X2 Switch for Secure 3GPP LTE Traffic Routing

The patent introduces a central controller as an intermediary that establishes secure connections with all eNBs instead of requiring direct secure connections between every pair of eNBs. The central controller acts as a trusted mediator that can securely route and manage X2 interface traffic between eNBs, thereby reducing the number of secure connections from O(N^2) in a full mesh to O(N) with the intermediary, while maintaining security through the central controller's authentication and encryption mechanisms.

The patent merges the security management function into a single central controller that handles authentication, key management, and secure connection establishment for all eNBs. Instead of each eNB independently maintaining multiple secure connections, the security infrastructure is consolidated in the central controller, which can efficiently manage secure communications with multiple eNBs using shared security contexts and centralized key management, thereby reducing the overall cost of secure communication infrastructure.

The central controller serves as a managing intermediary that centralizes the configuration, monitoring, and control of all secure X2 connections. Instead of requiring operators to manually configure and manage O(N^2) direct connections between eNBs, the central controller provides a single point of management where all secure connections are established, configured, and monitored centrally. This dramatically simplifies operations and maintenance while maintaining the same security level.