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WO2014187492A1 - Procédé et appareil de contrôle de l'accès d'un terminal de communications à des réseaux d'accès - Google Patents

Procédé et appareil de contrôle de l'accès d'un terminal de communications à des réseaux d'accès Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2014187492A1
WO2014187492A1 PCT/EP2013/060628 EP2013060628W WO2014187492A1 WO 2014187492 A1 WO2014187492 A1 WO 2014187492A1 EP 2013060628 W EP2013060628 W EP 2013060628W WO 2014187492 A1 WO2014187492 A1 WO 2014187492A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
access network
service
communications terminal
node
terminal
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2013/060628
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Miguel Angel Garcia Martin
Pablo Martinez De La Cruz
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority to PCT/EP2013/060628 priority Critical patent/WO2014187492A1/fr
Publication of WO2014187492A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014187492A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
    • H04W48/08—Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery
    • H04W48/14—Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery using user query or user detection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
    • H04L41/0893—Assignment of logical groups to network elements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
    • H04L41/0894—Policy-based network configuration management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/14—Reselecting a network or an air interface
    • H04W36/144—Reselecting a network or an air interface over a different radio air interface technology
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/14—Reselecting a network or an air interface
    • H04W36/144—Reselecting a network or an air interface over a different radio air interface technology
    • H04W36/1446—Reselecting a network or an air interface over a different radio air interface technology wherein at least one of the networks is unlicensed

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to methods and apparatuses to control access by a communications terminal to access networks. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and
  • a communications terminal operable to connect to a telecommunication system was a communications terminal which operation was driven by a human user.
  • These kind of terminals are commonly known as user terminal or user equipment, UE, and comprise e.g. mobile and fixed telephones, personal computers, etc.
  • UE user terminal or user equipment
  • M2M machine-to-machine
  • communications terminals /devices communications terminals /devices .
  • M2M machine-to-machine
  • M2M terminal is a device comprising a sensor metering a certain parameter (e.g. temperature, electric consumption, etc) and communication means for transmitting the metered value e.g. at certain intervals.
  • the term communications terminal is used to refer indistinctly to terminals operated by human users and to self- operated/autonomous terminals (M2M) .
  • M2M self- operated/autonomous terminals
  • UE or the term “terminal” is used to refer indistinctly to a communications terminal operated by a human user or to a M2M communications device.
  • the access networks to which a communications terminal can connect comprises, for example, the so called “3GPP access networks” (e.g.: 2G or 3G GERAN, UTRAN, E-UTRAN) and the so called “non-3GPP access networks” (e.g.: WLAN, WiMAX) .
  • 3GPP access networks e.g.: 2G or 3G GERAN, UTRAN, E-UTRAN
  • non-3GPP access networks e.g.: WLAN, WiMAX
  • the ANDSF is a control node operable to send to a communications terminal access network policy messages comprising access network policy information, wherein said network policy information is usable by the communications terminal so as to allow it to change a data connection from a first access network to which the communications terminal is currently connected (e.g. a data connection established between the terminal and a 3GPP or non- 3GPP access network) to a second access network (i.e. a further access network to which the terminal can connect) .
  • the ANDSF is an example of a control node operable to control access by a communications terminal to access networks.
  • the functionality of the ANDSF is described e.g. by the aforementioned 3GPP specification TS 23.402, e.g. in chapter 4.8.2.1, or by the 3GPP specification TS 24.302
  • the access network policy information that can be received by a communications terminal from a ANDSF comprise, among other:
  • Access network discovery information policies that are usable by the terminal to discover and connect to access networks available on its geographical vicinity.
  • ISMP Inter-System Mobility Policies
  • the ISMP policies also establish when a change of a data connection of the terminal from a first access network to a second access network is allowed or restricted (e.g. setting out that
  • ISRP Inter-System Routing Policies
  • This type of policies allows a rich expression, for example, allowing routing some data flows of a service over one access network, and some other data flows (of the same or different service) over a different access network.
  • the ISMP or ISRP policies can be sorted by priority. Each policy contains information of one more access networks (also sorted by priority) that the terminal should try to connect to at a given time.
  • the access network policy information sent by the ANDSF to a communications terminal e.g. the policies listed above are envisaged to be preconfigured by the
  • telecommunications operator to which the user (or owner) of the terminal is subscribed, and are preferably shaped to be
  • the access network policy information sent by the ANDSF to a communications terminal is preferably based on terminal's location and/or based on traffic distribution policies determined by the telecommunications operator to which the terminal is subscribed.
  • a communications terminal i.e. by enforcing the access network policy information conveyed in said message
  • a communications terminal can change its current established data connection/s with a first access network to a second access network, which can be beneficial in view of e.g. the current location of the terminal and the available access networks on its vicinity.
  • This change of access network for a data connection of the communications terminal affects to the communication service/s currently being executed by the terminal using its current access to the first access network and via the one or more data connections established between the terminal and said first access network -insofar as such a change affects to all the data flows that, originating or terminating in the terminal, conveys signalling and/or media information related to these services, and which are susceptible to be handed-over (moved) to the second access network (i.e. according to the contents of the access network policy message received by the terminal)-.
  • the expression "communication service” -as referred in the present application- relates to a service that is initiated or terminated by a communications terminal with another communication endpoint via a connection of the terminal with an access network of a telecommunications system, wherein the other communication endpoint can be e.g. a further communications terminal or an application server connected to said system via the same or different access network, or even via further interconnection network (e.g. an intranet or the Internet) .
  • the expression "communication service” -as referred in the present application- relates to a service that is initiated or terminated by a communications terminal with another communication endpoint via a connection of the terminal with an access network of a telecommunications system, wherein the other communication endpoint can be e.g. a further communications terminal or an application server connected to said system via the same or different access network, or even via further interconnection network (e.g. an intranet or the Internet) .
  • communication service refers to communications established end-to-end, via the telecommunications system, between communication endpoints (e.g.: communication terminals, or application servers providing application services to
  • the change of access network can cause, in some cases, the communications terminal to be assigned to a new IP address (i.e. an IP address assigned by the second access network to the terminal as a result of the terminal's new access to said network) .
  • This change of IP address can, in turn, disturb the media received and/or sent by the terminal in relationship with a communications service that was currently executed by the terminal via its (old) connection with the first access network, since the IP address related to the media it receives from (or sends to) another endpoint (e.g. an application server or a further communications terminal) changes and, thus, needs to be re-signalled towards the other endpoint.
  • Disturbances on data packets e.g. by way of loss of packets, excessive or highly varying delay on reception of data packets, etc) affects
  • the present inventors have conceived a solution wherein the sending of access network policy information to a
  • communications terminal is determined according to the one or more communication services currently being executed by the terminal .
  • the invention provides a method for controlling at a control node the access by a communications terminal to access networks.
  • the method comprises the step of obtaining at the control node service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal via a currently established connection with a first access network, and the step of determining by the control node whether the step of sending an access network policy message to the
  • control node can proceed with the step of sending an access network policy message to the
  • the step of obtaining by the control node service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal comprises the step of receiving at the control node a service notification message comprising said service information.
  • the service notification message can be received from a reporter node or from the communications terminal.
  • the reporter node can be an inspection node operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal via its currently established connection with the first access network.
  • the reporter node can also be a policy decision node operable to decide policies in respect to quality of service for data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal via its currently established connection with the first access network.
  • the method comprises the step of sending by the control node a subscription message to the at least one of the reporter node and the communications terminal for subscribing to receive information about the services currently executed by the communications terminal, and the step of receiving at the control node, as a response to the subscription message, the service notification message.
  • the service notification message received by the control node comprises service
  • the step of determining at the control node whether sending or not the access network policy message further comprises the step of determining at the control node the memory capacity of the communications terminal to store information received via data packets .
  • the network access policy message sent by the control node further comprises an
  • enforcement time for start the enforcing by the communications terminal of access network policy information contained in said message according to said enforcement time.
  • the enforcement time is determined at the control node based at least on the obtained service information.
  • the enforcement time can also be determined based on the determined memory capacity of the terminal .
  • the invention provides a method in a
  • the method comprises the step of obtaining at the reporter node service information about a communication service currently executed by a communications terminal via a currently established data connection of the communications terminal with a first access network.
  • the method further comprises the step of sending by the reporter node, based on the obtained service information, a service notification message comprising service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal to a control node controlling access by the communications terminal to access networks.
  • the service information sent from the reporter node to the control node is usable by the control node for determining the sending of an access network policy message to the communications terminal comprising access network policy information usable by the communications terminal to change a data connection from the first access network, to which the communications terminal is currently connected, to a second access network.
  • the invention provides a method in a
  • the method comprises the step of sending by the communications terminal to a control node a service notification message comprising service information about a communication service currently being executed by the terminal.
  • the method further comprises the steps of: receiving at the communications terminal from the control node an access network policy message, the message comprising access network policy information, that is determined by the control node based on the service information contained in said service notification message, and that is usable by the communications terminal to change a data connection from a first access
  • the invention also provides apparatuses adapted to, correspondingly, execute the methods described above.
