CN108307504B

CN108307504B - Data transmission method and device

Info

Publication number: CN108307504B
Application number: CN201610848413.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘云璐
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2016-09-23
Filing date: 2016-09-23
Publication date: 2020-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-23
Also published as: CN108307504A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a data transmission method, which comprises the following steps: the second network equipment receives a first bearer establishment or increase instruction comprising a first network equipment identifier; the second network equipment sends a first bearer establishment or increase request to the first network equipment by using a network equipment interface connected with the first network equipment according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction, so that the first network equipment establishes a first bearer for connecting the second network equipment and the first network equipment; the second network device receives the first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network device via the network device interface. The embodiment of the invention also discloses a data transmission device.

Description

Data transmission method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to resource management technologies in the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data transmission method and apparatus.

Background

With the rapid development of the mobile internet and the internet of things, new application scenarios and requirements are continuously emerging, the existing 4G network gradually faces challenges, and the development of a new generation mobile communication technology (such as a 5G technology) has been developed. With the explosive growth of internet service flow, a core network gateway and a return link characterized by centralization gradually become bottlenecks of data routing and forwarding, and the data flooding pressure of a core network and a transmission network is increased; meanwhile, hierarchical networking, heterogeneous networks, small cells, and intensive deployment also cause many problems in mobility, resource cooperation, and network management while providing huge wireless capacity; emerging services such as virtual reality, augmented display, internet of vehicles and the like all put forward stricter requirements on end-to-end time delay; therefore, the existing LTE network is very challenging to adopt a backward compatible method to meet the above requirements.

In the research of the new generation mobile communication technology, a local offloading technology is adopted to reduce the time delay and relieve the pressure of the core network, referring to a schematic diagram of a network architecture adopting the local offloading technology in the prior art shown in fig. 1, gateways (L-GWs) connected to the internet are deployed in a distributed manner, the gateways are connected with base stations, and terminals establish contact with the gateways through the base stations, on one hand, the terminals can directly access the internet through the base stations without passing through the core network of an operator, and compared with the core network of the operator, the part of services are directly offloaded at the base station side, so that the load and the transmission cost of the core network are reduced; on the other hand, the terminal can also transmit data through the base station and other terminals related to the gateway without transmitting the data to the core network, so that the data transmission delay can be reduced, and the load and the transmission cost of the core network can be reduced.

When a terminal is switched in the moving process, when the terminal switches a service base station from a source base station to a target base station, if a gateway corresponding to the source base station and a gateway corresponding to the target base station are the same gateway device, only the load of the terminal and the target base station and the load of the target base station and the gateway need to be established, and the gateway device is kept unchanged, so that the terminal is accessed to the internet through the target base station and the gateway, and the switching operation does not affect the continuity of the current service of the terminal.

However, if the gateway corresponding to the source base station and the gateway corresponding to the target base station are not the same gateway device, when handover occurs, even if the bearers between the terminal and the target base station and the bearers between the target base station and the gateway corresponding to the target base station are successfully established, because the addresses (such as IP addresses, MAC addresses, and the like) of the gateway corresponding to the source base station are different from the address of the gateway corresponding to the target base station, the gateway corresponding to the target base station cannot receive data of the current service sent by the internet device, and the current service is interrupted; thus, the prior art cannot guarantee the continuity of the service.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present invention are expected to provide a data transmission method and apparatus, which can reduce the interruption rate of service data transmission and ensure the continuity of a service.

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

the embodiment of the invention provides a data transmission method, which comprises the following steps:

the second network equipment receives a first bearer establishment or increase instruction comprising a first network equipment identifier;

the second network equipment sends a first bearer establishment or increase request to the first network equipment by using a network equipment interface connected with the first network equipment according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction, so that the first network equipment establishes a first bearer for connecting the second network equipment and the first network equipment;

and the second network equipment receives the first bearer establishment or increase response sent by the first network equipment through the network equipment interface.

In the above aspect, the method further includes:

and when the second network equipment determines that the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the increase response, the second network equipment transmits the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer.

In the above aspect, the method further includes:

when second network equipment receives a second bearer establishment request sent by a target base station corresponding to the second network equipment, establishing a second bearer; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

In the above aspect, the method further includes:

when receiving downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the first network equipment by using the first bearer, the second network equipment sends the downlink data to the target base station by using the second bearer, so that the target base station sends the downlink data to the user equipment;

and when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, is received, the uplink data is sent to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the first network equipment sends the uplink data to internet equipment.

In the foregoing solution, before the sending, according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction, a first bearer establishment or increase request to the first network device by using a network device interface connected to the first network device, the method further includes:

and the second network equipment allocates resources for the first bearer on the network equipment interface according to the first bearer establishment or increase indication.

