KR102106412B1 - Operating method and apparatus of Femto AP - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of operating a femto AP is provided. The control method of the femto AP includes transmitting a session request message for a session connection with the management system to the management system and waiting for the management system to transmit a response message during the session expiration time after transmitting the session request message. Including, but the session request message is periodically transmitted by the femto AP according to the transmission cycle, the femto AP is connected to the network through the network address translation device connected to the bottom of the network address translation device (Network Address Translation) do.

Description

Femto base station operating method and apparatus {Operating method and apparatus of Femto AP}

The present invention relates to a communication system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for operating a femto AP operating in a NAT environment.

Femto Cell (Femto Cell) is a technology that provides a mobile communication service to a region much smaller than the existing mobile communication service radius through a femto base station (Femto AP). The femtocell has a similar concept, such as a small cell, a micro cell, and the like. Femtocells are mainly used to ensure the quality of mobile communication services in areas where the radio wave of macro cells is deteriorated or shaded areas, such as inside a home or building, and provide low rates through femtozone services. It can also be used as a means. In addition, if the capacity of the macrocell base station is insufficient, the femtocell can be installed and used as a means of increasing capacity to distribute the load of the macrocell.

Since the femtocell uses a general-purpose internet circuit such as an IP network for connection with the core network, the installation cost and maintenance cost are low, and the area where the internet circuit is installed can be installed anywhere. It has the advantage of excellent mobility. As the prevalence of femtocells is expanding, consideration is being given to the introduction and operation of a management system that manages multiple femto APs.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for operating a femto AP operating in a NAT environment.

In one aspect of the present invention, a method of operating a femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention includes transmitting a session request message for session connection with the management system to a management system and a session after transmitting the session request message Waiting for the management system to transmit a response message during the expiration time, wherein the session request message is periodically transmitted by the femto AP according to a transmission cycle, and the femto AP is a network address translation device. It is connected to the bottom and is connected to the network through the network address translation device.

The session request message may include information indicating the session expiration time.

The session request message may include information indicating the transmission cycle.

The session expiration time may be obtained by the femto AP from the management system in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.

The transmission period may be obtained by the femto AP from the management system in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.

The femto AP operating method, when receiving the response message from the management system during the session expiration time, resetting the session expiration time to set a reset session expiration time, from the management system within the reset session expiration time The method may further include receiving a control command and executing the control command.

The response message may include session expiration time reset information indicating the reset session expiration time.

The session expiration time reset information indicating the reset session expiration time may be obtained by the femto AP from the management system in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.

In another aspect of the present invention, a femto AP connected to a network address translation apparatus and connected to a network through the network address translation apparatus includes a processor, and the processor comprises: The session request message for session connection with the management system is periodically transmitted to the management system by the femto AP according to the transmission cycle, and the response message of the management system is transmitted during the session expiration time after the session request message is transmitted. It is set to wait.

The method of operating a femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention enables control by a femto AP management system in a NAT environment. Therefore, it is possible to maintain, manage, and repair the femto AP by the management system in the NAT environment.

1 schematically shows a network structure to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.
2 illustrates a plurality of femto APs operating in a NAT environment viewed by HeMS.
3 shows a message flow in a method of operating a femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 shows the operation of the femto AP in the method of operating the femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention can be variously changed and can have various embodiments, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail through detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. In addition, the numbers (for example, first, second, etc.) used in the description process of the present specification are only identification symbols for distinguishing one component from other components.

In addition, in this specification, when one component is referred to as "connected" or "connected" with another component, the one component may be directly connected to the other component, or may be directly connected, but in particular It should be understood that, as long as there is no objection to the contrary, it may or may be connected via another component in the middle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate the overall understanding in describing the present invention, the same reference numerals will be used for the same means regardless of the drawing numbers.

1 schematically shows a network structure to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

The femto AP control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is premised on an environment in which a femto AP is connected to a network address translation (NAT).

The network to which the embodiment of the present invention can be applied is the femto AP 110 is connected to the network through the optical path termination device 130 through the home hub 120, and the Heem Management System (HeMS), a management system of the Femto AP Is controlled.

In FIG. 1, the home hub 120 is an example of a NAT. NAT is an address translation device that converts private addresses or non-public IP addresses to public IP addresses. In other words, NAT is a shared device that allows a small number of unique global IP addresses to be used by thousands of TCP / IP hosts. NAT is one way to solve the problem of exhaustion of Internet addresses.