  • the invention provides in further aspects: a control node, a reporter node, and a communications terminal.
  • control node implements an Access Network Discovery and Selection Function, ANDSF.
  • ANDSF Access Network Discovery and Selection Function
  • the reporter node implements a Traffic Detection Function, TDF, or a Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF .
  • TDF Traffic Detection Function
  • PCRF Policy and Charging Rules Function
  • Figure 1 shows a simplified diagram of a telecommunications system illustrating some new interfaces according to
  • Figure 2A shows flow charts illustrating processing steps executed by a control node according to an embodiment of the invention .
  • Figure 2B shows flow charts illustrating processing steps executed by a reporter node according to an embodiment of the invention .
  • Figure 2C shows a flow chart illustrating processing steps executed by a communications terminal according to an
  • Figures 3 to 6 show signalling flows among some entities shown by Fig.l illustrating some embodiments of the invention.
  • Figure 7 shows a block diagram showing functional details of a control node according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 8 shows a block diagrams showing functional details of two different kind of reporter nodes according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 9 shows a block diagram showing functional details of a communications terminal according to an embodiment of the invention .
  • Figure 10 shows a computer hardware capable of operating
  • the examples disclosed below comprises method and apparatuses to control the sending of access network policy information to a communications terminal, which is usable by the terminal to change a data connection from a first access network to a second access network.
  • the sending of access network policy information to a communications terminal is, according to the examples disclosed below, determined according information obtained about to the one or more communication services
  • the Fig.l shows schematically a telecommunications system, 10, comprising: a first and a second access network (AN-1 and AN-2), and a terminal (UE) currently connected via a data connection to the system 10 through a first access network (AN-1) .
  • the Fig.l also shows: some nodes that intervene in respect to the connection of the terminal with the first or second access network (ANDSF, PCRF-1, TDF-1, PCRF-2, TDF-2), an application server (AS) that provides a communications service to the terminal -or that intervenes in the provision of said service- (e.g.: a voice over IP service, a web browsing service, a video and/or audio streaming service, etc), and an interconnection network (I-NET) that it is used to route the data packets exchanged between the communication service's endpoints (UE, AS) for accomplishing with the communications service.
  • ANDSF first or second access network
  • AS application server
  • I-NET interconnection network
  • the telecommunications system can comprise many other nodes that intervene in the data connection of the UE to the system 10, which, for the sake of simplicity, are not shown in the figure.
  • the functionality of a node implementing an ANDSF has been described in the background section.
  • the ANDSF is a control node operable to send access network policy messages to the UE comprising access network policy information that is usable by the UE to change a data connection currently
  • a data communication service between two endpoints e.g. a communication service between a terminal, UE, and another communications endpoint -such as an application server AS or another UE- often involves, on the one hand, a control plane and, on the other hand, a user plane, also known as media plane or user plane.
  • the control plane is in charge of conveying signalling messages for
  • SIP Session Initiation Protocol
  • An example of a protocol conveying signalling messages for controlling communication service of the type streaming is the "Real-Time Streaming
  • RTSP Real-Time Transport Protocol
  • RTP Real-Time Transport Protocol
  • the RTSP protocol allows negotiating a number of media streams in the user plane for conveying -via one or more streams of data packets- media information of the communication service in question (e.g. a VoIP service, a streaming service, etc).
  • PCEF- Policy Enforcement Function
  • decision point PCRF via the so called “Gx” or “Sd” interfaces (Fig.l: interfaces 105, 106), to the nodes that are involved in routing and/or inspecting packet data flows conveying media and/or signaling related to a service executed by an UE by means of the so called “Policy and Charging rules, PCC” and by means of the so called “Application Detection and Control rules, ADC”.
  • PCC Policy and Charging rules
  • ADC Application Detection and Control rules
  • the ADC rules are relevant for the nodes performing the TDF functionality and comprise information to allow detection (by the TDF) and report (to the PCRF, e.g. via interfaces 105, 106) service information about the services being executed by the terminal via its currently established data connection ( s ) .
  • the PCEF and the TDF functionalities can be co-located within the same physical node (typically, a gateway node, such as a GGSN or a Packet Data Network Gateway, PDN-GW) and, in said particular implementation, the node is called to be a PCEF enhanced with TDF (or ADC) functionality.
  • a gateway node such as a GGSN or a Packet Data Network Gateway, PDN-GW
  • TDF Packet Data Network Gateway
  • the illustrated TDF(s) is however not limited to a node implementing just the TDF functionality (also called as Application Detection Control, ADC, functionality) , but can be also e.g. any kind of node (e.g. a GGSN or a PDN-GW) operable to perform inspection (e.g. shallow or deep inspection) on the contents of the data packets sent and/or received by the TDF(s)
  • ADC Application Detection Control
  • terminal e.g. a gateway node operable to behave as a PCEF enhanced with a TDF/ADC functionality. Therefore, for
  • Fig.l shows two different sets of TDF and PCRF nodes ( TDF- 1 , PCRF-1; TDF-2, PCRF-2) that can intervene in the data
  • connection of the UE depending on its access network e.g. TDF- 1 and PCRF-1 in respect to the data connection of UE to AN-1, and TDF-2 and PCRF-2 in respect to the data connection of UE to AN-2) .
  • TDF- 1 and PCRF-1 in respect to the data connection of UE to AN-1
  • TDF-2 and PCRF-2 in respect to the data connection of UE to AN-2
  • a common case is that the same PCRF (and, likely, also the same TDF) is used regardless of if the UE connects to the system 10 via AN-1 or via AN-2.
  • the path of the data packets exchanged between the communication endpoints (UE, AS) of a communications service are illustrated by solid lines and the control interfaces between nodes are illustrated by dashed lines.
  • control interfaces are provided below with references -in some cases- to the control interfaces currently envisaged by 3GPP specifications.
  • .- 101 Illustrates a prior-art interface: the so called “S14" interface between a communications terminal (UE) and a control node operable to control access by the terminal to one or more access networks (ANDSF) .
  • S14 the so called "S14" interface between a communications terminal (UE) and a control node operable to control access by the terminal to one or more access networks (ANDSF) .
  • the functionality of the S14 interface is detailed by the aforementioned 3GPP TS 24.302 on chapter 6.8, and the data (called “management objects", MO) that can be managed by the information exchanged between an ANDSF and a terminal (UE) via the S14 interface are detailed by the
  • the S14 interface allows the UE to request network access policies to the ANDSF, and also allows the ANDSF to push
  • the network access policies into the UE also in an unsolicited manner.
  • the access network policies are transmitted by the
  • ANDSF to the UE in an access network policy message are usable by the UE to discover a certain access network (e.g. AN- 2) and/or to switch a data connection currently established by the UE with an access network (e.g. change a data connection from AN-1 to AN-2) .
  • the "S14" interface (101) is enhanced so as to allow the UE to send to the ANDSF a service notification message comprising service information about one or more of the communication 7
  • the service (s) currently being executed by the terminal as well as to allow the ANDSF to send a subscription message to the UE for subscribing to receive information about the service (s) in execution by the communications terminal.
  • the service (s) currently being executed by the terminal, as well as to allow the ANDSF to send a subscription message to the UE for subscribing to receive information about the service (s) in execution by the communications terminal.
  • notification message can be a new type message sent by the UE to the ANDSF via the "S14" interface (101) .
  • the UE can send the
  • the subscription message that can (optionally) be sent from the ANDSF to the UE can consist on a new type of message or, advantageously, be accomplished by a modification of the existing messages already defined for pushing access network policies from the ANDSF to the UE by mean of including new information elements (e.g. identifying specific services, or type of services, to be reported by the UE) .
  • new information elements e.g. identifying specific services, or type of services, to be reported by the UE.
  • .- 103 and 104 Illustrates a new interface between a control node operable to control access by a communications terminal to access networks (ANDSF) and an inspection node (TDF) operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal via its currently established connection with an access network.
  • This new interface allows the ANDSF to obtain, directly, from a node that inspect packets sent and/or received from a UE (TDF-1, TDF-2) service
  • a communication service (s) in execution by the UE i.e. that can be one, more than one, or even none if, e.g., the UE is operative but idle in respect to initiated and/or terminated communication services
  • the ANDSF to send a subscription message to the inspecting node (TDF-1, TDF-2) for subscribing to receive information about the service (s) currently executed by the communications terminal.
  • a node (TDF) operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal can further act, according to embodiments of the invention, as a reporter node in respect to the control node (ANDSF) , insofar as the reporter node sends information to the control node (ANDSF) about communication service (s) currently executed by the
  • This new interface (103, 104) allow a fast and efficient manner of reporting events of service (s) going on in a terminal (UE) to a control node (ANDSF) , so that the control node (ANDSF) , based on said service reported events -which are detected on "real-time" by the packet inspector node (TDF) -, determines whether or not an access network policy message is to be sent to the terminal (UE) and, therefore, allows the control node (ANDSF) to control in a fast and efficient manner when (and if) a change of access network for a connection of the terminal (UE) can take place depending on the service/s currently executed by the terminal (UE) .
