The present disclosure relates to a machine type communications (MTC) device, a serving node (e.g. SGSN), and various methods for implementing an uplink stack reduction (USR) feature. The USR feature reduces the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications which will serve to substantially minimize the amount of radio interface bandwidth consumed and therefore significantly improve the Packet Data Channel (PDCH) utilization within the telecommunication network.
The following abbreviations are herewith defined, at least some of which are referred to within the following description of the prior art and the present invention.
Machine Type Communications (MTC) involve the transmission of MTC data packets which are anticipated to contain a small amount of application payload (e.g. 100 octets) which, when sent from a MTC device, will also typically be sent to the same MTC application server located in an IP network. It is also expected that such MTC data packets will be made within the context of UDP/IP datagrams where UDP adds 6 to 8 octets of overhead (see
A MTC device, a serving node (e.g. SGSN), and various methods for implementing an uplink stack reduction (USR) feature which reduces the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications are described in the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the MTC device, the serving node (e.g. SGSN), and the various methods are further described in the dependent claims.
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a MTC device configured to implement an USR feature with a serving node (e.g. SGSN). The MTC device comprises a processor, and at least one memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the at least one memory to execute the processor-executable instructions, whereby the MTC device is operable to perform a receive operation, a first send operation, an enable operation, a store operation, and a second send operation. In the receive operation, the MTC device receives a message from the serving node when activating a PDP context with the serving node, wherein the message comprises an indication which indicates that the serving node supports the USR feature. In the first send operation, the MTC device sends a SN-PDU having a payload which comprises UDP/IP layers to the serving node, wherein the SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the serving node. In the enable operation, the MTC device enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the serving node. In the store operation, the MTC device stores status information indicating the USR feature is enabled for the PDP context with the serving node. In the second send operation, the MTC device sends a subsequent SN-PDU having a payload which excludes UDP/IP layers to the serving node, wherein the subsequent SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the serving node. The MTC device by implementing the USR feature reduces the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications which will serve to substantially minimize the amount of radio interface bandwidth consumed and therefore significantly improve the PDCH utilization within the telecommunication network.
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method in a MTC device for implementing an USR feature with a serving node (e.g. SGSN). The method comprises a receiving operation, a first sending operation, an enabling operation, a storing operation, and a second sending operation. In the receiving operation, the MTC device receives a message from the serving node when activating a PDP context with the serving node, wherein the message comprises an indication which indicates that the serving node supports the USR feature. In the first sending operation, the MTC device sends a SN-PDU having a payload which comprises UDP/IP layers to the serving node, wherein the SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the serving node. In the enabling operation, the MTC device enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the serving node. In the storing operation, the MTC device stores status information indicating the USR feature is enabled for the PDP context with the serving node. In the second sending operation, the MTC device sends a subsequent SN-PDU having a payload which excludes UDP/IP layers to the serving node, wherein the subsequent SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the serving node. The method in the MTC device for implementing the USR feature reduces the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications which will serve to substantially minimize the amount of radio interface bandwidth consumed and therefore significantly improve the PDCH utilization within the telecommunication network
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a serving node (e.g., SGSN) configured to implement an USR feature with a MTC device. The serving node comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the at least one processor interfaces with the at least one memory to execute the processor-executable instructions, whereby the serving node is operable to perform a send operation, a first receive operation, an enable and store operation, a second receive operation, and a re-generate operation. In the send operation, the serving node sends a message to the MTC device when activating a PDP context with the MTC device, wherein the message comprises an indication which indicates that the serving node supports the USR feature. In the receive operation, the serving node receives a SN-PDU having a payload which comprises UDP/IP layers from the MTC device, wherein the SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the MTC device. In the enable and store operations, the serving node upon receipt of the SN-PDU enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the MTC device and stores information about the UDP/IP layers within the received SN-PDU. In the second receive operation, the serving node receives from the MTC device a subsequent SN-PDU having an indicator indicating that UDP/IP layers are excluded from a payload therein, wherein the subsequent SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the MTC device. In the re-generate operation, the serving node upon receipt of the subsequent SN-PDU, re-generates UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDU using the stored information to create a N-PDU comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload of the subsequent SN-PDU. The serving node by implementing the USR feature reduces the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications which will serve to substantially minimize the amount of radio interface bandwidth consumed and therefore significantly improve the PDCH utilization within the telecommunication network
