System and methods for managing a user data path

#The subject disclosure relates to a system and methods for managing a user data path and more particularly to optimized user data path management in an enhanced packet core of a long-term evolution network.

#Wireless telecommunication networks use radio waves to carry information from one node in the network to one or more receiving nodes in the network. Cellular telephony is characterized by the use of radio cells that provide radio coverage for a geographic area, with multiple cells arranged to provide contiguous radio coverage over a larger area. Wired communication can also be used in portions of a wireless network, such as between cells or access points. Wireless communications technologies are used in connection with user equipment, including, for example, satellite communications systems, portable digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and mobile devices (e.g., cellular telephones). Such devices can connect to a network (e.g., the Internet) as long as the user is within range of such a wireless communication technology. One or more applications running on such devices, such as Voice over IP (VoIP), browsing, streaming media, text messaging and so forth, can engage in an exchange of data packets with another network, such as the Internet, an IP multimedia subsystem, and/or some other provider network.

#Currently user data plane paths, such as those in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) access network, are always managed by the control plane in the life of a Packet Data Network (PDN) connection. Indeed, a centralized control plane management scheme is critical to data session establishment, release and management. In mobile communication scenario, such as wireless cellular communications, data plane connections can depend on a mobility state and a session state of a mobility control layer. Heretofore, such centralized control plane schemes have been particularly important for establishing and managing data plane connections in view of variable mobility states.

#Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication network including an LTE, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) topology;

#FIGS. 2A-2D depict illustrative embodiments of processes used in portions of the communication network described in FIG. 1;

#Unfortunately, handover scenarios, such as those disclosed herein, can impose an excessive signaling load. Such an excessive signaling load can adversely impact operation of one or more network nodes, such as the mobility nodes of an LTE network, i.e., a Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN) and/or a Mobility Management Entity (MME), and one or more EPC gateway nodes, i.e., a Serving Gateway (SGW) node and a PDN Gateway (PGW) in an EPC network.

#One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a novel methodology implemented in a network user plane in which one or more nodes autonomously learn peer transport layer addresses to allow for self-configuration of a packet forwarding path. Such self-configurations can be accomplished within the user plane without requiring intervention by a corresponding network control plane. Beneficially, such self-configurations in relation to handover events within a mobility network can reduce signaling load on network nodes, such as SGWs and PGWs. This disclosure can be considered an extension to a direct-tunnel solution disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/036,919, filed Sep. 25, 2013, to Wang, et al., and entitled “Tunneling Packet Exchange in Long Term Evolution Protocol Based Networks.” The entire disclosure of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

#It can be said that the techniques disclosed herein simplify, and in that sense optimize control signaling procedures, such as those associated with direct tunnel solutions, to reduce processing burden on the SGW and/or PGW nodes.