WO2017004773A1

WO2017004773A1 - Communication method and communication apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2017004773A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/083376
Authority: WO
Inventors: 时晓岩; 张万强; 黄正磊
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2015-07-06
Filing date: 2015-07-06
Publication date: 2017-01-12
Also published as: CN111010733B; CN106507700A; CN111010733A; CN106507700B

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method and a communication apparatus. The communication method comprises: receiving a notification message sent by a serving gateway, the notification message carrying indication information of downlink data packets to be sent by the serving gateway to a user equipment; in a case in which the user equipment is unreachable, determining cache durations of the downlink data packets according to the indication information; and sending a confirmation message to the serving gateway, the confirmation message carrying the cache durations, so that the gateway temporarily stores, according to the cache durations, all downlink data packets that are corresponding to the indication information and that are to be sent to the user equipment. In the embodiments of the present invention, cache durations are determined according to indication information of downlink data packets, and a serving gateway is informed of the cache durations, so that the gateway can cache different downlink data packets according to different cache durations, and the cache use efficiency of the serving gateway can be improved.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method and communication device.

Background technique

In the Evolved Packet System ("EPS"), if there is no data transmission for a long time, the user equipment (User Equipment, referred to as "UE") enters the idle state (Idle). In this state, when the EPS network receives the downlink data packet or signaling of the user, the EPS network initiates a network side trigger service request process, in which the mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, referred to as "MME") The paging is initiated in the tracking area where the current user equipment is located, and the user equipment forwards to the connected state (Connected) to receive data or signaling in response to the paging of the MME.

However, due to the temporary interruption of the wireless signal, or the power saving mode ("PSM") and the long-term discontinuous reception (DRX) of the UE are enabled, the power saving function will be caused. The UE cannot respond to the paging of the network in time. At this point, the service application will continuously retransmit the data, thereby increasing the load and paging overhead of the core network element.

To avoid this problem, the MME may instruct the serving gateway (Serving Gateway, referred to as "S-GW") to buffer the downlink data packet of the delay tolerant service, and then send the buffered data to the UE when the UE is reachable. The MME may determine the buffer duration T of the downlink data packet based on the access point name (Access Point Name, "APN"), the subscription information of the UE, or the local configuration, and notify the S-GW. The S-GW buffers the downlink data packet of the UE in the duration T according to the indication of the MME. When the timer T times out, the S-GW can discard the cached data packets.

Since the buffer duration T of the downlink data packet is for each UE, that is, all downlink data packets of the same UE adopt the same cache duration T, such setting of the buffer duration T will cause the gateway to buffer unnecessary services. Data, which reduces the efficiency of the gateway's cache usage.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and a communication device, which can cache different downlink data packets according to different buffer durations, thereby improving the cache usage efficiency of the gateway.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: receiving a notification message sent by a service gateway, The notification message carries the indication information of the downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the user equipment; and when it is determined that the user equipment is unreachable, determining the buffer duration of the downlink data packet according to the indication information; The service gateway sends an acknowledgment message, and the acknowledgment message carries the cache duration, so that the serving gateway caches all downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the indication information according to the cache duration.

In conjunction with the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the confirmation message further carries the indication information.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information is used to indicate a service type of the downlink data packet.

In conjunction with the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information is used to indicate a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet.

With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the downlink data packet is downlink signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate the The signaling type of downlink signaling.

A second aspect provides a communication method, including: receiving a first downlink data packet to be sent to a user equipment; and sending a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where the first notification message carries the first Receiving the first indication information of the data packet; receiving an acknowledgment message sent by the mobility management entity, where the acknowledgment message carries a buffer duration; and buffering, according to the cache duration, all the corresponding information corresponding to the first indication information to be sent to the user The downstream packet of the device.

In conjunction with the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first notification message further carries the first indication information.

