CN102647806B

CN102647806B - IP message processing method, system and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN102647806B
Application number: CN201110040781.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 艾明; 徐晖; 秦飞; 李国庆; 房家奕; 刘佳敏
Original assignee: China Academy of Telecommunications Technology CATT
Current assignee: China Academy of Telecommunications Technology CATT; Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-02-18
Filing date: 2011-02-18
Publication date: 2016-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 2031-02-18
Also published as: CN102647806A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a kind of IP message processing method, system and equipment, relate to wireless communication technology field, for solving problem that is how simple, process IP message efficiently.In the present invention, IP chain of command protocol massages to be sent is encapsulated as the first form message that Signaling Radio Bearer SRB supports by transmitting apparatus; First form message is encapsulated as the first air interface media access control MAC message, and the first air interface MAC message is sent to receiving equipment; IP user face protocol massages to be sent is encapsulated as the second form message that Data Radio Bearer DRB supports by transmitting apparatus; Second form message is encapsulated as the second aerial MAC message, and the second air interface MAC message is sent to receiving equipment.Adopt the present invention, can simply, efficient process IP message.

Description

IP message processing method, system and equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method, a system, and a device for processing an IP packet.

Background

In recent years, with the popularization of mobile internet (mobilenet) and smart phones, mobile data traffic demand has increased dramatically, and indoor data traffic occupies a considerable proportion. Indoor and hot data service features that the user is usually fixed or very low-speed mobile, and the requirement on mobility is not high; on the other hand, data services are mainly Internet services based on Internet Protocol (IP), and have a single requirement on quality of service (QoS), which is far lower than the requirement on QoS of telecommunication services. The traditional cellular mobile communication system is mainly designed for high-speed mobile and seamless switching telecommunication service, and when the system bears high-flow low-speed IP data packet service, the efficiency is low and the cost is too high.

In summary, cellular mobile operators need to find solutions with low cost and high capacity suitable for indoor wireless data access. The main solutions at present are:

a home base station (Femto, femtocell base station) is used as another solution for solving the data service traffic demand in indoor and hot spot areas, and according to the characteristics of shorter indoor coverage distance and less user number, the capacity demand and the power emission rate of a single station are reduced, the user number is usually 8-20, the power is equivalent to that of a mobile phone terminal, and generally is below 23 dBm. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Femto network architecture.

Compared with an indoor coverage system and a micro base station, the home base station has the advantages of lower cost and more flexible deployment, and plays a certain role in indoor data service experience. But the disadvantages are: the home base station is not optimized for the characteristics of indoor data services, and taking an LTE system as an example, the LTE fiemto system basically adopts the complete protocol architecture and interface design of the LTE system, so the implementation is complex, and only the capacity and power of the base station are reduced, so the cost is always high. In addition, Femto is an internal device of an International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) system, and a frequency at which Femto can operate is still an operator authorized frequency band in IMT, so that bandwidth available for WiFi is small, and a data service offloading requirement of an operator cannot be completely met.

The processing of IP layer control plane packets in conventional 2G/3G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks is as follows:

first, the IP layer control protocol mainly refers to a signaling protocol related to IP network management, such as a DHCP protocol for allocating an address to a terminal (UE), an internal control information protocol (ICMP) protocol for monitoring a network condition, and a routing protocol. And the message using the IP layer control protocol is an IP control plane message. Closely related to the UE is the DHCP protocol, which is used to assign an IP address to the UE. In 2G/3G/LTE systems; the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), packet data network gateway (PDN-GW), and other nodes closely participate in the IP address allocation process, and specifically there are the following two methods:

the method I is that GGSN/PDN-GW distributes IP address for UE through non-access layer signaling.

In a 2G/3G network, the GGSN allocates an IP address to the UE using non-access stratum procedures defined by the 2G/3G system, such as a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context activation procedure. In LTE networks, the UE is assigned an IP address during the default bearer activation process.

In this method, the IP address and address space for allocation to the UE are managed by the GGSN/PDN-GW, and there is no need to use the DHCP protocol of the IP layer between the UE and the network to obtain the IP address.

And secondly, obtaining the IP address by the UE according to a DHCP protocol.

At this time, the DHCP protocol is performed between the UE and the DHCP server. The related signaling messages are carried by PDP/Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearers between the UE and the GGSN/PDN-GW, i.e. by the user plane in the 2G/3G/LTE network. At this time, the GGSN/PDN-GW needs to intercept and process DHCP protocol messages. In the air interface, these messages are carried over a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), and the base station cannot distinguish between IP control plane messages and IP user plane protocol messages.

The GGSN/PDN-GW processes the IP data message of the user as follows:

the GGSN/PDN-GW has a deep packet inspection function, and can detect, in an uplink direction, which packets are IP control plane packets in an IP data packet sent by the UE, that is, the GGSN/PGW knows which data packets are DHCP/ICMP protocol packets. And other messages can be processed as IP user plane protocol messages. The implementation of deep packet inspection typically requires specialized hardware and is therefore costly.

The existing lte efemto has a relatively high cost, and has a certain difference compared with wireless fidelity (wifi), so a new network access system is introduced, and an Access Point (AP) device is introduced in the system. The AP is a two-tier device and does not have the capability of IP forwarding and routing. Between the AP and the GW, no special non-access stratum signaling procedures are defined but existing protocols or methods of the IP layer are used as much as possible. There is also no user plane bearer (such as GTP-U tunnel) between the AP and the GW like 2G/3G network.

When the AP needs to process the IP control protocol, the AP needs to intercept and capture the IP control plane protocol message for processing, and only carries out two-layer forwarding processing on the IP user plane protocol message. In order to distinguish whether an IP packet between the UE and the network is an IP control plane packet or an IP user plane protocol packet for subsequent processing, the AP device needs a simple, efficient, and low-cost IP packet processing method. However, no such treatment is currently available.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, a system, and a device for processing an IP packet, which are used to solve the problem of how to simply and efficiently process the IP packet.

A method for processing IP messages comprises the following steps:

the sending equipment packages an IP control plane protocol message to be sent into a first format message supported by a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB); packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, carrying distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains an IP control plane protocol message in the first air interface MAC message by the sending equipment, and sending the first air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment;

the sending equipment packages an IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by a Data Radio Bearer (DRB); and packaging the second format message into a second air MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment.

A method for processing IP messages comprises the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that a sending device packages an IP control plane protocol message to be sent into a first format message supported by a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), packages the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, and sends the first air interface MAC message to a receiving device, wherein the first air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message;

the sending equipment packages an IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by the DRB, packages the second format message into a second air interface MAC message, and sends the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the second air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP user plane protocol message.

