TEID-Based NAT for Cellular UE Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Network Address Translation (NAT) mechanisms fail to uniquely identify User Equipment (UE) when multiple UEs are assigned the same IP address, leading to address collisions and overlapping issues, particularly in scenarios with multiple Access Point Names (APNs) and local breakout (LBO) scenarios, where standard NAT rules cannot ensure unique private IP allocation per UE.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing a portion of the GTPU Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) to uniquely identify UEs, allowing the HetNet Gateway (HNG) to allocate a unique TEID for each UE, which is used to manage public IP addresses and resolve address collisions by mapping private IPs to public IPs, enabling single-factor identification and efficient packet processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional NAT mechanisms are used to manage IP addresses, then address translation can be performed, but address collisions occur when multiple UEs are assigned the same IP address
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces TEID (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier) as an intermediary element between the IP address and the UE. Instead of relying solely on IP addresses for UE identification, the TEID serves as a unique mediator that maps multiple UEs to potentially overlapping IP addresses without causing collisions. The gateway uses the TEID to uniquely identify each UE and manage their respective IP addresses, thereby resolving the address collision problem while maintaining reliable UE identification.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple UEs are assigned the same IP address to conserve address space, then IPv4 address exhaustion is mitigated, but address collisions and overlapping issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identification mechanism into two distinct parts: the IP address for network communication and the TEID for unique UE identification. This segmentation allows multiple UEs to share the same IP address (conserving public IP address space) while each UE maintains a unique TEID for reliable identification. The gateway uses the TEID to distinguish between different UEs even when they have overlapping IP addresses, thereby resolving the contradiction between address space conservation and unique IP allocation.
3Ease of operation
If standard NAT rules are applied in LBO scenarios with multiple APNs, then network address translation can be performed, but unique private IP allocation per UE cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the identification parameter from IP address alone to a combination of IP address and TEID. In LBO scenarios with multiple APNs, standard NAT rules operate on IP addresses, but the patent introduces TEID as an additional parameter for unique UE identification. The gateway maintains mappings between TEIDs and UE identifiers, allowing it to ensure unique private IP allocation per UE even when standard NAT rules are applied. This parameter change enables reliable UE identification without complicating the NAT operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods and computer software are disclosed for providing network address translation with a tunnel identifier (TEID) in a cellular network. A HetNet Gateway (HNG) allocates at least a portion of a unique TEID for a user equipment (UE). The HNG receives a packet having a source field in the packet header including an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The HNG replaces the IP address in a source field of the packet header of the packet with the unique TEID for the UE and forwards the packet using the unique TEID to a packet gateway (PGW).