CN106900081A - The method and device of the user face data tunnel transmission of access network node granularity - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and device for transmitting cellular network user plane data tunnels at the granularity of access network nodes. If it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal, after the session connection between the core network control plane function and the core network user plane function is established, the access network node starts from the core network control plane function receiving a terminal identifier for distinguishing the terminal connection; the access network node establishes an uplink and downlink transmission channel according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregation tunnel, and the downlink transmission channel information of the access network node facing the terminal Mapping relationship: the access network node sends the terminal identifier to the terminal, so that different UEs can perform data transmission based on the tunnel between the same AN Node node and the core network user plane function.

Description

Method and device for user plane data tunnel transmission at access network node granularity

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a method and device for tunneling data transmission of a user plane of a cellular network at the node granularity of an access network.

Background technique

In the existing EPC (Evolved Packet Core Network) architecture, the granularity of the tunnel is bearer. When the UE (terminal) attaches to the network and establishes a PDU (Packet Data Unit, packet data unit) session connection, the eNodeB (base station), SGW (ServingGateWay, Serving Gateway) and PGW (PDN GateWay, PDN Gateway) will allocate each bearer A TEID (TunnelEndpoint Identifier, tunnel endpoint identifier), TEID can uniquely identify a tunnel. For example, the uplink data packet from the eNB to the SGW will add the TEID allocated by the SGW in the GTP encapsulation header as the uplink tunnel identifier from the eNB to the SGW.

There are three main purposes of using the GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol, GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel: (1) to realize QoS (Quality of Service, Quality of Service) control based on bearer granularity; (2) to support UE mobility; (3) to support The correct IP transmission channel inside the mobile network is to establish the correct uplink and downlink data transmission channel from eNodeB to SGW and then to PGW. If a large number of IoT (Internet of Things, Internet of Things) devices use the bearer granularity tunnel mechanism in the EPC system, the network needs to maintain a large amount of uplink and downlink user plane tunnel identification information.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and device for user plane data tunnel transmission at the node granularity of the access network, so that different UEs can perform data transmission based on the tunnel between the same AN Node node and the core network user plane function. transmission.

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a method for tunneling data on a user plane of a cellular network at the node granularity of an access network is provided, including:

The access network node judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal;

If it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal, after the session connection between the core network control plane function and the core network user plane function is established, the access network node from the core network control plane function receiving a terminal identifier for distinguishing the terminal connection;

The access network node establishes a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregation tunnel, and the information of the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node;

The access network node sends the terminal identifier to the terminal.

Optionally, the access network node judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal, including:

The access network node receives the tunnel selection auxiliary information sent by the terminal;

The access network node judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal according to the tunnel selection auxiliary information.

Optionally, the access network node receiving the terminal identifier of the terminal from the core network control plane function includes:

The identifier of the user plane function of the core network node at the opposite end of the aggregation tunnel of the access network node sent by the access network node to the core network control plane function;

The access network node receives the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function;

Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

or

The access network node sends the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node to the core network control plane function, or the access network node sends the terminal type to the core network control plane function;

The access network node receives the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function;

Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel.

Optionally, the terminal identifier is label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal, the label information is assigned to the terminal by the core network control plane function, and the core network control plane function uses the user plane establishment request message to set the label information The information is passed to the user plane function of the core network.

Optionally, if the uplink data packet is transmitted to the access network node, the method further includes:

If the access network node only supports an aggregation tunnel mechanism, the access network node maps the uplink data packet with the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, and forwards the uplink data packet to a corresponding core network user plane function; or

If the access network node supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism and other tunnel mechanisms, the access network node maps the wireless transmission channel identifier with the tunnel identifier, and forwards the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function.

Optionally, if the downlink data packet is transmitted to the access network node through an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, the method further includes:

The access network node identifies the terminal identifier in the downlink data packet;

The access network node forwards the downlink data packet to the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the terminal identifier and the downlink transmission channel.

Optionally, if the terminal identifier is an empty IP address, the method further includes:

The access network node establishes the mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message.

Optionally, the access network node establishes a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message, including:

The access network node identifies the mapping relationship between the MAC address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel in the DHCP request message, wherein the DHCP request message is sent by the terminal to the DHCP server after the connection is established to request allocation of a valid IP address news;

The access network node identifies the DHCP response message, and obtains the mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the MAC address of the terminal;

The access network node establishes the mapping relationship between the terminal's IP address and the downlink transmission channel according to the mapping relationship between the terminal's MAC address and the downlink transmission channel, and the mapping relationship between the terminal's IP address and the terminal's MAC address.

According to the second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is also provided a method for tunneling cellular network user plane data at the node granularity of the access network, including:

When it is determined that the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier allocated to the terminal;

The core network control plane function sends the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship.

Optionally, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier assigned to the terminal, including:

The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user function according to the identity of the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

The core network control plane function assigns an IP address to the terminal from an IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function;

or

The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node;

The core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to assign a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal to the terminal;

If so, the core network control plane function assigns label information to the terminal, and sends the label information to the core network user plane function in the user plane setup message, and the core network control plane function sends the label information to the access network node.

According to the third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is also provided a method for tunneling cellular network user plane data at the node granularity of the access network, including:

When the terminal provides the tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function or does not provide the tunnel selection auxiliary information, the core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal;

If it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, the core network control plane function determines a terminal identifier for distinguishing the connection of the terminal;

The core network control plane function sends the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship.

Optionally, the core network control plane function determines whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, including:

When the terminal provides tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information, the core network control plane function queries the terminal's subscription information;

The core network control plane function judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal according to the subscription information.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, an access network node is also provided, including:

The first judging module is used to judge whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal;

The receiving module is configured to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, and receive it from the core network control plane function after the session connection between the core network control plane function and the core network user plane function is established. A terminal identifier used to distinguish the terminal connection;

The first mapping module is configured to establish a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregated tunnel, and the information of the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node;

A first sending module, configured for the access network node to send the terminal identifier to the terminal.

Optionally, the first judging module includes:

The first receiving unit is configured to receive the tunnel selection auxiliary information sent by the terminal;

The first judging unit is configured to judge, according to the tunnel selection auxiliary information, whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of an access network node for the terminal.

