CN102469552A - Terminal access method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method and a system for accessing a terminal, wherein the method comprises the following steps: an access network element acquires access capability information of a core network element aiming at a terminal; when the terminal accesses the network, the access network element selects the core network element for the terminal according to the acquired access capability information of the core network element for the terminal. By adopting the invention, the appropriate core network element can be selected when the MTC equipment is accessed into the network, and the capacity limit set for the core network element can not be exceeded, so that the normal operation of the network can be ensured when a large amount of MTC equipment is accessed into the network, and the possibility of congestion of the core network element is greatly reduced.

Description

Terminal access method and system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and a system for accessing a terminal.

Background

H2H (Human to Human) communication refers to communication between people, and existing wireless communication technology is developed based on H2H communication by performing communication on the operation of devices, and in H2H communication, people realize communication by means of H2H devices, i.e., UEs (User Equipment) in the usual sense. While M2M (Machine to Machine) is defined in a narrow sense as Machine-to-Machine communication, and is defined in a broad sense as networked applications and services with Machine terminal intelligence interaction as a core. The intelligent machine terminal-based intelligent data acquisition and measurement system is an informatization solution scheme provided for clients by taking various communication modes as access means, and is used for meeting informatization requirements of the clients on monitoring, command scheduling, data acquisition, measurement and the like.

The development of the wireless technology is an important factor for the development of the M2M market, and the wireless technology breaks through the space-time limitation and the geographical barrier of the traditional communication mode, so that enterprises and the public get rid of the cable constraint, customers can more effectively control the cost, the installation cost is reduced, and the use is simple and convenient. In addition, increasing demand is driving the development of M2M. Contradictory to the continuous increase of information processing capacity and network bandwidth, the means of information acquisition is far behind, and M2M well meets the requirement of people, through which people can monitor the external environment in real time and realize large-scale and automatic information acquisition. Therefore, M2M may be widely applied to industrial applications, home applications, personal applications, and the like. Industrial applications are as follows: traffic monitoring, alarm systems, rescue at sea, vending machines, driving payment, etc. Household applications are as follows: automatic meter reading, temperature control and the like. Personal applications such as: life detection, remote diagnostics, etc.

The communication target of M2M is machine-to-machine, and human-to-machine. Data Communication between one or more machines is defined as MTC (Machine Type Communication), in which case human-Machine interaction is less required. The machine participating in MTC is defined as MTC Device (MD). The MTC device is a terminal of an MTC user, and can communicate with the MTC device and an MTC server through a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).

After the M2M application is introduced, some optimizations can be performed on the existing system according to the characteristics of the application to meet the application requirements of M2M, and no influence is generated on the common User Equipment (UE for short) in the existing system. Some notable features of the M2M application are: the MTC equipment is large in quantity, small in data amount transmitted each time, large in transmission interval and relatively fixed in position. In view of the large number of MTC devices, which is not an order of magnitude of the number of ordinary UEs, i.e., H2H devices, the widespread use of MTC devices is likely to cause the network to be in an overload state, for example, when a power failure accident occurs in a certain cell suddenly, when the power is restored, the large number of MTC devices may attempt to access the network at the same time, which may result in the network being in an overload state. In order to deal with overload caused by introduction of MTC devices, a network side needs to improve an overload control capability, and a new capability of handling overload is required for a core network element in an existing protocol, for example, an MME (Mobility Management Entity) of an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system needs to implement APN-based overload control according to traffic (maximum active bearer number, maximum bearer rate, and the like) of an APN (Access point name) reported by the MTC devices, and can send registration Reject (Attach Reject) and location area update Reject to the UE; the MME needs to have a capability of delaying an MTC device registration Request, a Service Request (Service Request), and the like. When the MME has the overload processing capability, the breakdown of the network can not be caused when the MTC equipment is accessed into the network in a large quantity. Therefore, when the MTC device accesses the network, the MTC device needs to be introduced into the MME having the capability of handling overload to implement overload control.

