WO2009092237A1

WO2009092237A1 - Method for selecting gateway

Info

Publication number: WO2009092237A1
Application number: PCT/CN2008/073553
Authority: WO
Inventors: Weisheng Jin; Wenruo Zhu
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2008-01-07
Filing date: 2008-12-17
Publication date: 2009-07-30
Also published as: CN102307340A; CN101483585B; CN101483585A; CN102307340B

Abstract

A method for selecting gateway is provided. The method includes the features that the access control function entity selects a gateway and obtains a data gateway address according to the APN and the mobility management protocol ability. A device for selecting gateway is also provided. The device includes a transceiver unit, an inquiry unit and a process unit. By using the embodiments of the present invention, the data gateway and the local service gateway can be selected smartly, which ensures the continuity of the user service.

Description

A method for gateway selection This application claims to be submitted to the Chinese Patent Office on January 7, 2008, the application number is 200810065159.6, the invention name is "a method for gateway selection", and is submitted to the Chinese Patent Office on March 19, 2008. The priority of the Chinese Patent Application No. 200810087916.X, entitled "A Method of Gateway Selection", the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical field

The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of mobile communications, and in particular, to a method for implementing gateway selection. Background technique

In the wireless communication system, different wireless communication systems design different protocols for mobility management. In the converged communication network shown in FIG. 1, at least two mobility management protocols, general packet radio service tunnels are included. Protocol (GTP) and Mobile IP (Mobile IP), where Mobile IP includes User Mobile IP (CMIP) and Proxy Mobile IP (PMIP). After the terminal is attached to an access network, it will select a data gateway network anchor to connect to the external packet data network (PDN). There may be multiple PDNs depending on the service and network configuration. Different PDNs may be different. The access point name (APN) is used to identify that the IP address used by the terminal is allocated by the data gateway network anchor or by the external PDN network.

When the terminal is initially accessed from the 3GPP access network, the network-side entity (generally the mobility management entity) can obtain the network anchor data gateway by querying the APN and parsing the APN through a Domain Name Server (DNS). Address, choose one of them, of course, you can directly configure a fixed data gateway; when the terminal is initially accessed from a non-3GPP access network, the terminal can directly access the core control entity (HSS or AAA Server or AAA Proxy) during access authentication. Obtaining the address of the network anchor data gateway, or querying the DNS by the APN obtained by the non-3GPP access network gateway through access authentication Get the address of the network anchor data gateway. It can be seen that in different access technologies, the way to obtain the network anchor data gateway address is different. When the terminal switches between access networks of different access technologies, the network anchor data gateway allocated by the source network and the target network may be different. This will cause the connection at the user IP level to change, resulting in session interruption and data generation. Lost phenomenon.

In the existing method, a fixed setting is performed by a network configuration method to solve the above problem, and when a user uses a different access technology, a fixed data gateway and a local service gateway are used, so that an access control function entity that controls user access can obtain The mobility protocol support capability of the data gateway indicates that the local service gateway correctly uses the mobility management protocol to establish a bearer with the data gateway.

However, the methods in the prior art restrict the flexibility of network arrangement and reduce the efficiency of users accessing the network.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for gateway selection, which improves the flexibility of network configuration.

In one aspect, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for gateway selection, where the method includes: an access control function entity selects a gateway according to an APN and a mobility management protocol capability, and obtains an address of the data gateway.

On the other hand, the embodiment of the present invention further provides an apparatus for gateway selection, where the apparatus includes a transceiver unit, a query unit, and a processing unit, where the transceiver unit is configured to send a bearer setup request to the local service gateway or the data gateway; The querying unit is configured to query the shared core control entity for the user information according to the APN obtained by the query unit and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN, and is further configured to query the network configuration database or the local core control entity for the APN of the user information. The mobility management protocol capability is also used to query the DNS server for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN in the user information, and also to query the DNS server for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN available to the user; and the processing unit. Select data gateway, user-available APN, local service gateway, user Accessing the core network access service mode, and is further configured to form an FQDN according to the mobility management protocol capability of the APN and the APN, and configured to send an instruction message to the transceiver unit, where the instruction message indicates that the transceiver unit sends the processing unit to the processing unit The selected data gateway or local service gateway sends a bearer setup request.

Using the method and apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present invention, the access control function entity selects a gateway according to the APN and the mobility management protocol capability to obtain the address of the data gateway, instead of fixing the configuration data gateway as in the prior art, and enhancing the network configuration. flexibility. DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description For some embodiments of the present invention, other drawings may be obtained from those skilled in the art without departing from the drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture merged in the prior art;

2 is a schematic diagram of a data gateway naming method in an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic diagram of a naming solution 1 for correspondence between APN and APN mobility management protocol capabilities in an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram of a naming solution 2 for correspondence between APN and APN mobility management protocol capabilities in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a naming solution 3 for correspondence between APN and APN mobility management protocol capabilities in an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic flowchart of a method 1 for sharing a capability of an APN and an APN mobility management protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a schematic flowchart of a method 2 of sharing a capability of an APN and an APN mobility management protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a schematic flow chart of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

9 is a schematic flow chart of Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of an access control function entity in an embodiment of the present invention. detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

