CN102075871A

CN102075871A - Method for selecting service node, network node and communication system

Info

Publication number: CN102075871A
Application number: CN2009102265148A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郭小龙; 劳伦斯梅里奥; 支春霞; 邓婷婷
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-11-19
Filing date: 2009-11-19
Publication date: 2011-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2029-11-19
Also published as: CN102075871B

Abstract

The invention provides a method for selecting a service node, a network node and a communication system, and belongs to the field of communication. The method for selecting the service node comprises the following steps that: a first node acquires a mapping relationship between group information of equipment and an identifier of a second node; and the first node determines the second node as the service node of the equipment in the group according to the mapping relationship, wherein the service node is used for managing the equipment which belongs to the group. In the embodiment of the invention, the same service node is selected for the equipment which belongs to the same group, so that the centralized management of the equipment which belongs to the same group is realized; therefore, network resources are saved.

Description

Method for selecting service node, network node and communication system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method for selecting a service node, a network node, and a communication system.

Background

Currently, networks such as Long Term evolution/System architecture evolution (Long Term evolution/System architecture evolution, hereinafter referred To as LTE/SAE) are designed based on Human-To-Human (Human To Human, H2H for short). In the existing network, each User Equipment (UE) usually belongs to only one User, the network manages each UE individually, the network side selects a service node for each UE independently according to the load balancing principle, and different UEs are not associated with each other.

Machine To Machine (M2M) communication technology is one of the current trends in communication technology. In M2M communication technology, data is transmitted from one terminal device to another terminal device, i.e. a conversation between devices is realized. In an M2M network based on M2M communication technology, there is no simple 1:1 relationship between users and devices, and generally, a user may own more than one terminal device or even a large number of terminal devices, i.e., a 1: M relationship is formed between users and terminal devices. In addition, in the M2M network, there may be a case where a plurality of users share one terminal device, that is, the user and the terminal device form an N:1 relationship. In summary of the above possible scenarios of M2M, the correspondence between users and terminal devices in an M2M network may be denoted as N: M.

In order to better meet the actual application requirements, the network side needs to perform group management on a plurality of terminal devices with the same characteristics. If the service node is selected for the terminal device according to the scheme in the prior art, network resources are wasted.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for selecting a service node, a network node, and a communication system, which are used to select a service node for user equipment, so as to save network resources required for managing devices in the same group.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for selecting a service node, which comprises the following steps:

the first node acquires the mapping relation between the group information of the equipment and the second node identifier;

and the first node determines that the second node is a service node of the group of equipment according to the mapping relation, wherein the service node is used for managing the equipment belonging to the group.

The embodiment of the invention also provides another method for selecting the service node, which comprises the following steps:

a second node acquires a mapping relation between group information of equipment and a third node identifier, wherein the second node is a first service node of the equipment selected by a first node, and the first node is connected with the equipment belonging to the group;

the second node determines that the third node is a second service node of the equipment belonging to the group according to the mapping relation;

the first service node and the second service node are used for managing the equipment belonging to the group.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a network node, including:

the mapping relation acquisition module is used for acquiring the mapping relation between the group information of the equipment and the second node identifier;

and the service node determining module is used for determining that the second node is the service node of the equipment of the group according to the mapping relation acquired by the mapping relation acquiring module, and the service node is used for managing the equipment belonging to the group.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides another network node, where the network node includes:

the mapping relation obtaining module is used for obtaining the mapping relation between the group information of the equipment and the third node identification;

a service node determining module, configured to determine, according to the mapping relationship obtained by the mapping relationship obtaining module, that the third node is a second service node of the device belonging to the group;

and the management module is used for managing the equipment belonging to the group.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication system, including:

the first node is used for acquiring a first mapping relation between the group information of the equipment and a second node identifier, and determining that the second node is a first service node of the equipment belonging to the group according to the first mapping relation;

the second node is used for acquiring a second mapping relation between the group information of the equipment and the identifier of a third node, and determining the third node as a second service node of the equipment belonging to the group according to the second mapping relation;

The embodiment of the invention can uniformly manage the equipment belonging to the same group by the same service node, namely is beneficial to realizing the uniform management of the equipment belonging to the same group in the existing network, thereby being beneficial to saving network resources required by the management of the equipment belonging to the same group.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario LTE/SAE system structure according to an embodiment of the method for selecting a service node of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for deleting group information by a selected serving node according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a network node according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network node according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without inventive effort based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of the present invention is described in terms of a first node connected to a device and configured to select a service node for the device, that is, an execution subject of the embodiment of the present invention may be the first node, and the first node may include: an evolved node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), or other Network nodes with similar functions. As shown in fig. 1, the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment includes:

and step 11, the first node acquires the mapping relation between the group information of the equipment and the second node identifier.

The apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may include: legacy UEs, may also include other user equipment that supports M2M functionality. The second node is a serving node for the device selected by the first node and may include: a Mobility Management Element (MME), a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), or other network nodes with similar functions.

The group information of the device may be at least one of a group identifier of a group to which the device belongs, a list of device identifiers of devices belonging to the same group, and a list of group identifiers of groups when a certain device belongs to a plurality of groups, or similar information. The obtaining manner of the mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the second node is not limited, and may include:

(1) the mapping relation pre-configured by the first node, in this case, each first node connected with the second node needs to be configured with the same mapping relation;

(2) the mapping relation established by the first nodes connected with the first equipment belonging to the same group is sent to other first nodes connected with the second node; the first device is a device that belongs to the group and first triggers the establishment of the mapping relationship, and optionally, the first device is a device that initiates a communication procedure first in the group.

(3) The second node sends a mapping relationship to each first node connected to the second node, and in this case, the second node is: a service node selected by a first node to which the first device is connected.

And step 12, the first node determines that the second node is a service node of the group of equipment according to the mapping relation, and the service node is used for managing the equipment belonging to the group.

And when the first node connected with the second node needs to select the service node for the equipment belonging to the same group, the first node selects the service node according to the mapping relation, so that the service nodes of the equipment belonging to the same group are the same, namely the second node, and the equipment belonging to the group can be uniformly managed through the second node.

In the method for selecting service nodes in this embodiment, the same service node is selected for devices belonging to the same group, and the related information of the communication flow initiated by the devices belonging to the same group is sent to the same service node, so that the same service node is favorable for uniformly managing the devices belonging to the same group, that is, the devices belonging to the same group are favorable for uniformly managing the existing network, and network resources required for managing the devices belonging to the same group are favorably saved.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of the present invention is described from the perspective of a second node, that is, an execution subject of the embodiment of the present invention may be the second node, and the second node may include: a Mobility Management Element (MME), a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), or other network nodes with similar functions. As shown in fig. 2, the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment includes:

step 21, a second node obtains a mapping relationship between group information of a device and a third node identifier, where the second node is a first service node of the device selected by a first node, and the first node is connected to the device belonging to the group.

The first node may comprise: eNB, RNC, or other network node with similar functionality.

The second node is a serving node for the device selected by the first node and may include: MME, SGSN or other network node with similar functionality.

The third node is a serving node for the device selected by the second node and may include: a serving Gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), or other Network nodes with similar functions.

The manner in which the second node acquires the group information of the device is not limited, for example: the method comprises the steps that subscription data of equipment can be obtained from a Home Subscriber Server (HSS for short), wherein the subscription data comprises group information of the equipment; or the second node receives the group information of the device sent by the first node or the device. The group information of the device may include: at least one of a group identification of a group to which the device belongs, a device identification list of devices belonging to the same group, and a group identification list of groups when the device belongs to a plurality of groups, or the like.

The obtaining manner of the mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the third node identifier is not limited, and may include:

(1) a mapping relation configured in advance by the second node;

(2) when receiving related information of a communication flow sent by a first node connected with first equipment, a second node selects a service node for the first equipment according to a load balancing principle, wherein the selected service node is a third node; and establishing a mapping relation between the group information of the group to which the first device belongs and the third node identifier.

Step 22, the second node determines, according to the mapping relationship, that the third node is a second service node of the device belonging to the group, where the first service node and the second service node are used to manage the device belonging to the group.

And when the second node receives the relevant information of the communication flow of the first equipment, selecting according to the mapping relation, so that the service nodes selected by the second node for the equipment belonging to the same group are the same, namely the third node. The second node and the third node are used for managing devices belonging to the same group.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario LTE/SAE system structure according to an embodiment of the method for selecting a service node in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, LTE/SAE mainly includes: HSS, MME, SAE gateway, eNB in Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN for short), etc.

The HSS is mainly responsible for subscription data management of the UE, and the subscription data stored by the HSS may include group information of the UE. The group information of the UE may include: the UE comprises at least one of a group identifier of a group to which the UE belongs, a group member list, a public characteristic of the group and a private characteristic of a group member, wherein the group member list comprises a group of equipment identifiers, and the group identifier and the public characteristic of the group can also be stored as separate subscription data. If a certain UE belongs to multiple groups, the group information of the UE may further include a mapping relationship between a group identifier of the group and a service type identifier, such as a mapping relationship between an APN and the group identifier.

The MME has a main function of storing a mobility management context of the UE, processing a Non Access Stratum (NAS) signaling, and taking charge of security of the NAS signaling, where the mobility management context may include an identifier of a user, a mobility management state, location information, and the like. The MME can acquire the subscription data of the UE from the HSS and acquire the group information of the UE according to the subscription data.

The SAE gateway comprises an S-GW and a P-GW; the S-GW and the P-GW are two logical entities, which may exist on the same or different physical entities. The S-GW mainly stores the user plane context of the UE, such as: the IP address and routing information of the UE, legal monitoring execution, packet data routing function and the like; the S-GW communicates with the MME through an S11 interface, and performs interaction of mobility management information of the UE, session control information and the like. The P-GW is responsible for the user plane anchor point function of UE accessing to the packet data network, communicates with an external packet data network through an SGi reference point, has the functions of packet routing and forwarding, and is responsible for the functions of policy charging enhancement, the packet filtering function based on each user and the like; the P-GW communicates with the S-GW through an S5 interface, and transfers control information such as bearer establishment/modification/deletion, packet data routing, and the like.

The E-UTRAN network consists of a plurality of enbs, whose main functions are responsible for establishing, maintaining, or releasing wireless connection with UEs, storing context information of UEs in a connected state, processing Access Stratum (AS) signaling, and taking charge of security of AS signaling.

The MME is respectively connected with nodes of an E-UTRAN network responsible for a control plane and a user plane through an S1-MME interface and an S-GW through an S1-U interface; meanwhile, the MME is respectively connected with a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) in the 2G/3G network through an S3 interface and an S-GW through an S4 interface, and is respectively responsible for mobility control plane anchor and user plane anchor functions of the UE between the 3G network and the SAE network.

The following describes a technical solution of the method for selecting a serving node according to the present invention in conjunction with an application of the embodiment of the present invention in the LTE/SAE system shown in fig. 3. In the application scenario shown in fig. 3, the eNB is the first node according to the embodiment of the present invention; an MME is a first service node selected by a device for which a first node according to the embodiment of the present invention is used, and when the selected first service node is determined to be a serving MME common to devices belonging to the same group, the MME is a second node according to the embodiment of the present invention; the S-GW and the P-GW are the second serving nodes selected by the second node as the device in the embodiment of the present invention, and the S-GW and the P-GW, which are common to devices belonging to the same group, are the third nodes in the embodiment of the present invention. The device may include a conventional UE, and may also include other devices supporting M2M functions.

In the application scenario shown in fig. 3, the mapping relationship between the group information and the serving MME is as follows: the first mapping relation according to the embodiment of the invention. The manner in which the enbs located in the same MME pool obtain the first mapping relationship may include:

(1) the eNB in the same MME pool is configured with the same first mapping relation in advance;

(2) an eNB connected with first equipment selects an MME as a service MME of the equipment according to a load balancing principle, establishes and stores a mapping relation between group information of a group to which the equipment belongs and an identifier of the service MME, and sends the mapping relation to other eNBs in the same MME pool;

(3) and the eNB connected with the first equipment selects a service MME according to the principle of load balancing and sends the first mapping relation of the equipment to the eNB in the service MME self pool.

The mapping relationship between the group information of the group to which the device belongs and the third node identifier is as follows: in the second mapping relationship according to the embodiment of the present invention, the third node includes a serving S-GW and a serving P-GW. The manner for the MME to obtain the second mapping relationship may include:

(1) the MME configures a second mapping relation in advance;

(2) when receiving related information of a communication process sent by an eNB connected with a first device, an MME selects an S-GW and a P-GW for the device according to a load balancing principle, the selected S-GW and the selected P-GW are respectively a service S-GW and a service P-GW of the device, and a mapping relation between group information of a group to which the device belongs and a third node identifier is established and stored, wherein the third node comprises the service S-GW and the service P-GW.

The following is a detailed description with reference to specific application examples. In the application examples of fig. 4-7 it is assumed that: devices1 and 2 belong to the same group of devices, and eNB1 and eNB2 belong to enbs within the same MME pool.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a process in which a device initiates network attachment, assuming that: device1 and Device2 have acquired their own Group information, such as Group identification (Group ID) of the Group to which they belong, before initiating network attachment. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment includes:

step 41, assume that Device1 is the first Device in the devices included in the group to initiate the attach network flow. The Device1 sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connection Setup message (RRC Connection Setup) to the eNB1, where the NAS message included in the RRC Connection Setup message is an Attach Request (Attach Request) message, the RRC Connection Setup message carries a Group identifier (Group ID) of a Group to which the Device1 belongs, and the Attach Request message optionally carries an Access Point Name (Access Point Name, APN).

Step 42, the eNB1 obtains the group id of the group to which the Device1 belongs, and checks whether the mapping relationship between the group id and the MME id matching the group id is stored in the eNB according to the group id.

And if the mapping relation is stored in the eNB1, selecting the MME according to the mapping relation, and if the mapping relation is not stored in the eNB1, selecting the MME according to a load balancing principle.

Assuming that the mapping relationship is not stored in the eNB1, the eNB1 selects an MME according to the current location and network topology of the Device1 and the load balancing principle, where the selected MME is the serving MME of the Device1, and establishes and stores the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the selected MME.

Step 43, eNB1 sends an Initial UE message (Initial UE message) to the selected MME, where the NAS message included in the Initial UE message is an attach request message, and the Initial UE message carries a group identifier of a group to which Device1 belongs, and optionally carries an APN.

In step 44, the MME obtains the subscription data of the Device1 from the HSS through an Update Location Procedure (Update Location Procedure).

This step is optional if the MME has saved the Device's 1 subscription data.

