Background
The multimode terminal can enable seamless connectivity between heterogeneous radio access networks, such as cellular UMTS/EDGE/GPRS and IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs).
WLANs can provide very high data rates in small-scale home and hot spot areas; while cellular networks may provide greater flexibility and ubiquitous coverage, but at lower data rates. The user would benefit from the advantages of both if they could be combined. The multimode terminal utilizes the WLAN for data access and VoIP applications within the coverage area of the WLAN access point, while also being able to use the overlapping cellular networks for voice calls or media access.
With the development of network technology and the demands of users for services, a heterogeneous network will support the multi-connection capability of a multi-mode terminal, so that the terminal can communicate with multiple network connections simultaneously to carry one or more services. Different network connections have different characteristics and transmission capabilities, so that the requirement of multiple services of a user is better met.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a functional architecture for implementing Multi-Connection, and as shown in fig. 1, in order to support Multi-Connection, a Multi-Connection Transport control function (MTCF) is introduced for maintaining available Multi-Connection information of a Multi-Connection terminal and managing transmission traffic of the terminal in different access networks. The MTCF includes a Multi-connection Media Control-function Entity (MMC-FE) and a Multi-connection Registration-function Entity (MR-FE), wherein,
the MMC-FE is mainly used for being responsible for IP layer routing under multi-connection of the UE; the MR-FE is used to take charge of the management of the available connections of the UE, maintaining the available connection information.
The MTCF receives Multi-connection Service control function (MSCF) information.
The MTCF sends a multi-connection Resource request message to a Policy Storage-function Entity (PS-FE) or a Resource Admission Control Function (RACF). The PS-FE is responsible for the formulation of multiple connection policies, such as bandwidth, cost, quality, security, etc.
RACF is a standard for resource admission control established by the International telecommunication Union telecommunication standardization sector (ITU-T). In the Y.2111 standard issued by ITU-T, a functional framework of RACF is provided, and the RACF is composed of two parts, namely a Policy decision function (PD-FE) and a Transport Resource control function (TRC-FE). The PD-FE makes a final decision of resource admission Control based on a network policy rule, service information provided by a Service Control Function (SCF), transport layer subscription information provided by a Network Attachment Control Function (NACF), and a resource availability decision result provided by the TRC-FE.
NACF is a network attachment control function established by ITU-T and provides main functions including: dynamically providing an IP address and other configuration parameters for the user terminal; user authentication is carried out before or in the process of allocating the IP address; authorizing network access based on the user list; configuring an access network based on the user list; location management, etc.
Fig. 2 is a flowchart of implementing multiple connections in the prior art, which mainly includes the following steps:
step 200: and the UE detects a new available access network, attaches to the access network and acquires an IP address under the access network after access authentication.
Step 201: the UE sends a connection update request message to the MTCF, where new connection information, such as a new IP address, is included in the connection update request message.
Step 202: the MTCF registers the new connection information and maintains available connection information of the UE.
Step 203: the MTCF sends a resource request message to the PS-FE to perform quality of service (QoS) policy control on transmission resources in the new access network, where the resource request message carries new connection information.
Step 204: after receiving the resource request message, PS-FE makes policy decision and makes QoS policy rule; and the PS-FE sends a resource request message to the TF, wherein the resource request message carries the QoS strategy rule formulated by the PS-FE.
Step 205: and after the TF installs the relevant policy rules, sending a resource request response message to the PS-FE.
Step 206: the PS-FE transmits a resource request response message to the MTCF.
Step 207: the MTCF sub-UE transmits a connection update request response message.
In the multi-connection architecture based on fig. 1, the MTCF includes two functional entities, MMC-FE and MR-FE, and as can be seen from its existing functions, the MTCF cannot handle mobility management and can only do simple policy control; in addition, in the prior art, a specific implementation scheme of whether to use and how to obtain a user subscription list when a PS-FE formulates a policy rule is not given. That is, the definition of MSCF and the complete interactive flow implementation method with MTCF are missing in the prior art.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the above, the present invention provides a multi-connection implementation architecture and a method thereof, which can provide a perfect multi-connection implementation architecture and a specific method for implementing multi-connection.
