Background
The home base station is a small-sized and low-power base station, is deployed in indoor places such as homes, offices and the like, and mainly has the functions of providing higher service rate for users, reducing the cost required by using high-rate services and making up for the insufficient coverage of the existing distributed cellular wireless communication system. The home base station has the advantages of being economical, convenient, low-power output, plug-and-play, broadband access, single-mode terminal support and the like.
The home base station may be applied in a third Generation (3G) or Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication network. In order to facilitate the management of the home base station, a new network element, namely a home base station gateway, is introduced into the radio access network. The home base station gateway mainly performs the following functions: the safety of the home base station is verified, the registration of the home base station is processed, the home base station is operated, maintained and managed, the home base station is configured and controlled according to the requirements of an operator, and the home base station is responsible for exchanging data information between a Core Network (CN) and a HeNB.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 3G wireless network architecture including a femto, where as shown in fig. 1, the 3G femto is connected to a femto gateway through a newly defined Iuh interface, and the femto gateway provides the femto with an IuCs interface to a core network circuit domain and an IuPS interface to a core network packet domain. For a 3G wireless network, a home base station gateway is indispensable in deployment, and is used to shield the influence on User Equipment (UE) and a network side after the home base station is introduced; for the LTE wireless network, the femto-gateway is optional in deployment, so that in the LTE wireless network, there are two connection modes between the femto-gateway and the core network, one is that the femto-gateway is directly connected to a network element of the core network, as shown in fig. 2; the other is that the femto is connected to the network element of the core network through the femto gateway, as shown in fig. 3. In fig. 3, in the case of introducing the hnb gateway, the hnb gateway may not integrate the user plane function, and at this time, the hnb directly establishes a user plane connection with the user plane gateway of the core network, as shown in fig. 4, so that the user plane can be flattened and the data transmission delay can be reduced.
The access modes of the home base station are divided into a closed mode, a mixed mode and an open mode. Since the femto has a certain privacy as a user-level device, there is a restriction on subscription for users in different access modes. When the access mode of the home base station is a closed mode, only a subscriber of the home base station can access the base station and enjoy the service provided by the home base station; when the access mode of the home base station is an open mode, any user can access the home base station, and the home base station is equal to a macro base station; when the access mode of the femtocell is the hybrid mode, any user can access the femtocell, but different levels need to be distinguished according to whether the user signs a contract, that is, the signed user has higher service priority when using the femtocell with the hybrid mode, and can enjoy better service quality and service class.
The access control determination of whether to allow the user to use the hnb may be performed by the hnb gateway or may be performed by the mobility management entity of the core network, that is, the access control determination point may be at the hnb gateway or may be at the mobility management entity of the core network. The selection between the home base station gateway and the mobility management entity is made according to whether the UE has Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) capability and whether the core network supports the CSG concept. The selection and execution of the access control decision point will be briefly described below.
The CSG concept was proposed after the introduction of the home base station. Generally, a user in a home or an enterprise forms a closed subscriber group, and the closed subscriber group is distinguished and identified by a CSG identity (CSG ID); and the home base stations for providing service for the users in the closed subscriber group have the same CSG identification. The user can access home base stations corresponding to a plurality of closed user groups, such as an office and a home of the user, by signing with the operator. In this way, a concept is introduced that allows for a closed subscriber group List (ACL), which may be stored in the user's UE and the user data server on the network side.
If the UE of the user has CSG capability, that is, the UE can identify and read information such as CSG id, and the core network supports the CSG concept, that is, the core network supports ACL processing, then the access control determination point for the user corresponding to the UE is located in the mobility management entity. When the user initiates access, the mobility management entity performs access control judgment on the user by using the ACL issued by the user data server and combining the CSG identification and the access mode reported by the home base station.
If the UE of the user does not have the CSG capability or the core network does not support the CSG concept, the access control judgment point of the user corresponding to the UE is located at the home base station gateway. When the user initiates access, the home base station gateway performs access control judgment on the user by using the corresponding relation between the user identification stored in the home base station gateway or acquired by the configuration server and the home base station. The configuration server may be a database in the wireless network for storing user related information, such as a correspondence between user identities and home base stations.
If the access mode of the home base station is changed, certain influence exists on the user in the connection state at present. For example, if the access mode of the home base station is changed from the hybrid mode or the open mode to the closed mode, access control needs to be performed again for the currently connected user, and the non-subscribed user is released or handed over to another suitable cell.