Optionally, the receiving module includes:

The first sending unit is configured to send to the core network control plane function the identity of the access network node aggregation tunnel peer core network user plane function;

The second receiving unit is configured to receive the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function;

Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

or

The second sending unit is configured to send the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node to the core network control plane function, or send the terminal type to the core network control plane function;

A third receiving unit, configured to receive the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function;

Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel.

Optionally, the terminal identifier is label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal, the label information is assigned to the terminal by the core network control plane function, and the core network control plane transmits the label information through the user plane establishment request message Provide the user plane function of the core network.

Optionally, when the uplink data packet is transmitted to the access network node, the access network node further includes:

The uplink data packet transmission module is used to map the uplink data packet with the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node if the access network node only supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism, and forward the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function ;or

If the access network node supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism and other tunnel mechanisms, map the wireless transmission channel identifier and the tunnel identifier, and forward the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function.

Optionally, when the downlink data packet is transmitted to the access network node through an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, the access network node further includes:

A downlink data packet identification module, configured to identify the terminal identifier in the downlink data packet;

The downlink data packet transmission module is configured to forward the downlink data packet to the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the terminal identifier and the downlink transmission channel.

Optionally, if the terminal identifier is an empty IP address, the access network node further includes:

The second mapping module is configured to establish a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message.

According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a core network control plane function is also provided, including:

The first determining module is configured to determine the terminal identifier assigned to the terminal when determining that the terminal needs to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network;

The second sending module is configured to send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship.

Optionally, the first determination module includes:

The first determination unit is configured to determine the corresponding core network user function according to the identification of the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

a first allocation unit, configured to allocate an IP address to the terminal from an IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function;

or

The second determining unit is configured to determine the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node;

A third judging unit, configured to judge whether the terminal needs to be assigned a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal;

The second allocating unit is used to allocate a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal to the terminal if necessary, and send the label information to the core network user plane in the user plane establishment message, and the core network control plane function will send the label information to the core network user plane The label information is sent to the access network node.

According to the sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a core network control plane function is also provided, including:

The second judging module is used to judge whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal when the terminal provides the tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide the tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function;

The second determining module is configured to determine a terminal identifier for distinguishing the connection of the terminal if the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal;

The third sending module is configured to send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship.

Optionally, the second judging module includes:

A query unit, configured to query the subscription information of the terminal when the terminal provides tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function;

The fourth judging unit is configured to judge whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal according to the subscription information.

One of the technical solutions above has the following advantages or beneficial effects: In the scenario of fixed wireless UEs, a simplified tunnel mechanism is used to establish a tunnel identifier based on AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share the same upper and lower Line User Plane Tunnel ID. The tunnel mechanism based on the AN Node granularity in the embodiment simplifies the tunnel management capability of the gateway and the base station side, simplifies the user plane tunnel identification message in the process, and saves tunnel resources.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a fixed wireless UE access network architecture;

2 is a flowchart of a method for tunneling user plane data at the node granularity of an access network in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

3 is a flowchart of a method for tunneling user plane data at the node granularity of the access network in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram of an aggregation tunnel PDU session establishment process at the AN Node granularity in Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

5 is a schematic diagram of an aggregation tunnel PDU session establishment process at the AN Node granularity in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an aggregation tunnel attachment (Attach) process at the AN Node granularity in Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an aggregation tunnel attachment (Attach) process at the AN Node granularity in Embodiment 6 of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network node in Embodiment 7 of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of core network control plane functions in Embodiment 8 of the present invention;

10 is a flowchart of a method for tunneling user plane data at the node granularity of the access network in Embodiment 9 of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of core network control plane functions in Embodiment 10 of the present invention.

detailed description

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided for more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Those skilled in the art know that the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as a system, device, device, method or computer program product. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in the following forms: complete hardware, complete software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software.

The embodiments of the present invention are applicable to new network architectures, such as 5G network architectures. Referring to FIG. 1 , the terminal shown in the figure, such as a fixed wireless UE (such as a fixed IoT device or a home gateway device with 5G as the backhaul) accesses tunnel mechanism optimization. Such terminals often have such characteristics as: no need for mobility, and low requirements for QoS differences, so the tunnel mechanism used can be simplified, and the tunnel granularity can be simplified to AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share a tunnel identifier.

The 5G network architecture is mainly composed of core network control plane functions (CP Functions) and core network user plane functions (UPFunction). The core network control plane functions include the Session Management (session management) function to realize the establishment of the user plane channel. The core network user plane function mainly realizes the forwarding of data packets.

Embodiment one

Referring to FIG. 2 , the figure shows a flow of a method for tunneling user plane data in a cellular network at the node granularity of an access network, and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 201, the access network node judges whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal, if so, proceed to step 202; otherwise, allocate wireless resources for the terminal according to the existing method, for example: according to the existing EPC system The tunnel mechanism at the bearer granularity allocates wireless resources for the terminal, which will not be described here.

The foregoing access network nodes may also be called AN Nodes, as shown in FIG. 1 .

The above-mentioned terminal may be a fixed wireless UE, such as a fixed IoT device or a home gateway device with 5G as backhaul.

The above aggregation tunnel at the granularity of access network nodes refers to aggregating multiple links (for example, multiple links established at the granularity of bearer) into a tunnel at the granularity of access network nodes. The aggregated tunnel has a tunnel identifier, UEs accessing the same ANNode can share the tunnel identifier.

In this embodiment, the access network node can determine whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal in the following manner:

The access network node receives the tunnel selection auxiliary information sent by the terminal, and then the access network node judges whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the access network node granularity for the terminal according to the tunnel selection auxiliary information, wherein the tunnel selection auxiliary information may be a terminal type;

Step 202, after the session connection between the core network control plane function and the core network user plane function is established, the access network node receives a terminal identifier for distinguishing terminal connections from the core network control plane function;

In this embodiment, the terminal identifier used to distinguish terminal connections may be the IP address of the terminal assigned by the core network control plane function, such as an IPv4 address, or may be the label information of the terminal assigned by the core network control plane function.

Optionally, the above label information is assigned to the terminal by the core network control plane function, and the core network control plane transmits the label information to the core network user plane function through a user plane setup request message.