With reference to the second aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate a service of the first downlink data packet a type, a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or a bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet, where all the corresponding to the first indication information are cached according to the cache duration The downlink data packet of the device includes: starting a timer; receiving a second downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment; determining a service type of the second downlink data packet and a service type of the first downlink data packet The signaling type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or the bearer corresponding to the second downlink data packet is a bearer corresponding to the first data packet. The same; if the duration of the timer does not exceed the buffer duration, the second downlink data packet is buffered.

With reference to the second aspect or the first or second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a third downlink to be sent to the user equipment Determining, that the service type of the third downlink data packet is different from the service type of the first downlink data packet, or signaling type of the third downlink data packet and signaling of the first downlink data packet Different types, or the bearer identifier corresponding to the third downlink data packet is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet; discarding the third downlink data packet; or sending the first to the mobility management entity And a second notification message, where the second notification message carries the second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity determines, according to the second indication information, a buffer duration of the third downlink data packet.

A third aspect provides a communication apparatus, including: a receiving unit, configured to receive a notification message sent by a serving gateway, where the notification message carries indication information of a downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the user equipment; And determining, in the case that the user equipment is unreachable, determining, according to the indication information, a buffering duration of the downlink data packet; the sending unit, configured to send an acknowledgement message to the serving gateway, where the acknowledgement message carries The cache duration is described, so that the serving gateway caches all downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the indication information according to the cache duration.

In conjunction with the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the confirmation message further carries the indication information.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the indication information is used to indicate a service type of the downlink data packet.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the indication information is used to indicate a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the downlink data packet is downlink signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate the The signaling type of downlink signaling.

A fourth aspect provides a communication apparatus, including: a receiving unit, configured to receive a first downlink data packet to be sent to a user equipment, and a sending unit, configured to send a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where The first notification message carries the first indication information of the first downlink data packet; the receiving unit is further configured to receive an acknowledgement message sent by the mobility management entity, where the acknowledgement message carries a buffer duration; a cache unit, And all the downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the first indication information are buffered according to the buffer duration.

In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first notification message further carries the first indication information.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate a service of the first downlink data packet a type, a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or a bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet, the communication device further includes: a timer and a first processing unit, where the timer is used for timing; The first processing unit is configured to start the timer after the receiving unit receives the acknowledgement message; the receiving unit is further configured to receive a second downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment, where the first The processing unit is further configured to: determine that the service type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the service type of the first downlink data packet, or the signaling type of the second downlink data packet and the first downlink The signaling type of the data packet is the same, or the bearer corresponding to the second downlink data packet is the same as the bearer corresponding to the first data packet; the buffer unit is specifically configured to: when the duration of the timer does not exceed Cache time In a case, said second downlink data packet buffer.

In combination with the fourth aspect or the first or second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving unit is further configured to receive, to be sent to the user a third downlink data packet of the device; the communication device further includes: a second processing unit, configured to determine that a service type of the third downlink data packet is different from a service type of the first downlink data packet, or a third The signaling type of the downlink data packet is different from the signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or the bearer identifier corresponding to the third downlink data packet is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet; The second processing unit is further configured to: discard the third downlink data packet; or the sending unit is further configured to send a second notification message to the mobility management entity, where the second notification message carries the a second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity determines, according to the second indication information, a buffer duration of the third downlink data packet.

Based on the foregoing technical solution, the embodiment of the present invention determines the buffer duration according to the indication information of the downlink data packet, and notifies the serving gateway of the buffer duration, so that the serving gateway can buffer different downlink data packets according to different buffer durations, thereby improving the service gateway. Cache usage efficiency.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings to be used in the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, One of ordinary skill in the art, without creative labor Further drawings can also be obtained from these drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart of a communication device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a schematic flow chart of a communication device in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

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

It should be understood that the technical solution of the present invention can be applied to an Evolved Packet System ("EPS"), and can also be applied to other various communication systems, for example, Global System of Mobile communication (referred to as: "GSM") system, Code Division Multiple Access ("CDMA") system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (General) Packet Radio Service (referred to as "GPRS"), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (Time) Division Duplex (referred to as "TDD"), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System ("UMTS").

