CN114449547A

CN114449547A - Method, base station and communication system for releasing suspension information

Info

Publication number: CN114449547A
Application number: CN202011209283.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王文治; 郭靓; 崔立鹏; 王志佳; 阚悦源
Original assignee: China Telecom Corp Ltd
Current assignee: China Telecom Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-03
Filing date: 2020-11-03
Publication date: 2022-05-06
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-03
Also published as: CN114449547B

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, a base station and a communication system for releasing suspension information. The method for releasing the suspension information comprises the following steps: after receiving an inquiry request aiming at the terminal of the Internet of things sent by an MME, checking whether RRC connection in a suspended state associated with the terminal of the Internet of things exists or not; if the RRC connection in the suspended state exists, sending the query result to the MME; deleting the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state after receiving a first release request sent by the MME; and sending a second release request to the Internet of things terminal so that the Internet of things terminal deletes the stored AS information. The method and the device can effectively delete the related information of the RRC connection in the suspended state, and reduce the pressure of the base station side.

Description

Method, base station and communication system for releasing suspension information

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, a base station, and a communication system for releasing suspend information.

Background

The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) develops technical research for enhancing the functions of the mobile communication network according to a narrowband service application scenario to meet the business requirements of the internet of things which are developed vigorously. Narrow-Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is an emerging technology in the field of Internet of Things, supports cellular data connection of Low-Power devices in a Wide Area Network, and is also called LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network). The NB-IoT is constructed in a cellular network, and may be directly deployed in a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) network, a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network, or an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, so as to reduce the deployment cost and achieve smooth upgrade.

The terminal of the Internet of things is a device which is connected with a sensing network layer and a transmission network layer in the Internet of things and realizes data acquisition and data transmission to the network layer. It is responsible for data acquisition, preliminary processing, encryption, transmission and other functions. The fixed position of the internet of things terminal refers to the position of the internet of things terminal after installation, such as a meter reading type internet of things terminal. In order to adapt an LTE network to NB-IoT, an UP (User Plane) mode of operation has emerged in the prior art. This mode of operation introduces RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection suspend and resume procedures. In the UP mode, if the terminal has no traffic for a period of time, the base station suspends the RRC connection of the terminal. When the base station determines to suspend the RRC connection, the base station sends an RRC connection release message in an SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) 1 through a downlink logical channel DL-DCCH, where the release reason carried in the message is that the RRC is suspended and carries resume identification ResumeID, and the terminal performs a related operation of suspending an access stratum context. In addition, the message can optionally carry redirection information and extended waiting time information. In the NB-IoT system, if the terminal is connected in the UP mode, it only switches between the suspend (suspend) state and the active (active) state until the terminal or the core network is actively released for some reason.

Disclosure of Invention

The inventor finds out through research that in the UP working mode, the suspension of the terminal needs to save the context information at the base station side, and certain resources are occupied. Especially, when the number of terminals covered by a base station is large, the context information stored by the base station occupies a large amount of memory resources, which seriously affects the performance of the base station.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a scheme for releasing suspend information, which can effectively reduce stress on the base station side.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for releasing suspension information, performed by a base station, including: after receiving an inquiry request aiming at an Internet of things terminal sent by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), checking whether a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in a suspended state associated with the Internet of things terminal exists or not; if the RRC connection in the suspended state exists, sending a query result to the MME; deleting the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state after receiving a first release request sent by the MME; and sending a second release request to the terminal of the Internet of things so that the terminal of the Internet of things can delete the access stratum AS information stored by the terminal of the Internet of things.

In some embodiments, after establishing an RRC connection with the terminal of the internet of things, detecting whether there is no traffic flow on the RRC connection within a preset time range; if no service flow exists on the RRC connection within a preset time range, sending a suspension request to the Internet of things terminal so that the Internet of things terminal releases the RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information; and after receiving a suspension confirmation response sent by the terminal of the Internet of things, releasing the RRC connection and storing the associated information of the RRC connection.

