Visited Serving Gateway Protocol Interworking for Roaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile nodes communicating using internet protocols over non-3GPP networks lack provisions for allocating a home IP address, hindering roaming services and operations like charging and legal interception, as existing technologies do not support interworking between IETF protocols and 3GPP GTP protocols for roaming.
Innovation Solution
A telecommunications system that includes a home access network, a visited access network with a serving gateway, and a wireless access gateway, where the mobile node sends a binding update message with a unique identifier to request a home IP address, and the visited serving gateway operates as an inter-working function to convert internet protocol messages into GTP messages, allowing communication with the home network to allocate a home IP address.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mobile nodes use IETF protocols over non-3GPP networks, then internet protocol communication is enabled, but roaming services and home IP address allocation are not supported
Solution Approach 1:
The visited serving gateway acts as an intermediary between the mobile node using IETF protocols and the home network requiring GTP protocol. It receives binding update messages from the mobile node, translates them into GTP create bearer requests, and forwards them to the home gateway node, thereby enabling protocol interworking and maintaining roaming service reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the protocol parameter from IETF protocols at the access interface to GTP protocol for core network communication. The visited serving gateway transforms the message format and protocol type, allowing the mobile node to communicate using IETF protocols while the core network operates with GTP protocol, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability
2Reliability
If protocol interworking between IETF and 3GPP GTP is implemented, then roaming services are enabled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The visited serving gateway is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a standard GTP gateway for 3GPP networks and as a protocol translator for IETF-based non-3GPP accesses. This universal design allows a single network element to handle multiple protocol types, enabling roaming services without requiring separate dedicated translation infrastructure, thus limiting the increase in overall system complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
A serving gateway node is provided for communicating data to and from a mobile node using an internet protocol in response to the mobile node roaming from a first home access network to a second visited access network comprising the serving gateway node, and attaching to a wireless access gateway which is connected to the second visited access network, the serving gateway node is operable to receive a binding update message from the mobile node via the wireless access gateway using the internet protocol, the binding update message including a unique identifier of the mobile node, and a request for an internet protocol address for the mobile node as if the mobile node were attached to the first home access network, and in response to the binding update message, identifying from the unique identifier of the mobile node that the first home access network is the home network of the mobile node, convert the binding update message received in accordance with the internet protocol into a create bearer message using a protocol appropriate to the home gateway node identified from the unique identifier of the mobile node, and communicating the create bearer message to the home gateway node to allocate in response to the create bearer message a home internet protocol address to the mobile node.