It should also be understood that in the embodiment of the present invention, a user equipment (User Equipment, referred to as "UE") may also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile terminal (Mobile Terminal), a mobile station (Mobile Station, abbreviated as "MS"), and the like. . The user equipment UE can pass through a radio access network (Radio Access Network, Referred to as "RAN" for example, it communicates with one or more core networks. Specifically, for example, the user equipment UE may be a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal, and may also be a portable, pocket, handheld, computer built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which The radio access network RAN exchanges languages and/or data. In addition, the user equipment UE may also be an MTC device such as a sensor. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the mobile device UE may also be a mobile relay device, such as an access point (AP).

The terms "first", "second" and "third" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings are used to distinguish different objects, and are not intended to describe a particular order. Moreover, the terms "include" and "have" are not exclusive. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that comprises a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, and may include steps or units not listed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The communication method 100 can be performed by a Mobility Management Entity (MME). It should be understood that the communication method 100 of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to being executed by the MME, and may also be performed by other functional entities having the mobility management entity function. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication method 100 includes the following.

110. Receive a notification message sent by the serving gateway, where the notification message carries indication information of a downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the UE.

For example, the notification message may be a Downlink Data Notification (DDN) message. It should be understood that the notification message may also be other notification messages, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present invention.

120. Determine, when the UE is unreachable, determine, according to the indication information, a buffer duration of the downlink data packet.

For example, when the UE enables the power saving function such as PSM or long-period DRX, or the wireless signal is interrupted, so that the UE cannot receive downlink data, it is called UE unreachable. Correspondingly, the state in which the UE can receive downlink data is called UE reachable.

For example, the MME may determine whether the UE is reachable according to the stored state information of the UE.

130. Send an acknowledgment message to the SGW, where the acknowledgment message carries a buffer duration, so that the serving gateway caches all downlink data packets to be sent to the UE corresponding to the indication information according to the buffer duration.

For example, the acknowledgement message may be a Downlink Data Notification Acknowledgment ("DDNA") message. It should be understood that the confirmation message may also be Other confirmation messages are not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

Since different services or applications have different delay requirements for data packets, for services or applications with low latency requirements (such as real-time services), the service gateway long-term buffer data packets are unnecessary, and the gateway is also reduced. Cache usage efficiency.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the cache duration is determined according to the indication information of the downlink data packet, and the service gateway is notified of the buffer duration, so that the service gateway can buffer different downlink data packets according to different cache durations, thereby improving the service gateway. Cache usage efficiency.

Optionally, the acknowledgement message also carries the indication information.

Optionally, the indication information is used to indicate a service type of the downlink data packet.

Optionally, the indication information is used to indicate a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet. For example, the indication information is an identifier of a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet. The bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet may be an EPS bearer.

Correspondingly, in step 120, determining, according to the indication information, a buffer duration of the downlink data packet includes:

Determining the quality of service (Quality of Service, referred to as "QoS") of the bearer;

The buffer duration of the downlink packet corresponding to the bearer is determined according to the QoS.

Optionally, the downlink data packet is downlink signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate a signaling type of the downlink signaling.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the cache duration is determined according to the indication information of the downlink data packet, and the service gateway is notified of the cache duration, so that the service gateway can buffer different downlink data packets according to different cache durations, thereby improving the cache usage of the service gateway. effectiveness.

2 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 200 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Method 200 can be performed by a Serving Gateway (S-GW). It should be understood that the communication method 200 of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to being executed by the S-GW, but may also be performed by other functional entities having the service gateway function. As shown in FIG. 2, method 200 includes the following.

210. Receive a first downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment UE.

For example, the first downlink data packet may be sent by a Packet Data Network ("PDN") gateway (Gateway).

220. Send a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where the first notification message carries the first indication information of the first downlink data packet.

For example, the first notification message can be the first DDN message.

230. Receive an acknowledgement message sent by the mobility management entity, and confirm that the message carries a cache duration.

For example, the confirmation message can be a DDNA message.

