CN101257720A - Method and device for realizing network service provider discovery - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method and a corresponding device for realizing NSP discovery. The method sends the NSP information supported by the current NAP on the network side; at the same time, the network side sends the first change information of the NSP supported by the currently valid NAP at a fixed period; When the terminal device accesses the network, obtain the first change information of the NSP supported by the NAP that can be accessed at the current location fixedly sent by the network side; determine whether the first change information is consistent with the stored NSP change information supported by the NAP, If the judgment is yes, obtain the stored NSP information accessible to the NAP; otherwise, obtain the accessible NSP information supported by the NAP sent by the network side; add the obtained NSP information to the found available NSP information. The invention can reduce the additional occupation of air interface resources, and effectively reduce the time consumption in the process of network discovery and selection. This enables the terminal device to track the update of the NSP information supported on the NAP in time.

Description

Method and device for realizing network service provider discovery

This application is a divisional application with the application number 200510035627.1, the filing date is July 1, 2005, and the title of the invention is "Method and Device for Realizing Network Service Provider Discovery".

technical field

The invention relates to the access technology in the wireless communication network, more specifically, the invention relates to a method and device for realizing network service provider discovery when accessing in the wireless communication network.

Background technique

With the development of wireless communication technology, new network forms continue to appear in wireless communication networks, such as the current fast-growing Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Forum (WiMax, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Forum) network and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN, Wireless LocalArea Network) ) network, etc., usually include user end equipment, network access providers established by different operators, and network service providers in the wireless communication network. Taking the WiMax network as an example, the WiMax network based on the IEEE 802.16 standard Can provide a higher access rate, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2, where Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the WiMax network reference model in the case of non-roaming, and Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the roaming WiMax network reference model.

Referring to Figure 1, in the non-roaming situation, the access service network (ASN, Access Service Network) is connected to the connection service network (CSN, Connection Service Network), and the SS/MSS accesses the core network CSN through the access network ASN. Referring to Figure 2, in the roaming situation, the ASN is connected to the Visited CSN, the Visited CSN is connected to the Home Connection Service Network (Home CSN, Home Connection Service Network), and the SS/MSS is implemented in the Home CSN through the ASN and the Visited CSN. Authentication and authentication to enjoy the services provided by Visited CSN and HomeCSN.

In general, ASN is operated by Network Access Provider (NAP, Network Access Provider), and CSN is operated by Network Service Provider (NSP, Network Service Provider). In actual deployment, NAP, visited network service provider (Visited NSP, Visited Network Service Provider) and home network service provider (Home NSP, Home Network Service Provider) may be different operators, and may exist in the same place Covered by multiple ASNs, each ASN may be connected to multiple NSP networks. In the WiMax network, there are two different deployment methods, one is the NAP+NSP method, that is, the relationship between NAP and NSP is one-to-one correspondence, and the other is the ASN sharing method, that is, one ASN and multiple NSPs exist Roaming agreement, shared by multiple NSPs. Possible deployment methods in a WiMax network are shown in Figure 3.

Both NAP_4 and NAP_6 have coverage in the same area, where NSP_1, NSP_2 and NSP_3 share NAP_6; NAP_4 and NSP_4 are bound.

In the ASN sharing mode, the client device will face a problem, that is, how to know which NSPs the current ASN is shared with, that is, how to know which NSPs are available through the current ASN, which is more and more NSPs appearing in wireless communication networks The problem of selection is how the network provides the information of the currently available network to the user end equipment, and the user end equipment can then select information of all accessible NSPs at the current location to realize access to the network.