At present, the overload control of the LTE system is divided into two levels: overload control of an access network and overload control of a core network; the overload control of the access network only aims at the load of the eNB, if the access network is not overloaded, the request information of the terminal is sent to the core network, if the core network is overloaded, the core network returns a rejection message to the terminal, the terminal exits from the system, and the previously established signaling links are all released. The whole process causes a lot of useless signaling, and may aggravate the congestion condition of the core network and waste the resources of the access network.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the invention is to provide a method and a system for terminal access, which solve the problems that overload control in the prior art may cause a lot of useless signaling, may aggravate the congestion condition of a core network and wastes the resources of an access network.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a method for accessing a terminal, including:

an access network element acquires access capability information of a core network element aiming at a terminal;

when the terminal accesses the network, the access network element selects the core network element for the terminal according to the acquired access capability information of the core network element for the terminal.

Preferably, the method has the following features:

wherein the access capability information for the terminal comprises one or more of the following information:

the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

Preferably, the method has the following features:

the access capability information is specific to a specific terminal type or applicable to all terminal types.

Preferably, the method has the following features:

when the access network element selects a core network element accessed by the terminal, selecting the core network element capable of providing the terminal access requirement for the terminal according to the terminal information carried when the terminal is accessed to the network;

the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal; or the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal and one or more of the following information: the access grade information of the terminal, the priority information of the terminal, the service type initiated by the terminal and the service priority information initiated by the terminal.

Preferably, the method has the following features:

the step of the access network element acquiring the access capability information of the core network element for the terminal comprises the following steps:

the access network element acquires access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal from the core network element through an interface signaling; or,

the core network element sends the access capability information aiming at the terminal to the access network element through interface signaling;

wherein the interface signaling is S1 signaling in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or Iu signaling in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system.

Preferably, the method has the following features:

the signaling of S1 is: s1, establishing response signaling, Mobility Management Entity (MME) configuration update signaling, overload control starting signaling or newly added S1 signaling;

the Iu signaling is as follows: overload control start signaling, information transfer indication, reset signaling, or newly added Iu signaling.

Preferably, the method has the following features:

the network element of the access network is a base station in an LTE system or a wireless network controller in a WCDMA system;

the core network element is an MME in an LTE system, or a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and/or a serving general packet radio service technology (SGSN) support node in a WCDMA system.

The terminal is one or more of the following types: human-to-human (H2H) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, relay nodes.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a terminal access system, which includes a capability information obtaining unit and a terminal access unit in an access network element, wherein:

the capability information acquiring unit is used for acquiring access capability information of a core network element aiming at the terminal;

and the terminal access unit is used for selecting the core network element for the terminal to be accessed according to the access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal, which is acquired by the capability information acquisition unit when the terminal is accessed into the network.

Preferably, the system has the following features:

the access capability information for the terminal acquired by the capability information acquiring unit includes one or more of the following information:

the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

Preferably, the system has the following features:

the access capability information is specific to a specific terminal type or applicable to all terminal types.

Preferably, the system has the following features:

the terminal access unit is further used for selecting a core network element capable of providing a terminal access requirement for the terminal according to the terminal information carried when the terminal is accessed to the network;

the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal; or the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal and one or more of the following information: the access grade information of the terminal, the priority information of the terminal, the service type initiated by the terminal and the service priority information initiated by the terminal.

Preferably, the system further comprises a capability information sending unit in a network element of the core network,

the capability information acquiring unit is further configured to acquire, from the capability information sending unit through an interface signaling, access capability information of the core network element for the terminal;

the capability information sending unit is used for sending the access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal to the capability information acquiring unit through an interface signaling;

the interface signaling is S1 signaling in an LTE system or Iu signaling in a WCDMA system.

Preferably, the system has the following features:

the signaling of S1 is: s1, establishing response signaling, Mobility Management Entity (MME) configuration update signaling, overload control starting signaling or newly added S1 signaling;

the Iu signaling is as follows: overload control start signaling, information transfer indication, reset signaling, or newly added Iu signaling.

