CN100426777C - System and method for accessing 3GPP deductive network by non-3GPP technology - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a system for accessing a 3GPP evolution network through a non-third-generation partnership (3GPP) technology. The system includes connected non-3GPP anchor points and anchor points between different access systems; The user terminal (UE) accessed by 3GPP technology establishes a transmission tunnel that supports access; the anchor point between different access systems is used to establish a transmission tunnel between itself and a non-3GPP anchor point that supports communication between the UE and the external network, and is also used for An IP address for accessing an external network is allocated to the UE. The present invention also discloses a method for accessing a 3GPP evolution network through a non-3GPP technology. The non-3GPP anchor point establishes a transmission tunnel supporting access for a UE connected through a non-3GPP technology, and also establishes a transmission tunnel supporting communication between the UE and an external network. ; and allocate an IP address for accessing the external network to the UE. Both the system and the method of the present invention ensure that the UE can smoothly access the 3GPP evolution network through the non-3GPP technology.

Description

System and method for accessing 3GPP evolved network through non-3GPP technology

technical field

The invention relates to the communication field, in particular to a system and method for accessing a 3GPP evolution network through a non-3rd Generation Partnership (3GPP) technology.

Background technique

With the development of communication technology, 3GPP is trying to study an evolution network for future communication. Generally, the evolved network studied by 3GPP can be called a 3GPP evolved network; the 3GPP evolved network is mainly composed of an evolved radio access network (Evolved RAN) and an evolved packet core network (Evolved Packet Core, EPC).

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 is a diagram of a 3GPP evolved network architecture in the prior art. In Figure 1, the EPC includes the connected Mobility Management Entity (MME)/User Plane Entity (UPE) and Inter Access System Anchor (Inter AS Anchor) between different access systems; MME/UPE is connected to EvolvedRAN, Inter AS Anchor). The AS Anchor is connected to an external network, a non-3GPP IP Access Network (non 3GPP IP Access Network), and a 3GPP IP Access Network (3GPP IP Access Network). The 3GPP IP Access Network can be a wireless local area network (3GPP IP Access Network) ( WLAN 3GPP IP Access Network), etc.; MME/UPE and Inter AS Anchor are also connected to the general packet radio service core network (GPRS Core). The GPRS Core includes communication entities of 2.5G, and communication entities such as GPRS Service Support Node (SGSN) and GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN) of 3G.

Furthermore, GPRS Core can also be connected with the Global System for Mobile Communications/Enhanced Global System for Mobile Communications Data Rate Radio Access Network (GSM/EDGE RAN, GERAN), and can also be connected with the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). connected to the incoming network; in addition, the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is connected to the EPC, and the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity is connected to the EPC and the external network respectively.

Since the communication protocol for the above-mentioned 3GPP evolved network architecture is still in the formulation stage, the current communication protocol only provides the following principled description: the user terminal (UE) can access the EPC of the 3GPP evolved network through non-3GPP technologies; but the communication The agreement has not clearly stipulated how to enable the UE to access the 3GPP evolved network through non-3GPP technologies. It can be seen that currently there is still a lack of implementation method for enabling UE to access 3GPP evolved network through non-3GPP technology, so UE cannot smoothly access 3GPP evolved network through non-3GPP technology at present.

Contents of the invention

In view of this, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a system for accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology, so that a UE can access a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology, so that a UE can access a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology.

In order to achieve the above object, technical solution of the present invention is achieved in that way:

The invention discloses a system for accessing a 3GPP evolution network through a non-3GPP technology, which is characterized in that the system includes a connected non-3GPP anchor point (non 3GPP Anchor) and an Inter AS Anchor;

Among them, non 3GPP Anchor is used to establish a transmission tunnel that supports access for UEs that access through non-3GPP technologies;

Inter AS Anchor, connected to the external network, is used to establish a transmission tunnel between itself and the non-3GPP Anchor to support communication between the UE and the external network, and is also used to assign an IP address for the UE to access the external network.

