CN103139853B

CN103139853B - Switching method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN103139853B
Application number: CN201310037751.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘菁; 常宁娟; 王可; 彭炎
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2010-06-28
Filing date: 2010-06-28
Publication date: 2015-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 2030-06-28
Also published as: CN103139853A

Abstract

The invention provides a switching method. The switching method includes an obtaining node obtains mobile management entity (MME) pool information which is sent from a hosting site of an access node and is used for labeling an MME where user equipment (UE) is attached, wherein the access node switches the UE according to the MME pool information used for labeling the MME where the UE is attached. The invention further provides a communication device and a communication system. According to the switching method, the communication device and the communication system, successful switching can be achieved through the MME pool information which is used for labeling the MME where the UE is attached and is sent from the hoisting site of the access node.

Description

Switching method and communication device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a handover method, a communications apparatus, and a communications system.

Background

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, in an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (intra-E-UTRAN), based on the difference of handover reference points, there may be two handover types, including a handover based on an X2 interface (X2 handover) and a handover based on an S1 interface (S1 handover).

The X2 handover uses an X2 interface between a source base station (eNB) and a target eNB as a reference point, and during the handover, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) to which a User Equipment (UE) is attached does not change, that is, the X2 handover is premised on an S1 interface between the MME to which the source eNB and the UE are attached and an S1 interface between the MME to which the UE is attached and the target eNB. The S1 handover is performed with the S1 interface as a reference point, and at this time, the MME to which the UE is attached may change, and the source MME decides whether to change the MME to which the UE is attached and selects a new MME.

When a Relay Node (RN) is introduced into an LTE system, the RN cannot correctly decide a handover type for handover of a UE within a coverage of the RN.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a switching method, a communication device and a communication system, which can enable an access node to switch UE.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a handover method, including: a host site sends a Globally Unique Mobile Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) to an access node attached to the host site, wherein the GUMMEI is an identifier of a Mobile Management Entity (MME) attached to User Equipment (UE) under the coverage of the access node, so that the access node can perform UE switching according to the GUMMEI when the UE needs to perform switching; wherein, the GUMMEI is contained in an initial context establishment request message sent by the host station to the access node in an initial context establishment flow; or, the GUMMEI is included in a handover request message sent by the donor site to the access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the UE enters the coverage of the access node through the S1 handover procedure, where the access node is a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the donor site is a destination donor site in the S1 handover procedure.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a handover method, including: an access node acquires a Globally Unique Mobile Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) sent by a host site of the access node, wherein the GUMMEI is an identifier of a Mobile Management Entity (MME) attached to User Equipment (UE) under the coverage of the access node, and the GUMMEI is contained in an initial context establishment request message sent to the access node by the host site in an initial context establishment flow; or, the GUMMEI is included in a handover request message sent by the donor site to the access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the UE enters the coverage of the access node through the S1 handover procedure, where the access node is a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the donor site is a destination donor site in the S1 handover procedure; and when the UE needs to be switched, the access node switches the UE according to the acquired GUMMEI.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication apparatus, under which an access node is attached, where the communication apparatus includes: a unit configured to send a globally unique mobile management entity identifier GUMMEI to the access node, where the GUMMEI is an identifier of a mobile management entity MME attached to a user equipment UE under the coverage of the access node, so that the access node performs handover of the UE according to the GUMMEI when the UE needs handover, where the unit includes: means for sending an initial context setup request message to the access node in an initial context setup procedure, the GUMMEI being included in the initial context setup request message; alternatively, the apparatus includes means for sending a handover request message to the access node in an S1 handover procedure, the GUMMEI being included in the handover request message, and the UE being moved into coverage of the access node by the S1 handover procedure, the access node being a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, the communications device being a destination host site in the S1 handover procedure.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication apparatus, including: an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a globally unique mobile management entity identifier GUMMEI sent by a host site of the communication apparatus, where the GUMMEI is an identifier of a mobile management entity MME attached to a user equipment UE under coverage of the communication apparatus, and the obtaining unit is specifically configured to: acquiring an initial context establishment request message sent by the host site in an initial context establishment flow, wherein the initial context establishment request message comprises the GUMMEI; or, acquiring a handover request message sent by the donor site in the S1 handover procedure, where the handover request message includes the GUMMEI, and the UE enters a coverage area of the communication device through the S1 handover procedure, where the communication device is a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the donor site is a destination donor site in the S1 handover procedure; and the switching unit is used for switching the UE according to the GUMMEI acquired by the acquisition unit when the UE needs to be switched.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, when the access node switches the UE, the successful switching can be carried out through the GUMMEI of the MME attached to the UE, which is sent by the host site of the access node.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a handover method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network structure of a relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for acquiring handover type decision information by an RN according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another method for acquiring handover type decision information by an RN according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating another method for acquiring handover type decision information by an RN according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another method for acquiring handover type decision information by an RN according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating another method for acquiring handover type decision information by an RN according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a handover method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

