# US 9,439,116 B2 · System and method for identifying a subscriber in a network environment

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- Number: US 9,439,116 B2
- Document ID: US9439116B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/281,213
- Filed: 2014-05-19
- Published: 2015-11-19
- Granted: 2016-09-06
- Earliest claimed: 2014-05-19
- Assignees: Cisco Technology, Inc.
- Applicants: Cisco Technology, Inc.
- Inventors: Yuyong Zhang; Mark Grayson; Anton Okmyanskiy; Swaminathan A. Anantha
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9439116B2

## CPC

- H04W 36/04: Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells
- H04W 4/08: User group management
- H04W 8/08: Mobility data transfer
- H04W 36/0016: {Hand-off preparation specially adapted for end-to-end data sessions}
- H04W 60/04: using triggered events
- H04W 64/003: {locating network equipment}
- H04W 76/11: Allocation or use of connection identifiers
- H04W 84/045: {using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B}
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

An example method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving, by a first Home eNodeB (HeNB), a first attach request from a user equipment (UE) for attaching a subscriber associated with the UE to a small cell network; determining whether the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from a macro cell network; exchanging, based on the determination, a first pair of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to determine an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the subscriber; and exchanging, based on the determination, one or more second pairs of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to advance a sequence number for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages for the UE to a value corresponding to a received sequence number for the first attach request from the UE.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for a communication network comprising:
receiving, by a first Home eNodeB (HeNB), a first attach request from a user equipment (UE) for attaching a subscriber associated with the UE to a small cell network;
determining whether the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from a macro cell network;
exchanging, based on the determination, a first pair of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to determine an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the subscriber;
exchanging, based on the determination, one or more second pairs of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to advance a sequence number for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages for the UE to a value corresponding to a received sequence number for the first attach request from the UE;
receiving, by a second HeNB, a second attach request from the UE for attaching the subscriber to the small cell network;
determining whether the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network; and
retrieving, by a Home eNodeB gateway (HeNB-GW), the IMSI of the subscriber by recovering an association of the IMSI with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first pair of messages and the one or more second pairs of messages include:
an Evolved Packet System Mobility Management Identity (EMM-ID) Request message; and
an EMM-ID Response message.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from the macro cell network includes determining that a source tracking area identity (TAI) for the subscriber does not match a corresponding TAI provisioned for the first HeNB.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first HeNB is provisioned, at least in part, to provide resources for a closed subscriber group (CSG), the method further comprising
determining whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG by performing at least one of:
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the CSG to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG;
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the first HeNB to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
comparing the IMSI of the subscriber to a list of authorized subscribers for the CSG; and
communicating to the first HeNB whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG to provide resources to the subscriber, wherein the resources provided to the subscriber can be adjusted based on an access mode of the first HeNB and whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, further comprising:
associating the IMSI of the subscriber with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
storing the association of the IMSI in combination with an identifier for the CSG.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network includes matching a source tracking area identity (TAI) for the subscriber to a corresponding TAI provisioned for the small cell network.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the second HeNB is provisioned, at least in part, to provide resources for a closed subscriber group (CSG), the method further comprising:
determining whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG by performing at least one of:
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the CSG to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG;
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the second HeNB to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
comparing the IMSI of the subscriber to a list of authorized subscribers for the CSG to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
communicating to the second HeNB whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG to provide resources to the subscriber, wherein the resources provided to the subscriber can be adjusted based on an access mode of the second HeNB and whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the association of the IMSI with the GUMMEI and the MME UE S1AP ID includes an association with an identifier for the CSG.

### Claim 9

One or more non-transitory tangible media encoding logic that include instructions for execution that, when executed by a processor, is operable to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a first Home eNodeB (HeNB), a first attach request from a user equipment (UE) for attaching a subscriber associated with the UE to a small cell network;
determining whether the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from a macro cell network;
exchanging, based on the determination, a first pair of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to determine an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the subscriber;
exchanging, based on the determination, one or more second pairs of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to advance a sequence number for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages for the UE to a value corresponding to a received sequence number for the first attach request from the UE;
receiving, by a second HeNB, a second attach request from the UE for attaching the subscriber to the small cell network;
determining whether the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network; and
retrieving, by a Home eNodeB gateway (HeNB-GW), the IMSI of the subscriber by recovering an association of the IMSI with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The media of claim 9, wherein the first pair of messages and the one or more second pairs of messages include:
an Evolved Packet System Mobility Management Identity (EMM-ID) Request message; and
an EMM-ID Response message.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The media of claim 9, wherein the determining that the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from the macro cell network includes determining that a source tracking area identity (TAI) for the subscriber does not match a corresponding TAI provisioned for the first HeNB.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The media of claim 9, wherein the first HeNB is provisioned, at least in part, to provide resources for a closed subscriber group (CSG) and wherein the operations further comprise:
determining whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG by performing at least one of:
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the CSG to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG;
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the first HeNB to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
comparing the IMSI of the subscriber to a list of authorized subscribers for the CSG; and
communicating to the first HeNB whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG to provide resources to the subscriber, wherein the resources provided to the subscriber can be adjusted based on an access mode of the first HeNB and whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The media of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:
associating the IMSI of the subscriber with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
storing the association of the IMSI in combination with an identifier for the CSG.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The media of claim 9, wherein the determining that the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network includes matching a source tracking area identity (TAI) for the subscriber to a corresponding TAI provisioned for the small cell network.

### Claim 15

An apparatus, comprising:
a first Home eNode B (HeNB);
a memory element for storing data; and
a processor that executes instructions associated with the data, wherein the processor and memory element cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for:
receiving a first attach request from a user equipment (UE) for attaching a subscriber associated with the UE to a small cell network;
determining whether the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from a macro cell network;
exchanging, based on the determination, a first pair of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to determine an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the subscriber;
exchanging, based on the determination, one or more second pairs of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to advance a sequence number for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages for the UE to a value corresponding to a received sequence number for the first attach request from the UE;
receiving, by a second HeNB, a second attach request from the UE for attaching the subscriber to the small cell network;
determining whether the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network; and
retrieving, by a Home eNodeB gateway (HeNB-GW), the IMSI of the subscriber by recovering an association of the IMSI with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first pair of messages and the one or more second pairs of messages include:
an Evolved Packet System Mobility Management Identity (EMM-ID) Request message; and
an EMM-ID Response message.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the determining that the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from the macro cell network includes determining that a source tracking area identity (TAI) for the subscriber does not match a corresponding TAI provisioned for the first HeNB.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first HeNB is provisioned, at least in part, to provide resources for a closed subscriber group (CSG), the apparatus being further configured for:
determining whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG by performing at least one of:
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the CSG to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG;
querying a service with the IMSI of the subscriber and an identifier for the first HeNB to determine if the subscriber is a member of the CSG; and
comparing the IMSI of the subscriber to a list of authorized subscribers for the CSG; and
communicating to the first HeNB whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG to provide resources to the subscriber, wherein the resources provided to the subscriber can be adjusted based on an access mode of the first HeNB and whether the subscriber is a member of the CSG.