CN106304187A - Method and device for processing programs in mobile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a processing method and device of a program in a mobile communication system; the method comprises the following steps: after collision between the program of the non-access stratum NAS or S1 interface and the handover program occurs, after detecting success or failure of the operation of the handover program, the radio access network gateway RAN GW or the core network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface.

Description

Method and device for processing programs in mobile communication system

technical field

The invention relates to the communication field, in particular to a method and device for processing programs in a mobile communication system.

Background technique

With the popularization of mobile communications, users' demand for mobile data traffic is expected to increase by thousands of times in the next ten years, but the current cellular wireless access network based on macro cells obviously cannot provide such services. Huge communication capacity required by mobile services. The Third Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP) believes that the deployment of small cells (cells established by low-power base stations, usually called Small Cells) and the improvement of their capabilities are the most important in the development of future mobile communication networks. One of the subjects of interest.

According to actual needs such as hotspot areas of communication services or hollow areas covered by cellular networks, low-power base stations are usually deployed within the coverage area or border of macro base stations, or even in areas without macro base station coverage. The macro base station and the low-power base station belong to the radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN for short) in the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN for short) system, so that the user equipment ( User Equipment (UE for short) provides mobile communication services that meet its needs as much as possible.

With the rapid increase in the number of user equipment and mobile communication requirements, the deployment of low-power base stations is also becoming more intensive. Due to the inherent characteristics of the wireless signal coverage of the low-power base station is small, the UE needs to perform frequent inter-base station cell handovers during the mobile process, which makes the number of handover procedures much larger than when the UE is served by a macro base station. number of switching programs. Because each handover procedure includes the signaling interaction between the serving base station of the UE and the network element of the core network (mainly referring to the Mobility Management Entity (MME for short)), and further includes the service between the MME and the core network. The signaling interaction between Serving Gateways (S-GW for short), so the surge in the number of handover procedures will inevitably increase the signaling load of core network elements (especially MME), and even cause the performance of core network elements to decrease. And further lead to the decline of the performance of the whole network.

For the above problems, a feasible solution is to add a logical node/functional module in the radio access network, whose main function is to transfer the handover procedure generated when the UE moves between low-power base stations in a certain area to the core network. To achieve concealment, the logical node/functional module is referred to as a radio access network gateway (RAN Gateway, RAN GW for short) in this patent. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 , there are two implementation forms of the system architecture in which the RAN GW is deployed. As shown in Figure 1(a), the RAN GW is an independent node in the access network (that is, it does not depend on whether there is a macro base station deployed). A control plane interface S1-C and a user plane interface S1-U are established between the MME and the S-GW; while facing the access network, the RAN GW is equivalent to a core network element, that is, establishes a control interface with a low-power base station. plane interface S1-C and user plane interface S1-U. Therefore, for a low-power base station that can establish an S1 interface with the RAN GW, both the control plane signaling and user plane data related to the core network can be transmitted through the RAN GW, and further, according to the configuration capability of the RAN GW, part of the Procedures/signaling related to the core network (such as the path switching process in the X2 handover procedure) can be directly processed in the RAN GW without occupying the core network. Figure 1(b) is applicable to the deployment scenario of a macro base station. RAN GW can be configured as a logical node/functional module on the macro base station, and its interface establishment and node function configuration are similar to those described in Figure 1(a).

Because some programs related to the core network can only be processed in the RAN GW without the participation of the core network, that is, there is no need to exchange signaling with the network elements of the core network, then there may be some problems in the execution of the program , which needs to be solved in the system where the RAN GW is deployed.

In the existing system architecture, when the access network executes the X2 or S1 handover procedure of the core network element for a certain UE without replacing the node, the NAS procedure (or S1 interface procedure initiated by the core network, such as the establishment/modification of the dedicated bearer) / release, location report control, NAS message transmission, etc.), the base station will send a rejection message to the MME indicating that the handover procedure is in progress. When the handover procedure has been completed (for example, the MME receives the path switching request message sent by the base station) or the handover procedure is considered to have failed, the MME will re-initiate the NAS procedure. A timer is set for the NAS procedure in the core network, and if the NAS procedure has not been completed after the timer expires, the core network considers the NAS procedure as a failure. It should be noted that the operation mechanism is also applicable to some other core network procedures/signaling and even new core network procedures/signaling (see standard specifications for details), such as carrying a circuit switched fallback indication (Circuit Switched Fallback indication) UE context modification request message.

In addition, when the MME learns that a handover procedure is in progress, the MME will reject the bearer triggered by the packet data gateway (Packet Data Network Gateway, P-GW) in the core network with a message carrying an indication that the handover procedure is in progress request procedure, the P-GW will start a timer after receiving the rejection message; when the P-GW knows that the handover procedure is completed, or the handover failure procedure fails, or the timer expires, the The P-GW will re-initiate the bearer request procedure.

