Abstract:
The present invention provides a method and system for identification of the different packet gateways that support different types of services on their packet data networks. The method and system provides identification and addressing information to user equipment for one or more packet gateways that support different types of services, sometimes called QoS services. The identification and addressing information for the one or more packet gateways is provided in the present invention by and through a DNS server or an AAA server depending on the network architecture and the IP version supporting the communications with the mobile node.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This application is related to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/049,662 filed on May 1, 2008, and priority is claimed for this earlier filing under 35 U.S.C. §119(e). The Provisional Patent Application is also incorporated by reference into this utility patent application. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A method and system for the identification of packet gateways that support different types (QoS) services. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    IP-based mobile system includes at least one mobile node on a wireless communication system. The term “mobile node” includes a mobile communication unit, and, in addition to the mobile node, the communication system has a home network and a foreign network. The mobile node may change its point of attachment to these networks, but the mobile node will always be associated with a single home network for IP addressing purposes. The home network has a home agent and the foreign network has a foreign agent—both of which control the routing of information packets into and out of their network. 
         [0004]    The mobile node, home network, and foreign network may be called other names depending on the nomenclature used on any particular network configuration or communication system. For instance, a “mobile node” is sometimes referred to as user equipment, mobile unit, mobile terminal, mobile device, or similar names depending on the nomenclature adopted by particular system providers. A “mobile node” encompasses PC&#39;s having cabled (e.g., telephone line (“twisted pair”), Ethernet cable, optical cable, and so on) connectivity to the wireless network, as well as wireless connectivity directly to the cellular network, as can be experienced by various makes and models of mobile terminals (“cell phones”) having various features and functionality, such as Internet access, e-mail, messaging services, and the like. The term “mobile node” also includes a mobile communication unit (e.g., mobile terminal, “smart phones,” nomadic devices such as laptop PCs with wireless connectivity). 
         [0005]    A home agent may be referred to as a Home Agent, Home Mobility Manager, Home Location Register, and a foreign agent may be referred to as a Foreign Agent, Serving Mobility Manager, Visited Location Register, and Visiting Serving Entity. Foreign networks can also be called serving networks. The terms Mobile Node, Home Agent and Foreign Agent are not meant to be restrictively defined, but could include other mobile communication units or supervisory routing devices located on the home or foreign networks. 
         [0006]    There are different types of wireless communication systems, such as general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobile (GSM)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) radio access network (GERAN), and long term evolution (LTE) evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN). LTE/EUTRAN system has a different physical layer and a different architecture from those systems preceding it, i.e., GPRS, GERAN, or UTRAN. Different types and levels of service are provided on the communications network by and through different types of packet data networks. Because different types of services are often offered through different packet data networks, the mobile node may need to access different types of services through different packet gateways associated with different packet data networks. It would be beneficial to have a method and system that would support the identification of the different packet gateways that support different types of services on their packet data networks. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a method and system for identification of the different packet gateways that support different types of services on their packet data networks. The method and system provides identification and addressing information to user equipment for one or more packet gateways that support different types of services, sometimes called QoS services. The identification and addressing information for the one or more packet gateways is provided in the present invention by and through a DNS server or an AAA server depending on the network architecture and the IP version supporting the communications with the mobile node. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The objects and features of the invention will become more readily understood from the following detailed description and appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like elements and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a mobile IP-based communication system showing the user equipment, the DNS server, AAA server, serving gateway, and packet gateways coupled to different packet data networks, 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an addressing and identification protocol in Layer 3 using a DNS server with IPv4 protocols, 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an addressing and identification protocol in Layer 3 using a DNS server with IPv6 protocols, 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a addressing and identification protocol in Layer 3 using a AAA server with IPv4 protocols, 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is an addressing and identification protocol in Layer 3 using a AAA server with IPv6 protocols, 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is an addressing and identification protocol in Layer 2 using a DNS server and AAA server with IPv4 protocols, and, 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is an addressing and identification protocol in Layer 2 using a DNS server and AAA server with IPv4 protocols. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the network  100  shows the various network components involved with the connection of the user equipment  101  to the packet data networks PDN 1   150  and/or PDN 2   151 . In  FIG. 1 , the present invention proposes a solution for providing identification and addressing information for the user equipment  101  to track different services from different packet data network gateways as shown in the communication system  100 . When referred to hereafter, the terminology user equipment (UE) includes, but is not limited to, a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, or any other type of user device capable of operating in a wireless environment. 
