Bearer handover control device and control method

• US 10,660,006 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2019
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• 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:
  US16/291,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20190200269A1
• Time in Patent Office: 442 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0069 in case of dual connectivity, e.g. decoupled uplink/downlink
• 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. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory storing a program;

wherein the program comprises computer code that when executed by the at least one processor causes the apparatus to carry out operations comprising;

receiving a bearer modification request message from a mobility management entity, wherein the bearer modification request message corresponds to one packet data network (PDN) connection of a user equipment, the bearer modification request message comprises bearer contexts corresponding to all the bearers in the PDN connection;

matching fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are stored in the memory;

determining that a bearer with changed F-TEID is a bearer needing to be handed over to a target base station; and

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

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computer code comprised in the program further causes the apparatus to carry out operation further comprising:

reserving a context of a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a serving gateway.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the bearer contexts corresponds to an F-TEID.

5. A method, comprising:

receiving a bearer modification request message from a mobility management entity, wherein the bearer modification request message corresponds to one packet data network (PDN) connection of a user equipment, the bearer modification request message comprises bearer contexts corresponding to all the bearers in the PDN connection;

matching fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are stored in a serving gateway;

determining that a bearer with changed F-TEID is a bearer needing to be handed over to a target base station; and

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

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

reserving a context of a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein each of the bearer contexts correspond to an F-TEID.

8. A communication system, comprising:

a mobility management entity, configured to send a bearer modification request message to a serving gateway, wherein the bearer modification request message corresponds to one packet data network (PDN) connection of a user equipment, the bearer modification request message comprises bearer contexts corresponding to all the bearers in the PDN connection;

wherein the serving gateway is configured to;

match fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are stored in the serving gateway;

determine that a bearer with changed F-TEID is a bearer needing to be handed over to a target base station; and

send an end marker message to a source base station only for the bearer needing to be handed over.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the serving gateway is further configured to reserve a context of a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the source base station is configured to only hand over a bearer corresponding to the end marker message to the target base station.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the source base station is further configured to reserve a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein each of the bearer contexts correspond to an F-TEID.

13. A method, comprising:

sending, by a mobility management entity, a bearer modification request message to a serving gateway, wherein the bearer modification request message corresponds to one packet data network (PDN) connection of a user equipment, the bearer modification request message comprises bearer contexts corresponding to all the bearers in the PDN connection;

matching, by the serving gateway, fully qualified tunnel endpoint identifiers (F-TEIDs) in the bearer contexts in the bearer modification request message with F-TEIDs in bearer contexts that are stored in the serving gateway;

determining, by the serving gateway, that a bearer with changed F-TEID is a bearer needing to be handed over to a target base station; and

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

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

handing over, by the source base station, only a bearer corresponding to the end marker message to the target base station.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

reserving, by the source base station, a bearer that does not need to be handed over.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

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