CN103298049A

CN103298049A - Method and device for processing timer switching

Info

Publication number: CN103298049A
Application number: CN2012100556102A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 向浩求; 陈中明
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2012-03-05
Filing date: 2012-03-05
Publication date: 2013-09-11

Abstract

The invention discloses a method and device for processing timer switching. The method comprises the steps of receiving a command used for indicating switching, conducting parameter reconfiguration, and starting a timer after parameter reconfiguration success. Through the method and device, at least one of the following problems, regulated in a relevant protocol, that timer duration backspacing cannot be realized after parameter reconfiguration fails caused by mishandling to the timer during the switching process and switching time is too long caused by mishandling to the timer is solved, and therefore the consistency with a current standard protocol is kept.

Description

Switching timer processing method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for processing a handover timer.

Background

With the advancement of the third Generation Partnership Project (3rd Generation Partnership Project, abbreviated as 3GPP) technology, the commercial accelerated popularization of the Long-Term Evolution (Long-Term Evolution, abbreviated as LTE) system in the communication industry has become more and more accepted and supported by people, and the technical documents and regulations are improved. Such a problem occurs during handover.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating successful non-contention handover according to the related art, as shown in fig. 1, in a handover process, after a User Equipment (User Equipment, abbreviated as UE) receives a handover command (for example, a handover reconfiguration message) sent by a source base station (S _ eNB), the UE starts a T304 timer (T304 timer is used in a current Protocol), and the UE uses a T304 duration value in the reconfiguration message, and reconfigures each layer of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), a Radio Link Control (RLC), a Media Access Control (MAC), and a PHY. And under the condition that the reconfiguration is successful, performing a random access process of non-competitive switching. After the handover is successful, the T304 timer is stopped and a handover complete message (e.g., a reconfiguration complete message) is transmitted to the target base station (T _ eNB).

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of handover reconfiguration failure according to the related art, and unlike fig. 1, as shown in fig. 2, after reconfiguration of each layer, a reconfiguration failure of any layer recognizes the reconfiguration failure, thereby returning parameters to a pre-reconfiguration state. However, if 2 shows, in the current protocol, it is not specified to stop the T304 timer after the reconfiguration failure, which only indicates that the reconfiguration parameter is not available. This can lead to the occurrence of contradictions: since T304 is turned on when the handover reconfiguration message is received and the duration is carried by the handover reconfiguration message, when the reconfiguration fails, the reconfiguration parameter is considered to be unavailable and the parameter is to be backed off, and the timer parameter of T304 is used and cannot be modified.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for handling a switch timer, so as to solve at least one of the above problems.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for processing a handover timer, including: receiving a command for indicating switching, and reconfiguring parameters; starting a timer after the parameter reconfiguration is successful.

Preferably, after the timer times out, determining that the handover fails; or, after the handover is successful, stopping the timer.

Preferably, the timer is a T304 timer.

Preferably, the method further comprises: and after the parameter reconfiguration fails, returning all reconfigured parameters and issuing a reconfiguration flow caused by the reconfiguration failure.

Preferably, the failure of the parameter reconfiguration comprises at least one of: PDCP layer parameter reconfiguration failure, RLC layer parameter reconfiguration failure, MAC layer parameter reconfiguration failure, PHY layer parameter reconfiguration failure.

Preferably, the command for instructing to perform handover includes: a command for instructing to perform an inter-cell handover, and a command for instructing to perform an intra-cell handover.

Preferably, before receiving the command for instructing to perform an intra-cell handover, the method further comprises: initiating a tracking area updating process, carrying out authentication interaction with a network side, and initiating a user equipment initial context modification request by the core network; and after receiving the user equipment initial context modification request, the base station sends the command for indicating the intra-cell handover.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a switching timer processing apparatus, including: the reconfiguration module is used for receiving a command for indicating switching and carrying out parameter reconfiguration; and the starting module is used for starting a timer after the parameter reconfiguration is successful.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises: a determining module, configured to determine that the handover fails after the timer expires; or, the stopping module is configured to stop the timer after the handover is successful.

Preferably, the timer is a T304 timer.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises: and the initiating module is used for returning all the reconfigured parameters after the parameter reconfiguration fails and initiating a reconfiguration flow caused by the reconfiguration failure.