  • this new interface (103, 104) provides the control node (ANDSF) with -say- service awareness information about the communication service/s executed by the terminal (UE) when the application server/s involved in the provision of said service/s do not implement the so called "Rx" interface (which should be described later) towards a policy decision node (PCRF) .
  • ANDSF control node
  • PCRF policy decision node
  • .- 105 and 106 Illustrates a prior-art interface: the so called “Sd” (and/or "Gx") interface.
  • the "Sd” (and/or the "Gx") interface is used by a policy decision node that is operable to decide policies in respect to quality of service for data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal (PCRF-1, PCRF-2) to download "Application Detection and Control rules", ADC, in a node involved in routing and/or inspecting packet data flows conveying media and/or signalling related to a service executed by an UE (TDF-1, TDF-2; as well as PCEF -not illustrated in Fig.l) .
  • the "Sd” (and/or the "Gx") interface is also used by the nodes routing and/or inspecting packet data flows (TDF-1,
  • TDF-2 TDF-2 of the UE to report events relating to the communication services currently executed by the UE (e.g. start, stop and interim events, in respect to these services) .
  • events relating to the communication services currently executed by the UE e.g. start, stop and interim events, in respect to these services.
  • the TS 29.212 discloses that the PCRF can download ADC rules in a TDF node or in a PCEF node enhanced with ADC capabilities, and subsequently receive from any of these nodes information relating to the communication services currently executed by the UE (e.g. TS 29.212; chapter 4b.3.1 -for the case of "Sd”/TDF-, and chapter 4.3b .1 -for the case of
  • .- 107 and 108 Illustrates a new interface between a control node operable to control access by a communications terminal to access networks (ANDSF) and a policy decision node (PCRF-1, PCRF-2) operable to decide policies in respect to quality of service for data packets sent and/or received by the
  • ANDSF communications terminal to access networks
  • PCRF-1, PCRF-2 policy decision node
  • This new interface allows the ANDSF to obtain from a policy decision node (PCRF-1, PCRF-2) service information about a communication service currently executed by the UE, as well as to allow the ANDSF to send a subscription message to the policy decision node (PCRF-1, PCRF- 2) for subscribing to receive information about the
  • the policy decision node (PCRF-1,
  • PCRF-2) can report via this new interface (107/108) information about communication services executed on the UE based on the information received by the policy decision node (PCRF-1, PCRF- 2) via the interfaces 105/106 described earlier, or via the interfaces 109/110 (described later) .
  • a node (PCRF) operable to decide policies in respect to quality of service for data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal can further act, according to embodiments of the invention, as a reporter node in respect to the control node (ANDSF) , insofar as the reporter node sends information to the control node
  • a policy decision node can receive updated information about the communication service/s going on in a terminal (UE) from different sources (e.g.: from TDFs via the interfaces 105/106 described earlier, and or from ASs via interfaces 109/110 -"Rx"- that will be described below), this new interface (107, 108) allow an efficient -and centralized- manner of reporting events of service (s) going on in a terminal (UE) to a control node (ANDSF) from a single type of node of the telecommunications system (PCRF) ; thereby, diminishing implementation impacts since only two kind of existing nodes need to be modified (e.g. only ANDSF nodes and PCRF nodes) for accomplishing with this embodiment of the invention.
  • PCRF policy decision node
  • .- 109 and 110 Illustrates a prior-art interface: the so called “Rx" interface.
  • the "Rx" interface is defined by the aforementioned TS 23.203 between a policy decision node (PCRF-1, PCRF-2) and an application server (AS) that provides a communications service to the terminal -or that intervenes in the provision of said service- (referred in TS 23.203 as
  • PCRF-1, PCRF-2 policy decision node
  • AS application server
  • AF Application Function
  • PCRF-1 Policy Decision node
  • AS service information reported by the AF
  • PCRF-2 policy decision node
  • PCRF-1 Policy Decision node-2
  • AS service information reported by the AF
  • PCRF-1 policy decision node
  • AS application server
  • AS application server
  • P-CSCF Proxy-Call Session Control Function
  • the P-CSCF intervenes - together with other servers of the IMS- in the provision of communication services to the terminal (e.g. Voice over IP, VoIP, services provided to the terminal, UE) that are
  • FIG. 2A shows flow charts illustrating processing steps executed by a control node operable to control access by a communications terminal to an access network.
  • the processing steps illustrated by Fig.2A are executed by a control node apparatus (700) that can be arranged as illustrated in Fig.7.
  • the control node can be a node
  • control node (ANDSF) can draw on service information received via a reporter node (e.g. TDF-1, PCRF-1; TDF-2, PCRF-2) , or on information received from the terminal (UE) . .- Step 2120: The control node (ANDSF) determines, depending on the obtained service information, whether to send or not an access network policy message to the communications terminal (UE) . If it is determined that the access network policy message is to be sent to the terminal ("Y"), then the execution proceed to step 2130.
  • a reporter node e.g. TDF-1, PCRF-1; TDF-2, PCRF-2
  • the execution can -as illustrated in the example of the figure- proceed back to step 2010 for obtaining updated service information (e.g. periodically, and/or upon reception of new service notification messages, 2114) .
  • the communications terminal (UE) an access network policy message.
  • the message sent in step 2130 comprises access network policy information usable by the terminal that e.g. allows the
  • the Fig.2A further shows, on the right side, optional details for accomplishing with the step 2110 of obtaining by the control node (ANDSF) service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) , which are described below. Optional steps are surrounded by a dashed line. .- Step 2112:
  • the control node (ANDSF) sends a subscription message to a reporter node (e.g. TDF-1, PCRF-1; TDF-2, PCRF-2) , or to the communications terminal (UE) , for subscribing to receive information about the services currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) .
  • a reporter node e.g. TDF-1, PCRF-1; TDF-2, PCRF-2
  • Step 2114 The control node (ANDSF) receives a service notification message comprising service information about the service (s) currently being executed by the communications terminal (UE) . Then, as illustrated, the process continues by proceeding to step 2120.
  • step 2120 can be made by the control node (ANDSF) based on information preconfigured in said node in respect to, among other: services -or type of services- that can be executed by a terminal (UE) versus rules determining whether to send or not an access network policy message that might be sent e.g. according to the current terminal's location. Other factors can also be taken into consideration for defining said rules in the control node (ANDSF), such as: information about the memory capacity of the terminal (which can be
  • the rules configured in the control node (ANDSF) for accomplishing with the determination of step 2120 can comprise: that an access network policy message must not be sent to the terminal (UE) if e.g. there is/are
  • N a conversational or real-time service
  • notification message (2114) can be received by the control node (ANDSF) without sending previously a subscription message (e.g. the functionality for sending a service notification message,
  • to the ANDSF can be previously configured in the reporter node, and/or in the UE) .
  • the subscription message that can be sent on step 2112 can specify the service/s which are to be reported by the reporter node; for example, by means of specific service identifiers identifying services in particular (e.g.: “IMS”, “Google”, “WhatsApp”, “YouTube”, etc), or by means of specifying just service types (e.g. real-time conversational services,
  • the service notification message received on step 2114 can also comprise service information in respect to a service on the terminal (UE) that identifies the service in particular (e.g. "YouTube") or just a type of service that correspond to said service (e.g. streamming) .
  • UE terminal
  • service information in respect to a service on the terminal (UE) that identifies the service in particular (e.g. "YouTube") or just a type of service that correspond to said service (e.g. streamming) .
  • the new interfaces (Fig.l: 103/104 or 107/108) between the control node (ANDSF) and a reporter node (TDF or PCRF) can be accomplished by using the well known protocol "DIAMETER".
  • This protocol is commonly utilized by many nodes of telecommunications networks, is easily extensible (i.e. by allowing definition of new messages and new information
  • Attribute-value-peers AVPs
  • the subscription of step 2112 and the notification of step 2114 can be any convenient subscription of step 2112 and the notification of step 2114. More precisely, the subscription of step 2112 and the notification of step 2114 can be any convenient subscription of step 2112 and the notification of step 2114. More precisely, the subscription of step 2112 and the notification of step 2114 can be any convenient subscription of step 2112 and the notification of step 2114.
  • This message is for accomplishing with the subscription message described in step 2112.
  • the control node (ANDSF) sends this message to a reporter node (TDF or PCRF) to indicate that it is interested in receiving service notifications for one or more users.
  • the message can also be used by the control node (ANDSF) to indicate to a reporter node (TDF or PCRF) to discontinue the reception of these notifications.
  • This message can include AVPs describing: the operation type (subscribe or unsubscribe) ; the identity of user and/or terminal to be subscribed to (e.g. by means of a user or terminal identifier such as: MSISDN, IMSI, IMEI, an IP address assigned to the terminal of the user, etc) ; the
  • service/s or type of service/s to be notified e.g.: any service, streaming services, conversational services, etc.