By adopting the invention, the access network element acquires the capability information of the core network element for processing the MTC equipment through the interface signaling, and can select the appropriate core network element for the MTC equipment when the MTC equipment is accessed into the network, and the capacity limit set for the core network element can not be exceeded, so that the normal operation of the network can be ensured when a large amount of MTC equipment is accessed into the network, and the possibility of congestion of the core network element is greatly reduced. In addition, the invention can also be applied to all other terminals, and the core network element with corresponding processing capacity is selected for the terminal according to the access grade or priority of the terminal or the service type or service priority initiated by the terminal.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic network layout of an LTE system according to the prior art;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of establishing an S1 interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a network layout of a WCDMA system according to the prior art;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a terminal access system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The basic idea of the invention is that when the terminal accesses the network, the access network element selects a suitable core network for the terminal to prevent the core network element from being overloaded.

Specifically, an access network element acquires access capability information of a core network element for a terminal; when the terminal accesses the network, the access network element selects the core network element for the terminal according to the acquired access capability information of the core network element for the terminal.

Wherein the access capability information for the terminal comprises any combination of one or more of the following information:

the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

The access capability information may be for a specific terminal type, such as MTC device, or may be applicable to all terminal types.

Further, when the access network element selects the core network element accessed by the terminal, the core network element capable of providing the terminal access requirement can be selected for the terminal according to the terminal information carried when the terminal accesses the network;

the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal; or the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal and any combination of one or more of the following information: the access grade information of the terminal, the priority information of the terminal, the service type initiated by the terminal and the service priority information initiated by the terminal.

Further, the access network element acquires the access capability information of the core network element for the terminal through an interface signaling, or the core network element sends the access capability information for the terminal to the access network element through an interface signaling.

The interface signaling includes S1 signaling in an LTE system, or Iu signaling in a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system.

Wherein the S1 signaling comprises: s1 establishing response signaling, MME configuration update signaling, Overload start signaling, or other added S1 signaling;

the Iu signaling includes: overload control start (Overload start) signaling, information transfer indication, reset signaling, or other newly added Iu signaling.

Wherein, the access Network element is a base station in an LTE system, or an RNC (Radio Network Control, Radio Network controller) in a WCDMA system;

the core network element is an MME in the LTE system, an MSC (Mobile Switching Center) and/or an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) in the WCDMA system.

Wherein the terminal comprises an H2H device, an MTC device, a relay node or other wireless access devices. The type indication information of the terminal refers to indication information of an H2H device, indication information of an MTC device, indication information of a relay node, or indication information of other wireless access devices.

For the convenience of describing the present invention, the following detailed description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

Example one

The network layout of the LTE system is shown in fig. 1, where an S1 interface exists between a base station and a core network element MME, and an X2 interface exists between adjacent base stations.

In this embodiment, a base station 1 (any base station in the LTE system) is just powered on, and after obtaining necessary network parameters from a background OAM (Operation & Management, Operation and control server), an S1 interface needs to be established with a core network, so as to provide services for common user equipment under its coverage and also provide services for MTC equipment under its coverage. The process of establishing the S1 interface is shown in fig. 2:

step 201, thebase station 1 sends an S1 establishment Request (S1 Setup Request) to the MME1, where the Request carries information such as a location Area identifier (Track Area Code) and a base station identifier of a cell under the jurisdiction of the base station;

step 202, the MME1 returns S1 Setup Response (S1 Setup Response) to thebase station 1, where the Response includes the Served GUMMEI (global Unique MME Identifier) and the Relative MME capability (Relative MME Capacity);

here, the relative MME capability refers to the processing capability of one MME with respect to another MME, and may be understood as load capability information of the MMEs, which is used for load balancing between MMEs.

In the present invention, the newly added information element indicates the access capability information of the MME1 for the terminal, and the access capability information for the terminal may be: the access-allowed signaling connection rate, the number of the increase-allowed signaling connections, the total access-allowed signaling amount, the access-allowed service connection rate, the number of the increase-allowed service connections and the total access-allowed service amount;

after receiving the S1 establishment response returned by the MME1, thebase station 1 learns that the MME1 has the capability of handling MTC devices, the capability of allowing access to MTC devices, or the capability of handling overload for MTC devices according to the obtained access capability information of the MME1 for the terminal, and applies the MME1 to selection of a core network element (referred to as MME) when the MTC devices access the network. Thebase station 1 also establishes an S1 interface with other MMEs to enable load balancing between MMEs.

After thebase station 1 provides services for the common user equipment and the MTC equipment under the coverage of the base station, when the MTC equipment 1 (here, denoted by MD 1) needs to access a network, initiating a random access in a cell under thebase station 1, and sending an RRC Connection Request (RRC Connection Request) to thebase station 1; thebase station 1 establishes an SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) for the MD1, and sends an RRC Connection Setup Signaling (RRC Connection Setup) to theMD 1; after obtaining the parameters configured by thebase station 1, the MD1 sends an RRC Connection Setup Complete signaling (RRC Connection Setup Complete) to thebase station 1, where the signaling carries non-access stratum signaling (NAS signaling). In the RRC establishment process, the RRC signaling sent by the MD1 to thebase station 1 carries type indication information characterizing the MTC device, so as to distinguish the ordinary user equipment, that is, the H2H device, and the MD1 may carry the type indication information (such as identification information characterizing the MTC device) of the MTC device through an RRC connection request or an RRC connection establishment completion signaling, and may further include: the access level information of the MTC equipment, the priority information of the MTC equipment, the service type initiated by the MTC equipment, or the service priority information initiated by the MTC equipment.

After receiving the RRC connection setup complete signaling carrying the NAS signaling sent by the MD1, thebase station 1 needs to select the MME to send the NAS signaling, and since thebase station 1 learns that the MME1 has the capability of handling the MTC device, the capability of allowing the MTC device to access, or the capability of handling overload for the MTC device through the setup procedure of the S1 interface, thebase station 1 sends an Initial user equipment Message (Initial UE Message) to the MME1 for the MD1, where the Message carries the NAS signaling sent by theMD 1. Thereafter, MME1 configures parameters required for establishing a data radio bearer for MD1, selects an appropriate user plane gateway for MD1, and after establishing a radio access bearer, MD1 may communicate with an MTC server or other MTC devices.

In this embodiment, thebase station 1 learns whether the MME1 has the capability of processing the MTC device through the establishment procedure of the S1 interface, and then can correctly select the MME when the MTC device accesses the network, thereby ensuring that the MTC device can normally perform communication after accessing the network. The MTC device is guided to the MME capable of processing the MTC device, so that overload caused by the fact that a large number of MTC devices are accessed to the common MME is avoided.

In this embodiment, thebase station 1 learns whether the MME1 has the capability of processing the MTC device through the establishment procedure of the S1 interface, or thebase station 1 may obtain whether the MME has the capability of processing the MTC device through an MME Configuration Update signaling (MME Configuration Update) sent by the MME after the S1 interface is established, or thebase station 1 may obtain whether the MME has the capability of processing the MTC device through an Overload start signaling (Overload start) or other newly added S1 signaling after the S1 interface is established. For example, thebase station 1 has already established an S1 interface with a certain MME (MME 2), and then the MME2 has the capability of handling MTC devices due to the upgrade, at this time, the MME2 may indicate that the MME2 has the capability of handling MTC devices, the capability of allowing MTC devices to access, or the capability of handling overload for MTC devices by sending an MME configuration update signaling to thebase station 1, and after being acquired by thebase station 1, the MME2 is applied to the selection of network elements of the core network when the MTC devices access the network.

Example two

The network layout of the WCDMA system is as shown in fig. 3, where RNCs are connected to core network elements MSC and SGSN through Iu interfaces, respectively, an Iur interface is established between RNCs, and an Iub interface is established between an RNC and a base station.

After the RNC accesses the network and establishes an Iu interface with the core network, the RNC establishes the Iu interface with a plurality of MSCs and a plurality of SGSNs in order to realize network sharing and load balancing. When one of the SGSNs (assumed to be SGSN1 herein) has the capability of handling MTC devices after being upgraded, SGSN1 sends to the RNC over the Iu interface a signaling connection rate that allows access, the number of signaling connections that allow re-addition, the total amount of signaling that allows access, the rate of traffic connection that allows access, the number of traffic connections that allow re-addition, or the total amount of traffic that allows access. The SGSN1 may multiplex the existing Iu interface signaling, such as Overload start (Overload start) signaling, Information Transfer Indication (Information Transfer Indication), and Reset (Reset) signaling, or may use the newly added Iu signaling to carry the cell representing the capability of processing MTC devices. After receiving the information element with the capability of processing the MTC device, theRNC 1 applies the information element to the selection of a core network element (SGSN) when the MTC device accesses the network.

After the RNC provides services for common user equipment and MTC equipment covered by the RNC, when the MTC equipment 1 (also referred to as MD1 below) needs to access a network, random access is initiated in a cell (dominated by a base station dominated by the RNC) dominated by the RNC, and an RRC connection request is sent to the RNC; the RNC establishes a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) for the MD1 and sends an RRC connection establishment signaling to theMD 1; after obtaining the parameters configured by the RNC, MD1 sends an RRC connection setup complete signaling to the RNC. In the RRC establishment process, the RRC signaling sent by the MD1 to the RNC carries identification information representing MTC devices to distinguish common user equipment, and the MD1 may carry type indication information of the MTC devices, such as identification information representing MTC devices and class or priority information of the MTC devices, through an RRC connection request or an RRC connection establishment completion signaling. After the SRB is established, the MD1 sends an Initial Direct Transfer (Initial Direct Transfer) to the RNC, which carries NAS layer signaling, and after the RNC receives the Initial Direct Transfer, the RNC needs to select the SGSN to send the NAS signaling, and since the RNC learns that the SGSN1 has the capability of handling MTC devices, the capability of allowing MTC devices to access, or the capability of handling overload for MTC devices through Iu interface signaling, the RNC sends an Initial user equipment Message (Initial UE Message) to the SGSN1 for the MD1, which carries the NAS signaling sent by theMD 1. Thereafter, SGSN1 configures parameters required for establishing a data radio bearer for MD1, selects an appropriate user plane gateway for MD1, and after establishing a radio access bearer, MD1 may communicate with an MTC server or other MTC devices. The core network element supporting the MTC equipment is selected for the MD equipment, so that the overload problem caused by access of a large number of MTC equipment can be avoided.

In this embodiment, the MD1 carries the type indication information characterizing the MTC device through the RRC connection request or RRC connection setup complete signaling, and the MD1 may also carry the type indication information characterizing the MTC device in the initial direct transmission, because the RNC selects the core network element after receiving the initial direct transmission.

In this embodiment, the SGSN is mainly selected for the RNC, because the MTC device usually initiates services in the PS domain, the SGSN needs to be selected for the MTC by the RNC. If the MTC device is also capable of initiating voice service (CS domain service), the RNC needs to select an MSC for MTC, and before selecting the MSC, it needs to obtain capability information of whether the MSC supports the MTC device through an Iu interface.

EXAMPLE III

In this embodiment, a base station 1 (any base station in the LTE system) is powered on and started, and after obtaining necessary network parameters from a background operation and control server (OAM), an S1 interface needs to be established with a core network, so as to provide services for common user equipment under its coverage and also provide services for MTC equipment under its coverage. The procedure for establishing the S1 interface is as follows:

step 301, the base station sends an S1 establishment Request (S1 Setup Request) to the MME1, where the Request carries information such as a location Area identifier (Track Area Code) and a base station identifier of a cell under the jurisdiction of the base station;

in step 302, the MME1 returns S1 Setup Response (S1 Setup Response) including the Served GUMMEI (global Unique MME Identifier) and the Relative MME capability (Relative MME Capacity) to thebase station 1.

The MME1 returns S1 setup response to thebase station 1 carrying access capability information for MTC devices, where the access capability information for MTC devices may be: the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

Then, if the MTC device accesses the network through thebase station 1, thebase station 1 learns the signaling connection rate required by the MTC device through the RRC establishment process, and if the signaling connection rate required by the MTC device exceeds the capability range indicated by the MME1, thebase station 1 cannot select the MME1 to send the initial ue message, and at this time, if none of the MMEs having S1 interfaces with thebase station 1 can provide the signaling connection rate capability required by the MTC device, thebase station 1 will reject the access of the MTC device; if the capability of the MME1 meets the signaling connection rate required by the MTC device, thebase station 1 may select the MME1 to send an initial ue message, and the MTC device may access the network to perform a service.