A method for processing IP messages comprises the following steps:

after receiving an air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message sent by a sending device, a receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message comes from a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) or a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of a terminal;

if the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message comes from the SRB of the terminal, the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message, and processes the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode;

if the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message comes from the DRB of the terminal, the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message contains an IP user plane protocol message, and processes the IP user plane protocol message according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

A method for processing IP messages comprises the following steps:

after receiving an air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message sent by sending equipment, receiving equipment determines whether the air interface MAC message is from a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of the sending equipment;

when the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message is from the DRB of the sending device, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message or an IP user plane protocol message according to distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message, and if the air interface MAC message is the IP control plane protocol message, processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode; if the IP user plane protocol message is the IP user plane protocol message, the IP user plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

An IP packet processing device, the device comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to encapsulate an IP control plane protocol packet to be sent as a first format packet supported by a signaling radio bearer SRB; packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, and sending the first air interface MAC message to receiving equipment;

a second sending unit, configured to encapsulate an IP user plane protocol packet to be sent as a second format packet supported by the data radio bearer DRB; and packaging the second format message into a second air MAC message, carrying distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains an IP control plane protocol message in the first air interface MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment.

An IP packet processing device, the device comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to encapsulate an IP control plane protocol packet to be sent as a first format packet supported by a data radio bearer DRB, encapsulate the first format packet as a first air interface media access control MAC packet, and send the first air interface MAC packet to a receiving device, where the first air interface MAC packet carries distinguishing information indicating that a current packet includes the IP control plane protocol packet;

and the second sending unit is used for packaging the IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by the DRB, packaging the second format message into a second air interface MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the second air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP user plane protocol message.

An IP packet processing device, the device comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to determine that an air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message sent by a sending device is from a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) or a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of a terminal after receiving the MAC message;

the first processing unit is used for determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message when the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the SRB of the terminal, and processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode;

and the second processing unit is used for determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP user plane protocol message when the DRB of the air interface MAC message from the terminal is determined, and processing the IP user plane protocol message according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

An IP packet processing device, the device comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to determine whether an air interface MAC packet is from a data radio bearer DRB of a sending device after receiving the air interface media access control MAC packet sent by the sending device;

a processing unit, configured to determine, when it is determined that the air interface MAC packet is from a DRB of a sending device, that the air interface MAC packet includes an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet according to distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC packet, and if the air interface MAC packet is an IP control plane protocol packet, process the IP control plane protocol packet according to a pre-configured control plane protocol packet processing manner; if the IP user plane protocol message is the IP user plane protocol message, the IP user plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

A wireless communication system, the system comprising:

the sending equipment is used for packaging the IP control plane protocol message to be sent into a first format message supported by the Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB); packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, and sending the first air interface MAC message to receiving equipment; packaging an IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by a Data Radio Bearer (DRB); packaging the second format message into a second air MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to a receiving device;

the receiving equipment is used for determining that the air interface MAC message comes from the SRB or the DRB of the terminal after receiving the air interface MAC message sent by the sending equipment; if the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the SRB of the terminal, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message, and processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode; and if the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the DRB of the terminal, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP user plane protocol message, and processing the IP user plane protocol message according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

A wireless communication system, the system comprising:

the sending device is used for packaging an IP control plane protocol message to be sent into a first format message supported by a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, and sending the first air interface MAC message to the receiving device, wherein the first air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message; packaging an IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by a DRB, packaging the second format message into a second air interface MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to receiving equipment, wherein the second air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP user plane protocol message;

the receiving device is used for determining whether the air interface MAC message comes from the DRB of the sending device after receiving the air interface MAC message sent by the sending device; when the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the DRB of the sending equipment, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message or an IP user plane protocol message according to the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message, and if the air interface MAC message is the IP control plane protocol message, processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode; if the IP user plane protocol message is the IP user plane protocol message, the IP user plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

In one solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the sending device sends the IP control plane protocol packet to the receiving device through the SRB, and sends the IP user plane protocol packet to the receiving device through the DRB, thereby implementing simple and efficient sending of the IP control plane protocol packet and the IP user plane protocol packet at the message sending side, and being distinguished.

In another scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the sending device sends the IP control plane protocol packet and the IP user plane protocol packet to the receiving device through the DRB, and the air interface MAC packet containing the IP control plane protocol packet or the IP user plane protocol packet carries the distinguishing information indicating that the current packet contains the IP control plane protocol packet or the IP user plane protocol packet, thereby realizing simple and efficient sending of the IP control plane protocol packet and the IP user plane protocol packet at the message sending side with distinguished contents.

In another scheme provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving device determines that the IP packet included in the received air interface MAC packet is an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet according to the SRB or DRB from the sending device, and further performs corresponding processing according to a determination result, thereby implementing simple and efficient differentiation of the IP control plane protocol packet or the IP user plane protocol packet and performing different processing at the packet receiving side.

In another scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving device determines that the IP packet included in the received air interface MAC packet is an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet according to the distinguishing information carried in the received air interface MAC packet, and further performs corresponding processing according to the determination result, thereby implementing simple and efficient distinguishing of the IP control plane protocol packet or the IP user plane protocol packet at the packet receiving side, and performing different processing.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a Femto scenario in the prior art shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 2A and 2B are schematic structural diagrams of an LTE-LAN in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another method provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of another method provided by the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A-7C are schematic diagrams of internal modules of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention;

fig. 7D is a schematic diagram of an air interface MAC message according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7E-7G are schematic diagrams of internal modules of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7H is a schematic flow chart according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7I is a schematic flow chart of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7J is a schematic flow chart of a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

First, the embodiment of the present invention may be applied to a newly introduced long term evolution local area network (LTE-LAN) system, and may also be applied to other systems including UE, AP equipment, and gateway equipment.

As shown in fig. 2A, in the LTE-LAN system, the AP device is a new access device, the existing LTE physical layer technology is used in the air interface, the AP device accesses the internet through the gateway device after synchronization is completed, and the frequency band used by the AP device is not overlapped with the frequency band of the macro base station (eNB). In the LTE-LAN system, the UE completes data service with the internet through a channel established between the UE and the AP equipment and the gateway equipment. The interface between the AP device and the gateway device is the Iu-r interface, i.e. the newly defined interface.

As shown in fig. 2B, the LTE-LAN system includes:

the access equipment LTE-LAN-AP is used for realizing the communication between the networking of a local wireless network LTE-LAN and a terminal in the LTE-LAN, and providing a way for the terminal to access an external network by establishing data connection with the external network;

and the terminal is used for becoming a network member of the LTE-LAN by selecting and accessing one LTE-LAN-AP, communicating with other network members in the LTE-LAN through the accessed LTE-LAN-AP, and accessing an external network connected with the LTE-LAN-AP.