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

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical solution of the present invention more clear, the following description is further made with reference to the specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a handover method, where the method includes:

step 101: the access node acquires information, sent by a host site of the access node, of a mobility management entity pool (MME pool) for identifying an MME (mobility management entity) attached to UE (user equipment) under the coverage of the access node;

step 102: and when the UE needs to be switched, the access node switches the UE according to the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME attached to the UE.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the Access station may be an RN in a relay system, or an HeNB in an evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Network deploying a Home evolution base station (HeNB). The home site of the access node is a site that is connected with the access site in a wireless or wired manner and provides a specific service for the access site, and the access site is usually accessed to the core network side through the home site. For example, if the access station is RN, the host station may be eNB; if the access site is a HeNB, the host site may be a HeNB Gateway (HeNB Gateway, HeNB GW).

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, when the access node switches the UE, the successful switching can be carried out through the information which is sent by the host site of the access node and identifies the MME pool of the MME attached to the UE.

As shown in fig. 2, in the relay system, the UE is under the coverage of the RN, and if the UE is handed over to enter the coverage of the current RN through S1, the RN may obtain information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached through S1Application Protocol (S1Application Protocol, S1AP) message in the S1 handover procedure. Alternatively, the UE may acquire the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached through the S1AP message in the Initial context setup (Initial context setup) procedure. For example, the RN may acquire information for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is attached through an S1AP message of an initial context setup procedure in an attach (attach) procedure or a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure of the UE.

The information for identifying the MME pool of the MME may be a Globally Unique mobile management entity Identifier (Globally Unique MME Identifier, GUMMEI) or a Globally Unique Group Identifier (Globally Unique Group ID, GU Group ID). The RN may determine, according to the acquired MME pool information of the current UE-attached MME, whether there is the same MME pool in the MME pool of the UE-attached MME and one or more MME pools to which the target access node to which the UE is to be switched belongs. An MME pool refers to a logical area consisting of one or more equivalent (parallel) MMEs, in which a UE may acquire service without changing an attached MME. Different MME pool can overlap each other. When the UE is attached to the MME, the MME pool of the MME can be called the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached; for an access node, e.g. eNB, or any other node for access, such as RN, its MME pool may be one or more.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the information, sent by the host site of the access node, of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached, the access node may store the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached. When the access node needs to perform handover on the UE later, the stored information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached may be used to determine whether the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached and the one or more MME pools to which the UE is to be handed over have the same MME pool. Further, the information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached and the MME pool information of the target access node obtained by the access node may determine whether the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached and the one or more MME pools to which the UE is to be handed over have the same MME pool, and determine the handover type. If the same MME pool exists, it may be determined that the MME to which the UE attaches is not changed, and the handover type may be determined to be X2 handover, and if the same MME pool does not exist, it may be determined that the MME to which the UE attaches is changed, and the handover type may be determined to be S1 handover. So that the access node can perform corresponding handover according to the determined handover type.

Since the RN has an S1 interface with the attached eNB of the RN but does not have an S1 interface with the MME, the RN cannot directly interact with the MME to obtain information identifying the MME pool to which the UE is attached. In this embodiment, the RN may switch the procedure at S1, or an attach procedure of the UE, or information used for identifying the MMEpool of the MME to which the UE is attached in procedures such as a TAU procedure.