In the above scheme, the data of the current service of the user equipment includes: user data, and/or control signaling.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a data transmission method, which comprises the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that a first network device receives a first bearer establishment or increase request sent by a second network device;

the first network equipment establishes a first bearer for connecting the first network equipment and the second network equipment based on a network equipment interface according to the first bearer establishing or increasing request;

the first network equipment sends a first bearer establishment or increase response to the second network equipment through the network equipment interface;

and the first network equipment transmits the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer.

In the above aspect, the method further includes:

when receiving downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by internet equipment, the first network equipment sends the downlink data to the second network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the second network equipment forwards the downlink data to the user equipment through the target base station;

and when the first network equipment receives uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the second network equipment by using the first bearer, the first network equipment sends the uplink data to the internet equipment.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission apparatus, including:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a first bearer establishment or addition indication including a first network device identifier;

a first sending module, configured to send a first bearer establishment or addition request to the first network device by using a network device interface connected to the first network device according to the first bearer establishment or addition instruction, so that the first network device establishes a first bearer connecting a second network device and the first network device;

the first receiving module is further configured to receive, via the network device interface, a first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network device.

In the above solution, the apparatus further comprises:

and the first transmission module is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer when the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the increase response.

In the foregoing scheme, the first receiving module is further configured to: when a second bearer establishment request sent by a target base station corresponding to the second network equipment is received, establishing a second bearer; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

In the foregoing scheme, the first transmission module is specifically configured to: when receiving downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the first network equipment by using the first bearer, sending the downlink data to the target base station by using the second bearer, so that the target base station sends the downlink data to the user equipment; and when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, is received, the uplink data is sent to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the first network equipment sends the uplink data to internet equipment.

In the above solution, the apparatus further comprises: a resource allocation module, configured to allocate resources for the first bearer on the network device interface according to the first bearer establishment instruction.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a data transmission device, where the device includes:

a second receiving module, configured to receive a first bearer establishment or addition request sent by a second network device;

a bearer establishing module, configured to establish a first bearer for connecting a first network device and a second network device based on a network device interface according to the first bearer establishing or increasing request;

a second sending module, configured to send a first bearer establishment or addition response to the second network device through the network device interface;

and the second transmission module is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer.

In the foregoing scheme, the second transmission module is specifically configured to: when downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by internet equipment, is received, the downlink data is sent to the second network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the second network equipment forwards the downlink data to the user equipment through the target base station; and when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the second network equipment by using the first bearer, is received, sending the uplink data to the internet equipment.

In this embodiment, a network device interface is newly established between a first network device and a second network device (i.e., different network devices), and a first bearer is established based on the network device interface and is respectively connected to the first network device and the second network device, and the second network device uses the first bearer and the first network device to receive and transmit data of a current service of a user equipment, so that a problem that the current service of the user equipment is interrupted due to an absence of an interface between different network devices in the prior art when the user equipment is switched between base stations belonging to different network devices is avoided, so that an interruption rate of service data transmission can be reduced, and continuity of the service is ensured.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture based on a local breakout technique in the prior art;

fig. 2a is a schematic diagram of a ue access based on a local offloading technique in the prior art;

fig. 2b is a schematic diagram of a ue handover based on a local breakout technique in the prior art;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of an alternative data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4a is a schematic bearer diagram based on a network device interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4b is another schematic bearer diagram of a network-device interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5a is a schematic diagram of a network device architecture based on a local breakout technique in the prior art;

fig. 5b is another schematic diagram of a network device architecture based on a local breakout technique in the prior art;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another alternative data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of yet another alternative data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is an alternative structural diagram of a data transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of another alternative structure of a data transmission device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In various embodiments of the invention: by receiving a first bearer establishment indication comprising a first network device identity; according to the first bearing establishment instruction, a first bearing establishment request is sent to the first network equipment by using a network equipment interface; a first bearer establishment request for causing the first network device to establish a first bearer based on the network device interface; the first bearer is respectively connected with the second network equipment and the first network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service; receiving a first bearer establishment response sent by a first network device through a network device interface; and when the first bearer establishment response determines that the first bearer is successfully established, transmitting the data of the current service by using the first bearer.

The first network device and the second network device may be specifically implemented as a gateway (including a local gateway) or a centralized control unit. In practice, when the first network device and the second network device are implemented as gateways, the first network device and the second network device may be connected to a base station or a wireless access point, respectively; when the first network device and the second network device are implemented as a centralized control unit, the first network device and the second network device may be correspondingly connected to a distributed control unit, a base station, or a wireless access point.

The following describes a scenario in which a first network device and a second network device are implemented as gateways, to illustrate a solution of an embodiment of the present invention; it should be noted that the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are also applicable to a scenario including that the first network device and the second network device are implemented as a centralized control unit.

The technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and the embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

Example one

The embodiment describes a data transmission method, which can be applied to a scenario in which when a user equipment is switched from a source base station to a target base station in a network adopting a local offloading technology, a network device corresponding to the source base station and a network device corresponding to the target base station are not the same network device. The source base station and the target base station can be a home base station and/or a macro base station. It should be noted that the first network device may be a gateway corresponding to the source base station, and the second network device may be a gateway corresponding to the target base station, or the first network device may be a gateway corresponding to the target base station, and the second network device may be a gateway corresponding to the source base station, which is not limited in this disclosure.

In this embodiment, a network device corresponding to a target base station is taken as a second network device, and a network device corresponding to a source base station is taken as a first network device for explanation, referring to examples in fig. 2a and fig. 2b, the first network device and the second network device are respectively connected to an internet device, the first network device and the second network device are respectively connected to a service gateway, the source base station is connected to the first network device, the target base station is connected to the second network device, the source base station and the target base station are respectively connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME), and the source base station and the target base station are respectively connected to the service gateway; referring to fig. 2a, the user equipment accesses the network through the source base station, and a transmission path of current service data of the user equipment is: user equipment source base station first network equipment internet equipment; if the ue is switched during the moving process and the ue is switched from the source base station to the target base station, referring to fig. 2b, it is assumed that the bearers between the ue and the target base station and the bearers between the target base station and the second network device are successfully established, that is, the transmission path of the current service data of the ue is modified as follows: user equipment < - > target base station < - > second network equipment; however, in the prior art, since the address (such as an IP address, a MAC address, etc.) of the first network device is different from the address of the second network device, when the internet device currently only establishes a data transmission channel for transmitting the current service of the user equipment with the first network device, but does not establish a data transmission channel for transmitting the current service of the user equipment with the second network device, the second network device cannot receive subsequent data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the internet device, of the user equipment, thereby causing the current service of the user equipment to be interrupted. The embodiment provides a technical solution for the above scenario.

Referring to fig. 3, the data transmission method described in this embodiment includes the following steps:

step 101, the second network device receives a first bearer establishment or increase indication including the first network device identifier.

The execution subject of this embodiment may be the second network device. When the target base station determines that the user equipment is switched from the source base station to the target base station and the network equipment (namely, the first network equipment) corresponding to the source base station and the network equipment (namely, the second network equipment) corresponding to the target base station are not the same network equipment, the target base station sends a first bearer establishment instruction to the second network equipment, or the target base station sends the first bearer establishment instruction to the service gateway through the MME and the service gateway sends the first bearer establishment instruction to the second network equipment; the first bearer establishment instruction is used for instructing the second network equipment to establish a first bearer; and the first bearer is respectively connected with the second network equipment and the first network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment. Here, the data of the current service may include user data and/or control signaling.

In this embodiment, a new interface, that is, a network device interface, is established between different network devices, for example, a network device may be a local gateway (L-GW), and then, correspondingly, the network device interface is an L-GW interface. The network equipment interface is used for transmitting data which is not transmitted by the current service during switching and is used as an information channel for carrying updated information; the network device interface may also provide control plane functionality; in this embodiment, the network device interface is configured to transmit data of a current service of the user equipment between the first network device and the second network device, establish a first bearer between the first network device and the second network device based on the network device interface, and establish an information transmission channel between the first network device and the second network device through the first bearer.

Step 102, the second network device sends a first bearer establishment or addition request to the first network device by using the network device interface connected to the first network device according to the first bearer establishment or addition instruction, so that the first network device establishes the first bearer connecting the second network device and the first network device.

When the second network equipment receives a first bearer establishment instruction comprising the first network equipment identifier, according to the first bearer establishment instruction, resources are distributed for the first bearer on a network equipment interface of the second network equipment, and a first bearer establishment request is sent to the first network equipment by using the network equipment interface.

When first network equipment receives a first bearer establishment request sent by second network equipment, according to the first bearer establishment request, allocating resources for the first bearer on a network equipment interface of the first network equipment, and establishing the first bearer based on the network equipment interface; and sending a first bearer establishment response to the second network equipment through the network equipment interface.

Step 103, the second network device receives the first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network device via the network device interface.

Optionally, when the second network device determines that the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the addition response, the second network device transmits data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer.

And the second network equipment receives a first bearer establishment or increase response sent by the first network equipment through the network equipment interface, and transmits the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer when the first bearer establishment or increase response determines that the first bearer establishment is successful. Referring to fig. 4a, which is a schematic view of a bearer based on a network device interface provided in an embodiment of the present invention, when a target base station determines that a user equipment is handed over from a source base station to the target base station, and a network device (i.e., a first network device) corresponding to the source base station and a network device (i.e., a second network device) corresponding to the target base station are not the same network device, a first bearer is established between the second network device and the first network device based on the network device interface, and the first bearer connects the second network device and the first network device, respectively. The second network device uses the first bearer to perform transceiving of data of the current service of the user equipment with the first network device, that is, the second network device uses the first bearer to send the data of the current service of the user equipment to the first network device, or receives the data of the current service of the user equipment sent by the first network device.

When the target base station determines that the user equipment is switched from the source base station to the target base station, a second bearer establishment request is sent to second network equipment; when the second network equipment receives the second bearing establishing request, resources are distributed for the second bearing, and the second bearing is established; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

The second network equipment binds the first bearer and the second bearer and establishes a data transmission channel which sequentially comprises the target base station, the second network equipment and the first network equipment; when a second network device receives downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the first network device by using a first bearer, the second network device sends the downlink data to a target base station by using a second bearer so that the target base station sends the downlink data to the user equipment; or, when receiving uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, sending the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the first network equipment sends the uplink data to the internet equipment, and thus, under the condition that a data transmission channel for transmitting the current service of the user equipment is not required to be established between the second network equipment and the internet equipment, establishing a transmission path for transmitting the current service data of the user equipment by using the established data transmission channel for transmitting the current service of the user equipment between the first network equipment and the internet equipment: user equipment, a target base station, a second network equipment, a first network equipment, an Internet equipment: when the internet equipment sends downlink data of the current service of the user equipment to the first network equipment, the first network equipment sends the downlink data to the second network equipment by using the first bearer, and the second network equipment forwards the downlink data to the user equipment through the target base station; when the user equipment sends the uplink data of the current service of the user equipment to the second network equipment through the target base station, the second network equipment sends the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, and the first network equipment forwards the uplink data to the internet equipment.

In this embodiment, a network device interface is newly created between different network devices, and a first bearer that connects the first network device and the second network device respectively is created based on the network device interface, and the second network device uses the first bearer and the first network device to receive and transmit data of a current service of the user device, so that a problem that the current service of the user device is interrupted due to an absence of an interface between different network devices in the prior art when the user device switches between base stations belonging to different network devices is avoided.

It should be noted that fig. 4a merely provides a block diagram for establishing a bearer based on a network device interface in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and one network device may be connected to only one base station or may be connected to multiple base stations. Referring to fig. 5a and 5b, schematic diagrams of a network device architecture based on a local breakout technique in the prior art are shown, where UE represents user equipment, (H) eNB represents a home base station, SeGW represents a secure network device, HeNB GW represents a home base station network device, and PGW represents a packet data network device; when one network device is connected to only one base station, the network device may be provided in the base station.

Example two

Corresponding to the first embodiment, this embodiment describes a data transmission method, which may be applied to a scenario where when a user equipment is switched from a source base station to a target base station in a network adopting a local offloading technology, a network device corresponding to the source base station and a network device corresponding to the target base station are not the same network device. The source base station and the target base station can be a home base station and/or a macro base station. It should be noted that the first network device may be a network device corresponding to the source base station, and the second network device may be a network device corresponding to the target base station, or the first network device may be a network device corresponding to the target base station, and the second network device may be a network device corresponding to the source base station, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

The execution subject of the embodiment may be a first network device; referring to fig. 6, the data transmission method described in this embodiment includes the following steps:

step 201, a first network device receives a first bearer establishment or increase request sent by a second network device;

step 202, the first network device establishes a first bearer for connecting the first network device and the second network device based on the network device interface according to the first bearer establishing or increasing request;

step 203, the first network device sends a first bearer establishment or addition response to the second network device through the network device interface;

step 204, the first network device uses the first bearer to transmit the data of the current service of the user equipment.

In this embodiment, a network device interface is newly created between different network devices, and a first bearer that connects the first network device and the second network device respectively is created based on the network device interface, and the second network device uses the first bearer and the first network device to receive and transmit data of a current service of the user device, so that a problem that the current service of the user device is interrupted due to an absence of an interface between different network devices in the prior art when the user device switches between base stations belonging to different network devices is avoided, so that an interruption rate of service data transmission can be reduced, and service continuity is ensured.

On the basis of the above embodiments, the following description will be given taking as an example that the network device corresponding to the target base station is the second network device, and the network device corresponding to the source base station is the first network device: when receiving downlink data of a current service of user equipment, which is sent by internet equipment, the first network equipment sends the downlink data to the second network equipment by using a first bearer, so that the second network equipment forwards the downlink data to the user equipment through a target base station; or when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the first bearer by the second network equipment, is received, the uplink data is sent to the internet equipment.

EXAMPLE III

This embodiment describes a data transmission method, which can be applied to a scenario where when a user equipment is switched from a source base station to a target base station, a network device corresponding to the source base station and a network device corresponding to the target base station are not the same network device. The source base station and the target base station can be a home base station and/or a macro base station. It should be noted that the first network device may be a gateway corresponding to the source base station, and the second network device may be a gateway corresponding to the target base station, or the first network device may be a gateway corresponding to the target base station, and the second network device may be a gateway corresponding to the source base station, which is not limited in this disclosure.

In this embodiment, a network device corresponding to a target base station is taken as a second network device, and a network device corresponding to a source base station is taken as a first network device. The data transmission method described in this embodiment includes the following steps:

step a) when a target base station determines that user equipment is switched from a source base station to the target base station and network equipment (namely, first network equipment) corresponding to the source base station and network equipment (namely, second network equipment) corresponding to the target base station are not the same network equipment, the target base station sends a first bearer establishment or increase instruction to the second network equipment; the first bearer establishment or increase indication is used for indicating the second network equipment to establish the first bearer; and the first bearer is respectively connected with the second network equipment and the first network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

Step b) when the second network equipment receives the first bearing establishment or increase indication including the first network equipment identification, according to the first bearing establishment indication, the second network equipment allocates resources for the first bearing on the network equipment interface of the second network equipment, and the network equipment interface is used for sending a first bearing establishment request to the first network equipment.

Step c) the second network device sends a first bearer establishment or increase request to the first network device by using the network device interface connected with the first network device according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction, so that the first network device establishes the first bearer for connecting the second network device and the first network device.

Step d) when the first network equipment receives a first bearer establishment request sent by the second network equipment, according to the first bearer establishment request, allocating resources for the first bearer on a network equipment interface of the first network equipment, and establishing the first bearer based on the network equipment interface.

Step e) the first network device sends a first bearer establishment response to the second network device through the network device interface.

Step f), the second network equipment receives a first bearer establishment or increase response sent by the first network equipment through the network equipment interface; and when the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the increase response, transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer.

Referring to fig. 4b, another schematic view of a bearer based on a network device interface is shown, where a first network device and a second network device are connected to an internet device, a source base station is connected to the first network device, and a target base station is connected to the second network device, as shown in fig. 4b, when the target base station determines that a user equipment is handed over from the source base station to the target base station, and the first network device corresponding to the source base station and the second network device corresponding to the target base station are not the same network device, a first bearer is established between the second network device and the first network device based on the network device interface, and the first bearer is connected to the second network device and the first network device, respectively. The second network device uses the first bearer to perform transceiving of data of the current service of the user equipment with the first network device, that is, the second network device uses the first bearer to send the data of the current service of the user equipment to the first network device, or receives the data of the current service of the user equipment sent by the first network device.

When the target base station determines that the user equipment is switched from the source base station to the target base station, a second bearer establishment request is sent to second network equipment; when the second network equipment receives the second bearing establishing request, resources are distributed for the second bearing, and the second bearing is established; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment. The second network equipment binds the first bearer and the second bearer and establishes a data transmission channel which sequentially comprises the target base station, the second network equipment and the first network equipment; when a second network device receives downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the first network device by using a first bearer, the second network device sends the downlink data to a target base station by using a second bearer so that the target base station sends the downlink data to the user equipment; or, when receiving uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, sending the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the first network equipment sends the uplink data to the internet equipment, and thus, under the condition that a data transmission channel for transmitting the current service of the user equipment is not required to be established between the second network equipment and the internet equipment, establishing a transmission path for transmitting the current service data of the user equipment by using the established data transmission channel for transmitting the current service of the user equipment between the first network equipment and the internet equipment: user equipment, a target base station, a second network equipment, a first network equipment, an Internet equipment: when the internet equipment sends downlink data of the current service of the user equipment to the first network equipment, the first network equipment sends the downlink data to the second network equipment by using the first bearer, and the second network equipment forwards the downlink data to the user equipment through the target base station; when the user equipment sends the uplink data of the current service of the user equipment to the second network equipment through the target base station, the second network equipment sends the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, and the first network equipment forwards the uplink data to the internet equipment.

Example four

This embodiment is based on the above embodiments, and this embodiment describes a data transmission method, and the implementation of this embodiment depends on the cooperation of the user equipment, the source base station, the target base station, the source gateway (i.e. one implementation of the first network equipment), the target gateway (i.e. one implementation of the second network equipment), the MME, and the service gateway; in practice, the source gateway may be a source local gateway (L-GW), and the target gateway may be a target L-GW; referring to fig. 4a and fig. 7, the data transmission method described in this embodiment includes the following steps:

in step 301, the source base station may make a decision based on a measurement report reported by the user equipment, and the decision triggers relocation based on the X2 interface.