In some embodiments, the association information of the RRC connection includes AS information of the terminal of the internet of things, and corresponding S1AP association information and bearer context.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station for releasing suspension information, including: the mobile terminal comprises an inquiry module and a Mobile Management Entity (MME), wherein the inquiry module is configured to check whether a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in a suspended state associated with the terminal of the Internet of things exists or not after receiving an inquiry request for the terminal of the Internet of things sent by the MME, and send an inquiry result to the MME if the RRC connection in the suspended state exists; and the release processing module is configured to delete the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state and send a second release request to the internet of things terminal after receiving the first release request sent by the MME, so that the internet of things terminal deletes the access stratum AS information stored by the internet of things terminal.

In some embodiments, the base station further comprises: the connection management module is configured to detect whether there is no service traffic on the RRC connection within a preset time range after the RRC connection is established with the Internet of things terminal, send a suspension request to the Internet of things terminal if there is no service traffic on the RRC connection within the preset time range, so that the Internet of things terminal releases the RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information, and release the RRC connection and store associated information of the RRC connection after a suspension confirmation response sent by the Internet of things terminal is received.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station for releasing suspend information, including: a memory configured to store instructions; a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform a method implementing any of the embodiments described above based on instructions stored by the memory.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication system for releasing suspend information, including: a base station as in any one of the embodiments above; a Mobility Management Entity (MME) configured to send a query request for an Internet of things terminal to the base station when the duration of a timer is equal to the active duration of the Internet of things terminal, wherein the timer is started when the Internet of things terminal is attached to the MME, and further configured to send a first release request to the base station after receiving a query result sent by the base station and used for indicating that the RRC connection in the suspended state exists; and the Internet of things terminal is configured to delete the access stratum AS information stored by the terminal according to the second release request sent by the base station.

In some embodiments, the terminal of the internet of things is further configured to send an attach request to the MME after being powered on, and establish a radio resource control RRC connection with the base station after receiving attach response information sent by the MME; the MME is also configured to send attachment response information to the Internet of things terminal and start the timer after receiving an attachment request of the Internet of things terminal.

In some embodiments, the MME is further configured to set tracking area update processing indication information in the attach response information in case the location of the internet of things terminal is fixed; the terminal of the internet of things is further configured to set the periodic tracking area updating capability to a closed state according to the tracking area updating processing indication information included in the attachment response information.

In some embodiments, the terminal of the internet of things is further configured to release the RRC connection and store corresponding AS information according to a suspend request sent by the base station, and send a suspend acknowledgement response to the base station.

In some embodiments, the internet of things terminal is further configured to send a tracking area update request to the MME if a network capability parameter needs to be modified; the MME is further configured to update the network capability parameters of the Internet of things terminal according to the update parameters included in the tracker update request.

According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which computer instructions are stored, and when executed by a processor, the computer-readable storage medium implements the method according to any of the embodiments described above.

Other features of the present disclosure and advantages thereof will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

The present disclosure may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method of releasing suspend information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of releasing suspend information according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that the dimensions of the various parts shown in the figures are not drawn to scale. Further, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar components.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description of the exemplary embodiments is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that: the relative arrangement of parts and steps, the composition of materials and values set forth in these embodiments are to be construed as illustrative only and not as limiting unless otherwise specifically stated.

The use of the word "comprising" or "comprises" and the like in this disclosure means that the elements listed before the word encompass the elements listed after the word and do not exclude the possibility that other elements may also be encompassed.

All terms (including technical or scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs unless specifically defined otherwise. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail but are intended to be part of the specification where appropriate.

Fig. 1 is a flow diagram of a method of releasing suspend information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the following method steps of releasing the pending information are performed by the base station.

In step 101, after receiving a query request for an internet of things terminal sent by an MME (Mobility Management Entity), it is checked whether there is an RRC connection in a suspended state associated with the internet of things terminal.

