JP2017017379A - Communication connection method and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication connection method and a communication system capable of dynamically selecting a communication control apparatus according to service requirements requested by a UE. In a communication system 1 of the present embodiment, a service specifying unit 52 specifies a service used by a UE 10 that has requested connection. Then, the SGW selection unit 55 selects the SGW 60 based on the service specified by the service specifying unit 52. Then, the connection request unit 56 connects to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55. Thereby, the SGW 60 suitable for the service can be selected. Therefore, the SGW 60 can be dynamically selected according to the requirements of the service requested by the UE 10 and the condition of the terminal movement state. [Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication connection method and a communication system.

  Conventionally, the MME (Mobility Management Entity) is selected based on the UE (User Equipment) terminal type that requested the Attach, and the selected MME selects the SGW (Serving Gateway) based on the load information. 1.

3GPP TS 23.401

  However, according to the above prior art, there is only a means for selecting an SGW based on an assignable resource in each SGW. Therefore, there is a problem that there is a possibility of selecting a communication control device that does not conform to the requirements of the service requested by the UE.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a communication connection method and a communication system that can dynamically select a communication control device such as an SGW according to the requirements of the service requested by the UE. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a communication connection method according to the present invention includes a user terminal, a first communication control device that is a device that transmits and receives data of the user terminal, and a route setting of data of the user terminal. A communication connection method by a communication system including a second communication control device that is performed with respect to one communication control device, the service specifying step for specifying a service used by the user terminal that has requested connection, and the service specifying step A selection step of selecting the first communication control device based on the identified service; and a connection step of connecting to the first communication control device selected by the selection step.

  Moreover, the communication system of this invention performs the route setting of the user terminal, the 1st communication control apparatus which is an apparatus which transmits / receives the data of a user terminal, and the data of a user terminal with respect to a 1st communication control apparatus. A communication system connected to a second communication control device, a service specifying means for specifying a service used by a user terminal that has requested connection, and a first communication control based on the service specified by the service specifying means Selecting means for selecting a device; and connecting means for connecting to the first communication control device selected by the selecting means.

  According to the present invention, the service used by the user terminal that requested the connection is specified, and the first communication control device is dynamically selected based on the specified service. Thereby, the service which a user requests | requires can be provided appropriately. Therefore, a communication control apparatus can be dynamically selected according to service requirements (for example, network requirements for executing a service) requested by a user terminal (UE).

  In the communication connection method of the present invention, the selecting step may select a first communication control device corresponding to the service from a plurality of first communication control devices. In this case, since the first communication control device corresponding to the service is selected from the plurality of first communication control devices, the first communication control device most suitable for the service can be dynamically selected.

  In the communication connection method of the present invention, the third communication control device for determining the second communication control device in the communication system acquires an attribute of the user terminal, and the third communication control device. Further includes a determination step of determining a second communication control device to be connected to the first communication control device based on the attribute of the user terminal acquired by the attribute acquisition step.

  In this case, since the third communication control apparatus selects the second communication control apparatus based on the attribute of the user terminal, an appropriate first communication control apparatus can be selected by the second communication control apparatus. .

  In the communication connection method of the present invention, the attribute acquisition step acquires information indicating the movement state of the user terminal as the attribute of the user terminal. Thereby, for example, it is possible to select a communication control device that performs mobility control only when the user terminal is moving. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of selecting a communication control device having a function that the user does not need. As a result, the cost can be reduced while satisfying the requirements of the user terminal.

  The communication connection method of the present invention further includes a movement state acquisition step of acquiring information indicating the movement state of the user terminal, and the selection step includes information indicating the movement state of the user terminal acquired by the movement state acquisition step. Further, based on this, the first communication control device is selected. In this case, if the user terminal is moving, a communication control device capable of mobility control can be selected, and if the user terminal is not moving, the communication control device can be selected without considering mobility control. Therefore, a communication control apparatus can be selected dynamically according to the requirements of the service requested by the user terminal (UE). Therefore, since it is possible to reduce the possibility of using a communication control device having functions other than service requirements, costs can be reduced while satisfying the requirements of each service.