Step 45, the MME checks whether the mapping relation between the group identification of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the service S-GW and the service P-GW is stored in the MME.

And if the MME stores the mapping relation between the group identification of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the third node, selecting the second service node according to the mapping relation. If the mapping relation is not stored in the MME, selecting a second service node according to the existing method, and establishing and storing the mapping relation between the group identifier and the selected second service node identifier. The second service node comprises: an S-GW and a P-GW. The third node includes: a selected serving S-GW and a selected serving P-GW.

In this embodiment, assuming that the MME does not store the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the third node identifier, the MME selects the S-GW and the P-GW, for example:

when the MME selects the S-GW, the MME can select the S-GW with lighter current load as the service S-GW of the Device1 according to the network topology structure and the current load condition of the selectable S-GW and the principle of load balancing;

when the MME selects the P-GW, the MME acquires subscription Data of the equipment from the HSS, acquires an address of the P-GW corresponding to a Packet Data Network (PDN) according to the subscription Data, and selects the P-GW as a service P-GW of the Device 1. Optionally, the MME may perform DNS query according to the APN corresponding to the PDN obtained by the Device1 or the HSS to obtain an address list of a P-GW that can be served, and select one P-GW from the address list as a serving P-GW of the Device 1.

Step 46, the MME sends a Create Session Request (Create Session Request) message to the S-GW, where the Create Session Request message carries the identifier of the P-GW.

Step 47, the S-GW sends a establish session request message to the P-GW.

Step 48, the MME sends an Initial Context setup request (Initial Context setup request) message to the eNB 1.

Step 49, eNB1 sends an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC connection reconfiguration) message to Device 1.

The foregoing steps 41-49 are an attach procedure of the Device1, and in the process of attaching the Device1 to the network, the eNB1 and the MME store a first mapping relationship, that is, a mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the selected MME, and the selected MME establishes and stores a second mapping relationship, that is, a mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the third node.

The first mapping relationship may be sent to each eNB in a Pool of MMEs (Pool) through eNB1 or the selected MME, so that each eNB may select the same MME for other devices belonging to the same group. Specifically, the method can comprise the following steps:

step 410a, the MME sends a Group Information Indication (Group Information Indication) message to the eNB belonging to the MME Pool (MME Pool), where the Group Information Indication message carries a mapping relationship between the Group identifier of the Group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the MME.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that eNB1 and eNB2 both belong to enbs in an MME pool, and only the case where the group information indication message is transmitted from an MME to eNB2 is shown in the figure.

And step 410b, the eNB1 sends a group information indication message to the enbs belonging to the same MME pool, wherein the group information indication message carries the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the MME identifier.

Assuming that eNB1 and eNB2 both belong to enbs of the MME pool in the present embodiment, the group information indication message may be transmitted by eNB1 to eNB 2.

In steps 410a and 410b, step 410a may be performed, or step 410b may be performed.

In step 411, the eNB2 receives the group information indication message sent by the MME or eNB1, and stores the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the MME.

Assuming that another Device in the Device1 group, such as Device2 initiates a network attach procedure, the following process may be used to select the same service node for Device2 as Device1, which may specifically include:

step 412, the Device2 sends an RRC connection setup message to the eNB2, where an NAS message included in the RRC connection setup message is an attach request message, where the RRC connection setup message carries a group identifier of a group to which the Device2 belongs, and the attach request message optionally carries an APN.

In step 413, the eNB2 obtains the group id of the group to which the Device2 belongs, since the eNB2 stores the mapping relationship between the group id of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the id of the MME, the group id of the Device2 is the same as the group id of the Device1, the eNB2 selects the MME according to the mapping relationship between the group id and the id of the MME, and the MME selected by the eNB2 is the same as the serving MME of the Device 1.

Step 414, the eNB2 sends an initial UE message to the selected MME, where the NAS message included in the initial UE message is an attach request message and carries the group identifier in the initial UE message.

In step 415, the MME obtains the subscription data of the Device2 from the HSS through an Update Location Procedure (Update Location Procedure).

This step is optional if the MME has saved the Device's 2 subscription data.

Step 416, the MME selects the serving S-GW and the serving P-GW of Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the third node identifier. The S-GW selected by Device2 is the same as the S-GW selected by Device1, and the P-GW selected by Device2 is the same as the P-GW selected by Device 1.

Step 417, the MME sends a session establishment request message to the selected S-GW, where the session establishment request message carries the identifier of the selected P-GW.

Step 418, the S-GW sends a setup session request message to the selected P-GW.

Step 419, the MME sends an initial context setup request message to the eNB.

Step 420, eNB2 sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to Device 2.

Step 412-step 419, performing a network attach procedure for the Device2, wherein in the process of attaching the Device2 to the network, the eNB2 selects and serves the MME for the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the MME identifier; the MME selects a service S-GW and a service P-GW for the Device2 according to the mapping relation between the group identifier and the third node identifier, so that the service nodes of the two devices1 and 2 belonging to the same group are the same.

In the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment, a device initiating a network attachment process sends group information of the device to an eNB connected to the device, and enbs belonging to the same MME pool select the same MME as an MME serving the device according to a mapping relationship between a group identifier and an MME identifier; and the MME selects the same service S-GW and service P-GW for the equipment belonging to the same group according to the mapping relation between the group information and the third node identifier. The selected service nodes, such as the selected MME, S-GW and P-GW, carry out unified management on all the devices belonging to the same group, thereby saving network resources.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment corresponding to fig. 4 is that this embodiment is a procedure for initiating a location update by a device, and the location update procedure is different from an attach procedure, but a method in which an eNB selects a serving MME for the device and an MME selects a serving S-GW and a P-GW for the device is similar, as shown in fig. 3 and fig. 5, the method for selecting a serving node in this embodiment includes:

step 51, assume that Device1 is the first Device in the group to enter the new MME pool. The Device1 sends an RRC connection setup message to the eNB1, where the NAS message included in the RRC connection setup message is a location update Request (TAU Request) message, and the RRC connection setup message carries a group identifier of a group to which the Device belongs.

Step 52, assuming that the eNB1 does not store the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the serving MME, the eNB1 selects an MME according to the current location and network topology of the Device1 and the load balancing principle, where the selected MME is the serving MME of the Device1, establishes the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the identifier of the selected MME, and stores the mapping relationship.

Step 53, the eNB1 sends an Initial UE message (Initial UE message) to the selected MME, where the NAS message included in the Initial UE message is a TAU request message, and the Initial UE message carries the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs.

Step 54, assuming that the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which Device1 belongs and the third node identifier is not stored in the MME, selecting an S-GW and a P-GW according to the existing method, and establishing and storing the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the third node identifier, where the third node includes the selected S-GW and the selected P-GW.

Step 55, the MME sends a Create Session Request (Create Session Request) message or a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request) message to the selected S-GW, where these messages carry the identity of the P-GW selected by the MME.

Step 56, the S-GW sends a modify bearer request message to the selected P-GW.

Step 57, the MME sends a location update Accept (TAU Accept) message to the device.

The above-mentioned step 51-step 57 are the location update procedure of the Device1, and in the location update procedure of the Device1, the eNB1 and the MME store the first mapping relationship, that is, the mapping relationship between the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs and the selected MME identifier. The selected MME establishes and stores a second mapping relationship, i.e., a mapping relationship between a group identifier of a group to which Device1 belongs and a third node identifier, wherein the third node includes the selected S-GW and the selected P-GW.

The mapping relationship between the group identifier and the identifier of the selected MME may be sent to each eNB in the MME pool through eNB1 or the selected MME, so that each eNB may select the same MME for other devices belonging to the same group. Specifically, the method can comprise the following steps:

step 58a, the MME sends a group information indication message to each eNB in the MME pool, where the group information indication message carries a mapping relationship between a group identifier and an MME identifier.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that eNB1 and eNB2 both belong to enbs in the MME1 pool, and only the case where the group information indication message is transmitted from the MME to eNB2 is shown in the figure.

Step 58b, the eNB1 sends a group information indication message to other enbs belonging to the same MME pool, where the group information indication message carries the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the MME identifier.

Assuming that both eNB1 and eNB2 belong to enbs of the MME1 pool in the present embodiment, the group information indication message may be transmitted by eNB1 to eNB 2.

In steps 58a and 58b, step 58a may be performed, or step 58b may be performed.

Step 59, the eNB2 receives the group information indication message sent by the MME or eNB1, and stores the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the MME identifier.

Assuming that the Device2 initiates the network attach procedure, and the Device2 and the Device1 belong to the same group, the same service node as the Device1 can be selected for the Device2 by the following processes, which specifically include:

step 510, the Device2 sends an RRC connection setup message to the eNB2, where the NAS message included in the RRC connection setup message is a location update Request (TAU Request) message, and the RRC connection setup message carries a group identifier of a group to which the Device belongs.

In step 511, eNB2 obtains the group id of the group to which Device2 belongs, and since eNB2 stores the mapping relationship between the group id and the MME id, eNB2 selects an MME according to the mapping relationship, where the selected MME is the same as the serving MME of Device1, that is, the serving MMEs of Device2 and Device1 are the same.

Step 512, the eNB2 sends an initial UE message to the selected MME, where the NAS message included in the initial UE message is a location update request message, and the initial UE message carries the group identifier.

Step 513, the MME selects a serving S-GW and a serving P-GW for the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the stored group identifier and the third node identifier, where the selected S-GW and P-GW are the third node, the S-GW selected by the Device2 is the same as the serving S-GW of the Device1, and the P-GW selected by the Device2 is the same as the serving P-GW of the Device 1.

Step 514, the MME sends a session establishment request message or a bearer modification request message to the selected S-GW, where these messages carry the identity of the P-GW selected by the MME.

Step 515, the S-GW sends a modify bearer request message to the selected P-GW.

Step 516, the MME sends a location update accept message to Device 2.

In the above step 511-step 516, the Device2 performs a location update procedure, in the Device2 location update procedure, the eNB2 selects and serves an MME for the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the MME identifier, and the MME selects a serving S-GW and a serving P-GW for the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the group identifier and the third node identifier, so that the serving nodes of the two devices Device1 and Device2 belonging to the same group are as follows: MME, S-GW, and P-GW, all the same.

In the method for selecting a serving node according to this embodiment, a first device in a group enters a new MME pool, and sends group information of the device to an eNB connected to the first device. The eNB belonging to the same MME pool selects the same MME as the serving MME for the equipment belonging to the same group according to the mapping relation between the group information and the selected MME identification; and the MME selects the S-GW and the P-GW which have the same service for the equipment belonging to the same group according to the mapping relation between the group information and the third node. The selected service nodes, such as the selected MME, S-GW and P-GW, carry out unified management on the devices belonging to the same group, thereby saving network resources.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is a process in which a device initiates a network attach, and is different from the embodiment corresponding to fig. 4 in that the device in the present embodiment sends a group identifier of a group to which the device belongs to an eNB in a different manner. As shown in fig. 3 and fig. 6, the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment includes:

step 61a, assume that Device1 is the first Device in the devices included in the group to initiate an attach network flow. The Device1 sends an RRC Connection Request (RRC Connection Request) message to the eNB1, the RRC Connection Request message including a "Random ID" information element.

Step 61b, the eNB1 returns an RRC Connection Setup (RRC Connection Setup) message to the Device 1.

Step 61c, the Device1 sends an RRC connection setup Complete (RRC ConnectionSetup Complete) message to the eNB1, where the RRC connection setup Complete message carries a "GUMMEI" information element and an NAS message, and the NAS message is an attach request message. The attach request message carries a device identifier and optionally an APN.

The above steps 61a to 61c are to establish an RRC connection procedure between the device and the eNB, wherein the group identifier of the group to which the device belongs can be sent to the eNB to which the device is connected as a component of the information element included in the RRC message.

For example: the RRC connection request message includes a "Random ID" information element, the RRC connection setup complete message includes a "GUMMEI" information element, and one of the two information elements may carry a group identifier of a group to which the device belongs, which is specifically described as follows:

(1) the group identification of the group to which the device belongs is carried in the "Random ID" information element.

Assuming that the "Random ID" information element occupies 40 bits (Bit), some of the bits can be used to represent the group information of the device, such as the group identification of the group to which the device belongs, and the Bit resource allocation of the 40-Bit "Random ID" information element is shown in table 1:

TABLE 1

The "Random ID" information element is divided into three parts: a "Distinguished ID" bit, a "Group ID" bit, and a "Random ID" bit.

The information carried by the "distinguishid" bit is used to distinguish whether the information element is a pure "Random ID" information element carrying no group ID, or a "Random ID" information element carrying a group ID, such as: the bits of the "distingguised ID" can occupy 1 bit, if the value of the bits of the "distingguised ID" is "1", it means that the information element of the "Random ID" carries the Group ID, and the Group ID can be carried in the bits of the "Group ID"; if the value of the "distingguisted ID" bit is "0", it indicates that the "Random ID" information element does not carry the Group identification, and the information carried by the 39 bits occupied by the "Group ID" bit and the "Random ID" bit is "Random ID" information.

(2) The group identifier of the group to which the device belongs is carried in the "GUMMEI" information element.

The existing "GUMMEI" information element includes "PLMN-ID" bit, "MME Group ID" bit and "MMEC" bit, and on this basis, the "MME Group ID" bit can be divided into "discontinuous ID" bit and "Device Group ID" bit. Bit resource allocation of the "GUMMEI" information element is shown in table 2, for example:

TABLE 2

The "distinggushed ID" bit is used to distinguish whether the information carried by several bits after the bit is "MME Group ID" information or "Device Group ID" information. For example: the original "MME Group ID" bit in the "GUMMEI" information element occupies 16 bits, the first 2 bits of the "MME Group ID" bit can be used as the "distinggushed ID" bit, if the value of the "distinggushed ID" bit is "00", it indicates that the 14 bits following the "distinggushed ID" bit are the "MME Group ID" information; if the value of the "Distinguished ID" bit is "11", it means that the "Device Group ID" information is included in 14 bits following the "Distinguished ID" bit, and if the number of bits occupied by the "Device Group ID" information is greater than 14 bits, the "Device Group ID" information may also occupy a part of the bits of the "MMEC" bit.

In this embodiment, the group ID of the group to which Device1 belongs may be sent to eNB1 of Device1 as part of the "Random ID" information element included in the RRC connection request message in step 61a, or as part of the "GUMMEI" information element included in the RRC connection setup complete message in step 61 c.

Step 62, the eNB1 obtains the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs from the "Random ID" information element included in the RRC connection request message sent by the Device1 or the "GUMMEI" information element included in the RRC connection setup complete message, and the method of selecting the MME for the Device1 according to the group identifier is similar to the method of step 42 in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 4, and is not described herein again.

