WO2011054258A1

WO2011054258A1 - Method and system for acquiring local gateway selection information

Info

Publication number: WO2011054258A1
Application number: PCT/CN2010/078033
Authority: WO
Inventors: 霍玉臻; 周娜; 王静; 梁爽
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2009-11-04
Filing date: 2010-10-22
Publication date: 2011-05-12
Also published as: CN102056137A; CN102056137B

Abstract

A method and system for acquiring local gateway selection information are provided by the present invention, which are used to solve the technical problem that how to dynamically provide and update the information needed by the local gateway selection for a Mobility Management Entity so that the Mobility Management Entity can select a suitable local gateway for the Local IP Access Connection. In the present invention, a wireless side network element or a home base station gateway dynamically reports and updates the local gateway selection information to the Mobility Management Entity, so that the Mobility Management Entity can select a suitable local gateway for the Local IP Access Connection. For using dynamic configuration, the amount of data that need to be configured by the network management is small, the leakage of private network topology is avoided, and the modification of configuration data can be more flexible and convenient.

Description

Method and system for acquiring local gateway selection information

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications, and in particular, to a method and system for obtaining information required for a local gateway selected as a local IP access connection service. Background technique

The Evolved Packet System (EPS) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) evolved by the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW or PDN GW), Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 3GPP's Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) server, Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity and other supporting nodes. 1A is a schematic diagram of an EPS system architecture according to the related art, where a mobility management entity is responsible for control planes such as mobility management, non-access stratum signaling processing, and user mobility management context management; S-GW is The E-UTRAN-connected access gateway device forwards data between the E-UTRAN and the P-GW and is responsible for buffering the paging waiting data. The P-GW is an EPS and Packet Data Network (PDN). The border gateway of the network is responsible for the access of the PDN and the forwarding of data between the EPS and the PDN; both the S-GW and the P-GW belong to the core network gateway.

The home base station is a small, low-power base station deployed in indoor places such as homes and offices. The main purpose is to provide users with higher service rates and lower the cost of using high-speed services, while making up for existing distributed Insufficient coverage of cellular wireless communication systems. Household base The advantages of the station are affordable, convenient, low power output, plug and play and more. In the home base station system, the home base station is a wireless side network element. The home base station can be directly connected to the core network, as shown in FIG. 1A, or can be accessed to the core network through the home base station gateway, as shown in FIG. 1B. The main function of the home base station gateway is: verifying the home base station Security, handling the registration of the home base station, performing operation and maintenance management on the home base station, configuring and controlling the home base station according to the operator's requirements, and exchanging data of the core network and the home base station.

In addition to supporting access to the mobile core network, mobile communication systems (including home base station systems) can also support local IP access (LIPA) functions, enabling terminal-to-home network other IP devices or enterprise network other IP devices or Local access to the Internet.

In order to implement the local IP access function, a local gateway is added, as shown in Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4. The addition of a local access gateway provides strong support for local IP access technologies. As shown in FIG. 2, the local gateway may be combined with the wireless side network element or near the wireless side network element (ie, externally). As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when there is a home base station gateway, the local gateway is not only It can be set up with a home base station or near a home base station (ie, externally), or with a home base station gateway or near a home base station gateway (ie, built-in). The local gateway may be a Local Serving Gateway (L-SGW), a Local Packet Data Network Gateway (L-PGW), a Virtual Serving Gateway (V-SGW), and virtual packet data. Network Gateway (Virtual Packet Data Network Gateway, V-PGW), Ben

Node, L-GGSN), external local gateway L-GW (Local Gateway), can also be a data offload function entity.

Taking the LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile communication network architecture as an example, FIG. 5 shows a schematic data flow diagram of local IP access and core network connection in the wireless communication systems of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG.

As shown in Figure 5, for the connection of local IP access, you need to choose the appropriate local gateway to implement Local transmission of terminal data, the selection of the local gateway needs to consider the following information (collectively referred to as local gateway selection information): Correspondence information between the wireless side network element and the local gateway (ie, which local gateways can serve which wireless side network elements) ), location information of the wireless side network element. The selection of the local gateway is performed by the mobility management entity. The information to be considered (such as the corresponding relationship) can be statically configured in the mobility management entity or the DNS server. However, static configuration can cause problems, such as large configuration data, especially for home base station scenarios; leakage of private network topology, especially for enterprise network scenarios; configuration data modification is inconvenient and inflexible. Summary of the invention

In view of this, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and system for acquiring local gateway selection information, which is used to solve the problem of how to dynamically provide and update information required for local gateway selection for a mobility management entity, so that the mobility management entity can A technical issue of selecting a suitable local gateway for a local IP access connection.

