Mobility functionality for a cloud-based access system

1. A method for enabling Layer 2 (L2) mobility between a first access point (AP) and a second AP, comprising:

attaching a user equipment (UE) to the first AP, wherein attaching the UE to the first AP comprises:

requesting a UE Media Access Control (MAC) address from a User ID and Profile Service using an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) associated with the UE as a lookup key;

using the UE MAC address returned by the User ID and Profile Service to create a Layer 2 Virtual Ethernet (VETH) pair between an Optimized Packet Function (OPF) and an Open Virtual Switch (OVS), wherein an intermediary OVS function in the first AP facilitates socket binding between a pair of VETH ports, the pair of VETH ports comprising one VETH port at the OPF and another VETH port at the OVS, wherein the OVS function stores and maintains UE information in a database;

sending an Internet Protocol (IP) address request from the OPF to an external Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server via the OVS, wherein the external DHCP server returns an allocated IP address; and

sending the allocated IP address, the IMSI associated with the UE, and an identification (ID) associated with the first AP to the User ID and Profile Service to be stored as part of the UE information; and

performing an X2-based handover of the UE to the second AP, wherein the second AP associates the UE with the allocated IP address and MAC address stored by the User ID and Profile Service as part of the UE information.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first AP and the second AP comprise a set of one or more base-station functions including one or more eNodeB functions and a set of one or more core-network functions including one or more Evolved Packet Core (EPC) functions.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the User ID and Profile Service stores the IP address in a database table comprising a set of identities (IDs) associated with the UE.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the IP address allocated to the UE does not change when the UE is handed over to another AP with another set of one or more base-station functions and another set of one or more core-network functions.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the set of one or more core-network functions include a mobility management function (MMF) and an optimized packet function (OPF), wherein the MMF is configured to perform at least a subset of functions of a mobility management entity (MME), wherein the OPF is configured to perform at least a subset of functions of a Serving Gateway (SG-W) node or a packet-data gateway (PGW) node.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein during the step of attaching the UE to the first AP, the MMF sends a UE information request to the User ID and Profile Service with the IMSI as a parameter and receives the UE MAC address in response, wherein the MMF sends the UE MAC address to the OPF.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the IP address has a lease time, wherein the OPF starts three timers T1, T2, and T3 for the UE, wherein T3 is a time till lease expiry, T1 is a configurable time such that T1<T3, wherein T1 indicates when a lease renew from a corresponding DHCP server has to be attempted by unicasting, wherein T2 is a configurable time such that T1<T2<T3, wherein T2 indicates when a lease renew from any DHCP server has to be attempted by broadcasting.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the OPF communicates with the external DHCP server according to the three timers and through the OVS to renew or deallocate the lease that maintains the IP address for the UE.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein DHCP rules are retained at the OVS for subsequent DHCP IP address renewal.

10. A system for enabling Layer 2 (L2) mobility between a first access point (AP) and a second AP, comprising:

attaching a user equipment (UE) to the first AP, wherein attaching the UE to the first AP comprises:

requesting a UE Media Access Control (MAC) address from a User ID and Profile Service using an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) associated with the UE as a lookup key;

using the UE MAC address returned by the User ID and Profile Service to create a layer 2 Virtual Ethernet (VETH) pair between an Optimized Packet Function (OPF) and an Open Virtual Switch (OVS), wherein an intermediary OVS function in the first AP facilitates socket binding between a pair of VETH ports, the pair of VETH ports comprising one VETH port at the OPF and another VETH port at the OVS, wherein the OVS function stores and maintains UE information in a database;

sending an Internet Protocol (IP) address request from the OPF to an external Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server via the OVS, wherein the external DHCP server returns an allocated IP address; and

sending the allocated IP address, the IMSI associated with the UE, and an identification (ID) associated with the first AP to the User ID and Profile Service to be stored as part of the UE information; and

performing an X2-based handover of the UE to the second AP, wherein the second AP associates the UE with the allocated IP address and MAC address stored by the User ID and Profile Service as part of the UE information.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the User ID and Profile Service stores the IP address in a database table comprising a set of identities (IDs) associated with the UE, wherein the IP address of the UE does not change during the X2-based handover to the second AP.

