Method and apparatus for obtaining destination IP address

1. A method for obtaining a destination IP address during a machine to machine (M2M) communication, the method comprising:

at a mobility management entity, receiving a tracking area update request sent by a terminal device of a M2M communication network;

at the mobility management entity, in response to the tracking area update, sending a location update request to a home subscriber server, wherein the location update request is configured to initiate a cancel location request for a prior mobility management entity serving the terminal device;

at the mobility management entity, obtaining a destination IP address from a network-side device of the M2M communication network in response to the location update request, wherein the obtaining comprises receiving a location update response sent by the home subscriber server, wherein the location update response carries subscription data, and the subscription data comprises a network provided destination feature and the destination IP address, wherein the destination IP address is an IP address of the network-side device, wherein obtaining the destination IP address comprises

sending a modify bearer request or a create bearer request to a gateway device, to obtain a destination IP address obtained by the gateway device when, according to the network provided destination feature in subscription data in a location update response, the destination IP address is sent to the terminal device, wherein the modify bearer request or the create bearer request carries the network provided destination feature, and

receiving a modify bearer response or a create bearer response sent by the gateway device, wherein the modify bearer response or the create bearer response carries the destination IP address obtained by the gateway device; and

at the mobility management entity, transmitting a tracking area update request response comprising the destination IP address from the network-side device to the terminal device; and

at the mobility management entity, receiving a tracking area update complete message indicating the terminal device has received the destination IP address and inter-area management of the terminal device is complete so that the terminal device sends uplink data according to the destination IP address.

2. The method for obtaining a destination IP address according to claim 1 , wherein the obtaining a destination IP address from a network-side device comprises extracting the destination IP address from the subscription data sent by the home subscriber server when, according to the network provided destination feature, the destination IP address is sent to the terminal device.

3. An apparatus for communication in a machine to machine (M2M) communication network, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory comprising a program to be executed in the processor, wherein the program comprises instructions for:

receiving a tracking area update request sent by a terminal device in the M2M communication network;

in response to the tracking area update, sending a location update request to a home subscriber server, wherein the location update request is configured to initiate a cancel location request for a prior mobility management entity serving the terminal device;

obtaining a destination IP address from a network-side device according to the location update request, wherein the obtaining comprises receiving a location update response sent by the home subscriber server, wherein the location update response carries subscription data, and the subscription data comprises a network provided destination feature and the destination IP address, wherein the destination IP address is an IP address of the apparatus, wherein obtaining the destination IP address comprises

sending a modify bearer request or a create bearer request to a gateway device, to obtain a destination IP address obtained by the gateway device when, according to the network provided destination feature in subscription data in a location update response, the destination IP address is sent to the terminal device, wherein the modify bearer request or the create bearer request carries the network provided destination feature, and

receiving a modify bearer response or a create bearer response sent by the gateway device, wherein the modify bearer response or the create bearer response carries the destination IP address obtained by the gateway device; and

transmitting a tracking area update request response comprising the destination IP address from the apparatus to the terminal device; and

receiving a tracking area update complete message indicating the terminal device has received the destination IP address and inter-area management of the terminal device is complete so that the terminal device sends uplink data according to the destination IP address.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein obtaining a destination IP address comprises instructions for extracting the destination IP address from subscription data in a location update response when, according to the network provided destination feature in the subscription data, the destination IP address is sent to the terminal device.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein obtaining the destination IP address comprises further instructions for:

sending a location update request to a home subscriber server, and receive a location update response sent by the home subscriber server, wherein the location update response carries subscription data, and the subscription data comprises a network provided destination feature and the destination IP address;

extracting the destination IP address from the subscription data when, according to the network provided destination feature in the subscription data, the destination IP address is sent to the terminal device.