US 8,300,602 B2Granted

Arrangement and method relating to direct tunnelling in connection with handover in a communications network

AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

InventorsPeter Ramle, Hans-Olof Sundell, Lasse Olsson

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a packet data support node (201) with a serving functionality and supporting over at least a first radio access network. It comprises mobility handling means and session handling means. It further comprises detecting means, in communication with said mobility handling means and with said session handling means, which are adapted to detect or establish initiation of a handover of a mobile station from the first or source radio access network. The session handling means are adapted to keep information about support for a direct tunneling functionality between the gateway packet data support node and the first radio access network. The detecting means are adapted to, upon detecting initiation of an HO from a first mode supporting direct tunneling (10) activate initiation of a reset of the direct tunnel and set up of two tunnel tunnels (10A, 10B) replacing said direct tunnel (10), each having a respective end point in the packet data support node.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A packet data support node, in a telecommunications network, for handling a handover procedure in a first radio access network using direct tunneling of user plane data between a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) and the packet data support node, the packet data support node comprising:

a microprocessor coupled with a non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the packet data support node to:
detect an intended or initiated handover of a mobile user station from the first radio access network to a target radio access network node of a second radio access network;
send a message to a first Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) in the first radio access network node indicating a relocation is required, wherein the first SGSN forwards the message to a second SGSN in the second radio access network;
cause the second SGSN to send a forward relocation response to the first SGSN, wherein the first SGSN sends an update Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context request to the GGSN;
reset and replace a direct tunnel between the GGSN and a Radio Network Controller (RNC) with a first tunnel between the GGSN and the first SGSN and a second tunnel between the first SGSN and the RNC;
redirect the user plane data in the first radio access network from the GGSN to the RNC via the first tunnel and the second tunnel;
and
send the user plane data from the first SGSN to the second SGSN via a third tunnel, wherein the user plane data is then forwarded to the target radio access node.

5 more elements

A method, in a telecommunications network, of handling a handover procedure in a first access network using direct tunneling of user plane data between a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) and node, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting an intended or initiated handover of a mobile user station from the first radio access network to a target radio access network node of a second radio access network;
sending a message to a first Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) in the first radio access network node indicating a relocation is required, wherein the first SGSN forwards the message to a second SGSN in the second radio access network;
causing the second SGSN to send a forward relocation response to the first SGSN, wherein the first SGSN sends an update Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context response to the GGSN;
resetting a direct tunnel between the GGSN and a Radio Network Controller (RNC) with a first tunnel between the GGSN and the first SGSN and a second tunnel between the first SGSN and the node;
redirecting the user plane data in the first radio access network from the GGSN to the first SGSN via the first tunnel;
and
sending the user plane data from the first SGSN to the second SGSN via a third tunnel, wherein the user plane data is then forwarded to the target radio access node.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.