In the system architecture described in this patent, taking the X2 handover procedure in which neither the serving MME nor the S-GW has changed nodes as an example, after the MME sends a message such as a dedicated bearer setup request (E-RAB SETUP REQUEST) to the access network , the MME will receive a rejection message fed back by the access network and carry a rejection message indicating that the handover procedure is in progress; in view of the prior art, the MME should wait for the handover procedure to complete or fail before re-initiating the E-RAB SETUP REQUEST message. However, because the RAN GW hides the handover procedure from the core network, that is, there will be no message indicating handover completion or failure sent to the MME, the MME will always be in a waiting state until the timer protecting the E-RAB SETUP program expires, The core network will consider that the execution of this procedure has failed, which may further cause the P-GW to try to re-initiate the procedure. Therefore, this not only affects multiple network elements in the core network, but also makes it difficult to complete the procedure or greatly prolongs the completion time, resulting in a decrease in the performance of network services.

In addition, in the system architecture described in this patent, because the MME will not know that the access network performs the handover procedure, the MME will not reject the bearer request procedure triggered by the P-GW because of the handover, that is, the MME will The relevant signaling of the bearer request procedure is sent to the access network; however, because this conflicts with the handover procedure in the access network, the bearer procedure cannot be executed smoothly. If the P-GW has not received the completion reply message corresponding to the request message before the timer configured by the P-GW expires, then the P-GW will consider that the previous program execution failed, and needs to re-initiate the request message. program. Similar to the above, this additionally increases the possibility of program failure and affects the performance of network services.

It should be noted that the programs such as handover and NAS described in the present invention are all related to the UE. That is, it is only for a specific UE.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a method and device for processing programs in a mobile communication system. The technical problem to be solved is that in the above-mentioned system, when a non-access stratum (Non Access Stratum, NAS for short) or S1 interface program How to enable the program of the NAS or S1 interface to continue to execute when it is rejected because it conflicts with the program transmission of the access network.

In order to solve the problems of the technologies described above, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

A method for processing a program in a mobile communication system, comprising:

After a conflict between the NAS or S1 interface procedure and the handover procedure occurs, and after detecting the success or failure of the handover procedure, the radio access network gateway RAN GW or the core network element resends the NAS or S1 interface The request instruction of the program.

Wherein, the method also includes:

After the timer expires, the network element of the core network resends the program request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface.

Wherein, the method includes:

Method 1: After forwarding the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program sent by the core network element, the RAN GW determines that there is a conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the switching program, and then detects that the switching program runs successfully or fails After that, resend the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface; or,

Mode 2: After a conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs, the network element of the core network starts the timer, and after the timer expires, resends the request command of the program of the NAS or S1 interface; or,

Method 3: After receiving the notification message sent by the RAN GW or the base station after detecting the success or failure of the handover procedure, resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface procedure; wherein the notification message is used to notify the core network The network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface, or notifies the network element of the core network that the program runs successfully or fails;

Mode 4: After a conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs, the network element of the core network resends the request command of the program of the NAS or S1 interface under any of the following conditions, including:

Condition 1: After a conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs, the network element of the core network starts the timer, and after the timer expires, resends the request command of the program of the NAS or S1 interface;

Condition 2: After receiving the notification message sent by the RAN GW or the base station after detecting the success or failure of the handover procedure, resend the request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface; wherein the notification message is used to notify the core network The network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface, or notifies the network element of the core network whether the program runs successfully or fails.

Wherein, in mode 1, the RAN GW determines that the conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the handover program occurs in the following ways, including:

The RAN GW receives a rejection message for the request instruction, and determines, according to the rejection message, that there is a conflict between the procedure of the NAS or the S1 interface and the handover procedure.

Wherein, the rejection message includes a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is that the handover procedure is in progress.

Wherein, in mode one, the method also includes:

After receiving the program request command of the NAS or S1 interface, the RAN GW saves the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program, and after resending the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program, A request instruction for deleting the program of the NAS or S1 interface.

Wherein, in mode 1 or mode 3, the RAN GW learns whether the handover program runs successfully or fails by detecting the path switching request program.

Wherein, in mode 1, if the handover procedure is successful, the RAN GW sends the NAS or S1 interface procedure request instruction to the target base station; if the handover procedure fails, the RAN GW sends the NAS or S1 interface The request command of the program of the interface is sent to the source base station.

Wherein, in mode 2 and mode 4, the core network element detects that the conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program is obtained through the following methods, including:

The network element of the core network receives the rejection message for the request instruction forwarded by the RAN GW, and determines that a conflict occurs between the procedure of the NAS or the S1 interface and the handover procedure according to the rejection message.

Wherein, in mode 2 and mode 4, the duration of the timer is configured by the network, or configured by the operator, or a value of the timer is randomly selected by the MME within a pre-configured maximum duration.

Wherein, in mode 2 and mode 4, the duration of the timer is also determined according to the indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the stage that the handover procedure has reached or the waiting time required for the completion of the handover procedure; And/or, the duration of the timer is also determined according to the duration of the protection timer of the handover procedure.

