WO2016159679A1

WO2016159679A1 - Method and apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in long term evolution network

Info

Publication number: WO2016159679A1
Application number: PCT/KR2016/003317
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiaoning MA; Lixiang Xu; Hong Wang; Xiaowan KE
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Beijing Samsung Telecom R&D Center
Priority date: 2015-03-31
Filing date: 2016-03-31
Publication date: 2016-10-06
Also published as: CN106161513B; CN106161513A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a pre-5^th-Generation (5G) or 5G communication system to be provided for supporting higher data rates Beyond 4^th-Generation (4G) communication system such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network. The method includes: analyzing, by a device, a received data visit request, generating a corresponding content distribution request and transmitting the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the device; if the device receives requested content from the content distribution node, returning by the device the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; otherwise, forwarding by the device the data visit request to a next level node device, and receive the content from the next level node device, returning the content to the transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the device comprises: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway. The present disclosure further provides another method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network. According to the technical solution provided by the present disclosure, response time of the data visit request of the UE is shortened and the user experience is improved.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPLEMENTING RAPID CONTENT DISTRIBUTION IN LONG TERM EVOLUTION NETWORK

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication techniques, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network.

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4G (4^th-Generation) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G (5^th-Generation) or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a 'beyond 4G network' or a 'post LTE system'.

The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G communication systems.

In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like.

In the 5G system, hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed.

Modern mobile communications tend to provide multimedia services for users with high transmission rates. FIG. 1 shows a system structure of System Architecture Evolution (SAE) according to the prior art, in which:

User Equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device used for receiving data. Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 102 is a radio access network, including an eNodeB/NodeB which provides an interface for the UE to access the radio network. Mobility Management Entity (MME) 103 is responsible for managing mobility context, session context and security information of the UE. Serving Gateway (SGW) 104 is mainly used for providing a user plane function. The MME 103 and the SGW 104 may be in a same physical entity. Packet data network Gateway (PGW) 105 is responsible for charging, legal listening and other functions. The PGW 105 may also be in the same physical entity with the SGW 104. Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) 106 provides QoS policies and charging rules. Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 108 is a network device for providing route for data transmission in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 109 is a home sub-system of the UE, and is responsible for protecting user information such as current location, serving node location, user security information and packet data context of the user device.

With the deployment of the LTE network, mobile network traffic may have an explosive growth and the network may face a large traffic pressure. Facing the challenge of the traffic growth, the deployment of Content Distribution Network (CDN) towards mobile communication networks provides an idea for relieving the traffic pressure, i.e. mobile CDN, as shown in FIG. 2. According to the existing mechanism as shown in FIG. 2, the content distribution node stores content resources. When a user visits an external content service, data are transmitted via the packet data network gateway, the serving gateway and the base station, which results in a long visit delay.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide two methods and apparatuses for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, so as to reduce the data visit delay of the UE.

The present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network, including: analyzing, by a device, a received data visit request, generating a corresponding content distribution request and transmitting the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the device; if the device receives requested content from the content distribution node, returning by the device the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; otherwise, forwarding by the device the data visit request to a next level node device, and receive the content from the next level node device, returning the content to the transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the device comprises: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.

In one embodiment, the device analyzes the received data visit request to obtain an identifier of the requested content, and transmits the content distribution request carrying the identifier to the content distribution node connected with the device.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving by the device a content distribution response from the content distribution node connected with the device, wherein the content distribution response carries an information element indicating whether the content distribution node stores the requested content.

In one embodiment, the content distribution request and the content distribution response are GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP) messages.

In one embodiment, after the device receives the requested content from the next level node device, the method further includes: transmitting the requested content to the content distribution node connected with the device for storage.

In one embodiment, the device obtains an address of the content distribution node connected with the device by: configuring addresses of available content distribution nodes in advance; or, receiving by the device from a mobility management entity a message to obtain addresses of available content distribution nodes.

In one embodiment, for the base station, the message received from the mobility management entity includes: an S1 SETUP RESPONSE message or an MME CONFIGURATION UPDATE message; for the serving gateway, the message received from the mobility management entity includes: a CREATE SESSION REQUEST message or a CREATE BEARER RESPONSE message.

An apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, including: a message processing module and a data processing module; wherein the message processing module is adapted to analyze a received data visit request, generate a corresponding content distribution request and transmit the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the apparatus; the data processing module is adapted to return requested content to a transmitter of the data visit request if receiving the requested content from the content distribution node; and forward the data visit request to a next level node device, receive the requested content from the next level node device and return the requested content to the transmitter of the data visit request if otherwise; wherein the apparatus includes: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.

A method for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, including: receiving by a content distribution node a content distribution request from a device connected with the content distribution node, and determining whether the content distribution node stores requested content; returning by the content distribution node a content distribution response to the device, wherein the content distribution response carries an information element indicating whether the content distribution node stores the requested content, if the content distribution node stores the requested content, the content distribution node returns the content to the device.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving by the content distribution node the content from the device connected with the content distribution node, and storing the content.

A content distribution node, including: a message processing module and a content distributing module; wherein the message processing module is adapted to receive a content distribution request from a device connected with the content distribution node, determine whether the content distribution node stores requested content, and return a content distribution response to the device; wherein the content distribution response carries an information element indicating whether the content distribution node stores the requested content; and the content distributing module is adapted to return the requested content to the device if the content distribution node stores the requested content.

A method for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, including: transmitting, by a device, a received data visit request to a content distribution node connected with the device; receiving by the device requested content from the content distribution node, and returning the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the content is stored in the content distribution node, or is obtained by the content distribution node from a next level node device; wherein the device comprises: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: creating a user plane connection respectively between the device and the content distribution node, and between the content distribution node and the next level node device.

In one embodiment, for the base station, the message received from the mobility management entity includes: an S1 SETUP RESPONSE message or an MME CONFIGURATION UPDATE message;

for the serving gateway, the message received from the mobility management entity includes: a CREATE SESSION REQUEST message or a CREATE BEARER RESPONSE message.

An apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, including: a message forwarding module and a data processing module; the message forwarding module is adapted to transmit a received data visit request to a content distribution node connected with the apparatus; the data processing module is adapted to receive requested content from the content distribution node, and return the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the content is stored in the content distribution node or is obtained by the content distribution node from a next level node device; wherein the apparatus includes: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.