         [0017]    The user equipment  101  is coupled to a visited network  102  through connection  103 , which can be composed of a wireless radio network connection. The visited network  102  is coupled to the serving gateway  105  through connection  112 , and the visited network  102  is also coupled to a domain name service server  135  through connection  137 . 
         [0018]    The serving gateway  105  is coupled to the domain name service server  135  through connection  137 , and the serving gateway  105  is coupled to an AAA server  160  through connection  155 . The serving gateway  105  is also coupled to PDN Gateway  1   110  and PDN Gateway  2   115  through connections  116  and  117 , respectively. The DNS server  135  and the AAA server  160  may also be connected to the system through a home network and/or home agent (not shown), sometimes called an HRPN Access Node and/or PDSN server. The PDN Gateway  1   110  and PDN Gateway  2   115  are coupled to the multiple PDN networks  150  and  151 , which are coupled by connections  143  and  144 , respectively. It is the determination of addresses associated with these PDN gateways  115  and/or  110  that is central to the present invention. 
         [0019]    In  FIG. 2 , the identification and address information protocol is operated in Layer 3 using IPv6 messaging protocols, and is shown starting at step  205  when the user equipment  101  establishes its connections with the serving gateway  105 . After step  205 , the user equipment  101  is authenticated in step  210  by a communication to the serving gateway  105 , and then step  215  from the serving gateway to the AAA server  160 . 
         [0020]    A bootstrapping step  220  is performed between the user equipment  101  and the AAA server  160  during the attachment procedure where the identification and address information for the default packet data network gateway PDN GW 1   110  is provided to the user equipment  101 . This will be the “best effort” type of service supported for the user equipment  101 . This PDN gateway GW 1  will support the default quality of service or the default type of service for user equipment communications. 
         [0021]    The user equipment  101  will transmit a DHCP communication procedure with the serving gateway  105  in step  225 , and the serving gateway  105  will engage with the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  as the connection for the default services to be provided to the user equipment in step  230 . A PMIP exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  is conducted in step  235 , and default traffic is exchanged using the default quality or type of service in step  245 . 
         [0022]    A voice call is initiated in step  247 , and a different quality of service or type of service may be requested in the voice call. The user equipment  101  transmits a DNS request message to the DNS server  135  in step  250 , and the DNS server  135  transmits a DNS response message to the user equipment in step  155 . The DNS request message in step  250  requests the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  that supports various new quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101 , and the DNS response message in step  255  provides the user equipment with that address and identification information for those quality or types of services (e.g. VoIP, video streaming, video IP, real video, etc.). 
         [0023]    The DNS server  135  operates using RFC 5026 protocols, which means the mobile node is configured with the Fully Qualified Domain Name of the Home Agent. As an example, the Mobile Node could be configured with the name “ha1.example.com”, where “example.com” is the domain name of the MSP granting the mobility service. The mobile node constructs a DNS request by setting the QNAME to the name of the home agent. The request has QTYPE set to “AAA” so that the DNS server  135  sends the IPv4 address of the home agent. 
         [0024]    The user equipment  101  uses the address and identification information received in step  255  to communicate with the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  in the DHCP message transmissions at step  260 . A PMIP message exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 2   115  is conducted in step  270 , and new traffic is exchanged using the new quality of service or type of service in step  275 . 
         [0025]    In  FIG. 3 , the identification and address information protocol is operated in Layer 3 using IPv6 messaging protocols, and is shown starting at step  305  when the user equipment  101  establishes its connections with the serving gateway  105 . After step  305 , the user equipment  101  is authenticated in step  310  by a communication to the serving gateway  105 , and then step  315  from the serving gateway to the AAA server  160 . A Local Address DaD procedure is engaged at step  220  between the user equipment  101  and the DNS server  135  after the authentication steps  310  and  315 . 
         [0026]    The user equipment  101  transmits a DNS request message to the DNS server  135  in step  325 , and the DNS server  135  transmits a DNS response message to the user equipment in step  330 . The DNS request message in step  325  requests the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 1   110  that supports the default quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101 , and the DNS response message in step  330  provides the user equipment with that address and identification information for those default quality or types of services. 
         [0027]    The DNS server  135  operates using RFC 5026 protocols, which means the mobile node is configured with the Fully Qualified Domain Name of the Home Agent. As an example, the Mobile Node could be configured with the name “ha1.example.com”, where “example.com” is the domain name of the MSP granting the mobility service. The mobile node constructs a DNS request by setting the QNAME to the name of the home agent. The request has QTYPE set to “AAAA” so that the DNS server  135  sends the IPv6 address of the home agent. 
         [0028]    The user equipment  101  will transmit a DHCP communication procedure with the serving gateway  105  in step  335 , and the serving gateway  105  will engage with the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  as the connection for the default services to be provided to the user equipment in step  340 . A PMIP exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  is conducted in step  345 , and default traffic is exchanged using the default quality or type of service in step  346 . 
         [0029]    A voice call is initiated in step  347 , and a different quality of service or type of service may be requested in the voice call. The user equipment  101  transmits a DNS request message to the DNS server  135  in step  350 , and the DNS server  135  transmits a DNS response message to the user equipment in step  355 . The DNS request message in step  350  requests the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  that supports various new quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101 , and the DNS response message in step  355  provides the user equipment with that address and identification information for those quality or types of services (e.g. VoIP, video streaming, video IP, real video, etc.). 
         [0030]    The user equipment  101  uses the address and identification information received in step  355  to communicate with the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  in the DHCP message transmissions at step  360 . A PMIP message exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 2   115  is conducted in step  365 , and new traffic is exchanged using the new quality of service or type of service in step  375 . 
         [0031]    In  FIG. 4 , the identification and address information protocol is operated in Layer 3 using IPv4 messaging protocols, and is shown starting at step  405  when the user equipment  101  establishes its connections with the serving gateway  105 . After step  405 , the user equipment  101  is authenticated in step  410  by a communication to the serving gateway  105 , and then step  415  from the serving gateway to the AAA server  160 . 
         [0032]    A bootstrapping step  420  is performed between the user equipment  101  and the AAA server  160  during the attachment procedure where the identification and address information for the default packet data network gateway PDN GW 1   110  is provided to the user equipment  101 . This will be the “best effort” type of service supported for the user equipment  101 . This PDN gateway GW 1  will support the default quality of service or the default type of service for user equipment communications. In addition to the default addressing and identification information, the bootstrapping step  420  will also provide the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  that supports various new quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101  (e.g. VoIP, video streaming, video IP, real video, etc.). 
         [0033]    In step  425 , default traffic is exchanged between the user equipment  101  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  using the default quality or type of service. The user equipment  101  will transmit a DHCP communication procedure with the serving gateway  105  in step  427 , and the serving gateway  105  will engage with the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  as the connection for the default services to be provided to the user equipment in step  430 . A PMIP exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  is conducted in step  435 . 
         [0034]    A voice call is initiated in step  437 , and a different quality of service or type of service may be requested in the voice call. The user equipment  101  uses the address and identification information received from the AAA server  160  to communicate with the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  in the DHCP message transmissions at step  440 . A PMIP message exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 2   115  is conducted in step  445 , and new traffic is exchanged using the new quality of service or type of service in step  450 . 
         [0035]    In  FIG. 5 , the identification and address information protocol is operated in Layer 3 using IPv6 messaging protocols, and is shown starting at step  505  when the user equipment  101  establishes its connections with the serving gateway  105 . After step  505 , the user equipment  101  is authenticated in step  510  by a communication to the serving gateway  105 , and then step  515  from the serving gateway  105  to the AAA server  160 . A Local Address DaD procedure is engaged at step  520  between the user equipment  101  and the DNS server  135  after the authentication steps  510  and  515 . 
         [0036]    A bootstrapping step  525  is performed between the user equipment  101  and the AAA server  160  during the attachment procedure where the identification and address information for the default packet data network gateway PDN GW 1   110  is provided to the user equipment  101 . This will be the “best effort” type of service supported for the user equipment  101 . This PDN gateway GW 1  will support the default quality of service or the default type of service for user equipment communications. In addition to the default addressing and identification information, the bootstrapping step  520  will also provide the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  that supports various new quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101  (e.g. VoIP, video streaming, video IP, real video, etc.). 
         [0037]    The user equipment  101  will transmit a DHCP communication procedure with the serving gateway  105  in step  530 , and the serving gateway  105  will engage with the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  as the connection for the default services to be provided to the user equipment in step  535 . A PMIP exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  is conducted in step  540 . 
         [0038]    A voice call is initiated in step  542 , and a different quality of service or type of service may be requested in the voice call, and default traffic is exchanged using the default quality or type of service in step  545 . The user equipment  101  uses the address and identification information received from the earlier bootstrap communication at step  525  to communicate with the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  in the DHCP message transmissions at step  550 . A PMIP message exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 2   115  is conducted in step  555 , and new traffic is exchanged using the new quality of service or type of service in step  560 . 
         [0039]    In  FIG. 6 , the identification and address information protocol is operated in Layer 2 using IPv4 messaging protocols, and is shown starting at step  605  when the user equipment  101  establishes its connections with the serving gateway  105 . During step  605 , the identification and address information for the default packet data network gateway PDN GW 1   110  is provided to the user equipment  101 . This will be the “best effort” type of service supported for the user equipment  101 . This PDN gateway GW 1  will support the default quality of service or the default type of service for user equipment communications. In addition to the default addressing and identification information, the connection step  605  will also provide the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  that supports various new quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101  (e.g. VoIP, video streaming, video IP, real video, etc.). 
         [0040]    After step  605 , the user equipment  101  is authenticated in step  610  by a communication to the serving gateway  105 , and then step  615  from the serving gateway to the AAA server  160 . A bootstrapping step  620  is performed between the user equipment  101  and the AAA server  160  during the attachment procedure. 
         [0041]    In step  625 , default traffic is exchanged between the user equipment  101  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  using the default quality or type of service. The user equipment  101  will transmit a DHCP communication procedure with the serving gateway  105  in step  627 , and the serving gateway  105  will engage with the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  as the connection for the default services to be provided to the user equipment in step  630 . A PMIP exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  is conducted in step  635 . 
         [0042]    A voice call is initiated in step  637 , and a different quality of service or type of service may be requested in the voice call. The user equipment  101  uses the address and identification information received from the AAA server  160  to communicate with the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  in the DHCP message transmissions at step  640 . A PMIP message exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 2   115  is conducted in step  645 , and new traffic is exchanged using the new quality of service or type of service in step  650 . 
         [0043]    In  FIG. 7 , the identification and address information protocol is operated in Layer 2 using IPv6 messaging protocols, and is shown starting at step  705  when the user equipment  101  establishes its connections with the serving gateway  105 . During step  705 , the identification and address information for the default packet data network gateway PDN GW 1   110  is provided to the user equipment  101 . This will be the “best effort” type of service supported for the user equipment  101 . This PDN gateway GW 1  will support the default quality of service or the default type of service for user equipment communications. In addition to the default addressing and identification information, the connection step  705  will also provide the address and identification information for the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  that supports various new quality of service or type of service to be made available to the user equipment  101  (e.g. VoIP, video streaming, video IP, real video, etc.). 
         [0044]    After step  705 , the user equipment  101  is authenticated in step  710  by a communication to the serving gateway  105 , and then step  715  from the serving gateway  105  to the AAA server  160 . A Local Address DaD procedure is engaged at step  720  between the user equipment  101  and the DNS server  135  after the authentication steps  710  and  715 . 
         [0045]    The user equipment  101  will transmit a DHCP communication procedure with the serving gateway  105  in step  730 , and the serving gateway  105  will engage with the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  as the connection for the default services to be provided to the user equipment in step  735 . A PMIP exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 1   110  is conducted in step  740 . 
         [0046]    A voice call is initiated in step  742 , and a different quality of service or type of service may be requested in the voice call, and default traffic is exchanged using the default quality or type of service in step  745 . The user equipment  101  uses the address and identification information received from the earlier connection communication at step  705  to communicate with the packet data network gateway PDN GW 2   115  in the DHCP message transmissions at step  750 . A PMIP message exchange between the serving gateway  105  and the packet data network PDN GW 2   115  is conducted in step  755 , and new traffic is exchanged using the new quality of service or type of service in step  760 . 
         [0047]    The present invention also contemplates using a home agent IPv4 address extension to support the multiple PDN gateway GW addresses and identification information that support the different quality of services and types of services. Further, the HNP extension can also be used to list the unique identification and addressing information that support the different quality of services and types of services. In other protocols, the MAG or serving gateway will send a proxy binding update message with an indication of how many IPv4 addresses are needed and/or how many HNPs are needed to show the multiple PDN gateway GW addresses and identification that support the different quality of services and types of services. 
         [0048]    While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and teachings of the invention. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to be limiting. Many variations and modifications of the invention disclosed herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention.