Method for federating at least two communication networks for mobile terminals and network capable of being federated

Abstract

A method for federating at least two communication networks for mobile terminals by establishing a dedicated link between the two networks and then configuring one of the networks to use elements of the other network, in particular the user database and the communication policy manager.

Claims

1. A method for federating a first communication network for mobile terminals and a second communication network for mobile terminals, each communication network comprising a base station, a mobility manager, a serving gateway, a user database, a communication policy manager, a packet gateway, each of said first and second communication networks further comprising a router and an orchestrator, the method comprising: establishing a dedicated connection between the first and second communication networks by establishing a connection between the routers; selecting a master orchestrator from among the orchestrators of the first and second networks to federate, defining a master network and a slave network; updating the user database of the master network from the user database of the slave network; configuring links between: the serving gateway of the master network and the mobility manager of the slave network; the serving gateway of the slave network and the mobility manager of the master network; the mobility manager of the master network and the mobility manager of the slave network; configuring the slave network so that the slave network uses: the user database of the master network; the communication policy manager of the master network; updating the list of serving gateways of each network, each serving gateway being associated with a zone code as a function of its original network, and updating each mobility manager as a function of the configuration of the mobility manager of the neighbouring network.

2. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein each communication network has the same addressing plan, the method comprising a step in which the router of each network is dynamically configured, by the orchestrator of its network, to carry out a reciprocal one to one address translation between the two networks.

3. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, further comprising: updating each base station as a function of a neighbouring base station.

4. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein the establishment of the dedicated connection is made by a use of a connection means belonging to the list formed of at least: a wire, a wireless connection.

5. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein communications made via the dedicated connection are made using a virtual private network.

6. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein a use, by the slave network, of elements of the master network is done by the configuration, in the slave networks, of secondary elements.

7. The method for federating communication networks according claim 6, wherein the configuration of the secondary elements is done by naming, the resolution of the names being configured by the orchestrator of the network at a moment of federation.

8. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein a communication network for mobile terminals is a standalone network bubble.

9. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein the election of the master orchestrator is done as a function of the hosting and processing capacities of the bubble to which the orchestrator belongs.

10. The method for federating communication networks according to claim 1, wherein access to the applicative functions of a bubble is maintained and is limited to its original users.

11. A first communication network for mobile terminals, suited to being federated, with a second communication network for mobile terminals suited to being federated, each communication network for mobile terminals suited to being federated comprising a base station, a mobility manager, a serving gateway, a user database, a communication policy manager, a packet gateway, each communication network further comprising a router and an orchestrator, said first communication network being configured to: establish a dedicated connection with the second communication network by establishing a dedicated connection between the router of the first communication network and the router of the second communication network; elect a master orchestrator from among the orchestrators of the first and second communication networks to federate, defining a master network and a slave network; update the user database of the master network from the user database of the slave network; configure links between: the serving gateway of the master network and the mobility manager of the slave network; the serving gateway of the slave network and the mobility manager of the master network; the mobility manager of the master network and the mobility manager of the slave network; the packet gateway of the master network and the serving gateway of the slave network; configure the slave network so that the slave network uses: the user database of the master network; the communication policy manager of the master network; update the list of serving gateways of each network, each serving gateway being associated with a zone code as a function of its original network, and update each mobility manager as a function of the configuration of the mobility manager of the neighbouring network.

12. A communication network according to claim 11, wherein the communication network is a standalone network bubble.

Description

LIST OF FIGURES

(1) The figures are presented for illustrative purposes and in no way limit the invention. Different figures show identical elements with the same references. The figures show:

(2) FIG. 1: a functional illustration of tactical bubbles to federate, before federation;

(3) FIG. 2: a functional illustration of tactical bubbles to federate, after federation;

(4) FIG. 3: an illustration of the steps of the method according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4: an illustration of the implementation of the invention for two tactical bubbles;

(6) FIG. 5: an illustration of the implementation of the invention for two tactical bubbles of which one proposes access to an external network;

(7) FIG. 6: an illustration of the implementation of the invention for three tactical bubbles;

(8) FIG. 7: an illustration of a federation according to the invention via a third party LTE network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(9) FIG. 1 shows a first tactical bubble B-1. In the implementation described the considered networks are LTE networks. The first tactical bubble B-1 comprises: A first evolved base station eNB-1, A first mobility manager, or MME for “Mobility Management Entity”. This first mobility manager is referenced MME-1; A first serving gateway, or SGW for “Serving Gateway”. This first serving gateway is referenced SGW-1; A first user database, or HSS for “Home Subscriber Server”, that is to say a central database which contains information relative to the users of the first tactical bubble. This first user database is referenced HSS-1; A first packet gateway, or PGW for “PDN Gateway”, that is to say a PDN (Packet Data Network) gateway. This first packet gateway is referenced PGW-1; A first communication policy manager, or PCRF for “Policy and Charging Rules Function”, that is to say a manager that functions in the network core and makes it possible to access subscriber databases and other specialised functions, such as a flow management system. This first communication policy manager is referenced PCRF-1.

(10) In this document each element described designates a device, real or virtual, provided with data processing and communication capacities. Such a device executes instruction codes recorded in a programme memory of said device as a function of parameters. These parameters are either recorded in a data memory of said device, or received during a communication made by said device.

(11) It is noted that a same device may fulfil several functions.

(12) FIG. 1 shows that the first tactical bubble B-1 comprises a first network N-1 enabling the interconnection of the elements of the first bubble. In particular, the first network enables the establishment of the links enabling the different elements to play their roles in making available an LTE network via the first base station. Such a network is, among others, described by the 3GPP TS 23.401 standard defining the specifications for the “General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enhancements for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) access”. Thus, FIG. 1 also shows: A first S1-C type link between the first base station eNB-1 and the first mobility manager MME-1; A first S1-U type link between the first base station eNB-1 and the first serving gateway SGW-1; A first S11 type link between the first mobility manager MME-1 and the first serving gateway SGW-1; A first S6a type link between the first mobility manager MME-1 and the first user database HSS-1; A first S5 type link between the first serving gateway SGW-1 and the first packet gateway PGW-1; A first Gx type link between the first communication policy manager PCRF-1 and the first packet gateway PGW-1.

(13) FIG. 1 also shows that the first tactical bubble B-1 comprises, connected to the first network N-1: A first orchestrator referenced O-1. A programme memory of the first orchestrator comprises instruction codes for the implementation of the method according to the invention described hereafter; A first router referenced R-1; A first application server, referenced AF-1.

(14) The presence of the first application server corresponds to an alternative of the invention in which the first processing bubble is provided with business processing capacities. From this point of view the presence, or the absence, of an application server does not decrease or increase the capacity of bubbles according to the invention to be federated. From the point of view of bubble federation, the presence of an application server is thus optional.

(15) The functions of orchestrator, within the scope of the invention, are: To ensure the discovery mode of the bubbles to federate. To identify the master orchestrator and the slave orchestrator; To set up a secure connection between the two bubbles; To backup the configuration before federation at the level of the master bubble (user base image, configuration of elements of the network core, etc.); To recover or synchronise the user data of the slave bubble; To put in place the communication interfaces between the equipment of the slave bubble and of the master bubble. Once the parameterisation done, to cut the links with supernumerary elements; When the bubbles move away from each other, to return to the original configuration. A watchdog mechanism consists in carrying out a message exchange between the two orchestrators of heartbeat or keepalive type. After a predefined duration without heartbeat, each orchestrator reconfigures all of the equipment of its bubble by taking the opposite route to federation. In particular, the master orchestrator performs a restoration of the image of the master user database before federation.

(16) The first tactical bubble such as described is thus a standalone network bubble. That is to say that the first tactical bubble suffices in itself to enable users to communicate with each other. Such a bubble is in addition transportable, that is to say that it can be deployed in any geographic position.

(17) The plan for addressing elements of the first tactical bubble is static and predetermined.

(18) A tactical bubble is thus composed of at least of an EPC (Evolved Packet Core), a HSS/PCRF pair and an eNodeB configured in an omnidirectional LTE cell.

(19) FIG. 2 shows a second tactical bubble B-2 identical to the first tactical bubble. The second tactical bubble B-2 comprises: A second evolved base station eNB-2; A second mobility manager (MME-2); A second serving gateway (SGW-2); A second user database (HSS-2); A second packet gateway (PGW-2); A second communication policy manager (PCRF-2).

(20) FIG. 1 shows that the second tactical bubble B-2 comprises a second network N-2 enabling the interconnection of the elements of the second bubble. In particular, the second network enables the establishment of links enabling the different elements to play their roles in making available an LTE network via the second base station eNB-2. Thus FIG. 1 also shows: A second S1-C type link between the second base station eNB-2 and the second mobility manager MME-2; A second S1-U type link between the second base station eNB-2 and the second serving gateway SGW-2; A second S11 type link between the second service manager MME-2 and the second serving gateway SGW-2; A second S6a type link between the second mobility manager MME-2 and the second user database HSS-2; A second S5 type link between the second serving gateway SGW-2 and the second packet gateway PGW-2; A second Gx type link between the second communication policy manager PCRF-2 and the second packet gateway PGW-2.

(21) FIG. 1 also shows that the second tactical bubble comprises, connected to the second network: A second orchestrator referenced O-2, A second router referenced R-2; A second application server, referenced AF-2. The remarks made for the first application server are also valid for the second application server.

(22) The plan for addressing elements of the second tactical bubble is static and predetermined.

(23) In an alternative of the invention, the two tactical bubbles have the same addressing plan. Communications between the two tactical bubbles are made via a reciprocal one to one NAT (Network Address Translation) at the level of the routers. Preferably, identical elements have the same home address but not the same network address. Thus, any local address of the equipment and applicative functions of each bubble is made unique by the putting in place on the exterior interface of the routers of a network address translation rule (NAT rule) being based on an identifier representative of the bubble.

(24) In an initial state the second tactical bubble has been deployed and flows traffic enabling its users to communicate and to access the second application server via the user equipment connected to the second base station.

(25) Following an evolution of the situation another tactical bubble is deployed to make it possible to deal with said evolution of the situation. This other tactical bubble is that having been described as the first tactical bubble. In a first instance, the first tactical bubble is in a blocked state, that is to say that it does not accept any communication, via the first base station, from users.

(26) FIG. 3 shows a step 1000 of connection in which a dedicated connection is established between the first tactical bubble and the second tactical bubble. This dedicated connection may also be qualified as local. This connection is made between the first router and the second router. Physically this dedicated connection is either wired, or wireless. A wired connection is for example an Ethernet connection, a wireless connection is for example a Wi-Fi connection. In an alternative of the invention, this dedicated connection may also be made via a third party mobile network.

(27) In an alternative of the invention, the establishment of the dedicated connection detected by the routers is followed by the establishment of an encrypted tunnel between these routers. Such a tunnel is called a VPN tunnel. Thus, all communications transiting via the two routers are encrypted and thus protected against potential interception. It involves the establishment of a virtual private network 200.

(28) Once the dedicated connection established, one passes to a step 1100 of election of a master orchestrator. This election takes place following a mutual discovery. For example, such a discovery between orchestrators may be based on the multicast version of the Internet Protocol (IP) and on the notion of clusters. A multicast IP address is then known to all the bubbles able to be federated which makes it possible to join the cluster, which next organises itself.

(29) The election of a master orchestrator is a process during which the tactical bubble comprising the master orchestrator becomes the reference tactical bubble of the federated communication network. That is to say, it is elements of the network core of this reference tactical bubble that are going to contain the whole of the configuration of the LTE network obtained by federation. According to different alternatives it is possible to envisage several election criteria: Hosting capacity: it is the tactical bubble that has the largest hosting capacity that becomes the master bubble. Hosting capacity is the maximum number of terminal equipment that the bubble can manage simultaneously; Processing capacity: generic capacity of the tactical bubble, this includes hosting and business power; Date of deployment: the first bubble, or the last, according to a predetermined convention, becomes the master bubble; By drawing of lots, . . . the list is not limiting.

(30) In our example, it is the first orchestrator that is elected master orchestrator.

(31) It is during this step of election that the values of the identifiers of each network are also decided, as well as the zone identifiers used for searching for people (also designated paging).

(32) It is also during this step that the reciprocal one to one address translation is put in place. In an alternative, the putting in place of this address translation is accompanied by updating of the recording in the name resolution directory to enable the designation of elements, for example the user database or the communication policy manager. For example, seen from the slave bubble, the database of the master bubble is attributed a name which may be resolved in its translated address. An alternative would be to use an address directly.

(33) Thanks to this translation and to this resolution, it is also possible to maintain continuity of access to applicative servers whatever the bubble to which a user equipment is connected.

(34) In practice, each tactical bubble having a unique identifier, the value of this identifier is generally used to derive the unique values of the other parameters of the tactical bubble, in particular the translated addresses, the zone identifiers, the unique identifiers of the mobility managers, etc. in the federation. It thus involves a parameterisation by convention. This solution is only a non-limiting example. This unique identifier is also used during discovery.

(35) Once the master orchestrator elected, thus the master tactical bubble elected, one passes to a step 1200 of updating the user database of the master bubble. In this step the orchestrators dialogue to copy the content of the user database of the slave bubble in the user database of the master bubble. This enables the master tactical bubble to know all of the users capable of connecting. Each user is associated, in the user database, with its original bubble. This makes it possible, for example, to return to an initial state of the user database.

(36) In an alternative embodiment, the master orchestrator performs a back up by image of the user database before the step 1200 of updating with the database of the slave bubble in order to be able to restore the user database to its configuration before the implementation of the federation method when the bubbles are brought to be no longer federated.

(37) In an alternative, in this step the orchestrators also update the configuration of the communication policy manager by merging the configurations of the two communication policy managers. One then passes to a step 1300 of configuration of the links in which the orchestrators configure links, according to the LTE standard, to enable the elements of the two bubbles to operate together. These links are established through the address translation. Thus the orchestrators configure: A S11 type link between the serving gateway of the master network SGW-1 and the mobility manager of the slave network MME-2; A S11 type link between the serving gateway of the slave network SGW-2 and the mobility manager of the master network MME-1; A S10 type link between the mobility manager of the master network MME-1 and the mobility manager of the slave network MME-2;

(38) One then passes to a step 1400 of updating the base stations with a view to their cooperation in the federated communication network. That is to say that the base stations are made able to collaborate in a single communication network.

(39) In this step, each base station is updated in order that the two base stations can collaborate on a handover. It is necessary that each base station knows at least the “eNodeBID”, the PCI and the TAC of the other base station. These elements are known as “neighbourly relations”. eNodeBID: base station identifier; PCI: Physical Cell Identity; TAC: Tracking Area Code.

(40) It is thus necessary that each base station has a certain number of unique parameters in the future federated network: eNodeBID and PCI (PCI orthogonal to limit radio interference). In practice, the value of these parameters is obtained by convention as described previously.

(41) One then passes to a step 1500 of configuration of redundancies or, put another way, of configuration of the secondary elements in which the orchestrators reconfigure: The mobility manager of the slave tactical bubble so that its secondary user database is the user database of the master tactical bubble; The packet gateway of the slave tactical bubble so that its secondary communication policy manager is the communication policy manager of the master bubble.

(42) This reconfiguration of the secondary elements is done either by declaring in the configurations an address, or a name. In a preferred alternative, a name is used that will be resolved in accordance with the actions of the preceding steps. The preceding steps are in particular the steps of putting in place the address translation and updating the recordings of name resolution directories. A secondary element is an element which is used, for example, in the event of unavailability of a main element.

(43) These secondary configurations are put in place in a standard LTE network to ensure the resilience requirements of this type of network. In the case of the invention they are fictive means (“fictive” is taken to signify means diverted from their initial purpose) for the case of tactical bubbles. In the case of a normal network, these configurations are static and are not provided to be modified.

(44) In the case of the invention, it is the orchestrators that dynamically control the change and the configuration of these links pointing to secondary equipment and applicative functions.

(45) At the end of step 1500 of configuration of redundancies the orchestrators cut the links between: The mobility manager of the slave tactical bubble and the database server of the slave tactical bubble. The packet gateway of the slave tactical bubble and the communication policy manager of the slave tactical bubble.

(46) These cuts cause the switch over to the secondary configuration and thus the use, by the elements of the slave bubble, of the user database of the master bubble and the communication policy manager of the master bubble.

(47) This ends up in a federated network such as represented by FIG. 2. All of the users of the master and slave bubbles are recognised because the only user database known to the federated communication network is that in which the users of the slave bubble have been recopied.

(48) In an alternative, the method according to the invention also comprises a step 1600 of synchronisation of the mobility managers and the server gateways so that they have knowledge of existing communication contexts and thus fluidify future intercellular handovers. This synchronisation also makes it possible to declare in each network the serving gateways and the mobility managers. In practice, in this step, it involves indicating to the mobility managers the existence of the tracking zone of the other bubble as well as the address or the name of the serving gateway which serves this tracking zone.

(49) In the invention, if need be, the clocks of the two networks are synchronised.

(50) At this stage it is possible to unblock the first tactical bubble, that is to say allow communications via the first tactical bubble. An LTE network federation has thus been carried out here, that is to say enabled two communication networks of LTE type, not knowing each other a priori, to function like a single communication network.

(51) Since it remains possible to associate each user with its original tactical bubble it is also possible to control access to the application servers of the tactical bubbles and more generally to the resources of the tactical bubbles. It is thus possible to prohibit a user having a defined original tactical bubble to access the application servers of another bubble not being the original tactical bubble.

(52) In an alternative of the invention all the users of all the federated tactical networks may have access to all the applicative functions (AF) of all the tactical networks. In another alternative, the users only have access to the applicative functions of their original tactical network. It is also possible to have all the boxes ticked.

(53) The orchestrator plays the role of proxy for DNS type name resolution requests. Thus, during a request for access to applicative functions (AF) by a user equipment, a DNS request is transmitted to the orchestrator of bubble A which transmits it to an accessible name resolution server of DNS server type associated with bubble A. The latter sends back the IP address of the server on which the application is hosted to the orchestrator which sends it back to the user equipment.

(54) The orchestrator acting as DNS proxy, the latter may respond differently by user for each DNS request sent by the user equipment.

(55) The same is true for tactical bubble B.

(56) During the federation of bubble A with bubble B, a synchronisation is carried out of the DNS contexts held by each orchestrator by handover of the DNS contexts of the slave bubble to the master bubble and vice versa. This operation may be carried out in step 1200 described previously.

(57) The invention makes it possible to maintain segmentation of access to applicative functions between the user equipment of bubble A and those of bubble B. Indeed, a DNS request sent by a user equipment of bubble A, elected master bubble at the end of the federation step, will always be processed in the same manner as in the case where the bubble is standalone. Conversely, a DNS request of a user equipment of bubble B will be transmitted in a first instance to the orchestrator of bubble A which will be able to either carry out a name resolution to its own DNS server due to the synchronisation of the DNS contexts carried out during the federation or instead to relay the request to the orchestrator of the slave bubble as a function of the user equipment having sent the request.

(58) The federation of two tactical bubbles has been described but it is entirely possible to carry out a federation between a tactical bubble and a communication network for mobile terminals of a fixed infrastructure. This makes it possible to guarantee that an intervention team will be able to communicate over the whole extent of the fixed infrastructure while being able to access its specific resources in its tactical bubble. These specific resources remain inaccessible to the original users of the network of the fixed infrastructure.

(59) In practice, a federation of communication networks for mobile terminals is a communication network for mobile terminals. It is thus possible, thanks to the invention, to carry out a federation between a federated network and a communication network for mobile terminals. The invention is thus not limited to the federation of two networks. In other words, with the invention, it is possible to federate two or more communication networks for mobile terminals.

(60) FIG. 4 shows the first tactical bubble B-1 and the second tactical bubble B-2 federated in a context of use. FIG. 4 shows: A first user equipment 401 connected to the first tactical bubble B-1; A second user equipment 402 connected to the first tactical bubble B-1 A third user equipment 403 connected to the second tactical bubble B-2. The third user equipment is in addition out of range of the base station of the first tactical bubble.

(61) In practice, the terminal equipment are smartphones or similar devices, that is to say devices able to connect to an LTE type network.

(62) Thanks to the invention, the first user equipment, or the second user equipment, can establish communication with the third user equipment, which would be impossible without the invention. It can thus benefit from the union of radio coverages.

(63) It is noted that it would be the same if the third mobile equipment was in range of the base station of the first tactical bubble. In this case it could, still thanks to the invention, use the base station of the first tactical bubble to connect to the federated network.

(64) FIG. 5 is identical to FIG. 4 with in addition a connection between the second tactical bubble and an external network 500, for example the Internet network.

(65) In this case, thanks to the invention, the first user terminal and the second user terminal can access the external network.

(66) FIG. 6 is identical to FIG. 4 with in addition a third tactical bubble B-3 federated with the first tactical bubble B-1 via a dedicated link 600. FIG. 6 also shows a fourth user equipment 601 connected to the third tactical bubble B-3.

(67) In this case, thanks to the invention, the third user equipment 403 can establish communication with the fourth user equipment 601.

(68) FIG. 7 is identical to FIG. 4 except for the dedicated connection which is made via a wireless network. In the example of FIG. 7, it is an LTE type network but in practice it could be a Wi-Fi network. In this case, each tactical bubble connects to an LTE network via a base station of said LTE network. Once these connections established, the tactical bubbles can set up the VPN tunnel 200 through these connections.