A method for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, including: receiving by a content distribution node a data visit request from a first device connected with the content distribution node; if the content distribution node stores content requested by the data visit request, transmitting the requested content to the first device; otherwise, forwarding by the content distribution node the data visit request to a second device connected with the content distribution node, and receiving the content requested by the data visit request from the second device, and transmitting the content to the first device.

In one embodiment, if the first device is a base station, the second device is a serving gateway; if the first device is a serving gateway, the second device is a packet data network gateway.

In one embodiment, after the content distribution node receives the data visit request from the first device connected with the content distribution node, the method further includes: analyzing the data visit request to obtain an identifier of the requested content, and determining whether the content distribution node stores the requested content according to the identifier.

In one embodiment, after the content distribution node receives the content requested by the data visit request from the second device, the method further includes: storing the content.

A content distribution node, comprising: a communication module and a content distributing module, including: the communication module is adapted to receive a data visit request from a first device connected with the content distribution node; the content distributing module is adapted to transmit requested content to the first device if the content distribution device stores the requested content, and the communication module is adapted to forward the data visit request to a second device connected with the content distribution node if otherwise, and receive the requested content from the second device, the content distributing module is further adapted to transmit the content to the first device.

It can be seen from the above technical solution that, when the UE transmits the data visit request, the present disclosure enables the UE to visit the content distribution node deployed in the LTE network via the base station and/or the serving gateway, and obtain the content requested by the UE. As such, the data visit delay is reduced and a better user experience is obtained.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system architecture of SAE according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mobile content distribution network according to the prior art.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating deployment scenario A of a content distribution node in an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating deployment scenario B of a content distribution node in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7a,b is a schematic diagram illustrating a third method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8a,b is a schematic diagram illustrating a fourth method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a twelfth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating a thirteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fourteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fifteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sixteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a network distribution node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a network distribution node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure will be described in further detail hereinafter with reference to accompanying drawings and embodiments to make the objective, technical solution and merits therein clearer.

The main idea of the present disclosure is: a content distribution node is deployed in the LTE network, the UE visits the content distribution node deployed in the LTE network via a base station and/or serving gateway to obtain content requested by the UE, such that the content resources is closer to the user, the visit delay is reduced and the content is distributed more rapidly. Under the system architecture as shown in FIG. 1, components except for the operator IP service network belong to the LTE network.

Based on the above main idea, the present disclosure provides two technical solutions for deploying a content distribution node in the LTE network and technical solutions for implementing corresponding rapid content distribution. Hereinafter, detailed description is given with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a deployment scenario A of the content distribution node in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 3, there may be three possible situations: 1) merely a base station is connected with a first content distribution node; 2) merely a serving gateway is connected with a second content distribution node; and 3) the base station is connected with the first content distribution node, and the serving gateway is connected with the second content distribution node.

Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 3, the present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network. The method includes:

analyzing, by a base station, a data visit requested received, generating a corresponding content distribution request and transmitting the content distribution request to a first content distribution node; if the base station receives requested content from the first content distribution node, returning the content to the UE; otherwise, the base station forwarding the data visit request to a serving gateway, receiving requested content from the serving gateway, and returning the content to the UE;

and/or

the serving gateway analyzing the received data visit request, generating a corresponding content distribution request and transmitting the content distribution request to a second content distribution node; if the serving gateway receives requested content from the second content distribution node, returning the content to the base station; otherwise, the serving gateway forwarding the data visit request to a packet data network gateway, receiving requested content from the packet data network gateway and returning the content to the base station.

In other words, the above method may also be described as follows: a device analyzes a received data visit request, generates a corresponding content distribution request and transmits the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the device; if the device receives requested content from the content distribution node, the device returns the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; otherwise, the device forwards the data visit request to a next level node device, receives requested content from the next level node device, and returns the content to the transmitter of the data visit request. The device in the above method may be the base station and/or the serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is the packet data network gateway.

After receiving the content transmitted by the next level node device, besides returning the content to the transmitter of the data visit request, the base station or the serving gateway also transmits the content to the content distribution node connected with it for storage.

Hereinafter, with reference to the three possible situations under the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 3, the corresponding methods for implementing rapid content distribution are described in further detail.

1) Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 3, for the situation that merely the base station is connected with the first content distribution node, the present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network as shown in FIG. 4. The method includes the following.

When receiving a data visit request from a UE on a user plane, the base station analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of requested content instead of directly forwarding the data visit request to the serving gateway. Then the base station transmits a content distribution request message to a first content distribution node connected with the base station, wherein the content distribution request message carries without limitation the identifier of the requested content. The first content distribution node determines according to the identifier of the requested content whether it stores the requested content, and transmits a content distribution response message to the base station according to a determined result, notifying the base station whether the first content distribution node stores the content corresponding to the identifier. For example, the content distribution response message may carry an information element informing the base station that the first content distribution node stores the requested content, or carry an information element informing the base station that the first content distribution node does not store the requested content.

If the first content distribution node stores the requested content, the first content distribution node transmits the requested content to the base station. The base station generates a data visit response and forwards the data visit response and the content to the UE on the user plane. If the first content distribution node does not store the requested content, the base station forwards the data visit request from the UE to the serving gateway according to an existing scheme. After receiving a data visit response and requested content returned by the serving gateway, the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE according to the existing scheme, at the same time, the base station transmits the requested content to the content distribution node until the transmission completes.

Under this situation, when the serving gateway receives the data visit request from the base station, the existing scheme is adopted to forward the data visit request received from the base station to a packet data network gateway. After receiving a corresponding visit response and the requested content, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station according to the existing scheme.

2) Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 3, for the situation that merely the serving gateway is connected with the second content distribution node, the present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network as shown in FIG. 5. The method includes the following.

After receiving a data visit request from a UE on the user plane, the base station forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway. After receiving the data visit request from the base station on the user plane, the serving gateway analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of requested content instead of directly forwarding the data visit request to the packet data network gateway, and then transmits a content distribution request to the second content distribution node connected with the serving gateway, wherein the content distribution request carries without limitation the identifier of the requested content. The second content distribution node transmits a content distribution response message to the serving gateway, notifying the serving gateway whether the second content distribution node stores the content corresponding to the identifier. For example, the content distribution response message may carry an information element informing the serving gateway that the second content distribution node stores the requested content, or carry an information element informing the serving gateway that the second content distribution node does not store the requested content.