  In the communication connection method of the present invention, the service specifying step specifies a plurality of services used by the user terminal, and the selecting step includes a first communication control device for each of the plurality of services specified by the service specifying step. Select. In this case, since an appropriate first communication control apparatus is selected for each service, the communication control apparatus can be dynamically selected according to the requirements of the service requested by the user terminal (UE). That is, since the first communication control device is individually selected according to the requirements of a plurality of services executed on a single user terminal, the use of the first communication control device is satisfied while satisfying the requirements of each service. The cost regarding can be reduced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a communication control apparatus can be selected dynamically according to the requirements of the service which a user terminal (UE) requests | requires, and the conditions of the movement state of a terminal.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the communication system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the information which the MME information storage part 33 memorize | stores. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the information which the subscriber information storage part 41 memorize | stores. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the information which SGW information storage part 53 memorize | stores. It is a figure explaining the function of MME selection device 30 and MME50. It is a figure explaining the hardware constitutions of MME selection apparatus 30 and MME50. It is a sequence diagram which shows the attachment process in case the MME selection apparatus 30 is included in MME50. It is a sequence diagram which shows the attachment process in case the MME selection apparatus 30 is stand-alone. It is a sequence diagram which shows the attachment process in case MME selection apparatus 30 is contained in eNodeB20. It is a sequence diagram which shows the selection process of SGW when UE10 performs a new service request. It is a sequence diagram which shows the change process of TrackingArea. It is a sequence diagram which shows a Handover process. It is a figure for showing the example which selects MME based on a movement state.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication system 1 includes an eNodeB 20, an MME (Mobility Management Entity) selection device 30 (third communication control device), an HSS 40, an MME 50 (second communication control device), and an SGW (Serving Gateway) 60 (first communication). Control device). A UE (User Equipment) 10 (user terminal) including a smartphone and a tablet terminal can perform communication by connecting to the communication system 1.

  The eNodeB 20 is a radio base station connected to the MME 12 and a communication control device having a radio access control function. The eNodeB 20 has, as basic functions, an admission control function when a call is made from the UE 10 and a paging function that calls the UE 10 when another UE 10 receives an incoming call.

  The MME selection device 30 is a device that selects the MME 50 to be connected when there is an attach request (location registration request) from the UE 10. The MME selection device 30 has a database (MME information storage unit 33) that stores MME information indicating the performance and functions of the MME 50. Here, an example of the MME information is shown in FIG. The MME information includes information in which an MME group ID is associated with a function / performance (for example, low cost, low delay, etc.) corresponding to the MME group ID. The MME group ID is an ID obtained by grouping MMEs having common functions and performances. The function / performance of the MME information is information indicating the function / performance of each MME group ID by indicating whether or not it corresponds to each function / performance as illustrated. The MME group ID may be associated with a plurality of types of functions / performances (for example, type1 = low cost, type3 = low cost & low delay). As an example of the above type, there is 3GPP “UE Usage Type”. Further, the MME selection device 30 may also store information on the MME 50 corresponding to the MME group ID as MME information. The MME selection device 30 selects the MME to be connected based on the performance of the UE 10 requested to attach and the MME information. The MME selection device 30 is included in the MME 50. Note that the MME selection device 30 may be a device independent of the eNodeB 20 (a stand-alone device) or may be included in the eNodeB 20.

  The HSS 40 is a server that manages subscriber information including contract information, authentication information, use service information, network information, and location information of communication terminals such as the UE 10 in a database (subscriber information storage unit 41). Here, the use service information is information defining a service used by each UE 10. The use service information includes a terminal ID for identifying the UE 10 and a service type indicating the requirements of the service used by the UE 10. When the HSS 40 acquires a terminal ID from the MME 50 and receives a service type acquisition request, the HSS 40 transmits a service type corresponding to the terminal ID to the MME 50.

  The network information is information that defines network requirements for each UE 10 to use a service (for example, a video application service, an ITS application service, etc.). FIG. 3 shows an example of network information. The network information is information including a terminal ID, a terminal type, and network requirements (low cost, low delay, etc. in the example of FIG. 3). The terminal ID is information for identifying the UE 10. The terminal type is information indicating the type of the UE 10. When the terminal type can be derived from the terminal ID, the terminal type may not be provided. The service used by the smart meter whose terminal ID is “0001” in the example of FIG. 3 does not require a low delay, but indicates that the cost needs to be low. In addition, the service used by the car (in-vehicle terminal) having the terminal ID “0002” performs processing that requires immediate processing such as inter-vehicle communication, and thus indicates that it is necessary to have a low delay. When one UE 10 uses a plurality of services, the network requirements of the network information are a combination of the network requirements of the respective services. For example, when a service that requires a certain UE 10 to have low delay and a service that requires low cost are used, the network requirements of the network information include low cost and low delay. The terminal ID may be associated with a type indicating network requirements (for example, type1 = low cost, type3 = low cost & low delay). As an example of the above type, there is 3GPP “UE Usage Type”.