For example, as in the network system shown in fig. 2, if the UE is handed over to the coverage area of the current RN through the S1 handover procedure, for example, the UE is handed over from eNB1 to the RN through the S1 handover procedure, an eNB (Donor eNB, DeNB) attached to the RN of the target site during the S1 handover procedure may send information for identifying the MME pool of the MME attached to the UE to the RN in the S1AP message.

In the process of Handover of the UE from the eNB1 to the RN, as shown in fig. 3, in step 301, the target MME (i.e., MME2) for S1 Handover sends a Handover Request message to the DeNB. In step 302, the DeNB sends a Handover Request message to the RN, and the Handover Request message includes information for identifying the MME pool of the MME2 to which the UE is attached. As shown in table 1, a message format of a Handover Request message provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown. Wherein, the information for identifying the MME pool of the MME2 to which the UE attaches may be identified in the form of a GUMMEI or GU Group ID. In table 1, the MME UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the DeNB, and the eNB UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the RN.

TABLE 1

In steps 303 and 304, after receiving the Handover Request message, the RN sends a Handover Request acknowledgement message to the DeNB, and the DeNB sends the Handover Request acknowledgement message to the MME 2.

As shown in fig. 4, the DeNB may also send information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached to the RN in an MME Status transfer (MME Status transfer) message. In step 401, the MME2 sends an MME Status transfer message to the DeNB.

In step 402, the DeNB sends an MME Status transfer message to the RN, and includes information identifying the MME pool of the UE-attached MME2 in the MMEStatus transfer message. As shown in table 2, a message format of an MME Status transfer message provided in the embodiment of the present invention is described. Wherein, the information for identifying the MME pool of the MME2 to which the UE attaches may be identified in the form of a GUMMEI or GU Group ID. In table 2, the MME UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the DeNB, and the eNB UE S1AP ID is the S1APID used to identify the UE on the RN.

TABLE 2

Alternatively, in this embodiment, the DeNB may also send information for identifying the MME pool of the UE-attached MME2 to the RN through a new S1AP message, as shown in fig. 5, the DeNB sends an S1AP message to the RN, as shown in table 3, for a new S1AP message provided in this embodiment of the present invention, to provide the RN with information for identifying the MME pool of the UE-attached MME2, where the information for identifying the MME pool of the UE-attached MME2 may be identified in the form of a GUMMEI or GUGroup ID. In table 3, the MME UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the DeNB, and the eNB UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the RN.

TABLE 3

In the embodiment of the present invention, in an initial context setup procedure performed by the UE, for example, in procedures such as a UE attach procedure or a TAU procedure, the DeNB may send information for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is attached to the RN through an initial context setup request setup message.

As shown in fig. 6, in step 601, the MME2 to which the UE attaches sends an Initial consistent setup request message to the DeNB.

In step 602, the DeNB sends an Initial context setup request message to the RN, where the message includes information for identifying the MME pool of the MME2 to which the UE is attached. As shown in table 4, a message format of an Initial context setup request message provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown. Wherein, the information for identifying the MME pool of the MME2 to which the UE attaches may be identified in the form of a GUMMEI or GU Group ID. In table 4, the MME UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the DeNB, and the eNB UE S1AP ID is the S1AP ID used to identify the UE on the RN.

TABLE 4

In step 603 and step 604, after receiving the Initial context setup request message, the RN acquires information of an MME pool for identifying the MME2 to which the UE is attached, and sends an Initial context setup response message to the DeNB. The DeNB sends an Initial context setup response message to the UE attached MME 2.

In the initial context setup procedure, information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE attaches may also be sent to the RN through a new S1AP message. As shown in fig. 7, the DeNB sends an S1AP message to the RN, and the S1AP message may be a message as shown in table 3.

In the embodiment of the present invention, if the UE under the coverage of the RN needs to be handed over to another target access node, for example, when the UE needs to be handed over to another access node for better communication according to the signal strength reported by the measurement of the UE, the bearer of the current cell, the signal strength of the neighboring cell, the bearer of the neighboring cell, and other conditions. The RN may obtain and store the decision information for identifying the UE handover type according to the method for obtaining the handover type decision information by the RN described in the above embodiment, determine whether the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is currently attached and one or more MME pools to which the target access node to which the UE is to be handed over belong have the same MME pool according to the handover type decision information, determine whether the MME to which the UE is attached changes, and decide the handover type. For example, the RN may make a decision on the handover type according to a handover request message sent by the eNB in the S1 handover procedure, or an MME Status transfer message, or information included in a new S1AP message for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is currently attached; or the decision switching type is performed according to the information of the MME pool used for identifying the MME to which the UE is currently attached, which is contained in the Initial context setup message or a new S1AP message in the Initial context setup procedure.

As shown in fig. 8, which is a schematic diagram of a handover method provided in the embodiment of the present invention, in the embodiment, a UE under the coverage of an RN needs to be handed over to another target access node.

In step 801, the RN acquires information for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is attached.

In this embodiment, if the UE is handed over to the current RN through S1, the RN may obtain information for identifying the MME pool to which the UE currently attaches to the MME by using the method shown in fig. 3, fig. 4, or fig. 5 in the foregoing embodiment. Or, if the UE accesses the RN through an attach procedure or a TAU procedure, the RN may obtain, in the initial context establishment procedure, MME pool information currently attached to the UE through the method shown in fig. 6 or fig. 7 in the above embodiment. The RN can store the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME attached to the UE after obtaining the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME attached to the UE by the method, and can determine the judgment type according to the stored information of the MME pool for identifying the MME attached to the UE when the RN needs to switch the UE.

In step 802, the RN determines, according to the acquired information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached, whether there is a same MME pool between the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached and one or more MME pools to which the target access node to be handed over belongs. If the same MME pool exists, go to step 803; if the same MME pool does not exist, go to step 804.

When the RN establishes an X2 interface with the DeNB attached to the RN, the DeNB can inform the RN of MME pool information to which a neighbor access node of the RN belongs, and the neighbor access node comprises a target access node to which the UE is to be switched. If the X2 interface establishment procedure is initiated by the RN, the DeNB may carry MME pool information to which the neighbor access node belongs in an X2 establishment response (X2setup response) message and send the message to the RN; if the X2 interface establishment procedure is initiated by the DeNB, the DeNB may carry MME pool information to which the neighbor access node belongs in an X2 establishment request (X2setup request) message and send the MME pool information to the RN.

When the neighbor access node of the RN is updated, for example, a new neighbor access node is discovered, or MME pool information to which the existing neighbor access node belongs is updated, if the establishment of the X2 interface between the neighbor access node of the RN and the DeNB to which the RN is attached is successful, or the neighbor access node of the RN initiates an eNB configuration update (eNB configuration update) procedure on the X2 interface to the DeNB, the DeNB triggers an eNB configuration update procedure on the X2 interface between the RN and informs the RN of an identifier of the neighbor access node where the update occurs and updated MME pool information corresponding to the neighbor access node.

After acquiring the MME pool information for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached and the MME pool information to which the target access node belongs, the RN may determine whether the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached and one or more MME pools to which the target access node belongs have the same MME pool.

In step 803, the RN determines to perform an X2 handoff and performs an X2 handoff.

And if the same MME pool is determined to exist, determining that the MME attached to the UE is not changed, determining that the switching type is X2 switching, and performing X2 switching.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, when an access node, such as the RN in this embodiment, determines that the handover type is an X2 handover, it also needs to consider that an X2 interface between the access node and a target access node is available. The X2 interface between an access node and a target access node is segmented, including the X2 interface between the access node and its home site, the X2 interface between the access node's home site and the target access node's home site attachment, and the X2 interface between the target access node's home site attachment and the target access node, so that the X2 interface between the access site and the target access node is available when these X2 interfaces are all available.

In step 804, the RN determines to perform S1 handover and performs S1 handover.

And if the same MME pool does not exist, determining that the MME attached to the UE is changed, determining that the switching type is S1 switching, and performing S1 switching.

For example, the RN under which the UE is currently located includes multiple subordinate cells ECGI1, ECGI2, and ECGI3, and the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached is MME pool 2. The target access node to which the UE is to be handed over comprises subordinate cells ECGI4, ECGI5 and ECGI6, and the MME pool to which the target access node belongs comprises MMEpool2 and MME pool 3. When the UE needs to be switched into the ECGI5 from the ECGI1 where the UE is located currently, the RN acquires that the target cell ECGI5 belongs to the target access node according to the neighbor cell information. The RN may obtain information for identifying the MME pool to which the UE currently attaches, and accordingly determine that the MME pool of the MME to which the UE currently attaches is MME pool2, and if there is the same MME pool2 in the MME pool2 and the MME pool3 included in the MME pool list to which the destination access node belongs, the RN determines to perform X2 handover.

According to the scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the RN acquires the information for identifying the MMEpool of the MME attached to the UE, and can determine whether the MME pool of the MME attached to the UE and one or more MME pools to which the switched target access node belongs have the same MME pool or not according to the information, so that the switching type required by switching can be correctly determined, and further the switching can be carried out.

As shown in fig. 9, the Network architecture is an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Network architecture for deploying henbs provided in the 3GPP protocol. In this network architecture, when a UE is handed over from the currently located HeNB1 to other target access nodes, e.g., to eNB1, the HeNB1 also needs to make a decision on the handover type. In the embodiment of the present invention, the method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is also applicable to the HeNB1 obtaining the handover type decision information, and determining to adopt S1 handover or X2 handover according to the handover type decision information.

If the UE enters the coverage of the current HeNB1 through S1 handover, the HeNB1 may acquire information of an MME pool for identifying an MME to which the UE is attached through an S1AP message sent to the HeNB1 by an HeNB gateway (HeNB GW) in the S1 handover procedure, where the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached may be a GUMMEI or a GU Group ID. For example, the HeNB GW sends a Handover Request message to the HeNB1 in the S1 Handover procedure, where the Handover Request message carries information for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is attached, and a message format of the Handover Request message may be as shown in table 1. Or the HeNB GW may send an MME Status transfer message to the HeNB, where the MME Status transfer message carries information for identifying an MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached, and a message format of the MME Status transfer message may be as shown in table 2. Alternatively, the HeNB GW may also send information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE attaches to the RN through a new S1AP message, and the message format of the S1AP message may be as shown in table 3.

Alternatively, in an Initial context setup procedure, for example, an attach procedure or a TAU procedure, the HeNBGW may send information of an MME pool for identifying an MME to which the UE is attached to the HeNB1 through an Initial context setup request message, where a message format of the Initial context setup request message may be as shown in table 4. The information identifying the MME pool of the UE attached MME may also be sent by the HeNB GW to the HeNB1 by a new S1AP message. The message format of the new S1AP message may be as shown in table 3.

In the network architecture shown in fig. 9, when a UE under the coverage of an HeNB is to perform handover, the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can correctly perform a handover type decision.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, when the UE attached to the RN or the HeNB is switched, the source node can acquire the switching judgment type information and determine the switching type during switching, thereby solving the problem that the source node can not correctly decide the switching type in the prior art.

As shown in fig. 10, for a communication apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication apparatus 10 includes an obtaining unit 120 and a switching unit 140.

The obtaining unit 120 is configured to obtain information, sent by a host station of the communication apparatus 10, of an MME pool for identifying an MME to which a UE attaches, and which is covered by the communication apparatus 10; the switching unit 140 is configured to perform, when the UE needs to be switched, the UE switching according to the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached, which is obtained by the obtaining unit 120.

After obtaining the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE attaches, the obtaining unit 120 may store the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE attaches. When the switching unit 140 needs to switch the UE, the switching type may be determined according to the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached, which is obtained and stored by the obtaining unit 120, so as to perform switching according to the determined switching type.

The communication device 10 may relay an RN in a system or a HeNB in an E-UTRAN network in which the HeNB is deployed, and the host site may be an eNB if the communication device 10 is an RN, or a HeNB GW if the communication device 10 is an HeNB.

The information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached may be a GUMMEI or a GU Group ID.