In the LTE-LAN system architecture, a terminal directly accesses an external network through an LTE-LAN-AP, and can perform communication between terminals in the LTE-LAN through the LTE-LAN-AP, the communication between the terminal and the LTE-LAN-AP is realized based on the bottom communication technology of an LTE mobile communication system, and the LTE-LAN-AP establishes a local area network based on the bottom communication technology of the LTE mobile communication system, so that UE (user equipment) communicates with the external network based on the LTE-LAN, and thus the method for establishing the wireless local area network by deploying the LTE-LAN-AP in a home, an enterprise or a hot spot area effectively establishes a local access system for the terminal, and allows the terminal to realize information interaction in the same network in a direct mode and realize access to the external network; in addition, since the system architecture of the local network LTE-LAN is implemented based on the LTE mobile communication system infrastructure, it is possible to provide efficient data communication services to terminals in indoor and hot spot areas by establishing a wireless link with security and QoS guarantees between the terminal and the wireless network access point by using the existing LTE system layer 1, layer 2, and layer 3 technologies.

Preferably, the LTE-LAN system further includes: and the operation and maintenance OAM entity is connected with the LTE-LAN-AP and used for realizing the network parameter configuration of the LTE-LAN, the management of the terminal and the setting of the LTE-LAN security mechanism through the interaction with the LTE-LAN-AP. And the administrator realizes the configuration, management and maintenance of the LTE-LAN through the OAM entity.

A wireless access point LTE-LAN-AP in the LTE-LAN system provides a wireless data link for a terminal by utilizing the existing LTE bottom layer transmission and access technology, thereby providing communication service with QoS guarantee for the terminal. The LTE-LAN-AP of the local wireless network can directly access the external network through the corresponding interface, so that the flat network structure is beneficial to quickly processing and forwarding terminal data, the cost of network communication is reduced, and the efficiency is improved. The LTE-LAN-AP and the terminal realize respective functions based on the bottom layer communication technology of the LTE mobile communication system, namely, the networking of a local wireless network and the interconnection and intercommunication of the terminal in the local network are realized by adding a new management and transmission scheduling function, and the IP access of the terminal to an external network is realized by modifying the network architecture and a high-level protocol of the existing LTE system without the processing of a core network of an operator.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the functions implemented by the LTE-LAN-AP and the terminal based on the LTE mobile communication system underlying communication technology are not limited to this, and corresponding function expansion may also be performed, and the following describes the functions implemented by the LTE-LAN-AP and the terminal based on the LTE underlying communication technology in the preferred embodiment of the present invention:

1) LTE-LAN-AP functionality

In a general view, the LTE-LAN-AP is a central control unit of the LTE-LAN network, is responsible for networking and managing the LTE-LAN, and provides local wireless network access service for the terminal LTE-LAN-UE.

On one side of the terminal, the LTE-LAN-AP establishes wireless connection with the terminal based on the existing LTE-Uu interface, and because the LTE-Uu interface is adopted, the working frequency band and the wireless access technology of the communication between the terminal and the LTE-LAN-AP can overcome the defects of the existing WLAN, and a reliable transmission channel is provided for high-level data transmission. The LTE-LAN-AP utilizes a transmission channel with the terminal, and can realize the following functions: the LTE-LAN-AP and the terminal carry out control information interaction between high-level management entities to realize the management of the terminal in the LTE-LAN; in addition to the control information, the LTE-LAN-AP implements transmission and reception of traffic data to and from the terminal using this transmission channel.

On the external network side, the LTE-LAN-AP establishes data connection to the external network through an interface II for connecting the LTE-LAN-AP and the external network, and provides a way for the terminal to access the external network.

In addition, the LTE-LAN-AP can be connected with the OAM entity through an interface I connecting the LTE-LAN-AP and the OAM entity, and information interaction between the LTE-LAN-AP and the OAM entity is realized.

2) Terminal LTE-LAN-UE functionality

The LTE-LAN-UE is a terminal with LTE-LAN access capability, namely, the wireless connection can be established with the LTE-LAN-AP based on the LTE-Uu interface. The LTE-LAN-UE has the following functions: after the system is started, the LTE-LAN-UE can become a member of an LTE-LAN network by selecting and accessing an LTE-LAN-AP; through the accessed LTE-LAN-AP, the LTE-LAN-UE can communicate with other network members in the LTE-LAN network and access an external network connected with the LTE-LAN-AP through an interface II of the LTE-LAN-AP.

The LTE-LAN-UE terminal with the functions is realized by supporting an LTE bottom layer transmission technology and adding proper functions at the upper layer of a protocol stack, and can be an existing LTE system terminal improved on a high-layer protocol or an LTE-LAN special terminal with a bottom layer brand-new designed based on the LTE system technology.

The protocol for the interaction between the AP and the UE for radio link control, radio resource management, etc. functions over the air interface between LTE aneue and LTE aneap in an LTE-LAN system is collectively referred to herein as RRC protocol.

3) OAM entity function

The OAM entity is an operation, administration and maintenance module through which a network user can realize network parameter configuration of the LTE-LAN, management of an LTE-LAN terminal, setting of an LTE-LAN security mechanism and the like. The OAM entity can be arranged in the same physical entity together with the LTE-LAN-AP or arranged in different physical entities separately from the LTE-LAN-AP, and in the separated situation, the OAM is connected with the LTE-LAN-AP through an interface I for connecting the OAM and the LTE-LAN-AP.

The LTE-LAN-AP is connected to the external network by means of a backhaul link (e.g. xDSL, xPON, CABLE, etc.) or ethernet. The external network mainly refers to other networks outside the range of a local wireless network LTE-LAN, such as an Internet network, a home network, an enterprise network and the like.

In the system architecture, LTE-LANUE and LTE-LANAP are both equipped with UICC cards, LTE-LANWW is provided with an IP protocol stack, and AP does not have the functions of IP routing and forwarding.

According to the network organization diagram, data transmission is divided into two directions. In the uplink direction, after the uplink data of the LTE-LANUE is received by the AP and forwarded to the GW, the GW performs three-layer processing. In the downlink direction, the data is forwarded to the AP by the GW and then to the UE by the AP.

In order to solve the problem of how to process an IP packet simply and efficiently, an embodiment of the present invention provides an IP packet processing method, where a sending device sends an IP control plane protocol packet to a receiving device through a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB), and sends an IP user plane protocol packet to the receiving device through a Data Radio Bearer (DRB).

Referring to fig. 3, the authentication method provided in the embodiment of the present invention specifically includes the following steps:

step 30: the sending equipment packages an IP control plane protocol message to be sent into a first format message supported by the SRB; packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, and sending the first air interface MAC message to a receiving device;

step 31: the sending equipment packages an IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by the DRB; and packaging the second format message into a second air MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment.