  The MME 50 is a part that performs location management, authentication control of the UE 10 located in the LTE network, and processing for setting a communication path for user data between the SGW 60 and the eNodeB 20. The MME 50 has a database (SGW information storage unit 53) that stores information (SGW information) indicating the function / performance of the SGW 60. Here, an example of the SGW information is shown in FIG. The SGW information includes information in which the SGW group ID is associated with the SGW 60 corresponding to the SGW group ID. The SGW group ID is an ID obtained by grouping SGWs 60 having the same characteristics (having common functions / performances). For example, the SGW 60 whose SGW group ID is “0001” indicates that the SGW is an appropriate SGW for providing a service whose service type is “foo”. The MME 50 specifies the SGW group ID corresponding to the service ID indicating the service used by the UE 10 using the SGW information, and selects a predetermined condition (for example, resource availability, etc.) from the SGW 60 corresponding to the SGW group ID. ) To determine one SGW 60. The MME 50 performs a user data path setting process on the determined SGW 60.

  The SGW 60 is a visited packet switch that accommodates LTE, and transmits and receives user data to and from a PGW (Packet datanetwork Gate Way).

  Next, the MME selection device 30 and the MME 50 corresponding to the exchange having the characteristics in the communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the MME selection device 30 includes a request reception unit 31, a terminal attribute acquisition unit 32, an MME information storage unit 33, an MME determination unit 34, and a notification unit 35. The MME 50 includes a request receiving unit 51, a service specifying unit 52 (service specifying unit), an SGW information storage unit 53, a movement state acquisition unit 54, an SGW selecting unit 55 (selecting unit), a connection requesting unit 56 (connecting unit), And the MME selection function 30 which is a function of the MME selection apparatus 30 is comprised.

  Also, physically, the MME selection device 30 and the MME 50 are illustrated in the CPU 101, the RAM 102 and the ROM 103 as the main storage device, the communication module 104 as the data transmission / reception device, the hard disk, the flash memory, and the like, as shown in FIG. The computer system includes an auxiliary storage device 105, an input device 106 exemplified by a touch panel and a keyboard as input devices, an output device 107 such as a display, and the like. In the MME selection device 30 and the MME 50, the communication module 104, the input device 106, and the output device 107 are controlled under the control of the CPU 101 by loading predetermined computer software on the hardware such as the CPU 101 and the RAM 102 shown in FIG. A series of functions in each device is realized by operating and reading and writing data in the RAM 102 and the auxiliary storage device 105.

  The request receiving unit 31 is a part that receives an MME selection request from the eNodeB 20. For example, the request reception unit 31 receives an attach request from the eNodeB 20 as an MME selection request.

  The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 is a part that acquires attribute information of the UE 10. The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires information on the network requirements of the service used by the UE 10 (network requirements included in the network information) as the attribute information of the UE 10. Further, the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 includes, as attribute information of the UE 10, information indicating the terminal type of the UE 10 (for example, smartphone, tablet, PC, IoT terminal), information indicating the contract type (phone, video, IoT), RAT type Information indicating (5G, 4G, 3G) may be acquired. The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires the attribute information of the UE 10 from the HSS 40 when the request reception unit 31 receives the MME selection request.

  Further, the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires information on the movement state. The movement state information is information indicating whether the UE 10 is moving or information indicating how the UE 10 is moving (for example, moving by train).

  The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires terminal cell movement history or application information as movement state information. When acquiring the terminal movement history as the movement state information, the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires the terminal cell movement history at the timing when the MME selection request is received from the eNodeB 20. The terminal cell movement history is information indicating the cell stay time. It is information that can determine the movement state based on this cell stay time. For example, when the cell stay time is long, it is determined that the cell is stopped, and when the cell stay time is short, it is determined that the cell is moving. A specific example of the terminal cell movement history is Last Visited Cell Information described in 3GPP TS 36.413.

  When acquiring application information as movement state information, the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 stores application information (information indicating the movement state of the UE 10) stored in the application server for an application such as navigation via the HSS 40. get.

  Specifically, the UE 10 transmits location information (for example, information indicating latitude and longitude) of the UE 10 itself and location related information that is time information to the application server. The application server determines the movement state based on a change in position information included in the position related information of the UE 10. For example, the application server determines that the user is on a train when the position information indicates that the position information is moving along a track. In addition, when the application server indicates that the position of the position information is moving along the road, the movement state is referred to the time included in the position related information, and the movement state is a vehicle movement or a walking movement based on the speed. Determine whether. The application server sends the above determination result (for example, information indicating train movement, car movement, walking movement, no movement) to the HSS 40 at predetermined timing (for example, every other hour) as information indicating the movement state of the UE 10. To do.

  The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires information indicating the movement state at the timing of acquiring terminal attribute information from the HSS 40. Instead of the application server, the HSS 40 may determine the movement state based on the position related information.

  The MME information storage unit 33 is a part that stores information indicating the function / performance of each MME 50 as described above.

  The MME determination unit 34 is a part that determines the MME 50 based on the attribute information of the UE 10. The MME determination unit 34 acquires the attribute information of the UE 10 from the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32, and determines the MME 50 with reference to the attribute information of the UE 10 and information stored in the MME information storage unit 33. Moreover, when the information which shows a movement state is acquired as the attribute information of UE10 by the terminal attribute acquisition part 32, the MME determination part 34 determines MME50 based on the information which shows the said movement state. For example, when the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 has acquired application information indicating train movement as information indicating the movement state, the MME determination unit 34 determines the MME 50 having the group mobility function. As described above, the MME determination unit 34 refers to the information stored in the MME information storage unit 33 and determines the MME group ID based on the attribute information and the movement state. The MME determination unit 34 may determine the MME 50 corresponding to the MME group ID.

  The notification unit 35 is a part that notifies the MME group ID determined by the MME determination unit 34. Specifically, the notification unit 35 notifies the determined MME group ID to the eNodeB 20 that has made the MME selection request.

  Subsequently, the MME 50 will be described. The request receiving unit 51 is a part that receives an attach request from the eNodeB 20.

  The service specifying unit 52 is a part that specifies a service executed by the UE 10. Specifically, the service specifying unit 52 specifies the service by acquiring the service type of the UE 10 from the HSS 40 or the MME 50 to which the UE 10 was previously connected. The SGW information storage unit 53 is a part that stores SGW information as described above.

  The movement state acquisition part 54 is a part which acquires the information which shows the movement state of UE10. For example, the movement state acquisition unit 54 acquires information (terminal cell movement history) indicating the movement state of the UE 10 from the eNodeB 20 when the request reception unit 51 receives the request. Further, the movement state acquisition unit 54 acquires application information from the HSS 40.

  The SGW selection unit 55 is a part that selects the SGW 60 based on the service type specified by the service specifying unit 52. The SGW selection unit 55 selects the SGW 60 based on the service type and information stored in the SGW information storage unit 53. Specifically, the SGW selection unit 55 acquires the service type specified by the service specifying unit 52 from the service specifying unit 52, and selects the SGW group ID corresponding to the service type from the information stored in the SGW information storage unit 53. Identify. The SGW selection unit 55 selects one SGW 60 from among the SGWs 60 corresponding to the SGW group ID based on a predetermined condition (for example, availability of resources of each SGW 60).

  For example, when the UE 10 uses a moving image application for streaming playback of video in a vehicle as a service, the SGW selection unit 55 selects an SGW 60 that can realize the service at high speed and large capacity based on the requirements of the service. In addition, when the UE 10 uses an ITS application that performs road-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-vehicle communication as a service, the SGW 60 selects the SGW 60 that can realize the service with low delay based on the requirements of the service.

  Further, the SGW selection unit 55 selects the SGW 60 based on the information indicating the movement state acquired by the movement state acquisition unit 54. For example, when the SGW selection unit 55 determines that it is at home based on the information indicating the movement state, the SGW selection unit 55 selects a lightweight SGW 60 that does not use a tunnel.

  The connection request unit 56 is a part that makes a connection request to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55.

  Next, the connection method in said communication system is demonstrated using FIGS. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an attach process when the MME selection device 30 is included in the MME 50, and FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating an attach process when the MME selection device 30 is stand-alone. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating an attach process when the MME selection device 30 is included in the eNodeB 20. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing SGW selection processing when the UE 10 makes a new service request. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a tracking area changing process. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating the Handover process.

  First, an attach process when the MME selecting device 30 is included in the MME 50 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the UE 10 makes an attach request by transmitting an Attach Request signal to the eNodeB 20 (step S101). In response to the attach request, the eNodeB 20 issues an attach request to the MME selection device 30 using an Initial UE signal (step S102). In addition, eNodeB20 determines MME50A (MME selection apparatus 30) of attachment request object based on a load balance. Moreover, eNodeB20 transmits a terminal cell movement history to MME50A at the time of the attachment request | requirement of step S102.