240. All the downlink data packets to be sent to the UE corresponding to the first indication information are buffered according to the buffer duration.

It should be understood that all downlink data packets to be sent to the UE corresponding to the first indication information include: a first downlink data packet, and all downlinks of the UE corresponding to the first indication information received by the serving gateway in the buffering duration. data pack.

For example, the cache duration of the service acknowledgment message may be the cache duration of all downlink data packets to be sent to the UE corresponding to the first indication information carried in the notification message sent by the service gateway.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by receiving the buffer duration sent by the mobility management entity, and buffering the corresponding downlink data packet according to the buffer duration, different downlink data packets can be buffered according to different buffer durations, thereby improving the cache usage of the service gateway. effectiveness.

Optionally, the acknowledgement message may further carry the first indication information.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the type of the first downlink data packet. For example, the first downlink data packet may include service data, and may further include downlink signaling.

The first indication information may be used to indicate a service type of the first downlink data packet, or a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or a bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet.

The signaling type may include creating a bearer request, modifying a bearer request, or deleting a bearer request. The bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet may be an EPS bearer.

When the indication information is used to indicate the bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet, the indication information may be an identifier of the bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet.

Optionally, step 240 includes:

Start the timer;

Receiving a second downlink data packet to be sent to the UE;

Determining that the service type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the service type of the first downlink data packet, or that the signaling type of the second downlink data packet is the same as that of the first downlink data packet, or the second downlink data packet The corresponding bearer is the same as the bearer corresponding to the first data packet;

The second downlink data packet is buffered if the duration of the timer does not exceed the buffer duration.

Correspondingly, in the case where the duration of the timer exceeds the buffer duration, the second downlink data packet can be discarded.

Optionally, the method 200 may further include: the duration of the timer exceeds the duration of the cache All the downlink data packets to be sent to the UE corresponding to the cached first indication information are discarded.

Optionally, the method 200 may further include:

Receiving a third downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

Determining that the service type of the third downlink data packet is different from the service type of the first downlink data packet, or that the signaling type of the third downlink data packet is different from the signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or the third downlink data packet The corresponding bearer identifier is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet;

Discard the third downlink data packet; or,

Sending a second notification message to the mobility management entity, where the second notification message carries the second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity determines the buffer duration of the third downlink data packet according to the second indication information.

After the second notification message is sent to the mobility management entity, the mobility management entity may further determine, according to the UE that the UE is unreachable, the cache duration of all downlink data packets to be sent to the UE corresponding to the second indication information. For details, refer to the method 100, and details are not described herein again.

For example, when the third downlink data packet is a real-time service, the third downlink data packet may be directly discarded. When the third downlink data packet is a delay tolerant service, the third downlink notification message may be sent to the mobility management entity.

A communication method 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a communication method 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Method 300 includes the following.

301: When the UE is in an idle state, and the S-GW receives the downlink data packet of the UE sent by the PDN gateway, the S-GW sends a DDN message to the MME, where the DDN message carries the indication information of the service type of the downlink data packet.

302. When determining that the UE is unreachable (such as the PSM and the long-period DRX enabled by the UE), the MME determines to buffer the downlink data packet of the UE, and determines the buffer duration T according to the service type.

303. The MME sends a DDNA message to the S-GW, where the DDNA message carries a buffer duration T. Optionally, the DDNA message may further carry indication information indicating a service type of the downlink data packet.

304. The S-GW starts a timer according to the received DDNA message. If the S-GW receives the downlink data packet corresponding to the service type of the UE, the S-GW caches the downlink data packet, and if the S-GW receives the downlink data packet of other service types of the UE, The downlink data packet of the other service type is discarded or a new DDN message is triggered. If the timer expires, the S-GW does not cache the downlink data packet of the service type of the UE.

4 is a schematic flow diagram of a communication method 400 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Method 400 includes the following.

401. When the UE is in an idle state, and the S-GW receives the downlink data packet of the UE sent by the P-GW, the S-GW sends a DDN message to the MME, where the DDN message carries an EPS bearer identifier (such as an EPS bearer ID). .

