Bearer handover control device and control method

• US 10,264,501 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2016
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shi, Xiaoyan, Zhang, Wanqiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Duc T
• Application Number:
  US15/376,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20170195933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/28 involving a plurality of connections, e.g. multi-call or multi-bearer connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/38 by fixed network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/385 of the core network

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a bearer handover control device and control method. The method includes: receiving, by a network side device, a bearer handover message; and determining, by the network side device according to the bearer handover message, a bearer needing to be handed over in all bearers, so that an end marker End Marker message is sent to a source base station only for the bearer needing to be handed over. By using the foregoing solutions, for a multi-connection scenario, a network side device can determine a bearer needing to be handed over, so that an end marker message is sent only for the bearer needing to be handed over, which can prevent discarding of subsequent data of a bearer that is not to be handed over, and ensure multiple connections between a UE and base stations, thereby improving stability of a system.

Claims

1. A network side device, configured to control a bearer handover, wherein the network side device belongs to a wireless communications system, wherein the system further comprises a source base station and a target base station, and at least some of all bearers between user equipment and the source base station need to be handed over from the source base station to the target base station, and the network side device comprises:

a receiver, configured to receive at least one bearer modification request message sent from a mobility management entity (MME), bearer contexts comprised in the at least one bearer modification request message correspond to all the bearers;

a processor, configured to determine, according to the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message, a bearer needing to be handed over in all the bearers; and

a transmitter, configured to send an end marker message to the source base station only for the bearer needing to be handed over;

wherein the network side device is a serving gateway (SGW); and

wherein the processor configured to determine according to the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message, the bearer needing to be handed over in all the bearers, comprises;

the processor is configured to match fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are currently stored by the SGW, and when an F-TEID of a bearer is changed, determine that the bearer is a bearer needing to be handed over.

2. The network side device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to reserve a context of a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

3. A bearer handover control method, wherein the method is applicable to a wireless communications system, wherein the system comprises a network side device, a source base station, and a target base station, and at least some of all bearers between user equipment and the source base station need to be handed over from the source base station to the target base station, the network side device is a serving gateway (SGW), and the method comprises following steps:

receiving, by the network side device, a bearer handover message, comprising;

receiving, by the SGW, at least one bearer modification request message sent by a mobility management entity (MME), wherein bearer contexts comprised in the at least one bearer modification request message correspond to all the bearers;

determining, by the network side device according to the bearer handover message, a bearer needing to be handed over in all the bearers, comprising;

determining, by the SGW according to the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message, the bearer needing to be handed over; and

sending, by the network side device, an end marker message to the source base station only for the bearer needing to be handed over;

wherein the determining, by the SGW according to the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message, the bearer needing to be handed over comprises;

matching, by the SGW, fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are currently stored by the SGW, and when an F-TEID of a bearer is changed, determining that the bearer is a bearer needing to be handed over.

4. The control method according to claim 3, further comprising:

reserving, by the SGW, a context of a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by at least one processor, the program including instructions to configure the at least one processor for:

receiving at least one bearer modification request message sent from a mobility management entity (MME), bearer contexts comprised in the at least one bearer modification request message correspond to all the bearers;

determining according to the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message, a bearer needing to be handed over in all the bearers; and

sending an end marker message to the source base station only for the bearer needing to be handed over;

wherein the determining according to the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message, the bearer needing to be handed over comprises;

matching fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the at least one bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are currently stored in a SGW, and when an F-TEID of a bearer is changed, determining that the bearer is a bearer needing to be handed over.