In this embodiment, the access network node may receive the terminal identifier of the terminal from the core network control plane function in the following two ways:

Method 1. The access network node sends the identification of the access network node aggregated tunnel peer core network user plane function to the core network control plane function; the access network node receives the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function; wherein, The IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the access network node aggregation tunnel peer core network user plane function;

Method 2: The access network node sends the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node to the core network control plane function, or the access network node sends the terminal type to the core network control plane function; the access network node receives the core network control plane function The IP address of the terminal; wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel.

Step 203, the access network node establishes a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregated tunnel, and the information of the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node;

The above-mentioned tunnel information of the aggregated tunnel may be a tunnel identifier, such as a tunnel ID, and of course it is not limited thereto.

Specifically, the access network node establishes the mapping relationship for downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier and the information of the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node; the access network node establishes the mapping relationship for uplink transmission according to the terminal identifier and the tunnel information of the aggregation tunnel relationship, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node can share the same uplink and downlink user plane tunnel ID.

Step 204, the access network node sends the terminal identifier to the terminal.

Optionally, if the uplink data packet is transmitted to the access network node, the method further includes:

If the access network node only supports an aggregation tunnel mechanism, the access network node maps the uplink data packet with the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, and forwards the uplink data packet to a corresponding core network user plane function; or

If the access network node supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism and other tunnel mechanisms, the access network node maps the wireless transmission channel identifier with the tunnel identifier, and forwards the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function.

Optionally, if the downlink data packet is transmitted to the access network node through an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, the method further includes:

The access network node identifies the terminal identifier in the downlink data packet;

The access network node forwards the downlink data packet to the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the terminal identifier and the downlink transmission channel.

Optionally, if the terminal identifier is an empty IP address, the method further includes:

The access network node establishes the mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message.

Optionally, the access network node establishes a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message, including:

The access network node identifies the mapping relationship between the MAC address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel in the DHCP request message, wherein the DHCP request message is sent by the terminal to the DHCP server after the connection is established to request allocation of a valid IP address news;

The access network node identifies the DHCP response message, and obtains the mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the MAC address of the terminal;

The access network node establishes the mapping relationship between the terminal's IP address and the downlink transmission channel according to the mapping relationship between the terminal's MAC address and the downlink transmission channel, and the mapping relationship between the terminal's IP address and the terminal's MAC address.

The existing technology is a tunnel mechanism with bearer granularity. However, in the case of large Internet of Things connections, the tunnel mechanism based on bearer granularity requires the network side to maintain a large amount of tunnel identification information, resulting in a waste of network resources. In the scenario where the cellular network is used as the fixed broadband backhaul, the tunnel based on bearer granularity also wastes network resources due to low mobility requirements. In this embodiment, in the scenario of a fixed wireless UE, a simplified tunnel mechanism is used to establish a tunnel ID based on AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share the same uplink and downlink user plane tunnel ID. The tunnel mechanism based on the ANNode granularity in the embodiment simplifies the tunnel management capability of the gateway and the base station side, simplifies the user plane tunnel identification message in the process, and saves tunnel resources.

Embodiment two

Referring to FIG. 3 , the figure shows a flow of a method for tunneling user plane data in a cellular network at the node granularity of an access network, and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 301, when it is determined that an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier allocated to the terminal;

In this embodiment, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier assigned to the terminal in the following manner:

Method 1: The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user function according to the access network node aggregated tunnel peer core network user plane function; the core network control plane function is obtained from the IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function The terminal assigns an IP address;

Method 2: The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node; the core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to assign a label information for indicating the connection of the terminal to the terminal; If so, the core network control plane function assigns label information to the terminal, and sends the label information to the core network user plane in the user plane setup message, and the core network control plane function sends the label information to the access network node.

Step 302, the core network control plane function sends the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes an uplink and downlink transmission channel according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node Transport mapping.

In this embodiment, in the scenario of a fixed wireless UE, a simplified tunnel mechanism is used to establish a tunnel ID based on AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share the same uplink and downlink user plane tunnel ID. The tunnel mechanism based on the AN Node granularity in the embodiment simplifies the tunnel management capability of the gateway and the base station side, simplifies the user plane tunnel identification message in the process, and saves tunnel resources.

Embodiment three

Referring to FIG. 4 , the figure shows the aggregation tunnel PDU session establishment process of AN Node granularity. In this embodiment, the UE connection is distinguished by the IP address of the UE (terminal), and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 401, the UE sends a session establishment request message to the AN Node;

The above session establishment request message includes but is not limited to: tunnel selection auxiliary information, and the tunnel selection auxiliary information may be a terminal type.

Tunnel mechanism optimization for certain types of terminals, such as fixed wireless UEs (such as fixed IoT devices or home gateway devices with 5G as backhaul) access. Such terminals often have such characteristics as: no need for mobility, and low requirements for QoS differences, so the tunnel mechanism used can be simplified, and the tunnel granularity can be simplified to AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share a tunnel identifier.

Step 402, AN Node sends a session establishment request message to the core network control plane function;

In this embodiment, the AN Node judges whether the UE accesses the AN Node granular tunnel through the tunnel selection assistance information carried by the UE. When the AN Node judges that the UE needs to use the AN Node granular tunnel:

In one way, the AN Node adds the IP address of the core network user plane function (core network user plane function) of the tunnel opposite end to the session establishment request message and forwards it to the core network control plane function.

Another way is to forward the session establishment request message (including terminal type, access network node identifier (AN Node ID), etc.) to the core network control plane function.

It should be noted that if the core network control plane function can determine the ANNode according to the source of the session establishment request message, the session establishment request message may not carry the AN Node ID.

Step 403, the core network control plane function sends a user plane establishment request to the core network user plane function;

In this embodiment, the core network control plane function selects the corresponding core network user plane function according to the information in the session establishment request message (for example, the IP address of the core network user plane function, or the terminal type and AN Node ID), and selects the corresponding core network user plane function from the An IP address is allocated to the UE in the IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function, and the core network control plane function notifies the core network user plane function of the IP address allocated to the UE.

Step 404, the core network user plane function sends a user plane setup reply message to the core network control plane function.

Step 405, the core network control plane function sends a session establishment reply message to the AN Node;

The session establishment reply message includes but not limited to: the IP address of the UE. It should be noted that the IP address of the UE can be identified by the access network. For this reason, the IP address assigned to the UE can be carried in the inner and outer layer signaling messages and sent to the AN Node (for example, in addition to the NAS message carried, At the same time, the UE IP address is carried in the AS message).

