Shared Campus Network Tunneling for Multi-Operator Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The deployment of campus networks by multiple operators results in high network deployment and operation costs due to the need for separate networks, which cannot serve terminal devices belonging to different operators simultaneously, and causes delays and increased costs in network provisioning and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A communication method that establishes direct tunnels between access network devices and second network elements, allowing terminal devices from different operators to share a single sub-network operator, reducing the need for multiple network constructions and enabling direct data transmission without passing through intermediate network elements, thereby lowering costs and improving performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each operator deploys its own campus network at the campus, then each operator can access its own terminal devices, but network deployment costs and operation costs become high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple operators' campus networks into a shared network infrastructure. The access network device provides unified access for terminal devices from different operators, while the tunnel establishment mechanism allows each operator's data to be transmitted through the shared network to their respective core network elements. This combining approach reduces deployment complexity and costs while maintaining reliable access for all operators.
Solution Approach 2:
The access network device is designed with multi-functionality to serve multiple operators simultaneously. It can establish separate tunnels for different operators while providing unified access services. The tunnel information (first tunnel information for user plane, second tunnel information for control plane) enables the access network device to handle multiple operators' data streams through a single infrastructure, achieving universality without sacrificing operator-specific reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If data passes through intermediate network elements, then network routing is flexible, but transmission delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential routing function from complex intermediate network elements and implements it directly at the access network device through tunnel establishment. By establishing direct tunnels (first tunnel and second tunnel) between the access network device and the core network elements, the patent removes unnecessary intermediate hops while maintaining routing flexibility through the tunnel configuration mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces tunnel information as a virtual intermediary that enables direct communication paths. The first tunnel information (user plane tunnel) and second tunnel information (control plane tunnel) act as mediators that establish optimized transmission paths, allowing data to flow directly between access network devices and core network elements without physically passing through multiple intermediate network elements, thus reducing delay while maintaining routing adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication method and apparatus are provided. The method includes: a first network element in a first network receives, from a terminal device, a message used to request to establish a session, obtains first tunnel information and second tunnel information that correspond to the session, sends the first tunnel information to an access network device accessed by the terminal device, and sends the second tunnel information to a third network element in a second network. The terminal device is located in a service area of the second network, an operator to which the terminal device belongs is the same as an operator to which the first network belongs, the second network provides a service for a terminal device of one or more operators, the access network device is directly connected to the second network element, and the third network element is configured to control the second network element.