If the second content distribution node stores the requested content, the second content distribution node transmits the requested content to the serving gateway. The serving gateway generates a data visit response, and forwards the data visit response and the content to the base station on the user plane. If the second content distribution node does not store the requested content, the serving gateway forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway according to an existing scheme. After receiving a corresponding data visit response and the requested content, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station according to the existing scheme, and transmits the requested content to the second content distribution node at the same time until transmission completes. The second content distribution node stores the content.

3) Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 3, for the situation that the both the base station and the serving gateway are connected with a content distribution node, the first content distribution node is firstly requested for the content requested by the UE following the method as shown in FIG. 4. In case that the first content distribution node does not store the content requested by the UE, the base station forwards a data visit request to the serving gateway, and then the serving gateway requests the content requested by the UE from the second content distribution node following the method as shown in FIG. 5. In case that the second content distribution node does not store the content requested by the UE, the serving gateway forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway, and finally transmits the content returned by the packet data network gateway to the base station.

The content distribution request message and the content distribution response message may be GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP) messages or messages of other protocols, if only the above information interaction can be implemented between the base station and/or serving gateway and the corresponding content distribution node, i.e., the base station and/or serving gateway transmits the request message carrying the identifier of the requested content to the connected content distribution node, the content distribution node returns the response message to the connected base station and/or serving gateway, so as to notify the base station and/or serving gateway whether the content distribution node stores the content corresponding to the identifier.

After the transmission of the requested content by the content distribution node to the base station or the serving gateway completes, or after the transmission of the requested content by the base station or the serving gateway to the content distribution node completes, a tag denoting that the transmission is completed may be used in a last data packet or a single message may be used to indicate that the transmission is completed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a deployment scenario B of the content distribution node in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, there are also three possible situations: 1) merely a first content distribution node as shown in the Figure is configured in the LTE network, user plane bearers are set up between the first content distribution node and the base station and the serving gateway; 2) merely a second content distribution node as shown in the Figure is configured in the LTE network, user plane bearers are set up between the second content distribution node and the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway; 3) both the first content distribution node and the second content distribution node as shown in the Figure as configured in the LTE network, user plane bearers are set up between the first content distribution node and the base station and the serving gateway, and user plane bearers are set up between the second content distribution node and the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway.

Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, the present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network. This method is applicable for the base station and/or the serving gateway. The method includes the following:

the base station transmitting a received data visit request to the first content distribution node, the base station receiving requested content from the first content distribution node and returning the content to the UE; wherein the content is stored in the first content distribution node, or is obtained by the first content distribution node from the serving gateway;

and/or,

the serving gateway transmitting the received data visit request to the second content distribution node, the serving gateway receiving requested content from the second content distribution node and returning the content to the first content distribution node; wherein the content is stored in the second content distribution node, or is obtained by the second content distribution node from the packet data network gateway.

In other words, the above method may also be described as follows: a device transmits a received data visit request to a content distribution node connected with the device; the device receives requested content from the content distribution node, and returns the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the content is stored in the content distribution node or is obtained by the content distribution node from a next level node device. The device may include: the base station and/or the serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is the packet data network gateway.

Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, the present disclosure provides a method for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network. This method is applicable for a content distribution node and includes the following:

the first content distribution node receiving a data visit request from the base station, if the first content distribution node stores content requested by the data visit request, the first content distribution node transmitting the requested content to the base station; otherwise, the first content distribution node forwarding the data visit request to the serving gateway, and receiving the content requested by the data visit request from the serving gateway and transmitting the requested content to the base station;

and/or

the second content distribution node receiving the data visit request from the serving gateway, if the second content distribution node stores the content requested by the data visit request, the second content distribution node transmitting the requested content to the serving gateway; otherwise, the second content distribution node forwarding the data visit request to the packet data network gateway, receiving the content requested by the data visit request from the packet data network gateway and transmitting the content to the serving gateway.

In other words, the above method may also be described as follows: the content distribution node receives a data visit request from a first device connected with the content distribution node; if the content distribution node stores the content requested by the data visit request, the content distribution node transmits the requested content to the first device; otherwise, the content distribution node forwards the data visit request to a second device connected with the content distribution node, receives content requested by the data visit request from the second device and transmits the content to the first device. If the first device is the base station, the second device is the serving gateway; if the first device is the serving gateway, the second device is the packet data network gateway.

Hereinafter, with regard to the three possible situations under the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, the methods for implementing rapid content distribution are described in detail respectively.

1) Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, for the situation that merely the first content distribution node as shown in the Figure is configured in the LTE network, the present disclosure provides a method for creating user plane bearers and implementing rapid content distribution by the first content distribution node in the LTE network as shown in FIG. 7. The method includes the following.

A serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway to a mobility management entity.

The mobility management entity transmits an Evolved Radio Access Bearer Setup Request (E-RAB SETUP REQUEST) message carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway to the base station.

The base station transmits a create data tunnel request message to a content distribution node (i.e., the first content distribution node), wherein the create data tunnel request message contains without limitation: a UE identifier, a bearer ID and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the base station respectively for connecting with the content distribution node and the serving gateway.

The content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the base station, wherein the create data tunnel request message contains without limitation: tunnel endpoint identifiers of the content distribution node respectively for connecting with the base station and the serving gateway.

The base station transmits an Evolved Radio Access Bearer Setup Response (E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE) message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The mobility management entity transmits a Create Bearer Response to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The UE transmits a data visit request to the base station via the created user plane. The base station forwards the data visit request to the content distribution node. The content distribution node analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of the requested content and determines whether the content distribution node stores the requested content according to the identifier.

If the content distribution node stores the requested content, the content distribution node generates a data visit response and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

If the content distribution node does not store the requested content, the content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway. After receiving a data visit response and the requested content forwarded by the serving gateway, the content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station, and stores the requested content in the content distribution node at the same time. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Under this situation, when receiving the data visit request from the content distribution node, the serving gateway forwards the data visit request received from the first content distribution node to the packet data network gateway. After receiving a data visit response and the requested content, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the first content distribution node.