When the communication device 10 is a destination access node in an S1 handover procedure and the host site is a destination host site in the S1 handover procedure, the obtaining unit 120 may be configured to obtain information for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is attached according to a handover request message or an MME status transmission message sent by the destination host site or an S1application protocol S1AP message; the S1AP message is used to transmit the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached, and the handover request message, the MME status transmission message, and the S1AP message include the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached. In this embodiment, the method for obtaining, by the obtaining unit 120 in the communication device 10, the handover request message sent by the destination station or the MME Status transfer message or the S1application protocol S1AP message may refer to the method provided in fig. 3, fig. 4 and fig. 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention, where the handover request message may be the handover request message shown in table 1, the MME Status transfer message shown in table 2 may be the MME Status transfer message shown in table 2, and the S1AP message may be the message shown in table 3.

Alternatively, in the initial context setup procedure, for example, in the UE attach procedure or the TAU procedure, the obtaining unit 120 of the communication apparatus 10 may be configured to obtain information for identifying an MME pool of an MME to which the UE is attached according to an initial context setup request message or an S1AP message sent by the host station in the initial context setup procedure, where the initial context setup request message and the S1AP message include the information for identifying the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached; the S1AP message is used to transmit the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached. In this embodiment, the method for obtaining the initial context setup request message or the S1AP message sent by the host station in the UE attach procedure or the tracking area update procedure by the obtaining unit 120 may refer to the method shown in fig. 6 and fig. 7 in the embodiment of the present invention. The initial context setup request message may be the message described in table 4, and the S1AP message may be the message shown in table 3.

The switching unit 140 may further include a determination subunit 1401 and a switching subunit 1402. A determining subunit 1401 is configured to determine a handover type according to the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE attaches. The determining subunit 1401 may determine, according to the information for identifying the MMEpool of the MME to which the UE is attached, whether there is a same MME pool between the MME pool of the MME to which the UE is attached and one or more MME pools to which the target access node for handover belongs: if the same MME pool exists, the access node determines that the switching type is X2 switching; if the same MME pool does not exist, the access node determines that the switching type is S1 switching. The determining subunit 1401 may determine that the MME to which the UE is attached does not change when the same MME pool exists, and determine that the handover type is X2 handover, and then the handover subunit 1402 performs X2 handover. When the determining subunit 1401 determines that the MME attached to the UE has changed when the same MME pool does not exist, and determines that the handover type is S1 handover, the handover subunit 1402 performs S1 handover.

Further, in this embodiment, the obtaining unit 120 may further obtain MME pool information of the target access node sent by the host station through an X2 between the communication device 10 and the host station and received by the host station through an establishment procedure or an eNB configuration update procedure, and then the determining subunit 1401 may determine whether the MME pool of the MME attached to the UE and the one or more MME pools to which the target access node belongs have the same MME pool according to the information of the MME pool for identifying the MME attached to the UE and the target access node MME pool information.

According to the communication device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the switching type of the switching to be performed by the UE can be determined according to the information, provided by the host site of the communication device, of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached, so that the successful switching can be performed.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the communication system includes the communication device 10 shown in fig. 10 and the host station 20 of the communication device 10. The communication device 10 is configured to receive information, sent by the host site 20, of a mobility management entity pool MME pool for identifying an MME to which the UE is attached, and perform handover of the UE according to the information of the MME pool for the MME to which the UE is attached. The method for the communication device 10 to receive the information, sent by the host node 20, of the MME pool for identifying the MME to which the UE is attached in the communication system according to this embodiment may refer to the methods shown in fig. 3 to fig. 7 provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and the method for the communication device 10 to perform handover may refer to the method shown in fig. 8 in the embodiment of the present invention, which is not described herein again.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the present invention may be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly may also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of the present invention.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of handover, comprising:

a host site sends a Globally Unique Mobile Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) to an access node attached to the host site, wherein the GUMMEI is an identifier of a Mobile Management Entity (MME) attached to User Equipment (UE) under the coverage of the access node, so that the access node can perform UE switching according to the GUMMEI when the UE needs to perform switching;

wherein, the GUMMEI is contained in an initial context establishment request message sent by the host station to the access node in an initial context establishment flow; or,

the GUMMEI is included in a handover request message sent by the donor site to the access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the UE enters the coverage of the access node through the S1 handover procedure, the access node is a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the donor site is a destination donor site in the S1 handover procedure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access node is a relay node and the donor site is an evolved node b (eNB).