  The request reception unit 51 of the MME selection device 30 receives the attach request. Subsequently, the request reception unit 51 of the MME selection device 30 transmits information identifying the UE 10 to the MME 50B to which the UE 10 was connected immediately before based on the signal related to the attach request, and the UE 10 A request for providing information (Identification / Context Request) is transmitted.

  The MME 50B receives the information provision request related to the UE 10, and transmits information (Identification / Context Response) related to the UE 10 to the MME 50A (step S103). The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 of the MME selection device 30 acquires information (for example, network information) related to the UE 10 as terminal attribute information. In addition, the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires a terminal cell movement history from the eNodeB 20.

  The MME selection device 30 transmits an Identity Request signal indicating the ID request of the UE 10 to the UE 10, and the UE 10 accordingly transmits an Identity Response signal indicating the ID notification of the UE 10 to the MME selection device 30 (step S104).

  The MME selection device 30 transmits an Update Location Request signal indicating a request for location registration to the HSS 40, and receives an Update Location Acknowledge signal including the terminal attribute information from the HSS 40 (step S105). In addition, the MME selection device 30 transmits information related to the UE 10 to the HSS 40, and if the HSS 40 has additional information based on the information, the MME selection device 30 transmits additional information related to the UE 10 to the MME selection device 30. The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires this additional information.

  The MME determination unit 34 of the MME selection device 30 refers to the information stored in the MME information storage unit 33, and selects the MME 50 (group of MME 50) corresponding to the information acquired by the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 (step) S106).

  The notification unit 35 of the MME selection device 30 transmits to the eNodeB 20 a Re-routeNAS Request signal that is a notification indicating that an attachment request to another MME 50 is requested. The notification unit 35 transmits the signal to notify the group (MME group ID) of the MME 50 determined by the MME determination unit 34 and also notify the attach request to the MME 50. In response to this, the eNodeB 20 determines any of the MMEs 50 corresponding to the MME group ID as an attachment target, and sends an attach signal to the determined MME 50 to request attachment (step S107).

  Thereafter, since an attach request is made to the new MME 50C, new authentication (re-authentication) of the UE 10 is performed between the UE 10, the eNodeB 20, the new MME 50C, and the HSS 40 (step S108). Then, the MME 50 transmits an Update Location signal indicating update of location registration to the HSS 40, and updates location registration (step S109). The HSS 40 transmits the terminal attribute information of the UE 10 to the MME 50C in response to receiving the Update Location signal. At this time, the service specifying unit 52 of the new MME 50C acquires the service ID of the UE 10 from the HSS 40. The movement state acquisition unit 54 acquires application information from the HSS 40 at the timing of step S109.

  Subsequently, the SGW selection unit 55 of the MME 50C selects one SGW 60 corresponding to the service ID and application information (step S110). When a plurality of service IDs of the UE 10 are acquired from the HSS 40, the SGW selection unit 55 of the MME 50C selects the SGW 60 corresponding to the service ID and application information. The connection request unit 56 transmits a Create Session Request signal indicating a session generation request to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55. In response to this, the SGW 60 transmits a Create Session signal to the PGW. The SGW 60 transmits a Create Session Response signal indicating completion of session generation to the new MME 50C (step S111).

  Thereafter, the new MME 50C transmits an InitialContext Setup Request signal indicating an information transmission request such as security information to the eNodeB 20 (step S112), and the eNodeB 20 transmits an RRC Connection Reconfiguration signal indicating an RRC connection reconfiguration instruction to the UE 10. (Step S113). Further, the eNodeB 20 transmits an Initial Context Setup Response signal indicating an information transmission response to the information transmission request to the new MME 50C (Step S114).

  UE10 transmits the Direct Transfer signal which shows transmission message transmission to eNodeB20 (step S115), and eNodeB20 transmits the Attach Complete signal which shows completion of attachment to new MME50C (step S116).

  Then, the process which establishes a bearer is performed between new MME50C, SGW60, and PGW (step S117). Specifically, the new MME 50C transmits a Modify Bearer Request signal indicating a bearer establishment request to the SGW 60, the SGW 60 transmits a Modify Bearer signal indicating bearer establishment to the PGW, and the bearer establishment is completed from the SGW 60 to the new MME 50C. A Modify Bearer Response signal is transmitted.

  The new MME 50C makes an attach notification request (NotifyRequest) to the HSS 40, and receives a response (Notify Response) of the attach notification request from the HSS 40 (step S118).

