Collection of subscriber information for data breakout in a mobile data network
View Patent ↗A method and system supports subscriber based IP data breakout at the edge of a mobile data network without monitoring the use of security keys or breaking into ciphered message exchanges. The system employs a first service mechanism operating at the edge of the mobile data network a second service mechanism operating at the core on the S11 interface. The second service mechanism at the core collects subscriber related data, subscriber identifiers and tunnel identifiers and sends this data to the first service mechanism. The second service mechanism at the core collects subscriber related data, subscriber identifiers and tunnel identifiers and sends this data to the first service mechanism. The first service mechanism uses the tunnel identifiers received from the second service mechanism to identify sessions and tunnels carrying subscriber dependent data packets (S1-U packets) in order to perform subscriber-based IP data breakout, offloading and optimization.
1. A mobile data network comprising:
a plurality of basestations, each basestation communicating with a corresponding antenna that transmits and receives radio signals to and from user equipment, wherein the plurality of basestations are part of a radio access network that communicates with a core network in the mobile data network;
a first service mechanism associated with a basestation of the plurality of basestations in the radio access network that defines an existing first data path in the radio access network for non-broken out data, defines a second data path for broken out data, identifies first data received from a corresponding basestation as data to be broken out, sends the first data on the second data path, and forwards other data that is not broken out on the first data path, wherein the first service mechanism performs a first service for network messages in the radio access network based on the first data;
a second service mechanism in the core network that monitors network messages in the core network and determines what traffic meets breakout authorization criteria and sends a message to the first service mechanism with subscriber information for the first service mechanism to perform breakout sessions on the second data path;
an overlay network that allows the first service mechanism to communicate with the second service mechanism to perform the first service;
wherein the first service mechanism snoops an interface to fetch and store subscriber session identifiers and the second service mechanism provides to the first mechanism subscriber identification (ID) data and tunnel identifiers; and
wherein the first service mechanism uses the provided subscriber ID data and tunnel identifiers to identify tunnel endpoints to support breakout and optimization at the first service mechanism.
2. The mobile data network of claim 1 wherein the service mechanism snoops an S1 interface to fetch and store subscriber S1 interface application protocol (S1AP) identifiers.
3. The mobile data network of claim 2 wherein the first service mechanism snoops an Attach Request message from the user equipment to determine the S1AP identifiers.
4. The mobile data network of claim 1 wherein the second service mechanism fetches the subscriber ID data and a first tunnel identifier from a Create Session Request message and Create Session Response message.
5. The mobile data network of claim 4 wherein first service mechanism identifies a second tunnel endpoints by first identifying an mobility management entity to user equipment S1AP identifier (MME-UE-S1AP-ID) using the subscriber ID data and tunnel identifiers from the Create Session Request message, and then using the MME-UE-S1AP-ID to identify an InitialContextSetup Response and retrieve the second tunnel endpoint identifier (eNodeB-GTP-TEID).
6. The mobile data network of claim 5 wherein the first service mechanism performs flow based breakout using the first and second tunnel endpoint identifiers.
7. The mobile data network of claim 6 wherein the first service mechanism sends a message to the second service mechanism on the overlay network to inform the second service mechanism of the breakout of an IP data flow of a subscriber session.
8. A mobile data network comprising:
a plurality of basestations, each basestation communicating with a corresponding antenna that transmits and receives radio signals to and from user equipment, wherein the plurality of basestations are part of a radio access network that communicates with a core network in the mobile data network;
a first service mechanism associated with a basestation of the plurality of basestations in the radio access network that defines an existing first data path in the radio access network for non-broken out data, defines a second data path for broken out data, identifies first data received from a corresponding basestation as data to be broken out, sends the first data on the second data path, and forwards other data that is not broken out on the first data path, wherein the first service mechanism performs a first service for network messages in the radio access network based on the first data;
a second service mechanism in the core network that monitors network messages in the core network and determines what traffic meets breakout authorization criteria and sends a message to the first service mechanism with subscriber information for the first service mechanism to perform breakout sessions on the second data path;
an overlay network that allows the first service mechanism to communicate with the second service mechanism to perform the first service;
wherein the first service mechanism snoops an Attach Request message from the user equipment on an S1 interface to fetch and store subscriber S1 interface application protocol (S1AP) identifiers and the second service mechanism fetches the subscriber identification (ID) data and tunnel identifiers from a Create Session Request message and a Create Session Response message and provides to the first mechanism the subscriber ID data and the tunnel identifiers;
wherein the first service mechanism uses the provided subscriber ID data and tunnel identifiers to identify tunnel endpoints to support breakout and optimization at the first service mechanism;
wherein first service mechanism identifies second tunnel endpoints by first identifying an mobility management entity to user equipment S1AP identifier (MME-UE-S1AP-ID) using the subscriber ID data and tunnel identifiers from the Create Session Request message, and then using the MME-UE-S1AP-ID to identify an InitialContextSetup Response and retrieve the second tunnel endpoint identifier (eNodeB-GTP-TEID);
wherein the first service mechanism performs flow based breakout using the first and second tunnel endpoint identifiers; and
wherein the first service mechanism sends a message to the second service mechanism on the overlay network to inform the second service mechanism of the breakout of an IP data flow of a subscriber session.