The invention solves the problem that the time length of the timer can not be returned after the parameter reconfiguration failure caused by improper processing of the timer in the switching process specified in the related protocol, thereby keeping the consistency with the current standard protocol.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a flowchart of non-contention handover success according to the related art;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of handover reconfiguration failure according to the related art;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of handoff timer processing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a block diagram of a structure of a handover timer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram I of a preferred switching timer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram II of the preferred switching timer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a handover success according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of a handover (intra-cell handover with cross-MME handover) reconfiguration message failure in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a reconfiguration message failure in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for processing a handover timer according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S102, receiving a command for indicating switching, and reconfiguring parameters;

and step S104, starting a timer after the parameter reconfiguration is successful.

In the above steps, the starting time of the T304 timer is shifted backward, that is, the timer is started after each layer is successfully reconfigured. This ensures that the T304 timer parameter cannot be backed off after a reconfiguration failure, and is also consistent with the current protocol (i.e., T304 does not need to be explicitly specified to be stopped after a reconfiguration failure). In addition, because the handover process after the T304 timer starts is performed after the reconfiguration is successful, compared with the related art, the processing method reduces the complexity when the process is abnormal, ensures the handover processing time, reduces the probability of handover failure, and improves the network quality of the operator.

In the above step, the timer is used for timing the handover. For example, the handover failure may be determined after a timer expires; for another example, the timer may be stopped after the handover is successful. In the LTE system, the timer is a T304 timer. Although the name of the timer for timing handover may not be the same as that of the LTE system in other systems, if the same problem exists, the above-mentioned step S102 and step S104 can solve the problem and achieve the same technical effect.

In another preferred embodiment, if the parameter reconfiguration fails (for example, at least one of the PDCP layer parameter reconfiguration failure, the RLC layer parameter reconfiguration failure, the MAC layer parameter reconfiguration failure, and the PHY layer parameter reconfiguration failure fails), all the reconfigured parameters may be backed off, and the re-establishment procedure caused by the reconfiguration failure is initiated.

Preferably, the handover in this embodiment may be an inter-cell handover procedure or an intra-cell handover procedure. For the intra-cell handover procedure, the handover command may be sent to the user equipment by the following steps in the preferred embodiment: user equipment initiates a Tracking Area Update (TAU) process, performs authentication interaction with a network side, and a core network initiates a user equipment initial context modification request; the base station sends a command for instructing to perform an intra-cell handover after receiving the user equipment initial context modification request.

In this embodiment, a device for processing a switching timer of the device is also provided, and the device is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments, and the description of the device that has been already made is omitted. As used below, the term "module" may be a combination of software and/or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the means described in the embodiments below are preferably implemented in software, an implementation in hardware, or a combination of software and hardware is also possible and contemplated.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a handover timer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the apparatus including: a reconfiguration module 42 and an activation module 44. The reconfiguration module 42 is configured to receive a command for instructing to perform switching, and perform parameter reconfiguration; and a starting module 44, configured to start a timer after the parameter reconfiguration is successful.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a first preferred switching timer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the apparatus further includes: a determining module 52 or a stopping module 54, wherein the determining module 52 is configured to determine that the handover fails after the timer expires; or a stopping module 54 for stopping the timer after the handover is successful.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram ii of a preferred switching timer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 6, the apparatus may further include: and an initiating module 62, configured to, after the parameter reconfiguration failure, rollback all reconfigured parameters, and initiate a re-establishment procedure caused by the reconfiguration failure.

The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

Preferred embodiment 1

Fig. 7 is a flow chart of successful handover according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the improved X2/S1 successful handover flow is described below with reference to fig. 7.

In the process shown in fig. 7, when the UE receives a handover command (e.g., a handover reconfiguration message), parameters carried in the reconfiguration message are applied, for example, a UE higher layer (RRC layer) applies reportpromimityconfig, measConfig, scelltoddmodlist, scellreleaselist, etc., a PDCP layer applies securitylargohgomfofig radio parameters, an RLC layer, an MAC layer, and a PHY layer apply radioResourceConfigDedicated, radioResourceConfigCommon, etc., after the RRC layer receives a PDCP, RLC, MAC, PHY configuration success indication, the RRC layer starts a T304 timer, and a handover enters a substantial stage, and other subsequent processes may be processed according to the current 3GPP protocol, which is not described in detail in the preferred embodiment.

Preferred embodiment two

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a handover (intra-cell handover accompanied by a handover of a cross Mobility Management Entity (MME)) reconfiguration message failure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and an intra-cell handover caused by an initial context change of a UE after a handover of a cross MME is described below with reference to fig. 8.

In the process shown in fig. 8, when the UE performs inter-MME handover and the number of authentication vector SETs configured in the core network is 1, after the UE successfully completes the inter-MME handover, the UE initiates a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure and performs authentication interaction again to determine whether a KEY used by the network side and the terminal is changed, at this time, the UE considers that the KEY SET ID is not changed because the current authentication vector identifier is identical to that of the previous time, and the core network side considers that the KEY is changed, after the authentication, the core network initiates a UE initial context modification request, after receiving the message, the base station side initiates an intra-cell handover procedure and SETs a keychangeidentifier of a handover reconfiguration message as a TRUE UE, after the UE decodes the handover reconfiguration message, determines whether a keychangendicator is a TRUE UE, and if the KEY ID re-determined for the TRUE UE is changed, if the change occurs, the intra-cell handover is performed, if the change does not occur, the intra-cell handover is not required, the reconfiguration returns to failure, all the reconfigured parameters are returned, and the reestablishment process caused by the reconfiguration failure is initiated.

Preferred embodiment three

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of reconfiguration message failure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is described below in conjunction with fig. 9 for causing an intra-cell handover with the TAU procedure for forced authentication.

In the process shown in fig. 9, when the core network opens the mandatory authentication configuration, the TAU procedure initiated by the UE for any reason may be accompanied by intra-cell handover, if the number of authentication vector SETs of the core network is configured to be 1, the authentication result of the UE in the TAU procedure may consider that the KEY SET ID is the same as the previous authentication KEY SET ID, and the core network side may consider that the KEY is changed, the core network may initiate a UE initial context modification request after authentication, after receiving the message, the base station side may initiate an intra-cell handover procedure, and at the same time, may SET a keychangendicator for switching the reconfiguration message as TRUE, after the UE decodes the handover reconfiguration message, determine whether the keychangendicator is TRUE, if TRUE, determine whether the authenticated KEY SET ID is changed, if changed, indicate that intra-cell handover may be performed, if not changed, indicate that intra-cell handover does not need to be performed, and the reconfiguration return fails, and returning all the reconfigured parameters, and initiating a reconfiguration flow caused by reconfiguration failure.

In another embodiment, a software is provided, which is used to execute the technical solutions described in the above embodiments and preferred embodiments.

In another embodiment, a storage medium is provided, in which the software is stored, and the storage medium includes but is not limited to: optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, erasable memory, etc.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the modules or steps of the present invention described above may be implemented by a general purpose computing device, they may be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices, and alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by a computing device, such that they may be stored in a storage device and executed by a computing device, or they may be separately fabricated into various integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps thereof may be fabricated into a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for processing a handover timer, comprising:

receiving a command for indicating switching, and reconfiguring parameters;

starting a timer after the parameter reconfiguration is successful.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the handover is determined to have failed after the timer expires;

or, after the handover is successful, stopping the timer.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the timer is a T304 timer.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: and after the parameter reconfiguration fails, returning all reconfigured parameters and issuing a reconfiguration flow caused by the reconfiguration failure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the failure of the parameter reconfiguration comprises at least one of:

PDCP layer parameter reconfiguration failure, RLC layer parameter reconfiguration failure, MAC layer parameter reconfiguration failure, PHY layer parameter reconfiguration failure.

6. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the command indicating to switch comprises: a command for instructing to perform an inter-cell handover, and a command for instructing to perform an intra-cell handover.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein prior to receiving the command indicating to perform an intra-cell handover, the method further comprises:

initiating a tracking area updating process, carrying out authentication interaction with a network side, and initiating a user equipment initial context modification request by the core network;

and after receiving the user equipment initial context modification request, the base station sends the command for indicating the intra-cell handover.

8. A handover timer processing apparatus, comprising:

the reconfiguration module is used for receiving a command for indicating switching and carrying out parameter reconfiguration;

and the starting module is used for starting a timer after the parameter reconfiguration is successful.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a determining module, configured to determine that the handover fails after the timer expires; or,

a stopping module, configured to stop the timer after the handover is successful.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 or 9, wherein the timer is a T304 timer.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

and the initiating module is used for returning all the reconfigured parameters after the parameter reconfiguration fails and initiating a reconfiguration flow caused by the reconfiguration failure.