402. When determining that the UE is unreachable (such as the PSM and the long-period DRX enabled by the UE), the MME determines to buffer the downlink data packet of the UE, and determines the QoS of the EPS bearer according to the EPS bearer identifier, and determines the buffer duration T according to the QoS.

403. The MME sends a DDNA message to the S-GW, where the DDNA message carries a buffer duration T. Optionally, the EPS bearer identifier may also be carried in the DDNA message.

404. The S-GW starts a timer according to the received DDNA message. If the S-GW receives the downlink data packet corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier of the UE before the timer expires, the downlink data packet is buffered; if the S-GW receives the downlink data corresponding to the other EPS bearer of the UE, In the case of a packet, the downlink packet of the other EPS bearer is discarded or a new DDN message is triggered. If the timer expires, the S-GW does not cache the downlink data packet corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier of the UE.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 500 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Method 500 includes the following.

501. When the UE is in an idle state, and the S-GW receives the downlink signaling, such as the “create/modify/delete bearer request” sent by the P-GW, the S-GW sends a DDN message to the MME, where the DDN message is sent. A signaling indication indicating a signaling type of the downlink signaling is carried.

502. When determining that the UE is unreachable (such as the PSM and the long-period DRX enabled by the UE), the MME determines to buffer the downlink signaling of the UE, and determines the buffer duration T according to the signaling indication.

503. The MME sends a DDNA message to the S-GW, where the DDNA message carries a buffer duration T. Optionally, the DDNA message may further carry a signaling indication for indicating the signaling type.

505. The S-GW starts a timer according to the received DDNA message. If the S-GW receives the downlink signaling corresponding to the signaling type of the UE before the timer expires, the downlink signaling is buffered; If the S-GW receives the downlink signaling corresponding to the other signaling types of the UE, the downlink signaling corresponding to the other signaling types is discarded or a new DDN message is triggered. If the timer expires, the S-GW does not cache the downlink signaling of the UE.

The communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention is described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. Hereinafter, a communication apparatus and a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 through 11.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication device 600 includes a receiving unit 610, a processing unit 620, and a transmitting unit 630.

The receiving unit 610 is configured to receive a notification message sent by the serving gateway, where the notification message carries indication information of a downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the user equipment.

The processing unit 620 is configured to determine, according to the indication information, a buffer duration of the downlink data packet, if it is determined that the user equipment is unreachable.

The sending unit 630 is configured to send an acknowledgment message to the serving gateway, and the acknowledgment message carries the buffering duration, so that the serving gateway caches all the downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the buffering time indication information.

Optionally, the indication information is used to indicate a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet.

Correspondingly, the processing unit 620 is specifically configured to:

Determine the QoS of the bearer;

The cache duration of the downlink packet corresponding to the bearer is determined according to the QoS.

Optionally, the communication device 600 is an MME.

It should be understood that the communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention may correspond to an execution body (eg, mobility management entity) of the communication method 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the communication device 600 The above and other operations and/or functions of the respective modules/units are respectively implemented in order to implement the corresponding processes of the method 100 shown in FIG. 1. For brevity, no further details are provided herein.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication device 700 includes a receiving unit 710, a transmitting unit 720, and a buffer unit 730.

The receiving unit 710 is configured to receive a first downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment.

The sending unit 720 is configured to send a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where the first notification message carries the first indication information of the first downlink data packet.

The receiving unit 710 is further configured to receive an acknowledgement message sent by the mobility management entity, and confirm that the message carries a buffer duration.

The buffer unit 730 is configured to cache all downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the first indication information according to the buffer duration.

Optionally, the first notification message further carries the first indication information.

Optionally, the first indication information is used to indicate a service type of the first downlink data packet, a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or a bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet, as shown in FIG. The 700 also includes a timer 740 and a first processing unit 750.

Timer 740 is used for timing;

The first processing unit 750 is configured to start the timer 740 after the receiving unit 710 receives the confirmation message;

The receiving unit 710 is further configured to receive a second downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment.