In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method in a serving node (e.g., SGSN) configured to implement an USR feature with a MTC device. The method comprises a sending operation, a first receiving operation, an enabling and storing operation, a second receiving operation, and a re-generating operation. In the sending operation, the serving node sends a message to the MTC device when activating a PDP context with the MTC device, wherein the message comprises an indication which indicates that the serving node supports the USR feature. In the receiving operation, the serving node receives a SN-PDU having a payload which comprises UDP/IP layers from the MTC device, wherein the SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the MTC device. In the enabling and storing operations, the serving node upon receipt of the SN-PDU enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the MTC device and stores information about the UDP/IP layers within the received SN-PDU. In the second receiving operation, the serving node receives from the MTC device a subsequent SN-PDU having an indicator indicating that UDP/IP layers are excluded from a payload therein, wherein the subsequent SN-PDU is associated with the PDP context with the MTC device. In the re-generating operation, the serving node upon receipt of the subsequent SN-PDU, re-generates UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDU using the stored information to create a N-PDU comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload of the subsequent SN-PDU. The method in the serving node by implementing the USR feature reduces the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications which will serve to substantially minimize the amount of radio interface bandwidth consumed and therefore significantly improve the PDCH utilization within the telecommunication network.
Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth, in part, in the detailed description, figures and any claims which follow, and in part will be derived from the detailed description, or can be learned by practice of the invention. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as disclosed.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:
The present disclosure describes one possible optimization for reducing the ratio of UDP/IP overhead to MTC data packet payload in MTC communications which will serve to substantially minimize the amount of radio interface bandwidth consumed and therefore significantly improve the PDCH utilization within the wireless telecommunication network. This optimization which is referred to herein as the Uplink Stack Reduction (USR) feature takes advantage of the high degree that MTC data packets which have fields comprising UDP/IP layers will remain the same when considering the successive MTC data packets which are sent from a given MTC device to the same MTC application server located in an IP network. This consistency in the content of the UDP/IP layers allows for using the USR feature wherein a serving node (e.g. SGSN) retains knowledge of the UDP/IP layers whenever present in the SN-PDU payload corresponding to a given PDP context. This allows the MTC device to exclude UDP/IP layers from the protocol stack of the SN-PDU payload when transmitting subsequent uplink SN-PDUs for that PDP context to the serving node (e.g. SGSN) since the applicable UDP/IP layers will already be known by the serving node (e.g. SGSN). Although the USR feature is described herein based on a wireless telecommunication system which utilizes the GSM radio interface it should be appreciated that the USR feature may be applied in the context of other radio interfaces based on other standards such as, for example, LTE and UMTS.
Referring to
1. The SGSN 104 sends a message 108 to the MTC device 102 when activating a PDP context with the MTC device 102. The message 108 (e.g. NAS message 108—see
2. The MTC device 102 sends a SN-PDU 110 associated with the PDP context to the SGSN 104. The SN-PDU 110 has a payload which comprises the UDP/IP layers (see
3. The MTC device 102 enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the SGSN 104 and stores status information indicating the USR feature is enabled for the PDP context with the SGSN 104. Note: if an inter-SGSN PS Handover is performed then the MTC device 102 will be informed during the handover related signaling with the serving SGSN about whether it should consider USR to be enabled in the new cell. In addition, when changing cells due to cell re-selection (i.e., not PS handover), the MTC device 102 retains the USR status information for as long as it remains in a cell within the same Routing Area as it was when it last performed a Routing Area Update.
4. Upon receiving the SN-PDU 110, the SGSN 104 enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the MTC device 102 and stores information about the UDP/IP layers within the received SN-PDU 110. Note: the SGSN 104 can store the information about the UDP/IP layers from the received SN-PDU 110 for as long as the PDP context with the MTC device 102 is retained.
5. The MTC device 102 sends a subsequent SN-PDU 1121 associated with the PDP context to the SGSN 104. The subsequent SN-PDU 1121 has a payload which does not have UDP/IP layers.