In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:
a framework for realizing multi-connection comprises a multi-connection transmission control function MTCF, a multi-connection location/mobility management function ML/MMF, a multi-connection strategy control function MPCF, a multi-connection service control function MSCF, a multi-connection user list library MUPD for storing a user subscription list and a multi-connection user terminal MUE capable of accessing two or more access networks; wherein,
the MTCF is used for being responsible for routing strategies under multi-connection and multi-connection information registration and maintenance; sending a multi-connection resource request to the MPCF;
the ML/MMF is used for being responsible for the position management and the mobility management of the user; completing management of the MUE access network, and reporting new connection information of the MUE to the MTCF;
the MPCF is used for being responsible for multi-connection strategy control; according to the multi-connection resource request, making an admission decision, making a strategy rule and issuing the strategy rule;
the MSCF is respectively connected with the MTCF and the MPCF and provides multi-connection service information;
wherein the MPCF makes an admission decision for the multi-connection resource request at least according to the user subscription information and the multi-connection service information in the MUPD.
When the user subscription information is acquired by the MPCF,
the MPCF is specifically configured to make a resource admission decision and make a policy rule based on a network policy rule, the multi-connection service information provided by the MTCF, the user subscription information provided by the MUPD, and resource availability information collected by the MPCF.
When the user subscription information is acquired by the MPCF,
the MPCF is specifically configured to make a resource admission decision and make a policy rule based on a network policy rule, the multi-connection service information provided by the MSCF, the user subscription information provided by the MUPD, and the resource availability information collected by the MPCF.
The MUPD is connected with the MPCF and carries out information interaction; or,
the MUPD is connected with the MTCF and carries out information interaction; or,
the MUPD is disposed in the ML/MMF.
A method of implementing multiple connections, the method comprising:
MUE interacts with ML/MMF to complete the management of MUE access network;
the ML/MMF reports new connection information of the MUE to an MTCF, and the MTCF sends the multi-connection resource request to an MPCF;
the MPCF carries out admission decision, makes strategy rules and issues the strategy rules according to the multi-connection resource request; wherein the MPCF makes an admission decision for the multi-connection resource request at least according to the user subscription information and the multi-connection service information in the MUPD.
The MUE interacts with the ML/MMF, and the management of the MUE access network comprises the following steps:
the MUE detecting a new available access network and attaching to the access network; and the MUE interacts with the ML/MMF to complete access authentication, and the ML/MMF allocates an IP address to the MUE.
The reporting, by the ML/MMF, of the new connection information to the MTCF includes:
after receiving the new connection information reported by the ML/MMF, the MTCF registers the new connection information and maintains the available connection information of the MUE; the MTCF returns a new connection reporting response message to the ML/MMF; the new connection information includes the newly assigned IP address.
Before the MTCF sends the multi-connection resource request to the MPCF, the method further comprises:
and the MTCF inquires multi-connection service information from the MSCF, and the MSCF pushes the multi-connection service information to the MTCF.
The MUPD is connected with the MPCF and carries out information interaction; alternatively, the MUPD is disposed in the ML/MMF;
after the MTCF sends the multi-connection resource request to the MPCF, before the MPCF makes an admission decision and makes a policy rule for the resource request, the method further includes:
the MPCF acquires the subscription list information of the user through interaction with the MUPD;
and the MPCF carries out authorization check on the multi-connection service information requested by the user according to the signing list of the user and passes the authorization check.
The MUPD is connected with the MTCF and carries out information interaction;
before the MTCF sends a multi-connection resource request to the MPCF, the method further comprises: the MTCF interacts with the MUPD to acquire subscription list information of the user;
and the MTCF carries out authorization check on the multi-connection service information requested by the user according to the subscription list of the user and passes the authorization check.
The technical scheme provided by the invention can be seen that the method comprises the steps that MUE interacts with ML/MMF to complete the management of MUE access network, then ML/MMF reports new connection information of MUE to MTCF, MTCF or MSCF sends a multi-connection resource request to MPCF, and MPCF performs admission decision and makes policy rules on the resource request; and finally, the MPCF interacts with the TF and issues the formulated strategy rule to the TF for installation. The architecture and the method for realizing the multi-connection improve the existing multi-connection realizing architecture and provide a concrete realizing method for realizing the multi-connection based on the improved architecture.
Detailed Description
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an architecture composition for implementing multiple connections according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, which mainly includes:
MTCF, mainly used for taking charge of routing strategy, multi-connection information registration and maintenance under multi-connection;
a multi-connection location/mobility management function (ML/MMF) mainly responsible for location management and mobility management of a user. Specifically, the ML/MMF completes IP address allocation, network access authorization, user authentication and access network configuration; and the method is further used for finishing the functions of position management, position information binding, switching decision, switching control and the like.