The shared core control entity in the embodiment of the present invention may be an HSS, and the local core control entity may be an AAA Server or an AAA Proxy. When the user terminal is in the visited area, the AAA Proxy controls and manages the user. The AAA Proxy contacts the HSS through the AAA Server to obtain the user and home network information. Data Gateway ^^ The data gateway of the converged network formed by the early technological evolution of the 3GPP network can support two different mobility management protocols, GTP protocol and MIP. The access control function entity is a mobility management entity, such as an MME or an SGSN, in the 3GPP access network, a local local control entity AAA Server or an AAA Proxy, or a non-3GPP access network gateway in the non-3GPP access network. Or it is composed of a local core control entity of the home location and a non-3GPP access network gateway, or is jointly formed by the visited local core control entity and the non-3GPP access network gateway at the visited place.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in the 3GPP network, the user information is stored on the shared core control entity. In the non-3GPP network, the user information may be stored in the shared core control entity or stored in the local core control entity. In the case where no network is specified, the entity storing the user information in the embodiment of the present invention is collectively referred to as a core control entity.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a data gateway supporting a certain mobility management protocol is associated with a unique name that can be used to query an address in the network and is unique within a certain range, and the name may be queried by the name. However, these data gateways all have the same attributes, that is, they can all be connected to the same PDN and have the same mobility management protocol capabilities (only GTP, mobile IP only, or both). As shown in Figure 2, for a gateway accessing PDN 1, only the data gateway supporting GTP is named PDN. GW NAME A, the data gateway that only supports mobile IP is named PDN GW NAME B , and both support the name PDN GW NAME C. This naming method can explicitly indicate a certain protocol support capability, for example, when NAME is named, a field such as GTP or mobile IP is indicated. It is also possible for the data gateway owner (operator) to formulate a table of correspondence between the PDN GW NAME name and the mobility protocol support capability, to explicitly establish the relationship between the data gateway name and the mobility management protocol capability, in different The correspondence table is shared between the access networks or between different carrier networks, for example, using static or dynamic roaming protocols between operators, or using a method in which the access network access control entity separately queries the relationship table owner to indicate To other network entities.

A data gateway may connect to multiple PDNs, such as PDN 1 and PDN 2 in Figure 2. At this time, the data gateways may have different names, respectively representing access to different PDNs, such as PDN GW4: NAME B-PDN 1 , NAME Y-PDN 2; PDN GW5: NAME C-PDN 1 , NAME X-PDN 2 ).

The types of mobility management protocols referred to in the embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, GTP, mobile IP, and the like. These mobility management protocols can be further subdivided if needed. For example, the Mobile IP protocol can be further subdivided into PMIP, CMIP. For the sake of convenience, the following content uses GTP and Mobile IP (MIP) as an example.

The embodiment of the present invention provides three solutions for naming the correspondence between the capabilities of the APN and the APN mobility management protocol, and the following descriptions are sequentially given.

Option One

As shown in Figure 3, the APN that originally indicated access to a PDN is further subdivided into different APNs according to the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway. The subdivided APN extends the network ID or carrier ID of the APN to join. A field that explicitly indicates the capabilities of the mobility management protocol. The fields of the original APN may remain in the new APN to indicate other information such as the PDN. As shown in FIG. 3, the network ID or the carrier ID in the APN 1 that originally accessed the PDN 1 is expanded and increased. Gtp, mip, gtp/mip or similar fields. Of course, due to the existing network configuration, for a data gateway supporting a certain mobility management protocol, for example, a GPRS Gateway Service Node (GGSN) supporting the GTP protocol may not change the APN corresponding to its address, but only for newly added or New upgraded data gateway (support new The mobility management protocol), changing the APN corresponding to its address. For a data gateway that has only one address and can support two mobility management protocols at the same time, it can be listed in an APN that only supports a certain protocol, or it can be identified by a different APN. For example, PDN GW 5 in Figure 3. It can also be identified by APN l_gtp or APN l_mip, or by APN_gtp_mip.

When the access network access control function entity obtains the newly defined APN, it can determine the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway, and select appropriate data according to the actual situation of the network and the local policy (including the inter-operator agreement). The gateway and the access to the core network, for example, when the terminal accesses the service through the non-3GPP access network, if the terminal is in the home location, the inter-gateway interface 3 is directly accessed. If the terminal is in the visited place, the terminal can also pass through the gateway. Interface 1-2 chain access, select the appropriate local service gateway (for 3GPP access network, or non-3GPP access network in the way of using gateway interface 1-2 chain).

When a handover occurs, the address of the data gateway is brought to the target access network. For the handover within the same access network type, the address of the data gateway is generally transmitted from the original access network to the target access network by the context of the access network type. The information of the data gateway is generally stored in the shared core control entity or the local core control entity. When the user terminal accesses the target access network, the shared core control entity or the local core control entity obtain. The address of the local service gateway can also be obtained by the above method, but may be reselected due to the configuration of the local service gateway. When a reselection occurs, the access network access control entity selects an appropriate local service gateway based on the subscriber's subscription APN, the data gateway or APN that the user is using, the local policy, the roaming protocol (in the case of roaming), and the like.

Option II

As shown in FIG. 4, without changing the structure of the APN, a data gateway supporting different mobility management protocol capabilities by instructing access to the same PDN by adding different APNs is formed, and a corresponding table as shown in Table 1 is formed. The correspondence table of these APNs and mobility protocol capabilities can be shared between the carrier networks in a static or dynamic manner. The corresponding relationship can also be obtained by using a separate dynamic query. The corresponding network can also be added to the carrier network ID (if APN with carrier network information, there is no such column), PDN column as query Reference. The APN in the corresponding table is the APN (including the default APN) in the user terminal subscription data. For a data gateway that has only one address and can support two mobility management protocols at the same time, it can be included in an APN that only supports a certain protocol, or it can be identified by a different APN. As shown in FIG. 4, the PDN GW 5 can be identified by APN A or APN B, or APN C.