6. Upon receiving the subsequent SN-PDU 1121, the SGSN 104 re-generates the UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDU 1121 using the stored information from step 4 to create a N-PDU comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload from the subsequent SN-PDU 1121.
7. The MTC device 102 sends a subsequent SN-PDU 1122 associated with the PDP context to the SGSN 104. The subsequent SN-PDU 1122 has a payload which does not have UDP/IP layers. Note: the MTC device 102 could send any number of subsequent SN-PDUs 1123, 1124 . . . 112x which have payloads that do not have UDP/IP layers associated with the PDP context to the SGSN 104.
8. Upon receiving the subsequent SN-PDU 1122, the SGSN 104 re-generates the UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDU 1122 using the stored information from step 4 to create a N-PDU comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload from the subsequent SN-PDU 1122. Note: the SGSN 104 could receive any number of subsequent SN-PDUs 1123, 1124 . . . 112x and re-generate the UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDUs 1123, 1124 . . . 112x using the stored information from step 4 to create N-PDUs comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payloads from the respective subsequent SN-PDUs 1123, 1124 . . . 112x.
9. At some point in time, the SGSN 104 can send a disable indicator 114 to the MTC device 102. The disable indicator 114 comprises an indication which indicates that the USR feature is disabled for the PDP context with the SGSN 104. For example, this point in time can be when an inter-SGSN PS handover is performed where the disable indicator 114 can be part of the PS Handover related signaling information relayed from the serving SGSN to the MTC device 102. Another is example is where the serving SGSN experiences a memory issue and determines that it can no longer buffer the PDP Context specific information about the UDP/IP layers for one or more MTC devices 102.
The following steps 10-20 describe how the MTC device 102 can initiate a RAU procedure with the target SGSN 106 and implement the USR feature in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
10. At some point in time, assume the MTC device 102 decides to perform a RAU procedure with the target SGSN 106 at which point the MTC device 102 would consider the USR feature to be disabled for the PDP context with the target SGSN 106. For instance, the MTC device 102 may decide to perform the RAU procedure when it is in idle mode and performs a cell change to a cell in a new routing area associated with the target SGSN 106 in which case the MTC device 102 will not know if the new SGSN 106 supports the USR feature.
11. The MTC device 102 sends a RAU request message 116 to the target SGSN 106.
12. Upon receiving the RAU request message 116, the target SGSN 106 sends a RAU accept message 118 to the MTC device 102. The RAU accept message 118 comprises an indication which indicates that the target SGSN 106 supports the USR feature for the PDP context with the MTC device 102. Note: the target SGSN 106 will wait for the MTC device 102 to send it a RAU complete message (in response to the MTC device 102 receiving the RAU accept message 118) before the target SGSN 106 considers the PDP Context to be enabled.
13. The MTC device 102 sends a SN-PDU 120 associated with the PDP context to the target SGSN 106. The SN-PDU 120 has a payload which comprises the UDP/IP layers (see
14. The MTC device 102 enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the target SGSN 106 and stores status information indicating the USR feature is enabled for the PDP context with the target SGSN 106. Note: if an inter-SGSN PS Handover is performed then the MTC device 102 will be informed during the handover related signaling with the serving SGSN about whether it should consider USR to be enabled in the new cell. In addition, when changing cells due to cell re-selection (i.e., not PS handover), the MTC device 102 retains the USR status information for as long as it remains in a cell within the same Routing Area as it was when it last performed a Routing Area Update.
15. Upon receiving the SN-PDU 120, the target SGSN 164 enables the USR feature for the PDP context with the MTC device 102 and stores information about the UDP/IP layers within the received SN-PDU 120. Note: the target SGSN 106 can store the information about the UDP/IP layers from the received SN-PDU 110 for as long as the PDP context with the MTC device 102 is retained.
16. The MTC device 102 sends a subsequent SN-PDU 1221 associated with the PDP context to the target SGSN 106. The subsequent SN-PDU 1221 has a payload which does not have UDP/IP layers.
17. Upon receiving the subsequent SN-PDU 1221, the target SGSN 106 re-generates the UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDU 1221 using the stored information from step 15 to create a N-PDU comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload from the subsequent SN-PDU 1222.
