Methods and systems for routing messages in a radio access network
First Claim
1. A method for communicating a radio access network (RAN) signaling message between a radio network controller (RNC) and a core switching network, the method comprising:
- (a) receiving, from an RNC, a RAN signaling message that includes an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) protocol component and an application part protocol component;
(b) encapsulating the application part protocol component of the RAN signaling message within a first protocol envelope;
(c) replacing the ATM protocol component of the RAN signaling message with a non-ATM protocol component; and
(d) transmitting the RAN signaling message to a core network.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for routing messages between a core network and a radio network controller are provided. A radio access network gateway translates messages from an ATM-based protocol to a non-ATM-based protocol, such as the stream control transmission protocol and vice versa. The radio access network gateway forwards the SCTP messages to the core network. In addition, the radio access network gateway receives messages from the core network formatted according to the core network protocol and translates these messages to an ATM-based protocol for communication to a radio network controller.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A method for communicating a radio access network (RAN) signaling message between a radio network controller (RNC) and a core switching network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving, from an RNC, a RAN signaling message that includes an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) protocol component and an application part protocol component;
(b) encapsulating the application part protocol component of the RAN signaling message within a first protocol envelope;
(c) replacing the ATM protocol component of the RAN signaling message with a non-ATM protocol component; and
(d) transmitting the RAN signaling message to a core network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for routing and converting messages communicated between a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP)-based core network and a radio network controller (RNC), the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a first message from an RNC including radio access network application part (RANAP), signaling connection control part (SCCP), message transfer part layer 3 broadband (MTP3B), service specific coordination function (SSCF), service specific connection oriented protocol (SSCOP), asynchronous transfer mode adaptation layer 5 (AAL5), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) layers;
(b) removing the SSCOP, AAL5, and ATM layers from the first message;
(c) using the MTP3B layer of the first message to determine an outbound SCTP association and stream for the first message;
(d) adding an SS7 SCCP user adaptation (SUA) layer to the RANAP and SCCP components of the first message;
(e) encapsulating the SUA, RANAP, and SCCP layers of the first message in an SCTP/IP envelope; and
(f) routing the first message to the core network over the outbound SCTP association and stream. - View Dependent Claims (23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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24. A method for routing and converting messages communicated between a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP)-based core network and a radio network controller (RNC), the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a first message from an RNC including Q.2630.1, Q.2150.1, SS7 message transfer part layer 3 broadband (MTP3B), service specific coordination function (SSCF), service specific connection oriented protocol (SSCOP), asynchronous transfer mode adaptation layer 5 (AAL5), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) layers;
(b) removing the SSCOP, AAL5, and ATM layers from the first message;
(c) using the MTP3B layer to determine an outbound SCTP association and stream for the first message;
(d) mapping the Q.2150.1 layer of the first message to an M3UA layer;
(e) encapsulating the Q.2630.1, Q.2150.1, and M3UA layers of the first message in an SCTP/IP header; and
(f) routing the first message to the core network over the SCTP association and stream.
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28. A method for processing radio access network application part (RANAP) messages received from a radio network controller (RNC), the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a message including RANAP, signaling connection control part (SCCP), message transfer part layer 3 broadband (MTP3B), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) components;
(b) removing the ATM component from the message;
(c) replacing the SCCP component of the message with an SS7 SCCP user adaptation (SUA) component;
(d) using the MTP3B component of the message to select an outbound stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) association and stream for the message;
(e) removing the MTP3B component from the message;
(f) adding an SCTP/IP component to the message; and
(f) transmitting the message to a core network over the SCTP association and stream.
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29. A routing node for routing a radio access network (RAN) signaling message between a radio network controller (RNC) and a core switching network, the routing node comprising:
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(a) a first communication module for receiving messages from an RNC including application-level components and ATM components and for removing the ATM components from the messages; and
(b) a second communication module for receiving the application-level components from the first communication module, encapsulating the application-level components from each of the messages in an adaptation layer, encapsulating the adaptation layer in a lower-level protocol other than ATM, and routing the encapsulated messages to a core network.
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50. A radio access network gateway comprising:
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(a) a high-speed link module for receiving a first message including radio access network application part (RANAP), signaling connection control part (SCCP), SS7 message transfer part layer 3 broadband (MTP3B), service specific coordination function (SSCF), service specific connection oriented protocol (SSCOP), asynchronous transfer mode adaptation layer 5 (AAL5), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) components, removing the SSCF, SSCOP, AAL5, and ATM components from the first message, and routing the first message based on the MTP3B component; and
(b) a radio data communications module (rDCM) for receiving the RANAP, and SCCP, and MTP3B components of the first message, determining an outgoing SCTP association and stream for the first message, then discarding the MTP3B component, adding an SS7 SCCP user adaptation (SUA) component to the first message, encapsulating the first message in a stream control transmission protocol/internet protocol SCTP/IP envelope, and routing the first message to the core network over the SCTP association and stream. - View Dependent Claims (51)
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52. A radio access network gateway comprising:
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(a) a high-speed link (HSL) module capable of receiving a first message from a radio network controller, the first message including Q.2630.1, Q.2150.1, MTP layer 3 broadband (MTP3B), service specific coordination function (SSCF), service specific connection oriented protocol (SSCOP), asynchronous transfer mode adaptation layer 5 (AAL5), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) components, removing the SSCF, SSCOP, AAL5, and ATM components, and routing the first message based on the MTP3B component; and
(b) a radio data communications module (rDCM) for receiving the Q.2630.1, Q.2150.1, and MTP3B components of the first message, determining a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) association and stream for the message based on the MTP3B component and discarding the MTP3B component, adding an SS7 MTP level 3 user adaptation (M3UA) component to the first message, encapsulating the first message in an SCTP/IP envelope, and routing the first message to the core network over the SCTP association and stream. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
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Specification