For the situation that merely the first content distribution node as shown in FIG. 6 is configured in the LTE network, it is also possible to create the user plane bearers on the first content distribution node and implement the rapid content distribution according to the following method.

The base station transmits an INITIAL UE MESSAGE to the mobility management entity.

The mobility management entity transmits a Create Session Request message to the serving gateway (there may be other steps between this step and the above step, which are executed following the existing technique and are not described herein).

The serving gateway transmits a Create Session Request message to the packet data network gateway.

The packet data network gateway transmits a Create Session Response message to the serving gateway, carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier of the packet data network gateway.

The serving gateway transmits a Create Session Response message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

The mobility management entity transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway to the base station.

The base station transmits a create data tunnel request message to the content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message contains without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the base station respectively for connecting with the content distribution node and the serving gateway.

The content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the base station, wherein the create data tunnel response message contains without limitation: tunnel endpoint identifiers of the content distribution node respectively for connecting with the base station and the serving gateway.

The base station transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The mobility management entity transmits a Modify Bearer Request to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The serving gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Response to the mobility management entity.

The UE transmits a data visit request to the base station via the created user plane. The base station forwards the data visit request to the content distribution node.

The content distribution node analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of the requested content and determines whether the content distribution node stores the requested content according to the identifier.

If the content distribution node stores the requested content, the content distribution node generates a data visit response, and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

If the content distribution node does not store the requested content, the content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway. After receiving the data visit response and the requested content forwarded by the serving gateway, the content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station, and stores the requested content in the content distribution node at the same time. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

2) Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, for the situation that merely the second content distribution node as shown in the Figure is configured in the LTE network, the present disclosure provides a method for creating user plane bearers on the second content distribution node in the LTE network and implementing rapid content distribution as shown in FIG. 8. The method includes the following.

A packet data network gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the serving gateway, carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier of the packet data network gateway.

The serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the mobility management entity, carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

The serving gateway receives a Create Bearer Response message transmitted by the mobility management entity, carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier, wherein the tunnel endpoint identifier may be the tunnel endpoint identifier of the base station.

The serving gateway transmits a create data tunnel request message to a content distribution node (i.e., the second content distribution node), wherein the create data tunnel request message contains without limitation: a UE identifier, a bearer ID and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the serving gateway for respectively connecting with the content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

The content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the serving gateway, wherein the create data tunnel response message contains without limitation: tunnel endpoint identifiers of the content distribution node respectively for connecting with the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway. This step and the above step may be executed at any time between the first step and the next step.

The serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Response message to the packet data network gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway.

The UE transmits a data visit request to the base station via the created user plane. The base station forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway, and the serving gateway forwards the data visit request to the second content distribution node.

If the content distribution node stores the requested content, the content distribution node generates a data visit response and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. And the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

If the content distribution node does not store the requested content, the content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway. After receiving a data visit response and the requested content forwarded by the packet data network gateway, the content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway, and stores the requested content in the content distribution node at the same time. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

For the situation that merely the second content distribution node as shown in FIG. 6 is configured in the LTE network, it is also possible to create the user plane bearers on the second content distribution node and implement the rapid content distribution according to the following method.

The mobility management entity transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to the base station, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

The base station transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier, wherein the tunnel endpoint identifier may be the tunnel endpoint identifier of the base station.

The mobility management entity transmits a Modify Bearer Request to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the last step.

The serving gateway transmits a create data tunnel request message to the content distribution node, carrying without limitation: a UE identifier, a bearer ID, tunnel endpoint identifiers of the serving gateway respectively for connecting with the content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

The content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the serving gateway, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation tunnel endpoint identifiers of the content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway and a tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway. This step and the last step may be executed at any time after the serving gateway receives the create session response message transmitted by the packet data network gateway and before the next step.

The serving gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Request to the packet data network gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway.

The packet data network gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Response to the serving gateway.

The UE transmits a data visit request to the base station via the created user plane. The base station forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway which forwards the data visit request to the content distribution node.

If the content distribution node stores the requested content, the content distribution node generates a data visit response, and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

If the content distribution node does not store the requested content, the content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway. After receiving the data visit response and the requested content forwarded by the packet data network gateway, the content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway, and stores the requested content in the content distribution node at the same time. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

3) Based on the deployment scenario as shown in FIG. 6, for the situation that both the first content distribution node and the second content distribution node as shown in the Figure are configured in the LTE network, combining the above description of above methods 1) and 2), the method for creating the user plane bearer and implementing rapid content distribution includes the following.

The packet data network gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the packet data network gateway.

The serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

The mobility management entity transmits an E-RAB SETUP REQUEST message to the base station, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

The base station transmits a create data tunnel request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID, tunnel endpoint identifiers of the base station respectively for connecting with the first content distribution node and the serving gateway.

The first content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the base station, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation tunnel endpoint identifiers of the first content distribution node respectively for connecting with the base station and the serving gateway.

The base station transmits an E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The mobility management entity transmits a Create Bearer Response to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The serving gateway transmits a create data tunnel request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID, tunnel endpoint identifiers of the serving gateway respectively for connecting with the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

The second content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the serving gateway, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation tunnel endpoint identifiers of the second content distribution node respectively for connecting with the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway. This step and the last step may be executed at any time between the first step and the next step.

The serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Response message to the packet data network gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the second content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway.

The UE transmits a data visit request to the base station via the created user plane. The base station forwards the data visit request to the first content distribution node. The first content distribution node analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of the requested content and determines whether the first content distribution node stores the requested content according to the identifier.

If the first content distribution node stores the requested content, the content distribution node generates a data visit response, and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

If the first content distribution node does not store the requested content, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway. After receiving the data visit response and the requested content forwarded by the serving gateway, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

During the above procedure, if the first content distribution node does not store the requested content, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway which further forwards the data visit request to the second content distribution node.

The second content distribution node analyzes the data visit request to obtain the identifier of the requested content, and determines whether the second content distribution node stores the requested content.

If the second content distribution node stores the requested content, the second content distribution node generates a data visit response, and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the first content distribution node which further forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

If the second content distribution node does not store the requested content, the second content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway. After receiving the data visit response and the requested content forwarded by the packet data network gateway, the second content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway, and stores the requested content in the second content distribution node at the same time. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the first content distribution node which further forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

For the situation that both the first and the second content distribution nodes as shown in FIG. 6 are configured in the LTE network, it is also possible to create the user plane bearers on the first and second content distribution nodes and implement rapid content distribution according to the following method.

The mobility management entity transmits a Create Session Request message to the serving gateway (there may be other steps between this block and the last step, these steps are executed following the existing technique and are not described herein).

The serving gateway transmits a Create Session Response message to the mobility management entity, carrying a tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

The base station transmits a create data tunnel request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID, and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the base station respectively for connecting with the first content distribution node and the serving gateway.

The first content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the base station, carrying without limitation tunnel endpoint identifiers of the first content distribution node respectively for connecting with the base station and the serving gateway.

The base station transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

The mobility management entity transmits Modify Bearer Request to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the last step.

The serving gateway transmits a create data tunnel request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the serving gateway respectively for connecting with the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

The second content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the serving gateway, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation tunnel endpoint identifiers of the second content distribution node respectively for connecting with the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway. This step and the last step may be executed at any time after the serving gateway receives the Create Session Response message transmitted by the packet data network gateway and before the next step.

The serving gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Request to the packet data network gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the second content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway.

The content distribution node in the present disclosure is a node providing a content distribution service. The content distribution node may determine whether it stores the requested content according to the identifier of the content. The identifier of the content includes but is not limited to: a Universal Resource Locator identifier and a domain name or address of a destination host of the content corresponding to the data visit request.

The base station may obtain the address of the first content distribution node via any one of the following two manners.

In a first manner, the address is configured on the base station in advance.

In a second manner, the mobility management entity informs the base station of addresses of available content distribution nodes via a particular message. The particular message may include but is not limited to an S1 SETUP RESPONSE message or an MME CONFIGURATION UPDATE message. The message carries the addresses of the content distribution nodes available for the base station. Thus, the S1 SETUP RESPONSE message or the MME CONFIGURATION UPDATE message needs to be modified.

The serving gateway may obtain the address of the second content distribution node via any one of the following two manners.

In a first manner, the address is configured on the serving gateway in advance.

In a second manner, the mobility management entity informs the serving gateway of addresses of available content distribution nodes via a particular message. The particular message may include but is not limited to a CREATE SESSION REQUEST message or a CREATE BEARER RESPONSE message. The message includes the addresses of the content distribution nodes available for the serving gateway. Therefore, the CREATE SESSION REQUEST message or the CREATE BEARER RESPONSE message needs to be modified.

The main difference between the two different deployment scenarios as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 includes: under scenario A, after receiving the data visit request, the base station and/or the serving gateway analyzes the data visit request to obtain the identifier of the requested content, and transmits a content distribution request containing the identifier to the content distribution node connected with it; whereas under scenario B, the base station and the serving gateway forwards the data visit request to a next level node device according to the existing technique instead of analyzing the data visit request, and the content distribution node analyzes the received data visit request.

The technical solution of the present disclosure is described in further detail hereinafter with reference to some preferred embodiments, wherein embodiments 1 to 4 are based on the scenario A as shown in FIG. 3, and embodiments 5 to 16 are based on the scenario B as shown in FIG. 6.

Embodiment 1

This embodiment describes a situation that when the base station transmits the content distribution request to the first content distribution node, the first content distribution node stores the requested content. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following.

At block 901, the UE transmits a data visit request to the base station on the user plane.

At block 902, after receiving the data visit request from the UE, the base station analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of requested content instead of forwarding the data visit request to the serving gateway.

At block 903, the base station transmits a content distribution request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the content distribution request message carries without limitation the identifier of the requested content and a content receiving address of the base station.

At block 904, the first content distribution node transmits a content distribution response message to the base station, wherein the content distribution response message indicates that the first content distribution node stores the requested content.

At block 905, the first content distribution node transmits the requested content to the content receiving address received in block 903.

The first content distribution node may inform the base station that the transmission of the requested content is completed via any one of the following two manners. A first manner includes block 906a, in which the first content distribution node adds a designated tag to a last data packet of the requested content to indicate that the transmission is completed. A second manner includes block 906b, in which the first content distribution node transmits a content distribution complete message to the base station indicating that the transmission is completed.

At block 907, the base station generates a data visit response, transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the UE via the user plane, such that the UE regards that the received data visit response is from the requested destination host, so as to ensure normal operation of the service.

Embodiment 2

This embodiment describes a situation that when the base station transmits the content distribution request to the first content distribution node, the first content distribution node does not store the requested content. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following.

At block 1001, the UE transmits a data visit request to the base station on the user plane.

At block 1002, after receiving the data visit request from the UE, the base station analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of requested content instead of forwarding the data visit request to the serving gateway.

At block 1003, the base station transmits a content distribution request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the content distribution request message carries without limitation the identifier of the requested content and a content receiving address of the base station.

At block 1004, the first content distribution node transmits a content distribution response message to the base station, wherein the content distribution response message indicates that the first content distribution node does not store the requested content.

At block 1005, the base station forwards the data visit request of the UE to the serving gateway on the user plane according to an existing method.

At block 1006, the base station receives a data visit response and the requested content on the user plane.

At block 1007, the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE on the user plane.

Then the base station needs to transmit the requested content to the first content distribution node. The base station may obtain the content receiving address of the first content distribution node via any one of the following two manners.

In a first manner, the content receiving address is obtained via an interaction procedure as shown in

blocks

1008 and 1009. In the first manner, the content distribution response in block 1004 does not need to carry the content receiving address of the first content distribution node.

In a second manner, the content distribution response message in block 1004 carries the content receiving address of the first content distribution node. In the second manner, the following

blocks

1008 and 1009 are not required.

At block 1008, the base station transmits a content cache data request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the content cache data request message carries the identifier of the requested content.

At block 1009, the first content distribution node transmits a content cache data response message to the base station, wherein the content cache data response message carries the content receiving address of the first content distribution node.

At block 1010, the base station transmits the cached content to the content receiving address of the first content distribution node.

The base station may inform the first content distribution node that the transmission of the cached data is completed via any one of the following two manners. A first manner is as shown in block 1011a, in which the base station adds a designated tag to a last data packet of the cached content to indicate that the transmission is completed. A second manner includes block 1011b, in which the base station transmits a content cache complete message to the content distribution node indicating that the transmission is completed.