When the user terminal accesses from the 3GPP or the non-3GPP access network, the access control function entity obtains the user subscription APN (including the default APN) from the user subscription data, and queries the entity that saves the correspondence table to query the user that needs to be anchored. The APN and mobility management protocol capabilities of the carrier network where the data gateway is located (generally the home network, if the route is optimized, or the visited network is used), obtain the APN support. Mobility management protocol capabilities. If the user plane data is optimized for routing during roaming, and some APNs for route optimization may be configured on the visited network access control function entity, the visited network access control function entity queries the local APN and the protocol support capability. The table can obtain the mobility management protocol capabilities of these locally configured APNs.

It is also possible to store both the APN and the mobility management protocol that the user is allowed to use as the inter-operator contract information (or user subscription information) on the shared core entity. In this case, there is no need to share the correspondence table of APN and protocol support capabilities between different carrier networks, and there is no need to query this capability.

Table 1

For the case where the user terminal accesses from the 3GPP access network, the mobility management entity selects an appropriate data gateway according to the query result (if there is information such as the PDN information, the carrier network ID, etc.) and the local policy, etc. DNS Server gets the data gateway address), the local service gateway, and instructs the local service gateway to establish a local service When the interface between the gateway and the gateway of the anchor point data gateway is 1, the data gateway address and the adopted mobility management protocol type are sent to the local service gateway.

For the case where the user terminal accesses from the non-3GPP access network, the access control function entity synthesizes the information according to the query result (if there is information such as the PDN information, the carrier network ID, etc.) and the local policy (including the inter-operator agreement) Etc., first choose the appropriate way to access the service (and possibly further choose the data gateway), then select the local service gateway (when roaming, if needed), and after selecting the local service gateway, instruct the local service gateway to establish the local service gateway. When the interface 1 is connected to the gateway of the anchor point data gateway, the data gateway address and the adopted mobility management protocol type are sent to the local service gateway. If the function of querying the data gateway address is located in the local core control entity, the local core control entity sends the APN of the data gateway and the mobility management protocol supported by the APN to the non-3GPP access network gateway data gateway address. The access gateway, the data gateway address may be a determined data gateway address, or a list. If the function of querying the data gateway address is located at the access network gateway, the local core control entity sends the APN (including the default APN) that the user terminal can access through the non-3GPP access network and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN to Non-3GPP access network gateway. The APN (including the default APN) and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN can be a list. If there is a service initiated by accessing the new APN, it is directly determined at the access gateway whether it is allowed to be established. It may also be that each time a service with a new APN is initiated, the local core control entity decides and sends it to the access network gateway.

third solution

As shown in FIG. 5, the APN structure is not changed, and the original APN and PDN are used to support the same PDN by using the defined Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). Data gateways with different mobility management protocol capabilities. The correspondence table of these APN and mobility management protocol capabilities is shared between the carrier networks in a static or dynamic manner (or the corresponding relationship is obtained by means of a separate dynamic query), and the operator network ID column may also be added to the table (if APN) If there is carrier network information, there is no such column), and the PDN column is used as a reference for the query. Different from the second scheme, the data gateway represented by APN in this scheme The mobility protocol capability that can be supported refers to the mobility protocol support capability of all data gateways that can be parsed by the APN, that is, the union of all data gateway capabilities. In the table

The APN is the APN (including the default APN) in the subscription data of the user terminal. Combining the parameters required by the prior art method of using APN for DNS query data gateway address

The APN supports the mobility protocol's ability to build an FQDN (which can be an extension of the APN's network ID or carrier ID), as shown in Table 2, used to query this from the DNS Server.

A data gateway address pointed to by the APN to determine the mobility management protocol capabilities, as shown in Table 3, which is typically provided by the data gateway owner.

G G M M

The above FQDN can also be used by the data network Π 1 T T

The p p p-owner is directly stored in the correspondence table of the above-mentioned APN and mobility management protocol capabilities, that is, a column corresponding to the FPN corresponding to each row APN is added to the correspondence table shown in Table 3. At this time, the access control entity can directly obtain the FQDN used to query the data gateway address when querying the mobility management protocol capability of the APN.

Alternatively, the FQDN in the correspondence table of the APN and mobility management protocol capabilities stored on the data gateway owner may also be a name defined by the network administrator according to actual needs. Table 2

APN + protocol capability = FQDN

APN 1 FQDN A APN 1 FQDN B APN 2 FQDN D APN 3 IP FQDN E

table 3

It is also possible to store both the APN and the mobility management protocol that the user is allowed to use as subscription data (inter-operator subscription information or user subscription information) on the shared core entity. At this time, the access network access control entity only needs to use the APN in the subscription information and the allowed use. The mobility management protocol forms an FQDN for DNS query to obtain the address of the data gateway. It does not need to share the correspondence table of the mobility management protocol capabilities of the APN and the APN between different carrier networks, and does not need to query the capability.

When the user terminal accesses from the 3GPP or the non-3GPP access network, the access control function entity obtains the user subscription APN (including the default APN) from the user subscription data, and queries the entity of the storage table 3 for the user to be anchored. The APN and APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN and APN of the carrier network where the data gateway is located (generally the home network, if the route is optimized, or the visited network) Mobility management protocol capabilities. If the user plane data is optimized for routing during roaming, and some APNs for route optimization may be configured on the visited network access control function entity, the visited network access control function entity queries the local APN and the mobility management protocol. The capability correspondence table can obtain the mobility management protocol capabilities of these locally configured APNs.

