous reception timer T3324, and enters a Power Saving Mode (PSM) after the discontinuous reception timer expires. The narrowband internet of things terminal starts a Tracking Area Update (TAU) period request timer T3412, and exits the power saving mode after the TAU period request timer is overtime, enters an idle state when no data is sent, and enters a connection state when data is sent. The timing time of the timer T3324 and the timing time of the timer T3412 may be determined through negotiation. Then, step 210 and step 260 are executed in a loop until all the data packets of the firmware upgrade data are transmitted.
The embodiment realizes a scheme for upgrading the firmware of the narrowband Internet of things terminal through control plane signaling, and in the process of releasing the RRC connection of the narrowband Internet of things terminal, the firmware upgrading small data packet is sent along the path through the RRC connection release message, so that the wireless connection is not required to be additionally established, and the electric quantity consumption of the narrowband Internet of things terminal is saved. And moreover, the firmware is upgraded by utilizing the leisure time of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal, so that the end-to-end time delay is reduced, and the electric quantity is further saved.
The PSM mode and the TAU period of the narrowband Internet of things terminal need to be started in different application scenes, the time is the leisure time period of the narrowband Internet of things terminal, and the leisure time period is reasonably utilized for firmware upgrading. Suppose that: the total firmware upgrading data is 30000 bytes, one PSM period and one TAU period are set to be 1 minute, the firmware is upgraded from SP3 to SP5, 400 bytes are upgraded every minute, under the condition of good signals, the upgrading of the firmware from SP3 to SP5 requires 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the time required by the firmware upgrading conforms to most of static narrowband Internet of things application scenarios.
Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system of some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown in fig. 3, the communication system of this embodiment includes: the base station 310 and the narrowband internet of things terminal 320 may further include an MME 330.
A base station 310 configured to perform inactivity detection on the narrowband internet of things terminal and start an inactivity timer to time a duration of an inactive state of the narrowband internet of things terminal; after the inactivity timer is overtime, initiating a context suspension flow of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal to the core network equipment; after the core network equipment completes the processing of suspending the context of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection release message is sent to the narrow-band Internet of things terminal, wherein the RRC connection release message comprises one data packet in firmware upgrading data.
The narrowband internet of things terminal 320 is configured to receive an RRC connection release message sent by the base station after an inactivity timer of the narrowband internet of things terminal expires; and acquiring one data packet in the firmware upgrading data in the RRC connection release message, and entering an idle state.
The MME330 is configured to acquire firmware upgrade data of the narrowband internet of things terminal from the application server, trigger the serving gateway S-GW to release the bearer of the narrowband internet of things terminal after receiving a context suspension request of the narrowband internet of things terminal sent by the base station, and send a context suspension response of the narrowband internet of things terminal to the base station after releasing the bearer of the narrowband internet of things terminal.
Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a base station of some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown in fig. 4, the base station 310 of this embodiment includes: a memory 311 and a processor 312 coupled to the memory 311, the processor 312 being configured to execute the firmware upgrade method in any of the embodiments described above based on instructions stored in the memory 311.
For example, the base station performs inactivity detection on the narrowband internet of things terminal, and starts an inactivity timer to time the duration of the inactive state of the narrowband internet of things terminal; after the inactivity timer is overtime, initiating a context suspension flow of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal to the core network equipment; after the core network equipment completes the processing of suspending the context of the narrow-band Internet of things terminal, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection release message is sent to the narrow-band Internet of things terminal, wherein the RRC connection release message comprises one data packet in firmware upgrading data.
The base station 310 may also include a network interface 313 that provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The memory 311 and the processor 312 and the network interface 313 may be connected by a bus 314, for example.
Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a narrowband internet of things terminal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown in fig. 5, the narrowband internet of things terminal 320 of this embodiment includes: a memory 321 and a processor 322 coupled to the memory 321, wherein the processor 322 is configured to execute the firmware upgrading method in any of the embodiments based on the instructions stored in the memory 321.
For example, the narrowband internet of things terminal receives an RRC connection release message sent by the base station after an inactivity timer of the narrowband internet of things terminal expires; and acquiring one data packet in the firmware upgrading data in the RRC connection release message, and entering an idle state.
The narrowband internet of things terminal 320 may further include a network interface 323 providing a connection interface for various networking devices. The memory 321, the processor 322, and the network interface 323 may be connected by a bus 324, for example.
The memories 311 and 321 may include, for example, a system memory, a fixed nonvolatile storage medium, and the like. The system memory stores, for example, an operating system, an application program, a Boot Loader (Boot Loader), and other programs.
The disclosed embodiments propose a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the firmware upgrade method of any of the embodiments.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and so forth) having computer program code embodied therein.
The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. 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 apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, 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 apparatus 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 apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The above description is only exemplary of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, so that any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should be included in the scope of the present disclosure.