Step 302, when the source base station judges to trigger relocation based on an X2 interface, sending a handover request to a target base station, and requesting the target base station to perform handover preparation; the handover request includes an address and/or an identifier of a source gateway corresponding to the source base station, and a Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID).

Step 303, after the resource preparation of the target base station is successful, sending a handover request acknowledgement to the source base station to indicate that the handover preparation work of the target base station is completed; the handover request acknowledgement may carry an address and/or an identifier of a target gateway corresponding to the target base station.

Step 304, the source base station sends a handover command to the user equipment to instruct the user equipment to perform handover.

Step 305, after the user equipment completes the detachment from the cell of the source base station and the synchronization with the cell of the target base station, the user equipment sends a handover confirmation to the target base station to indicate that the user equipment has been successfully handed over.

Step 306, after receiving the handover confirmation, the target base station sends a path handover request to the MME, and informs the MME that the user equipment has been handed over to the target base station.

Step 307, the target base station sends a request for modifying the bearer to the MME; the modified bearer request includes the address and/or identification of the source gateway and the address and/or identification of the target gateway.

The target base station sends a request for modifying the load to the service gateway through the MME, and the service gateway instructs the first gateway and/or the second gateway to newly establish the load between the source gateway and the target gateway based on the gateway interface (namely, the first load). Optionally, the target base station may also directly send a bearer modification request to the first gateway and/or the second gateway.

It should be noted that the bearer modification request in step 307 may be sent using the same signaling as the path switching request in step 306, or may be sent separately, which is not limited in the present invention.

Step 308, the MME forwards a request for modifying the bearer to the service gateway; and the modification bearing request comprises the address and/or the identification of the source gateway and the address and/or the identification of the target gateway, and indicates the service gateway to establish a new bearing between the source gateway and the target gateway based on the gateway interface.

Step 309, the service gateway sends a Re-generation session request (Re-Create session request) to the target gateway, requesting the target gateway to allocate resources for the first bearer; the regeneration session request comprises the address and/or the identification of the source gateway and the address and/or the identification of the target gateway, and the target gateway is instructed to allocate resources for the first bearer.

Step 310, after receiving the Re-generated Session request, the target gateway allocates resources for the first bearer according to the address and/or the identifier of the source gateway included in the Re-generated Session request, and after completing the resource allocation, the target gateway sends a Re-generated Session Response (Re-Create Session Response) to the service gateway to inform that the service gateway has completed the resource allocation.

Step 311, the service gateway sends a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request) to the source gateway, and requests the source gateway to allocate resources for the first Bearer; the modified bearer request comprises the address and/or the identification of the source gateway and the address and/or the identification of the target gateway, and the source gateway is instructed to allocate resources for the first bearer.

Step 312, after receiving the request for modifying bearer, the source gateway allocates resources for the first bearer according to the address and/or identifier of the target gateway included in the request for modifying bearer, and sends a Response for modifying bearer (modifyberer Response) to the service gateway after the resource allocation is completed, so as to notify the service gateway that the resource allocation is completed.

Step 313, the service gateway sends a modify bearer response to the MME.

Step 314, the MME forwards the modify bearer response to the target base station.

Step 315, the MME sends a path switch acknowledgement to the target base station. It should be noted that the modified bearer response in step 314 may be sent by using the same signaling as the path switch acknowledgement in step 315, or may be sent separately, which is not limited in the present invention.

Step 316, the source gateway sends a session generation request to the target gateway using the gateway interface, so that the target gateway establishes the first bearer based on the gateway interface.

It should be noted that, the target gateway may also initiate a session generation request to the source gateway, so that the source gateway establishes the first bearer based on the gateway interface, which is not limited in the present invention.

Step 317, the target gateway receives a session generation request sent by the source gateway, and establishes a first bearer based on the gateway interface; and sending a generated session response to the source gateway through the gateway interface to inform the source gateway that the first bearer is successfully established. And then, the target gateway uses the first bearer to receive and transmit the data of the current service of the user equipment with the source gateway.

Step 318, the target base station sends a bearer establishment request to the target gateway, and instructs the target gateway to establish a second bearer; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second gateway and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

Step 319, the target gateway allocates resources for the second bearer according to the bearer establishment request, establishes the second bearer, and sends a bearer establishment response to the target base station, informing the target base station that the second bearer is successfully established.

It should be noted that the execution of steps 318 and 319 is not limited to that after step 317, and the execution of steps 318 and 319 may be at any time after the target base station receives the handover confirmation sent by the user equipment.

So far, compared with the prior art that when the bearer of the current service data of the user equipment is changed from "the user equipment < - > the source base station < - > the first gateway < - > the internet equipment" to "the user equipment < - > the target base station < - > the second gateway" when the user equipment is switched from the source base station to the target base station, in this embodiment, by newly establishing gateway interfaces between different gateways and establishing first bearers respectively connecting the first gateway and the second gateway based on the gateway interfaces, the bearer of the current service data of the user equipment when the user equipment is switched from the source base station to the target base station is changed from "the user equipment < - > the source base station < - > the first gateway < - > the internet equipment" to "the user equipment < - > the target base station < - > the second gateway < - > the first gateway < - > the internet equipment", or, after the user equipment is switched from the source base station to the target base station, the bearer of the current service data of the user equipment is updated from "the user equipment < - > the target base station < - > the second gateway" to "the user equipment < - > the target base station < - > the second gateway < - > the first gateway < - > the internet equipment", so that the problem that the current service of the user equipment is interrupted due to the fact that no interface exists between different gateways in the prior art when the user equipment is switched between base stations belonging to different gateways is solved, and thus, the interruption rate of service data transmission can be reduced, and the continuity of the service is ensured.

In this embodiment, an interface is newly established between L-GWs, and the interface is used for transmitting data that is not completely transmitted during handover and is used as an information channel for carrying updated information; the interface may also provide control plane functions. The bearer update process using the L-GW interface as the information transmission channel includes:

step 1), keeping Access Point Name (APN) (such as Source LGW), and updating the bearer from UE-Target base station (such as Target eNB) -Target gateway (such as Target LGW) to: UE-Target eNB-Target LGW-Source gateway (e.g., Source LGW);

step 2), establishing APN (such as Source LGW) to carry to Target LGW.

The embodiment provides data transmission and possible control signaling transmission by introducing an interface between the L-GWs, and provides a bearer update flow by introducing an interface between the L-GWs as an information transmission channel. Compared with the prior art, the embodiment realizes the continuity of data transmission by introducing the interface between the L-GWs, and establishing the data channel between the L-GWs and carrying the updating flow when the L-GWs are switched in a cross mode.

EXAMPLE five

In correspondence with the description of the first embodiment, this embodiment further describes a data transmission apparatus, which may be used to execute the data transmission method of the first embodiment of the present invention, and the data transmission apparatus may be implemented in various manners, for example, components of the data transmission apparatus are implemented in the second network device, and components of the data transmission apparatus may also be implemented in a coupled manner on the second network device side; referring to fig. 8, the data transmission apparatus includes:

a first receiving module 401, configured to receive a first bearer establishment or addition indication including a first network device identifier;

a first sending module 402, configured to send a first bearer establishment or addition request to a first network device by using a network device interface connected to the first network device according to a first bearer establishment or addition instruction, so that the first network device establishes a first bearer connecting a second network device and the first network device;

the first receiving module 401 is further configured to receive, via the network device interface, a first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network device.

On the basis of the above embodiment, the apparatus further includes: a first transmission module 403, configured to transmit data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer when it is determined that the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the addition response.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, the first receiving module 401 is further configured to: when a second bearer establishment request sent by a target base station corresponding to second network equipment is received, establishing a second bearer; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, the first transmission module 403 is specifically configured to: when downlink data of a current service of user equipment, which is sent by first network equipment by using a first bearer, is received, sending the downlink data to a target base station by using a second bearer so that the target base station sends the downlink data to the user equipment; and when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, is received, the uplink data is sent to the first network equipment by using the first bearer, so that the first network equipment sends the uplink data to the internet equipment.

On the basis of the above embodiment, the data transmission apparatus further includes: a resource allocating module 404, configured to allocate resources for the first bearer on the network device interface according to the first bearer establishment instruction.

In practical applications, the first receiving module 401, the first sending module 402, the first transmitting module 403, and the resource allocating module 404 can be implemented by a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Microprocessor (MPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like located in the data transmission device.

EXAMPLE six

In correspondence with the description of the second embodiment, this embodiment further describes a data transmission apparatus, which may be used to execute the data transmission method of the second embodiment of the present invention, and the data transmission apparatus may be implemented in various manners, for example, components of the data transmission apparatus are implemented in the first network device, and components of the data transmission apparatus may also be implemented in a coupled manner on the first network device side; referring to fig. 9, the data transmission apparatus includes:

a second receiving module 501, configured to receive a first bearer establishment or addition request sent by a second network device;

a bearer establishing module 502, configured to establish a first bearer for connecting a first network device and the second network device based on a network device interface according to a first bearer establishing or increasing request;

a second sending module 503, configured to send a first bearer establishment or addition response to the second network device through the network device interface;

a second transmission module 504, configured to transmit data of the current service of the user equipment using the first bearer.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, the second transmission module 504 is specifically configured to: when downlink data of a current service of user equipment, which is sent by internet equipment, is received, the downlink data is sent to second network equipment by using a first bearer, so that the second network equipment forwards the downlink data to the user equipment through a target base station; and when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the first bearer by the second network equipment, is received, sending the uplink data to the internet equipment.

In practical applications, the second receiving module 501, the bearer establishing module 502, the second sending module 503, and the second transmitting module 504 can be implemented by a CPU, an MPU, an ASIC, or an FPGA located in the data transmission device.

EXAMPLE seven

This embodiment describes a computer-readable medium, which may be a ROM (e.g., read-only memory, FLASH memory, transfer device, etc.), a magnetic storage medium (e.g., magnetic tape, disk drive, etc.), an optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, paper card, paper tape, etc.), and other well-known types of program memory; the computer-readable medium has stored therein computer-executable instructions (e.g., binary executable instructions of a projection application such as Tencent video) that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a first bearer establishment or increase indication comprising a first network equipment identifier;

according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction, a first bearer establishment or increase request is sent to the first network equipment by using a network equipment interface connected with the first network equipment, so that the first network equipment establishes a first bearer for connecting the second network equipment with the first network equipment;

and receiving a first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network equipment through the network equipment interface.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

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

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

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

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

Claims

1. A method of data transmission, the method comprising:

the second network device sends a first bearer establishment or increase request to the first network device by using a network device interface connected with the first network device according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction, so that the first network device establishes a first bearer connecting the second network device and the first network device;

the second network equipment receives a first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network equipment through the network equipment interface;

when the second network equipment receives a second bearer establishment request sent by a target base station corresponding to the second network equipment, establishing a second bearer; the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting data of the current service of the user equipment;

when the second network equipment receives downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the first network equipment by using the first bearer, the second network equipment sends the downlink data to the target base station by using the second bearer;

and when receiving uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, sending the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and when the second network equipment determines that the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the addition response, the second network equipment transmits the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein before the second network device sends a first bearer setup or addition request to the first network device using an interface connected to the first network device according to the first bearer setup indication, the method further comprises:

and the second network equipment allocates resources for the first bearer on the network equipment interface according to the first bearer establishment or increase instruction.

4. A method of data transmission, the method comprising:

the first network equipment sends a first bearer establishment or addition response to the second network equipment through the network equipment interface;

the first network equipment transmits the data of the current service of the user equipment by using the first bearer;

the first network equipment uses the first bearer to send downlink data of the current service of the user equipment to the second network equipment; wherein the downlink data is capable of being used to: when the second network equipment receives the downlink data, the second network equipment sends the downlink data to a target base station corresponding to the second network equipment by using a second bearer; when the second network equipment receives uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, the second network equipment sends the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer;

when the second network device receives the second bearer establishment request sent by the target base station, establishing the second bearer; and the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting the data of the current service of the user equipment.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

when the first network equipment receives downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by internet equipment, the first bearer is used for sending the downlink data to the second network equipment;

and when uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the second network equipment by using the first bearer, is received, sending the uplink data to the internet equipment.

6. A data transmission apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises:

a first sending module, configured to send a first bearer establishment or addition request to the first network device by using a network device interface connected to the first network device according to the first bearer establishment or addition instruction;

the first receiving module is further configured to receive, via the network device interface, a first bearer establishment or addition response sent by the first network device;

the first receiving module is further configured to: when a second bearer establishment request sent by a target base station corresponding to second network equipment is received, establishing a second bearer; the second bearer is respectively connected with the target base station and the second network equipment and is used for transmitting data of the current service of the user equipment;

a first transmission module to:

when receiving downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the first network equipment by using the first bearer, sending the downlink data to the target base station by using the second bearer, so that the target base station sends the downlink data to the user equipment;

7. The apparatus of claim 6,

the first transmission module is further configured to transmit data of a current service of the user equipment using the first bearer when it is determined that the first bearer is successfully established according to the first bearer establishment or the addition response.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a resource allocation module, configured to allocate resources for the first bearer on the network device interface according to the first bearer establishment instruction.

9. A data transmission apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises:

a second transmission module, configured to transmit data of a current service of the user equipment using the first bearer;

the second transmission module is further configured to send downlink data of the current service of the user equipment to the second network device by using the first bearer; wherein the downlink data is capable of being used to: when the second network equipment receives the downlink data, the second network equipment sends the downlink data to a target base station corresponding to the second network equipment by using a second bearer; when the second network equipment receives uplink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by the user equipment through the target base station by using the second bearer, the second network equipment sends the uplink data to the first network equipment by using the first bearer;

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second transmission module is specifically configured to:

when downlink data of the current service of the user equipment, which is sent by internet equipment, is received, the downlink data is sent to the second network equipment by using the first bearer;