Steps 63-611 are similar to steps 43-411 and will not be described further herein.

step 612a, Device2 sends an RRC connection request message to eNB2, where the RRC connection request message includes a "Random ID" information element.

Step 612b, eNB2 returns an RRC connection setup message to Device 2.

Step 612c, the Device2 sends an RRC connection setup complete message to the eNB2, where the RRC connection setup complete message carries a "GUMMEI" information element and an NAS message, and the NAS message is an attach request message. And carrying the equipment identification and optionally the APN in the attach request message.

In this embodiment, the group ID of the group to which Device2 belongs may be sent to eNB2 of Device2 as part of the "Random ID" information element included in the RRC connection request message in step 612a, or as part of the "GUMMEI" information element included in the RRC connection setup complete message in step 612 c.

Step 613, the eNB2 obtains the group identifier of the group to which the Device1 belongs from the "Random ID" information element included in the RRC connection request message sent by the Device2 or the "GUMMEI" information element included in the RRC connection setup complete message, and the method of selecting the MME for the Device2 according to the group identifier is similar to the method of step 413 in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 4, and is not described herein again.

Steps 614-620 are similar to steps 414-420 and will not be described herein.

In the method for selecting a service node according to this embodiment, on the basis of achieving the technical effect of the embodiment corresponding to fig. 4, the group identifier of the group to which the device belongs is sent to the eNB to which the device is connected based on the existing information element in the RRC connection request message or the RRC connection setup complete message, so that the flexibility of the eNB to acquire the group identifier of the group to which the device belongs is improved.

Further, the method for sending the group identifier of the group to which the device belongs to the embodiment to the eNB connected to the device as a component of the information element included in the RRC message is applicable to the location update procedure of the device, and the difference is that the NAS message included in the RRC connection setup complete message is a TAU request message, and the difference between the location update procedure and the attachment procedure implementation step is described in detail in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 5, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is a process of initiating a network attach by a device, and the difference from the corresponding embodiment of fig. 4 is that the device does not know its own group information in the application example of the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 7, the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment includes:

step 71, assume that Device1 is the first Device in the devices included in the group to initiate an attach network flow. The Device1 sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connection Setup message (RRC Connection Setup) to the eNB1, where an NAS message included in the RRC Connection Setup message is an Attach Request (Attach Request) message, the RRC Connection Setup message carries a Device identifier (Device ID), the Device identifier may be a temporary identifier or a permanent identifier of the Device, and the Attach Request message may optionally carry APN information.

Step 72, assuming that the eNB1 does not store the mapping relationship between the group information of the Device1 and the identifier of the serving MME, the eNB1 selects an MME according to the current location and network topology of the Device1 and the load balancing principle, and sends an Initial UE message (Initial UE message) to the selected MME, where the NAS message included in the Initial UE message is an attach request message.

In step 73, the MME obtains the subscription data of the Device1 from the HSS through an Update Location Procedure (Update Location Procedure), where the subscription data of the Device1 includes a Device identifier List (Group List) of each Device included in the Group to which the Device1 belongs.

This step is optional if the MME has saved the Device's 1 subscription data.

Step 74, assuming that the MME does not store the mapping relationship between the device identifier list and the selected S-GW and P-GW, the MME selects the S-GW and the P-GW according to the existing method, establishes the mapping relationship between the device identifier list and the third node identifier, and stores the mapping relationship, wherein the third node includes: a selected S-GW and a selected P-GW.

Step 75-step 76 are similar to step 46-step 47 and will not be described herein.

Step 77, the MME sends an Initial Context setup request (Initial Context setup request) message to the eNB1, where the Initial Context setup request message carries the Device identifier list of each Device included in the group to which the Device1 belongs.

Step 78, eNB1 establishes a mapping relationship between the device identifier list and the selected MME, and stores the mapping relationship.

Step 79, eNB1 sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to Device 1.

The foregoing steps 71 to 79 are an attach procedure of the Device1, and in the process of attaching the Device1 to the network, the eNB1 establishes and stores a mapping relationship between the Device identifier list and the selected MME, and the selected MME establishes and stores a mapping relationship between the Device identifier list and a third node identifier, where the third node includes: a selected S-GW and a selected P-GW.

To enable devices belonging to the same MME pool and the same group as Device1 to attach to the same MME, a mapping of the Device identity list to the identity of the selected MME may be sent to the eNB within the MME pool through eNB1 or the selected MME. Specifically, the method can comprise the following steps:

step 710a, the MME sends a Group Information Indication (Group Information Indication) message to the eNB belonging to the MME Pool (MME Pool), where the Group Information Indication message carries a mapping relationship between the device identifier list and the MME own identifier.

Assuming that eNB1 and eNB2 both belong to enbs of the MME pool in the present embodiment, the group information indication message may be sent by the MME to eNB 2.

Step 710b, eNB1 sends a group information indication message to other enbs belonging to the same MME pool, the group information indicating a mapping relationship between the device identity list and the identity of the selected MME.

Assuming that eNB1 and eNB2 both belong to enbs of the MME pool in the present embodiment, the group information indication message may be transmitted by eNB1 to eNB 2. In the above steps 710a and 710b, the step 710a may be performed, or the step 710b may be performed.

Step 711, eNB2 receives the group information indication message sent by MME or eNB1, and stores the mapping relationship between the device identifier list and the identifier of the selected MME.

Assuming that the Device2 initiates the network attach procedure, the same service node as Device1 may be selected for Device2 by:

step 712, the Device2 sends an RRC connection setup message to the eNB2, where the NAS message included in the RRC connection setup message is an attach request message, and the attach request message carries a Device identifier, which may be a temporary identifier or a permanent identifier of the Device, and optionally carries an APN.

Step 713, the eNB2 obtains the Device identifier of the Device2, and selects the MME corresponding to the Device identifier of the Device2 as the serving MME of the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the stored Device identifier list and the selected MME identifier.

The MME selected by eNB2 according to the mapping is the same as the MME selected by eNB 1.

Step 714, eNB2 sends an Initial UE message (Initial UE message) to the selected MME, where the NAS message included in the Initial UE message is an attach request message.

In step 715, the MME obtains the subscription data of the Device2 from the HSS through an Update Location Procedure (Update Location Procedure). The subscription data of Device2 includes: a Device identification List (Group List) of each Device included in the Group to which Device2 belongs.

This step is optional if the MME has saved the Device's 2 subscription data.

Step 716, the MME selects a serving S-GW and a serving P-GW for Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the stored Device identifier list and the third node identifier, where the S-GW and the P-GW are selected by the third node.

The S-GW selected by the MME for the Device2 is the same as the S-GW selected by the MME for the Device 1; the P-GW selected by the MME for Device2 is the same P-GW selected by the MME for Device 1.

Steps 717-720 are similar to steps 417-420 and are not repeated here.

The foregoing steps 712-720 are performed to perform a network attach procedure for the Device2, in the process of attaching the Device2 to the network, the eNB2 selects a serving MME for the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the Device identifier list and the selected MME identifier, and the MME selects a serving S-GW and a serving P-GW for the Device2 according to the mapping relationship between the Device identifier list and the third node identifier, so that the serving nodes of the two devices1 and the Device2 belonging to the same group are the same.

