MME Control Plane NAS Connection Retention for 5G to 4G TAU
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing 5G-to-4G idle state Tracking Area Update (TAU) process in communication technology leads to a waste of air interface resources due to the unnecessary establishment and release of air interface bearers during the dedicated bearer creation scheme, as the Mobility Management Entity (MME) always sets up a Data Radio Bearer, regardless of whether a dedicated bearer is created.
Innovation Solution
The MME keeps the control plane NAS connection after the TAU procedure and creates a dedicated bearer using this connection only when a dedicated bearer request is received from the PDN gateway, thereby optimizing the air interface bearer creation according to practical needs and preventing unnecessary resource waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the MME always sets up a Data Radio Bearer during the TAU process, then the air interface bearer establishment is ensured, but air interface resources are wasted due to unnecessary bearer creation and subsequent release
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the Data Radio Bearer setup conditional rather than static. The MME dynamically decides whether to establish a Data Radio Bearer based on the actual need for dedicated bearer creation. If no dedicated bearer is to be created, the MME skips the Data Radio Bearer setup, allowing the radio resource to be released immediately, thus avoiding resource waste while ensuring reliability when needed.
2Productivity
If the MME establishes a Data Radio Bearer during TAU, then the bearer creation process is completed, but the subsequent bearer release causes signaling overhead and resource inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the MME determine in advance whether a dedicated bearer needs to be created before initiating the Data Radio Bearer setup. This preliminary decision prevents unnecessary bearer establishment and subsequent release, eliminating the associated signaling overhead and time loss while ensuring that bearer creation is completed when actually needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A dedicated bearer creation method, an MME, and a PDN gateway are provided. The dedicated bearer creation method includes: in a TAU procedure, when it is determined that a UE has moved from a 5G network to a 4G network based on identification information provided by the UE, keeping a control plane NAS connection after the TAU procedure; and when a create dedicated bearer request has been received from a PDN gateway, creating a dedicated bearer for the UE using the NAS connection. According to the present disclosure, it is able to create a radio bearer based on the practical need, and prevent the occurrence of a waste of air interface resources caused when the MME requests an eNB to create a user plane radio bearer in the TAU procedure, thereby to solve the problem in the related art where the waste of the air interface resources is caused by a dedicated bearer creation scheme.