CELL RELAY NETWORK ATTACHMENT PROCEDURES

• US 20100103857A1
• Filed: 10/22/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Agashe, Parag A., Ulupinar, Fatih, Tenny, Nathan E., Shi, Yongsheng, Horn, Gavin B.
• Application Number:
  US12/604,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20100103857A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/313
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0072 of resource information of target access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations

Abstract

Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate attaching cell relays to a wireless network. During the attachment procedure, a relay eNB can request assignment of an identifier, or a portion thereof, from a donor eNB for subsequent packet routing to the relay eNB. This can occur through one or more intermediary relay eNBs, where present. Donor eNB can assign an identifier or portion thereof (or confirm/deny an explicit identifier request from the relay eNB) and can forward establishment information downstream to the relay eNB. Donor eNB and intermediary relay eNBs, where present, can store the identifier for subsequent use in routing packets to the relay eNB. The identifier can be a terminal endpoint identifier (TEID) utilized in a tunneling protocol, a relay identifier utilized in a relay protocol, and/or the like.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

initiating an attachment procedure to a wireless network using an upstream evolved Node B (eNB);

establishing at least a portion of an identifier with the upstream eNB during the attachment procedure; and

receiving one or more packets from the upstream eNB based at least in part on the portion of the identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising requesting establishment of the portion of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the establishing the portion of the identifier includes receiving a response to the requesting establishment of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifier is a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID).

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the requesting establishing of the identifier includes requesting establishment of a specific identifier.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving a response from the upstream eNB indicating whether the specific identifier can be utilized.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a relay protocol layer packet for communicating to the upstream eNB.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising populating a header of the relay protocol layer packet with the identifier.

9. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

request attachment to a wireless network from an upstream evolved Node B (eNB);

establish at least a portion of an identifier with the upstream eNB during attachment; and

receive one or more packets from the upstream eNB based at least in part on the portion of the identifier; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

10. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to request establishment of the portion of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

11. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor establishes the portion of the identifier based at least in part on receiving a response to the request from the upstream eNB.

12. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor requests establishment of the portion of the identifier at least in part by requesting establishment of a particular identifier.

13. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indication from the upstream eNB as to whether the particular identifier is established.

14. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate a relay protocol layer packet for communicating to the upstream eNB comprising an upper layer protocol payload.

15. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to populate a header of the relay protocol layer packet with at least the portion of the identifier.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

means for attaching to a wireless network through an upstream evolved Node B (eNB);

means for establishing at least a portion of an identifier with the upstream eNB during attachment; and

means for forwarding one or more packets received from the upstream eNB based at least in part on the portion of the identifier.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for establishing the portion of the identifier transmits an establishment request for the portion of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for establishing the portion of the identifier receives the portion of the identifier as a response to the establishment request.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the identifier is a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID).

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the establishment request relates to a specific identifier.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for establishing the portion of the identifier further receives a response from the upstream eNB indicating whether the specific identifier is the portion of the identifier.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for generating a relay protocol layer packet with a payload comprising upper layer protocol data for the upstream eNB.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for generating the relay protocol layer packet includes the portion of the identifier in a header for the relay protocol layer packet.

24. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to initiate an attachment procedure to a wireless network using an upstream evolved Node B (eNB);

code for causing the at least one computer to establish at least a portion of an identifier with the upstream eNB during the attachment procedure; and

code for causing the at least one computer to receive one or more packets from the upstream eNB based at least in part on the portion of the identifier.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the at least one computer to request establishment of the portion of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to establish the portion of the identifier receives the portion of the identifier in a response to the requesting establishment of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

27. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to request establishment of the identifier requests establishment of a specific identifier.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the at least one computer to receive a response from the upstream eNB indicating whether the specific identifier can be utilized.

29. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the at least one computer to generate a relay protocol layer packet for communicating to the upstream eNB.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the at least one computer to populate a header of the relay protocol layer packet with the identifier.

31. An apparatus, comprising:

an attachment requesting component that executes an attachment procedure to a wireless network with an upstream evolved Node B (eNB);

an ID requesting component that establishes at least a portion of an identifier with the upstream eNB during attachment; and

a packet routing component that forwards one or more packets received from the upstream eNB based at least in part on the portion of the identifier.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the ID requesting component transmits an establishment request for the portion of the identifier from the upstream eNB.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the ID requesting component receives the portion of the identifier as a response to the establishment request.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the ID requesting component is a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) requesting component, and the identifier is a TEID.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the establishment request relates to a specific identifier.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the ID requesting component further receives a response from the upstream eNB indicating whether the specific identifier is the portion of the identifier.

37. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising a relay protocol component that generates a relay protocol layer packet with a payload comprising upper layer protocol data for the upstream eNB.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the relay protocol component includes the portion of the identifier in a header for the relay protocol layer packet.

39. A method, comprising:

obtaining at least a portion of an identifier for a downstream relay evolved Node B (eNB) during an attachment procedure for the downstream relay eNB to a wireless network;

storing the portion of the identifier in a routing table with an identifier for a next downstream relay eNB in a communication path to the downstream relay eNB; and

transmitting the portion of the identifier to the next downstream relay eNB as part of the attachment procedure.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein obtaining the portion of the identifier includes generating the portion of the identifier for the downstream relay eNB.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising receiving a request for the portion of the identifier from the downstream relay eNB during the attachment procedure.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the obtaining the portion of the identifier includes receiving the portion of the identifier from an upstream eNB.

43. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

obtaining the portion of the identifier from a received packet;

locating the identifier of the next downstream relay eNB in the routing table as related to the portion of the identifier; and

transmitting the received packet to the next downstream relay eNB.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the obtaining the portion of the identifier includes obtaining the portion of the identifier from a header of the received packet where the received packet is a relay protocol layer packet.

45. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

obtain at least a portion of an identifier for a downstream relay evolved Node B (eNB) during a wireless network attachment procedure for the downstream relay eNB;

store an association between the portion of the identifier and an identifier of a next downstream relay eNB in a communication path to the downstream relay eNB in a routing table; and

transmit the portion of the identifier to the next downstream relay eNB during the wireless network attachment procedure; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

46. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one processor obtains the portion of the identifier at least in part by generating the portion of the identifier for the downstream relay eNB.

47. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a request for the portion of the identifier for the downstream relay eNB during the wireless network attachment procedure.

48. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one processor obtains the portion of the identifier from an upstream eNB.

49. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

obtain the portion of the identifier from a packet received from an upstream node;

locate the identifier of the next downstream relay eNB in the routing table as related to the portion of the identifier; and

transmit the packet to the next downstream relay eNB.

50. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 49, wherein the at least one processor obtains the portion of the identifier from a header of the packet where the packet is a relay protocol layer packet.

51. An apparatus, comprising:

means for obtaining at least a portion of an identifier for a downstream relay evolved Node B (eNB) during a wireless network attachment procedure; and

means for storing the portion of the identifier with an identifier of a next downstream relay eNB in a communications path to the downstream relay eNB in a routing table, wherein the means for obtaining further forwards the portion of the identifier to the next downstream relay eNB.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the means for obtaining the portion of the identifier generates the portion of the identifier for the downstream relay eNB.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising means for receiving a request for the portion of the identifier from the downstream relay eNB during the wireless network attachment procedure.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the means for obtaining the portion of the identifier receives the portion of the identifier from an upstream eNB.

55. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising means for obtaining the portion of the identifier from a received packet and transmitting the received packet to the next downstream relay eNB, wherein the means for storing the portion of the identifier locates the identifier of the next downstream relay eNB in the routing table as associated to the portion of the identifier.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for obtaining the portion of the identifier from the received packet obtains the portion of the identifier from a header of the received packet, and the received packet is a relay protocol layer packet.

57. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to obtain at least a portion of an identifier for a downstream relay evolved Node B (eNB) during an attachment procedure for the downstream relay eNB to a wireless network;

code for causing the at least one computer to store the portion of the identifier in a routing table with an identifier for a next downstream relay eNB in a communication path to the downstream relay eNB; and

code for causing the at least one computer to transmit the portion of the identifier to the next downstream relay eNB as part of the attachment procedure.

58. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to obtain the portion of the identifier generates the portion of the identifier for the downstream relay eNB.

59. The computer program product of claim 58, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the at least one computer to receive a request for the portion of the identifier from the downstream relay eNB during the attachment procedure.

60. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to obtain the portion of the identifier receives the portion of the identifier from an upstream eNB.

61. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises:

code for causing the at least one computer to obtain the portion of the identifier from a received packet;

code for causing the at least one computer to locate the identifier of the next downstream relay eNB in the routing table as related to the portion of the identifier; and

code for causing the at least one computer to transmit the received packet to the next downstream relay eNB.

62. The computer program product of claim 61, wherein code for causing the at least one computer to obtain the portion of the identifier obtains the portion of the identifier from a header of the received packet where the received packet is a relay protocol layer packet.

63. An apparatus, comprising:

an ID assigning component that obtains at least a portion of an identifier for a downstream relay evolved Node B (eNB) during a wireless network attachment procedure; and

a routing table component that stores the portion of the identifier with an identifier of a next downstream relay eNB in a communications path to the downstream relay eNB in a routing table, wherein the ID assigning component further forwards the portion of the identifier to the next downstream relay eNB.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the ID assigning component generates the portion of the identifier for the downstream relay eNB.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, further comprising an ID request receiving component that receives a request for the portion of the identifier from the downstream relay eNB during the wireless network attachment procedure.

66. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the ID assigning component is an ID request/response forwarding component that receives the portion of the identifier from an upstream eNB.

67. The apparatus of claim 63, further comprising a relay protocol component that obtains the portion of the identifier from a received packet and transmits the received packet to the next downstream relay eNB, wherein the routing table component locates the identifier of the next downstream relay eNB in the routing table as associated to the portion of the identifier.

68. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the routing table component obtains the portion of the identifier from a header of the received packet, and the received packet is a relay protocol layer packet.

69. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the ID assigning component is a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) assigning component, and the identifier is a TEID.