  • the suggested subscription expiration time e.g. the identity of the node to which notifications should be sent.
  • IP address and port number e.g. IP address and port number
  • Subscription Request message can comprise only an identity of user/subscriber or of a terminal; which requests the reporter node to send a service notification message (2114) for events in respect to any communication service executed by the 7
  • Subscription Request message do not comprise any user or terminal identifier; which requests the reporter node to send a service notification message (2114) for events in respect to any communication service executed by any terminal known by the reporter node on its operation.
  • Subscription Request the reporter node (TDF or PCRF) sends this message to the control node (ANDSF) .
  • This message can include AVPs indicating: the fate of the Subscription Requested (e.g.: Accepted or Not Accepted), and the agreed subscription expiration time.
  • the control node (ANDSF) receives this message from a reporter node (TDF or PCRF) , either, as a result of a previous
  • Subscription Request message (STEP 2112), or as a result of a service notification functionality configured in the reporter node.
  • This message can contain the following APVs : the identity of the user and/or terminal to which this service notification relates to (e.g.
  • a user identifier such as MSISDN, IMS I, an IP address assigned to the terminal of the user, etc
  • an identifier identifying the service or the service type, information event about the identified service e.g.: "start action” -stating that the service has been started-, "interim report” -stating information that the service is still going on-, or "end action” -stating that the service has ended-
  • an identifier of the reporter node and/or of the application server involved in the service e.g.
  • the "Notification Request" message comprise only: an identity of user or of the terminal, and an identifier of a service or type of service (which can be set to a predefined default value to indicate "no service”) .
  • the control node can send this message to the TDF as an optional acknowledge to the reception of a "Notification Request” message.
  • Embodiments of the invention in respect to a control node provide an effective solution for controlling the change of data connections of a communications terminal taking into account, not only the location of said terminal and the access network policies defined by the network operator holding the subscription of said terminal, but also the current
  • Figure 2B shows flow charts illustrating processing steps executed by a reporter node. General processing steps are illustrated by the flow chart on the left of the figure.
  • the reporter node (TDF, PCRF) obtains service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) .
  • the reporter node (TDF, PCRF) based on the obtained service information, sends a service notification message comprising service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) to a control node (ANDSF) controlling access by the
  • TDF reporter node
  • PCRF control node
  • steps 2210 and 2220 can be repeatedly executed by the reporter node, for example, periodically and/or at detection by the reporter node of events relating to a service executed by the terminal (e.g. start service events, stop service events, or interim service events) .
  • the service notification message of step 2220 can be any suitable service notification message.
  • the Fig.2B further shows on the flow chart illustrated in the center of the figure implementation details for accomplishing with the step 2210 of obtaining by the reporter node service information about a communication service currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) , wherein the reporter node is a node operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal (TDF) .
  • Optional steps are surrounded by a dashed line. According to one
  • Fig.2B the processing steps illustrated by Fig.2B are executed by a reporter node apparatus (810) that can be
  • the reporter node can be a node implementing just a TDF, or a node implementing a PCEF with ADC capabilities.
  • the reporter node (TDF) may optionally receive from the control node (ANDSF) a subscription message from the control node for subscribing to receive information about the services currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) .
  • the service notification message of step 2220 can thus be sent as a response to the subscription message received by the reporter node (TDF) in step 2212.
  • the reporter node performs inspection (e.g. shallow and/or deep packet inspection, P.I.) on the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the communications
  • a shallow packet inspection comprises inspection of the so called IP-5 tuples on a data packet (which comprise: origination IP address and port, destination IP address and port, and the protocol over IP, such as TCP or UDP) .
  • a shallow inspection can thus be used to detect and identify a data packet (which comprise: origination IP address and port, destination IP address and port, and the protocol over IP, such as TCP or UDP) .
  • DPI deep packet inspection
  • a DPI comprises inspection of the so called payload contents of a data packet, which implies an inspection beyond the packet's header information (i.e. beyond the IP-5 tuples) .
  • Step 2216 The reporter node (TDF) obtains, as a result of said inspection, service information about the communication services currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) . Then, as illustrated, the process in the reporter node (TDF) continues by proceeding to step 2220.
  • Fig.2B further shows on the flow chart illustrated in the right part of the figure implementation details for
  • the reporter node is a policy decision node operable to decide policies in respect to quality of service for data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal (PCRF) .
  • Optional steps are surrounded by a dashed line.
  • the processing steps illustrated by Fig.2B are executed by a reporter node apparatus (820) that can be
  • the reporter node can be a node implementing a PCRF.
  • the reporter node may optionally receive from the control node (ANDSF) a subscription message from the control node for subscribing to receive information about the services currently executed by the communications terminal (UE) .
  • the service notification message of step 2220 can thus be sent as a response to the subscription message received by the reporter node (PCRF) in step 2213.
  • AS Application Function
  • the reporter node can also receive a notification message comprising information about a communication service executed by the terminal (UE) from a node inspecting the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the terminal (e.g. a TDF node), for example via the aforementioned "Sd" (or "Gx") interface. Said step is not disclosed by Fig.2B -right side-, but can take place in
  • the subscription message of steps 2212 or 2213 can be
  • Embodiments of the invention in respect to a reporter node e.g. a TDF or a PCRF
  • a control node e.g. a PCRF
  • a reporter node e.g. a TDF or a PCRF
  • ANDSF control node
  • Figure 2C shows a flow chart illustrating processing steps executed by a communications terminal.
  • the processing steps illustrated by Fig.2C are executed by a communications terminal apparatus (900) that can be arranged as illustrated in Fig.9.
  • the communications
  • terminal can be any kind of terminal that is operable to
  • the communications terminal can be a mobile telephone, a personal computer or a Machine to Machine M2M communications device.
  • Step 2310 The communications terminal (UE) sends to a control node (ANDSF) a service notification message comprising service information about one or more communication service (s)
  • Step 2320 The communications terminal (UE) receives from the control node (ANDSF) an access network policy message.
  • the access network policy message comprises access network policy information usable by the terminal to change at least one of its data connections (or all) from a first access network (AN-1) -to which the terminal is currently connected for the affected data connection/s- to a second access network (AN-2) .
  • the message of step 2320 is sent by the control node (ANDSF) to the communications terminal (UE) upon a
  • the access network policy determination made by the control node (ANDSF) based on the service information contained by the service notification message sent by the terminal (UE) on step 2310. According to this particular embodiment, the access network policy
  • Step 2330 The communications terminal (UE) changes a data connection currently established with a first access network (AN-1) to a second access network (AN-2) , responsive to the access network policy information received in the message of step 2320.
  • the process in the communications terminal can continue by repeating the sending of step 2310; for example, periodically, and/or at occurrence of some service execution event of a communications service running on the terminal, such as start service events, stop service events, or interim service events.
  • Embodiments of the invention in respect to a communications terminal (UE) and, more specifically, in respect to the new service information communication features disclosed herein to communicate with a control node (ANDSF) , provide an effective solution to prevent eventual service disruptions that can be experienced by the terminal due to access network changes.
  • UE communications terminal
  • ANDSF control node
  • controller node (ANDSF) and a node (TDF) performing packet inspection on packets sent and/or received by the
  • the ANDSF plays an important role as responsible for commanding to the UE the switch over from one to another access network.
  • a new interface (103, 104) between a node implementing a TDF functionality and a node implementing the ANDSF functionality.
  • Said new interface allows the ANDSF node to receive service information in respect to events of a communication service executed by a communications terminal in a quick and efficient manner, since the TDF node is operable to inspect on real-time the contents of the packets sent and/or received by the terminal and, thus, to detect on real-time events (e.g. start, interim, and/or stop events) related to a service currently executed by the terminal.
  • the TDF node is, according to a preferred embodiment, operable to send the corresponding service information in respect to a terminal to the control node (ANDSF) within a service notification message.
  • TDF The functionality of a TDF node is described for example by the aforementioned 3GPP TS 23.203 (e.g. on chapter 6.2.9) .
  • the TDF is a functional entity that performs application/service usage detection by inspecting data packets exchanged by a
  • the communications endpoint such as an UE
  • the TDF reports information of detected application/service usage by an UE to a policy decision function (called in 3GPP terminology as PCRF)
  • PCRF policy decision function
  • the TDF functionality can be implemented by an stand-alone (i.e. dedicated) server, or can be co-located within any node routing packets to/from a UE, such as a Gateway GRPS support node (GGSN) , or a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN gateway) .
