WO2015196830A1

WO2015196830A1 - Network access processing method and device, ran apparatus and sgsn

Info

Publication number: WO2015196830A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/073811
Authority: WO
Inventors: 卢飞; 朱进国; 梁爽
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2014-06-26
Filing date: 2015-03-06
Publication date: 2015-12-30
Also published as: CN105208628A

Abstract

Provided are a network access processing method and device, an RAN apparatus and an SGSN. The method comprises: receiving an access request sent by a user equipment (UE); acquiring pre-stored network information about an operator network to which a first access node in a first access region which the UE is already registered to access belongs; according to the acquired network information, selecting a second access node in a second access region belonging to the same operator network as that of the first access region; and according to the selected second access node, accessing the UE. By means of the present invention, the problems in the related art that the access time is long, resources are wasted, and costs are high due to the fact that an RAN selects the same operator to provide services are solved, thereby achieving the effects of not only effectively reducing costs but also increasing the efficiency of providing different access domain services by the same operator.

Description

Network access processing method, device, RAN device and SGSN

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a network access processing method and apparatus, a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN for short), and a general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, referred to as GPRS). ) Supporting Node (Serving GPRS Support Node, SGSN for short).

Background technique

The existing second generation (2nd generation, 2G) and third generation (3rd generation, 3G) communication networks usually include a RAN and a core network (Core Network, referred to as CN). The core network is logically divided into a Circuit Switched Domain (CS) that mainly processes voice services and a Packet Switched Domain (PS) that mainly processes packet services.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a 2G/3G network in the related art, as shown in FIG. 1 , which includes the following network elements:

The SGSN is a PS domain control plane function entity, and a server that temporarily stores user data, and is responsible for managing and storing the context of the user equipment (User Equipment, UE for short) (for example, UE/user identity, mobility management state, user security parameters, etc.) Assigning a temporary identifier to the user, when the UE is camped in the tracking area or the network, is responsible for authenticating the user; processing all non-access stratum messages between the SGSN and the UE; triggering paging in the PS domain.

The Mobile Switched Center (MSC) is a CS domain functional entity responsible for the establishment and release of user calls.

The Home Location Register (HLR) permanently stores the user subscription data, and the data stored by the HLR includes the International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI) of the UE.

In a mobile communication network that is actually operated, in order to save equipment investment, a radio access network RAN may be shared and used by multiple operators. This technology is called RAN sharing technology. Even if the RAN sharing technology is used in the communication network, the CS domain and the PS domain should be served by the same operator for the user. Otherwise, the charging is complicated and the signaling overhead in the network is greater. Figure 2 is related to the related art A flow chart of an operator's CS domain and PS domain network serving the UE, as shown in FIG. 2, the process includes the following steps:

In step S201, the UE sends a Location Area Update Request (LAU request) message to the wireless RAN. In the 2G system, the RAN is the BSS, and in the 3G system, the RAN refers to the RNC.

Step S202, the RAN forwards the LAU request message, and carries a redirection attempt indication in the message to query whether the UE has been registered.

Step S203, the MSC returns a redirection indication message to the RAN, where the message carries an IMSI, a CS/PS cooperation request, and an indication that the UE is not registered; the IMSI may be directly obtained by the MSC to the UE;

Step S204, the RAN sends a request message confirming whether the user is registered to the SGSN connected to the RAN, and the request message carries the IMSI;

Step S205: If the SGSN that receives the message confirms that the user has already registered with the SGSN, it replies with confirmation that the user has already registered the message and carries the IMSI of the user; if the user is not registered with the SGSN, it replies with confirmation that the user has not registered the message, and the message carries The IMSI in the request message;

Step S206, according to the SGSN that confirms that the user has already registered the message returned in step S205, the RAN can confirm the Public Land Mobile Network Identifier (PLMN ID) used by the UE in the PS domain, thereby selecting a suitable one. The MSC, the RAN forwards the LAU request message to the selected MSC; if all the SGSNs reply to confirm the user unregistered message, the RAN may arbitrarily select the MSC and forward the LAU request message to the selected MSC;

Step S207, the MSC accepts the request message of the UE, and returns a location area update accept message to the RAN. The message carries the newly assigned Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) and the location area identifier (Location Area) registered by the UE. Identifier, referred to as LAI);

In step 208, the RAN forwards the location area update accept message to the UE.