  Next, processing when the MME selection device 30 is a stand-alone device will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the UE 10 transmits an Attach Request signal to the eNodeB 20 (Step S201).

  Subsequently, the eNodeB 20 transmits an MMESelection Request signal indicating an MME selection request to the MME selection device 30 (step S202). The request reception unit 31 of the MME selection device 30 receives an MME selection request based on the MME Selection Request signal. The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 of the MME selection device 30 transmits an UE Capability Request signal indicating a request for terminal attribute information to the HSS 40, thereby requesting acquisition of attribute information of the UE 10. In response to this, the HSS 40 transmits the attribute information of the UE 10 to the MME selection device 30, and the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 of the MME selection device 30 acquires the attribute information (including application information) of the UE (step S203). ).

  The MME determination unit 34 refers to the information stored in the MME information storage unit 33, and determines the MME 50 corresponding to the information acquired by the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 (step S204).

  The notification unit 35 transmits an MME Selection Response signal indicating an MME selection response to the eNodeB 20, and notifies the MME group ID determined by the MME determination unit 34 (step S205). In response to this, the eNodeB 20 determines one of the MMEs 50 corresponding to the MME group ID as an attachment target, and issues an attach request to the determined MME 50 (MME 50B) (step S206). The subsequent processing is the same as Step S108 to Step S118 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

  Next, processing when the MME selection device 30 is included in the eNodeB 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the UE 10 transmits an AttachRequest signal to the eNodeB 20 together with the attribute information of the terminal (UE 10) (step S301). The request reception unit 31 of the MME selection device 30 receives the signal and receives an MME selection request. Further, the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires the attribute information (network requirement of network information) of the UE 10.

  The MME determination unit 34 refers to the information stored in the MME information storage unit 33 and the terminal cell movement history stored in the eNodeB 20, and determines the MME 50 (MME 50B) corresponding to the information acquired by the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32. Determine (step S302). The MME 50A is the MME 50 that has been connected before.

  The eNodeB 20 issues an attach request to the MME 50B determined by the MME determining unit 34 (step S303). The subsequent processing is the same as Step S108 to Step S118 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

  Next, a process when the UE 10 is notified of addition of a new service after performing the attach process shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG. It is assumed that the UE 10 stores information (connection destination and the like) of the MME 50 selected by the MME selection device 30. First, the UE 10 transmits a PDN Connectivity Request signal indicating a new service addition notification to the MME 50. The PDNConnectivity Request signal also includes service ID information indicating the new service. For each new service, the UE 10 transmits a PDN Connectivity Request signal. The request receiving unit 51 of the MME 50 receives the signal (step S401). Further, the service specifying unit 52 of the MME 50 specifies a service from the signal. Then, the SGW selection part 55 of MME50 selects SGW60 based on the service specified from the said signal (step S402).

  The connection request unit 56 transmits a CreateSession Request signal to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55. In response to this, the SGW 60 transmits a CreateSession signal to the PGW. The SGW 60 transmits a Create Session Response signal to the new MME 50C (Step S403). Thereafter, a known PDN connection process (for example, the invention described in 3GPP TS23.401) is performed (step S404), and the process ends. In this way, every time the MME 50 receives a notification of addition of a new service from the UE 10, the SME 60 selects the SGW 60 according to the service requirements, so that the SME 60 can be dynamically selected for each service.

  Next, a tracking area update process for selecting a new communication connection destination will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. When the UE 10 detects the trigger of the TAU process in step S501 (for example, the UE 10 determines that a certain eNodeB 20 should be selected as a new communication connection destination), the UE 10 indicates a tracking area update request to the eNodeB 20 A TAU Request signal is transmitted. The eNodeB 20 receives the TAU Request signal (step S502). In response to receiving the TAU Request signal, the eNodeB 20 transmits an MME selection request to the MME selection device 30, and the MME selection device 30 accepts the MME selection request (step S503).

  The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 of the MME selection device 30 requests the HSS 40 to acquire the attribute information of the UE 10, and acquires the attribute information of the UE from the HSS 40 (Step S504).

  The MME determination unit 34 of the MME selection device 30 refers to the information stored in the MME information storage unit 33 and determines the MME corresponding to the information acquired by the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 (step S505).

  The notification unit 35 notifies the MME 50 (MME 50A) determined by the MME determination unit 34 as an MME selection response (step S506). In response to this, the eNodeB 20 transmits a TAU Request signal to the MME 50A determined by the MME determination unit 34 (step S507).