For 3GPP access, the mobility management entity selects the appropriate data gateway, local service gateway, and indicates local service according to the query result (if there is PDN information, carrier network ID and other information, then synthesizes the information) and local policy, etc. When the gateway establishes the inter-gateway interface 1 between the local service gateway and the anchor point data gateway, the data gateway address and the adopted mobility management protocol type are sent to the local service gateway. Use the FQDN of APN and mobility management protocol capabilities to query the DNS Server for the address of the relevant data gateway.

For non-3GPP access, the access control function entity selects the appropriate access service according to the query result (if there is PDN information, carrier network ID and other information, and then integrates the information) and the local policy (may also further select Good data gateway), then select the local service gateway (when roaming, if needed), and after selecting the local service gateway, when the local service gateway is instructed to establish the inter-gateway interface 1 between the local service gateway and the anchor point data gateway, the data will be The gateway address and the adopted mobility management protocol type are sent to the local service gateway. The address of the relevant data gateway is queried by the DNS server using the FQDN composed of the APN and mobility management protocol capabilities. If the function of querying the data gateway address is located in the local core control entity, the APN of the data gateway and the protocol supported by the APN can be sent by the local core control entity to the non-3GPP access network gateway data gateway address. Forced to the access network gateway, the data gateway address can be a determined data gateway address, or a list. If the function of querying the data gateway address is located in the access network gateway, the local core control entity sends the APN (including the default APN) that the user terminal can access through the non-3GPP access network and the protocol capability supported by the APN to the non-3GPP. The access network gateway, the FQDN is constructed by the access network gateway, or may be the FQDN constructed in the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table. The APN (including the default APN) and the mobility management protocol capability (or the constructed FQDN) supported by the APN may be a list. If there is a service to access the new APN, the access gateway determines whether the establishment is allowed. It may also be sent by the local core control entity to the access network gateway each time a service with a new APN is initiated.

In schemes 2 and 3, the APN and APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence tables should include, but are not limited to, the correspondence between APN and APN mobility management protocol capabilities, and may also include information such as the network operator ID and PDN of the APN. The APN here can be the original APN in the sense of a standard definition, or it can be a commonly defined name within a certain range, such as the FQDN.

The above three schemes specifically describe the methods corresponding to the mobility management protocol capabilities of the APN and the data gateway, and how to obtain the information. In the first scheme, the method for saving the extended new APN is the same as the saving method in the prior art, that is, it is stored in the user's subscription data, inter-operator agreement, carrier local policy, and bearer setup request. Any network node, through the existing method, that is, the name query mechanism, can obtain a determined address list of the data gateway accessing the PDN through a certain mobility management protocol. In schemes 2 and 3, the newly generated correspondence table can be stored in the inter-operator contract or user subscription data, or can be shared between different operators in a static or dynamic manner, or stored in a separate network entity. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem of how the network entity requesting the correspondence table obtains the latest correspondence table or how to share the corresponding table among different operator networks in an appropriate manner. The embodiments of the present invention provide methods for obtaining two correspondence tables, which are separately described below. For convenience of description, the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN in the following embodiment is referred to as a correspondence table.

In the two methods, the requester of the corresponding table may be an access network control entity, or The local network configuration database of the requestor network corresponding to the table.

The responding party (that is, the owner of the corresponding table) may be a shared core control entity or other private/shared network configuration database of the operator network of the control data gateway indicated by the APN in the corresponding table, or may be the requester of the corresponding table. The local core control entity of the network or other private/shared network configuration database.

In the first method, the requester of the corresponding table actively requests the corresponding table information, as shown in FIG. 6, the method includes

Step 601: The requester of the corresponding table sends the request network configuration information; the request information may be a display request, that is, a request for separately transmitting an APN and an APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table; or, the request information is an implicit request, that is, Carry in the existing information to send. The request information may also carry information such as the ID and PDN of the operator to which the APN belongs.

Step 602: The owner of the correspondence table sends an APN and APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table to the requester of the corresponding table.

The second method adopts the manner in which the requesting party of the corresponding table actively requests the corresponding table information. As shown in Figure 7, the method includes:

Step 701: The owner of the request direction correspondence table of the corresponding table sends an APN (or an APN list) to query the mobility management protocol capability of the APN.

Step 702: The owner of the corresponding table queries the DNS server for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN, and the step is optional;

Step 703: The owner of the correspondence table sends the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN to the requesting party of the corresponding table, and if step 702 is performed, the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN is also sent.

Here, if the owner of the corresponding table is a network configuration database, the DNS Server can be in the same entity as the network configuration database.

The foregoing is a specific implementation method of the APN and APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table and a method for the network entity to obtain the correspondence table in the embodiment of the present invention. The following describes how to implement the gateway selection by using the correspondence table in the embodiment of the present invention. Since the APN and the APN mobility management protocol capability are implemented in the first solution, the newly extended APN is saved in the same manner as the existing method, so the network entity acquires the APN mobility management protocol capability. The method is the same as the method for obtaining the APN in the existing method, that is, the APN is acquired, and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN is also known. In the following embodiments, the APN and APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table, that is, the method of the second scheme or the third scheme is used.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for selecting a gateway by using a mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of an APN and an APN, where the method describes that a user terminal initially accesses from a 3GPP access network or switches from another type of access network to 3GPP. The process of selecting the data gateway, local service gateway, and mobility management protocol when accessing the network. When the user roams, the data gateway and the local service gateway can be located in different carrier networks. FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention, where the process includes:

Step 801: The user terminal accesses the mobility management entity.

Step 802: The mobility management entity requests user information from the shared core control entity, and the request information may be carried in other messages, or may be sent separately. This step is an optional step.

Step 803: The shared core control entity queries the network configuration database for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information. The network configuration database is located on the user's home network. This step is optional.

Step 804: The shared core control entity replies to the mobility management entity with user information or for subscription information. If the query of step 803 is performed (or the subscriber subscription information has APN's mobility management protocol capability), the message may also carry a correspondence table of APN and APN mobility management protocol capabilities. For the handover of the access network type, that is, the handover from the non-3GPP network to the 3GPP access network, the reply message may further carry the IP address of the data gateway that the user stored in the shared core control entity is accessing the service, The mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway and/or the mobility management protocol used by the user to connect to the data gateway address being accessed.

Step 805: If the query in step 803 is not performed, the mobility management entity in the step queries the network configuration database for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information, and obtains the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN and the APN. The network configuration database can be located on the user's home network or on the user's visited network.

Step 806: The mobility management entity performs related selection according to a preset policy, that is, if The terminal is the initial access, considering the network configuration, the local policy, and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information, and selecting the APN that the user can access. (When roaming, the APN generally points to the home network data gateway, if route optimization is adopted. The service access mode may be allocated by the access network access control entity to the APN of the visited data gateway, and an appropriate local service gateway is selected. If the terminal is handed over to the 3GPP network, the mobility management entity also selects the local service gateway based on the mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway that is being accessed by the service and/or accessing the mobility management protocol that the data gateway is using.

Step 807: If the terminal is the initial access, the mobility management entity queries the DNS Server for the data gateway address using the APN that the user selected in step 806 can use, and selects the data gateway and/or the mobility management protocol used. If the corresponding table implementation in the second scheme is used, the mobility management entity also needs to form an FQDN for the DNS query, or if the APN and the APN's mobility management protocol capabilities acquired in step 804 or step 805 correspond to The table contains the FQDN, and the mobility management entity directly uses the FQDN for DNS query.

Step 808: The mobility management entity sends a message to the local service gateway to indicate the establishment of the bearer, where the message carries the data gateway address and the mobility management protocol used. For handovers across different access network types, the message may also carry the address of the data gateway that the mobility management entity obtains from the shared core control entity for the current user's ongoing service access and the type of mobility management protocol being used, possibly Includes the mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway. For 3GPP internal handover, the address of the data gateway that the current user is accessing for the service and the type of mobility management protocol being used (and possibly the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway) are obtained from the mobility context, the mobility context Obtained from the mobility management entity before the switch.

Step 809: The user terminal completes bearer establishment to the data gateway. The address of the selected data gateway (for the handover across the access network and the data gateway that is accessing the service) and the mobility management protocol type (and possibly the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway) are stored in the mobility. Management context. The APN and its mobility management protocol capabilities that users are allowed to access when accessing the local mobility management entity in the user subscription information are also stored in mobility. Management context.

Step 810: The data gateway may store its own address, mobility management protocol capabilities, and/or the mobility management protocol used by the user to connect to the data gateway being accessed to the shared core control entity. This step is an optional step.

For handover within the 3GPP access network, after the bearer is established, the target mobility management entity will obtain the address of the data gateway from which the user is accessing the service, its mobility management protocol capabilities, and/or the user connection from the user mobility management context. The mobility management protocol used by the accessed data gateway and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN and APN that the source mobility management entity allows to access when the user accesses are stored on the shared core control entity.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another method for selecting a gateway by using a mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of an APN and an APN, where the method describes that a user terminal initially accesses from a non-3GPP access network or switches from another type of access network. The selection process of the data gateway, the local service gateway, and the mobility management protocol when going to the non-3GPP access network. When the user roams, the data gateway and the local service gateway can be located on different carrier networks or not necessarily using the local service gateway. The method of this embodiment is also applicable to internal handover of the same non-3GPP access network. FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart of Embodiment 2 of the present invention, where the process includes: Step 901: A user terminal accesses an access control function entity.

Step 902: The local core control entity requests user information from the shared core control entity, and the message may be carried in other messages, or sent separately. This step is optional.

Step 903: The shared core control entity queries the network configuration database for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information. This step is an optional step.

Step 904: The shared core control entity replies to the local core control entity with the user information or for the subscription information. If the query of step 903 is performed (or the subscription information has the APN mobility management protocol capability), the message may also be The APN and the APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table are carried. For the handover (or roaming) across the access network type, the reply message may also carry the IP address of the data gateway that the user stored in the shared core control entity or the home core control entity is accessing the service and the data gateway. Mobility management protocol capabilities, and/or mobility management protocols used by users when connecting to the data gateway address being accessed.

Step 905: If the query of step 903 is not performed, the local core control entity queries the network configuration database for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information.

Step 906: The local core control entity performs related selection according to the preset policy, that is, if the user terminal initially accesses the network, considering the network configuration, the local policy, the roaming protocol, the user subscription, and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information, Select the mode in which the user accesses the core network to access the service (direct access through the inter-gateway interface 3 in the home location, and through the inter-gateway interface 1-2 chain in the roaming), the APN that the user can access (when roaming) The APN generally points to the home network data gateway. If the route-optimized service access mode is adopted, the access network access control entity may allocate the APN to the visited data gateway, and if accessed through the inter-gateway interface 3, Choose an APN that supports MIP protocol capabilities or a data gateway, and choose the appropriate local service gateway (for roaming only). If the user terminal is in a roaming handover scenario, the local core control entity also selects the local service gateway based on the mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway that is in the service access and/or the mobility management protocol being accessed by the data gateway.

