CN102892165A

CN102892165A - Switching method and system for home evolved node base station

Info

Publication number: CN102892165A
Application number: CN2011102072369A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴蕴璐; 奚进; 刘霖; 刘磊; 翟恒星
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2011-07-22
Filing date: 2011-07-22
Publication date: 2013-01-23

Abstract

The invention discloses a handover method of a home base station. The method includes: after the home base station gateway receives the X2 handover request message sent by the source home base station, it judges whether the closed member group identification (CSG ID) of the source home base station and the target home base station are The same, and according to the judgment result, perform the handover operation based on the X2 interface or perform the corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the Mobility Management Entity (MME). The invention also discloses a switching system of a home base station. By adopting the method and the system of the invention, the switching of the home base station can be realized, and at the same time, the signaling load of the core network can be reduced.

Description

Switching method and system of home base station

Technical Field

The present invention relates to wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and a system for switching a home base station.

Background

A home base station is a small low power base station, which is a dedicated resource for private users, is deployed in private places such as homes, groups, companies, or schools, and is connected to a core network of an operator through a cable access device such as a cable, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or an optical fiber. The main roles of the home base station are: providing higher service rates to the user and reducing the cost of using high rate services while making up for the lack of coverage of existing distributed cellular radio communication systems. The advantages of the home base station include: the method has the advantages of low cost, convenient use and low output power, saves the cost of erecting and maintaining the base station by an operator, solves the indoor coverage optimization and the like. Wherein, the convenient to use means: the home base station can be plug and play.

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a Home base station is called an Evolved Home base station (HeNB). Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a HeNB in the prior art. User Equipment (UE) under the HeNB is a Home evolved NodeB access network (HeNBAN) based on an existing air interface protocol access evolution. The HeNBAN comprises: HeNB and evolved home base station Gateway (HeNB GW, HomeEvolved NodeB Gateway); the HeNB GW is an optional network element. Only one cell is connected under one HeNB. The HeNB may be directly connected to an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) through an S1 interface; the HeNB is connected to a service GateWay (S-GW) through an S1-U interface, and the HeNB is connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) through an S1-MME interface. The HeNB can also be connected to the EPC through a HeNB GW; the S1-U interface may terminate at the HeNB GW, or may terminate at the EPC, with the S1-MME interface going through the HeNB GW to the EPC.

The functions supported by the HeNB are basically the same as those of an evolved Node B (eNB). The main functions of the HeNB GW include: relaying the UE-related S1 message, terminating the non-UE-related S1 message, and selecting an MME for the UE during attach, etc. In addition, the evolved home base station Management System (HeMS, HeNB Management System) in fig. 1 maintains and manages the HeNB, and configures and controls the HeNB according to the requirements of the operator, wherein the most important thing is to implement the configuration function for the HeNB, and the configuration content includes: verification of location information, parameters of the HeNB, parameters of the core Network, parameters of the Radio Access Network (RAN), and parameters of the Radio Frequency (RF). Security gateways (SeGW) support Security-related functions in the network.

The HeNB provides a service only for a specific user, and thus, a concept of a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) is introduced to perform access control. Each HeNB has specific CSG attributes, which include: a closed member group IDentity (CSG ID) and an access mode. Here, three access modes are defined for the HeNB, respectively: closed (Close) mode, Hybrid (Hybrid) mode, and Open (Open) mode; in the Close mode, only the closed member group member identified by the corresponding CSG ID can access; in the Hybrid mode, all the UEs are allowed to access, but the closed member group members with the corresponding CSG ID identifiers enjoy higher priority; in Open mode, all UEs are allowed to access.

Each UE may subscribe to more than one CSG, and an Allowed CSG List (ACL) includes CSG IDs of CSGs that the UE is allowed to access. Both the UE and the core network maintain ACLs. For a Close cell, the MME performs access control according to the CSG ID of the target cell and the ACL of the UE. For a Hybrid cell, the HeNB also needs to save the member status (Membership status) of the access UE and perform member verification (Membership verification). Here, the Close cell means: a cell with a Close mode access mode; the Hybrid cell refers to: the access mode is a Hybrid mode cell.

Based on the existing third generation partnership project (3GPP, 3)^rdGeneration Partnership Project) protocol, a UE may have two procedures for handover between henbs, including: a switching process based on an S1 interface and a switching process based on a direct X2 interface.

