Patent ID: 8913588

Claim:
A handover method, used for handing over a user equipment (UE) from a source access node to a target access node in a long term evolution (LTE) system, wherein the source access node accesses a mobility management entity (MME) through a donor station of the source access node; wherein handover types of the LTE system comprise an X2 handover and an S1 handover; wherein in the X2 handover, an X2 interface between two base stations acts as a reference point; wherein in the S1 handover, an S1 interface between an MME and a base station acts as a reference point; and wherein the method comprises: obtaining, by the source access node, a globally unique MME identifier (GUMMEI) sent by the donor station, wherein the GUMMEI is used for identifying a MME to which the UE in coverage of the source access node is attached, and the GUMMEI is sent by the donor station to the source access node through an initial context setup request message or an S1 handover request message; obtaining, by the source access node, MME pool information of the target access node sent by the donor station; determining, by the source access node, a handover type of the handover according to the obtained GUMMEI and the MME pool information of the target access node, wherein the handover type is X2 handover if an MME pool of the MME to which the UE in coverage of the source access node is attached and an MME pool to which the target access node belongs are the same, and wherein the handover type is S1 handover if the MME pool of the MME to which the UE in coverage of the source access node is attached and the MME pool to which the target access node belongs are different; and initiating, by the source access node, the handover according to the determined handover type.