In the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment, a device initiating a network attachment process sends a device identifier to an eNB connected to the device, and enbs belonging to the same WME pool select the same MME as an MME serving the device belonging to the same group according to a mapping relationship between a device identifier list of each device included in the device group and the selected MME identifier; and the MME selects the same service S-GW and service P-GW for the equipment belonging to the same group according to the mapping relation between the equipment identifier list of each equipment and the third node identifier included in the equipment group. The selected service nodes, such as the selected MME, S-GW and P-GW, carry out unified management on the devices belonging to the same group, thereby saving network resources.

Further, the method for selecting a serving node for a device by an eNB or an MME according to a mapping relationship between a device identifier list and a selected serving node identifier in this embodiment is applicable to a location update procedure of the device, and is different in that an NAS message included in an RRC connection setup message is a TAU request message, and a difference between a location update procedure and an attach procedure in implementation steps is described in detail in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 5, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for selecting a service node according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. The application example of the embodiment is as follows: the mapping relationship between the group information and the MME identifier is stored in the subscription data of a certain device, and this embodiment only takes the case where the device belongs to multiple groups as an example for explanation. As shown in fig. 8, the method for selecting a service node in this embodiment includes:

step 81, the Device1 sends an RRC connection setup message to the eNB1, where the NAS message included in the RRC connection setup message may be an attach request message or a TAU request message, and the corresponding Device-initiated communication procedure is an attach procedure or a location update procedure.

Step 82, the eNB1 checks whether the mapping relationship between the group information of the Device1 and the identifier of the selected MME is stored in itself, and if so, selects the MME according to the mapping relationship; if not, according to the current location and network topology of the Device1, selecting the MME according to the principle of load balancing, where the MME selected by eNB1 is denoted as MME1 in this embodiment. The eNB1 sends an initial UE message to the selected MME1, where the initial UE message includes an NAS message, and the NAS message may be an attach request message or a TAU request message, and the communication procedure initiated by the corresponding device is an attach procedure or a location update procedure.

In step 83, the MME1 obtains subscription data of the Device1 from the HSS through an Update Location Procedure (Update Location Procedure).

If the device belongs to multiple groups, the subscription data of the device in the HSS may include group identifier list information of the group to which the device belongs, and optionally, the subscription data may further include: a list of group identities of groups to which the device belongs and a mapping relationship of the selected MME identities.

(1) If the Device1 subscription data includes the mapping relationship between the group id list and the selected MME id, the following process may be included:

step 84, the MME1 compares the MME id in the mapping relationship included in the subscription data with the identity of the MME1 itself.

If the Device1 subscription data includes an MME ID bound in the mapping relationship that is different from the MME1 ID, step 85 is performed.

Step 85, the MME1 sends a reject message to the eNB1, where the reject message carries mapping relationship information between a Group identifier List (Group ID List) and an MME identifier included in the Device1 subscription data.

Step 86, eNB1 sends the initial UE message to the correct MME according to the mapping relationship between the group id list and the MME id included in the Device1 subscription data.

Suppose that: if the selected MME in the mapping included in the Device1 subscription data is MME2, then eNB1 sends an initial UE message to MME 2.

After the eNB1 sends the initial UE message to the correct MME, i.e., MME2, the attach or location update process flow of Device1 and/or Device2 is similar to the flow in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 4 or fig. 5, and is not described herein again.

(2) In both cases, if the Device1 subscription data includes a group id list but does not include the mapping relationship between the group id list and the selected MME id, or if the Device1 subscription data includes the mapping relationship between the group id list and the selected MME id and the mapping relationship between the subscription data includes the MME id bound in the mapping relationship and the MME1 id, a method for the eNB1 to select an MME for the Device1 and the MME to select an S-GW and a P-GW for the Device1 may be used, which is similar to the selection method of the Device shown in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 4 or fig. 5, except that: the group information sent by MME1 to eNB1 is the group identifier list of each group to which Devices1 belong, and the mapping relationship stored by eNB in the same MME pool is: mapping relation between the group identification list and the identification of the MME selected by the group identification list; the mapping relation established and stored by the MME is as follows: and the mapping relation between the group identification list and the third node identification is realized, wherein the third node comprises the S-GW selected by the MME and the P-GW selected by the MME. The processing for this case is not shown in fig. 8.

Further, if the device belongs to a plurality of groups, and the eNB selects an MME for the device, the group information of each group and the MME identifier all have a mapping relationship, and if the MMEs mapped to the plurality of groups to which the device belongs are not the same MME, one device may be attached to the plurality of MMEs at the same time, and the attached MMEs all store the subscription information and the related group information of the device.

In the method for selecting service nodes in this embodiment, when a certain device belongs to multiple groups, the same service node may be selected for each device belonging to the multiple groups, so as to avoid selection conflicts of the service nodes, and the selected service node is favorable for performing unified management on the devices belonging to the multiple groups, thereby saving network resources.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for deleting group information by a selected serving node according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment belongs to a device-initiated detach procedure. As shown in fig. 9, the method for deleting group information by a selected serving node in this embodiment includes:

step 91, the Device1 sends a Detach Request (Detach Request) message to the MME, where the Detach Request message carries the Device identifier.

Step 92, the MME determines whether Device1 is the last attached Device in the group to which it belongs, and if so, the MME deletes Device1 and all information related to the group to which it belongs.

Step 93, the MME sends a Delete Session Request (Delete Session Request) message to the S-GW, and executes step 94.

If Device1 is not the last attached Device in its group, MME deletes Device1 related information but retains Device1 related information. In the subsequent flow of this embodiment, only Device1 is taken as the last attached Device in the group to which it belongs.

Step 94, the S-GW deletes the relevant information of Device1 and returns a Delete Session Response (Delete Session Response) message to the MME.

Step 95, the S-GW sends a Delete Session Request (Delete Session Request) message to the P-GW.

Step 96, the P-GW deletes the Device1 related information and returns a delete session response message to the S-GW.

Step 97, the MME sends a Group Information deletion Indication (Group Information deletion Indication) message to all enbs in its MME pool, where the Group Information deletion Indication message carries the Group identifier of the Group to which Device1 belongs.

And step 98, the eNB deletes the relevant information of the group corresponding to the group identifier carried in the group information deletion instruction message, which is stored by the eNB.

In this embodiment, after selecting a serving node according to any one of embodiments in fig. 3 to 8, if a last attached device of a certain group initiates a detach procedure, the MME may delete the related information of the device and the related information of the group to which the device belongs, and notify the eNB connected in the MME pool to delete the related information of the group to which the device belongs, so as to release the network resource occupied by the related information of the group to which the device belongs, thereby saving network resources.

Although the embodiments shown in fig. 3-9 are described by taking the application of the embodiments of the present invention in the LTE/SAE system as an example, those skilled in the art can also understand that the embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to other network systems, for example, to the UMTS system, in which case, the network nodes in the UMTS system, such as RNC, SGSN, and GGSN, are respectively equivalent to eNB, MME, S-GW, and P-GW in the LTE/SAE system, and the technical scheme for selecting the serving node in the UMTS system is similar to that of the LTE/SAT system, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a network node according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 10, the network node of this embodiment includes: a mapping relation obtaining module 101 and a service node determining module 102.

The mapping relationship obtaining module 101 is configured to obtain a mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the second node identifier.

The service node determining module 102 is configured to determine, according to the mapping relationship obtained by the mapping relationship obtaining module 101, that the second node is a service node of the device in the group, where the service node is configured to manage the device belonging to the group.

