Method and system for logging a subscriber station onto the packet service-service state control function cscf in a communications system

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DESCRIPTION

Method and system for announcing a subscriber station to the service status control function of the CSCF packet service in a communication system.

The invention relates to a method for announcing a station to the control function of the status of the link and / or the status of the CSCF services in a packet-oriented communication system, according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a communication system to execute the procedure according to the preamble of claim 8.

In existing mobile telephone networks operating according to the GSM standard, new data services are currently being introduced, such as the packetized data service GPRS (General Packet Radio Service); see also WO 99 63773 A. Transmission in the mobile radio network then takes place not link-oriented or line-switched, but in the form of packetized data. This kind of transmission takes better advantage of the transmission resources existing in the mobile telephone network. The architecture for the packetized data service assumes (see also figure 1) that the fixed or mobile data or communication terminal apparatus used by the user, for example a mobile station, is operated in its corresponding place of stay by a service network node (SGSN: Serving GPRS Support Node; GPRS server support nodes). To receive or send packetized data, you need access to a packetized data network. For this purpose, nodes of the access network (GGSN: Gateway GPRS Support Nodes, GPRS gateway support node) are made available, which in each case perform access to the network of packetized data, for example the Internet and support a specific protocol. packetized data, for example Internet Protocol (IP). Between the node of the service network and the node of the access network, a tunnel is provided in the mobile telephone network, through which the packets are transmitted.

Especially for third-generation communication systems - for example UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) - an architecture for IP-based mobile telephone networks is envisaged, which presents an extension of the existing GPRS architecture to provide link control and service control or call control components (Call Control). One of the new essential components for this is a function of control of the state of the link and the state of the services CSCF (Call State Control Function, function of control of the state of the calls). This function assumes, among others, the link control functions or call control functions, carried out up to now by mobile switching stations (MSC: Mobile service Switching Center). The link status and service status function CSCF thus serves in particular also as a link control instance for multimedia services in the central packet-switched or IP-based network. The determination of the link state function and the state of the CSCF services competent for a call is then carried out specifically for each data terminal station or specifically for each subscriber, that is, it is predetermined by the public network of mobile communications of the place of origin of the HPLMN subscriber.

The announcement of data terminals or mobile subscriber stations to the registration team, for example of the packetized data network of the 3GPP standard that is currently being structured (3GPP: 3rd Generation Partnership Project) , is carried out in stages to two instances in the network. The first instance is the GPRS packetized data service, the protocols for the 3GPP system (GPRS Attach (connection) and PDP Context Activation, (context activation)) being already described and standardized. The second instance is the link state and services state function. In order to advertise to the link status and CSCF services status function, the subscriber must be authenticated and authorized, that is, their identity and access right (s) are verified.

However, the standard existing up to now does not currently foresee any protocol to choose the function of control of the link and control of the CSCF services, nor does it provide for the authorization and authentication of a subscriber who communicates through any IP protocol, for example SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) or a data station in the role of link control and control of CSCF services, i.e. announce a subscriber and check their authorization. These protocols are, however, absolutely necessary for the secure operation of eg packet-oriented 3GPP systems.

The task of the invention is to propose a method for announcing a station to the link control and / or service control function in a packet-oriented communication system or a communication system to carry out the procedure.

This task is solved by the method with the features of claim 1 and with the communication system according to the features of claim 8.

Advantageous improvements are the subject of the dependent claims.

The method or the communication system offers by means of the transmission of the identification information a simple possibility to authenticate and authorize a data terminal equipment or station based on the status of the link and the status of the services and of a network of packaged data.

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As identification information for transmitting the identity or international number of the mobile subscriber, a particularly simple solution is offered, since they are already individually assigned for all stations and thus no new special identification information has to be entered.

Next, transmitting from the link status control function and the status of the services an access request corresponding to the identification information to a device and / or function to release the authorization and / or collection of rates, offers the simple possibility of using a device or function already provided for authentication / authorization.

Subsequently, the exchange with the station of the data for the authentication and / or authorization of the station, allows a direct request for specific data that the station can provide without unnecessarily interleaving many pieces of equipment.

The fact that the equipment or function for capturing rates, after receiving the data necessary for authentication and / or authorization, transmits an access confirmation corresponding to the identification information to the function of control of the status of the link and of the status of services, allows direct confirmation of the release to the link status and services status control function.

The transmission with the confirmation of access or in addition to it to the function of control of the status of the link and the status of the services of information on authorizations and / or limitations of the authorization, offers the possibility of releasing for the requesting station only certain resources. Limitations can be set for example as to the radius or diameter of the momentary place of stay.

After the authentication and / or authorization of the station in the function of control of the state of the link and the state of the services, the registrations and the establishment of the link can proceed in the usual way. No other features or equipment have to be adapted or introduced.

After enrollment in the link status and services status control function, the MS station or the terminal can establish any links, in particular links over any Internet protocols - telephony protocols.

In the corresponding communication system, the function for making the subscriber data available for the collection of rates is advantageously subordinate to the server of the subscriber of the place of origin, to which the local registry of the place of origin may also be subordinate. HLR origin and the subscriber's mobility server. The collection of rates itself is carried out, advantageously, in the function of controlling the status of the link and the status of the services.

An exemplary embodiment will be described in more detail below on the basis of the drawing. Shown in:

Figure 1 a schematic radio communication system with an interface to a packetized data service and

Figure 2 a sequential scheme for establishing a link when registering a radio station in a communications network.

The communication system represented in figure 1 shows a radio communication network with equipment that allows a GPRS packetized data service. As an example of a fixed or mobile communication terminal equipment, a mobile station MS of a mobile subscriber is represented, which through an air interface V is coupled wirelessly with equipment of a UMTS Terrestrial Radio (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, terrestrial radio access network) or your BSS base station system with fixed base stations BS, base station controls and RNC radio network control equipment.

The link with a GPRS-N packet oriented communication network is carried out by the UMTS radio network through the radio network control equipment RNC.

For the transmission of packetized data between the mobile station MS and a packetized data network PDN, the communication network GPRS-N has one or more nodes of the service network SGSN and at least one node of the access network GGSN that is connected with it. The node of the access network GGSN is then linked through an interface Gi with the PDN own packet data network or with a foreign one, while the node of the service network SGSN is connected to the base station system BSS at via a Gb interface. In other words, the communication system features a GPRS packetized data network architecture with IP-based GPRS-N packetized data network and a radio-side UMTS UTRAN radio network for communication with mobile MS radio stations and fixed. In the node of the SGSN service network there is a Packet-Relay (packet relay), which reproduces the Gb interface towards the BSS base station system over the T interface towards the GGSN access network node and retransmits the data packets in both directions.

For the GPRS packetized data service, there is basically no connection to the network equipment of the packetized data service or to a packetized data access network. In order to use a service, you must advertise

ES 2 288 961 T3 the mobile subscriber hitherto in a first stage in the network. For this reason, your identity and authorizations regarding general access to the GPRS data service are verified. In the second stage, a packetized data protocol must be activated. The packetized data service network GPRS-N then makes available, for example, a tunnel T between the node of the competent service network SGSN and the node of the desired access network GGSN towards the packetized data network PDN. Packets can then be exchanged via this tunnel T between the subscriber or the mobile station MS and the foreign packetized data network PDN.

In the exemplary embodiment that will be described below, the management and transmission of data is supported or controlled, at least partially, by a link status control function and the status of the CSCF services in the link control server CCS (Call Control Server, call control server). The link control server CCS is connected in the currently planned systems of the third generation with the node of the access network GGSN. However, other links and protocols can also be used.

Figure 2 schematically depicts the establishment of an example link between a station oriented to the mS link and the GPRS-N packetized data network. The mobile station MS is then registered, for example, in the packetized data network PDN. The station MS then requests in a first stage of the procedure the establishment of a link in a UMTS / UTRAN radio communication network in whose area the station MS is located and relays to the node of the service network SGSN “announce MS / request for GPRS announcement ”. The intermediate steps from the station MS to the node of the service network SGSN will not be described in more detail below.

An authentication is then carried out between the mobile station MS and the node of the service network SGSN or between the node of the service network SGSN and the home register HLR. The momentary place of stay or the location of the mobile station MS and the inclusion of the subscriber data between the node of the service network SGSN and the registration of the place of origin HLR are then carried out in the known manner. This is followed by the request for a link of the packetized data service by the mobile station MS to the node of the service network SGSN and the exchange of security information between them. Subsequently, the node of the service network SGSN and the node of the access network GGSN generate and confirm a link of packetized data through the tunnel T, whereby a link to the network is made available to the mobile station MS PDN packaged services. Correspondingly, the node of the service network SGSN communicates to the mobile station MS that the packetized data link can be activated.

In the next stage, the mobile station MS requests a registration from a remote access server (RAS / Remote Access Server) as part of the function of controlling the status of the link and the status of the CSCF services, precisely according to the present exemplary execution by means of the transmission of the own identity or international number of the IMSI mobile subscriber to the function of control of the state of the link and the state of the services CSCF. The information of which function to control the status of the link and the status of the CSCF services is to be addressed, is previously transmitted at the same time from the place of origin register HLR in the stage of the inclusion of the GPRS subscriber data.

The function for controlling the status of the link and the status of the CSCF services now transmits an access request corresponding to the international identity of the IMSI mobile subscriber to a device or function for capturing rates based on authentication and authorization AAA (Authentication Authorization Accounting). Instead of or simultaneously with the equipment or function for the collection of rates, an equipment or function for the release of the right of access should also be included.

Subsequently, a direct or indirect information exchange between the AAA authorization / authentication equipment and the mobile station MS is carried out by means of the link status control function and the status of the CSCF services, exchanging the necessary data that make authentication possible. and an authorization from the mobile station MS on the equipment for AAA authorization / authentication.

After receiving the necessary data, the equipment or the AAA authorization / authentication function sends an access acceptance or access confirmation corresponding to the international identity of the IMSI mobile subscriber to the link state and state control function. CSCF services. The function of controlling the status of the link and the status of the services CSCF is thus confirmed by the authentication and authorization of the subscriber station MS.

You can then update the link status control function and the status of the CSCF services in a manner known per se with the subscriber's mobility server UMS (User Mobility Server) the mobility management (MM) link and make it subscriber data is used. Finally, the function of controlling the status of the link and the status of the services CSCF performs a confirmation of the registration to the remote access server to the station MS.

In this type of registration from an MS station to the function of control of the status of the link and the status of the services CSCF, identification information is transmitted at the same time, in particular in the RAS registration request message, which allows the MS station authentication. The home subscriber server HSS (Home Subscriber Server) advantageously includes the AAA function for authorization, authentication and optionally for rate capture, the local home register HLR and the subscriber mobility server UMS. This AAA function

ES 2 288 961 T3 for the collection of rates may then require an additional query to the MS station, for example a GSM authentication / authorization or a request for information to the node of the service network SGS N the GPRS packetized data service in relating to whether this subscriber or this station MS is already authenticated / authorized through the packetized data service GPRS. After successful authentication, the rest of the protocol, in particular UMTS protocol, can be performed between the home subscriber server HSS and the link status control function and the status of the CSCF services. After enrollment in the link status control function and the status of the services CSCF, the station MS or the terminal can establish any links, in particular links via any Internet protocols - telephony protocols.