| 主权项 |
1. A Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW), of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of a cellular network, which is operable to indicate fragmentation of an Internet Protocol (IP) packet to other network elements of the EPC, without requiring that the other network elements reassemble IP packet fragments, said PDN-GW comprising:
an EPC services module to receive the IP packet which has been received through an SGi interface; an IP packet fragmentation determination module, coupled with the EPC services module, to determine to fragment the received IP packet; an inner IP packet fragmentation module, coupled with the IP packet fragmentation determination module, to fragment the IP packet into a plurality of IP packet fragments; a more fragments (MF) bit adjustment module, coupled with the inner IP packet fragmentation module, to set an MF bit in an inner IP header for each, except for a last one, of the IP packet fragments; a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP) encapsulation module, coupled with the inner IP packet fragmentation module, to encapsulate as a payload each of the IP packet fragments and its inner IP header with a GTP encapsulation header; an IP packet fragment indication module, coupled with the GTP encapsulation module, to indicate in the GTP encapsulation headers that the payloads include IP packet fragments; an outer IP header generation module, coupled with the GTP encapsulation module, to generate an outer IP header for each of the encapsulated IP packet fragments, wherein each outer IP header has an MF bit that is cleared; and an interface selected from an S5 interface and an S8 interface to transmit the encapsulated IP packet fragments with the outer IP headers. |