  The MME 50A inquires for terminal attribute information by transmitting a Context Request signal to the MME 50B. In response to this inquiry, the MME 50B transmits a service ID to the MME 50A by transmitting a Context Response signal including terminal attribute information. The MME 50A receives the service ID (step S508).

  As described above, when the MME 50A acquires the service ID, authentication processing and transmission / reception of security information are performed (step S509). Specifically, the MME 50A transmits an authentication request (Authentication Request) to the eNodeB 20. And eNodeB20 transmits downlink data to UE10. This downlink data includes, for example, authentication request information. Moreover, UE10 transmits uplink data to UE10. This uplink data includes, for example, authentication response information. The MME 50A transmits security information to the eNodeB 20 as a security process. Then, the eNodeB 20 transmits a security completion notification for the security information received from the MME 50A to the MME 50A.

  Subsequently, the MME 50A transmits a terminal attribute information reception notification (ContextAcknowledge) to the MME 50B (step S510). The service specifying unit 52 of the MME 50 specifies the service by acquiring the service ID in step S508. Subsequently, the SGW selection unit 55 of the MME 50 selects the SGW 60 based on the service ID (step S511). When a plurality of services are specified by the service specifying unit 52 of the MME 50A, the SGW selecting unit 55 of the MME 50A selects the SGW 60 based on the service ID for each service.

  The connection request unit 56 transmits a CreateSession Request signal to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55. In response to this, the SGW 60 transmits a CreateSession signal to the PGW. Thereafter, a known SGW 60 connection process (for example, a process described in 3GPP TS 23.401) is performed, and the process ends.

  Next, processing at the time of handover will be described using the sequence diagram shown in FIG. First, when it is determined in step S601 that handover is to be performed via the S1 interface, a Handover Required message for requesting handover is transmitted to the MME 50A that controls the UE 10 before the handover (step S602). The MME 50A makes an MME selection request to the MME selection device 30 (step S603). When receiving the MME selection request, the request reception unit 31 of the MME selection device 30 requests the terminal attribute information from the HSS 40. The HSS 40 transmits the terminal attribute information to the MME selecting device 30 in response to the request for the terminal attribute information. The terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 of the MME selection device 30 receives the terminal attribute information (step S604).

  The MME determination unit 34 of the MME selection device 30 refers to the information stored in the MME information storage unit 33 and determines the MME 50 (MME 50B) corresponding to the information acquired by the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 (step S605). . The notification unit 35 of the MME selection device 30 notifies the MME 50A of the MME 50B determined by the MME determination unit 34 as an MME selection response (step S606). Subsequently, the MME 50A transmits a Forward Relocation Request message for requesting a change in packet transfer to the MME 50B that performs control related to the UE 10 after the handover (step S607).

  The request reception unit 51 of the MME 50 receives the Forward Relocation Request message. Further, the service specifying unit 52 of the MME 50 specifies a service by taking over the service ID of the UE 10 from the MME 50A at the timing of step S607. Subsequently, the SGW selection unit 55 of the MME 50B selects the SGW 60 based on the service ID specified from the signal (step S608).

  The connection request unit 56 transmits a CreateSession Request signal to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55. Thereafter, a known SGW 60 connection process (for example, a process described in 3GPP TS23.401) is performed, and the process is terminated.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the service specifying unit 52 of the MME 50 acquires the service type from the HSS 40 has been described, but when the HSS 40 stores the SGW group ID corresponding to the service as the subscriber information, The SGW group ID may be acquired instead of the service type. In this case, the SGW selection unit 55 can select the SGW 60 even if the SGW selection unit 55 does not have information that associates the SGW group ID with the service type.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the terminal attribute acquisition unit 32 acquires the terminal cell movement history or the application information as the movement state information has been described, but the UE 10 is connected as the movement state information. You may make it acquire the information which shows the classification of the base station which is doing. For example, when information indicating that a mobile base station (moving cell) is connected is acquired, no handover occurs and no movement occurs on the network, so that it can be determined as “stopped”. In addition, when information indicating that the terminal is connected to a femtocell installed in a house / facility is acquired, it can be determined that the user of the UE 10 does not go out for a while, so that it is “stopped”.

  Next, the effect of the communication system 1 in this embodiment is demonstrated. In the communication system 1 of the present embodiment, the service specifying unit 52 specifies a service used by the UE 10 that has requested connection. Then, the SGW selection unit 55 selects the SGW 60 based on the service specified by the service specifying unit 52. Then, the connection request unit 56 connects to the SGW 60 selected by the SGW selection unit 55. Thereby, the service which a user requests | requires can be provided appropriately. Therefore, a communication control apparatus can be selected dynamically according to the requirements of the service requested by the user terminal (UE).