Wherein, in mode 2 and mode 4, the indication information is sent through a rejection message to the request instruction.

Wherein, in modes 3 and 4, the RAN GW or the base station sends the notification message through an S1 interface message.

Wherein, in mode 3 and mode 4, the method includes:

The RAN GW receives the notification information sent by the base station, and sends the notification information to the core network element; or,

The RAN GW generates the notification information, and sends the notification information to the core network element.

Wherein, in modes 3 and 4, the RAN GW generates the notification information at the following time points, including:

During the completion phase of the handover procedure; or, after the handover procedure is completed; or, after learning that the handover procedure has failed.

A wireless access network gateway, comprising:

A determining module, configured to determine that a conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the switching program occurs after forwarding the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program sent by the network element of the core network;

The first processing module is configured to resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program after detecting that the switching program runs successfully or fails.

Wherein, the determination module determines that the conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the switching program occurs in the following manner, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a rejection message for the request instruction;

The determining unit is configured to determine, according to the rejection message, that a conflict occurs between the procedure of the NAS or the S1 interface and the switching procedure.

Wherein, the rejection message includes a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is that the handover procedure is in progress.

Wherein, the wireless access network gateway also includes:

A saving module, configured to save the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface after receiving the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface;

A deletion module, configured to delete the request instruction of the program of the NAS or the S1 interface after resending the request instruction of the program of the NAS or the S1 interface.

Wherein, the determining module learns whether the switching program runs successfully or fails by detecting the path switching request program.

Wherein, the first processing module is specifically used for:

If the handover procedure is successful, the RAN GW sends the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface procedure to the target base station; if the handover procedure fails, the RAN GW sends the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface procedure to the source base station.

A core network element, comprising:

The starting module is used to start the timer by the core network element after the conflict between the program of the NAS or the S1 interface and the switching program occurs;

The second processing module is configured to resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program after the timer expires.

Wherein, the network element of the core network detects that the conflict between the program of the NAS or the S1 interface and the switching program is obtained through the following methods, including:

The network element of the core network receives the rejection message for the request instruction forwarded by the RAN GW, and determines that a conflict occurs between the procedure of the NAS or the S1 interface and the handover procedure according to the rejection message.

Wherein, the rejection message includes a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is that the handover procedure is in progress.

Wherein, it is characterized in that the duration of the timer is configured by the network, or is configured by the operator, or is randomly selected by the MME within a pre-configured maximum duration.

Wherein, the duration of the timer is also determined according to the indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the stage that the handover procedure has reached or the waiting time required for the completion of the handover procedure; and/or, the timer The duration of is also determined according to the duration of the protection timer of the switching procedure.

Wherein, the indication information is sent through a rejection message to the request instruction.

A wireless access network gateway, comprising:

The detection module is used to detect the running status of the switching program after the conflict between the program of the non-access layer NAS or S1 interface and the switching program; it is sent after success or failure;

The third processing module is configured to send a notification message after detecting that the switching program runs successfully or fails; wherein the notification message is used to notify the core network element to resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program, or, Notify the network elements of the core network whether the program runs successfully or fails.

Wherein, the third processing module sends the notification message through the S1 interface.

Wherein, the third processing module is specifically used for:

receiving the notification information sent by the base station, and sending the notification information to the core network element; or generating the notification information, and sending the notification information to the core network element.

Wherein, the third processing module generates the notification information at the following time points, including:

During the completion phase of the handover procedure; or, after the handover procedure is completed; or, after learning that the handover procedure has failed.

The embodiment provided by the present invention can ensure the success rate and completion time of the NAS/S1 interface program in the system architecture as much as possible, avoiding further impact on more core network elements, improving the performance of the system, and being applicable to It is suitable for various types of wireless access network nodes and wired interfaces, and has no impact on user terminals.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1(a) is a schematic diagram of a system architecture for deploying RAN GW in the prior art;

FIG. 1(b) is a schematic diagram of another system architecture for deploying RAN GW in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for processing a program in a mobile communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for processing a program in a mobile communication system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a program processing method in a mobile communication system provided by Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless access network gateway provided by the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network element provided by the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another wireless access network gateway provided by the present invention.

detailed description

In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that, in the case of no conflict, the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily with each other.

Specific embodiment one

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for processing a program in a mobile communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The method described in FIG. 2 includes: the core network initiates a bearer establishment procedure and sends a bearer establishment request message to the UE's current serving base station (referred to as the source base station in the handover procedure). Under the system architecture described in this patent, the request The message is first sent by the MME in the core network to the RAN GW in the access network, and then sent to the source base station by the RAN GW. Because the bearer establishment procedure conflicts with the ongoing handover procedure for the same UE in the access network, the source base station replies a rejection message to the RAN GW. After the handover procedure is successfully completed, the RAN GW sends the same bearer establishment request message to the target base station. The specific steps are shown in Figure 2.