Embodiment 3

This embodiment describes a situation that when the serving gateway transmits the content distribution request to the second content distribution node, the second content distribution node stores the requested content. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following.

At block 1101, the base station forwards a data visit request of the UE to the serving gateway on the user plane.

At block 1102, after receiving the data visit request forwarded by the base station, the serving gateway analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of requested content instead of forwarding the data visit request to the packet data network gateway.

At block 1103, the serving gateway transmits a content distribution request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the content distribution request message carries without limitation the identifier of the requested content and a content receiving address of the serving gateway.

At block 1104, the second content distribution node transmits a content distribution response message to the serving gateway, wherein the content distribution response message indicates that the second content distribution node stores the requested content.

At block 1105, the second content distribution node transmits the requested content to the content receiving address received in block 1103.

The second content distribution node may inform the serving gateway that the transmission of the requested content is completed via any one of the following two manners. A first manner includes block 1106a, in which the second content distribution node adds a designated tag to a last data packet of the requested content to indicate that the transmission is completed. A second manner includes block 1106b, in which the second content distribution node transmits a content distribution complete message to the serving gateway indicating that the transmission is completed.

At block 1107, the serving gateway generates a data visit response, transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the base station via the user plane. The base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE on the user plane, such that the UE regards that the received data visit response is from the requested destination host, so as to ensure normal operation of the service.

Embodiment 4

This embodiment describes a situation that when the serving gateway transmits the content distribution request to the second content distribution node, the second content distribution node does not store the requested content. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following.

At block 1201, the base station forwards a data visit request of the UE to the serving gateway on the user plane.

At block 1202, after receiving the data visit request forwarded by the base station, the serving gateway analyzes the data visit request to obtain an identifier of requested content instead of forwarding the data visit request to the packet data network gateway.

At block 1203, the serving gateway transmits a content distribution request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the content distribution request message carries without limitation the identifier of the requested content and a content receiving address of the serving gateway.

At block 1204, the second content distribution node transmits a content distribution response message to the serving gateway, wherein the content distribution response message indicates that the second content distribution node does not store the requested content.

At block 1205, the serving gateway forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway on the user plane according to an existing method.

At block 1206, the serving gateway receives a data visit response and the requested content on the user plane.

At block 1207, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station on the user plane.

The serving gateway needs to transmit the requested content to the second content distribution node. The serving gateway may obtain the content receiving address of the second content distribution node via any one of the following two manners.

blocks

1208 and 1209. In the first manner, the content distribution response in block 1204 does not need to carry the content receiving address of the second content distribution node.

In a second manner, the content distribution response message in block 1204 carries the content receiving address of the second content distribution node. In the second manner, the following

blocks

1208 and 1209 are not required.

At block 1208, the serving gateway transmits a content cache data request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the content cache data request message carries the identifier of the requested content.

At block 1209, the second content distribution node transmits a content cache data response message to the serving gateway, wherein the content cache data response message carries the content receiving address of the second content distribution node.

At block 1210, the serving gateway transmits the cached content to the content receiving address of the second content distribution node.

The serving gateway may inform the second content distribution node that the transmission of the cached data is completed via any one of the following two manners. A first manner is as shown in block 1211a, in which the serving gateway adds a designated tag to a last data packet of the cached content to indicate that the transmission is completed. A second manner includes block 1211b, in which the serving gateway transmits a content cache complete message to the content distribution node indicating that the transmission is completed.

Embodiment 5

This embodiment describes a situation that after the user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway, the first content distribution node stores the requested content when receiving the data visit request. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

At block 1301, the serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

At block 1302, the mobility management entity transmits an Evolved Radio Access Bearer Setup Request (E-RAB SETUP REQUEST) message to the base station, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

At block 1303, the base station transmits a create data tunnel request message to a first content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the base station respectively for connecting with the first content distribution node and the serving gateway.

At block 1304, the first content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the base station, carrying without limitation the tunnel endpoint identifiers of the first content distribution node respectively for connecting with the base station and the serving gateway.

At block 1305, the base station transmits an E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution entity for connecting with the serving gateway.

At block 1306, the mobility management entity transmits a Create Bearer Response message to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

Thus, user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway.

At

blocks

1307 and 1308, the UE transmits a data visit request to the base station on the user plane, the base station forwards the data visit request to the first content distribution node.

At block 1309, the first content distribution node generates a data visit response and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the base station.

At block 1310, the base station forwards the data visit request and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 6

This embodiment describes a situation that after user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway, the first content distribution node does not store the requested content when receiving the data visit request. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes the following blocks.

Blocks 1401 to 1408 are similar to blocks 1301 to 1308 and are not repeated herein.

At block 1409, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway.

At block 1410, the serving gateway transmits a data visit response and the requested content to the first content distribution node.

At block 1411, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit request and the requested content to the base station, and stores the requested content in the first content distribution node at the same time.

At block 1412, the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 7

This embodiment describes a situation that after user plane connections are established respectively between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway, the second content distribution node stores the requested content when receiving a data visit request. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

At block 1501, the packet data network gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the packet data network gateway.

At block 1502, the serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Request message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway for connecting with the base station.

At block 1503, the mobility management entity transmits an E-RAB SETUP REQUEST message to the base station, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway for connecting with the base station.

At block 1504, the base station transmits an E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the base station.

At block 1505, the mobility management entity transmits a Create Bearer Response message to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the base station.

At block 1506, the serving gateway transmits a create data tunnel request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID, and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the serving gateway respectively for connecting with the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

At block 1507, the second content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the serving gateway, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation the tunnel endpoint identifiers of the second content distribution node respectively for connecting with the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway.

At block 1508, the serving gateway transmits a Create Bearer Response message to the packet data network gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the second content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway.

Thus the user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the serving gateway, between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node, and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

At blocks 1509 to 1511, the UE transmits a data visit request to the base station on the user plane, the base station forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway which further forwards the data visit request to the second content distribution node.

At block 1512, the second content distribution node generates a data visit response and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway.

At blocks 1513 to 1514, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station and the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 8

This embodiment describes a situation that after user plane connections are respectively established between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node, and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway (a user plane connection is also established between the base station and the serving gateway), the content distribution node does not store the requested content when receiving a data visit request. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

Blocks 1601 to 1611 are similar to blocks 1501 to 1511 in embodiment 3 and are not repeated herein.

