Long term evolution (LTE) communications over trusted hardware

• US 9,191,865 B1
• Filed: 02/09/2015
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Paczkowski, Lyle Walter, Rajagopal, Arun, Marquardt, Ronald R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alia, Curtis A
• Application Number:
  US14/617,498
• Time in Patent Office: 281 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/00 Security arrangements; Authentication; Protecting privacy or anonymity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0038 of security context information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication network transfers data communications for User Equipment (UE). An LTE gateway system exchanges hardware trust data with a server system to maintain hardware trust for the LTE gateway system. An LTE access node processes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that contains a trusted bearer requirement for the UE to generate an S1 Application Protocol (S1-AP) initial UE message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE. An LTE management node processes the S1-AP initial UE message to generate a General Packet Radio Service Transfer Protocol (GTP) create session message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE. The LTE gateway system exchanges user data for the UE between the LTE access node and a communication node responsive to the GTP create session message.

Claims

1. A method of operating a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication network to transfer data communications for User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

in a first LTE gateway system, exchanging first hardware trust data with a trusted server system to maintain hardware trust for the first LTE gateway system;

in an LTE access node, processing a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that contains a trusted bearer requirement for the UE to generate an S1 Application Protocol (S1-AP) initial UE message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE;

in an LTE management node, processing the S1-AP initial UE message to generate a General Packet Radio Service Transfer Protocol (GTP) create session message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE; and

in the first LTE gateway system, exchanging user data for the UE between the LTE access node and a communication node responsive to the GTP create session message.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the RRC message that contains the trusted bearer requirement comprises processing an establishment cause in the RRC message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the RRC message that contains the trusted bearer requirement comprises processing Non-Access Stratum (NAS) data in the RRC message.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the S1-AP initial UE message to generate the GTP create session message comprises:

in a Mobility Management Entity (MME), processing the S1-AP initial UE message to generate a Diameter message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE; and

in the MME, processing a Diameter response having a trusted Access Point Name (APN) for the first LTE gateway system to generate the GTP create session message that contains the trusted APN for the UE.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein processing the S1-AP initial UE message to generate the GTP create session message comprises, in a Home Subscriber System (HSS), processing the Diameter message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE to generate the Diameter response that contains the trusted APN for the first LTE gateway system.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein processing the S1-AP initial UE message to generate the GTP create session message comprises, in the MME, processing the Diameter response that contains the trusted APN for the first LTE gateway system to identify a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) in the first gateway system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the GTP create session message comprises an S11 GTP create session message and wherein exchanging the user data for the UE between the LTE access node and the communication node comprises:

in a Serving Gateway (S-GW), processing the S11 GTP create session message to generate an S5 GTP create session message that contains a trusted Access Point Name (APN) for the trusted bearer for the UE; and

in a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), processing the S5 GTP create session message that contains the trusted APN for the UE to generate a Diameter message that contains the trusted APN for the UE and processing a Diameter response having a trusted Quality-of-Service Class Indicator (QCI) for a trusted bearer for the UE.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein exchanging the user data for the UE between the LTE access node and the communication node comprises, in a Policy Control and Rules Function (PCRF), processing the Diameter message that contains the trusted APN for the UE to generate the Diameter response that contains the trusted QCI for the trusted bearer for the UE.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in the LTE access node, exchanging additional hardware trust data with the trusted server system to maintain remote hardware trust for a trusted hardware partition of the LTE access node;

in the LTE access node, exchanging the user data between the UE and the first LTE gateway system through the trusted hardware partition of the LTE access node.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein exchanging the user data between the UE and the first LTE gateway system through the trusted hardware partition of the LTE access node comprises exchanging the user data through the trusted hardware partition responsive to an S1-AP initial context set-up message from a Mobility Management Entity (MME) that contains the trusted QCI for the trusted bearer for the UE.

11. A Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication network to transfer data communications for User Equipment (UE), the LTE communication network comprising:

a first LTE gateway system configured to exchange first hardware trust data with a trusted server system to maintain hardware trust for the first LTE gateway system;

an LTE access node configured to process a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that contains a trusted bearer requirement for the UE to generate an S1 Application Protocol (S1-AP) initial UE message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE;

an LTE management node configured to process the S1-AP initial UE message to generate a General Packet Radio Service Transfer Protocol (GTP) create session message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE; and

the first LTE gateway system configured to exchange user data for the UE between the LTE access node and a communication node responsive to the GTP create session message.

12. The LTE communication network of claim 11 wherein the trusted bearer requirement comprises an establishment cause in the RRC message.

13. The LTE communication network of claim 11 wherein the trusted bearer requirement comprises Non-Access Stratum (NAS) data in the RRC message.

14. The LTE communication network of claim 11 wherein the LTE management node comprises a Mobility Management Entity (MME) configured to process the S1-AP initial UE message to generate a Diameter message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE and process a Diameter response having an trusted Access Point Name (APN) for the first LTE gateway system to generate the GTP create session message that contains the trusted APN for the UE.

15. The LTE communication network of claim 14 wherein the LTE management node comprises a Home Subscriber System (HSS) configured to process the Diameter message that contains the trusted bearer requirement for the UE to generate the Diameter response that contains the trusted APN for the first LTE gateway system.

16. The LTE communication network of claim 14 wherein the LTE management node comprises the MME configured to process the Diameter response that contains the trusted APN for the first LTE gateway system to identify a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) in the first gateway system.

17. The LTE communication network of claim 11 wherein the LTE gateway system comprises:

a Serving Gateway (S-GW) configured to process the S11 GTP create session message to generate an S5 GTP create session message that contains a trusted Access Point Name (APN) for the UE; and

a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) configured to process the S5 GTP create session message that contains the trusted APN for the UE to generate a Diameter message that contains the trusted APN for the UE and to process a Diameter response having a trusted Quality-of-Service Class Indicator (QCI) for a trusted bearer for the UE.

18. The LTE communication network of claim 17 wherein the LTE gateway system comprises a Policy Control and Rules Function (PCRF) configured to process the Diameter message having the trusted APN for the UE to generate the Diameter response having the trusted QCI for the trusted bearer for the UE.

19. The LTE communication network of claim 11 wherein the LTE access node is configured to:

exchange additional hardware trust data with the trusted server system to maintain remote hardware trust for a trusted hardware partition of the LTE access node; and

exchange the user data between the UE and the first LTE gateway system through the trusted hardware partition of the LTE access node.

20. The LTE communication network of claim 19 wherein the LTE access node is configured to exchange the user data through the trusted hardware partition responsive to an S1-AP initial context set-up message from a Mobility Management Entity (MME) that contains the trusted QCI for the trusted bearer for the UE.