It can be seen that in the related art, in order to achieve the purpose of serving the CS domain and the PS domain by the same operator, in step S204, the RAN sends a message to all SGSNs connected thereto. It can be seen from this process that the RAN selects the SGSN of the same carrier for a long time, resulting in a relatively poor user experience. On the other hand, the RAN sends more signaling to the network side, which is also likely to cause network congestion. In addition, all SGSNs in the carrier network need to be upgraded, which results in an increase in the operator's investment cost.

Therefore, in the related art, the RAN selects a long access time provided by the same operator, and wastes resources and costs.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a network access processing method and apparatus, a RAN device, and an SGSN, so as to at least solve the problem that the RAN selects a long access time provided by the same operator, and wastes resources and costs.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a network access processing method is provided, including: receiving an access request sent by a user equipment UE; and acquiring a first connection of a first access domain that the UE has registered to access in advance. The network information of the carrier network to which the ingress node belongs; the second access node that belongs to the second access domain of the carrier network and the first access domain is selected according to the obtained network information; The second access node accesses the UE.

Preferably, the network information of the operator network that the UE has registered to access includes at least one of the following: the registered access node information of the carrier network that the UE has registered to access, and the UE The public land mobile network PLMN information of the carrier network that has been registered to access.

Preferably, before receiving the access request sent by the UE, the method further includes: after the UE registers to access the network of the operator, the UE is registered to access the network of the operator network. The network information is stored in the node information register.

Preferably, acquiring the pre-stored network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access includes: pre-stored in the node information register. Obtaining, in the network information, a manner of searching for an International Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the UE, and acquiring the network of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access information.

Preferably, the access request includes at least one of the following: a location area update request LAU, an attach request, and a routing area update request RAU.

Preferably, when the first access domain is a circuit domain, the second access domain is a packet domain; when the first access domain is a packet domain, the second access domain is a circuit domain.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a network access processing apparatus is provided, including: a receiving module, configured to receive an access request sent by a user equipment UE; and an acquiring module, where the pre-stored UE is registered and accessed The network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain belongs; the selection module is set to And selecting, according to the obtained network information, a second access node that belongs to the second access domain of the carrier network, and the access module is configured to be according to the selected second The access node accesses the UE.

Preferably, the device further includes: a storage module, configured to store, in the node information, the network information of the operator network that the UE is registered to access after the UE is registered to access the network of the operator In the register.

Preferably, the obtaining module includes: an acquiring unit, configured to acquire, by using the network information pre-stored in the node information register, the manner in which the UE is registered and accessed by the UE, The network information of the operator network of the first access node of the first access domain.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a radio access network RAN device is provided, comprising: the apparatus of any of the above.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a service general packet radio service support node SGSN is provided, comprising the apparatus of any of the above.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a mobile switching center MSC is provided, comprising the apparatus of any of the above.

The network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access is obtained by using the access request sent by the user equipment UE; Determining, by the network information, a second access node that belongs to the second access domain of the carrier network, and the second access node according to the selected access to the UE, In the related art, the RAN selects a long access time provided by the same operator, and the problem of waste of resources and high cost, thereby achieving not only effective cost reduction but also improvement of different access domain services provided by the same operator. s efficiency.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are intended to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are intended to be a part of the invention. In the drawing:

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a 2G/3G network in the related art;

2 is a flowchart of the related art in which a CS domain and a PS domain network of the same carrier are served by the UE;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a network access processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

4 is a structural block diagram of a network access processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a preferred structure of a network access processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a preferred structure of an obtaining module 42 in a network access processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a structural block diagram of a radio access network RAN device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a structural block diagram of a serving general packet radio service support node SGSN according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

