RU2686596C1

Method for providing continuity of service, control plane gateway and mobility management network element

Abstract

FIELD: calculating; counting. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to computer engineering. Method includes receiving, by C-GW, information of current UE location sent by mobility management network element; selecting, by C-GW, at least one forwarding D-GW for the UE according to the current UE location information; establishing, by C-GW for UE, a data transfer tunnel between the source D-GW UE and the forwarding D-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the forwarding D-GW and the target base station UE, wherein data transfer tunnels are used to transmit uplink user plane data and/or downlink user plane data during UE movement. EFFECT: technical result consists in providing continuity of service during movement of UE. 15 cl, 18 dwg

RU2686596C1, drawing sheet 1 — Sheet 1 of 16

Term

9 yearsleft in the term

Expires 30 September 2035.

15 claims: 11 independent, 4 dependent

1
Способ обеспечения непрерывности обслуживания, содержащий:прием (201), шлюзом плоскости управления, информации текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью;выбор (202), шлюзом плоскости управления, по меньшей мере одного пересылающего шлюза пользовательской плоскости для пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;и установление (203), шлюзом плоскости управления для пользовательского оборудования, туннеля пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннеля пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование, причем туннели пересылки данных используются, чтобы передавать данные пользовательской плоскости восходящей линии связи и/или данные пользовательской плоскости нисходящей линии связи пользовательского оборудования в процессе движения пользовательского оборудования.
2
Способ по п. 1, в котором по меньшей мере один пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости является первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, шлюз плоскости управления является обслуживающим шлюзом плоскости управления, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, шлюз плоскости управления является тем же самым, что и обслуживающий шлюз плоскости управления, используемый перед тем, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, и сетевой элемент управления мобильностью является обслуживающим сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения; и установление, шлюзом плоскости управления для пользовательского оборудования, туннеля пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннеля пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование, содержит:прием, шлюзом плоскости управления, первого запроса от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью, причем первый запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции;отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, второго запроса на первый шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем второй запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать первый шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией и туннель пересылки данных между первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и второй запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции и информацию маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости;и отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, третьего запроса на исходный шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем третий запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать исходный шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и третий запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации первого шлюза пользовательской плоскости.
3
Способ по п. 1, в котором по меньшей мере один пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости содержит второй шлюз пользовательской плоскости и третий шлюз пользовательской плоскости, шлюз плоскости управления является обслуживающим шлюзом плоскости управления, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, шлюз плоскости управления является тем же самым, что и обслуживающий шлюз плоскости управления, используемый перед тем, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, и сетевой элемент управления мобильностью является обслуживающим сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения; и установление, шлюзом плоскости управления для пользовательского оборудования, туннеля пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннеля пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование, содержит:прием, шлюзом плоскости управления, первого запроса от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью, причем первый запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции пользовательского оборудования;отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, второго запроса на второй шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем второй запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать второй шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между вторым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией и туннель пересылки данных между вторым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и второй запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции и информацию маршрутизации третьего шлюза пользовательской плоскости;отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, третьего запроса на третий шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем третий запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать третий шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и вторым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннель пересылки данных между третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и третий запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации второго шлюза пользовательской плоскости и информацию маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости;и отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, четвертого запроса на исходный шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем четвертый запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать исходный шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и четвертый запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации третьего шлюза пользовательской плоскости.
4
Способ по п. 1, в котором по меньшей мере один пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости является первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, шлюз плоскости управления является обслуживающим шлюзом плоскости управления, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, шлюз плоскости управления отличается от обслуживающего шлюза плоскости управления, используемого перед тем, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, и сетевой элемент управления мобильностью является обслуживающим сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения; способ дополнительно содержит:дополнительный прием, шлюзом плоскости управления, информации маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью;и установление, шлюзом плоскости управления для пользовательского оборудования, туннеля пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннеля пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование, содержит: прием, шлюзом плоскости управления, первого запроса от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью, причем первый запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции;и отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, второго запроса на первый шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем второй запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать первый шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией и туннель пересылки данных между первым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и второй запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции и информацию маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости.
5
Способ по п. 1, в котором по меньшей мере один пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости содержит второй шлюз пользовательской плоскости и третий шлюз пользовательской плоскости, шлюз плоскости управления является обслуживающим шлюзом плоскости управления, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, шлюз плоскости управления отличается от обслуживающего шлюза плоскости управления, используемого перед тем, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, и сетевой элемент управления мобильностью является обслуживающим сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, используемым после того, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения; способ дополнительно содержит:дополнительный прием, шлюзом плоскости управления, информации маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью;и установление, шлюзом плоскости управления для пользовательского оборудования, туннеля пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннеля пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование, содержит: прием, шлюзом плоскости управления, первого запроса от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью, причем первый запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции;отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, второго запроса на второй шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем второй запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать второй шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между вторым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией и туннель пересылки данных между вторым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и второй запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации целевой базовой станции и информацию маршрутизации третьего шлюза пользовательской плоскости;и отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, третьего запроса на третий шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем третий запрос используется, чтобы запрашивать третий шлюз пользовательской плоскости установить туннель пересылки данных между третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и вторым шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннель пересылки данных между третьим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, и третий запрос переносит информацию маршрутизации второго шлюза пользовательской плоскости и информацию маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости.
6
Способ по п. 1, причем способ дополнительно содержит:отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, запроса создания сеанса на целевой шлюз пользовательской плоскости, причем запрос создания сеанса используется, чтобы создавать, на целевом шлюзе пользовательской плоскости для пользовательского оборудования, контекст канала-носителя для передачи данных пользовательской плоскости, и каждый созданный контекст канала-носителя содержит информацию маршрутизации целевого шлюза пользовательской плоскости;и целевой шлюз пользовательской плоскости является обслуживающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, соответствующим области текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования.
7
Способ по п. 6, причем способ дополнительно содержит отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, информации маршрутизации целевого шлюза пользовательской плоскости на целевую базовую станцию через сетевой элемент управления мобильностью.
8
Способ по п. 2, причем способ дополнительно содержит отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, информации маршрутизации первого шлюза пользовательской плоскости на целевую базовую станцию через сетевой элемент управления мобильностью.
9
Способ по п. 2, в котором первый шлюз пользовательской плоскости является обслуживающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, выбранным шлюзом плоскости управления для пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования.
10
Способ по п. 3, причем способ дополнительно содержит отправку, шлюзом плоскости управления, информации маршрутизации второго шлюза пользовательской плоскости на целевую базовую станцию через сетевой элемент управления мобильностью.
11
Способ обеспечения непрерывности обслуживания, содержащий:прием (901), целевым сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, запроса перемещения пересылки от исходного сетевого элемента управления мобильностью, обслуживающего пользовательское оборудование, причем запрос перемещения пересылки переносит информацию текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;выбор (902), целевым сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, целевого шлюза плоскости управления пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;отправку (903), целевым сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, информации текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования на целевой шлюз плоскости управления, так что целевой шлюз плоскости управления определяет пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;и отправку (904), целевым сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, запроса установления туннеля пересылки данных на целевой шлюз плоскости управления, причем запрос установления туннеля пересылки данных используется, чтобы запрашивать целевой шлюз плоскости управления установить, для пользовательского оборудования, туннель пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и туннель пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование.
12
Способ по п. 11, в котором целевой шлюз плоскости управления отличается от обслуживающего шлюза плоскости управления, используемого перед тем, как пользовательское оборудование переместилось в область текущего местоположения, и способ дополнительно содержит отправку, целевым сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, сообщения уведомления о смене на исходный сетевой элемент управления мобильностью, причем сообщение уведомления о смене используется для указания, что обслуживающий шлюз плоскости управления пользовательского оборудования сменяется на целевой шлюз плоскости управления.
13
Способ по п. 12, в котором способ дополнительно содержит прием, целевым сетевым элементом управления мобильностью, сообщения квитирования от исходного сетевого элемента управления мобильностью в соответствии с сообщением уведомления о смене, причем сообщение квитирования переносит информацию маршрутизации исходного шлюза пользовательской плоскости.
14
Шлюз плоскости управления, содержащий:блок приема, выполненный с возможностью принимать информацию текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования от сетевого элемента управления мобильностью;блок выбора, выполненный с возможностью выбирать по меньшей мере один пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости для пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;и блок установления туннеля, выполненный с возможностью устанавливать, для пользовательского оборудования, туннель пересылки данных между исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и туннель пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование, причем туннели пересылки данных используются, чтобы передавать данные пользовательской плоскости восходящей линии связи и/или данные пользовательской плоскости нисходящей линии связи пользовательского оборудования в процессе движения пользовательского оборудования.
15
Сетевой элемент управления мобильностью, содержащий:блок приема, выполненный с возможностью принимать запрос перемещения пересылки от исходного сетевого элемента управления мобильностью, обслуживающего пользовательское оборудование, причем запрос перемещения пересылки переносит информацию текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;блок выбора, выполненный с возможностью выбирать целевой шлюз плоскости управления пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования;и блок отправки, выполненный с возможностью отправлять информацию текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования на целевой шлюз плоскости управления, так что целевой шлюз плоскости управления определяет пересылающий шлюз пользовательской плоскости пользовательского оборудования в соответствии с информацией текущего местоположения пользовательского оборудования, причем блок отправки дополнительно выполнен с возможностью отправлять запрос установления туннеля пересылки данных на целевой шлюз плоскости управления, причем запрос установления туннеля пересылки данных используется, чтобы запрашивать целевой шлюз плоскости управления установить, для пользовательского оборудования, туннель пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и исходным шлюзом пользовательской плоскости, обслуживающим пользовательское оборудование, и туннель пересылки данных между пересылающим шлюзом пользовательской плоскости и целевой базовой станцией, обслуживающей пользовательское оборудование.

Independent claims15

687 paragraphs in 5 sections, as filed

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of communication, and more specifically, to a method for ensuring service continuity, a control plane gateway and a network mobility management element.

PRIOR ART

The Distributed Gateway (DGW) architecture is an advanced network architecture proposed based on the existing network architecture of an Evolved Packet System (EPS) network architecture in accordance with the idea of separating the network management plane function from the user plane function. The DGW architecture includes a control plane gateway (C-GW) and a user plane gateway (U-GW).

The C-GW is a centralized control plane gateway and can take two forms: (1) the only network element obtained after the control plane function of the serving gateway (Serving Gateway, S-GW) and the control plane function of the packet data network gateway (Packet The Data Network Gateway (P-GW) is integrated into the existing 3GPP EPS network, and (2) two independent network elements that separately implement the control plane function of the existing S-GW (S-GW control plane) and the control plane function of the existing P-GW ( P-GW control plane I). The C-GW is specifically configured to process control plane signaling in a 3GPP EPS network, including signaling related to such functions as mobility management, session management, address management, route management, and billing management.

The U-GW is a user plane distributed gateway. According to the two C-GW forms, the U-GW can also have two forms: (1) the only network element obtained after the user plane function of the serving gateway (Serving Gateway, S-GW) and the user plane function of the packet network gateway data (Packet Data Network Gateway, P-GW) is integrated into the existing 3GPP EPS network, and (2) two independent network elements that separately implement the user-plane S-GW user-plane function and the existing user-plane user-plane function -GW (User Plane P-GW). The U-GW, in particular, is configured to process user plane data in a 3GPP EPS network, including functions such as routing and forwarding, checking data packets, counting data packets and ensuring the implementation of quality of service. The U-GW processes user plane data when managed and administered by C-GW. Given that the U-GW can be deployed in a distributed way, the U-GW can also be referred to as a Distributed Gateway (D-GW).

In the existing EPS network architecture, service continuity is implemented using the P-GW binding function. That is, in the process of moving a UE in connection mode that the user plane service performs, the user plane UE always exchanges data between the current P-GW and the external data network. Since the P-GW does not change while it is moving, it is guaranteed that the IP address of the user plane is not changed in order to further guarantee the continuity of service of the user plane.

The U-GW (or D-GW) in the DGW architecture can be deployed in a distributed fashion in accordance with the service requirement in order to realize local user access, further reduce the forward and reverse travel time (RTT) of the user plane and improve user experience. During deployment, the U-GW can be moved downstream to the city network closer to the user and even to the base station controller. With this downstream U-GW movement, the U-GW service range is much smaller than the S-GW / P-GW service range deployed centrally in the EPS network. Therefore, it increases the likelihood that the serving U-GW is replaced in the process of movement of the UE.

Obviously, in the DGW architecture, how to ensure the continuity of service during the movement of a UE is a significant issue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a service continuity method, a control plane gateway and a network mobility control element, to establish, for a UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW, and the forwarding tunnel data between the forwarding U-GW and the target baseline UE station to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user service experience.

In accordance with the first aspect, a method for providing service continuity is proposed, the method including: receiving, by the control plane gateway, the current location information of the user equipment sent by the mobility management network element for the user equipment; selecting, by the gateway of the control plane, at least one forwarding gateway of the user plane for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and the establishment, by the control plane gateway for the user equipment, of a data transfer tunnel between the original user plane gateway serving the user equipment,

With reference to the first aspect, in the first possible implementation, at least one user plane forwarding gateway is the first user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the control control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area, the control plane gateway is the same as the control plane serving gateway used before the user equipment has moved to the area Live location and mobility management network element is a serving mobility management network element, used after the UE has moved to the current location; and the concrete implementation of the establishment,

receiving, by the control plane gateway, the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station of the user equipment;

sending, by the control plane gateway, a second request to the first user plane gateway, wherein the second request is used to request the first user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the original gateway user plane, and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source user plane lock; and

sending, by the control plane gateway, a third request to the original user plane gateway, the third request is used to request the original user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the original user plane gateway and the first user plane gateway, and the third request carries the routing information of the forwarding gateway of the user plane .

With reference to the first aspect, in the second possible implementation, at least one user plane forwarding gateway includes a second user plane gateway and a third user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area, the control plane gateway is the same as the serving control plane gateway used before the floor The user equipment has moved to the current location area, and the mobility network control element is the serving network mobility control element used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area;

sending, by the control plane gateway, a second request to the second user plane gateway, the second request being used to request the second user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second user plane gateway and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the second user plane gateway and the third gateway user plane, and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third gateway beyond the user plane;

sending, by the control plane gateway, a third request to the third user plane gateway, the third request being used to request the third user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway and the data transfer tunnel between the third user plane gateway and the original the user plane gateway, and the third request carries the routing information of the second user plane gateway and routing information to the originating gateway user plane; and

sending, by the control plane gateway, a fourth request to the original user plane gateway, where the fourth request is used to request the original user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the original user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, and the fourth request carries the routing information of the third user plane gateway .

With reference to the first aspect, in the third possible implementation, at least one user plane forwarding gateway is the first user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the control plane control gateway used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area, the control plane gateway differs from the serving control plane gateway used before the user equipment has moved to the tech area present location, and the mobility management network element is a serving mobility management network element, used after the UE has moved to the current location;

the method further includes: additional reception, by the control plane gateway, of the routing information of the source user plane gateway sent by the mobility control network element; and

the specific implementation of the establishment, the control plane gateway for the user equipment, the data forwarding tunnel between the original user plane gateway serving the user equipment, and the user plane forwarding gateway and the data forwarding tunnel between the user plane forwarding gateway and the target base station of the user equipment contains:

With reference to the first aspect, in the fourth possible implementation, at least one of the user plane forwarding gateway includes the second user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area, the control plane gateway is different from the serving control plane gateway used before the user the equipment has moved to the current location area, and the mobility network control element is the serving network mobility management element used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area;

the method further includes: additional reception, by the control plane gateway, of the routing information of the source user plane gateway sent by the mobility control network element; and

With reference to any one of the first aspect or from the first possible implementation of the first aspect to the fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the fifth possible implementation, the method further includes: sending, by the control plane gateway, a session creation request to the target gateway of the user plane, where the request session creation is used to create, on the target user-plane gateway for the user equipment, a bearer context for transmitting user-plane data, each first established bearer context includes a gateway routing information of the target user plane gateway and a destination user plane is a serving gateway user plane corresponding to the field current location of the user equipment.

With reference to the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the sixth possible implementation, the method further includes: sending, by the control plane gateway, the routing information of the target user plane gateway to the target base station via the mobility control network element.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect or the third possible implementation of the first aspect, in the seventh possible implementation, the method further includes: sending, by the control plane gateway, the routing information of the first user plane gateway to the target base station through the mobility management network element.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect or the third possible implementation of the first aspect, in the eighth possible implementation, the first user plane gateway is additionally the serving user plane gateway selected by the control plane gateway for the user equipment according to the current location information of the user equipment.

With reference to the second possible implementation of the first aspect or the fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the ninth possible implementation, the method further includes: sending, by the control plane gateway, routing information of the second user plane gateway to the target base station via the mobility management network element.

In accordance with the second aspect, a method for providing service continuity is proposed, and the method includes: receiving, by a target network mobility control element, a transfer move request sent by a source mobile mobility control element serving a user equipment, wherein the transfer move request carries the current location information of the user equipment; selection, by the target network mobility control element, of the target gateway of the control plane of the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; sending, by the target network mobility control element, the current location information of the user equipment to the target control plane gateway, so that the target control plane gateway determines the forwarding gateway of the user plane of the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and sending, by the target network mobility control element, a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the control plane of the control gateway, wherein the data forwarding tunnel establishment request is used to request the target control plane gateway to establish, for the user equipment, a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding gateway of the user plane and the source the user plane gateway serving the user equipment and the data transfer tunnel between the forwarding gateway ohm user plane and target base station serving the user equipment.