Step 1: The core network element P-GW initiates a dedicated bearer activation (dedicated bearer activation) procedure, and the MME, as a control node facing the access network, sends a bearer establishment request (E-RAB SETUP REQUEST) message 1 to the access network. In the system architecture based on the present invention, the MME serving the UE first sends the message 1 to the RAN-GW in the access network through the S1 interface, and the message 1 carries the address or identification information of the serving base station of the UE , the identification information (UE S1AP ID) allocated to the UE on the S1 interface and a Non-Access Stratum Protocol Data Unit (Non-Access Stratum Protocol Data Unit, NAS-PDU for short).

Step 2: After receiving the message 1, the RAN GW stores and backs up the message 1 locally on the one hand, and sends the message 1 to the destination base station indicated in the message through the S1 interface (that is, the source base station, the message 2).

When the source base station receives the message 2, it may be performing an X2 handover procedure on the UE, which may occur in the handover preparation phase of the handover procedure (involving the source base station and the target base station), or may occur in the handover procedure handover execution phase (involving source base station, target base station and UE); then, the source base station will reply a rejection message (message 3) for the message 2 to the RAN GW, and the message 3 contains an indication (X2) The value of the cause that the switching program is in progress.

Step 3: After receiving the message 3, the RAN GW puts the bearer establishment procedure in a waiting state. In the completion stage of the X2 handover procedure, the target base station will send a path switching request (PATH SWITCH REQUEST) message 4 to the RAN GW, and the function of the message 4 is to notify the RAN GW to switch the downlink data tunnel endpoint of the relevant bearer from the source base station to the target base station. In the X2 handover procedure in which neither the core network element MME serving the UE nor the S-GW is changed, in this system architecture, the message 4 does not need to be further sent to the MME by the RAN GW, but the tunnel endpoint is executed by the RAN GW After processing such as switching, the path switching complete (PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) message 5 is directly replied to the target base station. After receiving the message 5, the target base station will send a UE context release message 6 to the source base station, which marks the successful completion of the handover procedure.

Step 4: Through the path switching request procedure, the RAN GW learns that the X2 handover procedure is successful, then, the RAN GW sends the previously stored message 2 to the target base station (message 7), and the message 7 carries the RAN GW as the The identifier assigned by the UE on the S1 interface with the target base station. If the handover process fails and the UE remains at the source base station to receive services, then in this step, the RAN GW will resend the message 2 to the source base station. The specific time point of sending the message 7 by the RAN GW is not limited in this solution.

According to the indication of the message 7, the target base station instructs the UE through the wireless Uu interface to establish the related bearer and transmit the NAS message at the same time. After the wireless interface procedure is completed, the target base station replies to the RAN GW with a bearer setup response (E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE) message and a corresponding NAS feedback message, and the RAN GW further sends these messages to the MME, and the bearer setup procedure Completed successfully on the S1 interface. Wherein, the locally stored message can be deleted within the time period from sending message 7 to sending message 9, and the specific time point is not limited by this solution, and can be decided by the RAN GW itself.

The RAN GW needs to have the ability to identify the conflict between the two procedures according to information such as UE and base station identification and deal with it accordingly. In addition, it should be noted that in the prior art, the duration of the protection timer configured by the core network for the dedicated bearer activation procedure has taken into account the situation that it needs to be re-initiated due to conflict with the handover procedure, but in the present invention, The conflict processing node is RAN GW, and the message transmission path is shortened, so whether the configuration of the specific duration needs to be changed, and if it needs to be changed, how to determine the specific changed value, which can be carried out in combination with the system architecture and scheme described in the present invention Consideration can be final decision by implementation or operator specific configuration.

Specific embodiment two

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for processing programs in a mobile communication system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The method described in FIG. 3 includes: the core network initiates a bearer modification procedure and sends a bearer modification request message to the UE's current serving base station (referred to as the source base station in the handover procedure). Under the system architecture described in this patent, the request The message is first sent by the MME to the RAN GW in the access network, and then sent to the source base station by the RAN GW. Because the bearer modification procedure conflicts with the ongoing handover procedure for the same UE in the access network, the source base station replies a rejection message to the RAN GW, and the RAN GW sends the rejection message to the MME. The MME starts a timer, and after the timer expires, the MME sends the same bearer modification request message to the target base station via the RAN GW. The specific steps are shown in Figure 3.

Step 1: The core network element P-GW initiates a bearer modification procedure, and the MME, as a control node facing the access network, sends a bearer modification request (E-RAB MODIFY REQUEST) message 1 to the access network. In the system architecture based on the present invention, the MME serving the UE first sends the message 1 to the RAN-GW in the access network through the S1 interface. Similar to the first embodiment, the message 1 carries the Information such as the address or identity of the serving base station of the UE.