9 is a structural block diagram of a mobile switching center MSC according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a flow chart showing a circuit domain and a packet domain cooperative service according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 is a flow chart according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 is a flow chart showing a preferred embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Figure 13 is a flow chart showing a preferred embodiment 3 of the present invention.

detailed description

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

A network access processing method is provided in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a network access processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the process includes the following steps:

Step S302: Receive an access request sent by the user equipment UE, where the type of the access request may be multiple, for example, at least one of the following: a location area update request LAU, an attach request, and a routing area update request (Routing) Area Update Request, referred to as RAU request);

Step S304, acquiring pre-stored network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access belongs to;

Step S306, selecting, according to the acquired network information, a second access node that belongs to the second access domain of the operator network and the first access domain;

Step S308, accessing the UE according to the selected second access node.

According to the above steps, the network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access is obtained according to the acquired network information of the first access domain belongs to the carrier network. The access node of the second access domain can quickly determine the access node of the second access domain of the access UE by using the pre-stored information. Compared with the related art, it is necessary to search for possible access nodes, and the RAN selects The long time for the same operator to provide services, as well as the waste of resources and high cost, can not only effectively reduce costs, but also improve the efficiency of providing different access domain services by the same operator.

The network information of the carrier network that the UE has registered to include may include multiple types of information, for example, may include at least one of the following: the registered access node information of the carrier network that the UE has registered to access, and the UE has registered access. Public land mobile network PLMN information for the carrier network.

Preferably, before receiving the access request sent by the UE, the network information of the carrier network to which the UE is registered to access may be stored in the node information register after the UE registers the access operator network.

When the network information of the operator network of the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access is obtained, a plurality of methods may be adopted, for example, the following simple and fast processing manner may be adopted. The method of searching for the international subscriber identity (IMSI) of the UE in the network information pre-stored in the node information register, and acquiring the network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access belongs to.

Preferably, when the first access domain is a circuit domain, the second access domain may be a packet domain; when the first access domain is a packet domain, the second access domain may be a circuit domain.

In this embodiment, a network access processing device is also provided, which is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments, and has not been described again. As used below, the term "module" may implement a combination of software and/or hardware of a predetermined function. Although the apparatus described in the following embodiments is preferably implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

4 is a structural block diagram of a network access processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus includes a receiving module 42, an obtaining module 44, a selecting module 46, and an access module 48. Description.

The receiving module 42 is configured to receive an access request sent by the user equipment UE, and the acquiring module 44 is connected to the receiving module 42 and configured to acquire a first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access in advance. The network information of the network of the subscriber network; the selecting module 46 is connected to the obtaining module 44, and is configured to select the second access of the second access domain that belongs to the operator network and the first access domain according to the acquired network information. The access module 48 is connected to the selection module 46, and is configured to access the UE according to the selected second access node.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of a network access processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the apparatus includes a storage module 52 in addition to all the structures shown in FIG. 52 for explanation.

The storage module 52 is connected to the receiving module 42 and configured to store the network information of the carrier network to which the UE is registered to be stored in the node information register after the UE registers the access operator network.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of the obtaining module 42 in the network access processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the obtaining module 42 includes: an obtaining unit 62, which is described below.

The obtaining unit 62 is configured to obtain the operation of the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access by searching for the international user identifier (IMSI) of the UE in the network information pre-stored in the node information register. Network information of the business network.

FIG. 7 is a structural block diagram of a radio access network RAN device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the RAN device 70 includes the network access processing device 72 of any of the above.

FIG. 8 is a structural block diagram of a serving general packet radio service support node SGSN according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the SGSN 80 includes the network access processing device 72 of any of the above.

FIG. 9 is a structural block diagram of a mobile switching center MSC according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the mobile switching center MSC 90 includes the network access processing device 72 of any of the above.

