WO2012159325A1

WO2012159325A1 - Method and device for policy control

Info

Publication number: WO2012159325A1
Application number: PCT/CN2011/077036
Authority: WO
Inventors: 时晓岩; 李岩; 魏凯
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2011-07-11
Filing date: 2011-07-11
Publication date: 2012-11-29
Also published as: CN103229534B; CN103229534A

Abstract

A method and device for policy control are provided in the embodiments of the present invention. The method comprises: learning that a User Equipment (UE) enters an idle state at a Home eNodeB (HeNB); according to the instance that the UE enters an idle state at the HeNB, transmitting a tunnel information invalidation indication to a Policy Control and Rules Function (PCRF), so that the PCRF makes a policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalidation indication, wherein the tunnel information invalidation indication is used for informing the PCRF that the tunnel information between the HeNB and a security gateway is invalid. In the embodiments of the present invention, when the UE enters an idle state, the PCRF is informed by the tunnel information invalidation indication that the tunnel information between the HeNB and the security gateway is invalid, therefore corresponding resources are released, and utilization efficiency of the system resources is increased.

Description

Strategy control method and equipment

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communication technologies, and, more particularly, to a policy control method and apparatus. Background technique

The EPC (Evolved Packet Core) architecture defined in the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) is the network architecture of the mobile network. Take the LTE (Long Term Evolution) system as an example, EPC. The functions of the main network elements in the architecture are described as follows:

Packet Date Network (PDN) Gateway PGW (PDN Gateway): This network element is the interface gateway between the EPC network and the PDN network providing the service (the network may be the internal or external packet network of the operator), responsible for the user. The data stream is forwarded and filtered, and the allocation of user IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, the execution of QoS (Quality of Service) policies, and accounting.

SGW (Serving Gateway): It is mainly responsible for relaying user traffic between user equipment (UE, User Equipment) and PGW, and as an anchor point when switching between base stations.

MME (Mobility Management Entity): Mainly responsible for user mobility management, user's attached signaling processing, etc.

HSS (Home Subscriber Server): It mainly stores the user's subscription information and completes the authentication of the user.

PCRF (Policy Control and Charging Rules Function entity): Policy Control and Charging Rules Function Entity, which is based on user access network restrictions, carrier policies, user subscription data, and user is currently The carried out service information determines the corresponding policy, and provides the policy to the transport gateway for execution, thereby implementing policy charging control.

When the UE detects the mobile network, it will send the attach signaling to the MME (the signaling is forwarded by E-UTRAN). The MME authenticates the UE according to the user subscription data stored in the HSS. After the authentication is passed, the MME initiates an IP-CAN session establishment process, sends a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) session establishment request to the SGW, and from the SGW to the PGW to establish a data transmission tunnel (GTP tunnel) for the user. ). The GTP tunnel from The E-UTRAN is connected to the PDN network after passing through the SGW to the PGW. During the GTP session establishment process, a Gx session is established between the PGW and the PCRF for the user to transmit the policy control information for the user to the PGW. The PGW transmits the corresponding QoS information to the SGW on the data path through GTP signaling. , E-UTRAN.

The BBF (Broadband Forum) architecture is a fixed network architecture. The main network elements are: 3⁄4:

BRAS/BNG (Broadband Remote Access Server/Broadband Network Gateway): The network element is a convergence node of the BBF network, and the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) of the BBF network is used. Sessions, IP sessions, and ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) sessions are aggregated and connected to the external network through the A10 interface. That is, the network element is an interface gateway between the BBF network and the external network, and is responsible for aggregating, forwarding, and filtering user data streams, and has other functions, such as allocation of user IP addresses, execution of QoS policies, charging, etc. PGW.

AN (Access Node): The NE is a Layer 2 device that aggregates and forwards Layer 2 data. The main function is to terminate the DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) signaling and implement convergence between the access network and the regional network. It is usually located in the DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) device. .

CPE (Customer Premises Equipment): Generally, it is a home gateway, which is used to forward data between the home network and the access network, and to encapsulate the VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network). DSLAM modem.

PDP (Policy Decision Point): The main function of the NE is the policy formulation, that is, the QoS policy is formulated for the user, the IP flow, or the aggregation flow, and the QoS policy is delivered to the PEP (Policy Enforcement Point). Execution, similar to the PCRF function real broadband policy control function in the 3GPP network). ,

In the BBF network, after the user terminal is attached to the CPE, the BRAS/BNG combines the AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting; Authentication, Authorization, Accounting ¹ 1^) server to authenticate the user and assign an IP address to the user. The external network is accessed through the IP address.

There are two scenarios for interworking between BBF and 3GPP networks. One is that user equipment accesses through the home base station. In the EPC network, the BBF network provides backhaul network services for the home base station; one is that the user equipment is directly attached to the BBF network and is connected to the EPC network through the tunnel.

A home base station is a solution for enhancing the wireless coverage of a mobile network and increasing wireless bandwidth. The main method is to deploy a home base station (HeNB or HNB) in the user's home or public place, and the user attaches to the EPC through the home base station.

The difference between home base station access and macro base station access is that the backhaul network is different. The backhaul network refers to the transmission network between the base station and the core network equipment (such as SGW, MME, etc.).