The non 3GPP Anchor is further used to perform identity authentication or service authorization operations on the UE before establishing the transmission tunnel supporting UE access.

non 3GPP Anchor, which is further used to record the current access network information of UE accessed through non-3GPP technology;

Inter AS Anchor, which is further used to perform at least one of the following actions:

Track and record the access mode currently used by the UE, allocate an IP address for the UE to access the external network, and perform operations related to policies and charging for the UE.

The non-3GPP technology applied when the UE accesses is supported by the non3GPP IPAccess Network connected to the non-3GPP Anchor.

The non 3GPP Anchor is further connected to MME/UPE, and/or connected to GPRS Core;

Inter AS Anchor is further connected with GPRS Core and/or HSS.

The transmission tunnel established by the non 3GPP Anchor to support UE access is an IP security (IPsec) tunnel between itself and the UE;

The transmission tunnel established by the Inter AS Anchor to support communication between the UE and the external network connected to the Inter AS Anchor is a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel.

The present invention also discloses a method for accessing a 3GPP evolution network through a non-3GPP technology, which is applied to an evolution packet core network composed of connected non-3GPP Anchor and Inter AS Anchor; the method includes the following steps:

A. Non 3GPP Anchor establishes a transmission tunnel that supports access for UEs that access through non-3GPP technologies; a transmission tunnel that supports communication between the UE and the external network connected to the Inter AS Anchor is established between the Inter AS Anchor and the non 3GPP Anchor;

B. Inter AS Anchor assigns UE an IP address for accessing external networks.

Step A is triggered by a service request sent by the UE through a non-3GPP technology.

In step A, the process for the non 3GPP Anchor to establish the transmission tunnel supporting UE access is as follows:

The non 3GPP Anchor communicates with the non 3GPP IP Access Network to establish an IPsec tunnel between the non3GPP Anchor and the UE; and the established IPsec tunnel is used as a transmission tunnel for subsequent data transmission between the UE and the non3GPP Anchor.

In step A, the process of establishing a transmission tunnel that supports communication between the UE and the external network connected to the Inter AS Anchor is:

The non 3GPP Anchor communicates with the Inter AS Anchor to establish a GTP tunnel between the non 3GPP Anchor and the Inter AS Anchor; and the established GTP tunnel is used as a transmission tunnel for subsequent data transmission between the UE and the external network.

In step A, the process for the non 3GPP Anchor to establish the transmission tunnel supporting UE access is as follows:

The non 3GPP Anchor establishes an IPsec tunnel between the non3GPP Anchor and the UE through communication and interaction with the non 3GPP IP Access Network; and uses the established IPsec tunnel as a transmission tunnel for subsequent data transmission between the UE and the non3GPP Anchor;

The process of establishing a transmission tunnel that supports communication between the UE and the external network connected to the Inter AS Anchor is:

The non 3GPP Anchor communicates with the Inter AS Anchor to establish a GTP tunnel between the non 3GPP Anchor and the Inter AS Anchor; and the established GTP tunnel is used as a transmission tunnel for subsequent data transmission between the UE and the external network.

In step B, the process of assigning the IP address is:

The non 3GPP Anchor sends an access request for the UE to the Inter AS Anchor; when the Inter ASAnchor receives the access request from the non 3GPP Anchor, it allocates an IP address for the UE to access the external network, and sends the allocated IP address to the UE .

Before step A, the non-3GPP Anchor further performs identity authentication or service authorization operations on the UE.

Compared with the prior art, in the system and method provided by the present invention for accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology, the non-3GPP anchor can establish a transmission tunnel supporting access for UEs accessing through a non-3GPP technology, and Establish a transmission tunnel between the Inter AS Anchor and the non-3GPP anchor to support the communication between the UE and the external network connected to the Inter AS Anchor; the Inter AS Anchor also assigns the UE an IP address for accessing the external network.