In this step, the manner in which the user accesses the core network to access the service and the selection of the local service gateway during roaming may not be performed on the local core control entity but on the access network gateway. At this time, the local core control entity sends the APN in the user (subscription) information obtained from the shared core control entity, the IP address of the data gateway in which the user is accessing the service, and the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway, etc. Network gateway.

Step 907: If the local core control entity selects the APN or the data gateway that the user can access, for the initial access, the local core control entity may query the DNS server for the data gateway address by using the APN that the selected user can use, and further select Data gateway. If the correspondence table used herein is implemented by using the corresponding table in the foregoing solution 3, the local core control entity also needs to form an FQDN for DNS query; or if the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table obtained in step 904 or step 905 is The FQDN-column is included, and the local core control entity can directly use the FQDN for DNS. Inquire.

Step 908: The local core control entity sends a message to the access network gateway, where the message carries the APN of the user information or the user subscription information, the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN, and/or the locally accessible APN and the mobility of the APN. The management protocol capability may also carry the APN and the mobility management protocol capability of the local core control entity to allow the user to access. If the local core control entity selects the APN or data gateway that the user can access, and performs the query of step 907, The message may also carry the IP address (or list of IP addresses) of the selected data gateway, the mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway, and/or the selected mobility management protocol. For the handover of the access network type, the message may also carry the data gateway address and the mobility management protocol capability and/or the user who is accessing the service from the shared core control entity (or the local core control entity storage). The mobility management protocol used when connecting to the data gateway address being accessed.

If the user roams in the way of the inter-gateway interface 1-2 chain, and the local core control entity selects the local service gateway, the message sent in this step may also carry the local service gateway address, and may also include the mobility management of the local service gateway. Protocol capability.

Step 909: If the query in step 903 or step 905 is not performed, the access network gateway in the step may query the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information.

If the local core control entity does not perform related selection in step 906, the access network gateway performs related selection according to the preset policy, that is, if the user terminal is the initial access network, consider the network configuration, the local policy, the roaming protocol, and the user subscription. The APN mobility management protocol capability in the user information selects the mode in which the user accesses the core network to access the service (at the home location, through the gateway interface 3 mode, when roaming, the gateway interface 1-2 chain Mode), the APN that the user can access (only access to the APN supporting mobile IP protocol capability when accessing through the inter-gateway interface 3) or the data gateway, and the appropriate local service gateway (only for roaming) can be selected. If the terminal is in the switching state of the roaming place, the access network gateway also selects according to the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway that is in the service access and/or the mobility management protocol used when the user connects to the data gateway address being accessed. Local service gateway. Step 910: If the query of step 907 is not performed, and the data gateway is selected by the access network gateway, the access network gateway queries the DNS server for the data gateway address by using the APN that the user selected in step 909 can use, and further selects the data gateway. . If the implementation method of the corresponding table in the foregoing solution 2 is used, the access network gateway also needs to form an FQDN for the DNS query, or the APN and the APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table obtained in step 908 include the FQDN. The access network gateway can directly use the FQDN for DNS query.

If the user roams and determines that the user accesses the core network by means of the 1-2 link between the gateways, the following steps 911-step 913 are included.

Step 911: If the data gateway is selected by the visited local core control entity, the visited local core control entity may send the data gateway address and the determined mobility management protocol to the local serving gateway. This step is an optional step.

Step 912: The access network gateway initiates a bearer setup request of the interface 2 between the gateways to the local service gateway. If step 911 is not performed, then the access network gateway acquires the local service gateway in step 908.

Step 913: After receiving the bearer setup request of the interface 2 between the gateways sent by the access gateway, the local service gateway initiates an inter-gateway interface to the data gateway by using the data gateway address obtained by step 911 or step 912 and the mobility management protocol indication. 1 bearer setup request.

Step 914: If it is determined that the manner in which the user accesses the core network access service is through the inter-gateway interface 3 chain (roaming or non-roaming state), the access network gateway initiates a bearer setup request of the inter-gateway interface 3 to the data gateway. The data gateway address can be sent by the local core control entity or by the access network gateway itself.

Step 915: The user terminal completes the establishment of the data gateway. The user terminal will select the address of the good data gateway (for the handover across the access network, and the data gateway that is accessing the service) and the type of mobility management protocol selected (which may also include the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway). The mobility management context stored in the access network. In the user subscription information, the APN allowed by the user accessing the local access network access control entity and its mobility management protocol capability are also stored in the mobility management context of the access network. This time In the user access, the manner in which the user is allowed to access the core network to access the service may also be stored in the mobility management context of the access network.

Step 916: The data gateway may store its own address, mobility management protocol capability, and/or mobility management protocol used by the user to connect to the data gateway being accessed to the shared core control entity (or local core control entity, typically the home location) In the local core control entity). This step is an optional step.

If the terminal initiates a new service request after accessing the network, the process further includes the following steps:

Step 917: The user sends an APN (or APN list) to the access network gateway, indicating the service or PDN to be accessed;

Step 918: The access network gateway sends a request to the local core control entity to query the mobility management protocol capability of the APN (or APN list), and the query message may also carry the operator network ID and PDN information to which the APN to be queried belongs. The query message may be sent separately or may be carried in other existing messages;

Step 919: The local core control entity queries the DNS server for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN (or APN list). The query reply message may further carry the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN, and may also carry information such as the network ID and PDN of the operator to which the APN to be queried belongs. Or the FQDN of the data gateway, its mobility management protocol capabilities and/or the chosen mobility management protocol capabilities. This step is optional.

Step 920: The local core control entity queries the access network gateway for a reply message, where the message carries a mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN (or APN list). If the step 919 is performed, the reply message may further carry the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN of the query.

For handover within the non-3GPP access technology, the target access network access control entity may obtain the address of the data gateway that is accessing the service, the mobility management protocol capability, and/or the user connection from the user mobility management context. The mobility management protocol used by the data gateway, the APN that the original access network access control entity can access when the user accesses, and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN. The embodiment of the present invention further provides an access control function entity for performing gateway selection. As shown in FIG. 10, the entity includes: a transceiver unit 1001, a query unit 1002, and a processing unit 1003, where

The transceiver unit 1001 is configured to send a bearer setup request to the local service gateway or the data gateway.

The querying unit 1002 is configured to query the shared core control entity for the user information; and is further configured to query the network configuration database or the local core control entity for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN in the user information; and further, query the DNS for the APN in the user information. The IP address of the corresponding data gateway; also used to query the DNS for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN available to the user.

The processing unit 1003 is configured to select, according to the mobility management protocol capability of the APN and the APN acquired by the query unit 1002, any one of a data gateway, an APN available to the user, a local service gateway, and a user access core network access service mode; The FQDN is configured according to the mobility management protocol capability of the APN and the APN, and is used to send an instruction message to the transceiver unit 1001, where the instruction message instructs the sending unit to send a bearer setup request to the data gateway or the local serving gateway selected by the processing unit.

When the access control function entity is in a non-3GPP network, it may be composed of a local core control entity of the home location and a non-3GPP access network gateway, or may be visited by the local core control entity and the non-3GPP access network. The gateway is composed of. When an access control function entity consists of two entities, both entities have the above functional units and have the same function. And the query unit of the access network gateway is further configured to query the local core control entity for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN sent by the user; the transceiver unit of the local core control entity is further configured to send the mobility of the APN to the access network gateway. Management protocol capability and/or IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN.

The foregoing is a description of a specific embodiment of a method and an apparatus for selecting a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention, including a method for implementing an APN and APN mobility management protocol capability mapping relationship, including adopting an APN structure, adding an indication, or establishing a corresponding relationship. The method of constructing the FQDN, and selecting the gateway (including the data gateway and the local service gateway) by using the above correspondence in the terminal access or handover process, so that the support is different. The data network gateways of the mobility management protocol can be configured to connect to the same PDN. Terminals with different access technologies support access networks with different mobility management protocols. Both roaming and non-roaming scenarios can flexibly select appropriate data gateways and local service gateways, as well as mobility management protocol access services.

The foregoing is a detailed description of a method for selecting a gateway provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The description of the above embodiment is only for helping to understand the method and core idea of the embodiment of the present invention. Meanwhile, for those skilled in the art. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments of the present invention. The details of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments of the present invention.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present invention can be implemented by hardware or by software plus a necessary general hardware platform. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which may be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which may be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.), including several The instructions are for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform the methods described in various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

Rights request

A method for gateway selection, characterized in that it comprises:

The access control function entity selects the gateway based on the APN and mobility management protocol capabilities and obtains the address of the data gateway.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobility management protocol capability is a mobility management protocol capability of the APN, indicated by a mobility management protocol capability field in the APN;

The access control function entity queries the DNS server for the address of the data gateway according to the APN selection gateway.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the mobility management protocol capability field in the APN is to extend an extended carrier ID or a network ID in the APN.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the APN is an APN in user information, and the mobility management protocol capability is a mobility management protocol capability of the APN, and is included in mobility management of an APN. Protocol capability correspondence table;

The method also includes the access control function entity receiving user information transmitted by the core control entity.

The method according to claim 4, wherein the user information further includes any one of the following parameters: an IP address of a data gateway in which the user is accessing the service, and a mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway. a mobility management protocol used by the user to connect to the data gateway.

The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the method further comprises: the access control function entity acquiring the mobility management protocol capability of the APN according to the method 1 or the method 2;

The method is specifically as follows: the core control entity queries the network configuration database for the mobility management protocol capability of the APN, where the user information carries an APN mobility management protocol capability correspondence table;

The method 2 is specifically: the access control function entity queries the network configuration database and acquires a mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN.

The method according to any one of claims 4-6, wherein the method further comprises:

The access control function entity selects an APN that the user can access according to the preset policy; the preset policy includes a mobility management protocol capability of the APN and the APN in the user information.

The method of claim 7, wherein the access control function entity selects a gateway according to an APN and a mobility management protocol capability, where: the access control function entity selects a local according to the preset policy. Service gateway

The preset policy also includes mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway for which the user is accessing the service and/or mobility management protocol being used.

The method according to claim 7, wherein the access control function entity selects a data gateway according to an APN and a mobility management protocol capability, specifically selecting a data gateway;

The address of the data gateway is specifically: the access control entity queries the DNS server for the address of the data gateway according to the APN and the mobility management protocol that the user can access, or if the mobility management protocol capability of the APN is The correspondence table includes an FQDN, and the access control entity queries the DNS server for the address of the data gateway according to the FQDN.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobility management protocol capability is specifically a mobility management protocol that allows a user to use;

The access control function entity acquires the APN and the mobility management protocol used by the user from the subscription information.

The method according to claim 10, wherein the subscription information is an inter-operator contract or a user subscription information.