When the core network supports the CSG concept and the access control determination points are different due to different CSG capabilities of the UE of the user, the specific process is as follows: the access mode of the home base station is changed from a mixed mode or an open mode to a closed mode, and the home base station can inform the home base station gateway and the mobility management entity of the changed access mode, namely the current access mode; the home base station gateway executes access control judgment on all the users which do not have CSG capability and are in a connected state by utilizing the corresponding relation between the user identification and the base station; although the mobility management entity can determine all users currently in a connected state through the home base station identifier reported by the home base station or all cell identifiers corresponding to the home base station, the mobility management entity cannot identify the CSG capability of the user, so that it is impossible to distinguish which users should be subjected to access control judgment again, and further conflict with the access control judgment of the home base station gateway or situations of missed judgment and erroneous judgment are generated.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the above, the present invention provides a method, an apparatus, and a system for performing access control judgment on a core network, so that the core network can accurately perform access control judgment on a user when an access mode of a base station is changed.
In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:
a method for access control judgment of a core network, after an access mode of a base station is changed, the method comprises the following steps: the mobility management entity obtains user access information which needs to execute access control judgment, and executes access control judgment on corresponding users according to the obtained user access information.
The user access information is user information; the method for the mobility management entity to obtain the user access information needing to execute the control judgment comprises the following steps: the base station gateway provides the mobility management entity with user information needed to perform access control decisions.
The user information is as follows: a user identification; or a user Iu connection identity.
The user access information is an access control mark; the step of the mobility management entity obtaining the user access information needing to execute the control judgment comprises the following steps: the mobility management entity records an access control mark in a mobility management context generated by user initialization access; the method for the mobility management entity to obtain the user needing to execute the access control judgment comprises the following steps: and searching all users in a connection state under the base station with the changed access mode according to the base station identification or all cell identifications deployed under the base station, and determining the users needing to execute access control judgment according to the recorded access control marks.
The method further comprises the following steps: the base station gateway provides the base station identification of the base station changing the access mode or all cell identifications deployed under the base station to a mobility management entity; and/or the base station gateway executes access control judgment on the user which does not have CSG capability and is in a connection state.
An apparatus for access control judgment of a core network, the apparatus comprising:
an obtaining unit, configured to obtain user access information that needs to be subjected to access control judgment by a mobility management entity after an access mode of a base station is changed;
and the judging unit is used for executing access control judgment on the corresponding user according to the user access information.
The user access information is an access control mark; the acquisition unit includes:
a recording unit for recording an access control flag in an MM context of a user;
a storage unit for storing an MM context of a user including an access control flag;
and the access unit is used for searching all the users in the connection state under the base station with the changed access mode according to the base station identification or all the cell identifications deployed under the base station, and determining the users with the CSG capability and in the connection state by accessing the access control marks of the users stored in the storage unit.
The user access information is user information, and the user information is from a base station gateway; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,
the user access information is a user identifier or a user Iu connection identifier.
A system for access control determination by a core network, the system comprising:
the base station gateway is used for providing user access information which needs to execute access control judgment to the mobility management entity after the access mode of the base station is changed;
and the mobile management entity is used for executing access control judgment on the corresponding user according to the received user access information.
The user access information is as follows: a user identification; or a user Iu connection identifier; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,
the base station gateway is further used for providing the base station identification of the base station with the changed access mode or all cell identifications deployed under the base station for the mobility management entity; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,
the base station gateway may be further configured to perform access control judgment on a user that does not have CSG capability and is in a connected state.
In the scheme provided by the invention, after the access mode of the base station is changed, the mobility management entity obtains the user access information which needs to execute the access control judgment, and executes the access control judgment on the corresponding user according to the obtained user access information, so that the core network can avoid the conflict with the access control judgment of the base station gateway, the conditions of missed judgment and wrong judgment can not exist, and the situation that the access control can be accurately finished by the users in the connection state with different CSG capabilities after the access mode of the base station is changed is ensured.
Detailed Description
In the invention, after the access mode of the base station is changed, the mobility management entity obtains the user access information which needs to execute the access control judgment, and the mobility management entity executes the access control judgment on the corresponding user according to the obtained user access information.
Specifically, after the access mode of the base station is changed, the home base station gateway provides user information required to perform access control judgment to the mobility management entity, the mobility management entity performs access control judgment on a corresponding user according to the received user information, and the user information can be a user identifier or a user Iu connection identifier;
or, the mobility management entity records the access control flag in a Mobility Management (MM) context of the user; and after the access mode of the base station is changed, the mobility management entity executes access control judgment on the corresponding user needing to execute the access control judgment according to the recorded access control mark.
The following describes in detail the specific implementation of the present invention in which the mobility management entity performs access control determination on the user, taking an example of a change in the access mode of the femto. The change of the access mode of the home base station may refer to a change of the home base station from a mixed mode or an open mode to a closed mode, or may refer to a change of the home base station from an open mode to a mixed mode.