The AN Node establishes the mapping relationship of uplink and downlink transmission according to the IP address assigned to the UE, the tunnel information and the information about the downlink transmission channel facing the UE.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel may be an air interface bearer between the access network and the UE, or between a BBU and an RRU in the access network, and the like.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel information may be a radio bearer ID allocated to the UE, or a MAC address of the UE, and the like.

In step 406, the AN Node transmits the IP address of the UE to the UE, and allocates radio resources for the UE.

It should be noted that, if the IP address assigned to the terminal in the above step 405 is an empty IP address, such as IPv4 address 0.0.0.0, after the session connection is established, the UE sends a message to the DHCP server to request the allocation of a valid IPv4 address. At this time, the AN Node establishes the relationship between the IPv4 address of the UE and the downlink channel by identifying the DHCP message. which is:

The AN Node can first identify the correspondence between the UE MAC address in the DHCP request message (DHCP request message) and the data channel on the access side (such as the air interface bearer). Then, the AN Node recognizes the DHCP response message (DHCP response message), thereby obtaining the corresponding relationship between the IPv4 address of the UE and the MAC address, thereby establishing the corresponding relationship between the IP address of the UE and the downlink channel of the UE.

In step 407, the AN Node sends a session establishment complete message to the core network control plane function.

The process of establishing a PDU session is introduced in steps 401 to 407 above, and the uplink and downlink data transmission scheme will be described below in conjunction with steps 408a and 408b.

Step 408a. When the uplink data is transmitted to the AN Node, the AN Node maps the uplink data sent by the UE to the tunnel, encapsulates the data packet in the tunnel, and forwards it to the corresponding core network user plane function.

If the AN Node only supports aggregated tunnels, all uplinks are mapped to aggregated tunnels, and multiple wireless transmission channel identifiers are mapped to an aggregated tunnel identifier in a many-to-one manner.

If the AN Node supports other tunneling mechanisms (such as PDU session-granular tunneling), the AN Node will pair a wireless transmission channel identifier (such as Radio Bearer ID (radio bearer identifier), or the MAC address of the UE) with a tunnel identifier a map.

Step 408b. When the downlink data is transmitted to the core network user plane function, the core network user plane function transmits the downlink data to the AN Node through the aggregation tunnel or other tunnels, and the AN Node transmits the downlink data to the UE through the corresponding downlink transmission channel.

If the AN Node supports other tunneling mechanisms (such as tunnels with PDU session granularity), when the downlink data packet arrives at the AN, the AN judges which type of tunnel the downlink data is transmitted from.

Method 1: If it is sent from the PDU session granularity tunnel, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the PDU session granularity tunnel and the downlink transmission channel of the access network. It can correspond to, for example, the bearer ID of the air interface, and transmit it down to the UE.

Method 2. If it is sent from the Node granular aggregation tunnel, the AN Node identifies the UE IP address in the downlink data packet (the destination address of the data packet in the tunnel), and according to the mapping relationship between the UE's IP address and the downlink transmission channel of the access network The downlink data packet is forwarded to the UE. The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel of the access network may be carried by an air interface between the access network and the UE, or between a BBU and an RRU in the access network.

Embodiment Four

In this embodiment, the UE's label information is used to distinguish the connection of the UE. In the aggregation tunnel, in addition to the IP address, the downlink data packet can be identified by introducing the separate UE's label information.

Referring to Fig. 5, it shows the process of establishing an aggregated tunnel PDU session at the AN Node (access network node) granularity, and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 501, the UE sends a session establishment request message to the AN Node;

The above session establishment request message includes but is not limited to: tunnel selection auxiliary information, and the tunnel selection auxiliary information may be a terminal type.

Tunnel mechanism optimization for certain types of terminals, such as fixed wireless UEs (such as fixed IoT devices or home gateway devices with 5G as backhaul) access. Such terminals often have such characteristics as: no need for mobility, and low requirements for QoS differences, so the tunnel mechanism used can be simplified, and the tunnel granularity can be simplified to AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share a tunnel identifier.

Step 502, AN Node sends a session establishment request message to the core network control plane function;

In this embodiment, the AN Node judges whether the UE accesses the AN Node granular tunnel through the tunnel selection assistance information carried by the UE. When the AN Node judges that the UE needs to use the AN Node granular tunnel:

In one way, the AN Node adds the IP address of the core network user plane function (core network user plane function) of the tunnel opposite end to the session establishment request message and forwards it to the core network control plane function.

Another way is to forward the session establishment request message (including terminal type, access network node identifier (AN Node ID), etc.) to the core network control plane function.

It should be noted that if the core network control plane function can determine the ANNode according to the source of the session establishment request message, the session establishment request message may not carry the AN Node ID.

Step 503, the core network control plane function allocates UE label information for the connection of the UE, and transmits it to the core network user plane function through a user plane establishment message;

details as follows:

The core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to allocate UE label information (also called ID) for the UE connection, and if so, the core network control plane function allocates UE label information for the UE connection, and establishes a The message is passed to the user plane function of the core network. The user plane function of the core network includes the label information of the UE in the downlink data packet sent to the UE. For example, when using a GTP tunnel, the label information of the UE can be marked in the "encapsulation header" field between the IP header and the user Payload.

Optionally, the core network control plane function may determine whether to assign an ID to the UE connection according to network policies and terminal types (such as non-IP connection terminals such as the Internet of Things).

Step 504, the core network user plane function sends a user plane establishment reply message to the core network control plane function;

Step 505, the core network control sends a session establishment reply message to the AN Node, the content includes but not limited to: the label information of the UE connection. The label information of the UE can be identified by the access network (for example, carried in the AS message).

The AN Node establishes a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to label information, tunnel information, and information about downlink transmission channels facing UEs used to distinguish UEs connected to UEs.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel may be an air interface bearer between the access network and the UE, or between a BBU and an RRU in the access network, and the like.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel information may be a radio bearer ID allocated to the UE, or a MAC address of the UE, and the like.

In step 506, the AN Node transmits the label information of the UE to the UE, and allocates radio resources for the UE.

Step 507, the AN Node sends a session establishment complete message to the core network control plane function.