Currently, there are two methods for realizing NSP selection in a wireless communication network, one is by setting broadcast messages. For example, according to the current IEEE802.16 protocol, by adding the broadcast message of Service-Identity-Information, the base station (BS, Base Station) can use the broadcast message to actively and periodically broadcast the NSPs it can access Information, and related NSP information can also be broadcast when SS/MSS requests. The information elements included in the message are shown in Table 1 below:

Table 1

symbol size note Service-Identity-Information format(){ Management Message Type＝To Be Assigned 8 bits TLV encoded Information Variables TLV specifics (see Table 2)

The TLV included in the broadcast message includes at least one or more NSP identifiers. The NSP logo is defined by the TLV method shown in Table 2 below:

Table 2

type length value To-Be-Assigned To-Be-Defined NSP identity

According to this solution, when the UE performs NSP discovery, the SS/MSS listens to the broadcast message of the BS and receives the NSP information carried in the message periodically sent by the BS. If the waiting time is too long, the SS/MSS can also pass the RNG- The message elements shown in Table 3 are carried in the REQ message to actively request the BS to send related broadcast messages.

table 3

type length value To-Be-Assigned 1 NULL character

If the above message element is carried in the RNG-REQ message, it indicates that the SS/MSS requests the BS to send the supported NSP list information, otherwise, there is no requirement.

The above method of transmitting NSP information through the broadcast message method to realize NSP discovery has the following problems:

1. The delay is too large: Since broadcasting the NSP list takes a period, SS/MSS needs to wait for a period of time to receive relevant broadcast information;

2. Waste of downlink air interface resources: If a relatively small period is used to send related broadcast messages, more air interface resources are required to send related messages;

3. Uplink air interface resources are wasted. If the SS/MSS requests to send related broadcast messages, random access resources need to be occupied.

Contents of the invention

The technical problem solved by the present invention is to provide a method and device for realizing network service provider discovery, so as to reduce the extra occupation of air interface resources during network access and the time consumption in the process of NSP discovery.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention implements a method for network service provider discovery, which is used in a wireless communication network including a network access provider, a client device, and the network service provider. The method includes, the network side sending process :

A. The network side sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider; at the same time

B. The network side regularly sends the first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently effective network access provider; and

Client device discovery process:

C. When the client device accesses the network, it obtains the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that can be accessed at the current location and is fixedly sent by the network side;

D. Judging whether the first change information is consistent with the stored change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider, if it is judged to be yes, obtaining the stored information that the network access provider can access Internet service provider information, go to step F, otherwise, go to step E;

E. Obtain information on accessible network service providers supported by the network access provider sent by the network side;

F. Add the obtained network service provider information to the found available network service provider information.

Wherein, in step A, the network side also sends the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider.

Wherein, in step A, the network side sends the information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider and the second change information at a fixed period or at the request of the user terminal equipment.

Wherein, step D further includes storing the obtained information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider together with the obtained second change information of the network service provider.

Wherein, the first change information and the second change information are the same.

In step A, the network side sends the information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider and the second change information of the network access provider through a MAC layer management message.

Wherein, in step A, the network side sends the first change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider through the downlink mapping message DL_MAP.

Wherein, the user terminal equipment is a mobile subscriber station or a subscriber station.

Correspondingly, the present invention implements a network-side sending device discovered by a network provider, which is used in a wireless communication network including a network access provider, a client device, and the network service provider. The device includes:

The first sending means is used for the network side to send the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider; and

The second sending means is used for the network side to send the first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently valid network access provider at a fixed period;

Wherein, the second sending means also sends the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider.

Wherein, the second sending means sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider and the second change information on the network side at a fixed period or at the request of the user terminal equipment.

Wherein, the first sending means sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider and the second change information of the network access provider through a MAC layer management message on the network side.

Wherein, the second sending means sends the first change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider through the downlink mapping message DL_MAP on the network side.

Wherein, the first change information is the same as the second change information.

Correspondingly, an apparatus for discovering client equipment of the present invention to realize network service provider discovery is used in a wireless communication network including a network access provider, client equipment, and the network service provider, and the apparatus includes :

The detection and acquisition device is used to detect and acquire the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that can be accessed at the current location and sent fixedly by the network side when the client device accesses the network;

Judging means, for judging whether the first change information is consistent with the stored change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider;

The first obtaining means is used for obtaining the stored information of the network service provider accessible to the network access provider when the judging means judges yes;

The second acquiring means is used to acquire the accessible network service provider information supported by the network access provider sent by the network side when the judging means judges as no;

The discovery adding means is used for adding the obtained network service provider information as the discovered available network service provider information.