The backhaul network of the macro base station is generally a private network of the mobile operator or a leased line of the fixed carrier. The backhaul network is not a dedicated network, and the QoS parameters such as bandwidth delay of the service can be guaranteed. Therefore, there is no need for additional QoS control for nodes inside the backhaul network.

The backhaul network of the home base station uses a BBF network. Since the BBF network is not a private network, congestion may occur. Therefore, QoS control must be performed on the backhaul network to ensure the QoS requirements of the service.

The main network elements of the home base station architecture are as follows:

3GPP Femto: Home base station, such as Home NodeB (HNB) in 2G/3G system, Home eNodeB (HeNB) in LTE system

SeGW (Security Gateway): The security gateway is located at the edge of the mobile core network. It is used to ensure that the legal home base station accesses the mobile core network, authenticates the home base station, and establishes a secure tunnel with the home base station for data transmission.

H(e)NB Gateway: The home base station gateway, that is, the HeNB GW or the HNB GW, is used to aggregate multiple home base stations to one interface, and is generally combined with the security gateway.

After the home base station is powered on, it is attached to the BBF network, and the BBF network performs authentication and IP address allocation for the home base station. After the home base station obtains the local IP address allocated by the BBF network, the local IP address is used to establish an IPSec tunnel with the SeGW, and the signaling or data packets sent by the home base station to the SGW or the SGW are transmitted through the secure tunnel. When the UE attaches to the home base station, it is the same as the procedure attached to the EPC, and the PGW allocates an IP address to the UE. The signaling and data packets sent by the UE are encapsulated by the home base station into the IPsec tunnel and transmitted to the EPC network.

The EPS system includes an EPC network and a base station system, such as an E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network). The EPS system uses a management model to describe the state transition of the user. The system or the user has any operations, the system According to the current state of the user, it is determined which mobility management operation should be performed; on the other hand, the mobility management operation performed by the system also causes the user state to change.

There are two management models for EPS, namely EMM (EPS Mobility Management) state machine and ECM (EPS Connection Management, EPS connectivity management) state machine. Both state models are available in both UE and MME.

The EPS Connection Management Status (ECM) describes the signaling connectivity between the UE and the EPC. There are also two states: ECM-IDLE and ECM-CONNECTED.

If there is no NAS signaling connection between the UE and the network, the UE is in the ECM-IDLE state. In the ECM-IDLE state, the UE can perform cell selection/reselection or perform PLMN selection.

The UE in the ECM-IDLE state has no UE context in the E-UTRAN, and there is neither an S1-MME connection nor an S1-U connection.

After the signaling connection between the UE and the MME is established, both the UE and the MME enter the ECM-CONNECTED state. Triggering the UE's Status The starting NAS message from ECM-IDLE to ECM-CONNECTED has an attach request, a TAU request, a service request, or a detach request.

In the ECM-CONNECTED state, the UE location information in the MME can be accurate to the extent of the eNodeB identity of the service. In this state, the UE can perform a handover procedure.

When the UE is in the ECM-CONNECTED state, there is a signaling connection between the UE and the MME. The signaling connection consists of two parts: RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection and S1_MME connection.

If the signaling connection between the UE and the MME is released or interrupted, the UE enters the ECM-IDLE state. This release or interruption may be explicitly told by the eNodeB to the UE, or it may be detected by the UE itself.

The S1 release process can change the state of the UE and MME from ECM-CONNECTED to ECM-IDLE.

In the prior art, the UE and the MME enter the Idle state through the S1 release process, and the process may be triggered by the following reasons: a) The eNodeB initiates, and may be triggered by operation and maintenance intervention, user inactivity, UE release signaling connection, and the like. b) The MME initiates, and may be triggered by UE authentication failure, detachment, and the like.

In addition, when the UE attaches through the HeNB, the HeNB inserts IPsec tunnel information (the IP address and port number of the HeNB and the SeGW) between the HeNB and the SeGW in the attach signaling of the UE; After the tunnel information is obtained, it is transmitted to the PGW through the GTP signaling, and further transmitted to the PCRF, so that the PCRF indicates the tunnel information when the QoS rule is sent to the BPCF, so that the BPCF matches the data flow of the HeNB, thereby performing QoS control.

BPCF performs admission control on QoS provided by PCRF and reserves resources. When the fixed network resources are insufficient, BPCF rejects the QoS request or releases the lower priority QoS rules and notifies the PCRF according to priority decisions such as ARP (Allocation and Retention Priority).

However, in the BBF and 3GPP interworking scenario, when the UE is attached by the HeNB, when the UE enters the ECM-IDLE state by releasing the S1 connection, the entity such as the PGW/PCRF/BPCF does not know that the UE enters the idle state. This causes the BPCF to reserve resources for the UE after the UE enters the idle state, thereby reducing the utilization efficiency of the system resources. Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a policy control method and device, which can improve utilization efficiency of system resources.

On the one hand, a policy control method is provided, including: learning that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station; and in response to the user equipment entering the idle state at the home base station, reporting the tunnel information invalid indication to the policy control and charging rule function entity PCRF, so that The PCRF performs a policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalid indication, where the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid.

On the other hand, a policy control method is provided, including: receiving, by a serving gateway or a mobility management network element, a tunnel information invalid indication reported by a user equipment when the home base station enters an idle state, and the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate a family The tunnel information between the base station and the security gateway is invalid. The policy control decision is made according to the invalid indication of the tunnel information.

