Patent ID: 8923922
Filing Date: 2014-12-30
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. An access gateway (AGW) to be located between a plurality of base stations for wirelessly communicating with mobile stations and a core network, the access gateway (AGW) comprising: an access gateway unit (C-AGW) for communicating control messages with each of the plurality of base stations via an access network; and a plurality of access gateway units (U-AGWs), each of which communicates data packets with the plurality of base stations via the access network, the C-AGW comprising: a recording unit that records a first management table including a table entry, recording an address of base station to be a first endpoint of a tunnel and an address of one of the U-AGWs to be a second endpoint of the tunnel, in association with a mobile station identifier; and a controller that returns a reply message to one of the base stations when a tunnel setup request message including a mobile station identifier is received from the base station, the reply message indicating an address of U-AGW to be the second endpoint of the tunnel, wherein, when the controller receives the tunnel setup request message, the controller searches the first management table, notifies the base station of the address of U-AGW indicated in an objective table entry by the reply message, if the objective table entry corresponding to the mobile station identifier indicated by the tunnel setup request message is found, and if the objective table entry corresponding to the mobile station identifier indicated by the tunnel setup request message is not yet registered, selects a particular U-AGW out of the plurality of U-AGWs so as to distribute loads to the plurality of the U-AGWs, and notifies the base station of an address of the particular U-AGW by the reply message.