According to different ways of obtaining the mapping relationship, optionally, the mapping relationship obtaining module 101 may include: the configuration unit 1011 or the first receiving unit 1012 or the second receiving unit 1013.

The configuration unit 1011 is configured to configure the mapping relationship.

The first receiving unit 1012 is configured to receive and store the mapping relationship sent by a first node connected to a first device, where the first device belongs to the group and is a device that first triggers to establish the mapping relationship.

The second receiving unit 1013 is configured to receive and store the mapping relationship sent by the second node.

If the network node in this embodiment is a first node connected to the first device, optionally, the mapping relationship obtaining module 101 includes: a load balance selection unit 1014 and a mapping relation acquisition unit 1015.

The load balancing selecting unit 1014 is configured to select the second node as a service node of the first device for the first device according to a load balancing principle, where the first device is a device that belongs to the group and that first triggers the establishment of the mapping relationship.

The mapping relationship obtaining unit 1015 is configured to establish and store a mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the second node after the load balancing selecting unit selects the second node as the service node of the first device.

Further, in order to obtain the same mapping relationship with other first nodes connected to the second node, the network node in this embodiment may further include: and a mapping relation sending module 103.

After the mapping relationship obtaining module 101 obtains the mapping relationship, the mapping relationship sending module 103 sends the mapping relationship to the first node connected to the second node, so that the first node connected to the second node determines that the second node is a service node of the device belonging to the group according to the mapping relationship.

Further, optionally, the network node in this embodiment may further include: a group information acquisition module 104.

The group information obtaining module 104 is configured to receive the group information of the first device sent by the first device, or is configured to obtain the group information of the first device from the second node, so that the mapping relationship obtaining unit establishes and stores the mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the second node.

The representation entity of the network node in this embodiment is not limited, and may be, for example, an eNB, an RNC, or other types of network nodes with similar functions, and the second node may include: for the MME, SGSN, or other network nodes with similar functions, the implementation mechanism of selecting a serving node by the network node in this embodiment may refer to the record of the eNB in the corresponding embodiments of fig. 1 and fig. 3 to 9, and details thereof are not repeated herein.

In this embodiment, the network node selects the same service node for the devices belonging to the same group, and sends the related information of the communication flow initiated by the devices belonging to the same group to the same service node, so that the same service node is favorable for uniformly managing the devices belonging to the same group, that is, the devices belonging to the same group are favorable for uniformly managing the devices belonging to the same group in the existing network, thereby being favorable for saving network resources required for managing the devices belonging to the same group.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network node according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 11, the network node of this embodiment may include: a mapping relation obtaining module 111, a service node determining module 112 and a management module 113.

The mapping relationship obtaining module 111 is configured to obtain a mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the third node identifier;

the service node determining module 112 is configured to determine, according to the mapping relationship obtained by the mapping relationship obtaining module 111, that the third node is a second service node of the device belonging to the group;

the management module 113 is configured to manage the devices belonging to the group.

Optionally, the mapping relationship obtaining module 111 may include: a group information obtaining unit 1111, a load balancing selecting unit 1112 and a mapping relation obtaining unit 1113.

The group information obtaining unit 1111 is configured to obtain group information of a first device, where the first device belongs to the group and first triggers the establishment of the mapping relationship.

The load balancing selecting unit 1112 is configured to select the third node as the second service node of the first device for the first device according to a load balancing principle.

The mapping relationship obtaining unit 1113 is configured to establish and store a mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the third node according to the group information of the first device obtained by the group information obtaining unit 1111 and the identifier of the third node selected by the load balancing selecting unit.

In order to enable each first node connected to the network node of this embodiment, the network node of this embodiment may be determined as a common first service node of each device belonging to the same group, and optionally, the network node of this embodiment may further include: a setup module 114 and a sending module 115.

The establishing module 114 is configured to establish a mapping relationship between group information of a first device and an identifier of a second node, where the first device belongs to the group and is the device that first triggers the establishment of the mapping relationship, and the second node is a first service node selected by the first device as the first node.

The sending module 115 is configured to send the mapping relationship established by the establishing module to a first node connected to the second node, so that the first node determines that the second node is a first service node of the device belonging to the group.

The subscription data of the device may include a mapping relationship between group information of a group to which the device belongs and the third node, and optionally, the network node in this embodiment may further include: a subscription data acquisition module 116 and a denial of service module 117.

The subscription data obtaining module 116 is configured to obtain subscription data of the first device.

The denial of service module 117 is configured to send denial of service information to the first node if the subscription data includes a mapping relationship between group information of the first device and the first service node, and if an identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data is different from an identifier of the second node, where the denial of service information carries the identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data, so that the first node establishes a connection with the corresponding first service node according to the identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data.

In order to release the network resources occupied by the group in time at an appropriate time, the network node in this embodiment may further include: group information deletion module 118.

The group information deleting module 118 is configured to delete the first information when the second device initiates a detach procedure, and instruct the first node connected to the second node to delete the first information; the second device is the last attached device belonging to the group; the first information is related information of the second device and related information of a group to which the second device belongs.

The representation entity of the network node in this embodiment is not limited, the MME, SGSN or other network nodes with similar functions, and the first node may include: eNB, RNC or other network node with similar functionality, etc., the third node may include: S-GW and P-GW, or GGSN, or other network nodes with similar functionality, etc. For a mechanism for implementing the selection of the serving node by the network node in this embodiment, reference may be made to fig. 2 and records related to the MME in the corresponding embodiments of fig. 3 to 9, which are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the network node selects the same service node for each device belonging to the same group, and sends the related information of the communication flow initiated by each device belonging to the same group to the same service node, so that the same service node is favorable for uniformly managing each device belonging to the same group, that is, the uniform management of each device belonging to the same group in the existing network is favorable for realizing, and thus, the network resource required for managing the devices belonging to the same group is favorably saved.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 12, the communication system of the present embodiment includes: a first node 121 and a second node 122.

The first node 121 is configured to obtain a first mapping relationship between the group information of the device and a second node, and determine, according to the first mapping relationship, that the second node is a first service node of any device in the devices belonging to the same group.

The second node 122 is configured to obtain a second mapping relationship between the group information of the device and a third node, and determine, according to the second mapping relationship, that the third node is a second service node of any device in the devices belonging to the same group; the first service node and the second service node are used for managing devices belonging to the same group.

In the communication system of this embodiment, the first node may include: eNB, RNC or other network node with similar functionality, etc., the second node may include: MME, SGSN or other network nodes with similar functionality, etc., the third node may comprise: S-GW and P-GW, or GGSN, or other network nodes with similar functionality, etc. For the implementation mechanism of selecting the service node in the communication system of this embodiment, reference may be made to the descriptions of the embodiments corresponding to fig. 1 to fig. 9, which are not described herein again.

In the communication system of this embodiment, the first node and the second node respectively select the same service node for each device belonging to the same group, and the related information of the communication flow initiated by each device belonging to the same group is sent to the same service node, so that the same service node is favorable for uniformly managing each device belonging to the same group, that is, the uniform management of each device belonging to the same group in the existing network is favorable for realizing, and thus, the network resources required for managing the devices belonging to the same group are favorably saved.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the figures are merely schematic representations of one embodiment, and the blocks or flow diagrams in the figures are not necessarily required to practice the present invention.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: modules in the devices in the embodiments may be distributed in the devices in the embodiments according to the description of the embodiments, or may be located in one or more devices different from the embodiments with corresponding changes. The modules of the above embodiments may be combined into one module, or further split into multiple sub-modules.