It can be seen that both the system and the method provided by the present invention ensure that the UE can smoothly access the 3GPP evolved network through the non-3GPP technology.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a 3GPP evolved network architecture diagram of the prior art;

Fig. 2 is a 3GPP evolution network architecture diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology based on the architecture shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a state of accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology when roaming in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a state of accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology during roaming according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

In the system and method for accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology provided by the present invention, a non-3GPP anchor can establish a transmission tunnel supporting access for a UE that accesses through a non-3GPP technology, and between the Inter AS Anchor and the non-3GPP A transmission tunnel is established between the anchor points to support communication between the UE and the external network connected to the Inter AS Anchor; the Inter AS Anchor also assigns the UE an IP address for accessing the external network.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a diagram of a 3GPP evolved network architecture in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 2, the EPC includes two connected MME/UPE, Inter AS Anchor and non 3GPP Anchor; MME/UPE is connected to Evolved RAN, Inter AS Anchor is connected to the external network, non 3GPP Anchor is connected to non 3GPP IP Access Network, 3GPP IP The Access Network is connected, and the 3GPP IP Access Network can be a WLAN 3GPP IP Access Network, etc. Obviously, the non-3GPP technology and 3GPP technology applied when the UE accesses the EPC are supported by non-3GPP IP AccessNetwork and 3GPP IP Access Network respectively.

Moreover, MME/UPE, Inter AS Anchor and non 3GPP Anchor are also connected to GPRS Core as shown in Figure 1, such as: MME/UPE, Inter AS Anchor and non 3GPP Anchor are all connected to SGSN. Furthermore, the SGSN and its connected GGSN are also connected to the GERAN, and may also be connected to access networks such as UTRAN; in addition, the HSS is connected to the EPC, and the PCRF entity is connected to the EPC and the external network respectively.

Specifically, the interface connecting Inter AS Anchor to SGSN, MME/UPE, and non 3GPP Anchor can be S5 interface, the interface connecting Inter AS Anchor to external network can be Gi interface; the interface connecting MME/UPE to SGSN, non 3GPP Anchor The interface can be a GTP interface, and the interface connecting the non 3GPP Anchor to the SGSN can also be a GTP interface; the interface connecting the MME/UPE to the Evolved RAN can be an S1 interface; the non 3GPP Anchor and non 3GPP IPAccess Network, WLAN 3GPP IP Access Network, etc. The interface connecting 3GPP IP AccessNetwork can be S2 interface; the interface connecting SGSN and GGSN can be Gn interface; the interface connecting SGSN, GGSN and GERAN, UTRAN can be Gb interface; the interface connecting HSS and EPC can be S6 interface, PCRF entity The interface connected to the EPC may be an S7 interface, and the interface connected to the PCRF entity and the external network may be an Rx+ interface.

Functionally speaking, the non 3GPP Anchor is responsible for recording the current access network information of the UE accessed through 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies. For example, when the UE accesses the non 3GPP Anchor through the WLAN 3GPP IP AccessNetwork, the non 3GPP Anchor passes The communication interaction between UEs records the information of the access network where the UEs are currently located. The non 3GPP Anchor also has the function of authentication, authorization and statistical server/proxy (AAA Server/Proxy), which can perform access authentication and service authorization for UEs accessed through non-3GPP technologies, such as: currently common IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service authorization. Usually, the communication between UE and non-3GPP Anchor is based on IKEv2 mobility and multi-homing (MOBIKE) protocol.

Inter AS Anchor is responsible for tracking and recording the current access mode used by UE, such as: GPRS access or non-3GPP access, etc. Inter AS Anchor can also assign UE an IP address for accessing 3GPP packet domain-based services. Furthermore, Inter AS Anchor also has a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF), which can perform policy and charging operations similar to those in 3G. In specific applications, InterAS Anchor can use GTP protocol to communicate with connected access systems.

In practical applications, when the UE wants to access the EPC through non-3GPP technology, the UE will send a service request to the non-3GPP Anchor through the non3GPP IP Access Network, and the service request will be successful based on the currently applied DNS resolution process and other addressing methods. Send to non 3GPP Anchor.