Fig. 5 is a message flow diagram according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, in this embodiment, a specific process after the access mode of the femto ue is changed includes:
step 501: under supervision of the operator, the administrator of the home base station can change the access mode of the home base station.
Step 502: and after the access mode of the home base station is changed, sending a home base station registration request message to a home base station gateway, wherein the home base station registration request message is based on a home base station application part (HNBAP) protocol and comprises a home base station identifier and the changed access mode of the home base station, namely the current access mode of the home base station.
Step 503: and after receiving the registration request message of the home base station, the home base station gateway stores the current access mode of the home base station and returns a registration acceptance message of the home base station to the home base station.
Step 504: when the home base station gateway determines that the user in the connection state exists in the home base station with the changed access mode, the home base station gateway performs access control judgment again on the user which does not have CSG capability and is in the connection state, and initiates release or switching operation on the user which is not suitable for accessing the home base station with the changed access mode; for the user with CSG capability and in a connected state, the home base station gateway instructs the mobility management entity to execute access control judgment on the user again.
Step 505: the household base station gateway sends a Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP) information interaction request message to a mobility management entity, and if only one household base station cell is deployed under the household base station with the changed access mode, the RANAP information interaction request message comprises a household base station identifier, a current access mode of the household base station and a user identifier which needs to execute access control judgment; if a plurality of femtocell cells are deployed under the femtocell with the changed access mode, the RANAP information interaction request message contains all femtocell cell identifiers deployed under the femtocell with the changed access mode, the current access mode of the femtocell, and a user identifier which needs to perform access control judgment.
Step 506: and after receiving the RANAP information interaction request message, the mobility management entity returns an RANAP information interaction confirmation message to the home base station gateway.
Step 507: the mobility management entity searches corresponding users in the MM contexts of all users according to the user identification reported by the home base station gateway, performs access control judgment again by combining the current access mode of the home base station, and initiates release or switching operation to the users of the home base station which are not suitable for accessing and changing the access mode. The specific implementation of the access control judgment performed by the mobility management entity is basically the same as that in the prior art, and therefore, the detailed description is omitted.
Fig. 6 is a message flow diagram of a second specific embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 6, in this embodiment, specific processing after the access mode of the femto ue is changed includes:
step 601: under supervision of the operator, the administrator of the home base station can change the access mode of the home base station.
Step 602: and after the access mode of the home base station is changed, sending a home base station registration request message to a home base station gateway, wherein the home base station registration request message is based on an HNBAP protocol and comprises a home base station identifier and the changed access mode of the home base station, namely the current access mode of the home base station.
Step 603: and after receiving the registration request message of the home base station, the home base station gateway stores the current access mode of the home base station and returns a registration acceptance message of the home base station to the home base station.
Step 604: when the home base station gateway determines that the user in the connection state exists in the home base station with the changed access mode, the home base station gateway performs access control judgment again on the user which does not have CSG capability and is in the connection state, and initiates release or switching operation on the user which is not suitable for accessing the home base station with the changed access mode; for the user with CSG capability and in a connected state, the home base station gateway instructs the mobility management entity to execute access control judgment on the user again.
Step 605: the household base station gateway sends an RANAP information interaction request message to the mobility management entity, and if only one household base station cell is deployed under the household base station with the changed access mode, the RANAP information interaction request message comprises a household base station identifier, the current access mode of the household base station and a user Iu connection identifier which needs to execute access control judgment; if a plurality of femtocell cells are deployed under the femtocell with the changed access mode, the RANAP information interaction request message contains all femtocell cell identifiers deployed under the femtocell with the changed access mode, the current access mode of the femtocell, and a user Iu connection identifier which needs to execute access control judgment.
Step 606: and after receiving the RANAP information interaction request message, the mobility management entity returns an RANAP information interaction confirmation message to the home base station gateway.
Step 607: the mobility management entity searches corresponding users in the MM contexts of all users according to the user Iu connection identification reported by the home base station gateway, performs access control judgment again by combining the current access mode of the home base station, and initiates release or switching operation to the users of the home base station which are not suitable for accessing and changing the access mode.
Fig. 7 is a message flow diagram of a third specific embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 7, in this embodiment, specific processing after the access mode of the femto ue is changed includes:
step 701: the UE of the user initiates a non-access stratum (NAS) message to trigger establishment of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection between the user and the home base station, and at the moment, the UE also reports CSG capability of the UE.
Step 702: the NAS message of the user is sent to the home base station for buffering through an RRC initial direct transfer message.
Step 703: and after receiving the RRC initial direct transfer message, the home base station sends a user registration request message to the home base station gateway, and initiates user registration, wherein the user registration request message comprises the user identification and the CSG capability of the UE.