In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is achieved as follows:

A method for obtaining local gateway selection information includes:

The wireless side network element or the home base station gateway reports the local gateway selection information to the mobility management entity, and the mobility management entity uses the local gateway selection information to select a suitable local gateway, where the local gateway selection information includes the current wireless side network. The correspondence information between the element and the local gateway and/or the location information of the current wireless side network element.

Further, the method further includes: when the local gateway selection information is changed, the radio side network element or the home base station gateway transmits an update message to the mobility management entity, and further, the mobility management entity uses The above local gateway selects information and selects a suitable local gateway.

Further, the local gateway selection information is configured in a wireless side network element or a home base station gateway, or is obtained by the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway from the network management system. Further, in the LTE system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station;

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The local gateway is a local service gateway (L-SGW), a local packet data network gateway (L-PGW), an external local gateway (L-GW), or a data offloading functional entity.

Further, in the UTRAN system, the radio side network element is a base station, a home base station or a radio network controller (RNC); the mobility management entity is a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) or a mobile switching center (MSC); The local gateway is a local gateway GPRS support node (L-GGSN), an external local gateway (L-GW), or a data offloading functional entity.

Based on the above method, the present invention also provides a system for acquiring local gateway selection information, including:

The local gateway selection information reporting device is located at the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway, and is configured to dynamically report the local gateway selection information to the receiving module; the local gateway selection information includes the correspondence relationship between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway. / or location information of the current wireless side network element;

a local gateway selection information receiving device, located in the mobility management entity, configured to receive the local gateway selection information reported by the reporting module, and stored locally, the mobility management entity uses the local gateway to select information, and selects an appropriate Local gateway.

Further, when the local gateway selection information is changed, the local gateway selection information reporting device is further configured to send an update message to the local gateway selection information receiving device, and further, the local gateway selection information is configured in The wireless side network element or the home base station gateway, or the local gateway selection information reporting device is obtained from the network management system.

Further, in the LTE system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station; the mobility management entity is an MME or an SGSN; and the local gateway is an L-SGW, an L-PGW, an external L-GW, or Data offloading functional entity. Further, in the UTRAN system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station or an RNC; the mobility management entity is an SGSN or an MSC; and the local gateway is an L-GGSN, an external L-GW, or a data offload. Functional entity.

In the present invention, the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway dynamically reports and updates the local gateway selection information to the mobility management entity, so that the mobility management entity can select a suitable local gateway for the local IP access connection. Due to the dynamic configuration, the amount of data required by the network management system is small, the leakage of the private network topology structure is avoided, and the modification of the configuration data is flexible and convenient. DRAWINGS

1A is a schematic diagram 1 of a connection of a mobile communication network in the prior art;

1B is a schematic diagram 2 of a connection of a mobile communication network in the prior art;

2 is a schematic diagram 3 of a connection of a mobile communication network in the prior art;

3 is a schematic diagram 4 of a connection of a mobile communication network in the prior art;

4 is a schematic diagram 5 of a connection of a mobile communication network in the prior art;

5 is a schematic diagram of a local IP access data flow in a mobile communication system in the prior art; FIG. 6 is a flowchart of local gateway selection information reporting according to the present invention;

7 is a flow chart of updating local gateway selection information according to the present invention;

8 is a flow chart of reporting and updating local gateway selection information in a UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) home base station network according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of reporting local gateway selection information when a home base station gateway is deployed in an LTE home base station network according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of updating local gateway selection information when a home base station gateway is deployed in an LTE home base station network according to the present invention. detailed description

The core idea of the present invention is to dynamically report the information required for local gateway selection to the mobility management entity through the SI interface or the Iu interface, so that the mobility management entity selects a suitable local gateway for the local IP access connection.

In the present invention, the local gateway selection information includes, but is not limited to, the following: the correspondence information between the wireless side network element and the local gateway (ie, which local gateways can serve the wireless side network element) and the location information of the wireless side network element.

