BEARER SUSPENSION METHOD, BEARER RESUMPTION METHOD, AND GATEWAY AGENT

• US 20100056147A1
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sun, Xiaoji, Wu, Wenfu, Zhang, Yanping
• Application Number:
  US12/618,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20100056147A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00226 wherein the core network technologies comprise IP multimedia system [IMS], e.g. single radio voice call continuity [SRVCC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/02 Buffering or recovering information during reselection ; Modification of the traffic flow during hand-off

Abstract

A bearer suspension method, a bearer resumption method, and a gateway agent are provided. The bearer suspension method includes the following steps. A gateway agent receives a Bearer Suspend Request sent by a mobility management entity (MME) when a user equipment (UE) is handed over from an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) to a global system for mobile communications (GSM)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) radio access network (GERAN). A bearer that needs to be suspended is suspended according to the request. The bearer resumption method includes the following steps. In a process of handover of a UE from a GERAN to an EUTRAN or tracking area update (TAU) or Service Request, the gateway agent receives a Bearer Resume Request sent by an MME. A bearer that needs to be resumed is resumed according to the request.

Claims

1. A bearer suspension method, comprising:

receiving, by a gateway agent, a Bearer Suspend Request sent by a mobility management entity (MME) when a user equipment (UE) is handing over from an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) to a global system for mobile communications (GSM)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) radio access network (GERAN), wherein the Bearer Suspend Request includes a bearer identity or a user identity; and

suspending a bearer corresponding to the bearer identity or a bearer corresponding to the user identity according to the Bearer Suspend Request.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the suspending the bearer corresponding to the bearer identity or the bearer corresponding to the user identity comprises:

buffering or discarding a data packet and stopping paging the UE after receiving the data packet of the bearer.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the MME sends the Bearer Suspend Request according to at least one of a target network type and a user bearer type.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the MME sends the Bearer Suspend Request after receiving a Relocation Required message, or a Relocation Request Ack message, or an HO Complete message.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the PGW receives the Bearer Suspend Request forwarded by the SGW and sent by the MME when the gateway agent is the PGW.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the gateway agent suspends the bearer, the method further comprises:

sending, by the gateway agent, a Bearer Suspend Response to the MME; and

sending, by the MME, the Bearer Suspend Response to the UE, and stopping, by the UE, sending Uplink Data of the suspended bearer according to the Bearer Suspend Response.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the MME sends the Bearer Suspend Request to the gateway agent after receiving the Bearer Suspend Request sent by a single radio voice call continuity (SR VCC) inter-working function (S-IWF).

8. A gateway agent, comprising:

a bearer-suspend-request receiving unit, adapted to receive a Bearer Suspend Request sent by a mobility management entity (MME), wherein the Bearer Suspend Request includes a bearer identity or a user identity; and

a bearer-suspend processing unit, adapted to suspend a bearer corresponding to the bearer identity or a bearer corresponding to the user identity according to the bearer identity or the user identity included in the Bearer Suspend Request received by the bearer-suspend-request receiving unit.

9. The gateway agent according to claim 8, wherein the bearer-suspend processing unit comprises:

a bearer receiving subunit, adapted to receive a data packet;

a determining subunit, adapted to determine whether a bearer corresponding to the received data packet is a bearer corresponding to the Bearer Suspend Request received by the bearer-suspend-request receiving unit; and

a processing subunit, adapted to buffer or discard the data packet of the bearer and stop paging a user equipment (UE) when a determination result of the determining subunit is positive.

10. A bearer resumption method, comprising:

receiving, by a gateway agent, a Bearer Resume Request sent by a mobility management entity (MME) in a process of handover of a user equipment (UE) from a global system for mobile communications (GSM)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) radio access network (GERAN) to an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or in a process of tracking area update (TAU) or in a process of Service Request, wherein the Bearer Resume Request includes a bearer identity or a user identity; and

resuming a bearer corresponding to the bearer identity or a bearer corresponding to the user identity according to the Bearer Resume Request.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the MME sends the Bearer Resume Request according to at least one of a target network type and a user bearer type.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the MME sends the Bearer Resume Request after receiving a Relocation Required message, or a TAU Request message, or a Service Request message.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the MME sends the Bearer Resume Request after receiving a Relocation Required message, or a TAU Request message, or a Service Request message.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the TAU Request message or the Service Request message comprises a Resume Bearer Indication, and the MME sends the Bearer Resume Request according to the Resume Bearer Indication after receiving the TAU Request message or the Service Request message.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the TAU Request message or the Service Request message comprises a Resume Bearer Indication, and the MME sends the Bearer Resume Request according to the Resume Bearer Indication after receiving the TAU Request message or the Service Request message.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the PGW receives the Bearer Resume Request forwarded by the SGW and sent by the MME when the gateway agent is the PGW.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein after the gateway agent resumes the bearer, the method further comprises:

sending, by the gateway agent, a Bearer Resume Response to the MME; and

sending, by the MME, the Bearer Resume Response to the UE.

18. A gateway agent, comprising:

a bearer-resume-request receiving unit, adapted to receive a Bearer Resume Request sent by a mobility management entity (MME), wherein the Bearer Resume Request includes a bearer identity or a user identity; and

a bearer-resume processing unit, adapted to resume a bearer corresponding to the bearer identity or a bearer corresponding to the user identity according to the bearer identity or the user identity included in the Bearer Resume Request received by the bearer-resume-request receiving unit.

19. A mobile communication system, comprising:

a mobility management entity (MME), adapted to send a Bearer Suspend Request or a Bearer Resume Request to a gateway agent, wherein the Bearer Suspend Request or the Bearer Resume Request includes a bearer identity or a user identity; and

a gateway agent, adapted to suspend or resume a bearer corresponding to the bearer identity or a bearer corresponding to the user identity according to the Bearer Suspend Request or the Bearer Resume Request sent by the MME.

20. The system according to claim 19, further comprising:

a single radio voice call continuity (SR VCC) inter-working function (S-IWF), adapted to send the Bearer Suspend Request or the Bearer Resume Request to the MME.