It should be noted here that the MME starts the timer after the terminal of the internet of things is attached, and if the duration of the timer is equal to the active duration of the terminal of the internet of things, the MME sends an inquiry request to the base station.

In step 102, if there is an RRC connection in the suspended state, the query result is sent to the MME.

In some embodiments, after establishing the RRC connection with the terminal of the internet of things, the base station detects whether there is no traffic on the RRC connection within a preset time range. And if no service flow exists on the RRC connection within the preset time range, the base station sends a suspension request to the Internet of things terminal so that the Internet of things terminal releases the RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information. And after receiving the suspension confirmation response sent by the terminal of the Internet of things, the base station releases the RRC connection and stores the associated information of the RRC connection.

In step 103, after receiving the first release request sent by the MME, the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state is deleted.

In some embodiments, the associated information of the RRC connection includes AS (Access Stratum) information of the terminal of the internet of things, and corresponding S1AP (S1 Application Protocol, S1 interface Application Protocol identifier) associated information and bearer context.

And step 104, sending a second release request to the terminal of the internet of things so that the terminal of the internet of things deletes the AS information stored by the terminal of the internet of things.

In the method for releasing suspension information provided in the foregoing embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station deletes the stored related information of the RRC connection in the suspension state according to the instruction of the MME, thereby effectively reducing the storage pressure of the base station.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2, the base station includes an inquiry module 21 and a release processing module 22.

The query module 21 is configured to, after receiving a query request for the terminal of the internet of things sent by the MME, check whether there is a radio resource control RRC connection associated with the terminal of the internet of things in a suspended state. If there is an RRC connection in the suspended state, the query module 21 sends the query result to the MME.

The release processing module 22 is configured to, after receiving the first release request sent by the MME, delete the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state, and send a second release request to the internet of things terminal, so that the internet of things terminal deletes the AS information stored by the internet of things terminal.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 differs from fig. 2 in that in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the base station further comprises a connection management module 23.

The connection management module 23 is configured to detect whether there is no service traffic on RRC connection within a preset time range after RRC connection is established with the terminal of the internet of things, send a suspend request to the terminal of the internet of things if there is no service traffic on RRC connection within the preset time range, so that the terminal of the internet of things releases RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information, and release RRC connection and store associated information of RRC connection after a suspend confirmation response sent by the terminal of the internet of things is received.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the base station includes a memory 41 and a processor 42.

The memory 41 is used to store instructions. The processor 42 is coupled to the memory 41. The processor 42 is configured to perform a method as referred to in any of the embodiments of fig. 1 based on the instructions stored by the memory.

As shown in fig. 4, the base station further comprises a communication interface 43 for information interaction with other devices. Meanwhile, the base station further comprises a bus 44, and the processor 42, the communication interface 43 and the memory 41 are communicated with each other through the bus 44.

The Memory 41 may include a Random Access Memory (RAM) or a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM). Such as at least one disk storage. The memory 41 may also be a memory array. The storage 41 may also be partitioned, and the blocks may be combined into virtual volumes according to certain rules.

Further, the processor 42 may be a central processing unit, or may be an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and the instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the method according to any one of the embodiments in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, the communication system includes a base station 51, an MME 52, and an internet of things terminal 53. The base station 51 is a base station according to any of the embodiments of fig. 2 to 4.

The MME 52 sends a query request for the internet of things terminal to the base station 51 if the duration of a timer is equal to the active duration of the internet of things terminal, wherein the timer is started when the internet of things terminal is attached to the MME.

It should be noted that, the MME 52 starts a timer after the internet of things terminal 53 is attached, and if the duration of the timer is equal to the active duration of the internet of things terminal, the MME 52 sends an inquiry request to the base station 51.

The MME 52 further sends, after receiving the query result sent by the base station 51 for indicating that there is the RRC connection in the suspended state, a first release request to the base station 51, so that the base station 52 deletes the AS information of the internet of things terminal 53, and the corresponding S1AP association information and bearer context. In addition, the internet of things terminal 53 deletes the AS information stored therein according to the second release request sent by the base station 52.

In some embodiments, the internet of things terminal 53 sends an attach request to the MME 52 after powering on. After receiving the attach request of the internet of things terminal 53, the MME 52 sends attach response information to the internet of things terminal 53 and starts a timer. After receiving the attach response information sent by the MME 52, the internet of things terminal 53 establishes an RRC connection with the base station 51.

In some embodiments, the MME 52 sets tracking area update processing indication information in the attach response information in the case that the location of the internet of things terminal 53 is fixed. The internet of things terminal 53 sets the periodic tracking area update capability to the off state according to the tracking area update processing instruction information included in the attachment response information. Since the location of the internet of things terminal 53 is fixed, periodic tracking area updates are not required.

In some embodiments, the internet of things terminal 53 releases the RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information according to the suspend request sent by the base station 51, and sends a suspend acknowledgement response to the base station 51.

In some embodiments, the internet of things terminal 53 sends a tracking area update request to the MME 52 in case the network capability parameters need to be modified. The MME 53 updates the network capability parameters of the internet of things terminal according to the update parameters included in the tracker update request.

In step 601, the terminal of the internet of things sends an attachment request to the MME after being powered on.

In some embodiments, the attach request includes terminal type information, for example, the MME determines that the terminal of the internet of things is a terminal of the internet of things at a fixed location according to the terminal type information. In addition, the attach request further includes PSM (Power Saving Mode) related parameters, including an active duration and a Power Saving Mode duration.

In step 602, after receiving the attach request of the terminal of the internet of things, the MME sends attach response information to the terminal of the internet of things. And under the condition that the terminal of the Internet of things is a fixed-position terminal of the Internet of things, the attachment response information comprises tracking area updating processing information.

In step 603, the MME starts a timer.

In step 604, after receiving the attach response message sent by the MME, the terminal of the internet of things sets the periodic tracking area update capability to an off state according to the tracking area update processing message.

In step 605, the terminal of the internet of things establishes an RRC connection with the corresponding base station.

In step 606, the base station detects whether there is no traffic on the RRC connection within a preset time frame. And if no service flow exists on the RRC connection within the preset time range, the base station sends a suspension request to the terminal of the Internet of things.

In step 607, the terminal of the internet of things releases the RRC connection and stores the corresponding AS information.

In step 608, the terminal of the internet of things sends a suspension confirmation response to the base station.

In step 609, the base station releases the RRC connection and stores AS information of the networked terminal, and corresponding S1AP association information and bearer context.

In step 610, the MME sends an inquiry request to the base station when the duration of the timer is equal to the active duration of the internet of things terminal.

In step 611, the base station queries whether an RRC connection in a suspended state associated with the terminal of the internet of things exists according to the query request. And if the RRC connection in the suspended state exists, the base station sends a corresponding query result to the MME.

In step 612, the MME sends a first release request to the base station according to the received query result.

In step 613, the base station deletes the AS information of the terminal of the internet of things, and corresponding S1AP association information and bearer context according to the first release request.

In step 614, the base station sends a second release request to the terminal of the internet of things.

In step 615, the terminal of the internet of things deletes the AS information stored by the terminal of the internet of things according to the second release request.

In some embodiments, the terminal of the internet of things sends a tracking area update request to the MME if the network capability parameter needs to be modified. And the MME updates the network capability parameters of the terminal of the Internet of things according to the updating parameters included in the tracker updating request.

For example, a TAU (Tracking Area Update) period is adjusted in this manner.

In some embodiments, the functional modules may be implemented as a general purpose Processor, a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other Programmable Logic device, discrete Gate or transistor Logic, discrete hardware components, or any suitable combination thereof, for performing the functions described in this disclosure.

So far, embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. Some details that are well known in the art have not been described in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present disclosure. It will be fully apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description how to practice the presently disclosed embodiments.

Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of example, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing examples are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the above embodiments or equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for releasing suspension information, performed by a base station, comprising:

after receiving an inquiry request for an internet of things terminal sent by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), checking whether a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in a suspended state associated with the internet of things terminal exists or not;

if the RRC connection in the suspended state exists, sending a query result to the MME;

deleting the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state after receiving a first release request sent by the MME;

and sending a second release request to the terminal of the Internet of things so that the terminal of the Internet of things can delete the access stratum AS information stored by the terminal of the Internet of things.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after establishing RRC connection with the terminal of the Internet of things, detecting whether no service flow exists on the RRC connection within a preset time range;

if no service flow exists on the RRC connection within a preset time range, sending a suspension request to the Internet of things terminal so that the Internet of things terminal releases the RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information;

and after receiving a suspension confirmation response sent by the terminal of the Internet of things, releasing the RRC connection and storing the associated information of the RRC connection.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein,

the related information of the RRC connection includes AS information of the internet of things terminal, and corresponding S1AP related information and bearer context.

4. A base station for releasing suspend information, comprising:

the mobile terminal comprises an inquiry module and a Mobile Management Entity (MME), wherein the inquiry module is configured to check whether a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in a suspended state associated with the terminal of the Internet of things exists or not after receiving an inquiry request for the terminal of the Internet of things sent by the MME, and send an inquiry result to the MME if the RRC connection in the suspended state exists;

and the release processing module is configured to delete the association information of the RRC connection in the suspended state and send a second release request to the internet of things terminal after receiving the first release request sent by the MME, so that the internet of things terminal deletes the access stratum AS information stored by the internet of things terminal.

5. The base station of claim 4, further comprising:

the connection management module is configured to detect whether there is no service traffic on the RRC connection within a preset time range after the RRC connection is established with the Internet of things terminal, send a suspension request to the Internet of things terminal if there is no service traffic on the RRC connection within the preset time range, so that the Internet of things terminal releases the RRC connection and stores corresponding AS information, and release the RRC connection and store associated information of the RRC connection after a suspension confirmation response sent by the Internet of things terminal is received.

6. The base station of claim 5, wherein,

7. A base station for releasing suspend information, comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform an implementation of the method recited in any of claims 1-3 based on instructions stored by the memory.

8. A communication system for releasing suspend information, comprising:

the base station of any one of claims 4-7;

a Mobility Management Entity (MME) configured to send a query request for an Internet of things terminal to the base station when the duration of a timer is equal to the active duration of the Internet of things terminal, wherein the timer is started when the Internet of things terminal is attached to the MME, and further configured to send a first release request to the base station after receiving a query result sent by the base station and used for indicating that the RRC connection in the suspended state exists;

and the terminal of the Internet of things is configured to delete the access stratum AS information stored by the terminal of the Internet of things according to the second release request sent by the base station.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the terminal of the Internet of things is further configured to send an attachment request to the MME after the terminal is started up, and establish Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with the base station after receiving attachment response information sent by the MME;

the MME is also configured to send attachment response information to the Internet of things terminal and start the timer after receiving an attachment request of the Internet of things terminal.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the MME is further configured to set tracking area update processing indication information in the attachment response information under the condition that the position of the terminal of the Internet of things is fixed;

the terminal of the internet of things is further configured to set the periodic tracking area updating capability to a closed state according to the tracking area updating processing indication information included in the attachment response information.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the terminal of the internet of things is further configured to release the RRC connection and store corresponding AS information according to a suspension request sent by the base station, and send a suspension confirmation response to the base station.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the terminal of the internet of things is further configured to send a tracking area update request to the MME if the network capability parameters need to be modified;

the MME is further configured to update the network capability parameters of the Internet of things terminal according to the update parameters included in the tracker update request.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of claims 1-3.