The first processing unit 750 is further configured to: determine that the service type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the service type of the first downlink data packet, or the signaling type of the second downlink data packet and the signaling of the first downlink data packet. The type is the same, or the bearer corresponding to the second downlink data packet is the same as the bearer corresponding to the first data packet;

The buffer unit 730 is specifically configured to cache the second downlink data packet if the duration of the timer 740 does not exceed the buffer duration.

Optionally, the first processing unit 750 is further configured to discard the second downlink data packet if the duration of the timer 740 exceeds the buffer duration.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 9, the communication device 700 further includes: a second processing unit 760.

The receiving unit 710 is further configured to receive a third downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

The processing unit 760 is configured to determine that the service type of the third downlink data packet is different from the service type of the first downlink data packet, or the signaling type of the third downlink data packet is different from the signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or The bearer identifier corresponding to the third downlink data packet is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet;

The second processing unit 760 is further configured to discard the third downlink data packet; or

The sending unit 720 is further configured to send a second notification message to the mobility management entity, where the second notification message carries the second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity determines the third downlink data packet according to the second indication information. The length of the cache.

Optionally, the communication device 700 is an S-GW.

It should be understood that communication device 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may correspond to an executive body (e.g., a serving gateway) of communication method 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and that the above and other operations and/or operations of various modules/units of communication device 700 The functions are respectively implemented in order to implement the corresponding processes of the method 200 shown in FIG. 2, and are not described herein for brevity.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1000 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, a bus system 1030, and a transceiver 1040. The processor 1010, the memory 1020, and the transceiver 1040 are connected by a bus system 1030 for storing instructions, and the processor 1010 is configured to execute the instructions stored by the memory 1020.

The transceiver 1040 is configured to receive the notification message sent by the serving gateway, where the notification message carries the indication information of the downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the user equipment.

The processor 1010 is configured to determine, according to the indication information, a buffer duration of the downlink data packet, if the user equipment is determined to be unreachable;

The transceiver 1040 is further configured to send an acknowledgement message to the serving gateway, and confirm that the message carries a buffer duration, so that the serving gateway sends all the information to be sent to the user equipment according to the buffer duration indication information. Downstream packet.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the processor 1010 may be a central processing unit ("CPU"), and the processor 1010 may also be other general-purpose processors and digital signal processors (Digital Signal). Processing, referred to as "DSP"), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, Discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor or any conventional processor or the like.

The memory 1020 can include read only memory and random access memory and provides instructions and data to the processor 1010. A portion of the memory 1020 may also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory 1020 can also store information of the device type.

The bus system 1030 may include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, and the like in addition to the data bus. However, for clarity of description, various buses are labeled as the bus system 1030 in the figure.

In the implementation process, each step of the foregoing method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 1010 or an instruction in a form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented as a hardware processor, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can be located in a conventional storage medium such as random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, and the like. The storage medium is located in the memory 1020, and the processor 1010 reads the information in the memory 1020 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

Correspondingly, the processor 1010 is specifically configured to:

Determine the quality of service QoS of the bearer;

Optionally, the downlink data packet is downlink signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate signaling signaling of downlink signaling. type.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 is an MME.

It is to be understood that the communication device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention may correspond to an execution body (e.g., mobility management entity) of the communication method 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the communication device 1000 The above and other operations and/or functions of the respective modules/units are respectively implemented in order to implement the corresponding processes of the method 100 shown in FIG. 1. For brevity, no further details are provided herein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1100 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120, a bus system 1130, and a transceiver 1140. The processor 1110, the memory 1120, and the transceiver 1140 are connected by a bus system 1130 for storing instructions for executing instructions stored by the memory 1120.

The transceiver 1140 is configured to: receive a first downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment, and send a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where the first notification message carries the first indication information of the first downlink data packet; The confirmation message sent by the sex management entity confirms that the message carries the buffer duration.