  • GGSN Gateway GRPS support node
  • PDN gateway Packet Data Network Gateway
  • the new interface (103, 104) between a ANDSF and a TDF disclosed by embodiments of the present invention allows, for example:
  • the ANDSF to, optionally, subscribe in the TDF to certain events of one or more users in respect to the communication service/s these users are currently using from their respective terminals (UEs) ; and
  • the ANDSF to receive e.g. periodic notifications from the TDF indicating service information events in respect of the communications services executed by said UEs such: type of downloaded content (e.g., data, streaming, real-time
  • the ANDSF uses the received service information as input in determining whether a change of access network currently utilized by the UE of a user (which can result in a 7
  • the UE engages in a real-time
  • conversational service e.g. such as a "voice over IP" call with another UE
  • conversational service via the intervention of nodes of an IP
  • the TDF by inspecting the packets sent and/or received by said UE, determines that a real-time
  • the ANDSF holds any potential access network policy changes in respect to this UE (e.g. determined also according to its current location) until said session is finished, in order to not disturb it due to a change in the access network currently utilized by said UE .
  • the ANDSF will not download an updated access network selection policy to the UE whilst said UE is involved in a conversational service session if said policy can involve a change of access network currently utilized by the UE .
  • the ANDSF will wait to be notified from the TDF about the event that said service session has ended in said UE, and then download to it the updated policy.
  • a UE is accessing a service of type streaming (e.g. such as video clip playback, internet radio, audio streaming, etc.) .
  • the TDF by inspecting the packets sent/received by the UE, determines that a streaming service is going on for the UE and informs the ANDSF of the start of a service of type streaming for this UE, and other associated parameters such as the type of service (conversational, streaming, or download best effort) , the current type of access network being used, the allocated bandwidth to this service, the current number of downloaded bytes, the average bandwidth used so far, etc. If the ANDSF determines that (e.g.
  • the ANDSF first determines whether the UE had enough time to store data in its local buffer, according to, for example: the type of service, used codec, allowed bandwidth, and number of downloaded bytes. If the ANDSF determines that a change in access network at this time would interrupt the playback of the content, then the ANDSF refrains from downloading the corresponding access network policy information to the UE .
  • the network access policy download towards the UE is thus delayed by the ANDSF until, for example, the ANDSF has received a second event notification from the TDF, whereby e.g. the ANDSF can determine that the UE has stored enough data in its local buffer to execute the change in access network without interruption.
  • the ANDSF policy is downloaded at this second time. The UE then executes the change in access network.
  • the ANDSF determines whether send or not a access network policy message to the UE depending on memory capacity of the UE to store information received via data packets.
  • the ANDSF can make the determination on whether, or when, send or not a access network policy message to the UE based, not only on the service (s) currently being executed by the UE, but also in view on the memory capabilities of the UE .
  • This determination can take into account e.g. information about figures in respect to the number/rate of data received by the UE on the execution of a certain communications service.
  • the ANDSF determines whether send or not a access network policy message to the UE depending on memory capacity of the UE to store information received via data packets.
  • the ANDSF can make the determination on whether, or when, send or not a access network policy message to the UE based, not only on the service (s) currently being executed by the UE, but also in view on the memory capabilities of the UE .
  • This determination can take into account e.g. information about figures in respect
  • processing means can be operable to determine that, at the time an access network switch is needed the UE does not hold enough data in its local buffer for execute a change in access network without service interruption.
  • the ANDSF can be operable to predict how much time the UE would need in order to store enough data in its local buffer to survive an access network change without service interruption. This prediction can be determined by the ANDSF based on information received from the TDF in respect to data exchanged by an UE on its current connection/s for a service (such as: the available bandwidth, used codec, length of content, etc) , as well as based on information about device characteristics (which can be
  • the ANDSF estimates the time when an access network can take place. Then the ANDSF creates an access network policy that has a start time set to a time not earlier than the estimated from this moment, and downloads the policy to the UE, and sends an access network policy message to the UE comprising the determined access network policy comprising a start time for enforcing said policy by the UE .
  • Figures 3 to 6 show signalling flows among some entities shown by Fig.l illustrating some embodiments of the invention.
  • connection from a first access network to a second access network is taken by the control node (ANDSF) based its
  • control node (ANDSF)
  • the ANDSF preferably subscribes at the TDF to events generated by
  • the type of the executed service can also be a factor.
  • three classes of communication services can be defined within current communication services:
  • Information about the user of an UE can be obtained by the ANDSF by querying to a user database repository (e.g. a
  • Subscription Profile Repository SPR, such as a HLR or a HSS.
  • Information about characteristics of the user terminal (UE) utilized by a user can be obtained by the ANDSF from a terminal profile repository node (e.g. a "User Agent Profile"
  • UAPROF by using a terminal identifier available to the ANDSF in respect to the user of a certain communications terminal (e.g. an "International Mobile Station Equipment
  • Information about characteristics of a user terminal can comprise, among other, information about memory capacity of the terminal.
  • the memory capacity of a terminal is a factor that determines e.g. the capacity of the terminal to store and reproduce (via its video screen and/or via its speakers) the information it receives via data packets in respect to a communication service.
  • the difference with the bandwidth of the used codec determines the rate at which data can be stored by the local data buffers of the UE (e.g. based on UE ' s memory capacity determination) .
  • This information can comprise access network network backhaul type.
  • certain WLAN networks may be connected to the mobile Packet Core system of a telecom operator with interfaces that allow preserve the IP addresses assigned to an UE when its access network changes (e.g., using GTP or Proxy Mobile IP), while many other WLAN access networks do not preserve IP address .
  • Fig.3 shows a signalling flow illustrating an example where a communications terminal (UE) is involved in a conversational service utilizing an application server (AS) of an IP
  • the reporter node is a node inspecting packets sent/and or received by the terminal
  • the "IMS" element shown on the right of Fig.3 represents e.g. an application server (AS) in the IMS (e.g. a P-CSCF) .
  • the -so called- conversational services are characterized in that the delivery of the user data (i.e. usually called media data, payload, etc; wherein the user data convey e.g. audio and/or video information) has to be delivered in real-time between the communication endpoints . That means e.g. that the time elapsed from the sending of a data packet (conveying, e.g., a digital representation of a sample of voice or image) from a source endpoint (e.g.
  • Conversational services include, for example, voice and video calls made through a IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Voice over IP calls in general, real-time stock trading, and other real ⁇ time communication services where the data packets conveying the media (user data) cannot be stored for a few seconds and played back with a delayed since its reception, due to the critical nature of the real time aspects of the communication service .
  • IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem
  • the ANDSF first sends a subscription message (301) for subscribing to receive notifications from the TDF for one or more users or terminals, one or more communication services -or type of communication services-, and one or more type of service events.
  • the subscription message (301) causes the TDF to send one or more service notification messages to the
  • the TDF acknowledges this subscription (302) and starts
  • the subscription message (301) can specify the service/s which are to be reported by the TDF; for example, by means of specific service identifiers identifying services in particular (e.g.: "IMS services", “Google”, “WhatsApp”,
  • Flow 304 illustrates that, when the UE is switched on, or when the IMS application in the UE is started, the UE proceeds with a IMS-level registration procedure (i.e. flow 304).
  • UE communications terminal
  • UE initiates a communications service session (including any of voice or video) towards another communications endpoint (e.g. a further communications terminal, not shown in the figure) .
  • the process begins with the UE
  • the IMS nodes e.g. a P-CSCF
  • the called endpoint accepts the SIP INVITE message
  • a SIP 200 OK message (306) is generated towards the UE, which is further acknowledged by the UE (307), according to SIP procedures.
  • the TDF At the inspection of the session acceptance message (306), the TDF generates a notification towards the subscribed entities to events of this user. In this case, the TDF generates a
  • This notification can contain: the user and or terminal identity, the type of service initiated by the user (e.g. a "conversational service", VoIP service, in this case) , an indication that this is the start event of the communication service, the used codec (s),
  • the ANDSF can acknowledge the
  • the ANDSF takes a policy decision to hold any potential push notification in respect to access network policies (i.e. an access network policy message comprising access network policy information) that may be sent to this UE (e.g. according to its current geographical location) .
  • access network policies i.e. an access network policy message comprising access network policy information
  • step 3111 External event triggers prompts the ANDSF to change the access network policy of this UE (e.g. as illustrated by step 311) .
  • the ANDSF should then push a new access network policy to the UE .
  • the ANDSF holds this notification due the decision taken at step 310, i.e. based on the fact that the UE is currently executing a VoIP conversational service.
  • the TDF may send notifications of interim service events on the UE, indicating that the real-time session is still in place (312) .
  • the ANSDF can acknowledge the reception of this notification (313) .
  • the ANDSF also re-affirms the decision of holding existing and future push notifications to the terminal in respect to access network policies for the access networks that can be available to the UE (314) .
  • one of the two communication endpoints engaged in the communications service session terminates it. This is achieved by sending -by any of the service
  • the TDF by inspecting the data packets exchanged by the communication's endpoints, detects that the communication service currently 5
  • the ANDSF acknowledges the reception (318), and takes a policy decision (319) to allow pending and/or future access network policy push notifications to be sent towards the UE .
  • the ANDSF proceeds to execute the push of pending policy notifications to the UE (320) . This can imply the ANDSF to send a notification message (321) to the UE, which triggers the UE to fetch access network policies (322), or the ANDSF to send directly to the UE access network policies in a access network policy message (323) .
