Systems and methods for selecting serving gateways to service user equipment

• US 8,358,593 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2009
• Issued: 01/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Eipe, Jacob, Dakshayani, Pradeep, Kamalaraj, Vinod, Navali, Jay, Chamarty, Ravi, Munagala, Lingesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Weidner, Timothy J
• Application Number:
  US12/603,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20110098050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,188 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/02 by periodical registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

Some embodiments provide methods for selecting a serving gateway, including: receiving a message from a base transceiver station including a list of tracking areas handled by the base transceiver station; performing a domain name system query for at least one tracking area to retrieve and store in a local memory information identifying a serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area; receiving an attach request from the base transceiver station identifying the user equipment and a tracking area from which the user equipment is connected to the network; searching the information identifying a serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area stored in the local memory to identify a serving gateway to service the user equipment based on the tracking area from which the user equipment is connected to the network; and sending a message identifying the identified serving gateway to the base transceiver station.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a serving gateway to service user equipment in communication with a network, comprising:

receiving a message from a base transceiver station including a list of tracking areas handled by the base transceiver station;

performing a domain name system query for at least one tracking area in the list of tracking areas to retrieve and store information indicating a serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area;

receiving an attach request from the base transceiver station identifying the user equipment and a tracking area from which the user equipment is connected to the network;

retrieving the stored information indicating the serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area to identify a serving gateway to service the user equipment based on the tracking area from which the user equipment is connected to the network; and

sending a message identifying the identified serving gateway to the base transceiver station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message from the base transceiver station including the list of tracking areas includes an S1 setup message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the attach request includes an S1 initial user equipment message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the information indicating the serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area as at least part of a table of sets of tracking area identities and at least one associated serving gateway.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, for at least some tracking area identities, there is one and only one associated serving gateway.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein at least some serving gateways are associated with more than one tracking area identifier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the base transceiver station includes an evolved nodeB.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically performing the domain name system query for the at least one tracking area in the list of tracking areas to periodically update the information indicating a serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the domain name system query for the at least one tracking area includes performing the domain name system query using a tracking area identity fully qualified domain name associated with the at least one tracking area.

10. A mobility management entity in a communication network comprising:

a memory;

a first interface which is configured to receive a message from a base transceiver station including a list of tracking areas handled by the base transceiver station, and receive an attach request from the base transceiver station identifying user equipment and a tracking area from which the user equipment is connected to the network;

a second interface which is configured to perform a domain name system query for at least one tracking area in the list of tracking areas to receive information indicating a serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area;

the mobility management entity configured to store the received information indicating the serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area in the memory; and

retrieve the information indicating the serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area stored in the memory to identify a serving gateway to service the user equipment based on the tracking area from which the user equipment is connected to the network; and

the first interface further configured to send a message identifying the identified serving gateway to the base transceiver station.

11. The mobility management entity of claim 10, wherein the message from the base transceiver station including the list of tracking areas includes an S1 setup message.

12. The mobility management entity of claim 10, wherein the attach request includes an S1 initial user equipment message.

13. The mobility management entity of claim 10, the mobility management entity further configured to store the information indicating the serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area in the memory as at least part of a table of sets of tracking area identities and at least one associated serving gateway.

14. The mobility management entity of claim 13, wherein, for at least some tracking area identities, there is one and only one associated serving gateway.

15. The mobility management entity of claim 13, wherein at least some serving gateways are associated with more than one tracking area identifier.

16. The mobility management entity of claim 10, further configured to periodically perform the domain name system query for the at least one tracking area in the list of tracking areas to periodically update the information indicating a serving gateway serving the at least one tracking area.

17. The mobility management entity of claim 10, further configured to perform the domain name system query for the at least one tracking area using a tracking area identity fully qualified domain name associated with the at least one tracking area.