The process of establishing a PDU session is introduced in steps 501 to 507 above, and the uplink and downlink data transmission scheme is introduced below in conjunction with steps 508a and 508b.

Step 508a. When the uplink data is transmitted to the AN Node, the AN Node maps the uplink data sent by the UE to the tunnel, encapsulates the data packet in the tunnel, and forwards it to the corresponding core network user plane function.

If the AN Node only supports aggregated tunnels, all uplinks are mapped to aggregated tunnels, and multiple wireless transmission channel identifiers are mapped to an aggregated tunnel identifier in a many-to-one manner.

If the AN Node supports other tunneling mechanisms (such as PDU session-granular tunneling), the AN Node will pair a wireless transmission channel identifier (such as Radio Bearer ID (radio bearer identifier), or the MAC address of the UE) with a tunnel identifier a map.

Step 508b, the user plane function of the core network adds the downlink tunnel identifier and label information for distinguishing the UE connected to the UE into the encapsulation header of the data packet sent to the UE, and forwards it to the correct AN Node. The AN Node forwards the downlink data packet to the UE according to the mapping relationship between the label information of the UE and the downlink transmission channel of the access network. The downlink transmission channel of the access network can be carried by the air interface between the access network and the UE, or Between BBU (Remote Radio Unit) and RRU (Baseband Processing Unit), etc.

Embodiment five

Referring to Fig. 6, the aggregated tunnel attachment (Attach) process of AN Node granularity is shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the UE connection is distinguished by the IP address of the UE (terminal), and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 601, UE sends an attach request message to AN Node;

The above attach request message includes but not limited to: tunnel selection auxiliary information, and the tunnel selection auxiliary information may be a terminal type.

Tunnel mechanism optimization for certain types of terminals, such as fixed wireless UEs (such as fixed IoT devices or home gateway devices with 5G as backhaul) access. Such terminals often have such characteristics as: no need for mobility, and low requirements for QoS differences, so the tunnel mechanism used can be simplified, and the tunnel granularity can be simplified to AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share a tunnel identifier.

Step 602, AN Node sends an attach request message to the core network control plane function;

In this embodiment, the AN Node judges whether the UE accesses the AN Node granular tunnel through the tunnel selection assistance information carried by the UE. When the AN Node judges that the UE needs to use the AN Node granular tunnel:

In one manner, the AN Node adds the IP address of the core network user plane function (core network user plane function) at the opposite end of the tunnel to the attach request message and forwards it to the core network control plane function.

Another way is to forward the attach request message (including terminal type, access network node identifier (AN Node ID), etc.) to the core network control plane function.

It should be noted that if the core network control plane function can determine the ANNode according to the source of the session establishment request message, the session establishment request message may not carry the AN Node ID.

Step 603, the core network control plane function sends a user plane establishment request to the core network user plane function;

In this embodiment, the core network control plane function selects the corresponding core network user plane function according to the information in the attach request message (such as the IP address of the core network user plane function, or the terminal type and AN Node ID), and selects the corresponding core network user plane function from the core network The UE is allocated an IP address in the IP address pool corresponding to the network user plane function, and the core network control plane function notifies the core network user plane function of the IP address allocated to the UE.

Step 604, the core network user plane function sends a user plane setup reply message to the core network control plane function.

Step 605, the core network control plane function sends an attach reply message to the AN Node;

The attach reply message includes but not limited to: the IP address of the UE. It should be noted that the IP address of the UE can be identified by the access network. For this reason, the IP address assigned to the UE can be carried in the inner and outer layer signaling messages and sent to the AN Node (for example, in addition to the NAS message carried, At the same time, the UE IP address is carried in the AS message).

The AN Node establishes the mapping relationship of uplink and downlink transmission according to the IP address assigned to the UE, the tunnel information and the information about the downlink transmission channel facing the UE.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel may be an air interface bearer between the access network and the UE, or between a BBU and an RRU in the access network, and the like.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel information may be a radio bearer ID allocated to the UE, or a MAC address of the UE, and the like.

In step 606, the AN Node transmits the IP address of the UE to the UE, and allocates radio resources for the UE.

It should be noted that, if the IP address assigned to the terminal in the above step 805 is an empty IP address, such as IPv4 address 0.0.0.0, after the session connection is established, the UE sends a message to the DHCP server to request the allocation of a valid IPv4 address. At this time, the AN Node establishes the relationship between the IPv4 address of the UE and the downlink channel by identifying the DHCP message. which is:

The AN Node can first identify the correspondence between the UE MAC address in the DHCP request message (DHCP request message) and the data channel on the access side (such as the air interface bearer). Then, the AN Node recognizes the DHCP response message (DHCP response message), thereby obtaining the corresponding relationship between the IPv4 address of the UE and the MAC address, thereby establishing the corresponding relationship between the IP address of the UE and the downlink channel of the UE.

In step 607, the AN Node sends a session establishment complete message to the core network control plane function.

The PDU session establishment process is introduced in the above steps 601-607, and the uplink and downlink data transmission scheme is introduced below in conjunction with steps 608a and 608b.

Step 608a. When the uplink data is transmitted to the AN Node, the AN Node maps the uplink data sent by the UE to the tunnel, encapsulates the data packet in the tunnel, and forwards it to the corresponding core network user plane function.

If the AN Node only supports aggregated tunnels, all uplinks are mapped to aggregated tunnels, and multiple wireless transmission channel identifiers are mapped to an aggregated tunnel identifier in a many-to-one manner.

If the AN Node supports other tunneling mechanisms (such as PDU session-granular tunneling), the AN Node will pair a wireless transmission channel identifier (such as Radio Bearer ID (radio bearer identifier), or the MAC address of the UE) with a tunnel identifier a map.

Step 608b. When the downlink data is transmitted to the core network user plane function, the core network user plane function transmits the downlink data to the AN Node through the aggregation tunnel or other tunnels, and the AN Node transmits the downlink data to the UE through the corresponding downlink transmission channel.

If the AN Node supports other tunneling mechanisms (such as tunnels with PDU session granularity), when the downlink data packet arrives at the AN, the AN judges which type of tunnel the downlink data is transmitted from.

Method 1: If it is sent from the PDU session granularity tunnel, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the PDU session granularity tunnel and the downlink transmission channel of the access network. It can correspond to, for example, the bearer ID of the air interface, and transmit it down to the UE.