In the present invention, the S1 interface refers to an interface between the radio side network element and the mobility management entity in the LTE system. When there is a home base station gateway, the interface between the home base station gateway and the mobility management entity is also referred to as S. 1 interface. The Iu interface refers to the interface between the wireless side network element and the mobility management entity in the UTRAN system. When there is a home base station gateway, the interface between the home base station gateway and the mobility management entity is also referred to as an Iu interface. The Iuh interface refers to the interface between the wireless side network element and the home base station gateway in the UTRAN system.

The technical solutions of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to understand the invention. .

In the following embodiments, the wireless side network element may be a base station, a home base station, or an RNC (Radio Network Controller). The mobility management entity may be an MME (Mobility Management Entity), an MSC (Mobile Switching Centre) or an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node). The local gateway may be an L-SGW, L. - PGW, L-GGSN, external L-GW or data offloading functional entity. The core network access gateway may be an S-GW or an SGSN.

In the embodiment of the present invention, for the LTE system, when the external L-GW or the data offloading function entity is used, the L-SGW and the L-PGW do not exist, and the MME performs the L-GW or the data offloading function entity. Message interaction, no longer participate in L-SGW, L-PGW. For UMTS systems, When the external L-GW or the data offloading function entity is used, the L-GGSN does not exist. At this time, the SGSN performs message interaction with the L-GW or the data offloading function entity, and no L-GGSN participates.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the local gateway selection information reporting in the LTE system based on the architecture of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the S1 interface signaling process is used to complete the mobility management of the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway. A flow chart of the local gateway selection information is reported by the entity. This embodiment is applicable to the scenario where the LTE system macro base station scenario, the LTE home base station system has the home base station gateway, and the home base station gateway manages the local gateway selection information. The specific steps of this embodiment are described as follows:

Step 601: The radio side network element or the home base station gateway and the mobility management entity establish a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection.

Step 602: The wireless side network element or the home base station gateway sends an "S1 interface establishment request" message to the mobility management entity, where the message needs to carry the local gateway selection information, including the correspondence information between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway, and/or Or location information of the current wireless side network element;

The local gateway selection information may be configured in the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway, or may be obtained by the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway from the network management system.

Step 603: The mobility management entity saves the local gateway selection information carried in the message after receiving the "S1 interface establishment request" message; when the mobility management entity performs the local gateway selection, the local gateway selection information obtained in this step is used to select A suitable local gateway.

Step 604: The mobility management entity sends an "S1 interface establishment request response" to the radio side network element or the home base station gateway.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of updating the local gateway selection information in the LTE system based on the architecture of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the mobility of the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway is completed by using the S1 interface signaling process. The flow chart of the entity updating the local gateway selection information is applicable to the scenario in which the LTE system macro base station scenario, the LTE home base station system has the home base station gateway, and the home base station gateway manages the local gateway selection information. The signaling process is shown in FIG. 7 . Show that this embodiment has The body steps are described as follows:

Step 701: The wireless side network element or the home base station gateway establishes an SCTP connection with the mobility management entity.

Step 702: When the local gateway selection information is changed, the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway sends a “configuration update” message to the mobility management entity, where the message needs to carry the changed local gateway selection information, including the current wireless side network element. Correspondence information with the local gateway and/or location information of the current radio side network element;

Step 703: The mobility management entity saves the changed local gateway selection information carried in the message after receiving the “configuration update” message; when the mobility management entity performs the local gateway selection, the local gateway selection information obtained in the step is used to select A suitable local gateway.

Step 704: The mobility management entity sends a "configuration update message response" to the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway.

6 and FIG. 7 are LTE as an example. For the same scenario in the UTRAN system (a scene of a macro base station, a scenario where a home base station gateway exists in a base station system, and a home base station gateway manages local gateway selection information), the process is the same. It will not be detailed here.

In the embodiments of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the radio side network element may be a base station or an RNC. The mobility management entity is the MME or SGSN. The local gateway can be an L-SGW, L-PGW, L-GGSN, L-GW or data offloading functional entity.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the local gateway selection information reporting and updating in the UTRAN system according to the architecture of FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the radio side network element is reported and updated to the mobility management entity by using the luh interface signaling process. The flow chart of the gateway selection information is applicable to the scenario in which the home base station gateway exists in the UTRAN home base station system and the home base station manages the local gateway selection information. The signaling process is shown in FIG. 8. The specific steps in this embodiment are described as follows: Step 801: When the wireless side network element is powered on, or when the local gateway selection information is changed, the wireless side network element sends a "registration request" message to the home base station gateway, where the message needs to carry the local gateway selection information, including the current Correspondence information between the wireless side network element and the local gateway and/or location information of the current wireless side network element;

The local gateway selection information may be configured in the radio side network element, or may be obtained by the radio side network element from the network management system.

Step 802: The home base station gateway saves the local gateway selection information carried in the message after receiving the registration request message sent by the wireless side network element.

Step 803: The home base station gateway sends an Iu interface message to the mobility management entity, where the message may be an "uplink information exchange request message", where the message carries the local gateway selection information, including the correspondence relationship between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway. And/or location information of the current wireless side network element;

Step 804: After receiving the Iu interface message, the mobility management entity saves the local gateway selection information carried in the message, where the message may be an “uplink information exchange request message”; when the mobility management entity performs local gateway selection, Select the local gateway selection information obtained in this step and select the appropriate local gateway.

Step 805: The home base station gateway sends the registration request response information to the wireless side entity. Step 806: The mobility management entity returns the Iu interface message response of step 803 to the home base station gateway, where the message may be an "uplink message exchange request message response";

In the embodiment of Figure 8, the wireless side network element is a home base station. The mobility management entity is the SGSN. The local gateway is an L-GGSN, L-GW or data offloading functional entity.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the local gateway selection information reporting in the LTE system based on the architecture of FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway is reported to the mobility management entity by using the S1 interface signaling process. Flowchart of gateway selection information, this embodiment is applicable to a field where a home base station gateway exists in an LTE home base station system and a home base station manages local gateway selection information. The signaling process is shown in Figure 9. The specific steps in this embodiment are described as follows:

Step 901: When the wireless side network element is powered on, the wireless side network element sends an "S1 interface establishment request" message to the home base station gateway, where the message needs to carry the local gateway selection information, including the current wireless side network element and the local gateway. Correspondence information and/or location information of the current wireless side network element;

Step 902: The home base station gateway saves the local gateway selection information carried in the message after receiving the "S1 interface setup request" message sent by the wireless side network element. When the mobility management entity performs local gateway selection, the local obtained in this step is used. The gateway selects the information and selects the appropriate local gateway.

Step 903: The home base station gateway sends an "S1 interface setup request" message to the mobility management entity, where the message carries the local gateway selection information, including the current wireless side network element and the local gateway corresponding relationship information and/or the current wireless side network element. Location information;

Step 904: After receiving the message, the mobility management entity saves the local gateway selection information carried in the message.

Step 905: The home base station gateway sends a connection establishment request response message to the wireless side network element. Step 906: The mobility management entity returns an "S1 interface establishment request response message" to the home base station gateway.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of updating the local gateway selection information in the LTE system based on the architecture of FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the radio side network element or the home base station gateway is updated to the mobility management entity by using the S1 interface signaling process. The flow chart of the gateway selection information is applicable to the scenario where the home base station gateway exists in the LTE home base station system and the home base station manages the local gateway selection information. The signaling process is shown in FIG. 10, and the specific steps in this embodiment are described as follows:

Step 1001: When the local gateway selection information changes, the wireless side network element sends a “base station configuration update” message to the home base station gateway, where the message needs to carry the changed local gateway selection. The information includes the correspondence information between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway and/or the location information of the current wireless side network element;

Step 1002: The home base station gateway saves the changed local gateway selection information carried in the message after receiving the "base station configuration update message" sent by the wireless side network element.

Step 1003: The home base station gateway sends a base station configuration update message to the mobility management entity, where the message needs to carry the changed local gateway selection information, including the current wireless side network element and the local gateway corresponding relationship information and/or the current wireless side network element. Location information;

Step 1004: The mobility management entity saves the local gateway selection information carried in the received base station configuration update message. When the mobility management entity performs the local gateway selection, the local gateway selection information obtained in this step is used to select a suitable local gateway. .

Step 1005: The home base station gateway sends the base station configuration update response information to the wireless side network element. Step 1006: The mobility management entity returns a base station configuration update request response to the home base station gateway.

In the embodiment of Figures 9 and 10, the wireless side network element is a home base station. The mobility management entity is ΜΜΕ. The local gateway is an L-SGW, L-PGW, L-GW or data offloading functional entity.

The above embodiments can be applied not only to the home base station system but also to the macro base station system. In the above embodiment, the wireless side entity may be a base station, a home base station, and a radio network controller RNC. The wireless side entity of the local IP access can be the same as the local access gateway address.

In the present invention, the local IP access connection may be a local IP access user local network, a local IP access company local network, a local IP access Internet, a diversion of Internet services, or a specific IP data offload.

The wireless side network element of the local IP access can be the same as the local gateway address.

The local IP access referred to in this document can refer to LIPA, the full name of which is the Local IP Access table. Note, but not limited to this particular unique title, local IP access can also include one of the following: local IP access to the user's local network, local IP access to the company's local network, local IP access to the Internet, Internet or corporate or home business diversion or The specific IP data is offloaded, and the following is not mentioned.

In order to implement the local gateway selection information acquisition method according to the present invention, the present invention also provides an implementation system for implementing the method, including a local gateway selection information reporting device and a local gateway selection information receiving device.

The local gateway selection information reporting device is located at the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway, and is configured to dynamically report the local gateway selection information to the receiving module; the local gateway selection information includes the correspondence relationship between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway. / or location information of the current wireless side network element.

The local gateway selection information receiving device is located at the mobility management entity, and is configured to receive the local gateway selection information reported by the reporting module, and store the information locally.

Further, when the local gateway selection information is changed, the local gateway selection information reporting device transmits an update message to the local gateway selection information receiving device, and updates the local information saved in the local gateway selection information receiving device. Gateway selection information.

The local gateway selection information is configured in a wireless side network element or a home base station gateway, or is obtained by the local gateway selection information reporting device from the network management system.

In the LTE system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station; the mobility management entity is an MME or an SGSN; and the local gateway is an L-SGW, a local packet data network gateway (L-PGW), or an external device. The local gateway L-GW (Local Gateway) may also be a data offload function entity;

In the UTRAN system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station or a radio network controller (RNC); the mobility management entity is a serving GPRS support node (SGSN), a mobile switching center (MSC); The gateway is a local gateway GPRS support node (L-GGSN) or an external local gateway L-GW (Local Gateway), and may also be a data offload function entity. Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present invention can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device, which can be concentrated on a single computing device or distributed over a network composed of multiple computing devices. Alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by the computing device, such that they may be stored in the storage device by the computing device, or they may be separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or they may be Multiple modules or steps are made into a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. within the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claim

A local gateway selection information acquisition method, the method comprising: the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway reporting local gateway selection information to the mobility management entity, where the mobility management entity uses the local gateway The information is selected to select a suitable local gateway, where the local gateway selection information includes the correspondence information between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway and/or the current wireless side network element location information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, when the local gateway selection information changes, the radio side network element or the home base station gateway to the mobility management entity And updating the message, the mobility management entity updating the locally saved local gateway selection information.

The method according to claim 2, wherein the local gateway selection information is configured in a wireless side network element or a home base station gateway, or is obtained by the wireless side network element or a home base station gateway from the network management system.

The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station; and the mobility management entity is mobility management. Unit (MME) or Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN); the local gateway is a Local Serving Gateway (L-SGW), a Local Packet Data Network Gateway (L-PGW), an external local gateway

(L-GW) or data offloading functional entity.

The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein in the UTRAN system, the radio side network element is a base station, a home base station or a radio network controller (RNC); the mobility management entity Serving a GPRS Support Node (SGSN) or a Mobile Switching Center (MSC); the local gateway is a Local Gateway GPRS Support Node (L-GGSN), an external local gateway

(L-GW) or data offloading functional entity.

6. A system for local gateway selection information acquisition, wherein the system comprises: The local gateway selection information reporting device is located at the wireless side network element or the home base station gateway, and is configured to dynamically report the local gateway selection information to the receiving module; the local gateway selection information includes the correspondence relationship between the current wireless side network element and the local gateway. / or location information of the current wireless side network element;

The system according to claim 6, wherein when the local gateway selection information is changed, the local gateway selection information is further used to send an update to the local gateway selection information receiving device. The message, the mobility management entity updates the locally saved local gateway selection information.

The system according to claim 7, wherein the local gateway selection information is configured in a wireless side network element or a home base station gateway, or the local gateway selection information reporting device is obtained from the network management system.

The system according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein in the LTE system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station; the mobility management entity is an MME or an SGSN; The gateway is an L-SGW, an L-PGW, an external L-GW, or a data offloading functional entity.

The system according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein in the UTRAN system, the radio side network element is a base station or a home base station or an RNC; and the mobility management entity is an SGSN or an MSC; The local gateway is an L-GGSN, an external L-GW, or a data offloading functional entity.