In addition, a storage device is also included for storing the obtained information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider together with the obtained second change information of the network service provider.

Wherein, the user terminal equipment is a mobile subscriber station or a subscriber station.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

The present invention sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider on the network side; at the same time, the network side also sends the first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently effective network access provider at a fixed period; When the client device accesses the network, it obtains the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that can be accessed at the current location sent by the network side; and judges whether the first change information is consistent with the stored The change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider is consistent. If they are consistent, obtain the network service provider information stored by the user terminal that the network access provider can access. Accessible network service provider information supported by the network access provider, which can reduce the additional occupation of air interface resources for NSP information obtained from the network side; on the other hand, under normal circumstances, it can also effectively reduce network discovery and The time consumption in the selection process can also ensure that the user terminal equipment can update and receive NSP information in a timely manner.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a WiMax network reference model in a prior art non-roaming situation;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a WiMax network reference model for roaming situations in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a deployment mode in a WiMax network in the prior art;

Fig. 4 is the flow chart that the present invention realizes NSP discovery;

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of the preferred first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is the flow chart of the preferred second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the composition of the sending device on the network side of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the composition of the apparatus for discovering user end equipment in the present invention.

Detailed ways

The UE referred to in the present invention is generally a mobile subscriber station or subscriber station.

Usually, the client equipment needs to go through four stages in order to select the appropriate network access:

NAP discovery phase: the SS/MSS discovers all accessible NAP networks at its current location (the coverage area of the NAP network includes the current location of the SS/MSS).

Discovery phase for the NSP list of the current NAP: For each accessible NAP network, discover the NSPs that can be accessed through it.

All currently available NSP acquisition and selection phase: enumerate all NSPs that SS/MSS can access at the current location, form a list, and select a suitable NSP from the list according to certain rules.

According to the selected NSP, carry out the network access process: according to the selected NSP, select a suitable NAP (if one NSP can be accessed through two or more NAPs), and perform the initial access process.

The improvement of the present invention mainly involves the above-mentioned 1, 2 stages.

Referring to Fig. 4, this figure is a flow chart of the method for realizing NSP discovery in the present invention, the present invention can pre-configure and store the network service provider information that the network access provider can access in the client device, and the client device accesses the network When implementing NSP discovery, it mainly includes the sending process on the network side and the discovery process on the user end device. The specific implementation mainly includes the following steps:

Step 11, the network side sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider; at the same time, in step 12, the network side also sends the first change of the network service provider supported by the currently effective network access provider at a fixed period information.

The following describes the discovery process of the client device. The specific implementation mainly includes the following steps:

Step 13, when the client device accesses the network, obtain the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that is accessible at the current location and sent from the network side;

Step 14, judging whether the first change information is consistent with the stored network service provider change information supported by the network access provider, if it is judged to be yes, go to step 15, otherwise, go to step 16;

Step 15, obtaining the stored information of the network service provider accessible to the network access provider, and performing step 17;

Step 16, obtaining information on accessible network service providers supported by the network access provider sent by the network side;

Step 17, adding the obtained network service provider information to the found available network service provider information.

In the present invention, the network side also sends the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider. The second change information is sent together, and the specific sending may be fixed-period broadcasting or sending at the request of the user terminal equipment.

In addition, in the present invention, the information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider obtained from the network side is stored together with the obtained second change information of the network service provider on the user terminal equipment, so as to be used as For future network access or other purposes.

The following will be described with specific examples.

Referring to FIG. 5 , this figure is a flow chart of the first embodiment of the method for realizing network service provider discovery in the present invention.