A multi-connection policy control function (MPCF) primarily responsible for multi-connection policy control. Specifically, the MPCF receives the multi-connection resource request message from the MTCF, and further, the MPCF issues the formulated policy rule to the transport function TF.
When the subscription information of the user is acquired by the MPCF, the MPCF is specifically configured to make a resource admission decision and make a policy rule based on a network policy rule, connection information provided by the MTCF, user subscription information provided by the MUPD, and resource availability information collected by the MPCF;
when the subscription information of the user is acquired by the MTCF, the MPCF is specifically configured to make a resource admission decision and make a policy rule based on the network policy rule, the multi-connection service information provided by the MSCF, the user subscription information provided by the MUPD, and the resource availability information collected by the MPCF.
And the multi-connection user list library (MUPD) is used for storing a user subscription list. Specifically, the subscription list of the user includes media type, bandwidth, priority, access identifier, and the like.
As shown in fig. 3, the MUPD is connected to the MPCF and performs information exchange, or the MUPD is connected to the MTCF and performs information exchange, or the MUPD is provided in the ML/MMF. The specific implementation form of the MUPD is not used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.
The multi-connection service control function (MSCF) is mainly used for providing multi-connection service information for the service continuity of a multi-connection session layer.
A multi-connection user terminal (MUE) is a user terminal (UE) that can access two or more access networks.
The working principle of the framework for realizing multi-connection in the invention is as follows:
firstly, the MUE interacts with the ML/MMF to complete the management of the MUE access network. Here, the management of the MUE access network by the ML/MMF includes user authentication, network address allocation, location management, and the like.
Then, the ML/MMF reports new connection information of the MUE to the MTCF, wherein the reported new connection information comprises a new IP address, and/or a logic access identifier, and/or a physical access identifier and the like; further, if the MUE is switched, the ML/MMF also reports the location binding information to the MTCF.
Then, the MTCF sends a multi-connection resource request to the MPCF, and the MPCF performs admission decision and makes policy rules for the resource request.
If the MTCF does not have the service information carried on the new connection, the MTCF is interacted with the MSCF, the MTCF inquires the multi-connection service information from the MSCF, and the MSCF pushes the multi-connection service information to the MTCF; wherein, the multi-connection service information comprises: service type, and/or service identification, and/or priority, and/or bandwidth, and/or IP address, and/or media type, and/or charging information, etc.
If the MTCF or MPCF does not have the subscription list of the user, the MTCF or MPCF is further configured to interact with the mudd to obtain the subscription list information of the user.
And finally, the MPCF interacts with the TF and issues the formulated strategy rule to the TF for installation.
The process of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.
Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for implementing multi-connection according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which an MPCF interacts with an MUPD, as shown in fig. 4, including the following steps:
step 400: the MUE detects a new available access network and attaches to that access network; and the MUE interacts with the ML/MMF to complete access authentication, and the ML/MMF allocates an IP address to the MUE.
Step 401: and the ML/MMF reports new connection information to the MTCF, wherein the new connection information comprises the newly allocated IP address and further comprises a logic access identifier, a physical access identifier and the like.
The method specifically comprises the following steps: after receiving the new connection information reported by the ML/MMF, the MTCF registers the new connection information, and maintains the available connection information of the MUE, for example, the MTCF binds the user identifier with the available connection of the user; MTCF returns response message of reporting new connection to ML/MMF.
Step 402: if the MTCF does not have the traffic information carried on the new connection, the MSCF is queried for multi-connection traffic information (e.g., bandwidth, traffic type, etc.), which is pushed to the MTCF. It should be noted that if the MTCF has traffic information carried on the new connection, this step may be omitted.
Step 403: the MTCF sends a multi-connection resource request message to the MPCF, and the multi-connection resource request message carries connection information, service information, and the like.
Step 404: if the MPCF does not have the subscription list of the user, the MPCF needs to acquire the subscription list information of the user through interaction with the MUPD. The MPCF carries out authorization check on the multi-connection service information requested by the user according to the signing list of the user and passes the authorization check. The interaction between the MPCF and the mudd may be omitted if the MPCF has a subscription list of the user.
After the MPCF receives the multi-connection resource request message and obtains the subscription list of the user, the MPCF makes a resource admission decision and makes a policy rule based on the network policy rule, the connection information and the service information provided by the MTCF, the user subscription information provided by the MUPD, and the resource availability information collected by the MPCF. Here, the resource admission decision and policy making rules belong to the technical means commonly used by those skilled in the art, are the prior art, and the specific implementation thereof is not used to limit the scope of the present invention, and therefore, will not be described in detail herein.