When the non 3GPP Anchor receives the service request from the UE, it confirms that the UE will access the EPC, and then performs identity authentication and service authorization operations on the UE. Specifically, the non-3GPP Anchor can realize its own AAA Server/Proxy function, and use the existing technology to complete the identity authentication and service authorization operations for the UE through communication and interaction with the UE.

Furthermore, the non 3GPP Anchor can also request the HSS or AAAServer/Proxy to perform identity authentication and service authorization on the UE by sending an authentication request, etc., and the HSS or AAA Server/Proxy will apply the current There is a technology that completes identity authentication and service authorization operations for the UE through communication and interaction with the UE. Of course, when the UE's identity authentication and service authorization operations are completed, the HSS or AAA Server/Proxy will notify the non-3GPP Anchor of the authentication success or failure by sending a message.

After successfully completing the identity authentication and service authorization operations on the UE, the non 3GPP Anchor establishes a transmission tunnel that supports UE access; a transmission tunnel that supports communication between the UE and the external network is also established between the Inter AS Anchor and the non 3GPP Anchor.

Specifically, the process for the non 3GPP Anchor to establish the transmission tunnel that supports UE access is usually as follows: the non 3GPP Anchor uses the existing technology to establish a currently commonly used IPsec tunnel through communication and interaction with the non 3GPP IP Access Network; and The established IPsec tunnel is used as a transmission tunnel for subsequent data transmission between the UE and the non-3GPP Anchor. In practical applications, the non 3GPP Anchor may send a tunnel establishment success message to the UE after the IPsec tunnel is established, and notify the UE that the IPsec tunnel has been successfully established.

The method of establishing a transmission tunnel between the Inter AS Anchor and the non 3GPP Anchor to support the communication between the UE and the external network is usually: the non 3GPP Anchor uses the existing technology to establish the currently commonly used GTP tunnel through the communication interaction with the Inter AS Anchor; and The established GTP tunnel is used as a transmission tunnel for subsequent data transmission between the UE and the external network.

In addition to establishing the above-mentioned transmission tunnel, the Inter AS Anchor must allocate an IP address for the UE to access the external network.

The specific process of assigning the IP address is usually: the non 3GPP Anchor sends an access request such as a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation request for the UE to the Inter AS Anchor; the Inter AS Anchor receives the access request from the non 3GPP Anchor , allocate an IP address for accessing the external network to the UE, and send the allocated IP address to the UE.

The process for the Inter AS Anchor to send the IP address to the UE is usually: the Inter AS Anchor will carry the IP address allocated for the UE in the PDP Context Activation Response message and send it to the non 3GPP Anchor, and then the non 3GPP Anchor will send the PDP Context Activation Response message The included IP address is sent to the UE. Specifically, the non-3GPP Anchor may carry the IP address in the tunnel establishment success message and send it to the UE.

At this point, the UE can normally perform subsequent data communication with the external network through the non 3GPP anchor and Inter AS anchor.

It can be seen from the above that when the transmission tunnel between the UE and non 3GPP anchor, Inter ASanchor, and external network is successfully established, and the IP address for accessing the external network is allocated to the UE, the UE has successfully connected to the EPC. ; As for the subsequent data communication process between the UE and the external network, it is a further operation that the UE can perform. In addition, since the main purpose of performing the identity authentication and service authorization operations on the UE is to improve communication security and distinguish the services that different user terminals can accept, the operation of the identity authentication and service authorization on the UE It is not a key issue that affects the normal access of the UE to the EPC; obviously, in practical applications, it is also possible not to perform the above-mentioned identity authentication and service authorization operations on the UE, but to directly establish connections between the UE and non3GPP anchors, Inter AS anchors, and external networks. transmission tunnel, and allocate an IP address for the UE to access the external network.