The memory 1120 is further configured to cache all downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the first indication information according to the buffer duration.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the processor 1110 may be a central processing unit ("CPU"), and the processor 1110 may also be other general-purpose processors and digital signal processors (Digital Signal). Processing, referred to as "DSP"), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, Discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor or any conventional processor or the like.

The memory 1120 can include a read only memory and a random access memory, and is directed to the processor 1110. Provide instructions and data. A portion of the memory 1120 can also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory 1120 can also store information of the device type.

The bus system 1130 may include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, and the like in addition to the data bus. However, for clarity of description, various buses are labeled as bus system 1130 in the figure.

In the implementation process, each step of the foregoing method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 1110 or an instruction in a form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented as a hardware processor, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can be located in a conventional storage medium such as random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, and the like. The storage medium is located in the memory 1120, and the processor 1110 reads the information in the memory 1120 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

Optionally, the first indication information is used to indicate a service type of the first downlink data packet, a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or a bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet.

Optionally, the communication device 1100 further includes: a timer 1150 for timing;

The processor 1110 is further configured to start the timer 1150 after the transceiver 1140 receives the acknowledgement message;

The transceiver 1140 is further configured to receive a second downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment.

The processor 1110 is further configured to determine that the service type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the service type of the first downlink data packet, or the signaling type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the signaling type of the first downlink data packet. Or the bearer corresponding to the second downlink data packet is the same as the bearer corresponding to the first data packet;

The memory 1120 is specifically configured to cache the second downlink data packet if the duration of the timer 1150 does not exceed the buffer duration.

Optionally, the processor 1110 is further configured to discard the second downlink data packet if the duration of the timer 1150 exceeds the buffer duration.

Optionally, the transceiver 1140 is further configured to receive a third downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

The processor 1110 is further configured to determine that the service type of the third downlink data packet is different from the service type of the first downlink data packet, or the signaling type of the third downlink data packet is different from the signaling type of the first downlink data packet. Or the bearer identifier corresponding to the third downlink data packet is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet;

The processor 1110 is further configured to discard the third downlink data packet; or

The transceiver 1140 is further configured to send a second notification message to the mobility management entity, where the second notification message carries the second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity determines the third downlink data packet according to the second indication information. The length of the cache.

Optionally, the communication device 1100 is an S-GW.

It is to be understood that the communication device 1100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may correspond to an execution body (e.g., a service gateway) of the communication method 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and various modules of the communication device 1100. The above and other operations and/or functions of the unit are respectively implemented in order to implement the corresponding processes of the method 200 shown in FIG. 2, and are not described herein again for brevity.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements and algorithm steps of the various examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both, for clarity of hardware and software. Interchangeability, the composition and steps of the various examples have been generally described in terms of function in the above description. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods for implementing the described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

A person skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the system, the device and the unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

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

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. You can choose some or all of them according to actual needs. The unit is used to achieve the objectives of the embodiments of the present invention.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present invention can be implemented in hardware, firmware implementation, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions described above may be stored in or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium. Computer readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage media or other magnetic storage device, or can be used for carrying or storing in the form of an instruction or data structure. The desired program code and any other medium that can be accessed by the computer. Also. Any connection may suitably be a computer readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave. Then, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave are included in the fixing of the associated medium. As used in the present invention, a disk and a disc include a compact disc (CD), a laser disc, a compact disc, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, and a Blu-ray disc, wherein the disc is usually magnetically copied, and the disc is The laser is used to optically replicate the data. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of the computer readable media.

In conclusion, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

A communication method, comprising:

Receiving, by the service gateway, a notification message, where the notification message carries indication information of the downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the user equipment;

Determining, according to the indication information, a buffer duration of the downlink data packet, if the user equipment is unreachable;

Sending an acknowledgment message to the serving gateway, where the acknowledgment message carries the cache duration, so that the serving gateway caches all downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the indication information according to the cache duration.
The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation message further carries the indication information.
The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a service type of the downlink data packet.
The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet.
The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the downlink data packet is downlink signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate a signaling type of the downlink signaling.
A communication method, comprising:

Receiving a first downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

Sending a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where the first notification message carries the first indication information of the first downlink data packet;

Receiving an acknowledgment message sent by the mobility management entity, where the acknowledgment message carries a buffer duration;

All the downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the first indication information are buffered according to the cache duration.
The communication method according to claim 6, wherein the confirmation message further carries the first indication information.
The communication method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a service type of the first downlink data packet, a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or The bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet, where the cache is configured according to the cache duration All the downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the indication information, including:

Start the timer;

Receiving a second downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

Determining that the service type of the second downlink data packet is the same as the service type of the first downlink data packet, or the signaling type of the second downlink data packet and the signaling type of the first downlink data packet The bearer corresponding to the second downlink data packet is the same as the bearer corresponding to the first data packet;

The second downlink data packet is buffered if the duration of the timer does not exceed the buffer duration.
The communication method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising:

Receiving a third downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

Determining that the service type of the third downlink data packet is different from the service type of the first downlink data packet, or that the signaling type of the third downlink data packet is different from the signaling type of the first downlink data packet, Or the bearer identifier corresponding to the third downlink data packet is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet;

Discarding the third downlink data packet; or

Transmitting, to the mobility management entity, a second notification message, where the second notification message carries second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity determines, according to the second indication information, The buffer duration of the third downlink packet.
A communication device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a notification message sent by the serving gateway, where the notification message carries indication information of a downlink data packet to be sent by the serving gateway to the user equipment;

a processing unit, configured to determine, according to the indication information, a buffer duration of the downlink data packet, if the user equipment is unreachable;

a sending unit, configured to send a notification confirmation message to the service gateway, where the notification confirmation message carries the cache duration, so that the serving gateway caches all the information corresponding to the indication information to be sent to the user according to the cache duration The downstream packet of the device.
The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the notification confirmation message further carries the indication information.
Communication device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein said indication letter The information is used to indicate the service type of the downlink data packet.
The communication device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a bearer corresponding to the downlink data packet.
The communication device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the downlink data packet is downlink signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate a signaling type of the downlink signaling.
A communication device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

a sending unit, configured to send a first notification message to the mobility management entity, where the first notification message carries first indication information of the first downlink data packet;

The receiving unit is further configured to receive an acknowledgement message sent by the mobility management entity, where the acknowledgement message carries a cache duration;

And a buffering unit, configured to cache, according to the buffering duration, all downlink data packets to be sent to the user equipment corresponding to the first indication information.
The communication device according to claim 15, wherein the first notification message further carries the first indication information.
The communication device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a service type of the first downlink data packet, a signaling type of the first downlink data packet, or The bearer corresponding to the first downlink data packet, the communication device further includes: a timer and a first processing unit,

The timer is used for timing;

The first processing unit is configured to start the timer after the receiving unit receives the acknowledgement message;

The receiving unit is further configured to receive a second downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

The first processing unit is further configured to: determine that a service type of the second downlink data packet is the same as a service type of the first downlink data packet, or a signaling type of the second downlink data packet The signaling type of the first downlink data packet is the same, or the bearer corresponding to the second downlink data packet is the same as the bearer corresponding to the first data packet;

The buffering unit is configured to cache the second downlink data packet if the duration of the timer does not exceed the buffering duration.
The communication device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a third downlink data packet to be sent to the user equipment;

The communication device further includes:

a second processing unit, configured to determine that a service type of the third downlink data packet is different from a service type of the first downlink data packet, or a signaling type of the third downlink data packet and the first downlink data The signaling type of the packet is different, or the bearer identifier corresponding to the third downlink data packet is different from the bearer identifier corresponding to the first downlink data packet;

The second processing unit is further configured to discard the third downlink data packet; or

The sending unit is further configured to send a second notification message to the mobility management entity, where the second notification message carries second indication information of the third downlink data packet, so that the mobility management entity according to the The second indication information determines a buffer duration of the third downlink data packet.