A combined paging method, apparatus, medium and device

Abstract

This invention discloses a joint paging method, apparatus, medium, and device, relating to the field of computer technology. The method includes: when a source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to a target user equipment (User Equipment) and fails to receive a service request message from the target User Equipment, it sends a GTPv2-C paging to a neighboring cell mobility management entity; upon receiving the GTPv2-C paging, the neighboring cell mobility management entity determines whether a tracking area identifier exists in the GTPv2-C paging, and based on the determination result, identifies neighboring base stations; the number of neighboring base stations can be one or more; for each of the neighboring base stations, the neighboring base station uses the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging to paging all User Equipment (User Equipment) within its range, so that the User Equipment corresponding to the IMSI sends an attach request to the neighboring cell mobility management entity; if the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the attach request, it determines that the paging result is successful. This method can expand the paging range.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of computer technology, and in particular to a combined paging method, apparatus, medium, and device. Background Technology

[0002] Hardware resource limitations limit the total number of users and base stations each server unit can serve and connect to during actual deployment of core network functional elements. Hardware resources include memory, network interface speed, hard disk, CPU, and socket connections. For example, the maximum number of User Equipment (UE) served on a single virtual machine or physical server is 50,000. In actual deployment, core network functional elements often involve multiple network entities and parallel functional units. For instance, the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and Access Management Function (AMF) units may be deployed simultaneously.

[0003] Currently, the deployment of core network functional elements includes multiple MMEs and AMFs. This presents some challenges for the paging process. There are various paging strategies, such as paging based on the Tracking Area Identity List (TAI List), paging based on user behavior patterns, and determining paging based on core network policies.

[0004] However, existing paging procedures can only be applied to MMEs within the same 4G core network. When connecting different MMEs, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) process cannot enable paging on base stations connected to different MMEs. In existing network-wide paging technology, when there are multiple MMEs in the network, paging can only be performed on one of the multiple MMEs; cross-MME paging across the entire network is not possible. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a combined paging method, apparatus, medium, and device to address the aforementioned technical problems. This method can expand the paging range.

[0006] The present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] This invention provides a combined paging method, comprising:

[0008] When the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment, the source mobility management entity sends a GTPv2-C paging to the neighboring cell mobility management entity.

[0009] When a neighboring cell mobility management entity receives a GTPv2-C paging, it determines whether a tracking area identifier exists in the GTPv2-C paging. Based on the determination result, it identifies the neighboring cell base station. The number of neighboring cell base stations can be one or more.

[0010] For each of the neighboring base stations, the neighboring base station uses the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging to page all user equipment within the range of the neighboring base station, so that the user equipment corresponding to the IMI can send an attach request to the neighboring mobility management entity.

[0011] If the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the attach request, it determines that the paging result is successful.

[0012] Preferably, determining neighboring base stations based on the judgment result includes:

[0013] If the determination result is that a tracking area identifier exists, then the base station in the tracking area identifier is identified as a neighboring cell base station;

[0014] If the determination result is that there is no tracking area identifier, then all base stations on the neighboring cell mobility management entity are identified as neighboring cell base stations.

[0015] Preferably, the method further includes:

[0016] After confirming that the paging result is successful, a message indicating that the paging result is successful is sent to the source mobility management entity;

[0017] When the source mobility management entity receives a message indicating a successful paging result, it sets the target user equipment's status to offline.

[0018] Preferably, the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment, including:

[0019] The source mobility management entity sends a preset number of temporary mobile subscriber identifier paging messages to all base stations in the tracking area identifier list corresponding to the target user equipment at a fixed frequency.

[0020] Preferably, the method further includes:

[0021] When the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of temporary mobile subscriber identity paging requests to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment, the source mobility management entity initiates International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) paging requests.

[0022] This invention provides a combined paging device, comprising:

[0023] The sending module is used to send a GTPv2-C paging message to the neighboring cell mobility management entity when the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment.

[0024] The first determining module is used to determine whether a tracking area identifier exists in the GTPv2-C paging after the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the GTPv2-C paging, and to determine the neighboring cell base station based on the determination result; the number of neighboring cell base stations can be one or more.

[0025] The paging module is used to page each of the neighboring base stations using the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging to all user equipment within the range of the neighboring base station, so that the user equipment corresponding to the IMIS can send an attach request to the neighboring mobility management entity.

[0026] The second determination module is used to determine that the paging result is successful if the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives an attach request.

[0027] The present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the aforementioned joint paging method.

[0028] The present invention provides a computer device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the program to implement the aforementioned combined paging method.

[0029] The above-mentioned at least one technical solution adopted in this invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0030] When a neighboring cell mobility management entity receives a GTPv2-C paging message, it determines whether a tracking area identifier exists in the GTPv2-C paging message. Based on the determination result, it identifies neighboring base stations. For each of the neighboring base stations, the neighboring base station uses the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) code from the GTPv2-C paging message to page all user equipment (UFOs) within its range. This prompts the UFOs corresponding to the IMSI codes to send attach requests to the neighboring cell mobility management entity. One or more neighboring base stations can initiate paging in parallel, expanding the coverage area through spatial diversity. If the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the attach request, it determines the paging result as successful. The method proposed in this invention expands the paging range by transmitting paging messages between multiple mobility management entities. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and form part of this invention, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and are used to explain the invention, but do not constitute an undue limitation of the invention. In the drawings:

[0032] Figure 1 A paging flowchart of the prior art provided by the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 This invention provides a schematic flowchart of a combined paging method;

[0034] Figure 3 A combined paging block diagram provided by the present invention;

[0035] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a combined paging device provided by the present invention;

[0036] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a computer device for implementing a combined paging method, as provided by the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0037] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with specific embodiments and corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this invention, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0038] Devices such as desktop computers, servers, and laptops are capable of executing the present invention. For ease of explanation, the following description will focus on servers as the executing entity.

[0039] The paging process in the existing technology is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the MME initiates the paging process by sending a paging message to the evolved access point base station; after receiving the paging message, the access point base station paging the UE in the cell of the List of Tracking Areas (TAIs IE).

[0040] like Figure 1 The paging process shown needs to be executed from the same MME operating entity and can only operate on base stations connected to that MME. For example, a certain operator has a total of 3.62 million 4G base stations. These 3.62 million 4G base stations cannot be connected to a single server network port MME, but are connected to different MMEs in various provinces or regions. The existing paging process cannot perform paging across MMEs.

[0041] This invention proposes a joint paging method. During the paging process, if an MME cannot page the UE on its connected base station, or if other MMEs are connected to base stations within the TAI range included in the TAI List, the MMEs directly trigger cross-MME paging through specific coordination. This method improves the paging success rate and solves the paging coverage problem in border areas.

[0042] The technical solutions provided by the various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a combined paging method according to the present invention, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0044] S201: When the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment, the source mobility management entity sends a GTPv2-C paging to the neighboring cell mobility management entity.

[0045] In an exemplary embodiment, the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging calls to the target user equipment, including: the source mobility management entity sending a preset number of temporary mobile subscriber identifier paging calls to all base stations in the tracking area identifier list corresponding to the target user equipment at a fixed frequency.

[0046] In an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes: when the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of temporary mobile subscriber identity paging requests to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment, the source mobility management entity initiates an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) paging request.

[0047] Specifically, when downlink data is available, the MME triggers a paging process for the target UE. First, based on the base station connected to the MME, if the base station's Tracking Area Identifier (TAI) is within the TAI List stored by the UE, a paging message is sent to that base station. Paging messages are divided into Semporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) paging and International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI) paging.

[0048] The MME first sends four S-TMSI paging messages sequentially, with a 1-second interval. If it receives a Service Request message from the UE, the paging is successful, and no further paging messages are sent. If the UE has not sent a Service Request message after sending four S-TMSI paging messages, the MME will use IMSI for paging in its fifth paging message. After receiving the IMSI paging, the UE will trigger the reattachment procedure, sending an Attach Request message to the network. The UE, core network, and base station will then complete the subsequent attach procedure together.

[0049] During the 5th paging of the MME, the MME sends an IMSI paging message and also sends a GTPv2-C paging message to the connected neighboring MME: Paging (IMSI).

[0050] The definitions of the new message types are shown in Table 1.

[0051] Table 1

[0052]

[0053] The definitions of the new paging messages directly transmitted by the MME are shown in Table 2:

[0054] Table 2

[0055]

[0056] S202: When the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives a GTPv2-C paging, it determines whether there is a tracking area identifier in the GTPv2-C paging, and determines the neighboring cell base station based on the determination result; the number of neighboring cell base stations is one or more.

[0057] In an exemplary embodiment, determining neighboring base stations based on the determination result includes: if the determination result indicates the existence of a tracking area identifier, then determining the base station in the tracking area identifier as a neighboring base station; if the determination result indicates the absence of a tracking area identifier, then determining all base stations on the neighboring mobility management entity as neighboring base stations.

[0058] Specifically, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) paging is initiated via the GTPv2-C protocol, while eNodeBs within a specific range initiate IMSI paging via the S1AP protocol. Upon receiving the IMSI paging message, the neighboring MME extracts the IMSI and TAI from the message. If the TAI exists, it searches for the TAI information of the connected base stations. If a base station possesses these TAI identifiers, a paging message is sent to that base station, using the IMSI for paging. If the message does not contain TAI information, the neighboring MME, upon receiving the message, sends IMSI paging messages to all base stations connected to the neighboring MME.

[0059] S203: For each of the neighboring base stations, the neighboring base station pagees all user equipment within its range using the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging, so that the user equipment corresponding to the IMSI sends an attach request to the neighboring mobility management entity.

[0060] Specifically, after receiving a paging request from the MME, the neighboring base station broadcasts a paging message, including the IMSI, over its coverage area to notify the user equipment to establish a connection to receive data or signaling.

[0061] S204: If the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives an attach request, the paging result is determined to be successful.

[0062] If the UE responds to the IMSI paging message, the UE sends an Attach Request; if the UE does not respond to the IMSI paging message, it does not send an Attach Request.

[0063] When the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives an attach request, the paging result is determined to be successful; when the neighboring cell mobility management entity does not receive an attach request, the paging result is determined to be unsuccessful.

[0064] The format of the paging result is shown in Table 3:

[0065] Table 3

[0066]

[0067] In an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes: after determining that the paging result is successful, sending a message indicating that the paging result is successful to the source mobility management entity; and when the source mobility management entity receives the message indicating that the paging result is successful, setting the status of the target user equipment to offline.

[0068] After receiving the paging result, the source mobility management entity judges the paging result. If the paging result is successful, the source mobility management entity sets the user equipment status to offline; if the paging result fails, the mobility management entity handles it according to the original policy.

[0069] The existing strategy is: if paging fails, the mobility management entity will set the user's status to "unreachable" and delete the user after the timer expires, setting the user to offline status.

[0070] Specifically, the source MME receives a paging result that is either successful or failed. If the result in the paging result indicates success, it is determined that the UE has already attached to another MME. The source MME sets the UE's status to offline. If the result in the paging result indicates failure, it is determined that the UE has not attached to another MME, and the source MME handles the situation according to its original policy.

[0071] In one exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides as follows Figure 3 The diagram shown is a combined paging block diagram.

[0072] Step 1: The source mobility management entity sends a GTPv2-C message to the neighboring cell mobility management entity: Paging (IMSI).

[0073] Step 2: Based on the Tracking Area Identifier (TAI) in the GTPv2-C paging message, eNodeBs within a specific range initiate S1AP message paging. Upon receiving this message, the Neighbor Cell Mobility Management Entity (MME) extracts the IMSI and TAI from the message. If the TAI exists, it searches for the TAI information of connected base stations. If a base station possesses these TAI identifiers, the MME sends a paging message to that base station, using the IMSI for paging. If the message does not contain TAI information, the MME, upon receiving the message, sends paging messages to all base stations connected to the MME, using the IMSI for paging.

[0074] Step 3: The neighboring cell mobility management entity sends an S1AP message to the neighboring cell eNodeB: Paging (IMSI).

[0075] Step 4: The base station eNodeB sends a paging message to the UE (User Equipment) within its range.

[0076] Step 5: If the UE responds to the paging message, the UE will send an AttachRequest. If it does not respond, the message will not be sent.

[0077] Step 6: Within a certain period of time, the neighboring cell mobility management entity will return the paging result to the MME.

[0078] This invention proposes a joint paging method that enables paging over a wider area by transmitting paging information among multiple MMEs, making it particularly suitable for areas bordering connected base stations when multiple MMEs are involved. Joint paging by multiple MMEs improves the paging success rate and, in particular, expands the paging range across the entire network.

[0079] When applying the combined paging method provided by this invention, it is not necessary to... Figure 2 The steps shown are executed in sequence. The specific execution order of each step can be determined as needed, and this invention does not impose any restrictions on it.

[0080] The above describes a combined paging method provided by one or more embodiments of the present invention. Based on the same idea, the present invention also provides a corresponding combined paging device, such as... Figure 4 As shown.

[0081] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a combined paging device provided by the present invention includes:

[0082] The sending module 401 is used to send a GTPv2-C paging message to the neighboring cell mobility management entity when the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment.

[0083] The first determining module 402 is used to determine whether a tracking area identifier exists in the GTPv2-C paging after the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the GTPv2-C paging, and to determine the neighboring cell base station based on the determination result; the number of neighboring cell base stations is one or more.

[0084] The paging module 403 is used to page each of the neighboring base stations using the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging to all user equipment within the range of the neighboring base station, so that the user equipment corresponding to the IMSI can send an attach request to the neighboring mobility management entity.

[0085] The second determining module 404 is used to determine that the paging result is successful if the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives an attach request.

[0086] For specific limitations regarding a combined paging device, please refer to the limitations regarding a combined paging method above, which will not be repeated here. Each module in the aforementioned combined paging device can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, or a combination thereof. These modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in a computer device in hardware form, or stored in the memory of a computer device in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the operations corresponding to each module.

[0087] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that can be used to execute the above-described... Figure 2 A combined paging method is provided.

[0088] The present invention also provides Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the computer device shown is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, at the hardware level, this computer device includes a processor, internal bus, network interface, memory, and non-volatile memory, and may also include other hardware required for business operations. The processor reads the corresponding computer program from the non-volatile memory into memory and then executes it to achieve the above. Figure 2 A combined paging method is provided.

[0089] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the methods described above. Any references to memory, storage, databases, or other media used in the embodiments provided by this invention can include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, or optical storage, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM), etc.

[0090] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A combined paging method, characterized in that, include: When the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment, the source mobility management entity sends a GTPv2-C paging to the neighboring cell mobility management entity. When the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the GTPv2-C paging, it determines whether there is a tracking area identifier in the GTPv2-C paging, and determines the neighboring cell base station based on the determination result; the number of the neighboring cell base stations can be one or more. For each of the neighboring base stations, the neighboring base station pagees all user equipment within the range of the neighboring base station using the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging, so that the user equipment corresponding to the IMIS sends an attach request to the neighboring mobility management entity. If the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the attach request, it determines that the paging result is successful.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining neighboring base stations based on the judgment result includes: If the determination result is that a tracking area identifier exists, then the base station in the tracking area identifier is identified as a neighboring cell base station; If the determination result is that there is no tracking area identifier, then all base stations on the neighboring cell mobility management entity are identified as neighboring cell base stations.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: After confirming that the paging result is successful, a message indicating that the paging result is successful is sent to the source mobility management entity; When the source mobility management entity receives a message indicating a successful paging result, it sets the status of the target user equipment to offline.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging requests to the target user equipment, including: The source mobility management entity sends a preset number of temporary mobile subscriber identifier paging messages to all base stations in the tracking area identifier list corresponding to the target user equipment at a fixed frequency.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of temporary mobile subscriber identity paging requests to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment, the source mobility management entity initiates an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) paging request.

6. A combined paging device, characterized in that, include: The sending module is used to send a GTPv2-C paging message to a neighboring cell mobility management entity when the source mobility management entity initiates a preset number of paging attempts to the target user equipment and does not receive a service request message from the target user equipment. The first determining module is used to determine whether a tracking area identifier exists in the GTPv2-C paging after the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the GTPv2-C paging, and to determine the neighboring cell base station based on the determination result; the number of the neighboring cell base stations is one or more. The paging module is used to paging each of the neighboring base stations in the neighboring cell using the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in the GTPv2-C paging to all user equipment within the range of the neighboring base station, so that the user equipment corresponding to the IMIS sends an attach request to the neighboring cell mobility management entity. The second determining module is used to determine that the paging result is successful if the neighboring cell mobility management entity receives the attach request.

7. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. A computer device, characterized in that, It includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the program, implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

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