The MME may send, to the base station, capability information such as a signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, a number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, a total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, a service connection rate allowed to be accessed, a number of service connections allowed to be increased again, and a total amount of service allowed to be accessed through signaling such as S1 setup response, MME configuration update, overload control start, and the like, or the MME may implement transfer of the capability information through an additional S1 signaling.

Example four

In this embodiment, the MME sends, to the base station, access capability information of the MME for the MTC device through signaling such as S1 setup response, MME configuration update, and overload control start, and further, the capability information may be: the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

After receiving the information, the base station applies the information to the selection of the core network element (referred to as MME) when the MTC device accesses the network.

Then, if the MTC device accesses the network through the base station, the base station learns the signaling connection amount of the signaling connection initiated by the MTC device through the RRC establishment process, and if the total amount of the signaling connection currently connecting the base station to a certain MME plus the signaling connection amount newly added to the MTC device exceeds the total amount of the signaling allowed to be accessed indicated by the MME, thebase station 1 cannot select the MME to send an initial ue message; if the total amount of the signaling allowed to be accessed is not exceeded, the base station can select the MME to send an initial user equipment message, and the MTC device can be accessed to the network to carry out service.

In this embodiment, the base station learns the access capability information of the MME for the MTC device through the S1 signaling, the base station may also learn the access capability information of the MME for the MTC device through its background operation and management server, and after learning the capability information of the MME, the base station applies it to MME selection when the MTC device accesses the network.

It should be noted that, in the above embodiment, the implementation of the technical solution of the present invention is specifically described by taking the MTC device as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the MTC device, and may be extended to the selection process of the core network element when all types of terminals access the network. For example, the terminal may also be an H2H device, a relay node, or other wireless access device. The base station or RNC acquires the access capability information of the core network element aiming at various terminals through interface signaling, and then applies the access capability information to the selection of the core network element when the terminal accesses the network.

For H2H devices, it is default that all core network elements of an existing access network element can allow H2H devices with different priorities to access or allow H2H devices initiating different service types to access, and in order to achieve the purpose that the access network element can select a suitable core network element according to the priority of the H2H device or the initiated service type, the access network element needs to know access capability information of the core network element for the H2H device through an S1 interface or an Iu interface.

The Relay Node (Relay Node) is a wireless access device introduced for expanding the coverage area of a cell, reducing dead angle areas in communication and balancing load, the Relay Node is accessed to a network through a cell under the jurisdiction of a base station to provide new network coverage, and H2H equipment or MTC equipment is accessed to the network through the area covered by the Relay Node. When the relay node is accessed to the network, the base station needs to select a core network element supporting the access of the relay node or select a core network element allowing the access level of the relay node to be accessed.

As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a terminal access system, where the system mainly includes a capability information obtaining unit and a terminal access unit in an access network element, where:

the capability information acquiring unit is used for acquiring access capability information of a core network element aiming at the terminal;

and the terminal access unit is used for selecting the core network element for the terminal to be accessed according to the access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal, which is acquired by the capability information acquisition unit when the terminal is accessed into the network.

Preferably, the access capability information for the terminal acquired by the capability information acquiring unit includes one or more of the following information:

the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

Preferably, the access capability information is specific to a specific terminal type or applicable to all terminal types.

Preferably, the terminal access unit is further configured to select a core network element capable of providing a terminal access requirement for the terminal according to the terminal information carried when the terminal accesses the network;

the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal; or the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal and one or more of the following information: the access grade information of the terminal, the priority information of the terminal, the service type initiated by the terminal and the service priority information initiated by the terminal.

Preferably, the system may further comprise a capability information sending unit in a network element of the core network,

the capability information acquiring unit is further configured to acquire, from the capability information sending unit through an interface signaling, access capability information of the core network element for the terminal;

the capability information sending unit is used for sending the access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal to the capability information acquiring unit through an interface signaling;

the interface signaling is S1 signaling in an LTE system or Iu signaling in a WCDMA system.