In this embodiment, the NSP information that the NAP can access is stored in the SS/MSS in the form of NAP/NSP configuration information. In the present invention, a new MAC layer management message Service-Identity-Information is added in IEEE802.16, and the BS periodically The message is broadcast (for example, once every 5s), and the information elements included in the message are shown in Table 1 below:

Table 4

Symbol (Syntax) size Notes Service-Identity-Information format(){ Management Message Type＝To Be Assigned 8bits NSP-count 8bits It is used to reflect the change of the NSP list information currently supported by NAP. The counter increases by 1 each time the NSP list information changes TLV encoded Information Variables TLV specifics (including a list of NSPs supported by the NAP to which the current BS belongs) }

At the same time, the BS adds a TLV to the DL_MAP message to reflect the changes in the NSP list information supported by the NAP to which the BS belongs. The TLV is defined in Table 2:

table 5

type Length value To-Be-Assigned(NSP_count) 1 Consistent with the corresponding value in the Service-Identity-Information message

After scanning the downlink channel for a BS, the SS/MSS needs to perform the following steps to obtain the list of NSPs supported by the NAP to which the BS belongs:

Step 101, establishing downlink synchronization;

Step 102, receive DL_MAP message, obtain NAP_ID information from "Operator ID", and obtain NSP_count;

Step 103, determine whether the NAP_ID is stored in the NAP/NSP configuration information stored in the SS/MSS, if it exists, execute step 104, otherwise, execute step 106;

Step 104, judging whether the NSP_count is the same as that stored in the SS/MSS, if consistent, execute step 105, otherwise, execute step 106;

Step 105, extract the NSP information corresponding to the current NAP from the NAP/NSP configuration information stored in the SS/MSS, and perform step 108;

Step 106, further receiving the NAP/NSP configuration information in the broadcast information Service-Identity-Information;

Step 107, storing the obtained NAP/NSP configuration information and corresponding NSP_count in the NAP/NSP configuration information;

Step 108, store the NSP corresponding to the current NAP into the available NSP list (temporary), and finally complete the network discovery process for the BS.

Referring to FIG. 6 , this figure is a flow chart of the second embodiment of the method for realizing network service provider discovery according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the NSP information that the NAP can access is stored in the SS/MSS in the form of NAP/NSP configuration information. In IEEE802.16, in the current downlink channel description message DCD message (or in the neighbor broadcast message NBR_ADV, In this embodiment, the DCD message is taken as an example to illustrate) to add a TLV. The TLV includes at least the following two TLVs, which respectively describe the NSP list supported by the current NAP and the corresponding NSP_count. These two TLVs are described in Table 3 below:

Table 6

type Length value To-Be-Assigned (NSP list) Variable TLV specifics (including a list of NSPs supported by the NAP to which the current BS belongs) To-Be-Assigned(NSP_count) 1 It is used to reflect the change of the NSP list information currently supported by NAP. The counter increases by 1 each time the NSP list information changes

At the same time, the BS adds a TLV (that is, the above-mentioned NSP_count) to the DL_MAP message, which is used to reflect the change of the NSP list information supported by the NAP to which the BS belongs.

After scanning the downlink channel for a BS, the SS/MSS needs to perform the following steps to obtain the list of NSPs supported by the NAP to which the BS belongs:

Step 201, establishing downlink synchronization;

Step 202, receive DL_MAP message, obtain NAP_ID information from "Operator ID", and obtain NSP_count;

Step 203, determine whether the NAP_ID is stored in the NAP/NSP configuration information stored in the SS/MSS, if it exists, execute step 204, otherwise, execute step 206;

Step 204, judging whether the NSP_count is the same as that stored in the SS/MSS, if consistent, execute step 205, otherwise, execute step 206;

Step 205, extract the NSP information corresponding to the current NAP from the NAP/NSP configuration information stored in the SS/MSS, and perform step 208;

Step 206, further receive the broadcast information DCD, which includes the TLV of NSP list and NSP_count;

Step 207, storing the obtained NAP/NSP configuration information and corresponding NSP_count in the NAP/NSP configuration information;

In step 208, the NSP corresponding to the current NAP is stored in the available NSP list (temporary), and the network discovery process for the BS is completed.

The following describes another aspect of the present invention to realize the device for discovering network service providers.

Referring to FIG. 7 , this figure is a schematic diagram of a sending device at the network side of the present invention.

The network side sending device described in the present invention includes:

The first sending means 21 is used for the network side to send the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider; and

The second sending means 22 is used for the network side to send the first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently effective network access provider at a fixed period.