  Moreover, the terminal attribute acquisition part 32 in the MME selection apparatus 30 for determining MME50 acquires the attribute of UE10. The MME determination unit 34 determines the MME 50 connected to the SGW 60 based on the attribute of the UE 10. In this case, since the MME 50 is selected based on the attribute of the UE 10, an appropriate SGW 60 can be selected by the MME 50. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the MME selection device 30 selects the MME 50 that is over-spec for the attribute of the UE 10.

  Moreover, the terminal attribute acquisition part 32 acquires the information which shows the movement state of the said UE10 as an attribute of UE10. In this case, the MME 50 based on the movement state of the UE 10 can be selected. A specific example is shown in FIG. It is assumed that different TAs (Tracking Areas) are set for a plurality of MMEs. Assume that MME1 sets TA1, which is a long and narrow TA along the track, and MME2 sets TA2, which is a standard TA.

  In this case, when the MME determination unit 34 determines that the UE 10 is moving along the track based on the information indicating the movement state, the MME determination unit 34 determines the MME 1. On the other hand, when it is determined that the UE 10 is moving along the road, it is determined as the MME 2.

  The movement state acquisition unit 54 acquires information indicating the movement state of the UE 10, and the SGW selection unit 55 selects the SGW 60 based further on the information indicating the movement state of the UE 10 acquired by the movement state acquisition unit 54. In this case, since the SGW 60 is selected based on the movement state of the UE 10, a communication control device capable of mobility control is selected if the UE 10 is moving, and mobility control is not considered if the UE 10 is not moving. SGW60 can be selected. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of using a communication control device having functions other than service requirements (network requirements for executing services). As a result, the cost can be reduced while satisfying the requirements of each service.

  Further, the service specifying unit 52 specifies a plurality of services used by the UE 10. The SGW selection unit 55 selects the SGW 60 for each of a plurality of services specified by the service specification unit 52. In this case, since an appropriate SGW 60 is selected for each service, the SGW 60 can be dynamically selected according to the requirements of the service requested by the UE 10 and the condition of the movement state of the terminal. That is, since the SGW 60 is individually selected according to the requirements of a plurality of services executed on a single UE 10, the costs related to the use of the SGW 60 can be reduced while satisfying the requirements of each service.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication system, 10 ... UE (terminal), 20 ... eNodeB, 30 ... MME selection apparatus, 31 ... Request reception part, 32 ... Terminal attribute acquisition part, 33 ... MME information storage part, 34 ... MME determination part, 35 ... Notification unit, 40 ... HSS, 41 ... Subscriber information storage unit, 50 ... MME, 51 ... Request reception unit, 52 ... Service identification unit, 53 ... SGW information storage unit, 54 ... Moving state acquisition unit, 55 ... SGW selection unit 56 ... Connection request unit, 60 ... SGW.

Claims (7)

A user terminal, a first communication control device that is a device that transmits and receives data of the user terminal, and a second communication control device that performs data path setting of the user terminal to the first communication control device A communication connection method by a communication system including:
A service identification step for identifying a service used by the user terminal that requested the connection;
A selection step of selecting the first communication control device based on the service identified by the service identification step;
A connection step of connecting to the first communication control device selected in the selection step.   The communication connection method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step selects a first communication control device corresponding to the service from a plurality of first communication control devices. An attribute acquisition step in which a third communication control device for determining the second communication control device in the communication system acquires an attribute of the user terminal;
A determination step in which the third communication control device determines a second communication control device to be connected to the first communication control device based on the attribute of the user terminal acquired in the attribute acquisition step;
The communication connection method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:   The communication connection method according to claim 3, wherein the attribute acquisition step acquires information indicating a movement state of the user terminal as an attribute of the user terminal. A moving state acquisition step of acquiring information indicating a moving state of the user terminal;
The communication connection method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the selecting step selects the first communication control device further based on information indicating the moving state of the user terminal acquired by the moving state acquiring step. The service specifying step specifies a plurality of services used by the user terminal,
The communication connection method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step selects the first communication control device for each of a plurality of services specified by the service specifying step. A user terminal, a first communication control device that is a device that transmits and receives data of the user terminal, and a second communication control device that performs data path setting of the user terminal to the first communication control device A communication system to which
A service specifying means for specifying a service used by the user terminal that requested the connection;
Selecting means for selecting the first communication control device based on the service specified by the service specifying means;
Connecting means for connecting to the first communication control device selected by the selecting means.

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