Step 405: the MPCF interacts with the TF, issues the formulated policy rule to the TF, and the TF installs the received policy rule.
Step 406: the MPCF returns a multi-connection resource request response to the MTCF.
Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of a method for implementing multi-connection according to the present invention, in which an MTCF interacts with a MUPD, as shown in fig. 5, including the following steps:
step 500: the MUE detects a new available access network and attaches to that access network; and the MUE interacts with the ML/MMF to complete access authentication, and the ML/MMF allocates an IP address to the MUE.
Step 501: and the ML/MMF reports new connection information to the MTCF, wherein the new connection information comprises the newly allocated IP address and further comprises a logic access identifier, a physical access identifier and the like.
The method specifically comprises the following steps: after receiving the new connection information reported by the ML/MMF, the MTCF registers the new connection information, and maintains the available connection information of the MUE, for example, the MTCF binds the user identifier with the available connection of the user; MTCF returns response message of reporting new connection to ML/MMF.
Step 502: if the MTCF does not have the traffic information carried on the new connection, the MSCF is queried for multi-connection traffic information (e.g., bandwidth, traffic type, etc.), which is pushed to the MTCF. It should be noted that if the MTCF has traffic information carried on the new connection, this step may be omitted.
Step 503: if the MTCF does not have the subscription list of the user, the MTCF needs to acquire the subscription list information of the user by interacting with the MUPD. The MTCF interaction with the MUPD may be omitted if the MTCF has a subscription list of users.
Step 504: and the MTCF performs authorization check on the multi-connection service information requested by the user according to the subscription list of the user, and if the authorization check is passed, the MTCF sends a multi-connection resource request message to the MPCF, and the multi-connection resource request message carries connection information, service information and the like.
Step 505: the MPCF makes a resource admission decision and makes a policy rule based on the network policy rule, the connection information and the service information provided by the MTCF and the resource availability information collected by the MPCF; the MPCF interacts with the TF, issues the formulated policy rule to the transmission function TF, and the TF installs the received policy rule.
Step 506: the MPCF returns a multi-connection resource request response to the MTCF.
Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for implementing multiple connections according to a third embodiment of the present invention, where in the third embodiment, the MUPD is disposed in the ML/MMF, as shown in fig. 6, and includes the following steps:
step 600: the MUE detects a new available access network and attaches to that access network; and the MUE interacts with the ML/MMF to complete access authentication, and the ML/MMF allocates an IP address to the MUE.
Step 601: and the ML/MMF reports new connection information to the MTCF, wherein the new connection information comprises the newly allocated IP address and further comprises a logic access identifier, a physical access identifier and the like.
The method specifically comprises the following steps: after receiving the new connection information reported by the ML/MMF, the MTCF registers the new connection information, and maintains the available connection information of the MUE, for example, the MTCF binds the user identifier with the available connection of the user; MTCF returns response message of reporting new connection to ML/MMF.
Step 602: if the MTCF does not have the traffic information carried on the new connection, the MSCF is queried for multi-connection traffic information (e.g., bandwidth, traffic type, etc.), which is pushed to the MTCF. It should be noted that if the MTCF has traffic information carried on the new connection, this step may be omitted.
Step 603: the MTCF sends a multi-connection resource request message to the MPCF, and the multi-connection resource request message carries connection information, service information, and the like.
Step 604: if the MPCF does not have the subscription list of the user, the MPCF needs to acquire the subscription list information of the user through interaction with the ML/MMF. The MPCF carries out authorization check on the multi-connection service information requested by the user according to the signing list of the user and passes the authorization check. If the MPCF has a subscription list of the user, the interaction between the MPCF and the ML/MMF can be omitted.
After the MPCF receives the multi-connection resource request message and obtains the subscription list of the user, the MPCF makes a resource admission decision and makes a policy rule based on the network policy rule, the connection information and the service information provided by the MTCF, the user subscription information provided by the ML/MMF, and the resource availability information collected by the MPCF.
Step 605: the MPCF interacts with the TF, issues the formulated policy rule to the TF, and the TF installs the received policy rule.
Step 606: the MPCF returns a multi-connection resource request response to the MTCF.
The above description is only exemplary of the present invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. that are within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the present invention.