For the above problem in the related art, a method for network access processing is provided in this embodiment, and the method includes the following processing: the shared RAN selects a PLMN and shares a RAN when the location area update ends or the routing area update ends. The user's PLMN information or node information is stored in the user node information register; the shared RAN first goes to the user node information register to query the node or PLMN information that the user has registered, and then according to the queried node information or The PLMN information is used to select a node; the shared RAN sends a non-access stratum message (including a LAU request, an Attach request, a RAU request) to the user node information register, and the node information register determines whether the UE has registered in a PLMN, if not Registration, the shared RAN arbitrarily selects one PLMN for UE access, and if it has already registered with one PLMN, the shared RAN selects the already registered PLMN for UE access.

Through the above processing, not only the above-mentioned problems of the related technologies are solved, but also the efficiency of the network operation is improved, the user experience is improved, and the operator is prevented from upgrading all the network devices.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the preferred embodiment, a method for coordinating services between a circuit domain and a packet domain is provided. FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a circuit domain and a packet domain cooperative service according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the process is shown in FIG. Including the following steps:

Step S1002, the shared RAN selects a PLMN;

Step S1004: The shared RAN stores the user's PLMN information or node information in the user node information register when the attach process ends, the location area update ends, or the routing area update ends. The user node information register may be an independent network element, or Is a logical unit in the SGSN or MSC;

In step S1006, the shared RAN first goes to the user node information register to query the node or PLMN information that the user has registered, and then selects the node according to the queried node information or the PLMN information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the flow includes the following steps:

Step S1102: The UE sends a Location Area Update Request (LAU request) message to the wireless RAN. In the 2G system, the RAN is the BSS, and in the 3G system, the RAN refers to the RNC.

Step S1104: The RAN forwards the LAU request message.

Step S1106, the MSC returns a LAU accept message to the RAN; the LAU accept message carries the newly allocated TMSI and the LAI registered by the UE, and carries the IMSI in the forwarded message to the RAN;

Step S1108: The RAN forwards the LAU accept message to the UE.

Step S1110, the RAN sends a node notification request message to the user node information register, where the message carries the IMSI of the user, the node information of the user, and the node information of the user includes the PLMN ID of the served network, or the served MSC ID; node information. The register may be an independent network element, or may be a default SGSN or a logical unit in the MSC;

In step S1112, the user node information register sends a node notification response message to the RAN.

In this embodiment, when the user accesses from the CS domain, the RAN stores the node information in the user node information register. When the user accesses from the PS domain, the RAN stores the node information in the user node information register in a similar manner. Make a specific explanation.

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of a preferred embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the process includes the following steps:

Step S1202: The UE sends a RAU request message to the wireless RAN. In the 2G system, the RAN is the BSS, and in the 3G system, the RAN refers to the RNC. If the UE has the P-TMSI and the RAI, the UE needs to carry the P-TMSI in the RAU request message. And RAI;

Step S1204, the RAN forwards the RAU request message to the user node information register; and carries the redirection attempt indication in the message; the node information register may be an independent network element, or may be a default SGSN or a logical unit in the MSC;

Step S1206: The user node information register sends an ID request message to the UE, and the UE returns an ID response message, where the response message carries the IMSI; in this step, the user node information register may also be based on the P-TMSI carried in the RAU request message in step S1201. The RAI message sends an ID request message to the relevant SGSN, and the related SGSN returns an ID response message, where the message carries the IMSI;

Step S1208, the user node register returns a redirection indication message to the RAN, where the message carries the user IMSI and the stored node information, and the node information here is the same as in step S1210;

Step S1210: The RAN selects an appropriate SGSN according to the returned node information, and sends a RAU Request message to the selected SGSN.

Step S1212, the SGSN accepts the request message of the UE, and returns an RAU accept message to the RAN; the RAU accept message carries the newly allocated P-TMSI and the RAI registered by the UE;

In step S1214, the RAN returns an RAU accept message to the UE.