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the access node is a home evolved base station, HeNB, and the host site is a home evolved base station gateway, HeNB GW.

4. A method of handover, comprising:

an access node acquires a Globally Unique Mobile Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI) sent by a host site of the access node, wherein the GUMMEI is an identifier of a Mobile Management Entity (MME) attached to User Equipment (UE) under the coverage of the access node, and the GUMMEI is contained in an initial context establishment request message sent to the access node by the host site in an initial context establishment flow; or, the GUMMEI is included in a handover request message sent by the donor site to the access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the UE enters the coverage of the access node through the S1 handover procedure, where the access node is a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the donor site is a destination donor site in the S1 handover procedure;

and when the UE needs to be switched, the access node switches the UE according to the acquired GUMMEI.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the access node is a relay node and the donor site is an evolved node B (eNB).

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the access node is a Home evolved node B, HeNB, and the host site is a Home evolved node B gateway, HeNB GW.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the access node performs handover of the UE according to the acquired GUMMEI, comprising:

the access node determines a handover type according to the GUMMEI and MME pool information of a target access node for handover, wherein the handover type comprises X2 handover or S1 handover;

and switching according to the determined switching type.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the MMEpool information of the target access node is notified to the access node by the donor site through an establishment procedure of an X2 interface between the access node and the donor site, or an eNB configuration update procedure.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein when determining that the handover type is an X2 handover, further comprising:

determining that an X2 interface between the access node and a target access node is available, wherein an X2 interface between the access node and the target access node comprises: an X2 interface between the access node and its home site, an X2 interface between the access node's home site and the target access node's home site, and an X2 interface between the target access node's home site and the target access node, and an X2 interface between the access node and the target access node is available when these X2 interfaces are available.

10. A communication device having an access node attached thereunder, the communication device comprising:

a unit configured to send a globally unique mobile management entity identifier GUMMEI to the access node, where the GUMMEI is an identifier of a mobile management entity MME attached to a user equipment UE under the coverage of the access node, so that the access node performs handover of the UE according to the GUMMEI when the UE needs handover, where the unit includes:

means for sending an initial context setup request message to the access node in an initial context setup procedure, the GUMMEI being included in the initial context setup request message; or,

means for sending a handover request message to the access node in an S1 handover procedure, the GUMMEI being included in the handover request message, and the UE being moved into coverage of the access node by the S1 handover procedure, the access node being a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, the communications device being a destination host site in the S1 handover procedure.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the access node is a relay node and the communication apparatus is an evolved node b (eNB).

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the access node is a home evolved base station, HeNB, and the communication apparatus is a home evolved base station gateway, HeNB, GW.

13. A communications apparatus, comprising:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a globally unique mobile management entity identifier GUMMEI sent by a host site of the communication apparatus, where the GUMMEI is an identifier of a mobile management entity MME attached to a user equipment UE under coverage of the communication apparatus, and the obtaining unit is specifically configured to:

acquiring an initial context establishment request message sent by the host site in an initial context establishment flow, wherein the initial context establishment request message comprises the GUMMEI; or,

acquiring a handover request message sent by the host station in the S1 handover procedure, where the handover request message includes the GUMMEI, and the UE enters a coverage area of the communication device through the S1 handover procedure, the communication device is a destination access node in the S1 handover procedure, and the host station is a destination host station in the S1 handover procedure;

and the switching unit is used for switching the UE according to the GUMMEI acquired by the acquisition unit when the UE needs to be switched.

14. The communications apparatus of claim 13, wherein the communications apparatus is a relay node and the donor site is an evolved node b (eNB).

15. The communications device according to claim 13, wherein the access node is a home evolved base station, HeNB, and the host site is a home evolved base station gateway, HeNB GW.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the switching unit includes:

a determining subunit, configured to determine a handover type according to the GUMMEI and MMEpool information of a target access node performing handover, where the handover type includes X2 handover or S1 handover;

and the switching subunit is used for switching according to the switching type determined by the determining subunit.