  • the UE then processes the received ANDSF policies in message 323, and proceeds to enforce the received access network policies (324) .
  • the result of the new received policies can result in that the UE changes its access network from a first access (AN-1) to a second access network (AN-S) . Therefore, the UE can subsequently proceed to (325) connect to the new access network (e.g. a WiFi access network) and to disconnect from the previous one (e.g. a 3GPP cellular access network) .
  • the new access network e.g. a WiFi access network
  • the previous one e.g. a 3GPP cellular access network
  • Fig.4 shows a signalling flow illustrating an example where a communications terminal (UE) is involved in a streaming service and wherein the reporter node is (as in the example of Fig.3) a node operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the terminal (TDF) .
  • the "Streaming Server” on the left represents an application server (AS) operable to provide a communication service to the terminal (UE) by
  • the -so called- streaming services comprise, among other, a video playback services, audio streaming services, such as internet radio, etc, and are characterized in that the
  • delivery of the user data i.e. usually called media data, payload, etc; wherein the user data are sent via a stream of data packets convey e.g. audio and/or video information
  • the user data can be slightly delayed and, thus, does not fully fall into the
  • the ANDSF determines (e.g. according to its static configured policies in respect to location information of terminals) that the terminal should hand over its current data connection to a different access network than the
  • the ANDSF rather than commanding to the UE the switch of the access network, as soon as the video clip download starts, the ANDSF, with the information received from a TDF, holds the notification to switch access network until the ANDSF has received information that enables it to determine -e.g. based, among other, on information about the memory capacity of the UE, and the
  • the step of determining (2120) by the control node (ANDSF) whether to send or not an access network policy message to the terminal (UE) comprising access network policy information that is usable by the terminal (UE) and that, e.g., allows the terminal (UE) to change a data connection from a first access network to a second access network further comprises the step of determining at the control node (ANDSF) memory capacity of the communications terminal (UE) to store information received via data packets (which, as described below, can be obtained by the ANDSF from a further node, such as from a UAPROF node) .
  • a discussion in respect to said embodiment is provided below.
  • the application in the UE when an application in the UE starts downloading and playing a video clip, the application in the UE is usually able to download and locally store in the UE memory/buffer resources a few more bytes of what is able to play. For this to happen, a condition is that the available bandwidth to the UE in its current access network is greater than the bandwidth requirements of the video clip. For example, a video clip encoded with 500 kilobits per second, would need that the network guarantees at least 550 kilobits per second, so that the extra 10% bandwidth is used to fill up the local buffer, at the same time the video clip is also played. Therefore, the playback of e.g.
  • a video clip downloaded by the UE via a streaming communication service consumes data from the memory resources of the UE (e.g. local buffer of the UE for storing received media information, which is filled up with data from the streaming server) .
  • the streaming application in the user's terminal has locally stored enough data so that, if a change of access network (and IP address) takes place, the streaming application in the UE consumes data from the buffer, at the same time that the terminal connects to the second access network, acquires an IP address, and resumes the
  • the terminal fails its purpose if the terminal has not filled the local buffer with enough data.
  • the terminal might not store enough media data on its internal memory resources (buffers) so as to e.g. play seamlessly a video clip.
  • One case comprises wherein the
  • bandwidth of the data channel utilized by the UE on its current data connection is not big enough; for example, this bandwidth is equal or lower than the bandwidth requirements of the video clip.
  • Another case comprise wherein, although bandwidth of the data channel is big enough to allow the device to store this extra data, not enough time has elapsed since the start of the reproduction of the video clip. Therefore, the local memory storage in the UE does not contain enough data for surviving a time in which the filling of the local storage is interrupted due to a change of access network.
  • the ANDSF first obtains
  • service information indicating that a UE has started the execution of a communication service, such as a streaming service for
  • the ANDSF preferably also obtains information about the type of UE in question, including its memory and communication capabilities; such as: the maximum memory storage capability provided by the UE, or the maximum bandwidth that the UE can handle for receiving and/or sending data in respect to a communication.
  • the detailed capabilities information in respect of an UE can be obtained by the ANDSF from a further node (e.g. from a UAPROF) . Also, for
  • the ANDSF preferably also obtains (e.g. from the reporter node, or from the UE, preferably via the service notification messages) information about the type of access network utilized for accessing to the communications service, information about the bandwidth currently allocated/available to the UE for said service, and information about the number of downloaded bytes in respect to the service.
  • the further information obtained by the ANDSF as described above, allow the ANDSF to make a refined decision in respect to: [A] whether to send -and when to send- an access network policy message to the UE, and/or [B] to determine an enforcing time for start the enforcing by the UE of an access network policy - i.e. in the case the access network policy message is sent to the UE-.
  • the decision taken by the ANDSF can be based on 5
  • the ANDSF can e.g. determine - at a certain time- that a UE has not currently stored enough data in its local memory resources (buffer) .
  • the ANDSF can determine -at said time- how much time the UE would need to store on its local memory resources (buffer) enough data so as to allow the UE to execute a change on its current connection for a service from a first access network to a second access network which minimize the effects of said change. For example, the ANDSF may determine that the UE would need 1 minute to store enough data in its local buffer. Then the ANDSF can, either: delay the sending of an access network policy to the UE for 1 minute, or send an access network policy to the UE stating that the access network policy information conveyed in said message should be enforced by the UE after 1 minute.
  • the ANDSF first sends a subscription message (401) for subscribing to receive notifications from the TDF for one or more users or terminals, one or more communication services -or type of communication services-, and one or more type of service events.
  • the subscription message (401) causes the TDF to send one or more service notification messages to the ANDSF in respect to events relating to services executed by the terminal (UE) illustrated on the left and, in particular, to the streaming type of services executed by the terminal. 5
  • the TDF acknowledges this subscription (402) and starts
  • the UE accesses a streaming server to request the streaming download of a video clip (403) .
  • the video server acknowledges the request (404) .
  • the video server starts sending the first RTP packet containing media to be played back (406) to the UE .
  • the UE starts storing this data in its local buffer and playing as soon as possible (407) .
  • the TDF sends a service notification message to the ANDSF (408) indicating the start of the service together with the details (user, type of service, type of event, used codec, available bandwidth, etc.) .
  • the ANDSF acknowledges the reception (409) .
  • the ANDSF takes a policy decision (410) according to the operator-configured policies.
  • This policy decision indicates that the UE should change the access network from a first access network to a second access network (e.g., from cellular to WLAN, or from WLAN to cellular) , something that typically carries a change in the IP address of the UE .
  • the ANDSF taking into account that the service delivery just started, the bandwidth limits determined by the network, and other additional parameters, determines that the ANDSF should hold the push notification (411) until 5
  • the UE has got enough time to fill its local memory buffer. So, the ANDSF does not push a notification at this point in time.
  • the streaming server keeps on sending subsequent RTP packets containing the data of the video clip. This is
  • the TDP sends an interim notification event (416) to the ANDSF.
  • This notification event indicates that the
  • the communication service is still going on in the UE, and can further contain the number of downloaded bytes up to that time, any changes in the bandwidth limits (if any) , and any other relevant information for this UE and this service.
  • the ANDSF acknowledges the notification (417) .
  • the ANDSF with the received information, decides whether to execute the pending policy push notification or keep on holding it.
  • the ANDSF determines (418) that the UE has at this time enough big buffer to proceed with an access network switch without disturbing the play back on the UE of the media received from the Streaming Server, or at least minimizing play back disturbances. Based on this, the ANDSF decides to proceed now with pushing the pending push
  • the ANDSF push notification is a regular push message
  • ANDSF first sends an ANDSF push notification (420) .
  • the UE then issues a fetch request for ANDSF policies (421) .
  • the ANDSF then sends the access network policies to the UE (422) . 5
  • the UE based on the received access network policies from the ANDSF, enforces at least one of these policies (423) , according to regular procedures. As a result, the UE starts with the procedure of switching the access network (424) to one selected according to the access network policy information received in flow 422.
  • the playback of the video clip still continues (425), e.g. fed from data from the local memory storage buffer.
  • the user of the UE is preferably not aware of the change of access network being taking place.
  • the UE resumes the content download (426) by sending a new message to the Streaming Server.
  • the server acknowledges the request (427) .
  • the UE keeps on playing back the video clip (428), while the
  • Streaming Server resumes the sending of RTP packets containing video data (429 to 432) . These will keep on filling the memory buffer in the UE in case there are new changes of access network .
  • the TDF When the TDF detects that no more data is being sent by the Streaming Server to the UE, it sends a notification (433) to the ANDSF indicating a stop of service event in respect to this UE and the earlier executed streaming service. The ANDSF acknowledges the reception (434) . In the illustrated example, the ANDSF does not need to allow the sending of pending push notifications, since this was already done at an earlier step (419) .
