System, method, and computer-readable medium for user equipment registration and authentication processing by a femtocell system

• US 8,351,901 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2008
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AirWalk Communications, Inc. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Osborn, Christopher Martin Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Pérez-Gutiérrez, Rafael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan, Suhail
• Application Number:
  US12/252,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20090131018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,546 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/385 Uniform resource identifier for session initiation protocol [SIP URI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/009 in systems involving PBX or KTS networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00 Hand-off or reselection arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0058 Transmission of hand-off measurement information, e.g. measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0083 Determination of parameters used for hand-off, e.g. generation or modification of neighbour cell lists
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0085 Hand-off measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0088 Scheduling hand-off measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 : Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/30 : by measured or perceived connection quality data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 : based on geographic position or location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 : Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/27 : between access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 : Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 : using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 : Access point devices with remote components
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for processing registration and authentication procedures by an IP-based femtocell system are provided. The femtocell system includes a base transceiver station and a Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter. The femtocell system receives a registration message from a user equipment, issues a location update request on behalf of the user equipment, transmits a register message to a core network, receives an authentication request from the core network, and transmits an authentication challenge to the user equipment.

Claims

1. A method of processing registration and authentication procedures in a network system comprising at least one femtocell, the at least one femtocell comprising a base transceiver station and a Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter, the method comprising:

receiving, by the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell from a user equipment, a registration message;

issuing, by the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell to the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter of the at least one femtocell, a location update request on behalf of the user equipment;

transmitting, by the femtocell, a SIP register message to a core network;

conveying an authentication request by the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter of the at least one femtocell to the base transceiver station;

receiving the authentication request in the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell;

generating an authentication challenge from the authentication request in the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell; and

transmitting the authentication challenge from the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell to the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting a register message to a core network further comprises transmitting the register message including an IP Multimedia Private Identity and an IP Multimedia Public Identity associated with the user equipment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an authentication request comprises receiving the authentication request and a random value used to authenticate the user equipment.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the femtocell system, a base station acknowledgment order to the user equipment;

transmitting, by the femtocell system, a registration accept order to the user equipment; and

transmitting, by the femtocell system, a mobile station acknowledgment order to the user equipment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the core network, the register message to a traffic control subsystem.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising obtaining, by the traffic control subsystem, a random value from a home location register with which the user equipment is registered, wherein the random value is used for authenticating the user equipment.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the femtocell system, an authentication challenge response from the user equipment.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting, by the femtocell system, the authentication challenge response to the core network.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for execution by a processing system, the computer-executable instructions for processing registration and authentication procedures in a network system comprising at least one femtocell, the at least one femtocell comprising a base transceiver station and a Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions that cause a processor to:

receive, by the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell, a registration message from a user equipment;

issue by the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell to the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter of the at least one femtocell, a location update request on behalf of the user equipment;

transmit a SIP register message including an IP Multimedia Private Identity and an IP Multimedia Public Identity associated with the user equipment to a core network;

convey an authentication challenge by the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter of the at least one femtocell to the base transceiver station; and

transmit the authentication challenge from the base transceiver station of the at least one femtocell to the user equipment.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions that receive an authentication request comprise instructions that receive the authentication request and a random value used to authenticate the user equipment.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to:

transmit a base station acknowledgment order to the user equipment;

transmit a registration accept order to the user equipment; and

transmit a mobile station acknowledgment order to the user equipment.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions that transmit, by the core network, the register message to a traffic control subsystem.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that obtain, by the traffic control subsystem, a random value from a home location register with which the user equipment is registered, wherein the random value is used for authenticating the user equipment.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to receive, by the femtocell system, an authentication challenge response from the user equipment.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that transmit the authentication challenge response to the core network.

16. A system configured for processing registration and authentication procedures in a network system, comprising:

a packet-switched network;

an Internet Protocol Multimedia subsystem communicatively coupled with the packet-switched network; and

a femtocell system communicatively coupled with the packet-switched network, wherein the femtocell system includes a base transceiver station and a Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter, wherein the base transceiver station receives a registration message from a user equipment, issues a location update request on behalf of the user equipment that is received by the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter;

wherein the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter transmits a register message including an IP Multimedia Private Identity and an IP Multimedia Public Identity associated with the user equipment to the Internet Protocol Multimedia subsystem, conveys an authentication request by the Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter of the at least one femtocell to the base transceiver station, and receives the authentication request and a random value used to authenticate the user equipment from the Internet Protocol Multimedia subsystem, and wherein the base transceiver station transmits an authentication challenge to the user equipment.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the base transceiver station transmits a base station acknowledgment order, a registration accept order, and a mobile station acknowledgment order to the user equipment.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a traffic control subsystem, wherein the Internet Protocol Multimedia subsystem transmits the register message to the traffic control subsystem.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the traffic control subsystem obtains the random value from a home location register with which the user equipment is registered, wherein the random value is used for authenticating the user equipment.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the base transceiver station receives an authentication challenge response from the user equipment, and wherein the femtocell system transmits the challenge response to the Internet Protocol Multimedia subsystem.