The method according to claim 10, wherein the access control function entity selects a gateway to specifically select a data gateway;

The access control function entity queries and obtains an address of the data gateway from the DNS server according to the mobility management protocol allowed by the user and the APN.

The method according to claim 9 or 12, wherein the access control After the function entity selects the data gateway according to the APN and the mobility management protocol capability, the method further includes:

The access control function entity sends a bearer setup request to the local serving gateway, where the indication carries the data gateway address and the used mobility management protocol.

The method according to claim 9 or 12, wherein the access control function entity further includes:

The access control function entity has access to the APN and mobility management protocol capabilities in the user information, the data gateway address being accessed, the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway, and the mobile being used. Any of the types of sexual management protocols are stored in the mobility management context.

The method according to claim 9 or 12, wherein the access control function entity may further include:

The data gateway stores any of its own address, mobility management protocol capabilities, and mobility management protocols used by the user to access the data gateway address being accessed to the shared core entity.

The method according to claim 9 or 12, wherein, if the access control function entity is located in a 3GPP access network, the access control function entity may further include: a target mobility management entity The address of the data gateway that the user is accessing the service, the mobility management protocol capability of the data gateway, the mobility management protocol used when the user connects to the data gateway being accessed, and the original mobility management entity allowing access when the user accesses The APN, any one of the APN's mobility management protocol capabilities is stored on the shared core control entity.

The method according to claim 9 or 12, wherein if the access control function entity is located in a non-3GPP access network, the access control function entity is a local core control entity, or is accessed. A network gateway, or a combination of a local core control entity and an access network gateway.

The method according to claim 17, wherein the selecting, by the access control function entity, the APN that the user can access according to the preset policy further comprises selecting a manner in which the user accesses the core network service that is being accessed.

The method according to claim 17, wherein if the access control entity is a combination of a local core control entity and an access network gateway, and the local core control entity receives the user information from the core entity. The APN and the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN, the method further includes the following steps: the local core control entity sends a message to the access network gateway, where the message carries the APN in the user information and the APN Mobility Management Protocol Capability Correspondence Table.

The method according to claim 19, wherein if the local serving gateway selects the local serving gateway, the message sent by the local core control entity to the access network gateway further includes a local serving gateway address and/or Or the mobility management protocol capability of the local service gateway.

The method according to claim 19, wherein if the local core control entity selects an APN that the user can access, the message sent by the local core control entity further carries any combination of the following parameters: The IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN that the user can access, the APN that the local core control entity is allowed to access by the user, and the mobility management protocol capability, the APN that the user can access, and the mobility management of the APN Protocol capabilities, the IP address of the selected data gateway, the mobility management protocol capabilities of the data gateway, and the selected mobility management protocol.

The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the method further comprises:

The access network gateway receives an APN sent by the terminal;

The access network gateway acquires the APN and mobility management protocol capabilities.

The method of claim 22, wherein the mobility management protocol capability is a mobility management protocol capability of the APN, and the access network gateway obtains the mobility management protocol capability of the APN as follows:

The access network gateway queries and acquires the mobility management protocol capability of the APN from the local core control entity or the network database.

The method of claim 23, wherein the obtaining, by the access network gateway, the mobility management protocol capability of the APN further comprises acquiring an IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN, specifically: The local core control entity or the network database queries the DNS Sever according to the APN and acquires the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN;

The local core control entity or network database sends the mobility management protocol capability of the APN and the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN to the access network gateway.

The method of claim 24, wherein the local core control entity or the network database queries the IP address of the data gateway:

The local core control entity or the network database queries the DNS server according to the mobility management protocol capability corresponding to the APN and the APN, and acquires an IP address of the data gateway;

Alternatively, the local core control entity or the network database queries the DNS server for the address of the data gateway according to the FQDN in the APN and the mobility management protocol capability correspondence table of the APN.

The method of claim 22, wherein the mobility management protocol capability is a mobility management protocol that allows a user to use, the method further comprising: the access network gateway according to the APN and the The mobility management protocol that allows the user to query the DNS Server and obtain the IP address of the data gateway.

The method according to any one of claims 25-26, wherein the network database and the DNS Server are located on the same entity.

28. A device for gateway selection, comprising: a transceiver unit, a query unit, and a processing unit, wherein:

a transceiver unit, configured to send a bearer setup request to the local service gateway or the data gateway; the query unit is configured to query the shared core control entity for user information, and is further configured to query the network configuration database or the local core control entity to query the movement of the APN in the user information. The STP is also used to query the DNS server for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN in the user information, and is also used to query the DNS server for the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN available to the user.

a processing unit, configured to select, according to the APN acquired by the query unit and the mobility management protocol capability of the APN, a data gateway, an APN available to the user, a local service gateway, The user accesses the core network access service mode, and is further configured to use an APN and a mobility management protocol capability to form an FQDN, configured to send an instruction message to the transceiver unit, where the instruction message instructs the transceiver unit to select the processing unit The data gateway or local service gateway sends a setup request.

The device according to claim 28, wherein the device is an MME or an SGSN in a 3GPP access network, or a home local control entity AAA Server or AAA Proxy in a non-3GPP access network, or It is a non-3GPP access network gateway, or a local core control entity of a home location in a non-3GPP network, or a visited local core control entity in a non-3GPP network.

The device according to claim 29, wherein, if the device is a non-3GPP access network gateway, the query unit is further configured to query the local core control entity for mobility management of the APN sent by the user. Protocol capability.

The device according to claim 29, wherein, if the device is a local core control entity, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a mobility management protocol capability of the APN sent by the user to the access network gateway. / or the IP address of the data gateway corresponding to the APN.