With reference to the second aspect, in the first possible implementation, the target control plane gateway is different from the serving control plane gateway used before the user equipment has moved to the current location area, and the method further includes: sending, by the target mobility control network element, shift notification messages to the original network mobility control, where the shift notification message is used to indicate that the serving gateway is flat ty control user equipment is replaced on the target gateway control plane.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in the second possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving, by the target mobility management network element, an acknowledgment message sent by the original mobility management network element in accordance with the change notification message, the acknowledgment message conveys information routing of the original user equipment plane gateway.

In accordance with the third aspect, a method for providing service continuity is proposed, and the method includes: receiving, by the control plane gateway, the current location information of the user equipment sent by the mobility management network element; the choice, by the gateway of the control plane, of the target gateway of the user plane for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and sending, by the control plane gateway, a request message to the network mobility control element, wherein the request message is used to request the network mobility control element to release the first bearer context and instruct the user equipment to send an installation request for the second bearer context,

With reference to the third aspect, in the first possible implementation, the request message is a bearer deletion request message, wherein the bearer deletion request message carries the re-activation request indication, and the re-activation request indication is used to indicate using the mobility control network element , the user equipment initiates the re-installation request for the bearer context after the bearer context is deleted.

In accordance with the fourth aspect, a control plane gateway is proposed, and the control plane gateway includes: a reception unit configured to receive the current location information of the user equipment sent by the mobility management network element; a selection unit, configured to select at least one user plane forwarding gateway for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and a tunnel establishment unit, configured to establish, for the user equipment, a data transfer tunnel between the original user plane gateway serving the user equipment,

Optionally, at least one user plane forwarding gateway is the first user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is a serving control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area, the control plane gateway is the same as control plane serving gateway used before user equipment has moved to its current location and network th element of the mobility management network element is a serving mobility management used after the UE has moved to the current location;

the receiving unit is further configured to receive the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information to the target base station of the user equipment; and

the control plane gateway further includes a sending unit, and a tunnel setting unit, in particular, is configured to:

send a second request to the first user plane gateway using the sending block and send a third request to the original user plane gateway using the sending block, the second request being used to request the first user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the original user plane gateway, the second apros carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source gateway of the user plane, the third request is used,

Optionally, at least one user plane forwarding gateway includes a second user plane gateway and a third user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the control plane of the control plane used after the user equipment has moved to the current location, the control plane gateway is the same as the control plane serving gateway used before the user equipment is moved axis to the current location, and the mobility management network element is a serving mobility management network element, used after the UE has moved to the current location;

the control plane gateway further includes a sending unit, and a tunnel setting unit, in particular, is configured to:

send a second request to the second user plane gateway using the send block, send a third request to the third user plane gateway using the send block, and send a fourth request to the original user plane gateway using the send block, the second request being used to request the second user plane gateway establish a data transfer tunnel between the second user plane gateway and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel x between the second user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third user plane gateway, the third request is used, to request a third user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway and a data transfer tunnel between the third user plane gateway and the original user plane gateway, the third request carries the routing information of the second user plane gateway and the source gateway information of the user plane plane, the fourth request is used to request the original gateway n The user plane establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the original user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, and the fourth request carries the routing information of the third user plane gateway.

Optionally, at least one user plane forwarding gateway is the first user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to the current location, the control plane gateway is different from the control plane gateway, used before the user equipment has moved to its current location, and the network element mobility management network element is a serving mobility management used after the UE has moved to the current location;

the receiving unit is further configured to receive the routing information of the source user plane gateway sent by the mobility network control element;

the receiving unit is further configured to receive the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station of the user equipment; and

the control plane gateway further includes a sending unit, and a tunnel setting unit, in particular, is configured to:

send a second request to the first user plane gateway using a sending unit, the second request being used to request the first user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the original user gateway the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source o user plane gateway.

Optionally, at least one user plane forwarding gateway includes a second user plane gateway and a third user plane gateway, the control plane gateway is the control plane of the control plane used after the user equipment has moved to the current location, the control plane gateway differs from the serving control plane gateway used before the user equipment has moved to the the current location, and the mobility network control element is the serving network mobility management element used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area;

the receiving unit is further configured to receive the routing information of the source user plane gateway sent by the mobility network control element;

the control plane gateway further includes a sending unit, and a tunnel setting unit, in particular, is configured to:

send a second request to the second user plane gateway using the sending block and send a third request to the third user plane gateway using the sending block, the second request being used to request the second user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second user plane gateway and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the second user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, the second The OS carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third user plane gateway, the third request is used,

Optionally, the tunnel establishment unit is further configured to send a session creation request to the target user plane gateway, wherein the session creation request is used to create, on the target user plane gateway for the user equipment, a bearer context for transmitting user plane data, each the created bearer context includes the routing information of the target user plane gateway, and the target user gateway This is the serving gateway of the user plane corresponding to the area of the current location of the user equipment.

Optionally, the tunnel establishment unit is further configured to send the routing information of the target user-plane gateway to the target base station through the mobility management network element.

Optionally, the tunnel establishment unit is further configured to send the routing information of the first user plane gateway to the target base station via the mobility management network element.

In a possible embodiment, the first user plane gateway is additionally serving as the user plane gateway selected by the control plane gateway for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment.

In a possible embodiment, the tunnel establishment unit is further configured to send the routing information of the second user plane gateway to the target base station through the mobility management network element.

In accordance with the fifth aspect, a network mobility management element is proposed, and the network mobility management element includes: a receiving unit configured to receive a transfer move request sent by a source mobile control network element serving the user equipment, where the transfer move request carries information of the current user equipment locations; a selection unit, configured to select a target gateway of the control plane of the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and a sending unit, configured to send the current location information of the user equipment to the target control plane gateway, so that the target control plane gateway determines the user equipment's forwarding gateway of the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the target control plane gateway, and the request to establish a data transfer tunnel is used to request target control plane gateway set for user equipped Serving the UE I, the data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding user plane gateway and the source user plane gateway serving the user equipment, and a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding user plane gateway and the target base station.

Optionally, the target control plane gateway is different from the serving control plane gateway used before the user equipment has moved to the current location, and the sending unit is additionally configured to send a change notification message to the source network mobility control element, with the notification message change is used to indicate that the serving gateway of the control plane of the user equipment changes to the target gateway control plane.

Optionally, the reception unit is further configured to receive an acknowledgment message sent by the source mobility management network element in accordance with the change notification message, the acknowledgment message conveying the routing information of the source gateway of the user plane of the user equipment.

In accordance with the sixth aspect, a control plane gateway is proposed, and the control plane gateway includes: the control plane gateway receives the current location information of the user equipment sent by the mobility control network element; the control plane gateway selects the target user plane gateway for the user equipment according to the current location information of the user equipment; and the control plane gateway sends a request message to the network mobility control, and the request message is used to request the network mobility control to release the first bearer context and tell the user equipment to send an installation request for the second bearer context,

Optionally, the request message is a request message for deleting a bearer channel, a request message for removing a bearer channel carries an indication of a re-activation request, and an indication of a re-activation request is used to indicate to the user equipment to initiate a re-installation request for bearer context after the bearer context is deleted.

In accordance with the seventh aspect, a control plane gateway is proposed, including a memory, a processor, a receiver and a transmitter, wherein

the memory is configured to: store the program and provide data and instructions for the processor; and

the processor is configured to execute the program stored in the memory, and, in particular, is configured to perform the following operations:

receiving, using the receiver, the current location information of the user equipment sent by the network mobility control element;

selecting at least one user plane forwarding gateway for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and

establishing, for the user equipment, a data transfer tunnel between the original user plane gateway serving the user equipment and the user plane forwarding gateway and the data forwarding tunnel between the user plane forwarding gateway and the target base station serving the user equipment, while the data transfer tunnels are used to transmit data of the user plane of the uplink and / or data of the user plane minute downlink user equipment during the movement of the user equipment.

the processor is further configured to receive, using the receiver, the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station; and

in the process of establishing, using a transmitter for user equipment, a data transfer tunnel between the original user plane gateway and the user plane forwarding gateway and / or data forwarding tunnel between the user plane forwarding gateway and the target base station, the processor is specifically configured to:

send a second request to the first user plane gateway using the transmitter and send a third request to the original user plane gateway using the transmitter, the second request being used to request the first user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the target base station and the tunnel transferring data between the first user plane gateway and the original user plane gateway, a second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source gateway of the user plane, the third request is used,

Optionally, at least one user plane forwarding gateway includes a first user plane gateway and a second user plane gateway, a control plane gateway is a serving control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to its current location, a control plane gateway is the same as the control plane serving gateway used before the user equipment is moved axis to the current location, and the mobility management network element is a serving mobility management network element used after the UE has moved to the current location;

in the process of establishing, using the transmitter for the user equipment, a data transfer tunnel between the source user plane gateway and the user plane forwarding gateway and the data forwarding tunnel between the user plane forwarding gateway and the target base station, the processor is specifically configured to:

send a second request to a second user plane gateway using a transmitter, send a third request to a third user plane gateway using a transmitter, and send a fourth request to the original user plane gateway using a transmitter, the second request being used to request the second user plane gateway to establish a forwarding tunnel data between the second user plane gateway and the target base station and the data forwarding tunnel between torym gateway user plane gateway and the third user plane, the second routing request carries information of the target base station and third gateway routing information of the user plane, the third request is used, to request a third user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third user plane gateway and the second user plane gateway and a data transfer tunnel between the third user plane gateway and the original user plane gateway, the third request carries the routing information of the second user plane gateway and the source gateway information of the user plane plane, the fourth request is used to request the original gateway n The user plane establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the original user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, and the fourth request carries the routing information of the third user plane gateway.

the processor is further configured to receive, using the receiver, the routing information of the source user plane gateway sent by the mobility control network element;

send a second request to the first user plane gateway using a transmitter, the second request being used to request the first user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the first user plane gateway and the original user plane gateway and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source w user plane.

Optionally, at least one user plane forwarding gateway includes a first user plane gateway and a second user plane gateway, a control plane gateway is a serving control plane gateway used after the user equipment has moved to its current location, a control plane gateway differs from the serving control plane gateway used before the user equipment has moved to the the current location, and the mobility network control element is the serving network mobility management element used after the user equipment has moved to the current location area;

the processor is further configured to receive, using the receiver, the routing information of the source user plane gateway sent by the mobility control network element;

send a second request to the second user plane gateway using the transmitter and send a third request to the third user plane gateway using the transmitter, the second request being used to request the second user plane gateway to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second user plane gateway and the target base station and the tunnel transferring data between the second user plane gateway and the third user plane gateway, the second request is not Enos routing information of the target base station and third gateway routing information of the user plane, the third request is used,

In a possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to send a session creation request to the target user plane gateway using a transmitter, wherein the session creation request is used to create, at the target user plane gateway for the user equipment, a bearer context for transmitting user plane data, each created bearer context includes the routing information of the target user plane gateway, and the target gateway n stom plane is operated by the user plane gateway corresponding to the area of the current location of the user equipment.

In a possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to send the routing information of the target user plane gateway to the target base station through the mobility control network element.

In a possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to send the routing information of the first user plane gateway to the target base station through the mobility control network element.

In a possible embodiment, the first user plane gateway is the serving user plane gateway selected by the control plane gateway for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment.

In a possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to send the routing information of the second user plane gateway to the target base station via the mobility control network element.

In accordance with the eighth aspect, a mobility management network element is proposed, including a memory, a processor, a receiver and a transmitter, wherein

the memory is configured to: store the program and provide data and instructions for the processor; and

the processor is configured to execute the program stored in the memory, and, in particular, is configured to perform the following operations:

receiving, using the receiver, a forwarding move request sent by the original network mobility management element serving the user equipment, wherein the forwarding move request carries the current location information of the user equipment;

selection of the target gateway control plane of the user equipment in accordance with the information of the current location of the user equipment;

sending information of the current location of the user equipment to the target gateway of the control plane using the transmitter, so that the target gateway of the control plane determines the forwarding gateway of the user plane of the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and

sending a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the target control plane gateway using a transmitter; the data transfer tunnel establishment request is used to request the target control plane gateway to establish, for the user equipment, a data transfer tunnel between the user plane forwarding gateway and the source user plane gateway serving user equipment, and a data forwarding tunnel between the user’s forwarding gateway bones and the target base station serving the user equipment.

In a possible embodiment, the target control plane gateway is different from the serving control plane gateway used before the user equipment has moved to its current location; and

the processor is further configured to send a shift notification message to the source network mobility control element using a transmitter, the shift notification message being used to indicate that the serving control plane of the user equipment is replaced with the target control plane gateway.

In a possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to receive, using the receiver, an acknowledgment message sent by the source mobility management network element in accordance with a shift notification message, the acknowledgment message conveying the routing information of the original user equipment plane gateway.

In accordance with the ninth aspect, a control plane gateway is proposed, including a memory, a processor, a receiver and a transmitter, wherein

the memory is configured to: store the program and provide data and instructions for the processor; and

the processor is configured to execute the program stored in the memory, and, in particular, is configured to perform the following operations:

receiving, using the receiver, the current location information of the user equipment sent by the network mobility control element;

selection of the target user plane gateway for the user equipment in accordance with the current location information of the user equipment; and

sending a request message to a network mobility control element using a transmitter, the request message being used to request the network mobility control element to release the first bearer context and instruct the user equipment to send an installation request for the second bearer context, the first bearer context is the context bearer channel of the user equipment, which is installed on the user’s original user plane gateway th equipment and a second context bearer context is the bearer, which is reset by the user equipment to the target gateway user plane according to the first bearer context.

Optionally, the request message is a request message for deleting a channel carrier, a request message for deleting a channel carrier carries an indication of a reactivation request, and an indication of a request for reactivation is used to indicate to the user equipment to initiate the installation request for the second bearer context after the first bearer context has been deleted.

In accordance with the service continuity method, control plane gateway and network mobility control element in embodiments of the present invention, the control plane gateway selects a forwarding U-GW for the UE and establishes, for the UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the original U- The GW and data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the target UE base station to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user service experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a clearer description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following is a brief description of the attached drawings needed to describe the embodiments. It is obvious that the attached drawings in the following description show only some embodiments of the present invention, and a person skilled in the art will be able to obtain other drawings based on these attached drawings without creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of two distributed gateway network architectures in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for ensuring continuity of service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the interaction when ensuring service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is another flowchart of the interaction when ensuring service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is another flowchart of a method for providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is another flowchart of a method for providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a control plane gateway in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is another schematic structural diagram of a control plane gateway in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobility management network element in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is another schematic structural diagram of a control plane gateway in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is another schematic structural diagram of a control plane gateway in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is another schematic structural diagram of a mobility management network element in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is another schematic structural diagram of a control plane gateway in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes with complete and clear technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts will be within the protection scope of the present invention.

The technical solutions of the present invention can be applied to various communication systems, such as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM, Global System of Mobile communication), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access), Broadband Code Division Multiple Access ( WCDMA, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access Wireless), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS, General Packet Radio Service), Long Term Development (LTE, Long Term Evolution) and 5G network.

In embodiments of the present invention, the user equipment UE (User Equipment) may also be referred to as a Mobile Terminal and may be any one of the following types. User equipment may be stationary, mobile, portable, handheld, portable, embedded in a computer or embedded in a vehicle. User equipment may include, without limitation, a station (Station), a mobile station (Mobile Station), a subscriber unit (Subscriber Unit), a personal computer (Personal Computer), a portable personal computer (laptop) (Laptop Computer), a tablet computer (Tablet Computer), Netbook (Netbook), Cellular Phone (Cellular Phone), Portable Device (Handheld), Cordless Phone (Cordless Phone), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA, Personal Digital Assistant), data card (Data Card), USB removable device, mobile WiFi access point device (MiFi Devices), wearable devices (Wearable Devices), such as smart watches / smart glasses, wireless modem (Modem), wireless router and station wireless local loop (WLL, Wireless Local Loop). User equipment may be distributed across the entire wireless network and may communicate with one or more networks using a wireless access network.

The base station may be a base transceiver station (BTS, Base Transceiver Station) in GSM or CDMA, may be a NodeB (NodeB) in WCDMA, or may be developed by a NodeB (eNB or e-NodeB, developed by Node B) in LTE. This is not limited in the present invention. However, for ease of description, the description is provided using the eNB as an example in the following embodiments.

The Control plane gateway (C-GW) can take two forms: (1) the only network element obtained after integrating the control plane of the serving gateway (Serving Gateway, S-GW) and the control plane function of the packet data network gateway (Packet Data Network Gateway, P-GW) in the existing 3GPP EPS network, and (2) two independent network elements that separately implement the control plane function of the existing S-GW (Control Plane S-GW) and the control plane function of the existing P-GW (Control Plane P-GW). This is not limited in the present invention.

In accordance with the two C-GW forms, the user plane gateway (U-GW) can also have two forms: (1) the only network element obtained after integrating the user plane’s service plane function (Serving Gateway, S-GW) and user plane functions of a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) in an existing 3GPP EPS network, and (2) two independent network elements that separately implement the user plane S-GW user plane function and the user plane function of the existing P-GW (User Plan e P-GW). This is not limited in the present invention. Given that the U-GW can be deployed in a distributed way, the U-GW can also be referred to as a Distributed Gateway (D-GW).

Multiple U-GWs in the same service area can form one pool of U-GW resources. U-GWs in the same U-GW resource pool can communicate directly with each other. One default U-GW can be configured in each U-GW resource pool in order to communicate with the U-GW in another U-GW resource pool.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of two DGW network architectures in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. DGW architecture 1 is shown above the dotted line, and DGW architecture 2 is shown below the dotted line.

In DGW architecture 1, all the functions of the S-GW and P-GW control plane in the existing EPS network architecture are integrated into the C-GW, and all the functions of the S-GW and P-GW user plane in the existing EPS network architecture are integrated into the U-GW. The new interface is introduced between two network elements: the C-GW and the U-GW, such as the S18 interface, to implement the connection between the C-GW and the U-GW. In a network architecture, another network element and interface can reuse an existing EPS network architecture. The newly added interface S18 can reuse the interface protocol between the S-GW and the P-GW, such as GTP, or another interface protocol or a newly defined protocol. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

In architecture 2, DGW, S-GW and P-GW in the existing EPS network architecture are separately divided into an independent functional network element of the control plane and an independent functional element of the user plane (S-GW-C and S-GW-U; and P-GW- C and P-GW-U). S-GW-C and P-GW-C may be collectively referred to as C-GW, and S-GW-U and P-GW-U may be collectively referred to as U-GW. The existing interface between the S-GW and the P-GW is also divided into a control-plane interface and a user-plane interface, such as the S5-C interface and the S5-U interface in DGW architecture 2. The new interface is introduced between two network elements: S-GW-C and S-GW-U, such as the S18 interface, to implement the connection between S-GW-C and S-GW-U. The new interface is introduced between two network elements: the P-GW-C and the P-GW-U, such as the S19 interface, to implement the communication between the P-GW-C and the P-GW-U. In a network architecture, another network element and interface can reuse an existing EPS network architecture. The newly added S18 and S19 interfaces can reuse the interface protocol between the S-GW and the P-GW, such as GTP, or another interface protocol or a newly defined protocol. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

The method and apparatus in the embodiments of the present invention can be used in a communication system shown in DGW architecture 1 or DGW architecture 2 in FIG. 1. For ease of description, the communication system shown in DGW Architecture 1 is used as an example in embodiments of the present invention. For the communication system shown in DGW architecture 2, in this embodiment of the present invention, the C-GW is equivalent to the integrated network element of the S-GW-C and the P-GW-C in the 2 DGW architecture, and the U-GW is equivalent to the integrated network element from S-GW-U and P-GW-U in DGW architecture 2.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for ensuring continuity of service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method according to FIG. 2 is performed by the control plane gateway. The method includes the following steps.

201. The C-GW receives the current location information of the UE sent by the network mobility control.

This embodiment of the present invention is applicable to any one of the following application scenarios:

(1) During the user plane data transmission, the UE in connection mode is moved, and the location area after moving is outside the service range of the source base station; and after detecting that the UE is out of the service range of the source base station, the source base station decides to initiate a user plane data service switching procedure in the connection mode. The source base station is a serving base station used before the UE has moved to its current location.

(2) When it is necessary to transmit data of an uplink user plane, a UE in idle mode is moved outside the region of the current registered location, such as the current registered tracking area (TA), and the UE initiates the location update procedure, such as the procedure for updating the tracking area (Tracking Area Update, TAU).

(3) When it is necessary to transmit data of an uplink user plane, a UE in idle mode is moved outside the service area of the current serving base station, but does not leave the current recorded location area, such as the current recorded tracking area (Tracking Area, TA ), and the UE initiates the Service Request procedure.

In the application scenario (1), after receiving the user plane data switching request sent by the source base station, the network mobility control element may send a service handover notification to the serving C-GW UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element can send a notification of service switching using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Modify Bearer Request message, or an access carrier modification request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network element may send a service handover notification using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the service switch notification is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (2), after receiving a location update request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element may send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control can send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an Access Channel Modification message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (3), after receiving a service request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element can send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Modify Bearer Request message, or an access channel modification request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

The current location information of the UE includes a tracking area identifier (TAI) corresponding to the current location area of the UE, information of the serving base station corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, and / or the like. The corresponding TAI used when the UE has moved to its current location is the target TAI of the UE. The corresponding serving base station information used after the UE has moved to the current location area is information of the target base station UE. The target base station information may be an identifier (Identity, ID) of the target base station, a target cell identifier (Cell Identity, CI), or the like. Should be clear that the current location area of the UE is also referred to as the target location area of the UE, that is, the location area of the UE after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source serving base station. Similarly, the current location information of the UE is also referred to as the target location information of the UE.

202. The C-GW selects at least one forwarding U-GW for the UE according to the current location information of the UE.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the current location area of the UE is outside the service range of the current serving U-GW of the UE, and the C-GW needs to select the appropriate forwarding U-GW for the UE according to the current location area of the UE.

203. The C-GW establishes, for the UE, a data transfer tunnel between the source U-GW serving the UE and the sending U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the target base station serving the UE.

Data transfer tunnels are used to transmit data on the uplink user plane and / or data on the UE user plane during the UE motion.

It should be understood that the UE motion process includes procedures that occur in the above three application scenarios, in particular, including: a service switching procedure in the (1) application scenario, a location update procedure in the (2) application scenario, and the service request procedure in scenario (3) application.

It should be understood that the target base station of the UE is the base station that provides the access service for the UE after the UE has moved to the current location area.

It should be understood that the data forwarding tunnels are implemented by creating a user plane bearer context between the source U-GW serving the UE and the sending U-GW and the user plane bearer context between the sending U-GW and the target base station UE. User plane bearer contexts include the routing information required to transfer user plane data. In particular, the user plane bearer context created on the source U-GW includes the forwarding information of the forwarding U-GW and the routing information of the source base station serving the UE, the user plane bearer context created on the forwarding U-GW, includes the routing information of the source U-GW and the routing information of the target base station, and the user plane bearer context created at the target base station includes the routing information of the forwarding U-GW. In addition, the routing information may include an address (usually an Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) address) and information about the endpoint of the tunnel (usually if GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GPRS) is used), information about the endpoint of the tunnel is the GTP Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) identifier.

It should be understood that the forwarding U-GW is at least one forwarding U-GW mentioned in step 202. The data forwarding tunnels that are established by the C-GW for the UE between the original U-GW serving the UE and the forwarding U- GW The GW, and between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station UE, is a communication path established by the C-GW between the source U-GW, at least one forwarding U-GW, and the target base station to establish a data forwarding tunnel between two network elements from source C-GW to target bases new station.

For example, when at least one forwarding U-GW includes only one U-GW: U-GW 1, the established data transfer tunnel route is: the source U-GW → U-GW 1 → target base station. When at least one forwarding U-GW includes two U-GWs: U-GW 1 and U-GW 2, the U-GW 1 can communicate with the original U-GW, and the U-GW 2 can communicate with The target base station established by the data forwarding tunnel is: the source U-GW → U-GW 1 → U-GW 2 → the target base station. When at least one forwarding U-GW includes three or more U-GWs that include a U-GW 1 that can communicate with the source U-GW, and a U-GW 2 that can communicate with the target The base station established by the data transfer tunnel route is: source U-GW → U-GW 1 → ... → U-GW 2 → target base station. The data transfer tunnels indicated by U-GW 1 → ... → U-GW 2 are data transfer tunnels between at least one U-GW forwarding.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the C-GW determines the appropriate forwarding U-GW for the UE according to the current location information after moving and establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW and the forwarding tunnel data between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station UE to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user service experience.

Perhaps in an embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW includes only one U-GW: the first U-GW, the C-GW, is the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to its current location, C-GW is the same as the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location area, and the mobility control network element is the serving network mobility management element used after the UE has moved to the current location area. In this case, step 203 is implemented, in particular, as follows:

receiving, by the C-GW, the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station UE;

sending, by C-GW, a second request to the first U-GW, the second request being used to request the first U-GW to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the original U-GW, and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source U-GW; and

sending, by C-GW, a third request to the original U-GW, the third request being used to request the original U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW, and the third request carries the routing information of the first U- Gw.

It should be understood that in this embodiment, the C-GW is the same as the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location, i.e., the serving C-GW does not change as the UE moves . It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Of course, it should be understood that the C-GW then receives the second response sent by the first U-GW in accordance with the second request, and the third response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the third request. The second answer is used to confirm that the first U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the first U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information, and the third answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW . After receiving the second response and the third response, the C-GW may send the first response of the first request to the network mobility control.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request or the third request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, the second response, or the third response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

In addition, it should be understood that the physical implementation of the tunnel is the bearer context, and the bearer context includes routing information of the peer end of the tunnel. The control plane gateway must separately send requests to two user plane gateways in order to separately create bearer contexts, and bearer contexts include peer-to-end routing information. Thus, a tunnel is established between two user plane gateways.

Perhaps in another embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW includes a second U-GW and a third U-GW, the C-GW is the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to its current location, C -GW is the same as the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location area, the mobility control network element is the serving network mobility management element used after the UE has moved to the current location area and the mobility network element is the same as or different from the serving mobility network element used before the UE has moved to its current location. In this case, step 203 is implemented, in particular, as follows:

receiving, by the C-GW, the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station UE;

sending, by C-GW, a second request to the second U-GW, the second request being used to request the second U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station, and a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW, and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third U-GW;

sending, by C-GW, a third request to a third U-GW, the third request being used to request the third U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW and a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW, and the third request carries the routing information of the second U-GW and the routing information of the original U-GW; and

sending, by C-GW, a fourth request to the original U-GW, where the fourth request is used to request the original U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the third U-GW, and the fourth request carries the routing information of the third U- Gw.

Similarly, the C-GW additionally receives the second response sent by the second U-GW in accordance with the second request, the third response sent by the third U-GW in accordance with the third request, and the fourth response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the fourth request . The second answer is used to confirm that the second U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the second U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The third answer is used to confirm that the third U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW. Maybe, the third response may carry the routing information of the third U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The fourth answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the third U-GW. After receiving the second response, the third response and the fourth response, the C-GW may send the first response of the first request to the network mobility control.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request, the third request, or the fourth request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, the second response, the third response, or the fourth response in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as the Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

At least one forwarding U-GW defined by C-GW may represent three or more forwarding U-GWs. The C-GW sends a data tunnel establishment request to each forwarder U-GW to establish data forwarding tunnels between the source U-GW, the at least one forwarding U-GW, and the target base station. For example, at least one forwarding U-GW includes U-GW 1, U-GW 2 and U-GW 3. U-GW 1 can communicate with the source U-GW, U-GW 3 can communicate with the target The U-GW and the data transfer tunnel route established is: the source U-GW → U-GW 1 → U-GW 2 → U-GW 3 → the target U-GW.

Perhaps in another embodiment, the C-GW further receives the routing information of the source U-GW of the UE, which is sent by the mobility control network element. At least one forwarding U-GW includes only one U-GW: the first U-GW, the C-GW is the serving C-GW, used after the UE has moved to its current location, the C-GW is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE moves to its current location, the network mobility control element is the serving network mobility control element used after the UE has moved to the current location area, and the network mobility control element is same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before how the UE moved to its current location. In this case, step 203 is implemented, in particular, as follows:

receiving, by the C-GW, the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station UE; and

sending, by C-GW, a second request to the first U-GW, the second request being used to request the first U-GW to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the original The U-GW and the second request carry the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source U-GW.

It should be understood that in this embodiment, the C-GW is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, that is, the serving C-GW is changed during the movement of the UE. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Similarly, the C-GW additionally receives a second response, sent by the first U-GW in accordance with the second request. The second answer is used to confirm that the first U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the first U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. After receiving the second response, the C-GW may send the first response of the first request to the network mobility control.

Of course, it should be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, since the serving C-GW UE in this embodiment is changed during the movement of the UE, step 203 in this embodiment is performed, in particular, by the target C-GW, that is, serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to its current location. In addition, the target C-GW should additionally indicate to the source C-GW via the network mobility control element to send a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the source U-GW and send routing information of the first U-GW to the source U-GW. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location, and the original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before

It should be noted that the first request or the second request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a request to create an indirect data transfer tunnel request (Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request), or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response or the second response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in another embodiment, the C-GW further receives the routing information of the source U-GW of the UE, which is sent by the mobility control network element. At least one forwarding U-GW includes a second U-GW and a third U-GW, the C-GW is the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to its current location, the C-GW is different from the serving C-GW, used before the UE moves to its current location, the network mobility control element is a serving network mobility control element used after the UE has moved to the current location area, and the network mobility control element is the same amym or different from the service the mobility management network element used before how the UE moved to its current location. In this case, step 203 is implemented, in particular, as follows:

receiving, by the C-GW, the first request sent by the mobility management network element, the first request carrying the routing information of the target base station UE;

sending, by C-GW, a second request to the second U-GW, the second request being used to request the second U-GW to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW, and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third U-GW; and

sending, by C-GW, a third request to a third U-GW, the third request being used to request the third U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW and a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and source U-GW, and the third request carries the routing information of the second U-GW and the routing information of the source U-GW.

Similarly, the C-GW additionally receives the second response, sent by the second U-GW in accordance with the second request, and the third response, sent by the third U-GW in accordance with the third request. The second answer is used to confirm that the second U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the second U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The third answer is used to confirm that the third U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW. Perhaps the third response may carry the routing information of the third U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information.

Of course, it should be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, since the serving C-GW UE in this embodiment is changed during the movement of the UE, step 203 in this embodiment is performed, in particular, by the target C-GW, i.e. serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to its current location. In addition, the target C-GW must additionally indicate to the source C-GW via the network mobility control element to send a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the source U-GW and send the routing information of the third U-GW to the source U-GW. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location, and the original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before

It should be noted that the first request, the second request or the third request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a request to create an indirect data forwarding tunnel (Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request), or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, the second response, or the third response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in the above four specific embodiments, the implementation of FIG. 2, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the method further includes: sending, by the C-GW, the routing information of the first U-GW to the target base station via the mobility management network element.

Alternatively, in the above four specific embodiments, the implementation of FIG. 2, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the second U-GW and the third U-GW, the method further includes: sending, by the C-GW, the routing information of the second U-GW to the target base station via the network mobility control element .

Perhaps in the above four specific embodiments, the implementation of FIG. 2, the method may further include: sending, by C-GW, a session creation request to the target U-GW, wherein the session creation request is used to create, on the target U-GW for the UE, a bearer context for transmitting user data each created bearer context includes routing information (such as IP address and TEID information) of the target U-GW, and the target U-GW is the serving U-GW corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE. It should be understood that the target U-GW is typically the serving U-GW, which provides the best data path for the UE in its current location. Besides,

Perhaps in the above four specific embodiments, the implementation of FIG. 2, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the first U-GW may also be a serving U-GW selected by the C-GW for the UE according to the current location information of the UE. That is, the first U-GW is the target U-GW. In this case, the target D-GW can directly communicate with the source D-GW, that is, the target U-GW also plays the role of a forwarding U-GW. It should be understood that when the target U-GW cannot directly communicate with the source D-GW, the forwarding U-GW selected by the C-GW is different from the target U-GW.

Below is a description of the method in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to specific embodiments. For ease of description, MME is used as a network mobility management element in the following embodiment. Of course, in a particular application, the network mobility control element may alternatively be another device that has the function of a network mobility control element. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of interaction flow while ensuring continuity of service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3, the source base station is a serving base station used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target base station is a serving base station used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The serving MME and the serving C-GW UE remain unchanged before and after the movement of the UE. The original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target U-GW is a U-GW used after the UE has moved to the current location area. U-GW forwarding is U-GW, which is used after the UE has moved to its current location, and is used to switch the data service. Before switching the service, the data transmission path of the uplink / downlink user plane is: UE ↔ source base station ↔ source U-GW, i.e., transmission paths indicated by the dotted line L1a and dotted line L2a in FIG. 3

The specific service switch procedure in this embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S301. The source base station initiates a user plane data switching procedure of the UE in connection mode.

When the source base station UE detects that the UE is moving outside the service range of the source base station and the UE performs the user plane data service, the source base station can determine to initiate the user plane data service switching procedure in the connection mode.

S302. The source base station sends a service switch request message to the MME.

In order to distinguish from the service switch request message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, the service switch request message sent by the source base station to the MME is referred to as the service switch request message 1.

The source base station sends a service switch request message 1 to the current serving MME (that is, the MME in FIG. 3) and adds the current location information of the UE to the message. The current location information of the UE includes a tracking area identifier (TAI) corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, information of the serving base station corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE and / or the like. The corresponding TAI used when the UE has moved to its current location is the target TAI of the UE. The corresponding serving base station information used after the UE has moved to the current location area is information of the target base station UE. The target base station information may be an identifier (Identity, ID) of a target base station, a target cell identifier (Cell Identity, CI) or the like. The current location area of the UE is also referred to as the target location area of the UE, that is, the location area of the UE after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source serving base station. Similarly, the current location information of the UE is also referred to as the target location information of the UE.

S303. MME sends a service switch notification message to C-GW.

After receiving the service switching request message 1, the serving MME of the UE detects that the UE has moved out of the service range of the current base station (source base station), and then sends a service switching notification message to the current serving C-GW. The service switch notification message carries the information of the current location of the UE. The service switch notification message is used to notify the C-GW that the UE requires a handover to a new area of the target location. The MME can reuse an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) message, or a Modify Access Bearers Request message, and add the current location information of the UE to the message. Alternatively, the MME may define a new message to send a service switch notification message. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

S304. C-GW defines the target U-GW and forwarding U-GW.

After receiving the service switch notification message sent by the MME, the C-GW may determine, according to the current location information of the UE, whether to redistribute the current serving U-GW (source U-GW) to the UE, that is, did the UE move to the limits of the service range of the original U-GW. It should be noted that since the C-GW stores, in real time, the information of the service area of each U-GW in the C-GW service range, the C-GW can determine, according to the current location information of the UE (such as the target TAI or the ID of the target baseline stations), did the UE move beyond the service range of the original U-GW.

If the UE has not moved beyond the service range of the original U-GW, the UE data service switching can be performed in the original U-GW. With regard to the specific implementation, it is possible to refer to a known method for switching the data service through the U-GW or the P-GW. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention.

If the C-GW determines that the serving U-GW for the UE needs to be reallocated, the C-GW selects, according to the current location information of the UE, a suitable target U-GW to ensure that the target U-GW can provide the optimal data transfer route in the current location for the UE and reduce the user plane RTT data as much as possible.

In addition, the C-GW must check whether the target U-GW can directly communicate with the source U-GW. If the target U-GW can directly communicate with the source U-GW, the target U-GW is the forwarding U-GW, that is, sending to the forwarding U-GW in all subsequent steps is sending to the target U-GW . If the target U-GW cannot directly communicate with the source U-GW, then the U-GW, which can directly communicate with the source U-GW, is selected as the forwarding U-GW according to the information of the target location of the UE. The methods for determining the target U-GW and forwarding U-GW in FIG. 4 - FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are similar to this method.

It should be noted that in order to ensure continuity of service in a specific scenario, there may be more than one forwarding U-GW. Usually, if the UE moves to the neighboring U-GW pool, the C-GW selects the default U-GW in the neighboring U-GW pool as the forwarding U-GW (which may be referred to as the target forwarding U-GW) that communicates with target u-gw. If the default U-GW also cannot directly communicate with the original U-GW, then the C-GW may select as the forwarding U-GW (which may be referred to as the original forwarding U-GW) that communicates with the original U The -GW, the default U-GW in the U-GW pool where the source U-GW is located, and the two forwarding U-GWs are used to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE.

S305. C-GW returns a switch acknowledgment message to the MME.

The C-GW returns the switch-off acknowledgment message to the MME and adds the address and information about the tunnel end point of the forwarding U-GW selected by C-GW to the message.

For example, the address of the forwarding U-GW may be the address of the Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) of the forwarding U-GW. Information about the tunnel end point of the forwarding U-GW may vary according to the protocols used between the MME and the C-GW. For example, when GTP is used between MME and C-GW, the information on the end point of the forwarding U-GW tunnel may be the identifier of the end point of the GTP tunnel (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier, TEID).

In addition, if several forwarding U-GWs are determined in step S304, for example, the original forwarding U-GW and the target forwarding U-GW, then the C-GW can add, to the acknowledgment message of the switch notification, the address and information about the tunnel endpoint forwarding U-GW located in the target location area of the UE. It should be noted that when the switching notification acknowledgment message returns to the MME, an existing message, such as a Create Session Response message, a Modify Bearer Response message, or a channel modification response message, may be reused. access media (Modify Access Bearers Response), or a new message can be defined. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

S306. The MME sends a service switch request message to the target base station.

In order to distinguish from the service switch request message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, the service switch request message sent by the MME to the target base station is referred to as the service switch request message 2.

The MME sends a service switch request message 2 to the target base station, and forwards, to the target base station, the address and information of the U-GW tunnel endpoint sent by the C-GW, so that the uplink data path is then switched to forwarding U-GW. The address and information of the tunnel end point of the forwarding U-GW may be sent using message 2 of the service switch request or may be sent independently.

S307. The target base station returns a handshake request message to the MME.

In order to distinguish from a switch request handshake message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for the service switch request message corresponding to the switch request handshake message, the switch request handshake message sent by the target base station to the MME is mentioned as a message 2 acknowledging the switch request.

After receiving the service switch request message 2 sent by the MME, the target base station may return a switch request acknowledgment message 2 to the MME and send an address (such as an IP address) and tunnel end point information (such as GTP TEID) to the target base station on Mme. Similarly, the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target base station may be sent using the switch request acknowledgment message 2 or may be sent independently.

S308. The MME sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the C-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, a data transfer tunnel establishment request sent by the MME to the C-GW is referred to as a data transfer tunnel establishment request 1.

The MME sends a data forwarding tunnel establishment request 1 to the C-GW and sends the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target base station to the C-GW, so that the downlink data path is then switched to the target base station.

It should be noted that a request to establish a data transfer tunnel can be sent by reusing an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request message or a Modify Bearer Request message, or again specific message. This is not limited in the present invention. The description applies to all embodiments of the present invention.

S309. C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the forwarding U-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numerical identifier with that for a request to establish a data transfer tunnel corresponding to a request to establish a data transfer tunnel, a data transfer tunnel establishment request sent by C- GW to forwarding U-GW, referred to as request 2 to establish a data transfer tunnel.

The C-GW sends a data tunnel establishment request 2 to the forwarding U-GW and sends the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the target base station and the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the source U-GW to the forwarding U-GW.

In addition, if multiple forwarding U-GWs are required at step S304, for example, the source forwarding U-GW (i.e., the third U-GW mentioned above) and the target forwarding U-GW (that is, the second U-GW mentioned above ), C-GW must send a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to each forwarding U-GW, and the request carries the address and information about the tunnel end point of the peer network element. For example, a data transfer tunnel establishment request sent to the original U-GW forwarding carries the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the source U-GW and the destination forwarding U-GW, and the data transfer tunnel establishment request sent to the target U-GW forwarding, carries the address and information about the tunnel end point of the source forwarding U-GW and the address and information about the tunnel end point of the target base station.

S310. The forwarding U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

In order to distinguish from a data transfer tunnel establishment response in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for a data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to the data transfer tunnel establishment response, sent by the data transmission tunnel U GW on C-GW, referred to as answer 2 establish a data transfer tunnel.

The forwarding U-GW returns a data forwarding tunnel establishment 2 response to the C-GW to respond to the forwarding data tunnel establishment request 2 sent by the C-GW, and determines that the forwarding forwarding tunnel is established between the target base station and the forwarding U-GW and establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW. It is possible that the answer 2 establishing a data transfer tunnel may carry the address and information about the end point of the forwarding U-GW tunnel.

If multiple forwarding U-GWs are required at step S304, the C-GW should send a data forwarding tunnel establishment request to each forwarding U-GW, and accordingly, each forwarding U-GW should return a forwarding tunnel establishment response to indicate that the data transfer tunnel allowed.

It should be understood that responses to requests to establish data transfer tunnels in the present invention all indicate that the establishment of data transfer tunnels is permitted. If there is a response indicating that the establishment of a data transfer tunnel is not permitted, the method in this embodiment of the present invention is no longer performed. This applies to the following.

It should be noted that a data transfer tunnel establishment response can be sent by reusing an existing message, such as the Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response message or Modifying Bearer Response response message, or a newly defined messages. This is not limited in the present invention. The description applies to all embodiments of the present invention.

S311. C-GW sends a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the original U-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, a request to establish a data transfer tunnel sent by C-GW to the original U-GW is referred to as request 3 establishing a data transfer tunnel.

The C-GW sends a request 3 for establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the original U-GW and sends the address and information about the end point of the forwarding tunnel U-GW to the original U-GW.

If several forwarding U-GWs are defined in step S304, the C-GW sends, to the original U-GW, the address and information about the tunnel end point of the original forwarding U-GW located in the area of the current location of the UE.

S312. The original U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

In order to distinguish from a data transfer tunnel establishment response in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for a data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to a data transfer tunnel establishment response, sent by the original data transfer tunnel U -GW on C-GW, referred to as response 3 establish a tunnel of forwarding and data.

The original U-GW returns a data forwarding tunnel establishment 3 response to the C-GW to respond to the data forwarding tunnel establishment request 3 sent by the C-GW, and determines that the data forwarding tunnel is established between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW is allowed.

S313. Establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

After the address and information about the endpoint of the peer U-GW tunnel are obtained, a data transfer tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

Of course, it should be clear that if several forwarding U-GWs are determined in step S304, for example, the original forwarding U-GW and the target forwarding U-GW, a data forwarding tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the original forwarding U-GW and the tunnel respectively forwarding data between the original U-GW forwarding and the target U-GW forwarding.

S314. C-GW returns the response of the establishment of the data transfer tunnel to the MME.

In order to distinguish from a data transfer tunnel establishment response at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for a data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to a data transfer tunnel establishment response, the data transfer tunnel establishment response sent by C- GW on MME, referred to as a data transfer tunnel setup response 1.

After the data forwarding tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW, the C-GW returns a response 1 to establish a data forwarding tunnel on the MME to notify the MME that the data forwarding tunnel is established and service switching can take place.

S315. The MME sends a switch command to the source base station.

The MME sends a switch command to the source base station, and the command carries the address and information about the tunnel end point of the forwarding U-GW. If several forwarding U-GWs are required, for example, the source forwarding U-GW and the target forwarding U-GW, the command carries the address and information about the tunnel end point of the original forwarding U-GW located in the area of the original location of the UE.

S316. The source base station performs the data switching procedure.

The source base station continues to perform the existing data switch procedure, switches the UE to the target cell and instructs the UE to access the target cell and can reuse the existing switch procedure in a subsequent step to implement the full handover of the UE to the target location.

During the switching process and after the switching is completed, the data transmission path of the user uplink / downlink user plane changes to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ forwarding U-GW source U-GW, that is, transmission paths indicated by the dotted line L3a, dashed line L4a, dashed line L5a, and dashed line L6a in FIG. 3. It should be noted that before, during and after switching, the data transmission path of the user plane of the uplink / downlink passes through the original U-GW. However, given that both the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW were moved downstream to locations closer to the UE, the original U-GW is also very close to the forwarding U-GW, and therefore the RTT of the user plane data does not increase in a substantial way. When the C-GW determines that two or more U-GWs are used as forwarding U-GWs, the forwarding data tunnels of the forwarding U-GW pass through all forwarding U-GWs. For example, if a forwarding U-GW includes a target forwarding U-GW and a source forwarding U-GW, the transmission routes change to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ target forwarding U-GW source forwarding U-GW ↔ source U-GW.

It should be understood that the data transfer tunnels established in this embodiment of the present invention are implemented by creating a user plane bearer context between the original U-GW serving the UE and the U-GW bearer and user bearer context between the forwarder U -GW and target base station UE. User plane bearer contexts include routing information (eg, address and tunnel endpoint information) required to send user plane data, including the source U-GW’s routing information, the U-GW’s forward routing information, and the target base station. This also applies to another embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the C-GW determines the forwarding U-GW according to the current location information of the UE. A data transfer tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and provide a user service experience.

FIG. 4 is another flowchart of the interaction when ensuring service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4, the source base station is a serving base station used before the UE has moved to the current location area. The target base station is a serving base station used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The serving MME and the serving C-GW UE remain unchanged before and after the movement of the UE. The original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target U-GW is a U-GW used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The forwarding U-GW is a U-GW, which is used after the UE has moved to the current location region, and is used to switch the data service. Before switching the service, the data path of the uplink / downlink user plane is: UE ↔ source base station ↔ source U-GW, i.e. transmission paths indicated by dotted line L1b and dotted line L2b in FIG. four. indicated by the dotted line L1b and the dotted line L2b in FIG. four. indicated by the dotted line L1b and the dotted line L2b in FIG. four.

S401. The source base station initiates a user plane data switching procedure of the UE in connection mode.

S402. The source base station sends a service switch request message to the MME.

S403. MME sends a service switch notification message to C-GW.

S404. C-GW defines the target U-GW and forwarding U-GW.

With regard to the specific implementation of steps S401-S404, it is possible to refer to steps S301-S304 in FIG. 3

S405. C-GW sends a session creation request to the target U-GW.

After selecting the appropriate target U-GW, the C-GW may initiate a session creation request on the target U-GW to create, on the target U-GW for the UE, a bearer context for transmitting user plane data.

S406. The target U-GW sends the session creation response to the C-GW.

The target U-GW creates, for the UE in accordance with the session creation request, a bearer context for transmitting user-plane data of the UE. Each created bearer context includes an address (such as an IP address) and information about a tunnel endpoint (such as a GTP TEID) of the target U-GW.

After the creation of the bearer context has been completed, the target U-GW may send a session creation response to the C-GW.

S407. C-GW returns an acknowledgment message of the switch to MME.

C-GW returns the acknowledgment message of the switch to MME and adds to the message the address and information about the tunnel end point of the target U-GW selected by C-GW.

S408. The MME sends a service switch request message to the target base station.

The MME sends a service switch request message to the target base station, and the message carries the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target U-GW, which are sent by the C-GW.

S409. The target base station returns a handshake request message to the MME.

After receiving the service switch request message sent by the MME, the target base station may return a switch request acknowledgment message to the MME and send an address (such as an IP address) and tunnel endpoint information (such as GTP TEID) to the target base station on the MME. Similarly, the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target base station can be sent using the switch request handshake message or can be sent independently.

S410. The MME sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the C-GW.

S411. C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the forwarding U-GW.

S412. The forwarding U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

S413. C-GW sends a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the original U-GW.

S414. The original U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

S415. Establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

S416. C-GW returns the response of the establishment of the data transfer tunnel to the MME.

S417. The MME sends a switch command to the source base station.

With regard to the specific implementation of steps S410-S417, it is possible to refer to steps S308-S315 in FIG. 3

S418. The source base station performs the data switching procedure.

During the switching process and after the switching is completed, the downlink user plane data transmission route is: source base station → source U-GW → forward U-GW → target base station → UE, i.e., transmission routes indicated by the dotted line L3b, dotted line L4b, dotted line L5b, and dotted line L6b in FIG. 4. During the switching process and after the switching is completed, the data transmission path of the user plane of the uplink is: UE → target base station → target U-GW, i.e., transmission paths indicated by the dashed line L7b and dashed line L8b in FIG . four.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the C-GW determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether to change the serving U-GW, and selects the forwarding U-GW according to whether the selected target U-GW can directly communicate with source U-GW. A data transfer tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and provide a user service experience. In addition, the C-GW directly initiates a request for setting the channel context of the target U-GW and notifies the target base station of the routing information of the target U-GW through the MME, so that uplink data can be sent directly from the target base station to the target U- GW without passing through the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW,

It should be understood that the interaction procedures in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, apply to the scenario in which the serving MME and the serving C-GW of the UE remain unchanged before and after the movement of the UE. If the serving MME of the UE changes, but the serving C-GW does not change before and after moving the UE, only an increase in signaling interaction between the source MME and the target MME is required based on the solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. The interaction signaling process belongs to an existing technology, and details are not described in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of the interaction when ensuring service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5, the source base station is a serving base station used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target base station is a serving base station used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The original MME is the serving MME used before the UE has moved to the current location area. The target MME is the serving MME used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target C-GW is the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target U-GW is a U-GW used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The forwarding U-GW is a U-GW, which is used after the UE has moved to the current location region, and is used to switch the data service. Before switching the service, the uplink / downlink user plane data transmission path is: UE U source base station ↔ source U-GW, i.e., transmission paths indicated by dotted line L1c and dotted line L2c in FIG. five.

The specific service switch procedure in this embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S501. The source base station initiates a user plane data switching procedure of the UE in connection mode.

When the source base station UE detects that the UE has moved out of the service range of the source base station and the UE performs the user plane data service, the source base station may decide to initiate the user plane data service switching procedure in connection mode.

S502. The source base station sends a service switch request message to the source MME.

In order to distinguish from the service switch request message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, the service switch request message sent by the source base station to the source MME is referred to as service switch request message 1.

The source base station sends a service switch request message 1 to the current serving MME (that is, the source MME in FIG. 5) and adds the current location information of the UE to the message. The current location information of the UE includes a TAI corresponding to the current location area of the UE, information of the serving base station corresponding to the current location area of the UE, and / or the like. The corresponding TAI used when the UE has moved to its current location is the target TAI of the UE. The corresponding serving base station information used after the UE has moved to the current location area is information of the target base station UE. The information of the target base station may be an identifier (Identity, ID) of the target base station, target cell ID (Cell Identity, CI) or the like It should be understood that the current location area of the UE is also referred to as the target location area of the UE, that is, the location area of the UE after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source serving base station. Similarly, the current location information of the UE is also referred to as the target location information of the UE.

S503. The source MME sends a forwarding move request message to the target MME.

The source MME determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source MME. If the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source MME, the source MME selects the appropriate target MME according to the current location information of the UE and sends a forward move request message to the target MME, and the message carries the current location information of the UE. The target MME is an MME that serves the UE after the UE has moved to the current location area.

S504. The target MME defines the target C-GW.

The target MME determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether the current serving C-GW of the UE should be reallocated, i.e., whether the UE has moved out of the service range of the source C-GW. If the serving C-GW needs to be reallocated, the target MME selects the appropriate target C-GW according to the current location information of the UE.

S505. The target MME sends a serving C-GW change notification message to the source MME.

The target MME sends a serving C-GW change notification message to the source MME to notify the source MME that the serving C-GW UE needs to be changed. When a change notification message of a serving C-GW is sent to the original MME, an existing message, such as a Change Notification Request message, can be reused, and new indication information is added to the message; or a new message may be defined. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

S506. The original MME sends a service switch notification message to the original C-GW.

In order to distinguish from the service switch notification message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, the service switch notification message sent by the source MME to the original C-GW is referred to as service switch notification message 1.

After receiving the service switching request message 1 serving the MME (source MME), the UE detects that the UE has moved out of the service range of the current base station (source base station), and then sends a service switching notification message 1 to the current serving C-GW (source C-GW). The message carries the indication information about the change of serving C-GW. The original MME can reuse an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Modify Bearer Request message or a Modify Access Bearers Request message to send Message 1 service switch notifications, and add current UE location information to the message. Alternatively, The original MME may define a new message to send a message 1 of the service switching notification. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

S507. The original C-GW sends an acknowledgment of the switch notification to the original MME.

In order to distinguish from a switch request acknowledgment message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and in order to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for the service switch request message corresponding to the switch notification acknowledgment message, the switch request acknowledgment message sent by the original C-GW to the original MME, referred to as a switching notification handshake message 1.

After receiving the service switch notification message 1 sent by the source MME, the source C-GW may return a switch notification acknowledgment message 1 to the source MME, and the message carries the address (such as IP address) and information about the end point of the tunnel (such as GTP TEID) of the original U-GW.

S508. The source MME returns acknowledgment of the C-GW change notification to the target MME.

The source MME returns acknowledgment of the C-GW change notification to the target MME, and the acknowledgment carries the address (such as IP address) and tunnel endpoint information (such as GTP TEID) of the source U-GW.

S509. The target MME sends a service switch notification message to the target C-GW.

In order to distinguish from the service switch notification message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, the service switch notification message sent by the target MME to the target C-GW is referred to as service switch notification message 2.

The target MME sends a message 2 service switching notifications to the target C-GW. The service switch notification message 2 carries the current location information of the UE, including the target TAI, the target base station information (base station ID), and the like. It should be noted that the service switch notification message is used to notify the C-GW that the UE should be switched to a new area of the target location (i.e., the area of the current location of the UE). The target MME may reuse an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Modify Bearer Request message, or a Modify Access Bearers Request message, to send a message 2 switching service notifications, and add the target UE location information to the message. Alternatively, the target MME may define a new message to send a service switch notification message 2. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

S510. The target C-GW determines the target U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

After detecting a switch request, the target C-GW selects the appropriate target U-GW according to the current location information of the UE to ensure that the target U-GW can provide the optimal data path at the target location for the UE and reduce the RTT of user plane data transmission as much as possible.

In addition, the target C-GW needs to check whether the target U-GW can directly communicate with the source U-GW. If the target U-GW can directly communicate with the source U-GW, the target U-GW is the forwarding U-GW, that is, the sending performed by the forwarding U-GW in all subsequent steps is the sending performed on the target U-GW. If the target U-GW cannot directly communicate with the source U-GW, the target C-GW selects as the forwarding U-GW according to the current location information of the UE, the U-GW, which can directly communicate with the source U-GW .

It should be noted that in order to ensure service continuity in a particular scenario, there may be more than one forwarding U-GW. Usually, if the UE has moved to the neighboring U-GW pool, the target C-GW chooses the default U-GW in the adjacent U-GW pool as the target U-GW forwarding. If the default U-GW also cannot directly communicate with the source U-GW, then the target C-GW may select, by default, the U-GW in the U-GW pool in which it is located as the source forwarding U-GW source U-GW, and two forwarding U-GWs are used to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE.

S511. The target C-GW sends a switching notification acknowledgment message to the target MME.

In order to distinguish from a switch request acknowledgment message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for the service switch request message corresponding to the switch notification acknowledgment message, the switch request acknowledgment message sent by the target C-GW to the target The MME is referred to as the 2 switching notification handshake message.

After determining the forwarding U-GW, the target C-GW may return a handshake acknowledgment message 2 to the target MME according to the message 2 of the service MME handover notifications, and add, to the message, an address (such as an IP address) and information The tunnel endpoint (such as the GTP TEID) of the forwarding U-GW selected by the target C-GW.

If there are multiple forwarding U-GWs, for example, a source forwarding U-GW and a target forwarding U-GW, then the target C-GW can add, to the acknowledgment message of the switching notification, the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the target forwarding U-GW, located in the area of the current location of the UE. When sending a switching notification acknowledgment message to the target MME, the target C-GW can reuse an existing message, such as a Create Session Response message, a Modify Bearer Response message, or a channel modification response message access media (Modify Access Bearers Response), or can define a new message to send a 2 acknowledgment message of the switch.

S512. The target MME sends a service switch request message to the target base station.

In order to distinguish from the service switch request message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, the service switch request message sent by the target MME to the target base station is referred to as the service switch request message 2.

The target MME sends a service switch request message 2 to the target base station and sends the address and tunnel endpoint information of the forwarding U-GW to the target base station, so that the uplink data transmission route is then switched to the forwarding U-GW.

S513. The target base station sends a switch request acknowledgment message to the target MME.

In order to distinguish from a switch request acknowledgment message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for the service switch request message corresponding to the switch request acknowledgment message, the switch request acknowledgment message sent by the target base page to the target MME, referred to as the 2 handshake request acknowledgment message 2.

The target base station returns a handover request acknowledgment message 2 and sends an address (such as an IP address) and tunnel endpoint information (such as GTP TEID) to the target base station to the target MME.

S514. The target MME sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the target C-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, a request to establish a data transfer tunnel sent by the target MME to a target C-GW is referred to as a request 1 to establish a data transfer tunnel.

The target MME sends a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the target C-GW and sends the address and information about the tunnel end point of the target base station to the C-GW, so that the downlink data transmission route then switches to the target base station.

S515. The target C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the forwarding U-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, a request to establish a data transfer tunnel sent by a target C-GW to a forwarding U-GW is referred to as a request 2 to establish a data transfer tunnel.

The target C-GW sends the data forwarding tunnel establishment request 2 to the forwarding U-GW and sends the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the target base station and the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the source U-GW to the forwarding U-GW.

If multiple forwarding U-GWs are required, then the target C-GW should send a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to each forwarding U-GW, and the request carries the address and information about the tunnel end point of the peer network element.

S516. The forwarding U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the target C-GW.

In order to distinguish from the data transfer tunnel establishment response in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to correspond to the data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to the data transfer tunnel establishment response, the data transfer tunnel establishment response sent by the U-GW forwarding to the target C-GW, referred to as answer 2 establish a data transfer tunnel.

The forwarding U-GW returns a data forwarding tunnel setup response to the target C-GW to respond to the data forwarding tunnel establishment request 2 sent by the target C-GW, and determines that the forwarding tunnel is established between the target base station and the forwarding U-GW and establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW. It is possible that the answer 2 establishing a data transfer tunnel may carry the address and information about the end point of the forwarding U-GW tunnel.

If multiple forwarding D-GWs are required at step S510, the C-GW should send a data forwarding tunnel establishment request to each forwarding D-GW, and accordingly each forwarding D-GW should return a forwarding tunnel establishment response to indicate that the data transfer tunnel allowed.

S517. The target C-GW returns a data tunnel setup response to the target MME.

In order to distinguish from a data transfer tunnel establishment response in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for a data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to a data transfer tunnel establishment response, the data transfer tunnel establishment response sent GW on the target MME, referred to as the data transfer tunnel setup response 1.

After receiving the data forwarding tunnel establishment response 2, the target C-GW returns the data forwarding tunnel establishment response 1 to the target MME and determines that the data forwarding tunnel is established between the target base station and the forwarding U-GW.

S518. The target MME sends the forwarding move response to the source MME.

After determining that a data forwarding tunnel between the target base station and the sending U-GW can be established, the target MME can send a forwarding transfer response to the source MME, and the response transfers the address and information about the end point of the sending U-GW tunnel.

S519. The original MME sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the original C-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, a request to establish a data transfer tunnel sent by the source MME to the original C-GW is referred to as a request 3 to establish a data transfer tunnel.

The source MME sends a request for establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the source C-GW and sends the address and information about the endpoint of the forwarding tunnel U-GW to the source C-GW.

S520. The original C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the original U-GW.

In order to distinguish from a request to establish a data transfer tunnel at another stage in this embodiment of the present invention, a request to establish a data transfer tunnel sent by the original C-GW to the original U-GW is referred to as a request 4 to establish a data transfer tunnel.

The source C-GW sends a request 4 for establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the source U-GW and sends the address and information about the end point of the forwarding tunnel U-GW to the source U-GW.

S521. The original U-GW sends a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the original C-GW.

In order to distinguish from a data transfer tunnel establishment response at a different stage in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for a data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to the data transfer tunnel establishment response, sent by the original U- The GW to the original C-GW is referred to as answer 4 establishing the data transfer tunnel.

After receiving the request for establishing a data forwarding tunnel sent by the original C-GW, the original U-GW may return an answer 4 to establish a data forwarding tunnel and determine that the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW is allowed.

S522. Establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

After the address and information about the endpoint of the peer U-GW tunnel are obtained, a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW is established.

Of course, it should be understood that if several forwarding U-GWs are defined in step S510, for example, the original forwarding U-GW and the target forwarding U-GW, then a data forwarding tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the initial forwarding U-GW and data forwarding tunnel between the source U-GW and the target U-GW.

S523. The source C-GW sends a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the source MME.

To distinguish from a data transfer tunnel establishment response in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for a data transfer tunnel establishment request corresponding to a data transfer tunnel establishment response, sent by the original C- GW on the original MME, referred to as the answer 3 establish a data transfer tunnel.

After receiving the data forwarding tunnel establishment response 4, the original C-GW may send a data forwarding tunnel establishment response 3 to the original MME and determine that the data forwarding tunnel is established between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW.

S524. The source MME sends a switch command to the source base station.

The source MME sends a switch command to the source base station, and the command carries the address and information about the tunnel end point of the forwarding U-GW.

If several forwarding U-GWs are required, the address and information about the tunnel end point of the original forwarding U-GW located in the area of the original location of the UE are transferred in a switching command.

S525. The source base station continues to perform the existing data switch procedure, switches the UE to the target cell and instructs the UE to access the target cell and then reuses the existing switch procedure to implement the complete UE handover to the target location.

During the switch process and after the switch is completed, the data transmission path of the user uplink / downlink user plane changes to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ forward U-GW ↔ source U-GW, that is, the transmission routes indicated by dashed line L3c, dotted line L4c, dotted line L5c and dotted line L6c in FIG. 5. It should be noted that before, during and after switching the user’s data transfer routeplane uplink communication / downlink passes through the original U-GW. However, given that both the source U-GW and the forwarding U-GW are moved downstream to locations closer to the UE, the original U-GW is also very close to the forwarding U-GW, and therefore the RTT of the user plane data does not increase significantly in a way.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the target C-GW determines the forwarding U-GW according to the current location information of the UE and establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the source U-GW and the forwarding U-GW in order to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and provide custom service experience.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the source base station is a serving base station used before the UE has moved to the current location area. The target base station is a serving base station used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The original MME is the serving MME used before the UE has moved to the current location area. The target MME is the serving MME used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before how the UE moved to its current location. The target C-GW is the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target U-GW is a U-GW used after the UE has moved to the current location area. The forwarding U-GW is a U-GW, which is used after the UE has moved to the current location region, and is used to switch the data service. Before switching the service, the uplink / downlink user plane data transmission route is: UE ↔ source base station ↔ source U-GW, i.e. transmission paths, indicated by the dotted line L1d and the dotted line L2d in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

The specific service switch procedure in this embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S601. The source base station initiates a user plane data switching procedure of the UE in connection mode.

S602. The source base station sends a service switch request message.

S603. The original MME sends a forwarding move request message.

S604. The target MME defines the target C-GW.

S605. The target MME sends a serving C-GW change notification message to the source MME.

S606. The original MME sends a service switch notification message to the original C-GW.

S607. The original C-GW sends an acknowledgment of the switch notification to the original MME.

S608. The source MME returns acknowledgment of the C-GW change notification to the target MME.

S609. The target MME sends a service switch notification message to the target C-GW.

S610. The target C-GW determines the target U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

With regard to the specific implementation of steps S601-S610, it is possible to refer to steps S501-S510 in FIG. five.

S611. The target C-GW sends a session creation request to the target U-GW.

After selecting the appropriate target U-GW, the target C-GW may initiate a session creation request on the target U-GW to create, on the target U-GW for the UE, a bearer context for transmitting user plane data.

S612. The target U-GW sends the session creation response to the target C-GW.

After the creation of the bearer context has been completed, the target U-GW may send a session creation response to the target C-GW.

S613. The target C-GW sends a switching notification acknowledgment message to the target MME.

After determining the forwarding U-GW, the target C-GW may return a handshake acknowledgment message 2 to the target MME according to the message 2 of the service MME handover notifications and add, to the message, an address (such as IP address) and information about the tunnel endpoint (such as the GTP TEID) of the target U-GW selected by the target C-GW.

S614. The target MME sends a service switch request message to the target base station.

The target MME sends a service switch request message 2 to the target base station, and the message conveys the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target U-GW that are sent to the target C-GW.

S615. The target base station sends a switch request acknowledgment message to the target MME.

In order to distinguish from a handshake request acknowledgment message in another step in this embodiment of the present invention, and to match the corresponding numeric identifier with that for the service switch request message corresponding to the switch request acknowledgment message, the switch request handshake message sent by the target base station to the target MME, referred to as the 2 handshake request acknowledgment message 2.

S616. The target MME sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the target C-GW.

S617. The target C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the forwarding U-GW.

S618. The forwarding U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the target C-GW.

S619. The target C-GW returns a data tunnel setup response to the target MME.

S620. The target MME sends the forwarding move response to the source MME.

S621. The original MME sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the original C-GW.

S622. The original C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the original U-GW.

S623. The original U-GW sends a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the original C-GW.

S624. Establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

S625. The source C-GW sends a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel to the source MME.

S626. The source MME sends a switch command to the source base station.

With regard to the specific implementation of steps S616-S626, it is possible to refer to steps S514-S524 in FIG. five.

S627. The source base station continues to perform the existing data switch procedure, switches the UE to the target cell and instructs the UE to access the target cell and then reuses the existing switch procedure to implement the full handover of the UE to the target location.

During the switch and after the switch, the downlink user plane data transmission path is: source base station → source U-GW → forwarding U-GW → target base station → UE, i.e., transmission paths indicated by the dotted line L3d, dotted line L4d, dotted line L5d and dotted line L6d in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b. During the switch and after the switch, the data path of the uplink user plane is: UE → target base station → target U-GW, i.e., transmission paths indicated by dotted line L7d and dotted line L8d in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

In this embodiment of the solution according to the present invention, the target C-GW determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether to change the serving U-GW, and selects the forwarding U-GW according to whether the target U-GW directly performs connection to the original U-GW. A data transfer tunnel is established between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and provide a user service experience. In addition, the C-GW directly initiates a request for setting the context of the bearer context of the target U-GW and notifies the target base station of the routing information of the target U-GW via the MME, so that uplink data can be sent directly from the target base station to the target U- GW, without passing through the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW,

It should be understood that the interaction procedures in the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are applicable to a scenario in which the serving MME and the serving C-GW of the UE are changed before and after the movement of the UE. If the serving C-GW of the UE changes, and the serving MME does not change before and after the UE has moved, then only a reduction in the interaction signaling between the source MME and the target MME is required based on the solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Details are not described in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7, the target base station is a serving base station, used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location. The original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target U-GW is a serving U-GW used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location. The forwarding U-GW is a U-GW, which is used after the UE has moved to the current location region, and is used to switch the data service. The MME is the serving MME used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in the current location region. The C-GW is the serving C-GW used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location.

The specific procedure in this embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S701. A UE in idle mode needs to send data to the user plane of the uplink.

S702. The UE sends a signaling request to the MME.

If the UE in idle mode moves outside the current registered location area (such as the current registered tracking area (TA)), the UE may send a signaling request to the MME to initiate the location update procedure. For example, if the location update procedure is a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure, the signaling request is a location update request message.

If the UE in idle mode moves outside the service area of the current serving base station, but does not move outside the current registered location area (such as the current registered TA), the UE can send a signaling request to the MME to initiate a service request procedure (Service Request), and the signaling request is a service request message.

In particular, the UE may send a signaling request message to the serving MME using the target base station, and the target base station sends the current location information of the UE to the MME.

The current location information of the UE includes a tracking area identifier (TAI) corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, information of the serving base station corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, and / or the like. The corresponding TAI used when the UE has moved to its current location is the target TAI of the UE. The corresponding serving base station information used when the UE has moved to its current location is information of the target base station UE. The information of the target base station may be an identifier (Identity, ID) of the target base station, an identifier of the target cell (Cell Identity, CI), or the like. The area of the current location of the UE is also referred to as the area of the target location of the UE, that is, the area of the location, in which the UE is located after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the original serving base station. Similarly, the current location information of the UE is also referred to as the target location information of the UE.

S703. The MME sends a request message to the C-GW and adds the current location information of the UE to the request message.

After receiving the location update request message or the service request message, the serving MME of the UE detects, according to the current location information of the UE, that the UE has moved out of the service range of the current base station (source base station), the serving MME of the UE sends a request message to the current serving C -GW. The request message is used to instruct the C-GW to move the UE to a new area of the target location. The MME may reuse an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or a Modify Access Bearers Request message, or it may define a new message .

S704. C-GW defines the target U-GW and forwarding U-GW.

After receiving the request message sent by the MME, the C-GW may determine the target U-GW and the forwarding U-GW according to the current location information of the UE. Regarding the specific implementation, it is possible to refer to step S304 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. Details are not described here again.

S705. C-GW returns an MME request acknowledgment message.

C-GW returns an MME request acknowledgment message. Regarding the specific implementation, it is possible to refer to step S305 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. Details are not described here again.

S706. The MME sends an initial context setup request message to the target base station.

The MME sends the Initial Context Setup Request request message to the target base station and forwards, to the target base station, the address and end-of-tunnel information of the forwarding U-GW that are sent by the C-GW, so the data path is upstream. the communication line then switches to forwarding U-GW.

S707. The target base station returns an initial context setup response message to the MME.

The target base station returns an Initial Context Setup Response response message to the MME and sends an address (such as an IP address) and tunnel endpoint information (such as GTP TEID) to the target base station on the MME.

S708. The MME sends a bearer modification request message to the C-GW.

The MME sends a bearer modification request message to the C-GW and sends the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target base station to the C-GW, so that the downlink data path is then switched to the target base station. It is possible, at this stage, the MME may send, to C-GW, an access carrier modification request message that carries the address and tunnel endpoint information of the target base station.

S709. C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the forwarding U-GW.

S710. The forwarding U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

S711. C-GW sends a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the original U-GW.

S712. The original U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

S713. Establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

With regard to the specific implementation of steps S709-S713, it is possible to refer to steps S309-S313 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. Details are not described here again.

S714. C-GW returns a bearer modification response to MME.

It is possible, in accordance with step S708, the C-GW may return an access channel modification response message to the MME.

In the location update procedure or the service request procedure, the data path of the uplink / downlink user plane is changed to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ forwarding U-GW source U-GW, that is, transmission routes indicated by dashed line L1e , the dotted line L2e and the dotted line L3e in FIG. 7. It should be noted that the data path of the uplink / downlink user plane passes through the original U-GW. However, given that both the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW were moved downstream to locations closer to the UE, the original U-GW is very close to the forwarding U-GW, and therefore the user plane RTT does not increase significantly in a way. When C-GW determines that two or more U-GWs are used as forwarding U-GWs, the forwarding data tunnel routes of the forwarding U-GW pass through all forwarding U-GWs. For example, if a forwarding U-GW includes a target forwarding U-GW and a source forwarding U-GW, then the transmission routes change to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ target forwarding U-GW source forwarding U-GW ↔ source U-GW.

FIG. 8 is another flowchart of the interaction when providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8, the target base station is a serving base station used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in the current location area. The original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location. The target U-GW is a serving U-GW used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location. The forwarding U-GW is a U-GW, which is used after the UE has moved to the current location region, and is used to switch the data service. The MME is the serving MME used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in the current location region. The C-GW is the serving C-GW used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location.

The specific procedure in this embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S801. The UE in idle mode needs to send data to the user uplink plane.

S802. The UE sends a signaling request to the MME.

With regard to the specific implementation of step S802, it is possible to refer to step S702 in FIG. 7. Details are not described here again.

S803. The MME sends an initial context setup request message to the target base station.

The MME sends a Initial Context Setup Request request message to the target base station. This step is an existing step in an existing location update procedure or a service request procedure. Therefore, here the MME sends the address and information about the tunnel end point of the source U-GW to the target base station.

S804. The target base station returns an initial context setup response message to the MME.

S805. The MME sends a bearer modification request message to the C-GW.

The MME sends a bearer modification request message to the C-GW and sends the current location information of the UE and the address and information about the tunnel end point of the target base station to the C-GW. It is possible, at this stage, the MME may send, to the C-GW, an access carrier modification request message that carries the current location information of the UE, and the address and information about the tunnel end point of the target base station.

S806. C-GW defines the target U-GW and forwarding U-GW.

After receiving the bearer modification request message sent by the MME, the C-GW may determine the target U-GW and the forwarding U-GW according to the current location information of the UE. Regarding the specific implementation, it is possible to refer to step S304 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. Details are not described here again.

S807. C-GW sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the forwarding U-GW.

S808. The forwarding U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

S809. C-GW sends a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the original U-GW.

S810. The original U-GW returns a response to establishing a data forwarding tunnel on the C-GW.

S811. Establishing a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW.

With regard to the specific implementation of steps S807-S811, it is possible to refer to steps S309-S313 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. Details are not described here again.

S812. C-GW returns a bearer modification response to MME.

C-GW returns a bearer modification response message to the MME and sends the address and information about the tunnel endpoint of the specified forwarding U-GW to the MME. It is possible, in accordance with step S805, the C-GW may return, to the MME, an access media modification response message, and the message conveys the address and information about the end point of the U-GW forwarding tunnel.

S813. The MME sends a UE context modification request to the target base station.

The MME sends a UE Context Modification Request (UE) request message to the target base station and adds the address and information of the U-GW tunnel endpoint to the message, so that the uplink user plane data path is then switched to the U-GW forwarding . It should be noted that this step is a newly added step to an existing location update procedure or a service request procedure.

S814. The target base station returns a UE context modification response message to the MME.

The target base station returns a UE Context Modification Response response message to the MME.

In the location update procedure or the service request procedure, the data path of the uplink / downlink user plane is changed to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ forwarding U-GW source U-GW, that is, transmission paths indicated by the dotted line L1f , the dotted line L2f and the dotted line L3f in FIG. 8. It should be noted that the uplink / downlink user plane data transmission route passes through the original U-GW. However, given that both the original U-GW and the forwarding U-GW were moved downstream to locations closer to the UE, the original U-GW is also very close to the forwarding U-GW, and therefore the RTT data of the user plane does not increase significantly. When C-GW determines that two or more U-GWs are used as forwarding U-GWs, the forwarding data forwarding tunnel U-GW routes go through all forwarding U-GWs. For example, if a forwarding U-GW includes a target forwarding U-GW and a source forwarding U-GW, then the transmission routes change to: UE ↔ target base station ↔ target forwarding U-GW source forwarding U-GW ↔ source U-GW.

FIG. 9 is another flowchart of a method for providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method in FIG. 9 is performed by the target network mobility control. The method includes the following steps.

901. The target network mobility control element receives the forwarding move request sent by the source mobility management network element serving the UE.

The forwarding transfer request carries the information of the current location of the UE.

With regard to the specific implementation of step 901, it is possible to refer to step S503 in FIG. 5 or step S603 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

In one application scenario in this embodiment of the present invention, when the UE performs a communication service, the location area after the move is outside the service range of the original network mobility control element (such as MME). The source network mobility control element is the serving network mobility control element used before the UE has moved to the current location area.

902. The target network mobility control element selects the target C-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE.

With regard to the specific implementation of step 902, it is possible to refer to step S504 in FIG. 5 or step S604 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

903. The target network mobility control sends the current location information of the UE to the target C-GW, so that the target C-GW determines the forwarding U-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE.

With regard to the specific implementation of step 902, it is possible to refer to step S509 in FIG. 5 or step S609 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

S904. The target network mobility control sends a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the target C-GW.

The request to establish a data transfer tunnel is used to request the target control plane gateway to establish, for the user equipment, a data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the source U-GW serving the user equipment, and the data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the target base station serving the user equipment.

With regard to the specific implementation of step 904, it is possible to refer to step S514 in FIG. 5 or step S616 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

In this embodiment of the present invention, after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source network mobility control element, the destination network mobility control element determines the target C-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE and additionally establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the source U -GW and the target UE base station for the UE using the target C-GW to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve user experience um service.

Perhaps in an embodiment, the target C-GW is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location (i.e., the serving C-GW is changed during the movement of the UE). In this case, after step 902 and before step 903, the method may further include: sending, by the target network mobility control element, a change notification message to the original network mobility management element, where the change notification message is used to indicate that the serving C -GW UE changes to target C-GW. Regarding the specific implementation, it is possible to refer to step S505 in FIG. 5 or step S605 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

In addition, before step 903, the method may further include: receiving, by the target network mobility control element, an acknowledgment message sent by the source network mobility control element in accordance with the change notification message, where the acknowledgment message carries the routing information of the original U-GW of the UE . Regarding the specific implementation, it is possible to refer to step S508 in FIG. 5 or step 608 in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b.

In this embodiment of the present invention, with respect to the specific implementation of the mobility network control element, it is possible to refer to the method performed by the target MME shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b. Details are not described again in this embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is another flowchart of a method for providing service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method in FIG. 10 is performed by C-GW. The method includes the following steps.

1001. The C-GW receives the current location information of the UE sent by the network mobility control.

This embodiment of the present invention is applicable to any one of the following application scenarios:

During the user plane data transmission, the UE in connected mode has moved, and the location region after the move is outside the service range of the source base station; and after detecting that the UE has moved beyond the service range of the source base station, the source base station decides to initiate the user plane data service switching procedure in the connection mode. The source base station is a serving base station used before the UE has moved to its current location.

When uplink user plane data needs to be transmitted, the UE in idle mode has moved out of the current recorded location area, such as the current registered tracking area (TA), and the UE initiates the location update procedure, such as the area update procedure tracking (Tracking Area Update, TAU).

When uplink user plane data needs to be transmitted, the UE in idle mode has moved beyond the service area of the current serving base station, but has not moved beyond the area of the current registered location, such as the current registered tracking area (TA), and the UE initiates the Service Request procedure.

In the application scenario (1), after receiving the user plane data switching request sent by the source base station, the network mobility control element may send a service handover notification to the serving C-GW UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element can send a service switch notification using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, Modify Bearer Request message, or access carrier modification request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network element may send a service handover notification using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the service switch notification is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (2), after receiving a location update request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element may send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an access carrier Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (3), after receiving a service request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element can send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an access carrier Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

It should be noted that the C-GW is a C-GW serving the UE.

It should be noted that the network mobility control element is the network mobility control element serving the UE. In a particular application, the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function.

1002. The C-GW selects the target U-GW for the UE according to the information of the current month position of the UE.

1003. C-GW sends a request message to the network mobility control.

The request message is used to request the network mobility control to release the first bearer context and tell the UE to send a setup request for the second bearer context, the first bearer context is the UE bearer context, which is set on the original U-GW of the UE, and the second bearer context is the bearer context, which is reinstalled by the UE on the target U-GW according to the first bearer context.

Optionally, in the embodiment, the request message is a channel bearer request message, a channel bearer request request message carries the re-activation request indication, and the re-activation request indication is used to indicate, using the mobility management network element, the UE to initiate the installation request for second bearer context after deleting the first bearer context.

It should be understood that both the MME and the UE record the first bearer context created by the UE on the original U-GW. After receiving the bearer request request message, the MME deletes the first bearer context on the MME and instructs the UE to delete the first bearer context on the UE. When the bearer deletion request message carries an indication of a re-activation request, the MME additionally sends an indication of the re-activation request to the UE to instruct the UE to resend the installation request for the bearer context according to the contents of the first bearer context after deleting the first media, and the request to create a second carrier context. The second bearer context is the bearer context, which is created on the target U-GW according to the first bearer context. Usually, the second bearer context includes the access point name (Access Point Name, APN) as the first bearer context.

In this embodiment of the present invention, before the UE transitions from the idle mode to the connection mode and sends the user plane data, the C-GW determines the serving U-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE, starts the channel bearer context deactivation procedure and adds an indication of the re-activation request during the de-activated context of the bearer context to instruct the UE to initiate the re-creation procedure of the bearer context to re-create the resource s bearer for the target U-GW, to ensure continuity of service subsequent user plane data transmission and provide a user service experience.

The following further describes a method in embodiments of the present invention with reference to specific embodiments.

FIG. 11 is another flowchart of the interaction when ensuring service continuity in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11, the target base station is a serving base station used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in the region of its current location. The target U-GW is a serving U-GW used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location. The MME is the serving MME used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in the current location region. The C-GW is the serving C-GW used when the UE switches from idle mode to connection mode in its current location.

The specific procedure in this embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S1101. The UE sends a signaling request to the MME.

Since the UE in idle mode needs to transmit signaling or uplink data, the UE in idle mode sends signaling to the MME to request switching to the connection mode. The UE initiates a Service Request procedure or a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure in order to implement a switch from idle mode to connection mode.

In the process of switching from idle mode to connection mode, the target base station, that is, the current serving base station UE, reports the current location information of the UE to the current serving MME, and the current location information of the UE may be the current tracking area identifier (Tracking Area Identity, TAI ) and / or the current cell identifier (Cell Identity, CI).

S1102. The MME sends a location update notification message to the C-GW.

After receiving a signaling request sent by the UE to switch from idle mode to connection mode, for example, a Service Request message or a TAU request message, the MME determines, according to the current location information of the UE, reported by the base station, whether the location of the UE changes .

If the location of the UE does not change, then the method according to the prior art is performed. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention. If the location of the UE changes, the MME sends a location update notification message to the C-GW of the UE. Here, the MME may determine, in the following two scenarios, whether the location of the UE changes.

(a) If the serving MME does not change, the MME may compare previously stored UE location information with the current location information reported by the target base station to determine the UE position change.

(b) If the MME changes, that is, the new MME accepts the signaling request at this stage, the new MME may consider that the location of the UE is changing.

The MME sends a location update notification message to the serving C-GW, and the notification message conveys the current location information of the UE, including the current TAI, the current cell ID, and / or the like. The location update notification message is used to notify C-GW that the area of the current location of the UE is changing. For this, the MME can re-use an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Modify Bearer Request message, or a Modify Access Bearers Request message to transfer information current location of the UE, or may define a new message to carry information of the current location of the UE. This is not limited in the present invention.

In addition, the MME may determine, in accordance with the current location information of the UE, whether it is necessary to reallocate the serving C-GW of the UE, i.e., whether the UE has moved outside the service area of the current serving C-GW. If the serving C-GW needs to be re-allocated, the MME selects the new C-GW as the serving C-GW according to the current location information of the UE and sends a location update notification message to the new C-GW. Additionally, the MME may request a new C-GW to re-create the bearer context for the UE.

S1103. C-GW defines U-GW.

The C-GW determines, in accordance with the information of the current location of the UE, whether it is necessary to reallocate the current serving U-GW. If the current serving U-GW of the UE needs to be reallocated, then the C-GW selects the appropriate target U-GW according to the current location information of the UE and executes step S1104. If the C-GW is reallocated in S1102, then, as a rule, the serving U-GW also needs to be redistributed.

S1104. C-GW sends a bearer deletion request to the MME.

After sending the bearer deletion request to the MME, the C-GW initiates the bearer deactivation procedure to the UE to release all the bearer context resources created by the UE on the original U-GW. In addition, the bearer deletion request message carries an indication of a re-activation request (Reactivation requested) to request the UE to immediately initiate a packet data network (PDN) connection request after deleting all source bearer context resources of the source D-GW, to re-create user plane bearer resources on the target D-GW.

S1105. The MME sends a disconnect request or request to deactivate the bearer context to the UE.

After receiving the C-GW bearer request, the MME performs various actions in accordance with the current information of the Packet Data Network (Packet Data Network, PDN) of the UE:

(a) If the UE currently has only one PDN connection, the MME initiates a detach procedure on the UE and adds an indication of the re-attach required to the Detach Request.

(b) If the UE currently has multiple PDN connections, the MME initiates the PDN connection deactivation procedure on the UE, and adds an indication of the Reactivation requested request to the Deactivate Bearer Context Request.

S1106. The UE initiates a PDN call setup request.

The UE initiates a PDN call setup request to restore the bearer contexts, which the C-GW requests to remove in step S1104. The PDN connection establishment request carries the same APN as the bearer contexts that the C-GW requests to delete in step S1104. In this procedure, the C-GW uses the selected target D-GW to create a UE bearer context.

If the UE accepts the detach request sent by the MME in step S1105, the attach procedure is initiated, and the PDN call setup procedure is added to the attach procedure. In relation to the specific implementation, you can refer to the prior art.

If the UE accepts the bearer context deactivation request in step S1105 to deactivate the PDN connection, the procedure for establishing a separate PDN connection is initiated. In relation to the specific implementation, you can refer to the prior art.

In the PDN connection establishment procedure, the uplink / downlink user plane data transmission path is replaced by: UE ↔ target base station ↔ target U-GW, i.e. transmission paths indicated by the dotted line L1g and dotted line L2g in FIG. eleven.

In this embodiment of the present invention, before the UE transitions from idle mode to connection mode and sends user plane data, the C-GW determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether to change the serving U-GW, starts the deactivation procedure PDN and adds an indication of the re-activation request during the deactivation procedure of the PDN connection in order to request the UE to immediately initiate the PDN connection re-establishment procedure to re-create the res The carrier channel on the target U-GW to ensure continuity of service for the subsequent transfer of user plane data and to provide a user service experience.

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a gateway 1200 of a control plane in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the control plane gateway 1200 may include a reception unit 1201, a selection unit 1202, and a tunnel establishment unit 1203.

The receiving unit 1201 is configured to receive the current location information of the UE sent by the network mobility control.

The selection unit 1202 is configured to select at least one forwarding U-GW for the UE according to the current location information of the UE.

The tunnel establishment unit 1203 is configured to establish, for the UE, a data transfer tunnel between the source U-GW serving the UE and the sending U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the target base station UE. Data transfer tunnels are used to transmit data on the uplink user plane and / or data on the UE user plane during the UE motion.

Regarding the applicable scenario of this embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to refer to the application scenarios in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2

In the application scenario (1), after receiving the user plane data switching request sent by the source base station, the network mobility control element may send a service handover notification to the serving C-GW UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element can send a service switch notification using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, Modify Bearer Request message, or access carrier modification request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network element may send a service handover notification using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the service switch notification is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (2), after receiving a location update request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element may send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an access carrier Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (3), after receiving a service request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element can send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an access carrier Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

The current location information of the UE includes tracking area information (TAI) corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, information of the serving base station corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, and / or the like. The corresponding TAI used when the UE has moved to its current location is the target TAI of the UE. The corresponding serving base station information used when the UE has moved to its current location is information of the target base station UE. The information of the target base station may be an identifier (Identity, ID) of the target base station, an identifier of the target cell (Cell Identity, CI), or the like. It should be clear that the area of the current location of the UE is also referred to as the area of the target location of the UE, that is, the area of the location of the UE after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the original serving base station. Similarly, the current location information of the UE is also referred to as the target location information of the UE.

It should be understood that the UE motion process includes the procedures encountered in the above three application scenarios, in particular including: a service switching procedure in the (1) application scenario, a location update procedure in the (2) application scenario, and the service request procedure in scenario (3) application.

It should be understood that the target base station of the UE is the base station that provides the access service for the UE after the UE has moved to the current location area.

It should be understood that the data forwarding tunnels are implemented by creating a user plane bearer context between the source U-GW serving the UE and the sending U-GW and the user plane bearer context between the sending U-GW and the target base station UE. User plane bearer contexts include the routing information required to transfer user plane data. In particular, the user plane bearer context created on the source U-GW includes the forwarding information of the forwarding U-GW and the routing information of the source base station serving the UE, the user plane bearer context created on the forwarding U-GW, includes the routing information of the source U-GW and the routing information of the target base station, and the user plane bearer context created at the target base station includes the routing information of the forwarding U-GW. In addition, the routing information may include an address (usually an Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) address) and information about the endpoint of the tunnel (usually if GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GPRS) is used), information about the endpoint The tunnel is the GTP tunnel endpoint identifier (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier, TEID).

It should be understood that the forwarding U-GW is at least one forwarding U-GW selected by the selection unit 1202. The fact that the tunnel establishment unit 1203 establishes, for the UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the source U-GW serving the UE and the forwarding U-GW and the data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station UE means that block 1203 tunnel establishment establishes a communication path between the source U-GW, the at least one forwarding U-GW, and the target base station in order to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the two network elements from the source C-GW to the target base station.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the control plane gateway 1200 determines a suitable forwarding U-GW for the UE in accordance with the current location information after being moved and establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW and the forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U- GW GW and target base station UE to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user service experience.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, the control plane gateway may further include a send unit 1204.

Perhaps in an embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to the current location area, and the control plane gateway is the same that both the control plane serving gateway used before the UE has moved to the current location area, and the mobility control network element is the serving mobility control network element, olzuemym after the UE has moved to the current location.

The receiving unit 1201 is further configured to receive the first request sent by the mobility management network element. The first request carries the routing information of the target base station UE.

The tunnel establishment unit 1203 is specifically configured to: send a second request to the first U-GW using the send unit 1204 and send a third request to the original U-GW using the send unit 1204. The second request is used to request the first U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. The second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source U-GW. The third request is used to request the original U-GW to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW, and the third request carries the routing information of the first U-GW.

It should be understood that in this embodiment, the control plane gateway 1200 is the same as the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location, that is, the serving C-GW does not change during movement UE. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Of course, it should be understood that the control plane gateway 1200 additionally receives a second response sent by the first U-GW in accordance with the second request, and a third response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the third request. The second answer is used to confirm that the first U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the first U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information, and the third answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW . After taking the second answer and the third answer,

It should be noted that the first request, the second request or the third request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, second response, or third response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in another embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW includes a first U-GW and a second U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to its current location, the gateway the control plane is the same as the serving control plane gateway used before the UE moves to its current location; the mobility control network element is the serving control network element mobility used after the UE has moved to its current location, and the network mobility control is the same or different from the serving network mobility control used before

The tunnel establishment block 1203 is specifically configured to: send a second request to the second U-GW using the send block 1204, send a third request to the third U-GW using the send block 1204, and send a fourth request to the original U-GW using block 1204 send. The second request is used to request the second U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW, the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the third routing information U-GW, the third request is used to request the third U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW, and a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW,

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the C-GW is the same as the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to its current location, that is, the serving C-GW does not change during movement UE. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Similarly, the control plane gateway 1200 additionally receives a second response sent by the second U-GW in accordance with the second request, a third response sent by the third U-GW in accordance with the third request, and a fourth response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the fourth request. The second answer is used to confirm that the second U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the second U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The third answer is used to confirm that the third U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW. Maybe, the third response may carry the routing information of the third U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The fourth answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the third U-GW. After receiving the second response, the third response and the fourth response, the control plane gateway 1200 may send the first response of the first request to the network mobility control.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request, the third request, or the fourth request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, second response, third response, or fourth response in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in another embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to the current location area, the control plane gateway is different from the serving plane gateway control used before the UE moves to its current location, the mobility network control element is a serving network mobility control element using by direct after the UE has moved to the current location, and the mobility management network element is the same as or different from the service the mobility management network element, used before the UE has moved to the current location.

The receiving unit 1201 is further configured to receive the routing information of the source U-GW UE.

The tunnel establishment unit 1203 is specifically configured to send a second request to the first U-GW using the send unit 1204. The second request is used to request the first U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW, and the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information source U-GW.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the C-GW is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, that is, the serving C-GW is changed during the movement of the UE. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which the serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which the serving network mobility control element is not changed in the motion process of the UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Similarly, the control plane gateway 1200 additionally receives the second response sent by the first U-GW in accordance with the second request, and the third response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the third request. The second answer is used to confirm that the first U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the first U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information, and the third answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW . After taking the second answer and the third answer,

Of course, it should be understood that since the serving C-GW of the UE in this embodiment is changed during the movement of the UE, the C-GW is the target C-GW, that is, the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to current location. In addition, the target C-GW must additionally indicate to the source C-GW, through the mobility management network element, send a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the source U-GW and send the routing information of the first U-GW to the source U-GW. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, and the original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region.

It should be noted that the first request or the second request in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response or the second response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in another embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW includes a first U-GW and a second U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to its current location, the gateway the control plane differs from the serving gateway of the control plane used before the UE has moved to its current location; the mobility control network element is the serving mobile network control element By the information used after the UE has moved to the current location area, and the mobility network control is the same or different from the serving network mobility control element used before the UE has moved to the current location area.

The receiving unit 1201 is further configured to receive the routing information of the source U-GW UE.

The tunnel establishment unit 1203, in particular, is configured to: send a second request to the second U-GW using the send unit 1204 and send the third request toa third U-GW using send unit 1204. The second request is used to request the second U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW. The second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third U-GW. The third request is used to request the third U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW, and a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW. The third request carries the routing information of the second U-GW and the routing information of the original U-GW.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the C-GW is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, that is, the serving C-GW is changed during the movement of the UE. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Of course, it should be understood that, since the serving C-GW UE in this embodiment is changed during the movement of the UE, the C-GW in this embodiment is the target C-GW, that is, the serving C-GW used after The UE has moved to its current location. In addition, the target C-GW should additionally indicate the source C-GW, through the mobility management network element, send a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the source U-GW and send the routing information of the third U-GW to the source U-GW. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, and the original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request or the third request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, the second response, or the third response in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments shown in FIG. 13, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW,

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments shown in FIG. 13, when the at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the tunnel establishment unit 1203 is further configured to send the routing information of the first U-GW to the target base station through the mobility management network element.

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments shown in FIG. 13, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the second U-GW and the third U-GW, the tunnel establishment unit 1203 is further configured to send the routing information of the second U-GW to the target base station via the mobility management network element.

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments shown in FIG. 13, the tunnel establishment unit 1203 is further configured to send a session creation request to the target U-GW. The session creation request is used to create, on the target U-GW for the UE, a bearer context for transmitting user plane data. Each created bearer context includes the routing information of the target U-GW, and the target U-GW is the serving U-GW corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE. It should be understood that the target U-GW is typically the serving U-GW, which provides the best data path for the UE at its current location. Besides,

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments shown in FIG. 13, when the at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the first U-GW is additionally serving the U-GW selected by the control plane gateway for the UE according to the current location information of the UE. That is, the first U-GW is the target U-GW. In this case, the target D-GW can directly communicate with the source D-GW, that is, the target U-GW also plays the role of a forwarding U-GW. It should be understood that when the target U-GW cannot directly communicate with the source D-GW, the forwarding U-GW selected by the C-GW is different from the target U-GW.

The control plane gateway 1200 may further perform the method shown in FIG. 2, and implement the functions of the C-GW in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 - FIG. 4, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 and the functions of the target C-GW in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention again.

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobility management network element 1400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mobility management network element 1400 may include a reception unit 1401, a selection unit 1402, and a sending unit 1403.

The receiving unit 1401 is configured to receive a forwarding move request sent by the original mobility management network element serving the UE.

The forwarding transfer request carries the information of the current location of the UE.

The selection unit 1402 is configured to select a target C-GW UE according to the current location information of the UE.

The sending unit 1403 is configured to send the current location information of the UE to the target C-GW, so that the target control plane gateway determines the forwarding U-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE.

The sending unit 1403 is further configured to send a request to establish a data transfer tunnel to the target control plane gateway.

The data transfer tunnel establishment request is used to request the target C-GW to establish, for the UE, a data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the source U-GW serving the UE, and the data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the target base station serving UE.

In this embodiment of the present invention, after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the original network mobility control element, the mobility management network element 1400 determines the target C-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE and additionally establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the source U -GW and the target base station UE for the UE using the target C-GW to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user experience about service.

It is possible that the target control plane gateway is different from the serving control plane gateway used before the UE has moved to its current location (i.e., the serving C-GW changes as the UE moves). The sending unit 1403 is further configured to send a change notification message to the original network mobility control. The change notification message is used to indicate that the serving gateway of the control plane of the UE changes to the target gateway of the control plane.

In addition, the receiving unit 1401 is further configured to receive an acknowledgment message sent by the original mobility control network element in accordance with the shift notification message. The acknowledgment message carries the routing information of the source U-GW UE.

The mobility management network element 1400 may further perform the method of FIG. 9 and implement the functions of the target MME in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention again.

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a gateway 1500 of a control plane in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Gateway 1500 control plane includes:

A receiving unit 1501, configured to receive the current location information of the UE sent by the network mobility control;

A selection unit 1502, configured to select a target U-GW for the UE according to the current location information of the UE; and

A sending unit 1503, configured to send a request message to a network mobility control.

The request message is used to request the network mobility control to release the first bearer context and instruct the UE to send an installation request for the second bearer context. The first bearer context is the UE bearer context, which is established on the source U-GW UE, and the second bearer context is the bearer context, which is reset by the UE on the target U-GW according to the first bearer context .

It should be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, a location update notification message is used to notify C-GW that the area of the current location of the UE has changed. To notify a location update, an existing message can be reused, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request), or an Access Channel Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request), or a new message may be defined. This is not limited in the present invention.

In this embodiment of the present invention, before the UE transitions from idle mode to connection mode and sends user plane data, the control plane gateway 1500 determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether to change the serving U-GW, starts the deactivation procedure the bearer context and adds an indication of the re-activation request during the bearer context deactivation procedure, in order to request the UE to immediately initiate the re-activation procedure establishing a bearer context to re-create bearer resources on the target U-GW to ensure continuity of service for the subsequent transmission of user plane data and provide a user service experience.

Optionally, in the embodiment, the request message is a channel bearer request message, a channel bearer request request message carries the re-activation request indication, and the re-activation request indication is used to indicate, using the mobility management network element, the UE to initiate the installation request for the second bearer context after the first bearer context has been deleted.

It should be understood that both the MME and the UE record the first bearer context created by the UE on the original U-GW. After receiving the bearer request request message, the MME deletes the first bearer context on the MME and instructs the UE to delete the first bearer context on the UE. When the bearer deletion request message conveys the re-activation request indication, the MME further sends an re-activation request indication to the UE to instruct the UE to re-send the installation request for the bearer context according to the contents of the first bearer context after the first the bearer channel is deleted, and request the creation of a second bearer context. The second bearer context is the bearer context,

The control plane gateway 1500 may further perform the method of FIG. 10 and implement the functions of the C-GW in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention again.

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a gateway 1600 of a control plane in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The control plane gateway 1600 may include a processor 1602, a memory 1603, a transmitter 1601, and a receiver 1604.

Receiver 1604, transmitter 1601, processor 1602, and memory 1603 are connected to each other using bus 1606. Bus 1606 may be an ISA bus, a PCI bus, an EISA bus, or the like. A bus can be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, FIG. 16, bus 1606 is indicated using only one double-faced arrow. However, this does not indicate that there is only one tire or only one type of tire. In a particular application, transmitter 1601 and receiver 1604 may be associated with antenna 1605.

The memory 1603 is adapted to store the program. In particular, the program may include program code, and the program code includes a computer operation instruction. Memory 1603 may include read-only memory and random access memory and provides instructions and data for processor 1602. Memory 1603 may include high-speed RAM and may additionally include non-volatile memory, for example, at least least one memory on a magnetic disk.

The processor 1602 executes the program stored in the memory 1603, and, in particular, is configured to perform the following operations:

receiving, using the receiver 1604, information of the current location of the UE sent by the network mobility control element;

selecting at least one forwarding U-GW for the UE in accordance with the current location information of the UE; and

establishing, using a transmitter 1601 for the UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the source U-GW serving the UE and the forwarding U-GW and the data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station UE, and the data forwarding tunnels are used to transmit data user plane uplink communication and / or data user plane downlink UE in the process of movement of the UE.

Regarding the applicable scenario in this embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to refer to the application scenarios in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2

In the application scenario (1), after receiving the user plane data switching request sent by the source base station, the network mobility control element may send a service handover notification to the serving C-GW UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element can send a service switch notification using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, Modify Bearer Request message, or access carrier modification request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network element may send a service handover notification using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the service switch notification is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (2), after receiving a location update request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element may send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an access carrier Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

In an application scenario (3), after receiving a service request sent by the UE or successfully creating a radio access bearer context for the UE, the network mobility control element can send a request message to the serving C-GW of the UE. It should be understood that the network mobility control element may be a MME or another network element that has the MME mobility management function. In a specific application, the network mobility control element may send a request message using an existing message, such as a Create Session Request message, a Bearer Modification Request message (Modify Bearer Request) or an access carrier Modification Request message (Modify Access Bearers Request); or the mobility network control element may send a request message using the newly created message. The specific message used to send the request message is not limited in the present invention.

The current location information of the UE includes tracking area information (TAI) corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, information of the serving base station corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE, and / or the like. The corresponding TAI used when the UE has moved to its current location is the target TAI of the UE. The corresponding serving base station information used after the UE has moved to the current location area is information of the target base station UE. The information of the target base station may be an identifier (Identity, ID) of the target base station, an identifier of the target cell (Cell Identity, CI), or the like. It should be clear that the area of the current location of the UE is also referred to as the area of the target location of the UE, that is, the area of the location of the UE after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the original serving base station. Similarly, the current location information of the UE is also referred to as the target location information of the UE.

It should be understood that the target base station of the UE is the base station that provides the access service for the UE after the UE has moved to the current location area.

It should be understood that the forwarding U-GW is at least one forwarding U-GW selected by the processor 1602. What the processor 1602 establishes, for the UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW serving the UE and the forwarding U-GW and a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station UE, means that the process 1602 establishes a communication path between the source U-GW, the at least one forwarding U-GW, and the target base station to establish a forwarding tunnel between the two elements from source C -GW to target base station.

The above method, which is performed by C-GW, disclosed in any embodiment of FIG. 2 - FIG. 4 of the present invention, or that is performed by the target C-GW disclosed in any embodiment of FIG. 5, FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B may be applied to the processor 1602 or may be implemented by the processor 1602. The processor 1602 may be an integrated circuit chip and have the functionality of signal processing. In the implementation process, the steps in the aforementioned method can be performed using the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor 1602 or instructions in the form of software. The processor 1602 may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU) for short, a network processor (Network processor, NP for short), etc. or it can be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable gate array (FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, or a discrete hardware component. The processor 1602 may implement or execute the methods, steps, and flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed with reference to embodiments of the present invention, can be directly performed and implemented using a hardware decoding processor, or performed and implemented by combining hardware and software modules in a decoding processor. A software module may be located in a well-known storage medium under operating conditions, such as RAM, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium is in memory 1603. The processor 1602 reads the information in the memory 1603 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of the processor 1602. such as RAM, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory or register. The storage medium is in memory 1603. The processor 1602 reads the information in the memory 1603 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of the processor 1602. such as RAM, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory or register. The storage medium is in memory 1603. The processor 1602 reads the information in the memory 1603 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of the processor 1602.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the control plane gateway 1600 selects a suitable forwarding U-GW for the UE according to the current location information after moving and establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the original U-GW and the forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U- GW GW and target base station UE to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user service experience.

Perhaps in an embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to its current location, the control plane gateway is the same as the control plane serving gateway used before the UE has moved to its current location, the mobility network control element is the serving network mobility control element used by entered after the UE has moved to the current location area and the mobility network control is the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to the current location area.

The processor 1602 is further configured to receive, using the receiver 1604, the first request sent by the mobility control network element. The first request carries the routing information of the target base station UE.