At block 1612, the second content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway.

At block 1613, the packet data network gateway transmits a data visit response and the requested content to the second content distribution node.

At block 1614, the second content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway, and stores the requested content in the second content distribution node at the same time.

At blocks 1615 to 1616, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station, and the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 9

This embodiment describes another situation that after user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway, the first content distribution node stores the requested content when receiving a data visit request. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

At block 1701, the base station transmits an INITIAL UE MESSAGE to the mobility management entity.

At block 1702, the mobility management entity transmits a Create Session Request message to the serving gateway.

At block 1703, the serving gateway transmits a Create Session Response message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

At block 1704, the mobility management entity transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to the base station, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

At block 1705, the base station transmits a create data tunnel request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID, and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the base station respectively for connecting with the first content distribution node and the serving gateway.

At block 1706, the first content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the base station, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation the tunnel endpoint identifiers of the first content distribution node respectively for connecting with the base station and the serving gateway.

At block 1707, the base station transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

At block 1708, the mobility management entity transmits a Modify Session Request message to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the first content distribution node for connecting with the serving gateway.

At block 1709, the serving gateway transmits a Modify Session Response message to the mobility management entity.

Thus, the user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the first content distribution node, and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway.

At

blocks

1710 and 1711, the UE transmits a data visit request to the base station on the user plane, the base station forwards the data visit request to the first content distribution node.

At block 1712, the first content distribution node generates a data visit response and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the base station.

At block 1713, the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 10

This embodiment describes another situation that after user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway, the first content distribution node does not store the requested content when receiving a data visit request. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

Blocks 1801 to 1811 are similar to blocks 1701 to 1711 and are not repeated herein.

At block 1812, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway.

At block 1813, the serving gateway transmits a data visit response and the requested content to the first content distribution node.

At block 1814, the first content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station, and stores the requested content in the first content distribution node at the same time.

At block 1815, the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 11

This embodiment describes another situation that after use plane connections are respectively established between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node, and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway (a user plane connection is also created between the base station and the serving gateway), the second content distribution node stores the requested content when receiving a data visit request. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

At block 1901, the base station transmits an INITIAL UE MESSAGE to the mobility management entity.

At block 1902, the mobility management entity transmits a Create Session Request message to the serving gateway.

At block 1903, the serving gateway transmits a Create Session Request message to the packet data network gateway.

At block 1904, the packet data network gateway transmits a Create Session Response message to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the packet data network gateway.

At block 1905, the serving gateway transmits a Create Session Response message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

At block 1906, the mobility management entity transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST to the base station, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the serving gateway.

At block 1907, the base station transmits an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the mobility management entity, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the base station.

At block 1908, the mobility management entity transmits a Modify Bearer Request to the serving gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the base station.

At block 1909, the serving gateway transmits a create data tunnel request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the create data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier, a bearer ID and tunnel endpoint identifiers of the serving gateway respectively for connecting with the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

At block 1910, the second content distribution node transmits a create data tunnel response message to the serving gateway, wherein the create data tunnel response message carries without limitation the tunnel endpoint identifiers of the second content distribution node respectively for connecting with the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway.

At block 1911, the serving gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Request to the packet data network gateway, carrying the tunnel endpoint identifier of the second content distribution node for connecting with the packet data network gateway.

At blocks 1912 to 1913, the packet data network gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Response to the serving gateway. The serving gateway transmits a Modify Bearer Response to the mobility management entity.

Thus, user plane connections are respectively established between the base station and the serving gateway, between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node, and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway.

At blocks 1914 to 1916, the UE transmits a data visit request to the base station, the base station forwards the data visit request to the serving gateway, and the serving gateway forwards the data visit request to the second content distribution node.

At block 1917, the second content distribution node generates a data visit response, and transmits the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway.

At blocks 1918 to 1919, the serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station, and the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 12

This embodiment describes another situation that after user plane connections are respectively established between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node, and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway (a user plane connection is also created between the base station and the serving gateway), the second content distribution node does not store the requested content when receiving a data visit request. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a twelfth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

Blocks 2001 to 2016 are similar to blocks 1901 to 1916 in embodiment 11.

At block 2017, the second content distribution node forwards the data visit request to the packet data network gateway.

At block 2018, the packet data network gateway transmits a data visit response and requested content to the second content distribution node.

At blocks 2019 to 2021, the second content distribution node forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the serving gateway. The serving gateway forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the base station, and the base station forwards the data visit response and the requested content to the UE.

Embodiment 13

This embodiment describes a situation that the connections between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway are deleted. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating a thirteenth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

At blocks 2101 to 2102, the packet data network gateway transmits a Delete Bearer Request to the serving gateway, and the serving gateway transmits the Delete Bearer Request to the mobility management entity.

At block 2103, the mobility management entity transmits an E-RAB RELEASE COMMAND message to the base station.

At block 2104, the base station transmits a delete data tunnel request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the delete data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier and a bearer ID of the bearer to be deleted.

At block 2105, the first content distribution node transmits a delete data tunnel response message to the base station.

At block 2106, the base station transmits an E-RAB RELEASE RESPONSE to the mobility management entity.

At blocks 2107 to 2108, the mobility management entity transmits a Delete Bearer Response message to the serving entity, and the serving gateway transmits a Delete Bearer Response message to the packet data network gateway.

Embodiment 14

This embodiment describes a situation that the connections between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway are deleted. FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fourteenth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

Blocks 2201 to 2203 are similar to blocks 2101 to 2103 in embodiment 13.

At block 2204, the base station transmits an E-RAB RELEASE RESPONSE to the mobility management entity.

At block 2205, the mobility management entity transmits a Delete Bearer Response message to the serving gateway.

At block 2206, the serving gateway transmits a delete data tunnel request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the delete data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier and a bearer ID of the bearer to be deleted.

At block 2207, the second content distribution node transmits a delete data tunnel request response message to the serving gateway.

At block 2208, the serving gateway transmits a Delete Bearer Response message to the packet data network gateway.

Embodiment 15

This embodiment describes another situation that the connections between the base station and the first content distribution node and between the first content distribution node and the serving gateway are deleted. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fifteenth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

At block 2301, the mobility management entity transmits a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message to the base station.