On the other hand, a policy control device is provided, including: a learning unit, configured to learn that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station, and a sending unit, configured to learn, according to the learning unit, that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station, and performs policy control And the charging rule function entity PCRF reports the tunnel information invalid indication, so that the PCRF performs the policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalid indication, where the tunnel information invalid indication is used to notify the PCRF that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid.

In another aspect, a policy control device is provided, including: a receiving unit, configured to receive a service When the gateway or the mobility management network element learns that the user equipment reports the tunnel information invalidation when the home base station enters the idle state, the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid; According to the tunnel information invalid indication, the policy control decision is made.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the user equipment enters the idle state, the user equipment notifies the tunnel information between the PCRF home base station and the security gateway that the tunnel information is invalid, thereby releasing the corresponding resources and improving the utilization efficiency of the system resources. DRAWINGS

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

1 is a flow chart of a policy control method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flow chart of a policy control method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a schematic diagram of a process of subscribing to a tunnel message, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a process of subscribing a tunnel message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a block diagram of a policy control device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a block diagram of a policy control device in accordance with another 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 a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that the "reception" and "transmission" described in the embodiments of the present invention may indicate direct reception or transmission, and may also indicate indirect reception or transmission through one or more intermediate network elements/devices. limit.

The home base station in the embodiment of the present invention may be an HNB in a 2G/3G system or an HeNB in an LTE system, which is not limited in the present invention. In order to describe the cleaning, the HeNB is exemplified hereinafter, but the home base station according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to these specific examples.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the idle state of the user equipment may be an ECM-IDLE state in the LTE system, or may be a PMM-IDLE (Packet Mobility Management-IDLE in the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) system. The packet mobility management-idle state is not limited by the present invention. In order to describe the cleaning, the ECM-IDLE is exemplified hereinafter, but the idle state of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to these specific examples.

The mobility management network element in the embodiment of the present invention may be an MME in an LTE system, or may be a SGSN (Servicing GPRS Support Node) or a GPRS S4/S5/S8 network in a GPRS Gn/Gp network architecture. The S4-SGSN in the architecture is not limited by the present invention. For the sake of description, the MME is taken as an example, but the mobility management network element of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to these specific examples.

The packet data network gateway in the embodiment of the present invention may be a PGW in the LTE system, or may be a GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) in the GPRS system, which is not limited by the present invention. In order to describe the cleaning, the PGW is exemplified hereinafter, but the packet data network gateway of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to these specific examples.

In the BBF and 3GPP interworking scenario, when the UE is attached to the EeNB, the entity such as the PGW/PCRF/BPCF does not know that the UE enters the idle state when the UE enters the ECM-IDLE state by releasing the S1 connection. This causes the BPCF to reserve resources for the UE after the UE enters the idle state, thereby reducing the utilization efficiency of the system resources.

For example, even if the UE moves elsewhere (for example, under the macro base station or other HeNBs), the BPCF reserves the backhaul resources (fixed network resources) of the old (old) HeNB for the UE, resulting in waste of resources. Or, even if the UE moves elsewhere, the BPCF may delete the corresponding QoS rule due to the resource shortage of the old HeNB, and the PCRF releases the corresponding bearer, causing service interruption.

If the UE enters the idle state at the HeNB, even if the UE moves elsewhere, the BPCF may trigger the update of the S9*, causing the PCRF to initiate the update procedure of the bearer, causing the paging of the UE. Or, even if the UE moves elsewhere, when the PCRF receives the service request from the AF, it will still The de-BPCF request reserves the resources of the old HeNB for the UE, and may reject the service request of the AF due to insufficient resources of the old HeNB. In these cases, the utilization efficiency of system resources is reduced.

The policy control method and device of the embodiments of the present invention can improve the utilization efficiency of system resources. 1 is a flow chart of a policy control method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method of Figure 1 can be performed by a mobility management network element or a service gateway, and specifically includes the following steps:

Step 101: Obtain that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station.

The mobility management network element or the service gateway can learn the location when the user equipment enters the idle state. For example, according to the IPsec tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway in the current user equipment session, it is determined that the user equipment enters the idle state at the home base station.

Step 102: The user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station, and reports a tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF, so that the PCRF performs a policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalidation indication, where the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate between the home base station and the security gateway. The tunnel information is invalid.

Taking the LTE system as an example, when the MME reports the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF, the MME may report the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF through the SGW. When the SGW reports the invalidity of the tunnel information to the PCRF, the SGW may directly send the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF, or send the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF through another network element (for example, the PGW), which is not limited by the present invention. For example, in the case of directly transmitting the tunnel information invalid indication, the SGW may send a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication. In the case that the tunnel information invalid indication is sent to the PCRF by using another network element (for example, PGW), the SGW may send a bearer modification request to the PGW, so that the PGW sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request carry the tunnel information. Invalid indication.

An example of the tunnel information invalidation indication is a user equipment idle state indication, or a specially set indication information. The mobility management network element or the service gateway may report the tunnel information invalidation indication based on the system configuration, or the PCRF-based subscription reporting tunnel information invalid indication.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the user equipment enters the idle state, the user equipment notifies the tunnel information between the PCRF home base station and the security gateway that the tunnel information is invalid, thereby releasing the corresponding resources and improving the utilization efficiency of the system resources.

2 is a flow chart of a policy control method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The method of Figure 2 can be performed by a PCRF and corresponds to the method of Figure 1.

Step 201: The receiving service gateway or the mobility management network element learns the tunnel information invalidation indication reported by the user equipment when the home base station enters the idle state, and the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate the home. The tunnel information between the court base station and the security gateway is invalid.

The LTE system is used as an example. The PCRF can receive the invalid indication of the tunnel information directly reported by the SGW, or the invalid indication of the tunnel information reported by the MME or the SGW through other network elements. For example, in the case that the tunnel information invalid indication directly reported by the SGW is received, the PCRF may receive a session modification request sent by the SGW, where the session modification request carries a tunnel information invalid indication. In the case that the MME or the SGW reports the tunnel information invalidation indication by the other network element (for example, the SGW or the PGW), the PCRF receives the session modification request sent by the PGW, where the session modification request sent by the PGW is based on the bearer modification request sent by the SGW to the PGW ( The bearer modification request may be based on an access bearer release request sent by the MME to the SGW, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request carry a tunnel information invalidation indication.

An example of a tunnel information invalidation indication is a user equipment idle state indication. The MME or the SGW may report the tunnel information invalidation indication based on the system configuration, or the PCRF-based subscription reporting tunnel information invalid indication.

When the PCRF-based subscription reports the tunnel information invalidation indication, the PCRF may subscribe to the tunnel information to the SGW or the MME.

Step 202: Perform a policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalid indication.

For example, the policy control decision may include: triggering an S9* session deletion process, or triggering an S9* session modification process, deleting a QoS rule, or releasing a guaranteed bit rate GBR bearer of an Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network IP-CAN session, or storing a tunnel Invalid state of information for subsequent QoS decisions.

The subsequent QoS decision may include: when the PCC rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or triggers the QoS rule deletion process, and is in the PCC When the rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or triggers the GBR bearer deletion process and the QoS rule deletion process, and is in the PCC rule update process. When triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, and does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or when the S9* session modification request sent by the BPCF is received, according to the tunnel information invalid state The decision does not trigger the IP-CAN session modification process.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the user equipment enters the idle state, the user equipment notifies the tunnel information between the PCRF home base station and the security gateway that the tunnel information is invalid, so that the policy control decision can be made according to the tunnel information invalid indication, and the system is improved. Resource utilization efficiency. Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific examples. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the eNodeB includes a macro base station of the E-UTRAN and a home base station HeNB. As shown in FIG. 3, the following steps are specifically included:

Step 301: The UE/HeNB/MME triggers a release procedure of the S1 connection UE context.

Step 302: The MME determines that the UE enters the Idle state in the HeNB according to the IPSec tunnel information between the HeNB and the SeGW in the current UE session.

Step 303: The MME initiates an access bearer release request to the SGW, and carries a tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 304: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the PGW according to the tunnel information invalidation indication sent by the MME, where the bearer modification request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication. Here, the SGW may also directly initiate a session modification request to the PCRF to carry the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF. (If the session modification request is initiated directly by the SGW to the PCRF, step 305 is omitted.)

Step 305: After receiving the indication, the PGW triggers the modification process of the IP-CAN session, and sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication to notify the PCRF that the tunnel information is invalid.

Step 306: The PCRF initiates an S9* session deletion process to the BPCF according to the tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 307, the BPCF returns an S9* session deletion confirmation message to the PCRF, and deletes the S9* session context.

Step 308, the PCRF returns an IP-CAN session modification confirmation message to the PGW. Step 308 and

306, 307 have no strict sequence, and the session modification confirmation message can be sent before step 306.

Step 309: The PGW returns a bearer modification response message to the SGW.

Step 310: The SGW releases all information related to the S1 bearer of the UE, and returns an access ₇ |load release response to the MME.

Step 311, the S1 bearer is released.

The PCRF in this embodiment is configured to invalidate the tunnel information according to the tunnel information invalidation instruction, thereby initiating the S9* session deletion process, releasing the corresponding resources in time, and solving the problem of the waste of the fixed network resources caused by the UE after the home base station enters the Idle state, and avoids the problem. The PCRF formulates the business interruption caused by the wrong policy rules, which improves the utilization efficiency of system resources.

4 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the eNodeB includes a macro base station of the E-UTRAN and a home base station HeNB. As shown in Figure 4, specifically The following steps:

Step 401: The UE/HeNB/MME triggers a release procedure of the S1 connection UE context.

Step 402: The MME determines that the UE enters the Idle state in the HeNB according to the IPSec tunnel information between the HeNB and the SeGW in the current UE session.

Step 403: The MME initiates an access release request to the SGW, where the access release request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 404: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the PGW according to the tunnel information invalidation indication sent by the MME, where the bearer modification request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication. Here, the SGW may also directly initiate a session modification request to the PCRF to carry the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF. (If the session modification request is initiated directly by the SGW to the PCRF, step 405 is omitted.)

Step 405: After receiving the tunnel information invalidation indication, the PGW triggers the modification process of the IP-CAN session, and carries the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF to notify the PCRF tunnel information that the information is invalid.