NAT is implemented at the network layer, the third layer of the OSI model, and another advantage of using NAT is that it can hide private private IP networks. When setting NAT on a router that is an external connection device, the router makes only the public IP address assigned to it known to the outside. NAT can protect the internal network from this type of attack because external interlocutors need to know the actual private IP address of the host inside the private network in order to initiate an address spoofing session.

NAT is divided into static NAT and dynamic NAT according to the address translation method. The method of converting the private addresses of terminals connected to NAT to one public address and mapping them to multiple private addresses using port numbers is an example of dynamic address translation. Since this method performs address translation using a port number, it is also referred to as Port Address Translation (PAT) or Network Address Port Translation (NAPT). In the case of using a private IP, only a source address is converted when a packet is transmitted to a server, and only a destination address is converted when a packet is received.

The optical fiber termination device (OLT, 130) is installed in the national office and connects the backbone network and the subscriber network to each other, and serves to terminate the subscriber optical signal at the government office. In correspondence with the OLT in the domestic company, ONU may be installed in the subscriber premises / home.

HeMS 150 is a management entity that controls multiple installed femto APs 110.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the femto AP 110 is installed at the bottom of the home hub 120, which is a NAT device. The example of FIG. 1 illustrates a situation in which the femto AP 110 is installed at the bottom of the home hub 120 installed in the home, but this is only illustrated for convenience of explanation. The home hub 120 is only an example of a NAT device, and an embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a method of operating a femto AP installed and operated under the NAT device regardless of its name.

When the femto AP starts operating (e.g. turn on), the femto AP is assigned a private IP from the home hub 120. For example, a private IP can be assigned using a NAT device, a home hub, and a DHCP protocol.

When a femto AP uses a public IP, it is possible to perform a command by receiving a control command from HeMS. However, it is impossible for the femto AP of FIG. 1 to receive and execute a control command from the HeMS. This is due to the fact that the femto AP operates in a NAT environment, because the femto AP operates by receiving an unofficial IP from a home hub.

2 illustrates a plurality of femto APs operating in a NAT environment viewed by HeMS.

Since a different IP is assigned to a home hub installed in each home, HeMS can identify each home hub through IP. However, the IP assigned by each home hub to the home femto may be assigned the same private IP as the private IP.

In the example of FIG. 2, different IPs are assigned to the two home hubs, but the IPs of the femto APs assigned by each home hub are 172.30.1.2, which illustrate the same situation. In this case, it is impossible for the HeMS to identify two different femto cells with the IP of the femto AP. Therefore, it is difficult to apply the conventional method of controlling the femto AP by the HeMS, which establishes a session with the femto AP by the HeMS and transmits a control command in the above-described environment.

3 shows a message flow in a method of operating a femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, when the femto AP 110 operates under the NAT and receives a private IP from the NAT, it is difficult to establish a session and transmit a control command by the HeMS 150.

In the femto AP control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the femto AP 110 periodically transmits a session establishment message to the HeMS 150 (S310). The session establishment message may include at least one of period information for the femto AP to transmit the session establishment message and session expiration time information for transmitting the session establishment message and waiting for a response. In another embodiment, the transmission period of the session establishment message and the session expiration time may be set by receiving configuration parameters from the HeMS in the initial configuration procedure of the femto AP or a value shared between the femto AP and the HeMS as a preset value. The session establishment message is transmitted to the HeMS 150 via NAT. Although not shown in FIG. 3, an additional procedure (e.g. HeMS session connection acceptance message transmission) for session connection may be performed with the HeMS 150 receiving the session establishment message.

The femto AP 110 transmits a session establishment message and waits for a response from the HeMS 150 during a preset session expiration time. When receiving a session establishment message, the HeMS 150 may not transmit a response message when there is no control command to be transmitted to the femto AP 110 and may transmit a response message when there is a control command to be transmitted.

The example of FIG. 3 illustrates a case in which the HeMS 150 does not respond to the transmission of the session establishment message in S310 because there is no command to transmit to the femto AP 110 at the time of transmission in S310. If the response message is not received from the HeMS 150 within the session expiration time after transmitting the session establishment message in S310, the session establishment message is transmitted at the next transmission time according to the session establishment message transmission cycle (S320).

If there is a control command to be transmitted by the HeMS 150 at the corresponding time with respect to the session setup message transmission in S320, the HeMS 150 transmits a response message to the femto AP 110. At this time, the transmission of the response message is transmitted within the session expiration time. The response message may include parameters necessary for resetting the session expiration time. The femto AP 110 may reset the session expiration time by referring to the session expiration time reset parameter included in the response message (S340). Depending on the embodiment, the session expiration time reset parameter may be a value previously set in the femto AP 110, or a value obtained from the HeMS 150 in the initial setup procedure of the femto AP 110.