At block 2302, the base station transmits a delete data tunnel request message to the first content distribution node, wherein the delete data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier and a bearer ID of the bearer to be deleted.

At block 2303, the first content distribution node transmits a delete data tunnel response message to the base station.

At block 2304, the base station transmits a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE to the mobility management entity.

Embodiment 16

This embodiment describes a situation that the connections between the serving gateway and the second content distribution node and between the second content distribution node and the packet data network gateway are deleted. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sixteenth embodiment of the present disclosure. It includes the following.

At block 2401, the mobility management entity transmits a Delete Session Request message to the serving gateway.

At block 2402, the serving gateway transmits a Delete Session Request message to the packet data network gateway.

At block 2403, the packet data network gateway transmits a Delete Session Response message to the serving gateway.

At block 2404, the serving gateway transmits a delete data tunnel request message to the second content distribution node, wherein the delete data tunnel request message carries without limitation a UE identifier and a bearer ID of the bearer to be deleted.

At block 2405, the second content distribution node transmits a delete data tunnel request response message to the serving gateway.

At block 2406, the serving gateway transmits a Delete Session Response message to the mobility management entity.

In accordance with the above methods, the present disclosure further provides corresponding apparatuses. Hereinafter, description is given with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus includes: a message forwarding module and a data processing module; wherein

the message forwarding module is adapted to analyze a received data visit request, generate a corresponding content distribution request and transmit the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the apparatus;

the data processing module is adapted to return requested content to a transmitter of the data visit request if receiving the requested content from the content distribution node; and forward the data visit request to a next level node device, receive the requested content from the next level node device and return the requested content to the transmitter of the data visit request if otherwise;

wherein the apparatus includes: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a content distribution node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The content distribution node includes: a message processing module and a content distributing module; wherein

the message processing module is adapted to receive a content distribution request from a device connected with the content distribution node, determine whether the content distribution node stores requested content, and return a content distribution response to the device; wherein the content distribution response carries an information element indicating whether the content distribution node stores the requested content; and

the content distributing module is adapted to return the requested content to the device if the content distribution node stores the requested content.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in the LTE network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus includes: a message forwarding module and a data processing module; wherein

the message forwarding module is adapted to transmit a received data visit request to a content distribution node connected with the apparatus;

the data processing module is adapted to receive requested content from the content distribution node, and return the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the content is stored in the content distribution node or is obtained by the content distribution node from a next level node device;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a content distribution node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The content distribution node includes: a communication module and a content distributing module;

the communication module is adapted to receive a data visit request from a first device connected with the content distribution node;

the content distributing module is adapted to transmit requested content to the first device if the content distribution device stores the requested content, and the communication module is adapted to forward the data visit request to a second device connected with the content distribution node if otherwise, and receive the requested content from the second device, the content distributing module is further adapted to transmit the content to the first device.

The foregoing descriptions are only preferred embodiments of this disclosure and are not for use in limiting the protection scope thereof. Any changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this disclosure and therefore should be covered within the protection scope as set by the appended claims.

Claims

A method for implementing rapid content distribution in a Long-Term Evolution LTE network, comprising:

analyzing, by a device, a received data visit request, generating a corresponding content distribution request and transmitting the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the device;

if the device receives requested content from the content distribution node, returning by the device the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; otherwise, forwarding by the device the data visit request to a next level node device, and receive the content from the next level node device, returning the content to the transmitter of the data visit request;

wherein the device comprises: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.
The method of claim 1, wherein the device analyzes the received data visit request to obtain an identifier of the requested content, and transmits the content distribution request carrying the identifier to the content distribution node connected with the device.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving by the device a content distribution response from the content distribution node connected with the device, wherein the content distribution response carries an information element indicating whether the content distribution node stores the requested content.
The method of claim 3, wherein the content distribution request and the content distribution response are GPRS Tunnel Protocol GTP messages.
The method of claim 4, wherein after the device receives the requested content from the next level node device, the method further comprises: transmitting the requested content to the content distribution node connected with the device for storage.
The method of claim 4, wherein the device obtains an address of the content distribution node connected with the device by: configuring addresses of available content distribution nodes in advance; or, receiving by the device from a mobility management entity a message to obtain addresses of available content distribution nodes.
The method of claim 6, wherein for the base station, the message received from the mobility management entity comprises: an S1 SETUP RESPONSE message or an MME CONFIGURATION UPDATE message;

for the serving gateway, the message received from the mobility management entity comprises: a CREATE SESSION REQUEST message or a CREATE BEARER RESPONSE message.
An apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, comprising: a message processing module and a data processing module; wherein the message processing module is adapted to analyze a received data visit request, generate a corresponding content distribution request and transmit the content distribution request to a content distribution node connected with the apparatus;

the data processing module is adapted to return requested content to a transmitter of the data visit request if receiving the requested content from the content distribution node; and forward the data visit request to a next level node device, receive the requested content from the next level node device and return the requested content to the transmitter of the data visit request if otherwise;

wherein the apparatus includes: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.
An apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, the apparatus is configured to determine by one method of claim 2 to claim 6.
A method for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, comprising:

transmitting, by a device, a received data visit request to a content distribution node connected with the device;

receiving by the device requested content from the content distribution node, and returning the content to a transmitter of the data visit request; wherein the content is stored in the content distribution node, or is obtained by the content distribution node from a next level node device;

wherein the device comprises: a base station and/or a serving gateway; for the base station, the next level node device is the serving gateway; for the serving gateway, the next level node device is a packet data network gateway.
The method of claim 10, further comprising:

creating a user plane connection respectively between the device and the content distribution node, and between the content distribution node and the next level node device.
The method of claim 11, wherein the device obtains an address of the content distribution node connected with the device by: configuring addresses of available content distribution nodes in advance; or, receiving by the device from a mobility management entity a message to obtain addresses of available content distribution nodes.
The method of claim 12, wherein

for the base station, the message received from the mobility management entity comprises: an S1 SETUP RESPONSE message or an MME CONFIGURATION UPDATE message;

for the serving gateway, the message received from the mobility management entity comprises: a CREATE SESSION REQUEST message or a CREATE BEARER RESPONSE message.
An apparatus for implementing rapid content distribution in an LTE network, is configured to determine by one method of claim 10 to claim 13.