Preferably, before the sending device sends the first air interface MAC packet to the receiving device, the sending device may carry, in the first air interface MAC packet, the distinguishing information indicating that the current packet includes the IP control plane protocol packet. Then, the sending device may also send the RRC protocol packet through the SRB, and specifically, encapsulate the RRC protocol packet to be sent as a third format packet supported by the SRB; and packaging the third format message into a third air interface MAC message, and sending the third air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the third air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the RRC protocol message.

Specifically, the distinguishing information may be carried in a MAC header or a MAC Service Data Unit (SDU) of the corresponding air interface MAC packet.

In the method, the IP control plane protocol packet may be: DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages, etc.

The sending equipment is a terminal, and the receiving equipment is AP equipment; or, the sending device is an AP device, and the receiving device is a terminal.

It should be noted that, the execution sequence between step 30 and step 31 is not strict, and step 31 may be performed before step 30, after step 30, or simultaneously with step 30 and step 31.

In order to solve the problem of how to process the IP packet simply and efficiently, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an IP packet processing method, where in the method, a sending device sends an IP control plane protocol packet and an IP user plane protocol packet to a receiving device through a DRB.

Referring to fig. 4, the IP packet processing method provided in the embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

step 40: the method comprises the steps that a sending device packages an IP control plane protocol message to be sent into a first format message supported by a DRB (digital radio network bus), packages the first format message into a first air interface MAC (media access control) message, and sends the first air interface MAC message to a receiving device, wherein the first air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message;

step 41: the sending equipment packages an IP user plane protocol message to be sent into a second format message supported by the DRB, packages the second format message into a second air interface MAC message, and sends the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the second air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP user plane protocol message.

Specifically, the distinguishing information is carried in the MAC header or the MAC sdu of the corresponding air interface MAC packet.

It should be noted that, the execution sequence between step 40 and step 41 is not strict, and step 41 may be performed before step 40, after step 40, or both step 40 and step 41 may be performed simultaneously.

In order to solve the problem of how to process the IP packet simply and efficiently, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an IP packet processing method, where in the method, a receiving device determines, according to a received air interface MAC packet from an SRB or a DRB of a sending device, that an IP packet included in the receiving device is an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet.

Referring to fig. 5, the IP packet processing method provided in the embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

step 50: after receiving an air interface MAC message sent by a sending device, a receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message comes from an SRB or a DRB of the sending device;

step 51: if the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message is from the SRB of the sending equipment, the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message, and processes the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode;

if the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message is from the DRB of the sending device, the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message contains an IP user plane protocol message, and processes the IP user plane protocol message according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

Preferably, after the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC packet is from the SRB of the sending device and before determining that the air interface MAC packet includes the IP control plane protocol packet, the receiving device may first determine that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC packet indicates that the current packet includes the IP control plane protocol packet or includes the RRC protocol packet; and when the receiving equipment determines that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is the information indicating that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message, the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains the IP control plane protocol message. When the receiving device determines that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is information indicating that the current message contains an RRC protocol message, the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message contains the RRC protocol message, and processes the RRC protocol message according to a pre-configured RRC protocol message processing mode.

Specifically, when the receiving device is an AP device and the sending device is a terminal, the processing of the IP control plane protocol packet according to the preconfigured control plane protocol packet processing mode may be: and the receiving equipment sends the IP control plane protocol message to an IP protocol processing module, and the IP protocol processing module performs subsequent processing according to a corresponding protocol.

The receiving device is an AP device, and the transmitting device is a terminal; or, the receiving device is a terminal, and the transmitting device is an AP device.

In the method, according to the distinguishing information carried in the received air interface MAC message, the receiving device determines that the IP message contained in the receiving device is an IP control plane protocol message or an IP user plane protocol message.

Referring to fig. 6, the IP packet processing method provided in the embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

step 60: after receiving an air interface MAC message sent by sending equipment, receiving equipment determines whether the air interface MAC message comes from a DRB of the sending equipment;

step 61: when the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message is from the DRB of the sending equipment, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message or an IP user plane protocol message according to distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message;

step 62: if the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message, processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode;

and if the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains the IP user plane protocol message, processing the IP user plane protocol message according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

In step 60, when the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC packet is from the SRB of the sending device, it is determined that the air interface MAC packet includes an RRC protocol packet, and the RRC control plane protocol packet is processed according to a pre-configured RRC protocol packet processing method.

In step 62, when the receiving device is an AP device and the sending device is a terminal, the processing the IP control plane protocol packet according to the preconfigured control plane protocol packet processing method may be: and the receiving equipment sends the IP control plane protocol message to an IP protocol processing module, and the IP protocol processing module performs subsequent processing according to a corresponding protocol.

The present invention is described in detail below:

the method comprises the following steps: and transmitting the IP control plane protocol message through the SRB.

(I) uplink direction differentiation:

when sending the IP control plane protocol message, the UE sends the IP control plane protocol message through the SRB. When sending IP protocol messages such as DHCP, ICMP and the like, the UE uses a sending service function provided by the SRB to encapsulate the IP protocol messages on the SRB for sending. Service access point IPC-SAP implementation provided by SRB.

And when receiving the IP control plane protocol message on the SRB, the AP sends the IP control plane protocol message to the IP layer module for processing. And if the message is the RRC related protocol message, the message is sent to the RRC module for processing.

Fig. 7A presents a schematic diagram of the internal processing modules of the LTE-LAN air interface (data message uplink direction).

On the UE side, the SRB module provides two SAPs (service access points), one is RRC-SAP and one is IPC-SAP. The distinguishing function module (PD) is responsible for distinguishing the messages from the two SAPs and packaging the messages into the format identified by the SRB module. The DRB module provides an SAP for the uplink IP user plane protocol message, namely IPU-SAP. And when the UE sends the RRC protocol message/the IP control plane protocol message/the IP user plane protocol message, the UE sequentially uses RRC-SAP/IPC-SAP/IPU-SAP. And at the UE side, the uplink message sent by the SRB/DRB is packaged into an air interface MAC message through an air interface MAC module.

At the AP side, the air interface MAC module sends the received air interface MAC message to the SRB or DRB module. The SRB module processes the received air interface MAC message into a format which can be identified by the PD and then transmits the format to the PD module, and the PD module respectively transmits the IP control plane protocol message/RRC protocol message to the IP control protocol module/RRC. After receiving the air interface MAC message, the DRB module delivers the IP user plane protocol message to the two-layer forwarding module for processing.

(II) distinguishing the downlink direction:

when the IP control plane protocol packet and the IP user plane protocol packet need to be distinguished in the downlink direction, fig. 7B shows a schematic diagram of an internal processing module of an LTE-LAN air interface (data packet downlink direction).

On the AP side, the SRB module provides two SAPs, one RRC-SAP and one IPC-SAP. The PD is responsible for distinguishing the messages from the above two SAPs and encapsulating them into the format identified by the SRB module. The DRB module provides an SAP, namely an IPU-SAP, for the downlink IP user plane protocol message. And when the AP sends the RRC protocol message/the IP control plane protocol message/the IP user plane protocol message, sequentially using RRC-SAP/IPC-SAP/IPU-SAP. And at the AP side, the downlink message sent by the SRB/DRB is packaged into an air interface MAC message through an air interface MAC module.

At the UE side, the air interface MAC module sends the received air interface MAC message to the SRB or DRB module. The SRB module processes the received air interface MAC message into a format which can be identified by the PD and then transmits the format to the PD module, and the PD module respectively transmits the IP control plane protocol message/RRC protocol message to the IP control protocol module/RRC module. After receiving the air interface MAC message, the DRB module delivers the IP user interface protocol message to the IP user data module.

(III) descending direction: no distinction is made:

fig. 7C shows a schematic diagram of an internal processing module of an LTE-LAN air interface (data packet downlink direction) when there is no need to distinguish between IP control plane protocol packets and IP user plane protocol packets in the downlink direction.

At the AP side, the RRC module directly gives the downlink signaling message to the SRB module. The DRB module provides an SAP, namely an IPU-SAP, for the downlink IP user plane protocol message. When the AP sends the IP control plane protocol message/the IP user plane protocol message, the IPU-SAP is used in a unified way.

At the UE side, the air interface MAC module sends the received air interface MAC message to the SRB or DRB module. The SRB module directly delivers the received air interface MAC message to the RRC module. After receiving the air interface MAC message, the DRB module delivers the IP control plane protocol message and the IP user plane protocol message to the IP user protocol stack module, and the IP user protocol stack module carries out subsequent processing.

The second method comprises the following steps: through DRB, but at the MAC layer, the IP layer data is differentiated whether it is an IP control plane or IP user plane protocol packet, e.g. by adding a bit to indicate.

(I) uplink direction differentiation:

when the UE sends IP data, it notifies the MAC layer whether the data is IP control plane data or IP user plane data, and the MAC sets the bit accordingly, such as 1 is control plane and 0 is user plane.

When receiving the MAC packet, the AP sends the MAC packet to the IP layer module for processing if the bit is equal to 1, and sends the MAC packet to the packet forwarding module for processing if the bit is equal to 0.

Specifically, the bit may be:

a) the MAC header is positioned in an MAC message of an air interface;

b) in the MAC-SDU, i.e. in the non-MAC header.

For a), as in the MAC header structure of fig. 7D, it may be indicated whether the SDU of the MAC packet is an IP control plane protocol packet by adding a C field. For example, set 1 as an IP control plane protocol packet, and set 0 as an IP user plane protocol packet.

For b), the above bit can also be introduced. But a method of directly introducing 1 byte is adopted in consideration of byte alignment. The implementation described in a) is done using 1 bit in this byte. This approach sacrifices transmission efficiency.

In method two, a) is recommended.

Fig. 7E shows a schematic diagram of the internal processing modules of the air interface (data packet uplink direction) of LTE-LAN method two.

On the UE side, the DRB module provides two SAPs, one IPU-SAP and one IPC-SAP. The distinguishing function module is responsible for distinguishing the messages from the two SAPs and packaging the messages into a format identified by the DRB module. The SRB module provides an SAP, i.e., RRC-SAP, to the RRC module. And when the UE sends the RRC protocol message/the IP control plane protocol message/the IP user plane protocol message, the UE sequentially uses RRC-SAP/IPC-SAP/IPU-SAP. And at the UE side, the uplink message sent by the SRB/DRB is packaged into an air interface MAC message through an air interface MAC module. The DRB needs to indicate to the air interface MAC module whether the uplink IP packet is an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet. The air interface MAC module fills in the bit according to the instruction.

At the AP side, the air interface MAC module sends the received air interface MAC message to the SRB or DRB module. The DRB module sends the received air interface MAC message to the IP control protocol module/two-layer forwarding module respectively by the distinguishing function module according to the indication of the bit of the MAC layer. And after receiving the MAC message of the air interface, the SRB module sends the RRC message encapsulated in the MAC message to the RRC module.

(II) downlink direction differentiation:

when the IP control plane packet and the IP user plane protocol packet need to be distinguished in the downlink direction, fig. 7F shows a schematic diagram of an internal processing module of an LTE-LAN air interface (in the downlink direction of data packets).

On the AP side, the DRB module provides two SAPs, one IPU-SAP and one IPC-SAP. The distinguishing function module is responsible for distinguishing the messages from the two SAPs and packaging the messages into a format identified by the DRB module. The SRB module provides an SAP, i.e., RRC-SAP, to the RRC module. And when the UE sends the RRC protocol message/the IP control plane protocol message/the IP user plane protocol message, the UE sequentially uses RRC-SAP/IPC-SAP/IPU-SAP. And at the AP side, the downlink message sent by the SRB/DRB is packaged into an air interface MAC message through an air interface MAC module. The DRB needs to indicate to the air interface MAC module whether the uplink IP packet is an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet. The air interface MAC module fills in the bit according to the instruction.

At the UE side, the air interface MAC module sends the received air interface MAC message to the SRB or DRB module. The DRB module sends the received air interface MAC message to the IP control protocol module/IP user data module respectively by the distinguishing function module according to the indication of the bit of the MAC layer. And after receiving the MAC message of the air interface, the SRB module sends the RRC message encapsulated in the MAC message to the RRC module.

(III) no distinction of the downlink direction:

fig. 7G shows a schematic diagram of an internal processing module of an LTE-LAN air interface (downlink direction of data packet) when there is no need to distinguish between IP control plane packet and IP user plane protocol packet in the downlink direction.

When the IP control plane packet and the IP user plane protocol packet do not need to be distinguished in the downlink direction, the following figure shows a schematic diagram of an internal processing module of an LTE-LAN air interface (data packet downlink direction).

At this time, the air interface module at the AP side fills in bit described in the method as 0 or 1. At the UE side, the air interface module directly ignores the bit.

It should be noted that in the downlink direction, the AP may optionally take a similar process. That is, if the message is a control plane protocol message, according to the method one/method two, the message is put on the SRB and transmitted to the UE or marked on a special bit of an MAC layer.

Since the data packets are received at the UE under the IP layer, which has the ability to distinguish, there may be no need to distinguish between IP control plane or user plane data under the IP layer, so the distinguishing function under the IP layer is optional.

The application of the first method/the second method is described below with reference to the DHCPv4 protocol.

The DHCP protocol, RFC 2131.

In the first embodiment, the AP assumes the DHCP SERVER (SERVER) function, as shown in fig. 7H:

step 1: the UE, having just started and not knowing DHCPSERVER the IP address, first sends a DHCP DISCOVER (DISCOVER) message to the network. When sending the message, according to the method mentioned in the first method/the second method, the UE needs to send the IP control plane protocol message through the SRB or identify the message as an IP control plane message at the MAC layer.

Step 2: according to the first method or the second method, the AP knows that the received message is an IP layer control plane message, and therefore, sends the message to an IP control module inside the AP. After receiving the DHCPDISCOVER message, the IP control plane module sends a DHCP OFFER (OFFER) message to the UE according to a DHCP protocol.

And step 3: and after receiving the DHCPOFFER message, the UE continues the subsequent address allocation process according to the DHCP protocol. Until the assignment of the IP address is completed.

And 4, step 4: after obtaining the IP address, when sending the IP user plane protocol packet, according to the method mentioned in method one/method two, the UE needs to send the IP user plane protocol packet through the DRB or identify the message as an IP user plane message at the MAC layer.

And 5: after receiving the IP user plane protocol message from the UE, the AP directly processes the message by the two-layer forwarding module. The specific processing method is that, because the AP is usually connected to a GW, when forwarding in the second layer, the AP only needs to forward the IP packet to the GW.

In the second embodiment, the AP assumes the proxy relay function of the DHCP protocol, and there is a specific DHCPSERVER physical entity in the LTE-LAN network.

For the UE, the AP is DHCPSERVER capable. For a particular DHCPSERVER physical entity, the role of the AP is a DHCP CLIENT (CLIENT). In practice, however, the AP does not have the capability of IP address assignment and management, but merely relays DHCP-related protocol messages. As shown in fig. 7I:

step 1: the UE, which has just started and does not know the IP address of DHCPSERVER, first sends a DHCPDISCOVER message to the network. When sending the message, according to the method mentioned in method one/method two, the UE needs to send/identify the IP control plane protocol message as an IP control plane message through the SRB at the MAC layer.

Step 2: according to the first method or the second method, the AP knows the control plane message of the IP layer when the message is received at this time, and therefore, sends the message to the IP control module inside the AP. And after receiving the DHCPDISCOVER message, the IP control module sends the DHCPDISCOVER message to the LTE-LAN network according to the DHCP protocol. The message is a broadcast message that all DHCPSERVER can receive.

And step 3: DHCPSERVER physical entity in LTE-LAN network returns DSCPOFFER to AP after receiving the DHCPDISCOVER message.

And 4, step 4: after receiving the DHCPOFFER message, the AP forwards the message to the UE.

And 5: and after receiving the DHCPOFFER message, the UE continues the subsequent address allocation process according to the DHCP protocol until the allocation of the IP address is completed. In this process, the AP actually assumes the relay function of the UE communicating with the specific DHCPSERVER physical entity DHCP protocol.

Step 6: after obtaining the IP address, when sending the IP user plane protocol packet, according to the method mentioned in method one/method two, the UE needs to send the IP user plane protocol packet through DRB/identify the message as an IP user plane message at the MAC layer.

And 7: after receiving the IP user plane protocol message from the UE, the AP directly processes the message by the two-layer forwarding module.

The application of the first method/the second method is described below with reference to the IGMP protocol.

IGMP protocols include IGMPV2RFC2236, IGMPV3RFC3376, and the like.

Example three:

in the LTE-LAN architecture, an AP and its serving UEs form a tree structure. When the AP needs to support RFC4605(IGMP/mldbased multicastforwarding) protocol function, the AP needs to have a proxy function of the IGMP protocol. That is, the IP multicast router function is implemented for the connected UE, and the host function is implemented for the multicast router in the network.

The specific signaling flow is shown in fig. 7J.

Step 0: the UE passes the access authentication and obtains the IP address through a DHCP process.

Uplink, proxy function:

step 1: when needing to join the multicast group A, the UE sends an IGMP REPORT (REPORT) message as an IP control plane protocol message to the AP according to the method defined by the method I/method II in the invention;

step 2: after receiving the message, the AP determines, according to the method in RFC4605, whether the AP is already a proxy for the multicast group a (i.e., whether the IGMPREPORT message of the UE is already received), and if not, sends an IGMPREPORT message to the IGMP multicast router in the form of taking the AP as a host; if yes, recording the UE as a member of the multicast group A;

step 2b, when the AP receives the downlink multicast data of the IGMP multicast router, the data is forwarded to all the UE in the multicast group A according to the method in RFC 4605;

the AP realizes the function of responding the inquiry of the multicast router:

and step 3: the multicast router sends an IGMP query message to the AP;

and 4, step 4: after receiving the message, the AP sends an IGMP query message to the UE to which it is connected, according to the method in RFC 4605;

and 5: after receiving the IGMP query message from the AP, the UE returns an IGMPRPENT message according to an IGMP protocol; the UE sends the IGMPRPEPRT message to the AP as an IP control plane protocol message according to the method defined by the method I/method II in the invention;

step 6: after receiving the IGMPRPEPRT message from the UE, the AP sends the IGMPRPEPRT message to the IGMP multicast router; according to RFC4605, the relationship between the local multicast group and the multicast member is updated;

the AP realizes the transmission of IGMPLEAVE messages:

and 7: when UE decides to quit the multicast group, sending an IGMP LEAVE (LEAVE) message according to an IGMP protocol; the UE sends the IGMPLEAVE message to the AP as an IP control plane protocol message according to the method defined by the method I/method II in the invention;

and 8: after receiving the IGMPLEAVE message from the UE, the AP updates the relationship between the local multicast group and the multicast members; after the update is completed, if no member is found in the multicast group, an IGMP multicast message is sent to the IGMP multicast router.

The IP control plane protocol message provided by the above embodiment of the present invention includes a DHCP protocol message and an IGMP protocol message, and these protocols are established by an IETF working group. However, the present invention is not limited to the two protocols of the embodiment and whether the IP protocol version used in the embodiment is version4 or version6, and in addition, all IP protocol messages requiring AP access processing can be regarded as IP control plane protocol messages mentioned in the present invention. These protocols are not limited to the following list:

IETFRFC3927:"DynamicConfigurationofIPv4Link-LocalAddresses"；

IETFRFC3376:"InternetGroupManagementProtocol,Version3；

IETFRFC4861:"NeighborDiscoveryforIPVersion6(IPv6)"；

IETFRFC4862:"IPv6StatelessAddressAutoconfiguration"；

IETFRFC2131:"DynamicHostConfigurationProtocol"；

IETFRFC3736:"StatelessDynamicHostConfigurationProtocol(DHCP)ServiceforIPv6"；

IETFRFC3633:"IPv6PrefixOptionsforDynamicHostConfigurationProtocol(DHCP)version；

IETFRFC4739:"MultipleAuthenticationExchangesintheInternetKeyExchange(IKEv2)Protocol"；

IETFRFC4861:"NeighborDiscoveryforIPVersion6(IPv6)"；

IETFRFC2131:"DynamicHostConfigurationProtocol"；

IETFRFC5213:"ProxyMobileIPv6"；

IETFRFC4306,"InternetKeyExchangeProtocolVersion2"；

IETFRFC5555:"MobileIPv6supportfordualstackHostsandRouters(DSMIPv6)"；

IETFRFC3748:"ExtensibleAuthenticationProtocol(EAP)"；

IETFRFC3344,"MobilitySupportforIPv4"；

IETFRFC4285,"AuthenticationProtocolforMobileIPv6"。

an embodiment of the present invention further provides a wireless communication system, including:

the receiving equipment is used for determining that the air interface MAC message comes from the SRB or the DRB of the sending equipment after receiving the air interface MAC message sent by the sending equipment; if the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the SRB of the sending equipment, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message, and processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode; if the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the DRB of the sending equipment, the air interface MAC message is determined to contain the IP user plane protocol message, and the IP user plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

the receiving device is used for determining whether the air interface MAC message comes from a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of the sending device after receiving the air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message sent by the sending device; when the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the DRB of the sending equipment, determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message or an IP user plane protocol message according to the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message, and if the air interface MAC message is the IP control plane protocol message, processing the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode; if the IP user plane protocol message is the IP user plane protocol message, the IP user plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an IP packet processing device, where the IP packet processing device includes:

a first sending unit 80, configured to encapsulate an IP control plane protocol packet to be sent into a first format packet supported by a signaling radio bearer SRB; packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, and sending the first air interface MAC message to receiving equipment;

a second sending unit 81, configured to encapsulate the IP user plane protocol packet to be sent as a second format packet supported by the data radio bearer DRB; and packaging the second format message into a second air MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment.

The first sending unit 80 is further configured to: before sending the first air interface MAC message to the receiving device, carrying the distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message in the first air interface MAC message.

The apparatus further comprises:

a third sending unit 82, configured to encapsulate the RRC protocol packet to be sent as a third format packet supported by the SRB; and packaging the third format message into a third air interface MAC message, and sending the third air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the third air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the RRC protocol message.

The distinguishing information is carried in the MAC head or the MAC service data unit SDU of the corresponding air interface MAC message.

The IP control plane protocol message is as follows: DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

The IP message processing equipment is a terminal, and the receiving equipment is Access Point (AP) equipment; or, the IP packet processing device is an AP device, and the receiving device is a terminal.

Referring to fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an IP packet processing device, where the IP packet processing device includes:

a first sending unit 90, configured to encapsulate an IP control plane protocol packet to be sent as a first format packet supported by a data radio bearer DRB, encapsulate the first format packet as a first air interface media access control MAC packet, and send the first air interface MAC packet to a receiving device, where the first air interface MAC packet carries distinguishing information indicating that a current packet includes the IP control plane protocol packet;

a second sending unit 91, configured to encapsulate the IP user plane protocol packet to be sent into a second format packet supported by the DRB, encapsulate the second format packet into a second air interface MAC packet, and send the second air interface MAC packet to the receiving device, where the second air interface MAC packet carries distinguishing information indicating that the current packet includes the IP user plane protocol packet.

Referring to fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an IP packet processing device, where the IP packet processing device includes:

a receiving unit 101, configured to determine that an air interface Media Access Control (MAC) packet sent by a sending device is from a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) or a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of the sending device after receiving the MAC packet;

a first processing unit 102, configured to determine that the air interface MAC packet includes an IP control plane protocol packet when determining that the air interface MAC packet is from an SRB of a sending device, and process the IP control plane protocol packet according to a pre-configured control plane protocol packet processing manner;

the second processing unit 103 is configured to, when determining that the air interface MAC packet is from the DRB of the sending device, determine that the air interface MAC packet includes an IP user plane protocol packet, and process the IP user plane protocol packet according to a pre-configured user plane protocol packet processing manner.

The first processing unit 102 is further configured to:

after determining that the air interface MAC message is from the SRB of the sending equipment, determining that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is information indicating that the current message contains an IP control plane protocol message or an RRC protocol message; and when the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is determined to represent that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message, determining that the air interface MAC message contains the IP control plane protocol message.

The apparatus further comprises:

a third processing unit 104, configured to determine that the air interface MAC message includes an RRC protocol message when it is determined that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message indicates that the current message includes an RRC protocol message, and process the RRC protocol message according to a pre-configured RRC protocol message processing manner.

The first processing unit 102 is configured to:

when the IP message processing equipment is access point AP equipment and the sending equipment is a terminal, the IP control surface protocol message is sent to an IP protocol processing module, and the module carries out subsequent processing according to a corresponding protocol.

The IP message processing equipment is AP equipment, and the sending equipment is a terminal; or, the IP packet processing device is a terminal, and the sending device is an AP device.

Referring to fig. 11, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an IP packet processing device, where the IP packet processing device includes:

a receiving unit 111, configured to determine whether an air interface MAC packet sent by a sending device is from a data radio bearer DRB of the sending device after receiving the air interface MAC packet;

a processing unit 112, configured to determine, when determining that the air interface MAC packet is from a DRB of a sending device, that the air interface MAC packet includes an IP control plane protocol packet or an IP user plane protocol packet according to distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC packet, and if the air interface MAC packet is an IP control plane protocol packet, process the IP control plane protocol packet according to a pre-configured control plane protocol packet processing manner; if the IP user plane protocol message is the IP user plane protocol message, the IP user plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

The processing unit 112 is further configured to:

when the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the SRB of the sending equipment, the air interface MAC message is determined to contain a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message, and the RRC control plane protocol message is processed according to a pre-configured RRC protocol message processing mode.

The processing unit 112 is configured to:

In conclusion, the beneficial effects of the invention include:

The invention solves the problems of IP layer data forwarding and processing in the new system. The AP may perform management of an IP control plane, such as address allocation, on the UE based on an IP protocol. Without having the routing and forwarding capabilities of the IP layer. Because the processing method of the AP to the IP message is simplified, the AP does not need to realize IP routing and IP forwarding functions, and the realization cost of the AP is reduced.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An IP packet processing method, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the sending equipment packages the RRC protocol message to be sent into a third format message supported by the SRB; and packaging the third format message into a third air interface MAC message, and sending the third air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the third air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the RRC protocol message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the distinguishing information is carried in a MAC header or a MAC service data unit, SDU, of the corresponding air interface MAC message.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the IP control plane protocol packet is: and receiving IP protocol messages needing to participate in processing by the equipment, wherein the IP protocol messages comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmitting device is a terminal and the receiving device is an access point, AP, device; or,

the sending device is an AP device, and the receiving device is a terminal.

6. An IP packet processing method, comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the distinguishing information is carried in a MAC header or a MAC Service Data Unit (SDU) of a corresponding air interface MAC packet.

8. The method according to any of claims 6-7, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: and receiving IP protocol messages needing to participate in processing by the equipment, wherein the IP protocol messages comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

9. The method of any of claims 6-7, wherein the sending device is a terminal and the receiving device is an access point, AP, device; or,

the sending device is an AP device, and the receiving device is a terminal.

10. An IP packet processing method, comprising:

after receiving an air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message sent by sending equipment, receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message is from a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) or a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of the sending equipment;

if the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message is from the SRB of the sending equipment, the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains an IP control plane protocol message, and processes the IP control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured control plane protocol message processing mode;

11. The method of claim 10, wherein after the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC packet is from the SRB of the sending device and before determining that the air interface MAC packet contains an IP control plane protocol packet, the method further comprises:

the receiving equipment determines that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is information indicating that the current message contains an IP control plane protocol message or an RRC protocol message;

the determining that the air interface MAC message includes an IP control plane protocol message includes:

and when the receiving equipment determines that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is the information indicating that the current message contains the IP control plane protocol message, the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains the IP control plane protocol message.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein when the receiving device determines that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message is information indicating that the current message includes an RRC protocol message, the method further comprises:

and the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains an RRC protocol message and processes the RRC protocol message according to a pre-configured RRC protocol message processing mode.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein when the receiving device is an AP device and the sending device is a terminal, the processing the IP control plane protocol packet according to the preconfigured control plane protocol packet processing method includes:

and the receiving equipment sends the IP control plane protocol message to an IP protocol processing module, and the IP protocol processing module performs subsequent processing according to a corresponding protocol.

14. The method according to any of claims 10-13, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: and receiving IP protocol messages needing to participate in processing by the equipment, wherein the IP protocol messages comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

15. The method of any of claims 10-12, wherein the receiving device is an AP device and the transmitting device is a terminal; or,

the receiving device is a terminal, and the transmitting device is an AP device.

16. An IP packet processing method, comprising:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein when the receiving device determines that the air interface MAC message is from the SRB of the sending device, the method further comprises:

and the receiving equipment determines that the air interface MAC message contains a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message and processes the RRC control plane protocol message according to a pre-configured RRC protocol message processing mode.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein when the receiving device is an AP device and the sending device is a terminal, the processing the IP control plane protocol packet according to the preconfigured control plane protocol packet processing method includes:

19. The method according to any of claims 16-18, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: and receiving IP protocol messages needing to participate in processing by the equipment, wherein the IP protocol messages comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

20. The method of any one of claims 16-17, wherein the receiving device is an AP device and the transmitting device is a terminal; or,

21. An IP packet processing device, comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to encapsulate an IP control plane protocol packet to be sent as a first format packet supported by a signaling radio bearer SRB; packaging the first format message into a first air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message, carrying distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains an IP control plane protocol message in the first air interface MAC message, and sending the first air interface MAC message to receiving equipment;

a second sending unit, configured to encapsulate an IP user plane protocol packet to be sent as a second format packet supported by the data radio bearer DRB; and packaging the second format message into a second air MAC message, and sending the second air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

a third sending unit, configured to encapsulate the RRC protocol packet to be sent as a third format packet supported by the SRB; and packaging the third format message into a third air interface MAC message, and sending the third air interface MAC message to the receiving equipment, wherein the third air interface MAC message carries distinguishing information indicating that the current message contains the RRC protocol message.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the distinguishing information is carried in a MAC header or a MAC service data unit, SDU, of the corresponding air interface MAC message.

24. The apparatus according to any of claims 21-22, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: and receiving IP protocol messages needing to participate in processing by the equipment, wherein the IP protocol messages comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

25. The apparatus according to any of claims 21-22, wherein the IP packet processing apparatus is a terminal, and the receiving apparatus is an AP apparatus; or,

the IP message processing equipment is AP equipment, and the receiving equipment is a terminal.

26. An IP packet processing device, comprising:

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the distinguishing information is carried in a MAC header or a MAC service data unit, SDU, of the corresponding air interface MAC message.

28. The apparatus according to any of claims 26-27, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: and receiving IP protocol messages needing to participate in processing by the equipment, wherein the IP protocol messages comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

29. The apparatus according to any of claims 26-27, wherein the IP packet processing apparatus is a terminal, and the receiving apparatus is an AP apparatus; or,

30. An IP packet processing device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to determine that an air interface Media Access Control (MAC) message sent by a sending device is from a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) or a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of the sending device after receiving the MAC message;

a first processing unit, configured to determine that the air interface MAC packet includes an IP control plane protocol packet when determining that the air interface MAC packet is from an SRB of a sending device, and process the IP control plane protocol packet according to a pre-configured control plane protocol packet processing manner;

and the second processing unit is used for determining that the air interface MAC message contains an IP user plane protocol message when the air interface MAC message is determined to come from the DRB of the sending equipment, and processing the IP user plane protocol message according to a pre-configured user plane protocol message processing mode.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein the first processing unit is further to:

32. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

and a third processing unit, configured to determine that the air interface MAC message includes an RRC protocol message when it is determined that the distinguishing information carried in the air interface MAC message indicates that the current message includes an RRC protocol message, and process the RRC protocol message according to a pre-configured RRC protocol message processing manner.

33. The device of claim 31, wherein the first processing unit is to:

34. The apparatus according to any of claims 31-33, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: the IP protocol messages needing to participate in the processing of the equipment comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

35. The device according to any of claims 31-33, wherein the IP packet processing device is an AP device, and the sending device is a terminal; or,

the IP message processing equipment is a terminal, and the sending equipment is AP equipment.

36. An IP packet processing device, comprising:

37. The device of claim 36, wherein the processing unit is further to:

38. The device of claim 36, wherein the processing unit is to:

39. The apparatus according to any of claims 36-38, wherein the IP control plane protocol packets are: the IP protocol messages needing to participate in the processing of the equipment comprise DHCP protocol messages or IGMP protocol messages.

40. The device according to any of claims 36-38, wherein the IP packet processing device is an AP device, and the sending device is a terminal; or,

41. A wireless communication system, comprising:

42. A wireless communication system, comprising: