Cellular Tag Management with Secure Context Reuse
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In scenarios where a passive or semi-active internet of things system converges with a cellular network, the network side cannot learn the status of passive tags in real time, leading to inefficiencies in tag management and resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
Implement a first mobility management function that obtains context information from a second mobility management function using identification information, allowing secure connections and context reuse without re-authentication, and a unified data management function to manage tag status efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a passive or semi-active internet of things system and a cellular network are deployed independently, then each system can operate with its own dedicated spectrum and protocols, but the construction and maintenance costs are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the passive/semi-active IoT system with the cellular network by allowing the mobility management function in the cellular network to also manage IoT tags. This consolidation enables a single network infrastructure to serve both cellular communications and IoT tag management, eliminating the need for separate dedicated networks and reducing overall deployment and maintenance costs while maintaining operational reliability
2Loss of energy
If the cellular network manages tag status without real-time awareness, then network resources are conserved, but tag management efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service mechanism where the mobility management function automatically obtains and updates tag context information including status indicators without requiring active tagging from passive tags. The system autonomously manages tag status by receiving status information from access network devices and updating its internal records, thereby maintaining real-time awareness without continuous energy-consuming communications from the tags themselves
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where access network devices report tag status information to the mobility management function. This feedback loop enables the network to maintain real-time awareness of tag status (connected, disconnected, handed over) without requiring continuous active communication from passive tags, thus balancing resource conservation with management efficiency
3Reliability
If context information is completely re-established for each tag access, then security is maintained, but communication overhead and authentication time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing and storing secure context information (including security keys and authentication data) in the mobility management function during initial tag registration. When tags need to reconnect or hand over between access network devices, the pre-stored context information is reused and updated, eliminating the need for complete re-authentication. This approach maintains security through proper context management while significantly reducing authentication time and communication overhead
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 1c
AI summary
Embodiments of this application disclose a tag management method and a related apparatus. The method includes: A first mobility management function receives a registration request message sent by an access network device. The registration request message is used to request to register a tag in a core network. The first mobility management function obtains identification information of a second mobility management function from a unified data management function based on the registration request message. The second mobility management function stores context information of the tag. The first mobility management function obtains the context information of the tag from the second mobility management function. The context information of the tag is obtained from the second mobility management function, so that the first mobility management function can continue to use some or all context information of the tag, and there is no need to completely re-establish a context of the tag. In this way, a network manages a status of the tag, and network resources are saved.