Method 2. If it is sent from the Node granular aggregation tunnel, the AN Node identifies the UE IP address in the downlink data packet (the destination address of the data packet in the tunnel), and according to the mapping relationship between the UE's IP address and the downlink transmission channel of the access network The downlink data packet is forwarded to the UE. The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel of the access network may be carried by an air interface between the access network and the UE, or between a BBU and an RRU in the access network.

Embodiment six

In this embodiment, the UE's label information is used to distinguish the connection of the UE. In the aggregation tunnel, in addition to the IP address, the downlink data packet can be identified by introducing the separate UE's label information.

Referring to Fig. 7, the figure shows the aggregation tunnel attachment (Attach) process of AN Node granularity, and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 701, UE sends an attach request message to AN Node;

The above attach request message includes but not limited to: tunnel selection auxiliary information, and the tunnel selection auxiliary information may be a terminal type.

Tunnel mechanism optimization for certain types of terminals, such as fixed wireless UEs (such as fixed IoT devices or home gateway devices with 5G as backhaul) access. This type of terminal often has such characteristics as: no need for mobility, and low requirements for QoS differences, so the tunnel mechanism used can be simplified, and the tunnel granularity can be simplified to AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share a tunnel identifier.

Step 702, AN Node sends an attach request message to the core network control plane function;

In this embodiment, the AN Node judges whether the UE accesses the AN Node granular tunnel through the tunnel selection assistance information carried by the UE. When the AN Node judges that the UE needs to use the AN Node granular tunnel:

In one way, the AN Node adds the IP address of the core network user plane function (core network user plane function) of the tunnel opposite end to the session establishment request message and forwards it to the core network control plane function.

Another way is to forward the session establishment request message (including terminal type, access network node identifier (AN Node ID), etc.) to the core network control plane function.

It should be noted that if the core network control plane function can determine the ANNode according to the source of the session establishment request message, the session establishment request message may not carry the AN Node ID.

Step 703, the core network control plane function allocates UE label information for the connection of the UE, and transmits it to the core network user plane function through a user plane setup message;

details as follows:

The core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to allocate UE label information (also called ID) for the UE connection, and if so, the core network control plane function allocates UE label information for the UE connection, and establishes a The message is passed to the user plane function of the core network. The user plane function of the core network includes the label information of the UE in the downlink data packet sent to the UE. For example, when using a GTP tunnel, the label information of the UE can be marked in the "encapsulation header" field between the IP header and the user Payload.

Optionally, the core network control plane function may determine whether to assign an ID to the connection of the UE according to network policies and terminal types (such as non-IP connection terminals such as the Internet of Things).

Step 704, the core network user plane function sends a user plane establishment reply message to the core network control plane function;

Step 705, the core network control sends an attach reply message to the AN Node, the content includes but not limited to: the label information of the UE connection. The label information of the UE can be identified by the access network (for example, carried in the AS message).

The AN Node establishes a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to label information, tunnel information, and information about downlink transmission channels facing UEs used to distinguish UEs connected to UEs.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel may be an air interface bearer between the access network and the UE, or between a BBU and an RRU in the access network, and the like.

The above-mentioned downlink transmission channel information may be a radio bearer ID allocated to the UE, or a MAC address of the UE, and the like.

In step 706, the AN Node transmits the label information of the UE to the UE, and allocates radio resources for the UE.

Step 707, the AN Node sends a session establishment complete message to the core network control plane function.

The procedure for establishing a PDU session is introduced in steps 701 to 707 above, and the uplink and downlink data transmission scheme is described below in combination with steps 708a and 708b.

Step 708a. When the uplink data is transmitted to the AN Node, the AN Node maps the uplink data sent by the UE to the tunnel, encapsulates the data packet in the tunnel, and forwards it to the corresponding core network user plane function.

If the AN Node only supports aggregated tunnels, all uplinks are mapped to aggregated tunnels, and multiple wireless transmission channel identifiers are mapped to an aggregated tunnel identifier in a many-to-one manner.

If the AN Node supports other tunneling mechanisms (such as PDU session-granular tunneling), the AN Node will pair a wireless transmission channel identifier (such as Radio Bearer ID (radio bearer identifier), or the MAC address of the UE) with a tunnel identifier a map.

Step 708b, the user plane function of the core network adds the downlink tunnel identifier and label information for distinguishing the UE connected to the UE into the encapsulation header of the data packet sent to the UE, and forwards it to the correct AN Node. The AN Node forwards the downlink data packet to the UE according to the mapping relationship between the label information of the UE and the downlink transmission channel of the access network. The downlink transmission channel of the access network can be carried by the air interface between the access network and the UE, or Between BBU and RRU, etc.

Embodiment seven

Referring to FIG. 8 , an access network node is shown in the figure, and the access network node 800 includes:

The first judging module 801 is configured to judge whether it is necessary to use an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal;

The receiving module 802 is configured to receive, from a core network control plane function, a terminal identifier for distinguishing the connection of the terminal, if the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal;

The first mapping module 803 is configured to establish a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregation tunnel, and the downlink transmission channel information of the access network node facing the terminal;

The first sending module 804 is configured for the access network node to send the terminal identifier to the terminal.

In this embodiment, optionally, the first judging module includes:

The first receiving unit is configured to receive the tunnel selection auxiliary information sent by the terminal;

The first judging unit is configured to judge, according to the tunnel selection auxiliary information, whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of an access network node for the terminal.

In this embodiment, optionally, the receiving module includes:

The first sending unit is configured to send to the core network control plane function the identity of the access network node aggregation tunnel peer core network user plane function;

The second receiving unit is configured to receive the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function;

Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

or

The second sending unit is configured to send the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node to the core network control plane function, or send the terminal type to the core network control plane function;

A third receiving unit, configured to receive the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function;

Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel.

In this embodiment, optionally, the terminal identifier is label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal, the label information is assigned to the terminal by the core network control plane function, and the core network control plane establishes a request through the user plane The message transmits the label information to the user plane function of the core network.

In this embodiment, optionally, when the uplink data packet is transmitted to the access network node, the access network node further includes:

The uplink data packet transmission module is used to map the uplink data packet with the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node if the access network node only supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism, and forward the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function ;or

If the access network node supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism and other tunnel mechanisms, map the wireless transmission channel identifier and the tunnel identifier, and forward the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function.