Step 2: After receiving the message 1, the RAN GW sends a request message to the corresponding low-power base station through the S1 interface according to the destination node address information carried in the message 1 (message 2, the low-power base station here The power base station refers to the source base station), and the message 2 carries the identifier allocated by the RAN GW for the UE on the S1 interface established with the source base station.

When the source base station receives the message 2, it may be performing an X2 handover procedure on the UE. This conflict may occur in the handover preparation phase (involving the source base station and the target base station) in the handover procedure, or may occur In the handover execution phase of the handover procedure (involving source base station, target base station and UE); in this case, the source base station will reply a rejection message (message 3) to the RAN GW, and the message 3 contains Indicates the reason value that the X2 switch is in progress. The RAN GW further sends the received message 3 to the MME through the S1 interface (message 4).

Step 3: After receiving the message 4, the MME knows that for the UE, the previously initiated bearer modification procedure conflicts with the ongoing handover procedure in the access network, so the MME starts a timer. The duration of the timer can be configured by the network side (for example, based on experience values or other relevant indication information) or independently configured by the operator, or can be randomly selected by the MME within a preconfigured maximum duration.

The configuration of the duration needs to consider on the one hand to avoid retrying due to another conflict, that is, to reduce the number of retries as much as possible; on the other hand, to consider reducing unnecessary waiting time, that is, it will not take a long time after the switching procedure is completed Then try again. Further, the source base station can indicate in the message 3 the specific stage that the handover procedure has reached or the reference value of the waiting time, then the duration selection of the timer can be more reasonable according to the indication information, such as just in When the handover procedure is completed, retry the bearer modification procedure.

Step 4: After the timer expires, the MME sends the E-RAB MODIFY REQUEST message (message 5) to the RAN GW again, wherein the message 5 contains the same content as the message 1 (the destination node still points to source base station). If the RAN GW knows that the handover procedure has been successful, the RAN GW can send the message 5 to the target base station (message 6); if the RAN GW knows that the handover procedure has failed or has not obtained information, then the RAN GW sends the message 5 to the source base station (message 6a). The decision whether to send the message 5 to the source base station or the target base station requires the RAN GW to understand the conflict between the previous bearer modification procedure and the handover procedure in addition to interpreting the information of the UE and the destination node indicated in the message 5, That is to say, the object of program execution and the function and reason of program execution are all corresponding.

If the RAN GW does not have the capability to perform the decision and/or sufficient information on the basis of the decision, then the RAN GW further sends the message to the source base station according to the instruction of the message 5 (message 6a). After the handover procedure is successful, the source base station forwards the message 6 to the target base station; if the handover procedure fails and the UE is still receiving services from the source base station, the source base station passes the wireless Uu The interface commands the UE to modify the relevant bearer and transmit the NAS message at the same time.

Optionally, the source base station may carry the identity of the target base station in the message 3 (for example, in the handover execution or completion stage, the probability of successful completion of the handover is relatively high), then the MME may directly carry the identity of the target base station in the message 5 sent , then the RAN GW further sends the message 5 to the target base station according to the instruction (message 6).

Step 5: After the radio interface procedure is completed, the target base station (taking the handover procedure as an example) replies to the RAN GW with a bearer modification response (E-RAB MODIFY RESPONSE) message 7 and a corresponding NAS feedback message, and the RAN GW will These messages are further sent to the MME, and the bearer modification procedure is successfully completed on the S1 interface.

It should be noted that, in the solution described in this embodiment, the duration of the protection timer configured by the core network for the bearer modification procedure should take into account the duration of the timer that may be started by the MME.

Specific embodiment three

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a program processing method in a mobile communication system provided by Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The method described in FIG. 4 includes: the core network initiates a bearer release procedure and sends a bearer release command message to the UE's current serving base station (referred to as the source base station in the handover procedure). Under the system architecture described in this patent, the command The message is first sent by the MME to the RAN GW in the access network, and then sent to the source base station by the RAN GW. Because the bearer modification procedure conflicts with the ongoing handover procedure for the same UE in the access network, the source base station replies a rejection message to the RAN GW, and the RAN GW further sends the rejection message to the MME. When the handover procedure succeeds (or fails), the target base station (or source base station) or RAN GW indicates to the MME through the S1 interface that the handover procedure has been completed, and then the MME can retry the bearer release procedure. The specific steps are shown in Figure 4.

Step 1: The core network element P-GW initiates a bearer deactivation procedure, and the MME, as a control node facing the access network, sends a bearer release command (E-RAB RELEASE COMMAND) message 1 to the access network. In the system architecture based on the present invention, the MME serving the UE first sends the message 1 to the RAN-GW in the access network through the S1 interface. Similar to the first embodiment, the message 1 carries the Information such as the address or identity of the serving base station of the UE.

Step 2: After receiving the message 1, the RAN GW sends a command message to the corresponding low-power base station through the S1 interface according to the destination node address information carried in the message 1 (message 2).