18. The MTC device 102 sends a subsequent SN-PDU 1222 associated with the PDP context to the target SGSN 106. The subsequent SN-PDU 1222 has a payload which does not have UDP/IP layers. Note: the MTC device 102 could send any number of subsequent SN-PDUs 1223, 1224 . . . 122k which have payloads that do not have UDP/IP layers associated with the PDP context to the target SGSN 106.
19. Upon receiving the subsequent SN-PDU 1222, the target SGSN 106 re-generates the UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDU 1222 using the stored information from step 15 to create a N-PDU comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload from the subsequent SN-PDU 1222. Note: the target SGSN 106 could receive any number of subsequent SN-PDUs 1223, 1224 . . . 122k and re-generate the UDP/IP layers associated with the subsequent SN-PDUs 1223, 1224 . . . 122k using the stored information from step 15 to create N-PDUs comprising the re-generated UDP/IP layers and the payload from the respective subsequent SN-PDUs 1223, 1224 . . . 122x.
20. At some point in time, the target SGSN 106 can send a disable indicator 124 to the MTC device 102. The disable indicator 124 comprises an indication which indicates that the USR feature is disabled for the PDP context with the target SGSN 106.
Referring to
Prior to step 212, the MTC device 102 while in idle mode may perform a cell re-selection based cell change to a new cell in a new Routing Area supported by the target serving node 106 (e.g., target SGSN 106) in which case it would perform a RAU procedure and implement the USR feature per steps 214, 216, 218, 220, 222, 224, 226 and 228 described next. At step 214, the MTC device 102 upon deciding to perform a RAU procedure with the target SGSN 106 due to entering a new Routing Area would consider the USR feature to be disabled for the PDP context with the target SGSN 106 (step 10 of
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
It should be noted that the MTC device 102 (e.g., MS 102), the serving node 104 (e.g. SGSN 104) and the target serving node 106 (e.g. target SGSN 106) each comprise many other components which are well known in the art but for clarity the well known components are not described herein. Moreover, it should be noted that a typical network would comprise multiple MTC devices 102 and multiple serving nodes 104 and 106 (e.g. SGSN 104 and 106) as well as a plethora of other network nodes which may or may not be in the path of packets sent between the MTC device 102 and the serving nodes 104 and 106 (e.g. SGSN 104 and 106). As one example, a Radio Base Station, not depicted, is in radio connection with the MTC device 102, receiving packets from the MTC device 102 and forwarding them possibly through other network node(s) to one of the serving nodes 104 and 106 (e.g. SGSNs 104 and 106).
Further, it should be noted that there are many different types of memories 502, 510 and 516 available, such as solid states drives, hard drives, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM etc. which could be used in implementing embodiments disclosed herein. The memory 502 used for the MTC device 102 would typically be different from the memories 510 and 516 used for the serving nodes 104 and 106 (e.g. SGSNs 104 and 106), however there is absolutely nothing preventing them for utilizing the same kind of memory. Also, while not indicated in the schematic view, there might be multiple different memories in the devices disclosed. Typically, there would be persistent storage as well as Random Access Memory. Also the processors 504, 512 and 518 indicated in the schematic view can be implemented in many different forms, such as an off-the-shelf microcontroller, an ASIC, FPGA etc.
The following is a more detailed discussion of the USR feature with respect to the following aspects: (1) Static UDP/IP Header Information; (2) Managing a USR profile; (3) Re-Generating the UDP/IP layers; and (4) Changes to Standards to Implement USR feature.
The PDP Context activation procedure can be used to inform the MTC device 102 when the SGSN 104 supports the USR feature for a given PDP Context. The MTC device 102 that supports USR will then realize that after sending an uplink SN-PDU 110 to such a SGSN 104 wherein the UDP/IP layers were included in the SN-PDU 110's PDU payload, that it can exclude the UDP/IP layers in all subsequent SN-PDUs 1121, 1122 . . . 112x sent to that SGSN 104 for that PDP Context.
The SGSN 104 indicates it supports USR on a PDP Context basis by including the Packet Flow Identifier IE 109 within the PDP Context related NAS message 108 which can be modified to be as shown in
For the case where the USR feature is enabled for a given PDP Context, the MTC device 102 includes the UDP/IP layers present within at least the first uplink SN-PDU 110 sent to the SGSN 104 after PDP Context activation/modification. Thereafter, the MTC device 102 can omit the UDP/IP layers when sending subsequent SN-PDUs 1121, 1122 . . . 112x corresponding to that PDP Context to the SGSN 104.
3GPP TS 24.008 V12.4.0 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference) specifies the procedures used at the radio interface core network within the 3rd generation mobile telecommunications system and the digital cellular telecommunications system. The following additions to the 3GPP TS 24.008 are necessary to implement at least some embodiments disclosed herein. It should also be noted that while the present embodiments are described in the context of GSM it may also be applied in the context of other radio interfaces, for example LTE and UMTS.
The following additions to the 3GPP TS 24.008 V12.4.0 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference) are necessary to implement at least some embodiments disclosed herein. It should also be noted that while the present embodiments are described in the context of GSM it may also be applied in the context of other radio interfaces, for example LTE.
The following is a brief discussion about UDP layers (FIG. 8—UDP Header+Data Field) and IP layers (FIG. 9—IPv6 header) where if desired more details about the UDP and IP layers can be found in the following specifications: RFC 768 and RFC 760 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference).
UDP Packet format
UDP is a minimal message-oriented Transport Layer protocol that is documented in IETF RFC 768. UDP provides no guarantees to the upper layer protocol for message delivery and the UDP protocol layer retains no state of UDP messages once sent. For this reason, UDP is sometimes referred to as “Unreliable Datagram Protocol”. UDP provides application multiplexing (via port numbers) and integrity verification (via checksum) of the header and payload (see
Source Port Number field 804: This field 804 identifies the sender's port when meaningful and should be assumed to be the port to reply to if needed. If it is not used, then it should be zero. If the source host is the client, then the port number is likely to be an ephemeral port number. If the source host is the server, then the port number is likely to be a well-known port number. This field 804 is expected to be static based on the assumptions provided above and is optional for IPv6.
Destination Port Number field 806: This field 806 identifies the receiver's port and is required. Similar to source port number, if the client is the destination host then the port number will likely be an ephemeral port number and if the destination host is the server then the port number will likely be a well-known port number. This field 806 is expected to be static based on the assumptions provided above.
Length field 808: This field 808 specifies the length in bytes of the entire UDP datagram: header and data. The minimum length is 8 bytes since that is the length of the header. The field size sets a theoretical limit of 65,535 bytes (8 byte header+65,527 bytes of data) for a UDP datagram. The practical limit for the data length which is imposed by the underlying IPv4 protocol is 65,507 bytes (65,535—8 byte UDP header—20 byte IP header). This field 808 will vary as the length of the application payload varies.
Checksum field 810: This field 810 is used for error-checking of the header and data. If no checksum is generated by the transmitter, then the field uses the value all-zeros. This field 810 is not optional for IPv6. The field 810 could either be made static (i.e., set to all-zeros) or set according header and data content. The field 810 can be set to all-zeros for the case of GSM since the LLC PDUs sent from a UE (e.g., MS, MTC device) to the SGSN already support a checksum field (i.e. the integrity of the application layer payload sent by the MS will be ensured using legacy LLC operation via CRC-24).
IPv6 Packet format
An Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) data packet comprises of two main parts, the header and the payload. The first 40 bytes/octets (40×8=320 bits) of an IPv6 packet comprise the IPv6 header 902 (FIG. 9—note: the present disclosure is not limited to the IPv6 header but could also be implemented with an IPv4 header). As shown in
Version field 904: This 4-bit field 904 contains the number “6”. It indicates the version of the IPv6 protocol. This field 904 is the same size as the IPv4 version field that contains the number “4”. However, this field 904 has a limited use because IPv4 and IPv6 packets are not distinguished based on the value in the version field but by the protocol type present in the layer 2 envelope. This field 904 will be static for very long periods of time.
Traffic Class field 906: This 8-bit field 906 can assume different values to enable the source node to differentiate between the packets generated by it by associating different delivery priorities to them. This field 906 is subsequently used by the originating node and the routers to identify the data packets that belong to the same traffic class and distinguish between packets with different priorities. This field 906 is expected to be static based on the assumptions provided above.
Flow Label field 908: This 20-bit field 908 can be used by a source to label a set of packets belonging to the same flow. A flow is uniquely identified by the combination of the source address and of a non-zero flow label. Multiple active flows may exist from a source to a destination as well as traffic that are not associated with any flow (flow label=0). This field 908 is expected to be set to “0” based on the assumptions provided above.
Payload Length field 910: This 16-bit field 910 contains the length of the data field in octets/bits following the IPv6 packet header (i.e. this will reflect the UDP header length+the application layer payload length). The 16-bit Payload length field 910 puts an upper limit on the maximum packet payload to 64 kilobytes. In case a higher packet payload is required, a jumbo payload extension header is provided in the IPv6 protocol. A jumbo payload (jumbogram) is indicated by the value zero in the Payload Length field 910. Jumbograms are frequently used in supercomputer communications using the IPv6 protocol to transmit heavy data payload. This field 910 will vary as the length of the application payload varies.
Next Header field 912: This 8-bit field 912 identifies the type of header immediately following the IPv6 header and located at the beginning of the data field (payload) of the IPv6 packet. This field 912 usually specifies the transport layer protocol used by a packet's payload. The two most common kinds of Next Headers are TCP and UDP, but many other headers are also possible. The format adopted for this field 912 is the one proposed for IPv4 by RFC 1700 (the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference). In case of IPv6 protocol, the Next Header field 912 is similar to the IPv4 Protocol field. This field 912 is expected to be static (i.e., set to indicate UDP) based on the assumptions provided above.
Hop Limit field 914: This 8-bit field 914 is decremented by one, by each node (typically a router) that forwards a packet. If the Hop Limit field 914 is decremented to zero, the packet is discarded. The main function of this field 914 is to identify and to discard packets that are stuck in an indefinite loop due to any routing information errors. The 8-bit field 914 also puts an upper limit on the maximum number of links between two IPv6 nodes. In this way, an IPv6 data packet is allowed a maximum of 255 hops before it is eventually discarded. An IPv6 data packet can pass through a maximum of 254 routers before being discarded. This field 914 is expected to be static based on the assumptions provided above.
Source Address field 916 and Destination Address field 918: For IPv6 these fields 916 and 918 are each 16-octets.
In view of the foregoing, the present disclosure describes an example where the SGSN 104 indicates USR support for a PDP context in a NAS message 108 sent to the MTC device 102. The MTC device 102 stores the information and sends a first SN-PDP message 110 including UDP/P layers. The SGSN 104 enables USR for the PDP-context and stores necessary information for the PDP-context. The subsequent SN-PDP messages 1121, 1122 . . . 112x from the MTC device 102 for that PDP-context comprise an indication, e.g. NSAPI=2, that the UDP/IP layers are excluded. Upon receiving such SN-PDP messages 1121, 1122 . . . 112x, the SGSN 104 re-generates the UDP/IP layers for the PDP-context using the stored information. Using the NSAPI=2 indicator is but one example of indicators available for indication the use of USR from the MTC device to the SGSN 104. The optimization associated with the USR feature where the MTC device 102 eliminates the repeated inclusion of UDP/IP protocol overhead (46 or 48 octets) for such MTC data packets sent over the radio interface is beneficial due to the fact that MTC devices 102 are expected to commonly transmit small MTC data packets (e.g. 100 octets or less) for a high percentage of MTC transmissions. Thus, given that the volume of small MTC data packets is expected to increase dramatically as MTC devices 102 become rapidly deployed in the near future, the radio interface bandwidth savings that can be realized using embodiments of the USR feature disclosed herein is expected to significantly improve the PS domain traffic capacity (PDCH utilization) of any wireless network supporting the MTC use case as well as contribute to MTC device power savings in that few radio blocks will need to be transmitted.
Although multiple embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated in the accompanying Drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but instead is also capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the present disclosure that as has been set forth and defined within the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/937,283, filed on Feb. 7, 2014. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. This application is related to the co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket No. P42813-US2) entitled “MTC Device, Serving Node, and Various Methods for Implementing a Downlink Stack Reduction Feature”. The contents of this document are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61937283 | Feb 2014 | US |