After resetting the session expiration time by the femto AP 110 (S340), the HeMS 150 transmits a control command (S350), and the femto AP 110 performs a control command (S360).

If the HeMS 150 does not periodically receive the session establishment message according to the session establishment period, the HeMS 150 may record that the session establishment message was not received from the femto AP 110 and generate an alarm. .

4 shows the operation of the femto AP in the method of operating the femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The femto AP transmits a session establishment message to a management system (HeMS) (S410). The session establishment message may be periodically transmitted. The transmission period of the session establishment message may be obtained from the management system in the initial setup process of the femto AP, or the femto AP may be determined. When determined by the femto AP, the transmission period may be included in the session establishment message and transmitted to the management system.

After transmitting the session establishment message, it waits for the response of the management system during the session expiration time, and if the response is not received before the session expiration, waits until the next session establishment message transmission time.

If a response is received before the session expires, the session expiration time is reset (S430). Resetting the session expiration time may be performed based on a parameter value included in the response message or when a response message is received according to a preset value.

Thereafter, a control command is received from the management system and a corresponding control command is performed (S440).

The procedure of FIG. 4 is repeated according to the session establishment message transmission cycle.

Meanwhile, the method of operating a femto AP according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in a form of a program command that can be performed through various electronic information processing means and may be recorded in a storage medium. The storage medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, or the like alone or in combination.

The program instructions recorded on the storage medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention or may be known and usable by those skilled in the software art. Examples of storage media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic-optical media such as floptical disks. (magneto-optical media) and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. In addition, the above-described medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire or waveguide including a carrier wave that transmits a signal designating a program command, data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language codes such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language codes that can be executed by a device that processes information electronically using an interpreter or the like, for example, a computer.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the present invention, and vice versa.

The above-described embodiments include examples of various aspects. It is not possible to describe all possible combinations for representing various aspects, but a person skilled in the art will appreciate that other combinations are possible. Accordingly, the present invention will be said to include all other replacements, modifications and changes that fall within the scope of the following claims.

110: femto AP: 110
120: home hub (presented as an example of NAT)
130: optical fiber termination device
150: HeMS (Femto AP management system)

Claims (16)

In the method of operating the femto AP,
Receiving a private IP from a network address translation device and accessing a management system through the network address translation device;
Transmitting a session request message to connect a session to the management system according to a transmission cycle;
Receiving a response message from the management system during the session expiration time of the session, resetting the session expiration time, and receiving a control command from the management system within the reset session expiration time; And
If a response message is not received from the management system until the session expiration time of the session, transmitting a new session request message for session connection to the management system according to the transmission cycle;
Including, femto AP operating method.
According to claim 1,
The session request message is a method of operating a femto AP including information indicating the session expiration time.
According to claim 1,
The session request message is a method of operating a femto AP including information indicating the transmission cycle.
According to claim 1,
The session expiration time is a method of operating a femto AP that the femto AP acquires from the management system in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.
According to claim 1,
The transmission period is a femto AP operating method of the femto AP obtained from the management system in the initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.
delete According to claim 1,
The response message is a method of operating a femto AP including session expiration time reset information indicating the reset session expiration time.
According to claim 1,
A method of operating a femto AP, wherein the femto AP is obtained from the management system in the initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system, for session reset time reset information indicating the reset session expiration time.
In the femto AP,
A private IP is assigned from a network address translator, and a session request message is transmitted to connect a session to a management system accessed through the network address translator, and a response message is received from the management system during the session expiration time of the session If it does, reset the session expiration time, receive a control command from the management system within the reset session expiration time, and fail to receive a response message from the management system during the session expiration time of the session. A femto AP, comprising a processor sending a new session request message for a session connection to the system.
The method of claim 9,
The session request message is a femto AP including information indicating the session expiration time.
The method of claim 9,
The session request message is a femto AP including information indicating the transmission cycle.
The method of claim 9,
The session expiration time is a femto AP that the femto AP acquires from the management system in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.
The method of claim 9,
The transmission period is a femto AP obtained by the femto AP from the management system in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.
delete The method of claim 9,
The response message is a femto AP including session expiration time reset information indicating the reset session expiration time.
The method of claim 9,
The femto AP obtained from the management system is obtained by the femto AP in an initial setup procedure between the femto AP and the management system.

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