Specifically, in the present invention, the second sending means 22 can also send the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider, the first change information and the second change information can be the same, according to the specific Depends on network changes. In addition, the second sending means 22 sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider and the second change information on the network side at a fixed period or at the request of the user terminal equipment.

In addition, with reference to the foregoing description, the first sending device 21 in the present invention sends the information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider and the second For the change information, the second sending means 21 may send the first change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider through the downlink mapping message DL_MAP on the network side.

Referring to FIG. 8 , this figure is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for discovering user end equipment according to the present invention.

The client device discovery device described in the present invention includes:

The detection and acquisition means 23 is used to obtain the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that is accessible at the current location and sent fixedly by the network side when the client device accesses the network;

Judging means 24, configured to judge whether the first change information is consistent with the stored change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider;

The first acquiring means 25 is configured to acquire the stored network service provider information accessible to the network access provider when the judging means judges yes;

The second acquiring means 26 is used to acquire the accessible network service provider information supported by the network access provider sent by the network side if the judging means judges as no;

The discovery adding means 27 is configured to add the obtained network service provider information as the discovered available network service provider information.

In order to update the information of the network service provider in time, the user terminal equipment in the present invention further includes a storage device for combining the obtained information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider with the obtained network service provider second Change information is stored together.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation to the protection scope of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (15)

1. A sending method on the network side, comprising: Send the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider; at the same time The first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently effective network access provider is sent at a fixed period. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider and the second change information are sent at a fixed period or at the request of the client equipment. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of sending the information of the network service providers supported by the current network access provider comprises: sending the information of the network service providers supported by the current network access provider through a MAC layer management message Internet service provider information; The step of sending the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider includes: sending the second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider through a MAC layer management message. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of sending the first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently valid network access provider at a fixed period comprises: The first change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider is sent in a fixed period through the downlink mapping message DL_MAP. 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first change information is the same as the second change information. 7. A method for discovering network service providers, comprising: Obtaining the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that is accessible at the current location and sent regularly by the network side; Judging whether the first change information is consistent with the stored network service provider change information supported by the network access provider, if it is judged to be yes, acquiring the stored network service accessible by the network access provider For provider information, add the obtained network service provider information to the discovered available network service provider information; otherwise, obtain the accessible network service provider information supported by the network access provider sent by the network side. 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The acquired information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider is stored together with the acquired second change information of the network service provider. 9. A system for realizing network service provider discovery, comprising a network side sending device and a client device discovery device; The sending device on the network side includes: The first sending means is used for the network side to send the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider; and The second sending means is used for the network side to send the first change information of the network service provider supported by the currently valid network access provider at a fixed period; The device for discovering the client device includes: The detection and acquisition device is used to detect and acquire the first change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider that can be accessed at the current location and sent fixedly by the network side when the client device accesses the network; Judging means, for judging whether the first change information is consistent with the stored change information of the network service provider supported by the network access provider; The first obtaining means is used for obtaining the stored information of the network service provider accessible to the network access provider when the judging means judges yes; The second acquiring means is used to acquire the accessible network service provider information supported by the network access provider sent by the network side when the judging means judges as no; The discovery adding means is used for adding the obtained network service provider information as the discovered available network service provider information. 10. The sending device at the network side according to claim 9, wherein the second sending device also sends second change information of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider. 11. The sending device at the network side according to claim 10, characterized in that the second sending device sends the network service provider information supported by the current network access provider and the second change information at the network side It is sent on a regular basis or at the request of the client device. 12. The sending device at the network side according to any one of claims 9-11, wherein the first sending device sends the network service supported by the current network access provider through a MAC layer management message on the network side Provider information and the second change information of the network access provider. 13. The sending device at the network side according to claim 12, wherein the second sending device sends the first change of the network service provider supported by the current network access provider through the downlink mapping message DL_MAP on the network side information. 14. The sending device at the network side according to claim 10, wherein the first change information is the same as the second change information. 15. The client device discovery device according to claim 9, characterized in that, the client device discovery device further comprises a storage device for storing the obtained network service provider information supported by the network access provider It is stored together with the acquired second change information of the network service provider.

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