Preferably, the signaling of S1 is: s1, establishing response signaling, Mobility Management Entity (MME) configuration update signaling, overload control starting signaling or newly added S1 signaling;

the Iu signaling is as follows: overload control start signaling, information transfer indication, reset signaling, or newly added Iu signaling.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps of the above methods may be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a program, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a magnetic or optical disk, and the like. Alternatively, all or part of the steps of the foregoing embodiments may also be implemented by using one or more integrated circuits, and accordingly, each module/unit in the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in the form of hardware, and may also be implemented in the form of a software functional module. The present invention is not limited to any specific form of combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (13)

1. A method for terminal access comprises the following steps:

an access network element acquires access capability information of a core network element aiming at a terminal;

when the terminal accesses the network, the access network element selects the core network element for the terminal according to the acquired access capability information of the core network element for the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the access capability information for the terminal comprises one or more of the following information:

the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

3. The method of claim 2,

the access capability information is specific to a specific terminal type or applicable to all terminal types.

4. The method of claim 1,

when the access network element selects a core network element accessed by the terminal, selecting the core network element capable of providing the terminal access requirement for the terminal according to the terminal information carried when the terminal is accessed to the network;

the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal; or the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal and one or more of the following information: the access grade information of the terminal, the priority information of the terminal, the service type initiated by the terminal and the service priority information initiated by the terminal.

5. The method of claim 1,

the step of the access network element acquiring the access capability information of the core network element for the terminal comprises the following steps:

the access network element acquires access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal from the core network element through an interface signaling; or,

the core network element sends the access capability information aiming at the terminal to the access network element through interface signaling;

wherein the interface signaling is S1 signaling in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or Iu signaling in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system.

6. The method of claim 5,

the signaling of S1 is: s1, establishing response signaling, Mobility Management Entity (MME) configuration update signaling, overload control starting signaling or newly added S1 signaling;

the Iu signaling is as follows: overload control start signaling, information transfer indication, reset signaling, or newly added Iu signaling.

7. The method of claim 1,

the network element of the access network is a base station in an LTE system or a wireless network controller in a WCDMA system;

the core network element is an MME in an LTE system, or a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and/or a general packet radio service technology service support node (SGSN) in a WCDMA system;

the terminal is one or more of the following types: human-to-human (H2H) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, relay nodes.

8. A terminal access system is characterized in that the system comprises a capability information acquisition unit and a terminal access unit in an access network element, wherein:

the capability information acquiring unit is used for acquiring access capability information of a core network element aiming at the terminal;

and the terminal access unit is used for selecting the core network element for the terminal to be accessed according to the access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal, which is acquired by the capability information acquisition unit when the terminal is accessed into the network.

9. The system of claim 8,

the access capability information for the terminal acquired by the capability information acquiring unit includes one or more of the following information:

the signaling connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of signaling connections allowed to be increased again, the total amount of signaling allowed to be accessed, the traffic connection rate allowed to be accessed, the number of traffic connections allowed to be increased again, and the total amount of traffic allowed to be accessed.

10. The system of claim 9,

the access capability information is specific to a specific terminal type or applicable to all terminal types.

11. The system of claim 8,

the terminal access unit is further used for selecting a core network element capable of providing a terminal access requirement for the terminal according to the terminal information carried when the terminal is accessed to the network;

the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal; or the information of the terminal comprises type indication information of the terminal and one or more of the following information: the access grade information of the terminal, the priority information of the terminal, the service type initiated by the terminal and the service priority information initiated by the terminal.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the system further comprises a capability information sending unit in a network element of a core network,

the capability information acquiring unit is further configured to acquire, from the capability information sending unit through an interface signaling, access capability information of the core network element for the terminal;

the capability information sending unit is used for sending the access capability information of the core network element aiming at the terminal to the capability information acquiring unit through an interface signaling;

the interface signaling is S1 signaling in an LTE system or Iu signaling in a WCDMA system.

13. The system of claim 12,

the signaling of S1 is: s1, establishing response signaling, Mobility Management Entity (MME) configuration update signaling, overload control starting signaling or newly added S1 signaling;

the Iu signaling is as follows: overload control start signaling, information transfer indication, reset signaling, or newly added Iu signaling.

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