As shown in fig. 2, the handover procedure of the UE between henbs based on the S1 interface includes the following steps:

step 201: UE sends a measurement report to a source HeNB;

here, the measurement report includes: cell Global Identity (CGI), Tracking Area Identity (TAI), CSG ID, and member identity (MemberIndication).

Step 202: a source HeNB receives a measurement report sent by UE, and sends a HANDOVER request (HANDOVER REQUIRED) message to an MME after determining the decision of handing over the UE to the HeNB corresponding to a target cell;

here, the HANDOVER REQUIRED message includes: CSG ID of HeNB corresponding to the target cell; wherein, if the target cell is a Hybrid cell, the HANDOVER request message further includes: an access mode of the target cell; in the following description, the HeNB corresponding to the target cell is referred to as a target HeNB.

Step 203: after receiving the HANDOVER REQUEST message, the MME performs access control based on the CSG ID in the message and the stored CSG subscription information, and sends a HANDOVER REQUEST (HANDOVER REQUEST) message to the target HeNB after the access control is successful;

here, if the access control fails, the MME sends a HANDOVER PREPARATION FAILURE (HANDOVER FAILURE) message to the source HeNB to terminate the HANDOVER procedure.

The HANDOVER REQUEST message includes: CSG ID of target HeNB.

When the HANDOVER request message carries the information element of the access mode of the target cell, the MME further determines the identity of the UE accessing the target cell based on the CSG ID in the HANDOVER request message and the stored CSG subscription information, that is: and determining whether the UE is accessed to the target cell by member or non-member identity, and correspondingly carrying the CSG member state in the HANDOVER REQUEST message.

Step 204: after receiving the HANDOVER REQUEST message, the target HeNB compares the CSG ID in the HANDOVER REQUEST message with the CSG ID broadcasted to the target cell, and sends a HANDOVER REQUEST acknowledgement (HANDOVER REQUEST node edge) message to the MME after corresponding processing;

here, when the HANDOVER REQUEST message carries the CSG ID and the CSG member status, if the CSG ID in the HANDOVER REQUEST message is the same as the CSG ID broadcast to the target cell and the value of the CSG member status in the HANDOVER REQUEST message is "member", the target HeNB provides a Quality of Service (QoS) Service of the member identity and sends a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message to the MME; if the CSG ID in the HANDOVERREQUEST message is inconsistent with the CSG ID broadcasted to the target cell, the target HeNB provides non-membership QoS service and sends the real CSG ID broadcasted to the target cell in a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message.

When the HANDOVER REQUEST message carries only the CSG ID, if the CSG ID in the HANDOVER REQUEST message is not consistent with the CSG ID broadcasted to the target cell, the target HeNB sends a HANDOVER FAILURE (HANDOVER FAILURE) message with an appropriate cause value to the MME; if the CSG ID received in the HANDOVER REQUEST message is the same as the CSG ID broadcasted to the target cell, the target HeNB sends a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message to the MME.

Step 205: after receiving the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message, the MME sends a HANDOVER command message to the source HeNB;

step 206: after receiving the switching command message, the source HeNB sends the switching command message to the UE;

step 207: and after receiving the switching command message, the UE and the target HeNB execute S1 switching.

As can be seen from the above description, the handover procedure based on the S1 interface is applicable not only to the case where the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, but also to the case where the CSGIDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are different.

A handover procedure of the UE between henbs based on a direct X2 interface, as shown in fig. 3, includes the following steps:

step 301: UE sends a measurement report to a source HeNB;

here, the measurement report includes: CGI, TAI, CSG ID, and Member Indication.

Step 302: after receiving a measurement report sent by UE, a source HeNB judges whether the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and a target HeNB are the same or not, and sends an X2 handover request message to the target HeNB after the CSG IDs are determined to be the same;

here, the HeNB corresponding to the target cell means: and the target HeNB.

When the source HeNB and the target HeNB are connected in the same MME pool (MME pool), the conditions for allowing handover based on the direct X2 interface are: and switching between two CSG or hybrid cells with the same CSG ID, or setting the access mode of the target HeNB to be an open mode. For the case that the source cell and the target cell are both Close cells or Hybrid cells, the CSG ID of the source HeNB is carried in an X2 SETUP REQUEST (X2 SETUP REQUEST) message sent by the source HeNB to the target HeNB, and meanwhile, the CSG ID of the target HeNB is also included in an X2 SETUP RESPONSE (X2 SETUP RESPONSE) message sent by the target HeNB, and the source HeNB compares the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB to determine whether to initiate an X2 handover REQUEST message from the source HeNB to the target HeNB, specifically, when the source HeNB determines that the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, the X2 handover REQUEST message from the source HeNB to the target HeNB is determined. And, if the target cell is a hybrid cell, the X2 handover request message includes a CSG member status.

Step 303: after receiving the X2 handover request message, the target HeNB sends an X2 handover request confirmation message to the source HeNB;

step 304: after receiving the X2 switching request confirmation message, the source HeNB sends a switching command message to the UE;

step 305: and after receiving the switching command message, the UE and the target HeNB execute X2 switching.

Step 306: after the X2 handover is completed, the target HeNB sends a path switching REQUEST (PATH SWITCH REQUEST) message to the MME through an S1 interface;

here, in order to apply the correct charging policy, after handover between henbs based on the X2 interface is completed, the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message sent by the target HeNB to the MME includes: CSG ID and access mode of the target HeNB.

Step 307: after receiving the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message, the MME sends a PATH SWITCH REQUEST message acknowledgement to the target HeNB.

As can be seen from fig. 2 and 3, compared with the handover between henbs based on the S1 interface, the handover between henbs based on the direct X2 interface has the following advantages: the signaling load of a Core Network (CN) is reduced, and the time delay caused by excessive signaling interaction is also reduced. Here, the CN may specifically be an MME. However, the handover based on the direct X2 interface is only applicable to the case where the CSGID of the source HeNB is the same as the CSG ID of the target HeNB, and is not applicable to the case where the CSG ID of the source HeNB is different from the CSG ID of the target HeNB.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for switching a home base station, which can reduce the signaling load of a core network while implementing the switching of the home base station.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:

the invention provides a switching method of a home base station, which comprises the following steps:

and after receiving the X2 switching request message sent by the source home base station, the home base station gateway judges whether the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station are the same, and executes switching operation based on an X2 interface or executes corresponding switching operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

UE sends a measurement report to a source home base station;

when the source femtocell receives the measurement report and decides to handover, it sends an X2 handover request message to the femtocell.

In the foregoing solution, before determining whether the CSG IDs of the source femtocell and the target femtocell are the same, the method further includes:

and in the process of establishing the X2, the family base station gateway learns and stores the CSG IDs of all family base stations which establish X2 connection with the family base station gateway.

In the above scheme, the obtaining the CSG IDs of all home base stations that establish X2 connection with the mobile station during the X2 establishing process is:

the femtocell acquires a Transport Network Layer (TNL) address connected with a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) of a femtocell gateway which establishes an X2 interface by the femtocell through an Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) configuration mode; or,

acquiring a TNL address connected with the SCTP of the home base station gateway which establishes an X2 interface by utilizing an Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) and a TNL address discovery process;

the femtocell gateway acquires the CSG IDs of all femtocells establishing X2 connection with the femtocell gateway through information interaction with the femtocells.

In the foregoing solution, when determining whether the CSG IDs of the source hnb and the target hnb are the same, the method further includes:

and the home base station gateway obtains the CSGID of the source home base station and the CSGID of the target home base station from the CSG ID stored by the home base station gateway according to the CGI of the source cell and the CGI of the target cell in the received X2 switching request message.

In the foregoing solution, the performing, according to the determination result, a switching operation based on an X2 interface or performing, according to an obtained access control result of the MME, a corresponding switching operation is performed, where:

determining that the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station are the same, and performing switching operation based on an X2 interface; and when the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station are different, executing corresponding switching operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME.

In the above scheme, the executing the switching operation based on the X2 interface includes:

the femtocell gateway forwards an X2 switching request message to a target femtocell;

after receiving the X2 switching request message, the target femtocell sends an X2 switching request confirmation message to the femtocell gateway;

the femtocell gateway receives the X2 switching request confirmation message and sends an X2 switching request confirmation message to the source femtocell;

after receiving the X2 switching request confirmation message, the source femtocell sends a switching command message to the UE;

and after receiving the switching command message, the UE performs X2 switching with the target home base station.

In the foregoing solution, before performing a corresponding handover operation according to an obtained access control result of the MME, the method further includes:

the femtocell gateway sends an access control inquiry message to the MME through an S1 interface;

and after receiving the access control inquiry message, the MME matches the CSG ID in the access control inquiry message with the CSG subscription information stored by the MME, determines an access control result according to the matching result, and returns the access control result to the femtocell gateway through the S1 interface.

In the above scheme, the determining, according to the matching result, an access control result, and returning the access control result to the femtocell gateway through the S1 interface includes:

if the target cell is a Close cell, after the matching is determined, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a result of successful access control to the home base station gateway through an S1 interface; after the fact that the matching cannot be carried out is determined, the MME determines that the access control fails, and returns a result of the access control failure to the femtocell gateway through an S1 interface;

if the target cell is a Hydrid cell, after the matching is determined, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a successful access control result and a CSG member state indicating that the UE is a member to the femtocell gateway through an S1 interface; and after the matching is determined not to be carried out, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a successful access control result and the CSG member state indicating that the UE is a non-member to the femtocell gateway through the S1 interface.

In the above scheme, the executing the corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME includes:

when the access control result is that the access control is successful, executing switching operation based on an X2 interface; when the access control result is the access control failure, the switching operation based on the X2 interface is terminated.

In the above scheme, the returning of the access control result to the femtocell is:

returning an access control result to the home base station gateway through the cell in the access control inquiry response message; or,

and returning an access control result to the femtocell gateway by replying an access control inquiry response message or an access control failure message.

In the above scheme, the femtocell is an HeNB; correspondingly, the home base station gateway is HeNB GW.

The invention also provides a switching system of the home base station, which comprises the following components: a source femtocell and a femtocell gateway; wherein,

the source home base station is used for sending an X2 switching request message to the home base station gateway;

and the femtocell gateway is used for judging whether the CSG IDs of the source femtocell and the target femtocell are the same after receiving the X2 handover request message sent by the source femtocell, and executing the handover operation based on the X2 interface or executing the corresponding handover operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME according to the judgment result.

In the above solution, the system further includes: the UE is used for sending a measurement report to the source home base station;

the source femtocell is further configured to determine handover after receiving a measurement report sent by the UE.

In the above scheme, before determining whether the CSG IDs of the hnb and the target hnb are the same, the hnb gateway is further configured to learn and store the CSG IDs of all hnbs establishing X2 connection with the hnb gateway in the X2 establishment process.

In the above scheme, the hnb gateway is further configured to obtain the CSG IDs of the source hnb and the target hnb from CGIs stored in the home nodeb gateway according to the CGI of the source cell and the CGI of the target cell in the received X2 handover request message, when determining whether the CSGIDs of the source hnb and the target hnb are the same.

In the above scheme, the system further includes an MME, configured to match, after receiving an access control inquiry message sent by the femtocell gateway, a CSG ID in the access control inquiry message with CSG subscription information stored in the MME, determine an access control result according to the matching result, and return the access control result to the femtocell gateway through an S1 interface;

the femtocell gateway is also used for sending an access control inquiry message to the MME through an S1 interface before executing corresponding switching operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME; and receiving an access control result returned by the MME.

According to the switching method and system of the home base station, after receiving the X2 switching request message sent by the source home base station, the home base station gateway judges whether the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station are the same, and executes the switching operation based on the X2 interface or executes the corresponding switching operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME according to the judgment result, so that the switching of the home base station can be realized, and meanwhile, the signaling load of a core network can be reduced.

The method and the system for switching the home base station are not only suitable for the condition that the CSGID of the source home base station is the same as the CSG ID of the target home base station, but also suitable for the condition that the CSG ID of the source home base station is different from the CSG ID of the target home base station.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a HeNB in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a handover method between henbs based on an S1 interface in the prior art;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a handover method between henbs based on a direct X2 interface in the prior art;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a handover method of a femtocell according to the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a handover method of a femtocell according to an embodiment;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching system of the femtocell according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The basic idea of the invention is: and after receiving the X2 switching request message sent by the source home base station, the home base station gateway judges whether the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station are the same, and executes switching operation based on an X2 interface or executes corresponding switching operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME.

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

Taking the home base station as the HeNB and the home gateway as the HeNB GW as an example, the method for switching the home base station of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, includes the following steps:

step 401: when a source HeNB decides to switch, an X2 switching request message is sent to a HeNB GW;

here, the specific process of the source HeNB deciding the handover may adopt the prior art, and the X2 handover request message includes: a CGI of the target cell; further, when the target cell is a Hybrid cell, the method may further include: CSG membership status; wherein, the Hybrid cell refers to: the access mode is a Hybrid mode cell.

Before the source HeNB decides to handover, the method may further include:

UE sends a measurement report to a source HeNB;

wherein the measurement report includes: CGI, TAI, CSG ID, and MemberIndication of the target cell.

Step 402: and after receiving the X2 handover request message, the HeNB GW judges whether the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, and executes the handover operation based on the X2 interface or executes the corresponding handover operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME according to the judgment result.

Here, for a dense base station such as an HeNB, since the number of henbs establishing a direct X2 interface is large and the henbs have a feature of being plugged and unplugged at any time, the number of direct X2 interfaces between the henbs is large, and thus the establishment of an X2 interface and system maintenance become very complicated. In this case, the X2 proxy is considered. Compared with the direct X2 interface, the X2 agent has the following advantages:

first, the HeNB is configured with only one X2 interface to the HeNB GW, thus reducing the number of X2 interfaces and associated SCTPs, thereby simplifying the complexity of HeNB system maintenance.

Secondly, the information reaches the HeNB GW via the SeGW, thus providing better security support.

Finally, the inter operability Testing between different vendors is reduced.

In the Relay (Relay) system, the prior art already supports the X2 proxy, and therefore, based on the above analysis, the HeNB GW may be adopted to determine whether the CSG IDs of the source and target home base stations are the same, and according to the determination result, perform a handover operation based on the X2 interface or perform a corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME.

Before determining whether the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, the method may further include:

in the process of establishing X2, the HeNB GW acquires and stores CSG IDs of all HeNBs which establish X2 connection with the HeNB GW;

specifically, the HeNB acquires a TNL address of the SCTP connection with the HeNB GW that establishes the X2 interface by itself in an OAM configuration manner; or,

acquiring a TNL address connected with the SCTP of the HeNB GW establishing an X2 interface by utilizing an ANR and TNL address discovery process;

the HeNB GW acquires CSG IDs (CSG IDs) of all HeNBs which establish X2 connection with the HeNB through information interaction with the HeNB;

here, the obtaining, in an OAM configuration manner, the TNL address of the SCTP connection of the HeNB GW that establishes the X2 interface with itself means: after the HeNB is powered on, message interaction is carried out with the HeMS, after the HeMS verifies the HeNB, the parameters of the HeNB are configured, and the TNL address of SCTP connection of the HeNB GW establishing an X2 interface with the HeNB is notified to the HeNB; wherein, the specific processing procedure of acquiring the TNL address connected to the SCTP of the HeNB GW in an OAM configuration manner is the prior art, and is not described here again;

by using the discovery process of ANR and TNL address, knowing the TNL address of the SCTP connection of the HeNB GW that establishes the X2 interface with the HeNB means: after measuring a Cell of a target HeNB, UE (user equipment) under a source HeNB Cell reports a measurement report containing a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) of the target Cell to the source HeNB, and after receiving the measurement report, the source HeNB sends a message for acquiring System Information (SI, System Information) of the target Cell to the UE; after receiving the message, the UE reports the CGI, the TAI, the CSG ID and the member identification of the target cell which is detected according to the PCI to a source HeNB; the source HeNB can acquire an eNB identification (ID, eNBINDity) of the target HeNB through the CGI of the target cell reported by the UE; accordingly, the source HeNB can obtain the TNL address of the SCTP connection of the HeNB GW that establishes the X2 interface through the TNL address discovery process, and correspondingly, the HeNB GW can obtain the transport network layer address of the SCTP connection of the target HeNB that establishes the X2 interface through the TNL address discovery; the specific processing procedure of acquiring the TNL address connected to the SCTP of the HeNB GW by using the discovery procedure of the ANR and the TNL address is the prior art, and is not described here again.

After acquiring a TNL address of an opposite terminal Entity (Entity), the HeNB or the HeNB GW initiates an X2 establishment request message; when the HeNB initiates an X2 establishment request message to the HeNB GW, the X2 establishment request message includes: eNB ID, serving cell information, neighbor cell information and MMEpool information of the HeNB; when the HeNB GW initiates an X2 establishment request message to the HeNB, the X2 establishment request message comprises: eNB ID, serving cell information, neighbor cell information and MME pool information of the HeNB GW; after receiving the X2 establishment request message, the opposite end Entity replies with an X2 establishment response message, where the X2 establishment response message includes: eNB ID, serving cell information, neighbor cell information and MME pool information of the opposite end Entity; the serving cell information further includes: CGI, PCI, and CSG ID. Thus, the HeNB GW can know the CSG IDs of all henbs establishing X2 connection with itself through the X2 establishment procedure. When the CSG IDs of all henbs are saved, the HeNB GW establishes a one-to-one correspondence relationship between the CGI of the henbs and the CSG IDs.

When determining whether the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, the method may further include:

the HeNB GW obtains the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB from the CSG IDs stored by the HeNB GW according to the CGI of the source cell and the CGI of the target cell in the received X2 switching request message;

here, the cell served by the source HeNB is referred to as a source cell.

The executing the switching operation based on the X2 interface or executing the corresponding switching operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME according to the determination result specifically includes:

determining that the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, and executing a switching operation based on an X2 interface; when the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are different, executing corresponding switching operation according to the acquired access control result of the MME;

the executing the switching operation based on the X2 interface specifically includes:

the HeNB GW forwards an X2 switching request message to a target HeNB;

after receiving the X2 handover request message, the target HeNB sends an X2 handover request confirmation message to the HeNB GW;

the HeNB GW receives the X2 switching request confirmation message and sends an X2 switching request confirmation message to the source HeNB;

after receiving the X2 switching request confirmation message, the source HeNB sends a switching command message to the UE;

and after receiving the switching command message, the UE and the target HeNB execute X2 switching.

The specific processing procedure for performing the handover operation based on the X2 interface is exactly the same as that in the prior art, and the HeNB GW plays a role of a relay in the handover operation flow.

Before executing the corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME, the method may further include:

the HeNB GW sends an access control inquiry message to the MME through an S1 interface;

after receiving the access control inquiry message, the MME matches the CSG ID in the access control inquiry message with the CSG subscription information stored by the MME, determines an access control result according to the matching result, and returns the access control result to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface;

wherein, if the target cell is a Hydrid cell, the access control inquiry message further includes: an access mode of the target cell;

and determining an access control result according to the matching result, and returning the access control result to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface, specifically:

if the target cell is a Close cell, after the matching is determined, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a result of successful access control to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface; after the fact that the matching cannot be carried out is determined, the MME determines that the access control fails, and returns the result of the access control failure to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface;

if the target cell is a Hydrid cell, after the matching is determined, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a result of successful access control and a CSG member state indicating that the UE is a member to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface; and after the matching is determined not to be carried out, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns the successful result of the access control and the CSG member state indicating that the UE is a non-member to the HeNB BGW through the S1 interface.

Wherein the Close cell is: the access mode is a cell of Close mode.

The method comprises the following steps of executing corresponding switching operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME, specifically:

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to examples.

The application scenario of this embodiment is as follows: the HeNB GW already knows and stores the CSG IDs of all HeNBs which establish X2 connection with the HeNB GW in the X2 establishing process. As shown in fig. 5, the method for switching a home base station in this embodiment includes the following steps:

step 501: UE sends a measurement report to a source HeNB;

here, the measurement report includes: CGI, TAI, CSG ID, and Member Indication.

Step 502: after receiving a measurement report sent by UE and when deciding to switch, a source HeNB sends an X2 switching request message to HeNBGW;

here, the specific procedure of the source HeNB deciding handover may adopt the existing technology.

The X2 handover request message includes: a CGI of the target cell; further, when the target cell is a Hybrid cell, the method may further include: CSG membership status.

Step 503: after receiving the X2 handover request message, the HeNB GW determines whether the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, executes step 506 when the CSG IDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are the same, and executes step 504 when the CSGIDs of the source HeNB and the target HeNB are different;

step 504: the HeNB GW sends an access control inquiry message to the MME through an S1 interface;

here, if the target cell is a Hydrid cell, the access control inquiry message further includes: access mode of the target cell.

Step 505: after receiving the access control inquiry message, the MME matches the CSGID in the access control inquiry message with the CSG subscription information stored by the MME, determines an access control result according to the matching result, and returns the access control result to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface;

here, the determining, according to the matching result, an access control result, and returning the access control result to the HeNB GW, specifically includes:

When the access control result is returned to the HeNB GW, the access control result can be returned to the HeNB GW through the cell in the access control inquiry response message, or the access control result can be returned to the HeNB GW through replying the access control inquiry response message or the access control failure message. For example, when access control succeeds, the MME fills an access control result (access control result) cell in the corresponding message of the access control inquiry to 1, and when access control fails, the MME fills an access control result cell in the corresponding message of the access control inquiry to 0, where the HeNB GW has previously learned that 1 represents the result of the access control success and 0 represents the result of the access control failure, so as to learn the specific access control result represented by the access control result cell in the corresponding message of the access control inquiry; if the access control result is returned to the HeNB GW by replying the access control inquiry response message or the access control failure message, when the access control is successful, the access control success result is returned to the HeNB GW by replying the access control inquiry response message, and when the access control is failed, the access control failure result is returned to the HeNB GW by replying the access control failure message.

Step 506: the HeNB GW forwards an X2 switching request message to a target HeNB;

here, when the access control result received by the HeNB GW includes the CSG membership status, the X2 handover request message includes: CSG membership status.

When the access control result received by the HeNB GW is an access control failure, returning a switching preparation failure message to the source HeNB to terminate the switching process; the handover preparation failure message contains cause values such as: the handover target is not allowed.

Step 507: after receiving the X2 handover request message, the target HeNB sends an X2 handover request confirmation message to the HeNB GW;

step 508: the HeNB GW receives the X2 switching request confirmation message and sends an X2 switching request confirmation message to the source HeNB;

step 509: after receiving the X2 switching request confirmation message, the source HeNB sends a switching command message to the UE;

step 510: after receiving the switching command message, the UE performs X2 switching with the target HeNB;

step 511: after the switching is finished, the target HeNB sends a PATHSWITCH REQUEST message to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface;

here, in order to apply the correct charging policy, after handover between henbs based on the X2 interface is completed, the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message sent by the target HeNB to the HeNB GW includes: CSG ID and access mode of the target HeNB.

Step 512: the HeNB GW forwards the received PATH SWITCH REQUEST message to the MME through an S1 interface;

here, the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message includes: CSG ID and access mode of the target HeNB.

Step 513: after receiving the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message, the MME returns a PATH SWITCH REQUEST message confirmation to the HeNB GW through an S1 interface;

step 514: after receiving the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message confirmation, the HeNB GW returns a PATH SWITCH REQUEST message confirmation to the target HeNB through the S1 interface.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps of the above methods may be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a program, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a magnetic or optical disk, and the like. Alternatively, all or part of the steps of the above embodiments may be implemented using one or more integrated circuits. Accordingly, each module/unit in the above embodiments may be implemented in the form of hardware, and may also be implemented in the form of a software functional module. The present invention is not limited to any specific form of combination of hardware and software.

In order to implement the method, the present invention further provides a system for switching a home base station, as shown in fig. 6, the system includes: a source home base station 61 and a home base station gateway 62; wherein,

a source home base station 61, configured to send an X2 handover request message to the home base station gateway 62;

the hnb gateway 62 is configured to determine whether the CSG IDs of the source hnb 61 and the target hnb are the same after receiving the X2 handover request message sent by the hnb 61, and execute a handover operation based on an X2 interface or execute a corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME according to the determination result.

Wherein the source home base station 61 is also used to decide handover before sending the X2 handover request message to the home base station gateway 62.

The system may further comprise: UE, configured to send a measurement report to the source home base station 61;

the home base station 61 is further configured to receive a measurement report sent by the UE.

Before determining whether the CSG IDs of the source hnb 61 and the target hnb are the same, the hnb gateway 62 is further configured to learn and store the CSG IDs of all hnbs establishing X2 connection with itself in the X2 establishment process.

The femtocell gateway 62 is further configured to obtain the CSGID of the source femtocell 61 and the target femtocell from the CGIs stored in the femtocell gateway according to the CGI of the source cell and the CGI of the target cell in the received X2 handover request message when determining whether the CSG IDs of the source femtocell 61 and the target femtocell are the same.

The system may further include an MME, configured to match the CSG ID in the access control inquiry message with the CSG subscription information stored in the MME after receiving the access control inquiry message sent by the femtocell gateway 62, determine an access control result according to the matching result, and return the access control result to the femtocell gateway 62 through the S1 interface;

the femtocell gateway 62 is further configured to send an access control query message to the MME through an S1 interface before performing a corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME; and receiving an access control result returned by the MME.

Here, the home base station may specifically be: a HeNB; correspondingly, the femto gateway may specifically be an HeNB GW.

Here, the specific processing procedures of the hnb, the hnb gateway, the UE, and the MME in the system of the present invention have been described in detail above, and are not described again.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for switching a home base station is characterized by comprising the following steps:

after receiving the X2 handover request message sent by the source femtocell, the femtocell gateway determines whether the closed member group identifiers (CSG IDs) of the source femtocell and the target femtocell are the same, and executes a handover operation based on an X2 interface or executes a corresponding handover operation according to an obtained access control result of a Mobility Management Entity (MME) according to the determination result.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

user Equipment (UE) sends a measurement report to a source home base station;

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein before determining whether the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station are the same, the method further comprises:

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the learning of the CSG IDs of all home base stations which establish X2 connection with the self in the X2 establishing process is as follows:

the home base station acquires a Transport Network Layer (TNL) address of Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection of a home base station gateway which establishes an X2 interface with the home base station through an Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) configuration mode; or,

acquiring a TNL address connected with the SCTP of the home base station gateway establishing an X2 interface by utilizing an Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) and a TNL address discovery process;

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein in determining whether the CSG IDs of the source and target home base stations are the same, the method further comprises:

and the home base station gateway obtains the CSG IDs of the source home base station and the target home base station from the CSG IDs stored by the home base station gateway according to the Cell Global Identity (CGI) of the source cell and the CGI of the target cell in the received X2 switching request message.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the performing the handover operation based on the X2 interface or performing the corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME according to the determination result is:

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the performing the switching operation based on the X2 interface comprises:

8. The method of claim 6, wherein before performing the corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME, the method further comprises:

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the determining the access control result according to the matching result and returning the access control result to the femtocell gateway through the S1 interface are:

if the target cell is a closed (Close) cell, after the matching is determined, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a result of successful access control to the home base station gateway through an S1 interface; after the fact that the matching cannot be carried out is determined, the MME determines that the access control fails, and returns a result of the access control failure to the femtocell gateway through an S1 interface;

if the target cell is a hybrid (hybrid) cell, after the matching is determined, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a successful access control result and a CSG member state indicating that the UE is a member to the femtocell gateway through an S1 interface; and after the matching is determined not to be carried out, the MME determines that the access control is successful, and returns a successful access control result and the CSG member state indicating that the UE is a non-member to the femtocell gateway through the S1 interface.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the performing the corresponding handover operation according to the obtained access control result of the MME comprises:

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the returning the access control result to the femtocell is:

12. The method according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the home base station is an evolved home base station (HeNB); correspondingly, the femtocell gateway is an evolved home base station gateway (HeNB GW).

13. A system for switching a home base station, the system comprising: a source femtocell and a femtocell gateway; wherein,

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising: the UE is used for sending a measurement report to the source home base station;

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the hnb gateway is further configured to learn and store CSG IDs of all hnbs that establish X2 connection with the hnb gateway during the X2 establishment procedure before determining whether CSG IDs of the hnb and the target hnb are the same.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the hnb gateway, when determining whether the CSG IDs of the source hnb and the target hnb are the same, is further configured to obtain the CSG IDs of the source hnb and the target hnb from the CGIs stored in the home nodeb gateway according to the CGI of the source cell and the CGI of the target cell in the received X2 handover request message.

17. The system according to claim 13, wherein the system further comprises an MME, configured to, after receiving an access control inquiry message sent by the femtocell gateway, match the CSG ID in the access control inquiry message with the CSG subscription information stored in the MME, determine an access control result according to the matching result, and return the access control result to the femtocell gateway through an S1 interface;

18. The system according to any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the home base station is a HeNB; correspondingly, the home base station gateway is an HeNB GW.