In the process of establishing, using the transmitter 1601 for the UE, a data transfer tunnel between the source U-GW serving the UE and the sending U-GW and / or the data transfer tunnel between the sending U-GW and the target base station UE, processor 1602, in particular made with the ability to:

send a second request to the first U-GW using the transmitter 1601 and send a third request to the original U-GW using the transmitter 1601, and the second request is used to request the first U-GW to allow the data transfer tunnel to be established between the first U-GW and the target baseline the station and the data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW, the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source U-GW, the third request is used to request the source U-GW to establish There is a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW, and the third request carries the routing information of the first U-GW.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the control plane gateway 1600 is the same as the serving C-GW used before the UE moved to its current location, that is, the serving C-GW does not change in the process. UE movement. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Of course, it should be understood that the control plane gateway 1600 additionally receives a second response sent by the first U-GW in accordance with the second request, and a third response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the third request. The second answer is used to confirm that the first U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data forwarding tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the first U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information, and the third responseis used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW. After receiving the second response and the third response, the control plane gateway 1600 may send the first response of the first request to the network mobility control.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request or the third request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, second response, or third response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in another embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW includes a first U-GW and a second U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to its current location, the gateway the control plane is the same as the serving control plane gateway used before the UE moves to its current location; the mobility control network element is the serving control network element mobility used after the UE has moved to its current location and the network mobility control is the same or different from the serving network mobility control used before

In the process of establishing, using the transmitter 1601 for the UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the source U-GW serving the UE and the forwarding U-GW and the data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station UE, processor 1602, in particular, is implemented with an opportunity:

send a second request to a second U-GW using transmitter 1601, send a third request tothe third U-GW using transmitter 1601 and send a fourth request to the original U-GW using the transmitter 1601, the second request being used to request the second U-GW to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and the data forwarding tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW, the second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third U-GW, the third request is used to request the third U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the third U -GW and the second U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW, the third request carries the routing information of the second U-GW and the routing information of the source U-GW, the fourth request is used,

Similarly, the control plane gateway 1600 additionally receives a second response sent by the second U-GW in accordance with the second request, a third response sent by the third U-GW in accordance with the third request, and a fourth response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the fourth request. The second answer is used to confirm that the second U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the second U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The third answer is used to confirm that the third U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW and the data transfer tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U-GW. Maybe, the third response may carry the routing information of the third U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information. The fourth answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the original U-GW and the third U-GW. After receiving the second response, the third response and the fourth response, the control plane gateway 1600 may send the first response of the first request to the network mobility control.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request, the third request, or the fourth request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, second response, third response, or fourth response in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

The processor 1602 is further configured to receive, using the receiver 1604, the routing information of the source U-GW UE.

send a second request to the first U-GW using the transmitter 1601, and the second request is used to request the first U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U- The GW and the second request carry the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the source U-GW.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the control plane gateway 1600 is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location area, that is, the serving C-GW is changed during the movement of the UE. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Similarly, the control plane gateway 1600 additionally receives the second response sent by the first U-GW in accordance with the second request, and the third response sent by the original U-GW in accordance with the third request. The second answer is used to confirm that the first U-GW allows the establishment of a data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the target base station and the data transfer tunnel between the first U-GW and the source U-GW. Perhaps the second response may carry the routing information of the first U-GW, such as the IP address and the TEID information, and the third answer is used to confirm that the original U-GW allows the establishment of a data forwarding tunnel between the original U-GW and the first U-GW . After taking the second answer and the third answer,

Of course, it should be understood that since the serving C-GW of the UE in this embodiment is changed during the movement of the UE, the control plane gateway 1600 is the target C-GW, that is, the serving C-GW used after the UE has moved to current location area. In addition, the processor 1602 must additionally indicate to the original C-GW, via the network mobility control, send a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the original U-GW and send the routing information of the first U-GW to the original U-GW. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, and the original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region.

Perhaps in another embodiment, at least one forwarding U-GW includes a first U-GW and a second U-GW, the control plane gateway is the serving control plane gateway used after the UE has moved to its current location, the gateway the control plane differs from the serving gateway of the control plane used before the UE has moved to its current location; the mobility control network element is the serving mobile network control element By the information used after the UE has moved to the current location area, and the mobility network control is the same or different from the serving network mobility control element used before the UE has moved to the current location area.

The processor 1602 is further configured to receive, using the receiver 1604, the routing information of the source U-GW UE.

send a second request to the second U-GW using the transmitter 1601 and send the third request tothe third U-GW using the transmitter 1601, the second request is used to request the second U-GW to establish a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the target base station and a data transfer tunnel between the second U-GW and the third U-GW, second request carries the routing information of the target base station and the routing information of the third U-GW, the third request is used to request the third U-GW to establish a data forwarding tunnel between the third U-GW and the second U-GW, and a data forwarding tunnel between the third U-GW and the original U -GW and t This request carries the routing information of the second U-GW and the routing information of the original U-GW.

It should be understood that in this embodiment, the control plane gateway 1600 is different from the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location area, that is, the serving C-GW is replaced by the UE movement. It should be understood that this embodiment is applicable to a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is changed during a UE motion, or a scenario in which a serving network mobility control element is not changed in a motion of a UE, that is, the mobility control element can be the same or different from the serving mobility network control element used before the UE has moved to its current location.

Of course, it should be understood that, since the serving C-GW UE in this embodiment is changed during the movement of the UE, the control plane gateway 1600 in this embodiment is the target C-GW, that is, the serving C-GW used after how the UE moved to its current location. In addition, the processor 1602 must additionally indicate to the original C-GW, through the network mobility control, send a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the original U-GW and send the routing information of the third U-GW to the original U-GW. The original C-GW is the serving C-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region, and the original U-GW is the serving U-GW used before the UE has moved to the current location region.

It should be noted that the first request, the second request or the third request in this embodiment can be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Request request, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention. In addition, the first response, second response, or third response in this embodiment may be sent using an existing message, such as a Create Indirect Data Forwarding Tunnel Response response, or a newly defined message. This is not limited in the present invention.

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments of FIG. 16, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the processor 1602 is further configured to send, using the transmitter 1601, the routing information of the target U-GW to the target base station via the mobility control network element.

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments of FIG. 16, when the at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the processor 1602 is further configured to send the routing information of the first U-GW to the target base station via the mobility management network element.

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments of FIG. 16, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the second U-GW and the third U-GW, the processor 1602 is further configured to send the routing information of the second U-GW to the target base station through the mobility management network element.

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments of FIG. 16, the processor 1602 is further configured to send a session creation request to the target U-GW using the transmitter 1601, where the session creation request is used to create, on the target U-GW for the UE, a bearer context for transmitting user plane data, each the created bearer context includes the routing information of the target U-GW, and the target U-GW is the serving U-GW corresponding to the area of the current location of the UE. It should be understood that the target U-GW is typically the serving U-GW, which provides the best data path for the UE at its current location. Besides,

Perhaps in the above-mentioned four specific embodiments of FIG. 16, when at least one forwarding U-GW is the first U-GW, the first U-GW is additionally serving the U-GW selected by the control plane gateway for the UE according to the current location information of the UE. That is, the first U-GW is the target U-GW. In this case, the target D-GW can directly communicate with the source D-GW, that is, the target U-GW also plays the role of a forwarding U-GW. It should be understood that when the target U-GW cannot directly communicate with the source D-GW, the forwarding U-GW selected by the C-GW is different from the target U-GW.

The control plane gateway 1600 may further perform the method shown in FIG. 2, and implement the functions of the C-GW in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 - FIG. 4, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 and the functions of the target C-GW in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention again.

FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobility network control element 1700 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The network mobility control element 1700 may include a processor 1702, a memory 1703, a transmitter 1701, and a receiver 1704.

Receiver 1704, transmitter 1701, processor 1702, and memory 1703 are connected to each other using bus 1706. Bus 1706 may be an ISA bus, a PCI bus, an EISA bus, or the like. A bus can be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, FIG. 17, a 1706 tire is indicated using only one double-faced arrow. However, this does not indicate that there is only one tire or only one type of tire. In a particular application, transmitter 1701 and receiver 1704 may be associated with antenna 1705.

Memory 1703 is designed with the ability to store the program. In particular, the program may include program code, and the program code includes a computer operation instruction. Memory 1703 may include read-only memory and random access memory and provide instructions and data to processor 1702. Memory 1703 may include high-speed RAM memory and may additionally include non-volatile memory, for example, at least least one memory on a magnetic disk.

Processor 1702 executes a program stored in memory 1703, and, in particular, is configured to perform the following operations:

receiving, using the receiver 1704, a forwarding move request sent by the original mobility management network element serving the UE, wherein the forwarding move request carries the current location information of the UE;

selecting a target C-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE;

sending the current location information of the UE to the C-GW using the transmitter 1701, so that the C-GW determines the forwarding U-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE; and

sending a request to establish a data forwarding tunnel to the control gateway of the control plane using a transmitter 1701, and the data forwarding tunnel establishment request is used to request the target C-GW to establish, for the UE, a data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the source U-GW serving The UE and the data forwarding tunnel between the forwarding U-GW and the target base station serving the UE.

The aforementioned method, which is performed by the network mobility control element disclosed in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 of the present invention, or that is performed by the target MME disclosed in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, may be applied to processor 1702 or may be implemented by processor 1702. Processor 1702 may be an integrated circuit chip and may have signal processing functionality. In the implementation process, the steps in the aforementioned method can be performed using an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor 1702 or instructions in the form of software. Processor 1702 may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU) for short, a network processor (Network processor, NP for short), etc. or it can be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable gate array (FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, or a discrete hardware component. Processor 1702 may implement or execute the methods, steps, and flowcharts disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed with reference to embodiments of the present invention, can be directly performed and implemented using a hardware decoding processor, or performed and implemented by combining hardware and software modules in a decoding processor. A software module may reside in a well-known storage medium under operating conditions, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. A storage medium is in memory 1703. A processor 1702 reads information in memory 1703 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of processor 1702. such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory or register. A storage medium is in memory 1703. A processor 1702 reads information in memory 1703 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of processor 1702. such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory or register. A storage medium is in memory 1703. A processor 1702 reads information in memory 1703 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of processor 1702.

In this embodiment of the present invention, after the UE has moved beyond the service range of the original network mobility control element, the mobility management network element 1700 determines the target C-GW of the UE according to the current location information of the UE and additionally establishes a data forwarding tunnel between the source U -GW and the target base station UE for the UE using the target C-GW to ensure continuity of service during the movement of the UE and improve the user experience about service.

It is possible that the target control plane gateway is different from the serving control plane gateway used before the UE has moved to its current location (i.e., the serving C-GW changes as the UE moves). The processor 1702 is further configured to send a change notification message to the original network mobility management element using the transmitter 1701. The change notification message is used to indicate that the serving UE control plane gateway changes to the target control plane gateway.

In addition, the processor 1702 is further configured to receive, using the receiver 1704, an acknowledgment message sent by the original mobility control network element in accordance with the shift notification message. The acknowledgment message carries the routing information of the source U-GW UE.

The network mobility control element 1700 may further perform the method of FIG. 9 and implement the functions of the target MME in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6A and FIG. 6b. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention again.

FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a control plane gateway 1800 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The control plane gateway 1800 may include a processor 1802, a memory 1803, a transmitter 1801, and a receiver 1804.

The receiver 1804, the transmitter 1801, the processor 1802, and the memory 1803 are connected to each other using the bus 1806. The bus 1806 may be an ISA bus, a PCI bus, an EISA bus, or the like. A bus can be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, FIG. 18, the 1806 tire is indicated using only one double-faced arrow. However, this does not indicate that there is only one tire or only one type of tire. In a specific application, the transmitter 1801 and the receiver 1804 may be connected to the antenna 1805.

Memory 1803 is designed with the ability to store the program. In particular, the program may include program code, and the program code includes a computer operation instruction. Memory 1803 may include read-only memory and random access memory and provide instruction and data for processor 1802. Memory 1803 may include high-speed RAM and may additionally include non-volatile memory, for example, at least least one memory on a magnetic disk.

The processor 1802 executes the program stored in the memory 1803, and, in particular, is configured to perform the following operations:

receiving, using the receiver 1804, the current location information of the UE sent by the network mobility control element;

selecting a target U-GW for the UE according to the current location information of the UE; and

sending, using the transmitter 1801, a request message to a network mobility control element, wherein the request message is used to request the network mobility control element to release the first bearer context and tell the UE to send an installation request for the second bearer context, the first bearer context is the UE bearer context, which is set on the original U-GW of the UE, and the second bearer context is the bearer context, which is reinstalled by UE on the target U-GW according to the first bearer context.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the present invention, the location update notification message is used to notify C-GW that the area of the current location of the UE has changed. For a location update notification, an existing message can be reused, such as a Create Session Request message, Modify Bearer Request message, or Modify Access Bearers Request message. ; or a new message may be defined. This is not limited in the present invention.

The aforementioned method, which is performed by C-GW, disclosed in any embodiment according to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 of the present invention may be applied to the processor 1802 or may be implemented by the processor 1802. The processor 1802 may be an integrated circuit chip and may have signal processing functionality. In the implementation process, the steps in the aforementioned method may be performed using an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor 1802 or instructions in the form of software. The processor 1802 may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (Network Processor, NP in brief), or the like, or a digital signal processor (DSP), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). ), a programmable gate array (FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor 1802 may implement or execute the methods, steps, and flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The disclosed steps of the method with reference to embodiments of the present invention can be directly performed and carried out using a hardware decoding processor or performed and performed by combining hardware and software modules in a decoding processor. A software module may reside in a well-known storage medium under operating conditions, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium is in memory 1803. The processor 1802 reads the information in the memory 1803 and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware of the processor 1802.

In this embodiment of the present invention, before the UE transitions from idle mode to connection mode and sends user plane data, the control plane gateway 1800 determines, according to the current location information of the UE, whether to change the serving U-GW, starts the deactivation procedure the bearer context and adds an indication of the re-activation request during the deactivation procedure of the bearer context to request the UE to immediately initiate the re-activation procedure setting the bearer context to re-create the bearer resources on the target U-GW to ensure continuity of service for the subsequent transfer of user plane data and provide a user service experience.

Optionally, in the embodiment, the request message is a channel bearer request message, the channel bearer request request message carries a re-activation request indication, and the re-activation request indication is used to indicate, by the mobility management network element, the UE to initiate the installation request for the second bearer context after the first bearer context has been deleted.

It should be understood that both the MME and the UE record the first bearer context created by the UE on the original U-GW. After receiving the bearer request request message, the MME deletes the first bearer context on the MME and instructs the UE to delete the first bearer context on the UE. When the bearer deletion request message carries an indication of a re-activation request, the MME additionally sends an indication of the re-activation request to the UE to instruct the UE to resend the installation request for the bearer context according to the contents of the first bearer context after deleting the first carrier and request the creation of a second bearer context. The second bearer context is the bearer context,

The control plane gateway 1800 may further perform the method of FIG. 10 and implement the functions of the C-GW in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11. Details are not described in this embodiment of the present invention again.

It should be understood that the sequential numbers of the above processes do not mean the sequence of execution in various embodiments of the present invention. The sequence of execution of processes should be determined in accordance with the functions and internal logic of the processes and should not be construed as limiting the processes for implementing embodiments of the present invention.

It will be known to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the blocks and steps of the algorithms may be implemented with electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the specific applications and limitations of the design conditions of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the functions described for each specific application, but it should not be considered that such implementations fall outside the scope of the present invention.

It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, for the sake of simplicity and brevity of description, in relation to the detailed workflow of the above described system, device and unit, the corresponding process can be referred to in the above described embodiments of the method, and the details are not described here again.

In some embodiments, the implementation provided in this application, it should be clear that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in a different way. For example, the described embodiment of the device is merely an example. For example, block division is simply a division into logical functions and may be another division in the actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be integrated or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed reciprocal links or direct links or link connections can be implemented using some interfaces. Indirect connections or communication connections between devices or units can be implemented in electronic, mechanical or other forms.

The blocks described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts shown as blocks may or may not be physical blocks and may be located in one position or may be distributed across multiple network blocks. Some or all of the blocks may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions according to the embodiments.

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

When functions are implemented in the form of a functional block of software sold or used as an independent product, the functions can be stored on computer readable storage media. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention, in essence, or in part, contributing to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions can be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product is stored on a storage medium and includes instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server or network device) to perform some or all of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention. The above storage medium includes any medium

The above descriptions are merely specific implementations of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any changes or rearrangements that are readily inferred by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should correspond to the scope of protection of the claims.

Contents5

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Citations
Document	Relation	Office	Cited during
US2009046655A1	Cites	United States of America	Search report
US2009252133A1	Cites	United States of America	Search report
RU2013140162A	Cites	Russian Federation	Search report
US2015055461A1	Cites	United States of America	Search report
US2015208291A1	Cites	United States of America	Search report
US20150208291A1	Cites	United States of America	–
US20150055461A1	Cites	United States of America	–
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US20090252133A1	Cites	United States of America	–

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Document	Office	Kind	Date
2015091242	China	W	2015-09-30
2015091242	China	W	2015-09-30
CN2015091242	–	–	–
WO2015CN91242	–	–	–

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Document	Office	Kind
WO2017054178A1	World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)	A1	2017-04-06
CN107079507A	China	A	2017-08-18
KR20180061265A	Republic of Korea	A	2018-06-07
EP3346795A1	European Patent Office (EPO)	A1	2018-07-11
EP3346795A4	European Patent Office (EPO)	A4	2018-07-11
US2018220479A1	United States of America	A1	2018-08-02
BR112018006580A2	Brazil	A2	2018-10-09
JP2018530253A	Japan	A	2018-10-11
RU2686596C1This record	Russian Federation	C1	2019-04-29
EP3346795B1	European Patent Office (EPO)	B1	2019-06-19
KR102018635B1	Republic of Korea	B1	2019-09-05
US2019289652A1	United States of America	A1	2019-09-19
US10595350B2	United States of America	B2	2020-03-17
EP3624545A1	European Patent Office (EPO)	A1	2020-03-18
CN107079507B	China	B	2020-04-14
US10638527B2	United States of America	B2	2020-04-28
US2020137812A1	United States of America	A1	2020-04-30
US2020137813A1	United States of America	A1	2020-04-30
JP6699847B2	Japan	B2	2020-05-27
US10701744B2	United States of America	B2	2020-06-30
CN111510986A	China	A	2020-08-07
US10827543B2	United States of America	B2	2020-11-03
US2021029760A1	United States of America	A1	2021-01-28
EP3624545B1	European Patent Office (EPO)	B1	2021-12-01
US11432351B2	United States of America	B2	2022-08-30
CN111510986B	China	B	2023-06-27

Method for providing continuity of service, control plane gateway and mobility management network element

Abstract

Term

TECHNICAL FIELD

PRIOR ART

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

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