Method and device for accessing and obtaining user equipment context and user equipment identity

• US 8,625,444 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2010
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Guo, Xiaolong
• Primary Examiner(s): Skripnikov, Alex
• Application Number:
  US12/972,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20110090857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0033 with transfer of context information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/005 Data network PoA devices

Abstract

A method and device for accessing and obtaining UE context and UE identity are provided. The method for access includes: when a UE accesses an SAE network, judging, by a network node, whether a GUMMEI carried by the UE or an MMEGI in the GUMMEI is allocated or mapped by the SAE network; if the GUMMEI or MMEGI is allocated by the SAE network, selecting, by the network node, an MME according to the GUMMEI, or according to the MMEGI and an MMEC, or according to a PLMN-id, the MMEGI and the MMEC; and if the GUMMEI or MMEGI is mapped by the SAE network, selecting, by the network node, an MME according to an MCC, an MNC and an MMEC in the GUMMEI. Therefore, the access of the UE is achieved.

Claims

1. A method for access, comprising:

receiving, by an old Mobility Management Entity (MME), an old Routing Area Identification (RAI) and a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI) from a Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN), wherein the old RAI and the P-TMSI is sent from the SGSN according to an address of the old MME, and the address of the old MME is found by the SGSN according to the old RAI and the P-TMSI carried by a user equipment (UE);

reconstructing, by the old MME, a Global Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI) from the old RAI and the P-TMSI;

obtaining, by the old MME, a UE context of the UE according to the GUTI; and

returning, by the old MME, the UE context of the UE to the SGSN.

2. A communication system, comprising:

a Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN) and an old Mobility Management Entity (MME);

wherein the SGSN is configured to find an address of the old MME according to an old Routing Area Identification (old RAI) and a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI) carried by a user equipment (UE), when the UE accesses a Second Generation/3rd Generation (2G/3G) network from a System Architecture Evolution (SAE) network; and

wherein the SGSN is configured to send the old RAI and the P-TMSI to the old MME;

wherein the old MME is configured to reconstruct a Global Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI) from the old RAI and the P-TMSI;

wherein the old MME is configured to obtain a UE context of the UE according to the GUTI and return the UE context to the SGSN.

3. A network device, comprising:

an identity attribute obtaining module, configured to obtain an attribute of a Global Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI) of a user equipment (UE) currently accessing a System Architecture Evolution (SAE) network, wherein the attribute of the GUTI of the UE indicates whether the GUTI of the UE is allocated by the SAE network or is mapped from a temporary identity of a Second Generation/Third Generation (2G/3G) network; and

a network resource node allocation module, configured to allocate a network resource node to the UE according to the attribute of the GUTI of the UE.

4. The network device according to claim 3, wherein the network resource node allocation module is configured to:

select a first Mobility Management Entity (MME) according to a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) in the GUTI, or according to a Mobility Management Entity Group Identity (MMEGI) and a Mobility Management Entity Code (MMEC) in the GUTI, when the GUTI is allocated by the SAE network; and

select a second MME according to a Mobile Country Code (MCC), a Mobile Network Code (MNC), and a Mobility Management Entity Code (MMEC) in the GUMMEI in the GUTI, or according to the MMEC in the GUMMEI in the GUTI, when the GUTI is mapped.

5. An Mobility Management Entity (MME), comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive an old Routing Area Identification (RAI) and a Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI) from a Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN), wherein the old RAI and the P-TMSI is sent according to an address of an old MME, and wherein the address of the old MME is found by the SGSN according to the old RAI and the P-TMSI carried by a user equipment (UE);

a processor, configured to reconstruct a Global Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI) from the old RAI and the P-TMSI and obtain a UE context of the UE according to the GUTI; and

a transmitter, configured to transmit the UE context of the UE to the SGSN.