  • the Fig.5 shows a signalling flow -similar to the one shown by Fig.3- illustrating an example where a communications terminal (UE) is involved in a conversational service (i.e. a IMS service in the example) utilizing an application server (AS) of 5
  • UE communications terminal
  • AS application server
  • the P-CSCF represented on the right of Fig.5 illustrates an application server (AS) in the IMS which, as currently envisaged by 3GPP specifications, communicates via the so called "Rx" interface with a policy decision node (PCRF) .
  • AS application server
  • Rx policy decision node
  • the policy decision node can act also as a reporter node in respect to other kind of services executed by a terminal (UE) , which are not necessarily IMS based services as in the present example, insofar as the policy decision node (PCRF) receives information about a communication service executed by the terminal (UE) , for example via the "Rx" interface or via the "Sd” (or "Gx") interface.
  • the ANDSF first sends a subscription message (501) for subscribing to receive notifications from the PCRF for one or more users or terminals, one or more communication services -or type of communication services-, and one or more type of service events.
  • the subscription message (501) causes the PCRF to send one or more service notification messages to the ANDSF in respect to events relating to services executed by the terminal (UE) illustrated on the left and, in particular, to the real-time conversational services (e.g. IMS service) executed by the terminal.
  • the subscription message (501) is acknowledged by the PCRF (502) .
  • the PCRF starts (503) a process for monitoring and reporting service events -detected by the PCRF by notifications received by said PCRF from application servers (AS, P-CSCF) and/or from nodes inspecting packets sent and/or received by the UE (not shown in Fig.5)- in respect to services executed by the
  • UE terminal
  • Flows 504 to 506, and flow 511 are substantially the same as - respectively- flows 304 to 306, and flow 307, described earlier in respect to the embodiment illustrated by the Fig.3.
  • the P-CSCF sends (507) a notification message comprising
  • the notification of flow 507 is accomplished (as illustrated) via a DIAMETER message "AA-Request " , AAR, sent via the aforementioned "Rx" interface, that indicates that a IMS communication service has been started by the terminal (UE) .
  • the AAR message is acknowledged (508) by the PCRF with a DIAMETER message "AA- Answer", AAA.
  • the PCRF sends a service notification message (509) to the ANDSF.
  • the ANDSF takes a policy decision (512) to hold any potential push notification in respect to access network policies (i.e. an access network policy message comprising access network policy information) that may be sent to this UE (e.g. according to its current geographical location) .
  • access network policies i.e. an access network policy message comprising access network policy information
  • the ANDSF should then push a new access network policy to the UE .
  • the ANDSF holds this notification due the decision taken at step 512, i.e. based on the fact that the UE is currently executing a VoIP
  • Flows 514 and 515 illustrates a case where a change affecting e.g. the media of the currently ongoing SIP communication service is signalled between the terminal (UE) and its
  • the P-CSCF as a server mediating in the provision of the SIP communication service to the terminal (UE) and, in particular, receiving and further routing the signalling messages related to said service, notifies this interim event (e.g. change of media flows) to the PCRF via a new DIAMETER AAR message (516) .
  • the PCRF then, based on the contents of the message 516, sends a service notification message reporting an interim service event to the ANDSF (518); whereby the ANDSF gets aware that the SIP communication service is still going on within the terminal (UE) , and can also get aware about the bandwidth requirements of the (updated) packet flows conveying media for said communication system (i.e. if such a kind of information is provided by the reporter node, PCRF) .
  • the ANDSF after the reception of the interim service notification message (518), still maintain (520) the policy decision made earlier on step 512. So, an access network policy message that might be sent to the terminal (UE) -and that will then allow said terminal to change a data connection conveying signalling and/or media related to its currently executed SIP communication service from its currently used (first) access network to a further (second) access network- is not sent by the ANDSF.
  • Signalling flows 521 and 522 are equivalent to, respectively, flows 315 and 316 previously described in respect to Fig.3.
  • these flow are exchanged between communication endpoints of a SIP communication service and, as such, can be received and further routed by a P-CSCF of a IMS that
  • the P-CSCF sends a notification message (523) through the "Rx" interface notifying the PCRF the end of the SIP communication service via a DIAMETER message "Session Termination Request", STR, message (516).
  • the PCRF upon the reception of the notification message (523) notifying that the previously SIP communication service
  • the ANDSF makes a new policy decision (527) that, for example, allow (528) pending and/or future access network policy push notifications to be sent towards the UE (531) .
  • the decision made by the ANDSF on step 527 can e.g. be further conditioned to the existence (i.e. as known by the ANDSF) of other communication services that are still being executed by the terminal UE .
  • new or pending access network policy messages can still be held (i.e. not sent) by the ANDSF to the terminal (UE) if said terminal, according to the
  • Processing step and signalling flows labelled 532 to 534 are equivalent to, respectively, steps and signalling flows 324 to 326 previously described in respect to Fig.3.
  • the Fig.6 shows a signaling flow illustrating an example
  • the communications terminal is involved in a conversational service (i.e. a IMS service in the example) utilizing an application server (AS) of an IP
  • the service notification messages comprising service information about the service (s) executed by the terminal (UE) are sent directly by the terminal to the control node (ANDSF) .
  • the ANDSF can subscribe to receive information about the service/s currently executed by the terminal (UE) .
  • this implies modifications in the "S14" (Fig.l: 101) interface by way of new messages or, preferably, by way of new data contents conveyed in the current messages on said S14 interface. This latest option is
  • the ANDSF contacts the ANDSF to fetch access network policy information in respect to one or more access networks.
  • the ANDSF sends (602) an access network policy message to the UE comprising access network policy information.
  • the access network policy information received by the UE (602) from the ANDSF is used by the UE to switch a current connection of the UE to a telecommunications system (10) from a first access network (AN-1) -through which said current connection is 5
  • the current connection of the UE via the first access network can convey all, or some, of the packet data flows conveying signalling and/or media related to all, or some, or the communication services currently executed by the UE; therefore, the an access network policy message (e.g. 602) received by the UE comprising access network policy information can imply a change of some, or all, of said packet data flows in respect to the access network through which said flows are sent and received (e.g.
  • an access network policy message (e.g. 602) sent from the ANDSF to the UE further
  • the message (602) can specify, in this respect, whether all the communication
  • services are to be reported, or whether only some kind of (i.e. identified) services -or service types- are to be reported (e.g. only real-time conversational services and streaming services) .
  • the terminal (UE) runs (603) a registration procedure before a IMS via a server of the IMS (i.e. the illustrated P-CSCF) .
  • the UE is prompted (e.g. by an interaction of its user -in the case of a human operated terminal device- or by an internal trigger -e.g. in the case of a M2M device-) to start (604) a IMS communication service.
  • the UE sends a message (605) to the ANDSF over the S14 interface for fetching access network policies.
  • the message 605 is in accordance with the prior-art defined messages from a UE to an ANDSF for fetching access network policies, but further comprises service
  • the message 605 further comprises a service notification event stating that the UE starts a communication service (preferably, identifying the service as IMS service, or as a conversational service) .
  • the ANDSF sends an access network policy message (606) to the UE .
  • the access network policy information conveyed in the access network policy message (606) do not require the UE to change its current access network.
  • the ANDSF based on the obtained information (605) about the service currently being executed by the UE, makes policy decisions (607, 611) to hold any potential change of access network policies that might affect to this UE . So, the ANDSF refrain to send an access network policy message to the UE -that might allow the UE to change from a first/current utilized access network to a second access network- based on the service information obtained in flow 605.
  • Flows 608 to 610 illustrate the establishment by the UE of a IMS SIP communication service with another endpoint (not shown in the figure) via the P-CSCF of the IMS.
  • the UE may need to add a new media stream, or remove an existing one, or upgrade an existing one to a high-quality codec, etc.
  • the user of the UE or the UE itself, e.g. in case the UE is a M2M device
  • the UE sends a service notification message (613) reporting an interim service event to the ANDSF; whereby the ANDSF gets aware that the SIP communication service is still going on within the terminal (UE) , and can also get aware about the bandwidth requirements of the (updated) packet flows conveying media for said communication system (i.e. if such a kind of information is provided by the reporter node, PCRF) .
  • the service notification sent from the UE to the ANDSF reporting an interim service event is accomplished by the sending (613) of a well known -3GPP defined- message for fetching access network policies, which is enhanced for further conveying information about the service/s currently executed by the terminal (UE) , and its related events (an interim event in this particular case, 613) .
  • the ANDSF responds to the message 613 with an access network policy message (614) comprising the same access network policy sent previously in flow 606, since the ANDSF has locked out any change of access network policies to this UE in step 607, and the interim service event received in flow 613 do not determine a change on said policies.
  • an access network policy message (614) comprising the same access network policy sent previously in flow 606, since the ANDSF has locked out any change of access network policies to this UE in step 607, and the interim service event received in flow 613 do not determine a change on said policies.
  • Signalling flows 619 and 620 are equivalent to, respectively, flows 315 and 316 previously described in respect to Fig.3, and to, respectively, flows 521 and 522 previously described in respect to Fig.5. In short, these flows imply that the SIP communication service previously executed by the terminal (UE) has ended. This stop of service event is reported by the UE to the ANDSF in the message 621. As described above, this message can consist on a well known message for fetching by an UE access network policies from an ANDSF, which is further
  • the message 621 comprises a service notification event notifying the stop of the service, which start event was reported on flow 605.
  • the ANDSF makes a new policy decision (622) that, for example, allow pending and/or future access network policy push notifications to be sent towards the UE (623) .
  • Processing step and signalling flows labelled 624 to 626 are equivalent to, respectively, steps and signalling flows 324 to 326 previously described in respect to Fig.3, or to,
  • Embodiments described above comprise novel features that are not envisaged by the prior art, and which can result beneficial for a terminal that can change its current access network upon an indication received by a control node (ANDSF) .
  • Embodiments of the present invention comprise, among other: .- A control node (ANDSF) receiving service notification events from a communications terminal (UE) , and/or from a node
  • TDF reporter node
  • PCRF communications terminal
  • the service information obtained by the control node (ANDSF) e.g. via the reporter nodes and/or via the communications terminal can comprise detailed information about the currently executed communications service/s, such as: type of service (e.g. conversational, streaming, etc), allocated bandwidth, number of downloaded bytes, used codecs (which can be utilized for nominal bandwidth calculations), etc. Therefore, the ANDSF is provided with information for determining, based on the received service information from the reporter nodes, or from a terminal, whether to send an access network policy message to the terminal, or to postpone said sending, or even to send a network access policy message to the terminal comprising an enforcing time determined on the service information received from reporter nodes and/or by the terminal.
  • type of service e.g. conversational, streaming, etc
  • allocated bandwidth e.g., number of downloaded bytes, used codecs (which can be utilized for nominal bandwidth calculations), etc. Therefore, the ANDSF is provided with information for determining, based on the received service information from the reporter nodes, or from
  • the Fig.7 shows a block diagram showing functional details of a control node (700) according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the control node can be a node operable to control access by a communications terminal to access networks, such as a node implementing an ANDSF functionality.
  • the control node (700) comprises a communication interface (701) to communicate with other nodes (e.g. TDF, PCRF) and with a communications terminal (UE) .
  • the control node further comprises a communication interface (701) to communicate with other nodes (e.g. TDF, PCRF) and with a communications terminal (UE) .
  • the control node further comprises a communication interface (701) to communicate with other nodes (e.g. TDF, PCRF) and with a communications terminal (UE) .
  • the control node further
  • the control node comprises an access network policy sender (702) operable to send an access network policy message to a communications terminal (UE) .
  • the control node further comprises: a service information obtainer (705) operable to obtain service
  • an access network policy sender determiner (706) operable to determine whether sending -or not- an access network policy message to the
  • the service information obtainer (705) comprises a service notification receiver (704) operable to receive a service notification message comprising service information from at least one of: a reporter node and the communications terminal.
  • the control node (700) can further comprise a service subscriber sender (703) operable to send a subscription message to the at least one of the reporter node and the communications terminal for
  • control node (700) can further comprise a memory capacity determiner (707)
  • the Fig.8 shows, on the left side, a block diagram showing functional details of a reporter node (810) according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the reporter node (810) can be a node operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal, such as a node implementing a TDF functionality.
  • the reporter node (810) comprises a communication interface (811) to communicate with other nodes (e.g. ANDSF, PCRF) .
  • the reporter node (810) also comprises a service information obtainer (813) operable to obtain service information about a communication service currently executed by a communications terminal (UE) ; which in turn comprises a Packet Inspector - operable to inspect the contents of data packets sent and/or received by the terminal- and an Service Information Determiner - operable to determine, based on the inspection or the Packet Inspector, service information about the communication services currently executed by the communications terminal.
  • the reporter node (810) further comprises a service notification sender (812) operable to send, based on service information obtained by the service
  • the reporter node (810) can further comprise a service subscriber receiver (814) operable to receive a
  • the Fig.8 shows, on the right side, a block diagram showing functional details of a reporter node (820) according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the reporter node (820) can be a policy decision node operable to decide policies in respect to quality of service for data packets sent and/or received by the communications terminal via the established connection between the communications terminal, such as a node implementing a PCRF functionality.
  • the reporter node (820) comprises a
  • the reporter node (820) also comprises a Service Information Obtainer (823) operable to obtain service information about a communication service currently executed by a communications terminal (UE) ; which in turn comprises: a Service Notification Receiver - operable to receive service notification information events from an application server (AS, P-CSCF) or from a node inspecting packets sent to/from the terminal (TDF) - and an Service Information Determiner - operable to determine, based on the service notification events received by the Service Notification Receiver, service
  • the reporter node (820) further comprises a service notification sender (822) operable to send, based on service information obtained by the service
  • the reporter node (820) can further comprise a service subscriber receiver (824) operable to receive a
  • the Fig.9 shows a block diagram showing functional details of a communications terminal, UE, (900).
  • the terminal (900) can communicate with a control node (ANDSF) so as to receive from said control node an access network policy message, comprising access network policy information, that is usable by the terminal to change a
  • the terminal (900) comprises: an access network policy receiver (902) operable to receive from a control node (ANDSF) an access network policy message comprising access network policies to be used by the terminal (900), and that allow the terminal (900) to change a connection from a first access network (AN-1) to a second access network (AN-2) , an access network changer (905) operable to change, responsive to the network policy information received from the control node (ANDSF) by the access network policy receiver (902), a data connection of the terminal from the first access network to a second access network.
  • the terminal (900) can further comprise a service subscriber receiver (904) -e.g. for receiving
  • the service notification sender acts driven by information received by the service subscriber receiver (904), and sends -via the interface 901- service notification messages comprising service information about a communication service currently being executed by the terminal .
  • processing apparatuses having processor/s that provide the respective function of these functional elements by executing appropriate software instructions.
  • processor/s that provide the respective function of these functional elements by executing appropriate software instructions.
  • FIG.10 shows a computer hardware capable of operating according to embodiments of the invention when executing one or more computer programs
  • the one or more computer program/s can be contained in computer program product (s), or be conveyed via a carrier (e.g. a signal carrier) carrying the computer-readable instructions of the computer program(s).
  • a carrier e.g. a signal carrier
  • the Fig.10 represents a particular implementation of a control node (ANDSF; 700), or of a reporter node (TDF, PCRF; 810, 820), or of a terminal (UE; 900), which are accomplished by hardware capable of being operable by computer programs comprising computer executable instructions for executing embodiments of the invention.
  • the Fig.10 illustrates a computer based machine (1000) .
  • the machine comprises: an instruction store (1040), a processor (1020), a working memory (1030), and an interface input/output unit (1010) for receiving signals received from a further machine, and for sending signals to be sent to a further machine.
  • the instruction store 1040 is a data storage device which may comprise a volatile and also a non-volatile memory, for example in the form of a ROM, a magnetic computer storage device (e.g. a hard disk) or an optical disc, which is pre-loaded with computer-readable instructions. (1050, 1060)
  • the instruction store 1040 may comprise a volatile memory (e.g.
  • the computer-readable instructions can be input thereto from one or more computer program products, such as a computer-readable storage medium 1050 (e.g. an optical disc such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM etc.) or a signal carrier 1060 carrying the computer-readable instructions.
  • the working memory 1030 functions to temporarily store data to support the processing operations executed by the processor 1020 in accordance with the processing logic stored in the instruction store 1040.
  • the I/O section 1010 is arranged to communicate with the processor 220, so as to render the computer based machine 1000 capable of processing messages received from other entities, and to send messages to other entities.
  • the processor 1020 executes computer program instructions (1040, 1050, 1060) that causes a computer based machine (1000) implementing a control node (ANDSF; 700) to accomplish with the method steps disclosed herein in respect to a control node (ANDSF) .
  • the processor 1020 executes computer program instructions (1040, 1050, 1060) that causes a computer based machine (1000) implementing a reporter node (TDF, PCRF; 810, 820) to accomplish with the method steps disclosed herein in respect to a reporter node (TDF, PCRF) .
  • the processor 1020 executes computer program instructions (1040, 1050, 1060) that causes a computer based machine (1000) implementing a communications terminal (UE; 900) to accomplish with the method steps disclosed herein in respect to a communications terminal (UE) .

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
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  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un appareil destinés à réguler l'envoi de politiques de réseaux d'accès à un terminal de communications (UE) pouvant être utilisé par le terminal pour faire passer une liaison de données d'un premier réseau d'accès (AN-1) à un deuxième réseau d'accès (AN-2). L'envoi d'informations sur les politiques de réseaux d'accès à un terminal de communications (2130) est déterminé (2120) en fonction d'informations obtenues (2110) à propos du ou des services de communication actuellement en cours d'exécution par le terminal.
PCT/EP2013/060628 2013-05-23 2013-05-23 Procédé et appareil de contrôle de l'accès d'un terminal de communications à des réseaux d'accès WO2014187492A1 (fr)

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