12. The system AP of claim 11 , wherein the first AP comprises a set of one or more first base-station functions including a first eNodeB function, wherein the second AP further comprises a set of one or more second base-station functions including a second eNodeB function, wherein a first MMF of the first AP and a second MMF of the second AP are configured to perform at least a subset of functions of a mobility management entity (MME), and wherein a first OPF of the first AP and a second OPF of the second AP are configured to perform at least a subset of functions of a Serving Gateway (SG-W) node or a packet-data gateway (PGW) node.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein during the X2-based handover of the UE in a connected mode, the UE sends uplink data to the second eNodeB function, wherein the second eNodeB sends the uplink data to the first OPF, wherein the OVS of the first AP communicates with the Internet through a backhaul network, wherein the X2-based handover includes identification of the first MMF to perform UE context transfer, and wherein the second MMF look up an IP address of the first MMF using a Globally Unique MME Identity (GUMMEI) as a key in the database table of the User ID and Profile Service.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the X2-based handover of the UE is performed in an idle mode, wherein when the first AP and the second AP have different tracking area IDs, the X2-based handover is based on a Globally Unique MME Identity (GUMMEI) of the first MMF in a Tracking Area Update (TAU) sent by the UE to the second AP, wherein when the first AP and the second AP have a same tracking area ID, the X2-based handover is based on information from a centralized mobility manager that receives paging failures from the first AP.

15. A first access point (AP), comprising:

a memory storing instructions for execution by at least one processor; and

at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:

attaching a user equipment (UE) to the first AP, wherein attaching the UE to the first AP comprises:

requesting a UE Media Access Control (MAC) address from a User ID and Profile Service using an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) associated with the UE as a lookup key;

using the UE MAC address returned by the User ID and Profile Service to create a Layer 2 Virtual Ethernet (VETH) pair between an Optimized Packet Function (OPF) and an Open Virtual Switch (OVS), wherein an intermediary OVS function in the first AP facilitates socket binding between a pair of VETH ports, the pair of VETH ports comprising one VETH port at the OPF and another VETH port at the OVS, wherein the OVS function stores and maintains UE information in a database;

sending an Internet Protocol (IP) address request from the OPF to an external Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server via the OVS, wherein the external DHCP server returns an allocated IP address; and

sending the allocated IP address, the IMSI associated with the UE, and an identification (ID) associated with the first AP to the User ID and Profile Service to be stored as part of the UE information; and

performing an X2-based handover of the UE to a second AP, wherein the second AP associates the UE with the allocated IP address and MAC address stored by the User ID and Profile Service as part of the UE information.

16. A second access point (AP), comprising:

a memory storing instructions for execution by at least one processor; and

at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:

receiving an X2-based handover of a user equipment (UE) from a first AP after an attachment of the UE to the first AP, wherein the attachment of the UE to the first AP comprises:

requesting, by the first AP, a UE Media Access Control (MAC) address from a User ID and Profile Service using an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) associated with the UE as a lookup key;

using, by the first AP, the UE MAC address returned by the User ID and Profile Service to create a layer 2 Virtual Ethernet (VETH) pair between an Optimized Packet Function (OPF) and an Open Virtual Switch (OVS), wherein an intermediary OVS function in the first AP facilitates socket binding between a pair of VETH ports, the pair of VETH ports comprising one VETH port at the OPF and another VETH port at the OVS, wherein the OVS function stores and maintains UE information in a database;

sending, by the first AP, an Internet Protocol (IP) address request from the OPF to an external Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server via the OVS, wherein the external DHCP server returns an allocated IP address; and

sending, by the first AP, the allocated IP address, the IMSI associated with the UE, and an identification (ID) associated with the first AP to the User ID and Profile Service to be stored as part of the UE information; and

associating the UE with the allocated IP address and MAC address stored by the User ID and Profile Service as part of the UE information.