When the low-power base station (source base station) receives the message 2, it may be performing the X2 handover procedure on the UE, and this conflict may occur in the handover preparation phase of the handover procedure (involving the source base station and the target base station ), may also occur in the handover execution phase of the handover procedure (involving source base station, target base station and UE); in this case, the source base station will reply a rejection message (message 3) to the RAN GW, so The above message 3 contains a cause value indicating that the X2 handover is in progress. The RAN GW further sends the received message 3 to the MME through the S1 interface (message 4).

Step 3: After receiving the message 4, the MME learns that the previously initiated bearer release procedure conflicts with the ongoing handover procedure in the access network, so the MME suspends the execution of the bearer release procedure, that is, enters a waiting state.

Step 4: After the handover procedure is successful, the target base station can indicate the completion of the handover procedure to the RAN GW through an S1 interface message (message 5); if the handover procedure fails and the UE is still receiving services from the source base station, then the message 5 Sent by the source base station. The sending of the message 5 is performed during the completion phase of the handover procedure, and the specific time is not limited.

The RAN GW will further send the message 5 to the MME (message 5a). The function of the message 5a is to make the MME know that the handover procedure that previously caused the conflict has ended, and can retry the bearer release procedure. The message 5a should at least contain the identifier assigned to the UE on the S1 interface (the S1 interface refers to the S1 interface previously established between the MME and the RAN GW) and an indication that the handover procedure has been completed.

Optionally, the message 5a may also be directly generated by the RAN GW and sent to the MME. Similar to the above, the time point for the RAN GW to send the message 5a may be during or after the completion of the handover procedure, or after learning that the handover procedure fails, which is not specifically limited. The prerequisite for the RAN GW to be able to generate message 5a is that it can understand the conflict between the bearer release procedure and the handover procedure in addition to interpreting the information of the UE and the destination node indicated in the message, that is, the program execution object and the program execution Causes and effects are matched, so that the message can be generated autonomously when the switching procedure succeeds or fails.

Step 5: After receiving the message 5a, the MME retries the previously suspended bearer release procedure, that is, resends the E-RAB RELEASE COMMAND message 6 to the RAN GW (assuming that the bearer to be released has not been released in the handover procedure).

The RAN GW knows the current serving base station (source base station or target base station) of the UE, and further sends the message 6 to the corresponding serving base station, and the serving base station orders the UE to release the relevant bearer through the wireless Uu interface , and transmit the NAS message at the same time.

After the radio interface procedure is completed, the target base station returns a bearer release response (E-RAB RELEASE RESPONSE) message 7 to the RAN GW, and the RAN GW further sends these messages to the MME. The bearer release procedure is successfully completed on the S1 interface.

For the timer configured by the core network to protect the NAS program (or S1 interface program), its duration configuration should take into account the newly added RAN GW in the access network, which is a node capable of processing transmission messages.

Specific embodiment four

When different from the foregoing embodiments, this embodiment combines the schemes of Embodiment 2 and Embodiment 4, and the specific description is as follows:

After the conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the switching program occurs, the core network element resends the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program under any of the following conditions, including:

Condition 1: After a conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs, the network element of the core network starts the timer, and after the timer expires, resends the request command of the program of the NAS or S1 interface;

Condition 2: After receiving the notification message sent by the RAN GW or the base station after detecting the success or failure of the handover procedure, resend the request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface; wherein the notification message is used to notify the core network The network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface, or notifies the network element of the core network whether the program runs successfully or fails.

It can be seen from the above that the core network element (MME) can resend the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program after the timer expires or after receiving the notification message.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio access network gateway provided by the present invention. The wireless access network gateway shown in Figure 5 includes:

The determination module 501 is configured to determine that a conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the switching program occurs after forwarding the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program sent by the network element of the core network;

The first processing module 502 is configured to resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program after detecting that the switching program runs successfully or fails.

Wherein, the determination module 501 determines that the conflict between the program of the NAS or the S1 interface and the switching program occurs in the following manner, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a rejection message for the request instruction;

The determining unit is configured to determine, according to the rejection message, that a conflict occurs between the procedure of the NAS or the S1 interface and the switching procedure.

Wherein, the rejection message includes a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is that the handover procedure is in progress.

Wherein, the wireless access network gateway also includes:

A saving module, configured to save the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface after receiving the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface;

A deletion module, configured to delete the request instruction of the program of the NAS or the S1 interface after resending the request instruction of the program of the NAS or the S1 interface.

Wherein, the determining module 501 learns whether the switching program runs successfully or fails by detecting the path switching request program.

Wherein, the first processing module 502 is specifically used for:

If the handover procedure is successful, the RAN GW sends the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface procedure to the target base station; if the handover procedure fails, the RAN GW sends the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface procedure to the source base station.

The wireless access network gateway provided by the present invention can ensure the success rate and completion time of the NAS/S1 interface program as much as possible in the system architecture, avoiding further impact on more core network elements, and improving the system performance. Performance, applicable to various types of wireless access network nodes and wired interfaces, and has no impact on user terminals.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network element provided by the present invention. The network elements of the core network shown in Figure 6 include:

The starting module 601 is configured to start the timer by the core network element after a conflict between the program of the NAS or the S1 interface and the switching program occurs;

The second processing module 602 is configured to resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program after the timer expires.

Among them, the detection of the conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the switching program is obtained through the following methods, including:

Receive a rejection message for the request instruction forwarded by the RAN GW, and determine that a conflict between a NAS or S1 interface procedure and a handover procedure occurs according to the rejection message.

Wherein, the rejection message includes a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is that the handover procedure is in progress.

Wherein, the duration of the timer is configured by the network, or configured by the operator, or, within a pre-configured maximum duration, the MME independently randomly selects a duration value.

Wherein, the duration of the timer is also determined according to the indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the stage that the handover procedure has reached or the waiting time required for the completion of the handover procedure; and/or, the timer The duration of is also determined according to the duration of the protection timer of the switching procedure.

Wherein, the indication information is sent through a rejection message to the request instruction.

The core network element provided by the present invention can ensure the success rate and completion time of the NAS/S1 interface program as much as possible in the system architecture, avoid further impact on more core network elements, and improve the performance of the system , applicable to various types of wireless access network nodes and wired interfaces, and has no impact on user terminals.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another wireless access network gateway provided by the present invention. The radio access network gateway shown in Figure 7 includes:

The detection module 701 is used to detect the running state of the switching program after the conflict between the program of the non-access layer NAS or S1 interface and the switching program; it is sent after success or failure;

The third processing module 702 is configured to send a notification message after detecting that the switching program runs successfully or fails; wherein the notification message is used to notify the core network element to resend the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program, or , to notify the network element of the core network whether the program runs successfully or fails.

Wherein, the third processing module 702 sends the notification message through the S1 interface.

Wherein, the third processing module 702 is specifically used for:

receiving the notification information sent by the base station, and sending the notification information to the core network element; or generating the notification information, and sending the notification information to the core network element.

Wherein, the third processing module 702 generates the notification information at the following time points, including:

During the completion phase of the handover procedure; or, after the handover procedure is completed; or, after learning that the handover procedure has failed.

The wireless access network gateway provided by the present invention can ensure the success rate and completion time of the NAS/S1 interface program as much as possible in the system architecture, avoiding further impact on more core network elements, and improving the system performance. Performance, applicable to various types of wireless access network nodes and wired interfaces, and has no impact on user terminals.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented using a computer program flow, the computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program can be run on a corresponding hardware platform (such as system, device, device, device, etc.), and when executed, includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiment.

Optionally, all or part of the steps in the above embodiments can also be implemented using integrated circuits, and these steps can be fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps among them can be fabricated into a single integrated circuit module accomplish. As such, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The devices/functional modules/functional units in the above embodiments can be realized by general-purpose computing devices, and they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed on a network composed of multiple computing devices.

When each device/functional module/functional unit in the above-mentioned embodiments is realized in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium mentioned above may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and the like.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Anyone skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention. Should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope described in the claims.

Claims (31)

1. A method for processing a program in a mobile communication system, comprising:

after collision between the program of the non-access stratum NAS or S1 interface and the handover program occurs, after detecting success or failure of the operation of the handover program, the radio access network gateway RAN GW or the core network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and after the timer is overtime, the core network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method comprises:

the first method is as follows: after forwarding the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface sent by the network element of the core network, the RAN GW determines that a conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the handover program occurs, and resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface after detecting that the handover program is successfully or unsuccessfully operated; or,

the second method comprises the following steps: after the conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs, the core network element starts the timer, and after the timer is overtime, the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface is sent again; or,

the third method comprises the following steps: after receiving a notification message sent by the RAN GW or the base station after detecting that the handover procedure is successfully or unsuccessfully operated, resending a request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface; the notification message is used for notifying a core network element to resend a request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface, or notifying the core network element that the program runs successfully or fails;

the method is as follows: after the conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the handover program occurs, the core network element resends the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface under any condition of the following conditions, including:

the first condition is as follows: after the conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs, the core network element starts the timer, and after the timer is overtime, the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface is sent again;

and a second condition: after receiving a notification message sent by the RAN GW or the base station after detecting that the handover procedure is successfully or unsuccessfully operated, resending a request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface; the notification message is used to notify a core network element of resending a request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface, or notify the core network element of success or failure of program operation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein in the first mode, the RAN GW determining that the conflict between the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface and the handover procedure occurs is implemented by:

and the RAN GW receives a rejection message of the request instruction and determines that the conflict between the programs of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs according to the rejection message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a reject reason is included in the reject message, wherein the reject reason is that the handover procedure is ongoing.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein in mode one, the method further comprises:

after receiving the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program, the RAN GW saves the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program, and deletes the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program after retransmitting the request command of the NAS or S1 interface program.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein in the first or third mode, the RAN GW knows that the handover procedure has succeeded or failed by detecting a path switch request procedure.

8. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that in mode one, if the handover procedure is successful, the RAN GW sends a request instruction of the procedures of the NAS or S1 interface to the target base station; if the handover procedure fails to operate, the RAN GW transmits a request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface to the source base station.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein in the second and fourth modes, the detection by the core network element that the conflict between the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface and the handover procedure occurs is obtained by:

and the core network element receives a rejection message of the request instruction forwarded by the RAN GW, and determines that the conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs according to the rejection message.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein in the second and fourth modes, the duration of the timer is configured by the network, or configured by the operator, or a duration value is autonomously and randomly selected by the MME within a preconfigured maximum duration.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein in the second mode and the fourth mode, the duration of the timer is further determined according to indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a stage to which the handover procedure has been performed or a waiting time required for completion of the handover procedure; and/or the duration of the timer is also determined according to the duration of the protection timer of the switching program.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein in mode two and mode four, the indication information is sent via a reject message to the request instruction.

13. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that in mode three and mode four, the RAN GW or base station sends the notification message via an S1 interface message.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein in mode three and mode four, the method comprises:

the RAN GW receives the notification information sent by the base station and sends the notification information to the core network element; or,

and the RAN GW generates the notification information and sends the notification information to the core network element.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein in mode three and mode four, the RAN GW generates the notification information at the following time points, including:

during the completion phase of the handover procedure; or after the execution of the switching program is finished; or after learning that the handover procedure has failed.

16. A radio access network gateway, comprising:

a determining module, configured to determine that a conflict between the NAS or S1 interface program and the handover program occurs after forwarding the request instruction of the NAS or S1 interface program sent by the core network element;

and the first processing module is used for resending the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface after detecting that the switching program is successfully or unsuccessfully operated.

17. The radio access network gateway of claim 16, wherein the determining module determines that the conflict between the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface and the handover procedure occurs by:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a rejection message for the request instruction;

and the determining unit is used for determining that the conflict between the programs of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs according to the rejection message.

18. The radio access network gateway of claim 17, wherein the reject message includes a reject reason, wherein the reject reason is that the handover procedure is ongoing.

19. The radio access network gateway of claim 16, wherein the radio access network gateway further comprises:

the storage module is used for storing the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface after receiving the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface;

and the deleting module is used for deleting the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface after the request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface is retransmitted.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining module learns the success or failure of the handover procedure by detecting a path switch request procedure.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first processing module is specifically configured to:

if the handover procedure is successful, the RAN GW sending a request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface to a target base station; if the handover procedure fails to operate, the RAN GW transmits a request instruction of the procedure of the NAS or S1 interface to the source base station.

22. A core network element, comprising:

a starting module, configured to start the timer by a core network element after a conflict between a NAS or S1 interface program and a handover program occurs;

and the second processing module is used for resending the request instruction of the program of the NAS or the S1 interface after the timer is overtime.

23. The core network element of claim 22, wherein the core network element detects that the conflict between the NAS or S1 interface procedure and the handover procedure occurs by:

and the core network element receives a rejection message of the request instruction forwarded by the RAN GW, and determines that the conflict between the program of the NAS or S1 interface and the switching program occurs according to the rejection message.

24. The network element of claim 23, wherein the reject message includes a reject reason, wherein the reject reason is that the handover procedure is ongoing.

25. The network element of claim 22, wherein the duration of the timer is configured by the network, or configured by the operator, or the MME autonomously randomly selects a duration value within a preconfigured maximum duration.

26. The network element of claim 25, wherein the duration of the timer is further determined according to indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a stage to which the handover procedure has been performed or a waiting time required for completion of the handover procedure; and/or the duration of the timer is also determined according to the duration of the protection timer of the switching program.

27. A network element of a core network according to claim 26, wherein the indication information is sent via a reject message to the request order.

28. A radio access network gateway, comprising:

the detection module is used for detecting the running state of the switching program after the conflict between the program of the non-access stratum NAS or the S1 interface and the switching program occurs; sent after success or failure;

the third processing module is used for sending a notification message after detecting that the switching program is successfully or unsuccessfully operated; the notification message is used to notify a core network element of resending a request instruction of the program of the NAS or S1 interface, or notify the core network element of success or failure of program operation.

29. The network element of claim 28, wherein the third processing module sends the notification message through an S1 interface.

30. The core network element of claim 28, wherein the third processing module is specifically configured to:

receiving the notification information sent by the base station, and sending the notification information to the core network element; or, generating the notification information and sending the notification information to the core network element.

31. The network element of claim 28, wherein the third processing module generates the notification information at time points that include:

during the completion phase of the handover procedure; or after the execution of the switching program is finished; or after learning that the handover procedure has failed.