In this embodiment, optionally, if the downlink data packet is transmitted to the access network node through an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, the access network node further includes:

A downlink data packet identification module, configured to identify the terminal identifier in the downlink data packet;

The downlink data packet transmission module is configured to forward the downlink data packet to the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the terminal identifier and the downlink transmission channel.

In this embodiment, optionally, if the terminal identifier is an empty IP address, the access network node further includes:

The second mapping module is configured to establish a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message.

The existing technology is a tunnel mechanism with bearer granularity. However, in the case of large Internet of Things connections, the tunnel mechanism based on bearer granularity requires the network side to maintain a large amount of tunnel identification information, resulting in a waste of network resources. In the scenario where the cellular network is used as the fixed broadband backhaul, the tunnel based on bearer granularity also wastes network resources due to low mobility requirements. In this embodiment, in the scenario of a fixed wireless UE, a simplified tunnel mechanism is used to establish a tunnel ID based on AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share the same uplink and downlink user plane tunnel ID. The tunnel mechanism based on the ANNode granularity in the embodiment simplifies the tunnel management capability of the gateway and the base station side, simplifies the user plane tunnel identification message in the process, and saves tunnel resources.

Embodiment eight

Referring to FIG. 9, a core network control plane function is shown in the figure, and the core network control plane function 900 includes:

The first determining module 901 is configured to determine the terminal identifier allocated to the terminal when determining that the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal;

The second sending module 902 is configured to send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node Transport mapping.

In this embodiment, optionally, the first determining module includes:

The first determination unit is configured to determine the corresponding core network user function according to the identification of the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

a first allocation unit, configured to allocate an IP address to the terminal from an IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function;

or

The second determining unit is configured to determine the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node;

A third judging unit, configured to judge whether the terminal needs to be assigned a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal;

The second allocating unit is used to allocate a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal to the terminal if necessary, and send the label information to the core network user plane in the user plane establishment message, and the core network control plane function will send the label information to the core network user plane The label information is sent to the access network node.

In this embodiment, in the scenario of a fixed wireless UE, a simplified tunnel mechanism is used to establish a tunnel ID based on AN Node granularity, that is, UEs accessing the same AN Node share the same uplink and downlink user plane tunnel ID. The tunnel mechanism based on the AN Node granularity in the embodiment simplifies the tunnel management capability of the gateway and the base station side, simplifies the user plane tunnel identification message in the process, and saves tunnel resources.

Embodiment nine

Referring to FIG. 10 , the figure shows a flow of a method for tunneling user plane data in a cellular network at the node granularity of an access network, and the specific steps are as follows:

Step 1001. When the terminal provides the core network control plane function with tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information, the core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to use an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, and if so, proceed to step 1002 ; Otherwise, end this process;

Step 1002, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier used to distinguish the terminal connection;

Step 1003, the core network control plane function sends the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes an uplink and downlink channel according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node Transport mapping.

In this embodiment, optionally, the core network control plane function determines whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, including:

When the terminal provides tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information, the core network control plane function queries the terminal's subscription information;

The core network control plane function judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal according to the subscription information.

In this embodiment, optionally, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier used to distinguish the terminal connection, including:

The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user function according to the identity of the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel;

The core network control plane function assigns an IP address to the terminal from an IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function;

or

The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node;

The core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to assign a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal to the terminal;

If so, the core network control plane function assigns label information to the terminal, and sends the label information to the core network user plane function in the user plane setup message, and the core network control plane function sends the label information to the access network node.

Embodiment ten

Referring to FIG. 11 , a core network control plane function is shown in the figure, and the core network control plane function 1100 includes:

The second judging module 1101 is configured to judge whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal when the terminal provides the tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide the tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function;

The second determining module 1102 is configured to determine a terminal identifier for distinguishing the connection of the terminal if the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal;

The third sending module 1103 is configured to send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node Transport mapping.

Optionally, the second judging module includes:

A query unit, configured to query the subscription information of the terminal when the terminal provides tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function;

The fourth judging unit is configured to judge whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal according to the subscription information.

It should be understood that reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

In various embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its functions and internal logic, rather than by the embodiment of the present invention. The implementation process constitutes any limitation

Additionally, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" in this article is only an association relationship describing associated objects, which means that there may be three relationships, for example, A and/or B may mean: A exists alone, and A and B exist at the same time , there are three cases of B alone. In addition, the character "/" in this article generally indicates that the contextual objects are an "or" relationship.

In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining B according to A does not mean determining B only according to A, and B may also be determined according to A and/or other information.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed methods and devices may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or May be integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored, or not implemented. In another point, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may be physically included separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

The above-mentioned integrated units implemented in the form of software functional units may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional units are stored in a storage medium, and include several instructions to enable a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute some steps of the sending and receiving methods described in various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM for short), random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM for short), magnetic disk or optical disk, etc., which can store program codes. medium.

What has been described above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for those skilled in the art, some improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles described in the present invention. These improvements and modifications are also described in Within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (23)