The above-mentioned serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for description and do not represent the merits of the embodiments.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or part of the steps for implementing the method embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to program instructions, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program performs the steps including the method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a serving node, comprising:

2. The method of selecting a serving node of claim 1,

the first node is an evolution base station, and the second node is a mobility management network element; or,

the first node is a radio network controller and the second node is a serving general packet radio service support node.

3. The method of selecting a serving node of claim 1, wherein the group information of the device comprises at least one of:

a group identification of a group to which the device belongs;

a device identification list of devices belonging to the same group;

a group identification list, the group identification list comprising: a group identification of a group to which the device belongs when the device belongs to a plurality of groups.

4. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the obtaining, by the first node, the mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the identifier of the second node includes:

the first node configures the mapping relation; or,

the first node receives and stores the mapping relation sent by a first node connected with first equipment, wherein the first equipment belongs to the group and is first triggered to establish the mapping relation; or,

and the first node receives and stores the mapping relation sent by the second node.

5. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the obtaining, by the first node, the mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the identifier of the second node comprises:

the first node selects the second node as a service node of the first device for the first device according to a load balancing principle, wherein the first device belongs to the group and establishes the mapping relation in a first trigger mode;

and the first node establishes and stores the mapping relation between the group information of the first device and the second node identifier.

6. The method of selecting a service node as claimed in claim 5, wherein before the first node establishes and stores the mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the second node, the method further comprises:

the first node receives the group information of the first equipment sent by the first equipment; or,

the first node acquires the group information of the first device from the second node.

7. The method of selecting a serving node of claim 5, wherein after establishing and maintaining the mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the second node, the method further comprises:

and the first node sends the mapping relation to the first node connected with the second node, so that the first node connected with the second node determines that the second node is the service node of the equipment belonging to the group according to the mapping relation.

8. A method of selecting a serving node, comprising:

9. The method of selecting a serving node of claim 8,

the first node is an evolution base station, the second node is a mobility management network element, and the third node is a service gateway and a packet data network gateway; or,

the first node is a radio network controller, the second node is a serving general packet radio service support node, and the third node is a gateway general packet radio service support node.

10. The method of selecting a serving node of claim 8, wherein the group information of the device comprises at least one of:

a group identification of a group to which the device belongs;

a device identifier list of each device belonging to the same group;

11. The method of claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein the second node obtains a mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the identifier of the third node, and comprises:

the second node acquires group information of first equipment, wherein the first equipment belongs to the group and is first triggered to establish the mapping relation;

the second node selects the third node as a second service node of the first equipment for the first equipment according to a load balancing principle;

and the second node establishes and stores the mapping relation between the group information of the first equipment and the identifier of the third node.

12. The method of selecting a service node according to claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein before the second node obtains the mapping relationship between the group information of the device and the identifier of the third node, the method further comprises:

the second node establishes a mapping relation between group information of first equipment and the second node identifier, the first equipment belongs to the group and is first triggered to establish the mapping relation, and the second node is a first service node selected by the first equipment as the first node;

and the second node sends the mapping relation to a first node connected with the second node so that the first node determines that the second node is a first service node of the equipment belonging to the group.

13. The method of selecting a serving node as claimed in claim 12, wherein before the second node establishes and stores the mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the third node, the method further comprises:

the second node acquires subscription data of the first equipment;

and if the subscription data comprises the mapping relation between the group information of the first device and the first service node, and the identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data is different from the identifier of the second node, sending denial of service information to the first node, wherein the identification of the first service node included in the subscription data is carried in the denial of service information, so that the first node establishes connection with the corresponding first service node according to the identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data.

14. The method of selecting a serving node of claim 8 or 9 or 10, wherein after the second node determines that the third node is a second serving node of the devices belonging to the group, the method further comprises:

the second node deletes the first information when the second equipment initiates a detach process, and indicates the first node connected with the second node to delete the first information; the second device is the last attached device belonging to the group; the first information is related information of the second device and related information of a group to which the second device belongs.

15. A network node, comprising:

16. The network node according to claim 15, wherein the mapping relation obtaining module comprises a configuration unit or a first receiving unit or a second receiving unit:

the configuration unit is used for configuring the mapping relation;

the first receiving unit is configured to receive and store the mapping relationship sent by a first node connected to a first device, where the first device belongs to the group and is a device that first triggers to establish the mapping relationship;

the second receiving unit is configured to receive and store the mapping relationship sent by the second node.

17. The network node according to claim 15, wherein the mapping relation obtaining module comprises:

a load balancing selection unit, configured to select the second node as a service node of the first device for a first device according to a load balancing principle, where the first device is a device that belongs to the group and that first triggers the establishment of the mapping relationship;

and the mapping relation obtaining unit is configured to establish and store a mapping relation between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the second node after the load balancing selecting unit selects the second node as the service node of the first device.

18. The network node of claim 17, wherein the network node further comprises:

and the mapping relation sending module is configured to send the mapping relation to the first node connected to the second node after the mapping relation obtaining module obtains the mapping relation, so that the first node connected to the second node determines that the second node is a service node of the device belonging to the group according to the mapping relation.

19. The network node of claim 17, wherein the network node further comprises:

a group information obtaining module, configured to receive the group information of the first device sent by the first device, or obtain the group information of the first device from the second node, so that the mapping relationship obtaining unit establishes and stores the mapping relationship between the group information of the first device and the identifier of the second node.

20. A network node, characterized in that the network node comprises:

21. The network node of claim 20, wherein the mapping relation obtaining module comprises:

the group information acquisition unit is used for acquiring the group information of first equipment, wherein the first equipment belongs to the group and is first triggered to establish the mapping relation;

a load balancing selecting unit, configured to select the third node as a second service node of the first device for the first device according to a load balancing principle;

and the mapping relation obtaining unit is used for establishing and storing the mapping relation between the group information of the first equipment and the identifier of the third node according to the group information of the first equipment obtained by the group information obtaining unit and the identifier of the third node selected by the load balancing selection unit.

22. The network node of claim 20, wherein the network node further comprises:

the system comprises an establishing module, a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the establishing module is used for establishing a mapping relation between group information of first equipment and a second node identifier, the first equipment belongs to the group and is first triggered to establish the mapping relation, and the second node is a first service node selected by the first equipment as the first node;

a sending module, configured to send the mapping relationship established by the establishing module to a first node connected to the second node, so that the first node determines that the second node is a first service node of the device belonging to the group.

23. The network node of claim 22, the network node further comprising:

the subscription data acquisition module is used for acquiring subscription data of the first equipment;

and the denial service module is configured to send denial service information to the first node if the subscription data includes a mapping relationship between group information of the first device and the first service node, and if an identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data is different from an identifier of the second node, where the denial service information carries the identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data, so that the first node establishes a connection with the corresponding first service node according to the identifier of the first service node included in the subscription data.

24. The network node of claim 20, wherein the network node further comprises:

the group information deleting module is used for deleting first information when the second equipment initiates a detach process and indicating the first node connected with the second node to delete the first information; the second device is the last attached device belonging to the group; the first information is related information of the second device and related information of a group to which the second device belongs.

25. A communication system, comprising: