Server-Based Mobility Support Without Home Agent in 5G Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for supporting user equipment mobility in mobile communication networks, such as mobile IP and MIP RO, incur high capital and operating expenses due to the need for a home agent (HA) and result in latency, and are not universally applicable, especially when using TCP protocols or in networks without HA support.
Innovation Solution
A method that establishes an IP flow with a user equipment using a first IP address, receives a second IP address allocated by a different network, generates a tunnel interface, and binds the IP flow to this interface for seamless data transmission and reception without requiring a separate HA, allowing for mobility support without changing middle boxes and reducing latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mobile IP or GTP is used to support UE mobility, then UE can maintain a fixed IP address while moving, but capital expenditure and operating expenditure increase due to the need for a home agent (HA)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the HA function from the network infrastructure and relocates it to the UE device itself. The UE maintains a fixed IP address and performs the binding update operations that were previously handled by the HA, thereby eliminating the need for separate HA infrastructure while maintaining mobility support.
Solution Approach 2:
The UE serves itself by implementing the home agent functionality locally. The device autonomously manages its own mobility bindings and performs the necessary signaling operations without requiring external HA support, thereby reducing infrastructure complexity while maintaining reliable mobility support.
2Reliability
If mobile IP or GTP with HA is used, then UE mobility is supported, but latency increases due to the additional path through the HA
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the HA from the data transmission path by relocating its functionality to the UE. This extraction eliminates the additional routing hop through the HA, thereby reducing latency while maintaining the mobility support function.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of routing data through the HA as in traditional mobile IP, the patent inverts the architecture so that the UE directly manages its own bindings and data flows. This inversion eliminates the intermediate HA path and reduces transmission latency.
3Reliability
If mobile IP or GTP is deployed, then UE can maintain continuous connectivity while moving, but the solution is not universally applicable especially when using TCP protocols or in networks without HA support
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal mobility solution that works across different network types and protocols by implementing the HA function at the UE level. This multi-functional approach allows the same mechanism to operate in TCP and UDP environments, with or without traditional network HA support, thereby improving versatility while maintaining continuous connectivity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a 5G or pre-5G communication system for supporting high data throughput beyond the 4G communication systems such as LTE. A method for a server for supporting the mobility of a user equipment (UE) in a mobile communication network comprises the steps of: establishing an IP flow with the UE utilizing a first IP address to transceive data; receiving a message comprising a second IP address allocated to the UE and an identifier for the IP flow; generating a tunnel interface for communicating with the UE having the second IP address as the ending IP address, and binding the IP flow allocated to the identifier to the generated tunnel interface; and transceiving data with the UE by means of the tunnel interface.