Step 704: after receiving the user registration request message, the femtocell gateway performs access control judgment on the user without CSG capability, and as the access control judgment point is on the mobility management entity for the user with CSG capability, the femtocell gateway always accepts the registration request for the user with CSG capability.
Step 705: and the home base station gateway returns a user registration acceptance message to the home base station, wherein the user registration acceptance message comprises the context identifier distributed by the home base station gateway and is used for identifying the user between the home base station and the home base station gateway.
Step 706: and after receiving the user registration acceptance message, the home base station sends the cached NAS message to the home base station gateway through the RANAP connection message.
Step 707: after receiving the RANAP connection message, the femtocell gateway sends the RANAP connection message to the mobility management entity, wherein the RANAP connection message comprises the NAS message, the CSG identification and the access mode of the femtocell, so that the core network finishes access control judgment.
Step 708: and after receiving the RANAP connection message, the mobility management entity executes access control judgment according to the CSG identification, the access mode and the ACL of the user of the home base station, and records an access control mark in the MM context of the user after success so as to be used for the follow-up mobility management entity to execute the access control judgment.
Step 709: under supervision of the operator, the administrator of the home base station can change the access mode of the home base station.
Step 710: and after the access mode of the home base station is changed, sending a home base station registration request message to a home base station gateway, wherein the home base station registration request message is based on an HNBAP protocol and comprises a home base station identifier and the changed access mode of the home base station, namely the current access mode of the home base station.
Step 711: and after receiving the registration request message of the home base station, the home base station gateway stores the current access mode of the home base station and returns a registration acceptance message of the home base station to the home base station.
Step 712: when the home base station gateway determines that the user in the connected state exists in the home base station with the changed access mode, the home base station gateway performs access control judgment again on the user which does not have CSG capability and is in the connected state, and initiates release or switching operation on the user which is not suitable for accessing the home base station with the changed access mode.
Step 713: the household base station gateway sends an RANAP information interaction request message to the mobility management entity, and if only one household base station cell is deployed under the household base station with the changed access mode, the RANAP information interaction request message comprises a household base station identifier and the current access mode of the household base station; if a plurality of femtocell cells are deployed under the femtocell with the changed access mode, the RANAP information interaction request message contains cell identifications of all femtocells deployed under the femtocell with the changed access mode and the current access mode of the femtocells.
Step 714: and after receiving the RANAP information interaction request message, the mobility management entity returns an RANAP information interaction confirmation message to the home base station gateway.
Step 715: the mobility management entity searches all users in a connection state under the home base station with a changed access mode according to the home base station identification or all home base station cell identifications deployed under the home base station, determines the users with CSG capability and in the connection state according to the recorded access control marks, re-executes access control judgment by combining with the current access mode of the home base station, and initiates release or switching operation to the users unsuitable for accessing the home base station with the changed access mode.
The specific implementation of the present invention is described above by taking the home base station as an example, but the solution of the present invention is not only applicable to this, and the solution of the present invention can be applied to any base station having multiple access modes, and therefore, the base station in the solution of the present invention may be an HNB or an HeNB, or any other base station capable of operating in multiple access modes.
Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for performing access control judgment in the present invention, as shown in fig. 8, the apparatus includes: the access control method comprises an acquisition unit and a judgment unit, wherein the acquisition unit is used for acquiring user access information which needs to be subjected to access control judgment by a mobile management entity after the access mode of a base station is changed; the judging unit is used for executing access control judgment on the corresponding user according to the user access information. The user access information may be user information or an access control flag. The device is a mobile management entity of a core network.
And when the user access information is user information, the user information comes from the base station gateway. Specifically, the user information may be a user identifier or a user Iu connection identifier.
Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an obtaining unit in the present invention, as shown in fig. 9, at this time, the user access information is an access control flag, the obtaining unit may include a recording unit, a storage unit, and an access unit, and the recording unit is configured to record the access control flag in the MM context of the user; the storage unit is used for storing the MM context of the user containing the access control mark; the access unit is used for searching all users in the connection state under the base station with the changed access mode according to the base station identification or all cell identifications deployed under the base station, and determining the users with the CSG capability and in the connection state by accessing the access control marks of the users stored in the storage unit.
Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for performing access control judgment by a core network in the present invention, and as shown in fig. 10, the system includes: the base station gateway is used for providing user access information which needs to execute access control judgment to the core network after the access mode of the base station is changed; the core network is used for executing access control judgment on the corresponding user according to the received user access information. The user access information may be a user identifier or a user Iu connection identifier.
The base station gateway is further configured to provide the mobility management entity with a base station identity of the base station changing the access mode, or with all cell identities deployed under the base station.
The base station gateway may be further configured to perform access control determination for a user that does not have CSG capability and is in a connected state.
The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.