Step 406: The PCRF stores the tunnel information invalid state according to the tunnel information invalid indication, and initiates a QoS rule deletion process to the BPCF.

Step 407: The BPCF returns a QoS rule deletion confirmation message to the PCRF, and deletes the QoS rule. Step 408: The PCRF returns an IP-CAN session modification confirmation message to the PGW. Steps 408 and 406, 407 have no strict sequence, and the session modification confirmation message can be sent prior to step 406.

Step 409: The PGW returns a bearer modification response message to the SGW.

Step 410: The SGW releases all information related to the S1 bearer of the UE, and returns an access bearer release response to the MME.

Step 411, the S1 bearer is released.

In step 412, the AF/SPR decision triggers the PCC rule update process, or the PCRF internal decision triggers the PCC rule update process.

Step 413: The PCRF determines, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information stored in step 406, that the S9* session modification process is triggered without triggering the IP-CAN session modification process.

Step 414: The network side initiates an IP-CAN session modification process.

The PCRF in this embodiment learns that the tunnel information is invalid, deletes the QoS rule, and stores the tunnel information invalid state according to the tunnel information invalidation indication. Therefore, in the subsequent PCC rule update process, the IP-CAN session modification process is directly triggered, and the S9* session deletion process is not initiated, which solves the problem of waste of fixed network resources caused by the UE after the home base station enters the Idle state, and avoids the PCRF. The business interruption caused by the formulation of the wrong policy rules improves the utilization efficiency of system resources. FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the eNodeB includes a macro base station of the E-UTRAN and a home base station HeNB. As shown in FIG. 5, the following steps are specifically included:

Step 501: The UE/HeNB/MME triggers a release procedure of the S1 connection UE context.

Step 502: The MME determines that the UE enters the Idle state in the HeNB according to the IPSec tunnel information between the HeNB and the SeGW in the current UE session.

Step 503: The MME initiates an access bearer release request to the SGW, where the access bearer release request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 504: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the PGW according to the tunnel information invalidation indication sent by the MME, where the tunnel information invalidation indication is carried. Here, the SGW may also directly initiate a session modification request to the PCRF to carry the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF. (If the session modification request is initiated directly by the SGW to the PCRF, step 505 is omitted.)

Step 505: After receiving the tunnel information invalidation indication, the PGW triggers the modification process of the IP-CAN session, and sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF to notify the PCRF tunnel information that the information is invalid.

Step 506: The PCRF stores the tunnel information invalid state according to the tunnel information invalid indication. Step 507: The PCRF returns an IP-CAN session modification confirmation message to the PGW.

Step 508: The PGW returns a bearer modification response message to the SGW.

Step 509: The SGW releases all information related to the S1 bearer of the UE, and returns an access bearer release response to the MME.

Step 510, the S1 bearer is released.

Step 511, the AF/SPR decision triggers the PCC rule update process, or the PCRF internal decision triggers the PCC rule update process.

Step 512: The PCRF determines the invalidity of the tunnel information stored in step 506, and the decision does not need to trigger the S9* session modification process to directly trigger the IP-CAN session modification process.

Step 513: The network side initiates an IP-CAN session modification process.

The PCRF in this embodiment learns that the tunnel information is invalid according to the tunnel information invalidation indication, and stores the tunnel information invalid state. Therefore, in the subsequent PCC rule update process, the IP-CAN session modification process is directly triggered, and the S9* session deletion process is not initiated, which solves the problem of the waste of the fixed network resources caused by the UE after the home base station enters the Idle state, and avoids the PCRF. The business interruption caused by the formulation of the wrong policy rules improves the utilization efficiency of system resources. FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the eNodeB includes a macro base station of the E-UTRAN and a home base station HeNB. As shown in FIG. 6, the following steps are specifically included:

Step 601: The UE/HeNB/MME triggers a release procedure of the S1 connection UE context.

Step 602: The MME determines that the UE enters the Idle state in the HeNB according to the IPSec tunnel information between the HeNB and the SeGW in the current UE session.

Step 603: The MME initiates an access bearer release request to the SGW, where the access bearer release request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 604: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the PGW according to the tunnel information invalidation indication sent by the MME, where the bearer modification request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication. Here, the SGW may also directly initiate a session modification request to the PCRF to carry the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF. (If the session modification request is initiated directly by the SGW to the PCRF, step 605 is omitted.)

Step 605: After receiving the tunnel information invalidation indication, the PGW triggers the modification process of the IP-CAN session, and sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF to notify the PCRF tunnel information that the information is invalid.

Step 606: The PCRF stores the tunnel information invalid state according to the tunnel information invalid indication. Step 607: The PCRF returns an IP-CAN session modification confirmation message to the PGW.

Step 608: The PGW returns a bearer modification response message to the SGW.

Step 609: The SGW releases all information related to the S1 bearer of the UE, and returns an access bearer release response.

Step 610, the S1 bearer is released.

Step 611: The BPCF initiates an S9* session modification request.

Step 612: The PCRF decides not to trigger the IP-CAN session modification procedure according to the invalid state of the tunnel information stored in step 606.

The PCRF in this embodiment learns that the tunnel information is invalid according to the invalid indication of the tunnel information, and stores the invalid state of the tunnel information. Therefore, when the subsequent BPCF initiates the S9* session modification request, the IP-CAN session modification process is not triggered, and the problem of the waste of the fixed network resources caused by the UE after the home base station enters the Idle state is solved, thereby avoiding the PCRF formulating the wrong policy rule. The business interruption has improved the utilization efficiency of system resources.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a policy control process according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the eNodeB includes a macro base station of the E-UTRAN and a home base station HeNB. As shown in Figure 7, specifically The following steps:

Step 701: The UE/HeNB/MME triggers a release procedure of the S1 connection UE context.

Step 702: The MME determines that the UE enters the Idle state in the HeNB according to the IPSec tunnel information between the HeNB and the SeGW in the current UE session.

Step 703: The MME initiates an access release request to the SGW, where the access release request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 704: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the PGW according to the tunnel information invalidation indication sent by the MME, where the bearer modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication.

Step 705: After receiving the tunnel information invalidation indication, the PGW triggers the modification process of the IP-CAN session, and sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF, and the PCRF tunnel information is invalid.

Step 706: The PCRF, according to the invalid indication of the tunnel information, stores the invalidity of the tunnel information, initiates a GBR bearer deletion process, and releases the corresponding QoS rule on the S9* session.

Step 707: The PCRF returns an IP-CAN session modification confirmation message to the PGW. There is no strict sequence of steps 707 and 706, and the session modification confirmation message can be sent prior to step 706.

Step 708: The PGW returns a bearer modification response message to the SGW.

Step 709: The SGW releases all information related to the S1 bearer related to the UE, and returns an access ₇ | load release response to the MME.

Step 710, the S1 bearer is released.

Step 711: The AF/SPR decision triggers the PCC rule update process, or the PCC rule update process is triggered by the PCRF internal decision.

Step 712: The PCRF directly triggers the IP-CAN session modification process without triggering the S9* session modification process according to the invalid state of the tunnel information.

Step 713: The network side initiates an IP-CAN session modification process.

The PCRF in this embodiment learns that the tunnel information is invalid according to the invalid indication of the tunnel information, and initiates

The GBR bearer deletion process and the QoS rule deletion process, and store the tunnel information invalid state. Therefore, when the PCC rule update process is subsequently triggered, the IP-CAN session modification process is not triggered, and the problem of waste of fixed network resources caused by the UE after the home base station enters the Idle state is solved, and the service caused by the PCRF formulating the wrong policy rule is avoided. Interruption improves the utilization efficiency of system resources.

The MME is described as an example of an executor informing that the PCRF tunnel information is invalid. The embodiment of the present invention may also notify the SGW that the PCRF tunnel information is invalid. Figure 8 is another embodiment of the present invention A schematic flow chart of the policy control process of the embodiment. Only the steps 801-805 are described in the embodiment of FIG. 8. The subsequent process may be similar to the above steps 306-311, 406-414, steps 506-513, 606-612 or steps 706-713, in order to avoid duplication, These subsequent processes are described in detail. As shown in Figure 8, the following steps are specifically included:

Step 801: The UE/HeNB/MME triggers a release procedure of the S1 connection UE context. Step 802: The MME initiates an access bearer release request to the SGW.

Step 803: The SGW receives the access bearer release request sent by the MME, and determines that the UE enters the Idle state in the HeNB according to the IPSec tunnel information between the HeNB and the SeGW in the IP-CAN session of the current UE.

Step 804: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the PGW, where the bearer modification request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication. Here, the SGW may also directly initiate a session modification request to the PCRF to carry the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF. (If the session modification request is initiated directly by the SGW to the PCRF, step 805 is omitted.)

Step 805: After receiving the indication, the PGW triggers the modification process of the IP-CAN session, and sends a session modification request to the PCRF. The session modification request carries the indication to the PCRF to notify the PCRF tunnel that the information is invalid.

In this embodiment, the SGW notifies the PCRF that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid, thereby releasing the corresponding resources, and solving the problem of the waste of the fixed network resources caused by the UE after the home base station enters the Idle state, thereby avoiding the error of the PCRF. The business interruption caused by the policy rules improves the utilization efficiency of system resources.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the MME or the SGW may report the tunnel information invalid indication according to the system configuration, or may also report the tunnel information invalid indication according to the subscription of the PCRF. 9 is a schematic diagram of a process of subscribing to a tunnel message, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In the example of Figure 9, the PCRF subscribes to the tunnel message to the MME. The process of Figure 9 can be performed prior to the various processes of Figures 3-7 above. As shown in Figure 9, the following steps are specifically included:

Step 901: The PCRF initiates an IP-CAN session modification request to the PGW, and subscribes to the tunnel information. Step 902: The PGW initiates a bearer modification request to the SGW, carries a tunnel information event trigger, and subscribes to the tunnel information.

Step 903: The SGW initiates a bearer modification request to the MME, carries a tunnel information event trigger, and subscribes to the tunnel information.

Step 904: The MME returns a bearer modification response to the SGW. Step 905: The SGW returns a bearer modification response to the PGW.

Step 906: The PGW returns an IP-CAN session modification response to the PCRF.

In this way, the PCRF subscribes the tunnel message to the MME, so that the MME reports the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF through the SGW or through the SGW or the PGW when the MME is informed that the user equipment is in the idle state.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a process of subscribing a tunnel message according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the picture

In the example of 10, the PCRF subscribes to the tunnel message to the SGW. The process of Figure 10 can be performed prior to the process of Figure 8 above. As shown in FIG. 10, the following steps are specifically included:

Step 1001: The PCRF initiates an IP-CAN session modification request to the PGW, and subscribes to the tunnel information. Step 1002: The PGW initiates a bearer modification request to the SGW, and carries a tunnel information event trigger to subscribe to the tunnel information.

Step 1003: The SGW returns a bearer modification response to the PGW.

In step 1004, the PGW returns an IP-CAN session modification response to the PCRF.

In this way, the PCRF subscribes to the tunnel message to the SGW, so that the SGW reports the tunnel information invalidation indication directly or indirectly to the PCRF when the user equipment learns that the user equipment enters the idle state.

11 is a block diagram of a policy control device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The policy control device 110 of FIG. 11 may be a serving gateway or mobility management network element, including the learning unit 111 and the transmitting unit 112.

The learning unit 111 knows that the user equipment enters the idle state at the home base station. The sending unit 112, based on the learning unit 111, learns that the user equipment enters the idle state in the home base station, and reports the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF, so that the PCRF performs policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalidation indication, where the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate the home base station and The tunnel information between the security gateways is invalid.

Optionally, in an embodiment, when the policy control device 110 is a serving gateway, the sending unit 112 sends a bearer modification request to the packet data network gateway, so that the packet data network gateway sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the bearer modification request And the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalid indication; or, the sending unit 112 sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalid indication. Optionally, in another embodiment, when the policy control device 110 is a mobility management network element, the sending unit 112 may pass the serving gateway or through the serving gateway. And the packet data network gateway reports the tunnel information invalid indication to the PCRF. For example, the sending unit 112 sends an access bearer release request to the serving gateway, where the access bearer release request carries a tunnel information invalidation indication, and then the serving gateway can send a bearer modification request to the packet data network gateway, and the packet data network gateway sends the bearer modification request to the PCRF. The session modification request, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request carry the tunnel information invalid indication. Alternatively, the serving gateway may send a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries a tunnel information invalid indication.

Optionally, in one embodiment, an example of the tunnel information invalidation indication is a user equipment idle state indication, or a specially set indication information. The sending unit 112 may report the tunnel information invalidation indication based on the system configuration, or the PCRF-based subscription reporting tunnel information invalidation indication.

It should be noted that, in the LTE system, the policy control device 110 may be an SGW or an MME. In the GPRS system, the policy control device 110 can be an SGSN. Policy Control Device 110 may be implemented. Figure 12 is a block diagram of a policy control device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The policy control device 120 of FIG. 12 may be a PCRF, including a receiving unit 121 and a decision unit 122.

The receiving unit 121 receives the tunnel information invalidation indication reported by the serving gateway or the mobility management network element when the user equipment enters the idle state of the home base station, and the tunnel information invalidation indication is used to indicate that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid. The decision unit 122 makes a policy control decision based on the invalid indication of the tunnel information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the user equipment enters the idle state, the user equipment notifies the tunnel information between the PCRF home base station and the security gateway that the tunnel information is invalid, so that the PCRF can perform policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalid indication, thereby improving the Utilization efficiency of system resources.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the receiving unit 121 receives a session modification request sent by the serving gateway, where the session modification request carries a tunnel information invalid indication. Optionally, the session modification request sent by the serving gateway is based on an access bearer release request sent by the mobility management network element to the serving gateway. Alternatively, the receiving unit 121 receives a session modification request sent by the packet data network gateway, where the session modification request sent by the packet data network gateway is based on a bearer modification request sent by the serving gateway to the packet data network gateway, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request The tunnel information invalid indication is carried.

The policy control decision of the decision unit 122 may include: triggering the S9* session deletion process, or triggering the S9* session modification process, deleting the QoS rule, or releasing the guaranteed bit rate GBR bearer of the Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network IP-CAN session, or Store tunnel information invalid status for Subsequent QoS decisions.

The subsequent QoS decision of the decision unit 122 may include: when the PCC rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or triggers the QoS rule deletion process. And when the PCC rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or triggers the GBR bearer deletion process and the QoS rule deletion process, and When the PCC rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, and does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or when receiving the S9* session modification request sent by the BPCF, according to the The tunnel information is invalid, and the decision does not trigger the IP-CAN session modification process. Repeat, no longer repeat them.

A communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include the above-described policy control devices 110 and/or 120. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements and algorithm steps of the various examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in a combination of electronic hardware or computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods for implementing the described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, for the convenience of the description and the cleaning process, the specific operation of the system, the device and the unit described above may be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided herein, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored, or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and may be electrical, mechanical or otherwise.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. You can choose some of them according to actual needs or All units are used to achieve the objectives of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as separate products, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, which is essential to the prior art or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including The instructions are used to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and the like, which can store program codes. .

The above is only the specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention. It should be covered by the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

Rights request

A method for controlling a policy, comprising:

Obtaining that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station;

And performing, by the user equipment, the tunnel information invalidation indication to the policy control and charging rule function entity PCRF, so that the PCRF performs policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalid indication, where the tunnel information is The invalid indication is used to indicate that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the reporting the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF comprises:

Transmitting a bearer modification request to the packet data network gateway, so that the packet data network gateway is

The PCRF sends a session modification request, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request carry the tunnel information invalid indication; or

Sending a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication.

The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in the case that the method is performed by the mobility management network element, the learned user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station, including: connecting the user at S1 When the release process of the device context is triggered, the mobility management network element learns that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station based on the presence of the tunnel information in the current session of the user equipment.

The method of claim 3, wherein the reporting the tunnel information invalidation indication to the PCRF comprises:

Sending an access bearer release request to the serving gateway, so that the serving gateway sends a bearer modification request to the packet data network gateway or sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the access bearer release request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication.

The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in the case that the method is performed by a service gateway, the obtaining that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station includes:

When receiving the access bearer release request sent by the mobility management network element, the serving gateway learns that the user equipment enters the idle at the home base station based on the tunnel information in the current session of the user equipment. status.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein: the learned user Before the device enters the idle state, it also includes:

Receiving a subscription of the tunnel information by the PCRF.

The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the tunnel information invalid indication is a user equipment idle state indication.

8. A policy control method, characterized in that:

Receiving, by the receiving service gateway or the mobility management network element, the tunnel information invalidation indication reported by the user equipment when the home base station enters the idle state, where the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid;

Policy control decision is made according to the tunnel information invalid indication.

The method according to claim 8, wherein the receiving service gateway or the mobility management network element is ineffective to indicate that the tunnel information reported by the user equipment when the home base station enters an idle state, and includes:

Receiving a session modification request sent by the service gateway, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication; or

Receiving a session modification request sent by the packet data network gateway, where the session modification request sent by the packet data network gateway is based on a bearer modification request sent by the service gateway to the packet data network gateway, where the bearer modification request and the The session modification request carries the tunnel information invalid indication.

The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the session modification request or the bearer modification request sent by the serving gateway is based on an release bearer release sent by the mobility management network element to the serving gateway. The request, where the access bearer release request carries the tunnel information invalid indication.

The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the performing the policy control decision according to the invalid indication of the tunnel information comprises:

Triggering the S9* session deletion process; or,

Trigger the S9* session modification process and delete the QoS rule; or

Release the guaranteed bit rate of the IP-CAN session of the Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network GBR bearer; or,

The tunnel information is invalidated for subsequent quality of service QoS decisions.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the performing the subsequent QoS decision comprises: When the policy control and charging PCC rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, and does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or, triggers the QoS rule deletion process, and is in the PCC. When the rule update process is triggered, according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, the decision triggers the IP-CAN session modification process, and does not trigger the S9* session modification process; or

The GBR bearer deletion process and the QoS rule deletion process are triggered, and when the PCC rule update process is triggered, the IP-CAN session modification process is triggered by the decision according to the invalid state of the tunnel information, and the S9* session modification process is not triggered; or

Upon receiving the S9* session modification request sent by the broadband policy control function entity BPCF, the decision does not trigger the IP-CAN session modification process according to the invalid state of the tunnel information.

The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein, before the receiving service gateway or the mobility management network element learns that the user equipment reports the tunnel information invalidation indication when the home base station enters the idle state, , Also includes:

Subscribe to the service gateway or mobility management network element for tunnel information.

The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the tunnel information invalid indication is a user equipment idle state indication.

15. A policy control device, comprising:

a learning unit, configured to learn that the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station;

a sending unit, configured to: according to the learning unit, the user equipment enters an idle state at the home base station, and reports a tunnel information invalidation indication to the policy control and charging rule function entity PCRF, so that the PCRF performs policy control according to the tunnel information invalid indication The decision is made, wherein the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate that the tunnel information between the home base station and the security gateway is invalid.

The policy control device according to claim 15, wherein when the policy control device is a serving gateway,

The sending unit is configured to send a bearer modification request to the packet data network gateway, so that the packet data network gateway sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request carry the tunnel information is invalid. Indication; or,

The sending unit is configured to send a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication.

The policy control device according to claim 15, wherein when the policy control device is a mobility management network element, The sending unit is configured to send an access bearer release request to the serving gateway, where the access bearer release request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication,

The service gateway sends a bearer modification request to the packet data network gateway, and the packet data network gateway sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the bearer modification request and the session modification request carry the tunnel information invalidation indication Or,

The service gateway sends a session modification request to the PCRF, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication.

18. A policy control device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive, by the serving gateway or the mobility management network element, a tunnel information invalidation indication reported by the user equipment when the home base station enters an idle state, where the tunnel information invalid indication is used to indicate a tunnel between the home base station and the security gateway Invalid information;

a decision unit, configured to perform a policy control decision according to the tunnel information invalidation indication.

19. The policy control device of claim 18, wherein

The receiving unit is configured to receive a session modification request sent by the serving gateway, where the session modification request carries the tunnel information invalidation indication; or

The receiving unit is configured to receive a session modification request sent by a packet data network gateway, where the session modification request sent by the packet data network gateway is based on a bearer modification request sent by the serving gateway to the packet data network gateway, where The bearer modification request and the session modification request carry the tunnel information invalid indication.

The policy control device according to claim 19, wherein the session modification request or the bearer modification request sent by the serving gateway is based on an release bearer release sent by the mobility management network element to the serving gateway. The request, where the access bearer release request carries the tunnel information invalid indication.