To sum up, the 3GPP evolved network architecture shown in Figure 2 enables the UE to successfully access the 3GPP evolved network through non-3GPP technologies; and the key communication entities in the 3GPP evolved network are non3GPP anchor and Inter AS anchor. Furthermore, it is not difficult to see that the functions of non 3GPP anchor and InterAS anchor are similar to SGSN and GGSN respectively; therefore, in practical application, it is necessary to determine the specific operation performed by non 3GPP anchor and Inter AS anchor and the communication based on the operation When using a protocol, you can refer to the corresponding operations performed by the SGSN and GGSN and the communication protocol on which the operations are based.

If it is to be described based on the architecture shown in FIG. 2 , the process of UE accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology is shown in FIG. 3 . Figure 3 is a flow chart of accessing a 3GPP evolved network through a non-3GPP technology based on the architecture shown in Figure 2. The steps included in the process have been described in detail in Figure 2, so only the process shown in Figure 3 includes A brief description of the steps:

Step 310: The non-3GPP Anchor receives the service request sent by the UE through the non-3GPP technology. Of course, the service request is usually sent to the non 3GPP Anchor through the non 3GPP IP Access Network.

Step 320: The non 3GPP Anchor performs identity authentication and service authorization operations on the UE by itself or by requesting the HSS and/or AAA Server. In practical applications, this step may not be performed.

Step 330: The non 3GPP Anchor establishes a transmission tunnel that supports UE access, such as an IPsec tunnel; a transmission tunnel that supports communication between the UE and an external network, such as a GTP tunnel, is established between the Inter AS Anchor and the non 3GPP Anchor.

Step 340: The Inter AS Anchor assigns the UE an IP address for accessing the external network.

Usually there is no strict chronological order between step 330 and step 340, and step 330 and step 340 may be executed simultaneously.

It can be seen that the process shown in FIG. 3 enables the UE to smoothly access the 3GPP evolved network through the non-3GPP technology.

In practical applications, UEs after EPC that access 3GPP evolved networks through non-3GPP technologies may roam from the previously home public land mobile network (HPLMN) to the visited public land mobile network (VPLMN), which will cause the UE to communicate with The connection relationship between the external networks changes. Specifically, the changed connection relationship between the UE and the external network can be shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 .

In Figure 4, the UE accesses the non 3GPP anchor in the VPLMN through the non 3GPP IP Access Network in the VPLMN, and performs data communication with the external network through the non 3GPP anchor and the Inter ASAnchor in the HPLMN.

In Figure 5, the UE can access the non 3GPP anchor in the VPLMN through the non 3GPP IP Access Network in the VPLMN, and perform data communication with the external network through the non 3GPP anchor and the InterAS Anchor in the VPLMN; The non 3GPP IP Access Network in the VPLMN is connected to the non 3GPP anchor in the HPLMN, and performs data communication with the external network through the non 3GPP anchor and the Inter AS Anchor in the HPLMN.

Finally, it should be noted that: as logical entities, MME, UPE, and Inter AS Anchor can be set in different physical entities, or they can be set in the same physical entity, or two of them can be set in the same physical entity middle.

It can be seen from the above that the system and method for accessing the 3GPP evolved network through the non-3GPP technology provided by the present invention can ensure that the UE can smoothly access the 3GPP evolved network through the non-3GPP technology.

Claims (13)

1, a kind of system by non-3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP technology access 3GPP evolvement network is characterized in that this system comprises anchor point Inter AS Anchor between continuous non-3GPP anchor point non 3GPP Anchor and different access systems;

Wherein, non 3GPP Anchor is used to the user terminal UE that inserts by non-3GPP technology to set up the transmission tunnel of supporting access;

Inter AS Anchor links to each other with external network, is used for setting up between self and non 3GPP Anchor the transmission tunnel of supporting UE and external network communication, also is used to UE to divide and is used in the IP address of visiting external network.

2, the system as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described non 3GPP Anchor is further used for before the transmission tunnel of setting up described support UE access UE being carried out identification authentication or service authorization operation.

3, system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that:

Non 3GPP Anchor is further used for writing down the access network information at the current place of inserting by non-3GPP technology of UE;

Inter AS Anchor is further used for carrying out at least one in the following operation:

Follow the tracks of and the access way of the current employing of record UE, divide the IP address that is used in the visit external network and UE is carried out and the tactful operation relevant with charging for UE.

4, system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that, the described non-3GPP technology of using when UE inserts is supported by the non-3GPP Internet protocol Access Network non 3GPP IPAccess Network that links to each other with non 3GPP Anchor.

5, system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that:

Non 3GPP Anchor further links to each other with Mobility Management Entity MME/ user entity UPE, and/or links to each other with general packet radio service core net GPRS Core;

Inter AS Anchor further links to each other with GPRS Core and/or home subscriber server HSS.

6, system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that, the transmission tunnel that the described support UE that non 3GPP Anchor sets up inserts is the IP safety IPsec tunnel between self and the UE;

The transmission tunnel of the external network communication that the described support UE that Inter AS Anchor sets up is connected with Inter AS Anchor is the GPRS Tunnel Protocol GTP tunnel.

7, a kind ofly insert the method for 3GPP evolvement network, be applied to by among the non3GPP Anchor that links to each other, the evolution block core net EPC that Inter AS Anchor is formed by non-3GPP technology; It is characterized in that this method may further comprise the steps:

A.non 3GPP Anchor sets up the transmission tunnel of supporting access for the UE that inserts by non-3GPP technology; Between Inter AS Anchor and non 3GPP Anchor, set up the transmission tunnel of the external network communication of supporting that UE is connected with Inter AS Anchor;

B.Inter AS Anchor is that UE divides the IP address that is used in the visit external network.

8, method as claimed in claim 7 is characterized in that, steps A is triggered by the service request that described UE sends by non-3GPP technology.

9, method as claimed in claim 7 is characterized in that, in the steps A, the process that non 3GPP Anchor sets up the transmission tunnel of described support UE access is:

Non 3GPP Anchor by with the communication interaction of non 3GPP IP Access Network, set up the IPsec tunnel between non3GPP Anchor and the UE; And the transmission tunnel of this IPsec tunnel that will set up when carrying out subsequent data transmission as UE and non3GPP Anchor.

10, method as claimed in claim 7 is characterized in that, in the steps A, described foundation supports the process in the transmission tunnel of the external network communication that UE is connected with Inter AS Anchor to be:

Non 3GPP Anchor by with the communication interaction of Inter AS Anchor, set up the GTP tunnel between non 3GPP Anchor and the Inter AS Anchor; And the transmission tunnel of this GTP tunnel that will set up when carrying out subsequent data transmission as UE and external network.

11, method as claimed in claim 7 is characterized in that, in the steps A, the process that non 3GPP Anchor sets up the transmission tunnel of described support UE access is:

Non 3GPP Anchor by with the communication interaction of non 3GPP IP Access Network, set up the IPsec tunnel between non3GPP Anchor and the UE; And the transmission tunnel of this IPsec tunnel that will set up when carrying out subsequent data transmission as UE and non3GPP Anchor;

Described foundation supports the process in the transmission tunnel of the external network communication that UE is connected with Inter AS Anchor to be:

Non 3GPP Anchor by with the communication interaction of Inter AS Anchor, set up the GTP tunnel between non 3GPP Anchor and the Inter AS Anchor; And the transmission tunnel of this GTP tunnel that will set up when carrying out subsequent data transmission as UE and external network.

12, as each described method of claim 7 to 11, it is characterized in that, among the step B, distribute the process of described IP address to be:

Non 3GPP Anchor is to the access request of Inter AS Anchor transmission at UE; When Inter ASAnchor receives from the access request of non 3GPP Anchor,, and IP address allocated is sent to UE for UE divides the IP address that is used in the visit external network.

13, as each described method of claim 7 to 11, it is characterized in that, before the steps A, further UE is carried out identification authentication or service authorization operation by non 3GPP Anchor.

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