In this embodiment, when the user accesses from the PS domain, the shared RAN obtains the node information through the user node information register. When the user accesses from the CS domain, the RAN obtains the node information through the user node information register. Do not give specific instructions.

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the process includes the following steps:

Step S1302, the UE sends a Routing Area Update Request (RAU request) message to the wireless RAN. In the 2G system, the RAN is the BSS, and in the 3G system, the RAN refers to the RNC.

Step S1304: The RAN forwards the RAU request message to the related SGSN according to the Network Resource Identifier (NRI) provided by the UE, and carries the redirection attempt indication in the message;

Step S1306, the SGSN returns a redirect indication message to the RAN, where the message carries the user IMSI;

Step S1308, the RAN sends a node information query request message to the user node information register, where the message carries the IMSI;

Step S1310, the user node information register returns a node information query response message, the message carries the IMSI, and the node information stored in step S1310;

Step S1312: The RAN selects an appropriate SGSN according to the returned node information, and sends a RAU Request message to the selected SGSN.

Step S1314, the SGSN accepts the request message of the UE, and returns an RAU accept message to the RAN; the RAU accept message carries the newly allocated P-TMSI and the RAI registered by the UE;

In step S1316, the RAN returns an RAU accept message to the UE.

In this embodiment, when the user accesses the PS domain, the RAN obtains the node information through the user node information register. When the user accesses from the CS domain, the RAN obtains the node information through the user node information register, and the manner is similar. Make a specific explanation.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the various modules or steps of the present invention described above can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device that can be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network 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 and, in some cases, may be different from the order herein. The steps shown or described are performed, or they are separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps thereof are fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above description 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. made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

As described above, the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments solve the problem that the RAN selects a long access time provided by the same operator, and wastes resources and costs, thereby achieving not only effective reduction but also effective reduction. Cost, and increase the efficiency of providing different access domain services by the same operator.

Claims

A network access processing method includes:

Receiving an access request sent by the user equipment UE;

Obtaining pre-stored network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access belongs to;

Determining, according to the obtained network information, a second access node that belongs to the second access domain of the carrier network and the first access domain;

And accessing the UE according to the selected second access node.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the network information of the operator network that the UE has registered to access comprises at least one of the following:

The registered access node information of the operator network that the UE has registered to access, and the public land mobile network PLMN information of the operator network that the UE has registered to access.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before receiving the access request sent by the UE, the method further includes:

After the UE registers to access the operator network, the network information of the carrier network to which the UE is registered to access is stored in a node information register.
The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining, by the pre-stored, the network information of the operator network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access includes:

Acquiring the first access domain of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access by searching for the international subscriber identity (IMSI) of the UE in the network information that is pre-stored in the node information register The network information of the carrier network to which the node belongs.
The method of claim 1 wherein the access request comprises at least one of:

The location area update request LAU, the attach request, and the routing area update request RAU.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein

When the first access domain is a circuit domain, the second access domain is a packet domain; when the first access domain is a packet domain, the second access domain is a circuit domain.
A network access processing device includes:

a receiving module, configured to receive an access request sent by the user equipment UE;

Obtaining a module, configured to acquire pre-stored network information of a carrier network to which the first access node of the first access domain that the UE has registered to access;

The selecting module is configured to select, according to the acquired network information, a second access node that belongs to the second access domain of the carrier network and the first access domain;

And an access module, configured to access the UE according to the selected second access node.
The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

And a storage module, configured to store, in the node information register, the network information of the carrier network that the UE is registered to access after the UE registers to access the network of the operator.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the obtaining module comprises:

An acquiring unit, configured to acquire, by using the network information pre-stored in the node information register, the manner in which the UE is registered in the first access domain The network information of the carrier network of the first access node.
A radio access network RAN device comprising: the apparatus of any one of claims 7 to 9.
A service general packet radio service support node SGSN, comprising the apparatus of any one of claims 7 to 9.
A mobile switching center MSC comprising: the apparatus of any one of claims 7 to 9.