1. A method for cellular network user plane data tunnel transmission of access network node granularity, characterized in that, comprising: The access network node judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal; If it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal, after the session connection between the core network control plane function and the core network user plane function is established, the access network node from the core network control plane function receiving a terminal identifier for distinguishing the terminal connection; The access network node establishes a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregation tunnel, and the information of the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node; The access network node sends the terminal identifier to the terminal. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access network node judges whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal, comprising: The access network node receives the tunnel selection auxiliary information sent by the terminal; The access network node judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node for the terminal according to the tunnel selection auxiliary information. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access network node receives the terminal identifier of the terminal from the core network control plane function, comprising: The identifier of the user plane function of the core network node at the opposite end of the aggregation tunnel of the access network node sent by the access network node to the core network control plane function; The access network node receives the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function; Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel; or The access network node sends the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node to the core network control plane function, or the access network node sends the terminal type to the core network control plane function; The access network node receives the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function; Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal identifier is label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal, and the label information is assigned to the terminal by the core network control plane function and controlled by the core network The plane function transmits the label information to the user plane function of the core network through the user plane establishment request message. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the uplink data packet is transmitted to the access network node, the method further comprises: If the access network node only supports an aggregation tunnel mechanism, the access network node maps the uplink data packet with the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, and forwards the uplink data packet to a corresponding core network user plane function; or If the access network node supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism and other tunnel mechanisms, the access network node maps the wireless transmission channel identifier with the tunnel identifier, and forwards the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the downlink data packet is transmitted to the access network node through an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, the method further comprises: The access network node identifies the terminal identifier in the downlink data packet; The access network node forwards the downlink data packet to the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the terminal identifier and the downlink transmission channel. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the terminal identifier is an empty IP address, the method further comprises: The access network node establishes the mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the access network node establishes a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message, comprising: The access network node identifies the mapping relationship between the MAC address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel in the DHCP request message, wherein the DHCP request message is sent by the terminal to the DHCP server after the connection is established to request allocation of a valid IP address news; The access network node identifies the DHCP response message, and obtains the mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the MAC address of the terminal; The access network node establishes the mapping relationship between the terminal's IP address and the downlink transmission channel according to the mapping relationship between the terminal's MAC address and the downlink transmission channel, and the mapping relationship between the terminal's IP address and the terminal's MAC address. 9. A method for tunneling cellular network user plane data at the node granularity of an access network, comprising: When it is determined that the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal, the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier allocated to the terminal; The core network control plane function sends the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the core network control plane function determines the terminal identifier assigned to the terminal, comprising: The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user function according to the identity of the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel; The core network control plane function assigns an IP address to the terminal from an IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function; or The core network control plane function determines the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node; The core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to assign a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal to the terminal; If so, the core network control plane function assigns label information to the terminal, and sends the label information to the core network user plane function in the user plane setup message, and the core network control plane function sends the label information to the access network node. 11. A method for tunneling cellular network user plane data at the node granularity of an access network, comprising: When the terminal provides the tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function or does not provide the tunnel selection auxiliary information, the core network control plane function judges whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal; If it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, the core network control plane function determines a terminal identifier for distinguishing the connection of the terminal; The core network control plane function sends the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the core network control plane function determines whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, including: When the terminal provides tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information, the core network control plane function queries the terminal's subscription information; The core network control plane function judges whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal according to the subscription information. 13. An access network node, comprising: The first judging module is used to judge whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal; The receiving module is configured to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal, and receive it from the core network control plane function after the session connection between the core network control plane function and the core network user plane function is established. A terminal identifier used to distinguish the terminal connection; The first mapping module is configured to establish a mapping relationship for uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, the tunnel information of the aggregated tunnel, and the information of the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node; A first sending module, configured for the access network node to send the terminal identifier to the terminal. 14. The access network node according to claim 13, wherein the first judging module comprises: The first receiving unit is configured to receive the tunnel selection auxiliary information sent by the terminal; The first judging unit is configured to judge, according to the tunnel selection auxiliary information, whether to use an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of an access network node for the terminal. 15. The access network node according to claim 13, wherein the receiving module comprises: The first sending unit is configured to send to the core network control plane function the identity of the access network node aggregation tunnel peer core network user plane function; The second receiving unit is configured to receive the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function; Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel; or The second sending unit is configured to send the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node to the core network control plane function, or send the terminal type to the core network control plane function; A third receiving unit, configured to receive the IP address of the terminal sent by the core network control plane function; Wherein, the IP address of the terminal is determined by the core network control plane function according to the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel. 16. The access network node according to claim 13, wherein the terminal identifier is label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal, and the label information is assigned to the terminal by the core network control plane function, and the core network The network control plane transmits the label information to the core network user plane function through the user plane setup request message. 17. The access network node according to claim 13, wherein when the uplink data packet is transmitted to the access network node, the access network node further comprises: The uplink data packet transmission module is used to map the uplink data packet with the aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node if the access network node only supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism, and forward the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function ;or If the access network node supports the aggregation tunnel mechanism and other tunnel mechanisms, map the wireless transmission channel identifier and the tunnel identifier, and forward the uplink data packet to the corresponding core network user plane function. 18. The access network node according to claim 13, wherein if the downlink data packet is transmitted to the access network node through an aggregation tunnel at the granularity of the access network node, the access network node further comprises: A downlink data packet identification module, configured to identify the terminal identifier in the downlink data packet; The downlink data packet transmission module is configured to forward the downlink data packet to the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the terminal identifier and the downlink transmission channel. 19. The access network node according to claim 13, wherein if the terminal identifier is an empty IP address, the access network node further comprises: The second mapping module is configured to establish a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal and the downlink transmission channel by identifying the DHCP message. 20. A core network control plane function, characterized in that, comprising: The first determining module is configured to determine the terminal identifier assigned to the terminal when determining that the terminal needs to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network; The second sending module is configured to send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship. 21. The core network control plane function according to claim 20, wherein the first determining module comprises: The first determination unit is configured to determine the corresponding core network user function according to the identification of the core network user plane function at the opposite end of the access network node aggregation tunnel; a first allocation unit, configured to allocate an IP address to the terminal from an IP address pool corresponding to the core network user plane function; or The second determining unit is configured to determine the corresponding core network user plane function according to the terminal type and the identifier of the access network node; A third judging unit, configured to judge whether the terminal needs to be assigned a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal; The second allocating unit is used to allocate a label information used to indicate the connection of the terminal to the terminal if necessary, and send the label information to the core network user plane in the user plane establishment message, and the core network control plane function will send the label information to the core network user plane The label information is sent to the access network node. 22. A core network control plane function, characterized in that it comprises: The second judging module is used to judge whether to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal when the terminal provides the tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide the tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function; The second determining module is configured to determine a terminal identifier for distinguishing the connection of the terminal if the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network needs to be used for the terminal; The third sending module is configured to send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the access network node, so that the access network node establishes uplink and downlink transmission according to the terminal identifier, tunnel information, and information about the terminal-oriented downlink transmission channel of the access network node mapping relationship. 23. The core network control plane function according to claim 22, wherein the second judging module comprises: A query unit, configured to query the subscription information of the terminal when the terminal provides tunnel selection auxiliary information or does not provide tunnel selection auxiliary information to the core network control plane function; The fourth judging unit is configured to judge whether it is necessary to use the aggregation tunnel at the node granularity of the access network for the terminal according to the subscription information.