DRB Integrity Protection Reconfiguration After Connection Re-Establishment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communications systems face challenges in reconfiguring integrity protection for data radio bearers (DRBs) during normal operation without causing packet loss or introducing complexity and delays, particularly at handover or initial setup, and lack support for lossless and duplicate-free data delivery.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where a connection reconfiguration message is transmitted after successful connection re-establishment between sending and receiving nodes, indicating which DRBs should enable or disable integrity protection, allowing for dynamic reconfiguration without releasing DRBs and minimizing overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If integrity protection is configured only at initial setup or handover, then the system complexity is reduced and packet loss is avoided, but the adaptability to dynamically enable/disable integrity protection during normal operation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables dynamic reconfiguration of integrity protection for data radio bearers during normal operation by utilizing RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The system transitions from static configuration (only at setup/handover) to dynamic configuration (can be changed anytime during operation), allowing the network to adapt integrity protection settings based on real-time security requirements and network conditions without releasing existing bearers.
2Adaptability or versatility
If integrity protection is reconfigured during normal operation by releasing and setting up new bearers, then the adaptability is improved, but packet loss occurs and data delivery is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by preparing the RRC connection re-establishment procedure in advance as the mechanism for reconfiguration. Instead of releasing and re-establishing bearers (which causes packet loss), the system uses the re-establishment procedure to apply new integrity protection settings to existing active bearers, ensuring continuous data delivery without interruption while maintaining adaptability.
3Reliability
If integrity protection is enabled for all data radio bearers, then the security is improved, but the flexibility to selectively protect specific bearers based on security requirements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by enabling selective integrity protection on a per-data radio bearer basis. The network can individually configure integrity protection for specific bearers based on their security requirements, rather than applying a uniform policy to all bearers. This allows critical bearers to have enhanced protection while non-critical bearers operate without it, optimizing the balance between security and flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method in a receiving node and a sending node of a wireless communications system for enabling and disabling integrity protection of at least one data radio bearer between the sending node and the receiving node. The method in the receiving node comprises, following a successful connection re-establishment between the sending node and the receiving node, receiving a connection reconfiguration message from the sending node, the connection reconfiguration message comprising an indicator indicating which ones of the at least one data radio bearers that shall have enabled integrity protection. It also comprises enabling integrity protection of packets on the at least one data radio bearer indicated by the indicator, and disabling integrity protection of packets on the rest of the at least one data radio bearers.