Apparatus and Method to Reduce Denial of Service During MME Overload and Shutdown Conditions

Abstract

A communication device configured to perform a load balancing procedure in response to a mobility management entity being overloaded and/or shut down. The base station can be configured to generate a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Reject message including a load balancing clause. The communication device can be configured to initiate a load balancing procedure based on the RRC Connection Reject message. The communication device can also be considered to initiate a load balancing procedure after a predetermined wait time has expired and/or after a predetermined number of received RRC Connection Reject messages.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A base station, comprising:
 a transceiver configured to communicate with a communication network; and   processor circuitry communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the processor circuitry configured to:
 receive a first connection request from a communication device, 
 send a connection reject message to the communication device, 
 receive a second connection request from the communication device, wherein the second connection request is sent by the communication device in response to a determination by the communication device that a number of connection request messages received by the communication device is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold amount, and 
 send a connection setup message to the communication device in response to receiving the second connection request. 
   
     
     
         2 . The base station of  claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to:
 perform a load balancing procedure in response to receiving the second connection request.   
     
     
         3 . The base station of  claim 1 , wherein the connection setup message informs the communication device that the communication device has an active connection and that he communication device is operating in a connected mode. 
     
     
         4 . The base station of  claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to:
 receive a connection setup complete message from the communication device in response to sending the connection setup message.   
     
     
         5 . The base station of  claim 4 , wherein the connection setup complete message includes a null value for a last registered mobility management entity (MME) for the communication device. 
     
     
         6 . The base station of  claim 4 , wherein the connection setup complete message includes a tracking area update (TAU) request. 
     
     
         7 . The base station of  claim 6 , wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to:
 select a mobility management entity (MME) based on the TAU request.   
     
     
         8 . The base station of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a network interface configured to communicate with one or more Mobility Management Entities (MMEs).   
     
     
         9 . The base station of  claim 1 , wherein the first connection request is a radio resource control (RRC) connection request, and wherein the connection reject message is an RRC connection reject message. 
     
     
         10 . A communication system for communicating in a communication environment, comprising:
 a plurality of Mobility Management Entities (MMEs); and   a base station communicatively coupled to the plurality of MMEs, the base station being configured to:
 receive a first connection request from a communication device, 
 send a connection reject message to the communication device, 
 receive a second connection request from the communication device, wherein the second connection request is sent by the communication device in response to a determination by the communication device that a number of connection request messages received by the communication device is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold amount, 
 send a connection setup message to the communication device in response to receiving the second connection request, 
 receive a connection setup complete message from the communication device in response to sending the connection setup message, and 
 select an MME from the plurality of MMEs based on the connection setup complete message. 
   
     
     
         11 . The communication system of  claim 10 , wherein the base station is further configured to:
 perform a load balancing procedure in response to receiving the second connection request.   
     
     
         12 . The communication system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection setup message informs the communication device that the communication device has an active connection and that the communication device is operating in a connected mode. 
     
     
         13 . The communication system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection setup complete message includes a null value for a last registered MME in the plurality of MMEs for the communication device. 
     
     
         14 . The communication system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection setup complete message includes a tracking area update (TAU) request. 
     
     
         15 . The communication system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection request is a radio resource control (RRC) connection request, and wherein the connection reject message is an RRC connection reject message. 
     
     
         16 . A method, comprising:
 receiving a first connection request from a communication device,   sending a connection reject message to the communication device,   receiving a second connection request from the communication device, wherein the second connection request is sent by the communication device in response to a determination by the communication device that a number of connection request messages received by the communication device is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold amount, and   sending a connection setup message to the communication device in response to receiving the second connection request.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 receiving a connection setup complete message from the communication device in response to sending the connection setup message.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 selecting a mobility management entity (MME) based on the connection setup complete message.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the connection setup complete message includes a tracking area update (TAU) request. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 selecting a mobility management entity (MME) based on the TAU request.