System and method for migration of subscriber data

• US 20020078167A1
• Filed: 12/20/2000
• Published: 06/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mavenir Systems Incorporated (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Comverse Incorporated (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shavit, Moshe, Kubitsky, Chanan
• Granted Patent: US 6,993,577 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A distributed communication system is most efficient if subscriber data is located as close as possible to subscribers when they access the system. However, it is common for subscribers of mobile communication systems to relocate for long periods of time. Relocation of subscribers is automatically detected by generating an activity log file of location data and identifiers, where each identifier is associated with either a communication device or a person using the communication system. Pattern analysis is automatically performed based on the location data and the identifiers to determine whether private data should be relocated from a first location to a second location within the communication system, when service can be provided more efficiently from the second location.

Claims

1. A method of relocating data in a communication system, comprising:

generating an activity log file including location data and identifiers, each identifier associated with one of a communication device and a person using the communication system;

automatically performing pattern analysis based on the location data and the identifiers; and

relocating private data, associated with one of the identifiers, from a first location to a second location within the communication system when the pattern analysis indicates that service can be provided more efficiently from the second location.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said relocating is performed automatically.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the pattern analysis produces results periodically and said relocating is performed under manual control based on the results of the pattern analysis.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication system includes information servers geographically distributed to provide access to subscribers, and

wherein said generating includes storing access location identification as the location data indicating which of the information servers provided access to the subscribers.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the communication system further includes at least one central management server,

wherein said generating is performed by the information servers, and

wherein said method further comprises:

initially storing the activity log file at the information servers, and

transferring log data derived from the activity log file from each of the information servers to the central management server, and

wherein the pattern analysis is performed by the central management server.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein said relocating moves at least a subscriber profile included in the private data of at least one subscriber from one of the information servers to another information server.

7. A method as recited in claim 4,

wherein the communication system is an information services system and the information servers store and access data to provide services to the subscribers, and

wherein said relocating moves at least a subscriber profile included in the private data of at least one subscriber from one of the information servers to another information server.

8. A computer readable medium storing at least one program to control a computer to perform a method of relocating data in a communication system, comprising:

generating an activity log file including location data and identifiers, each identifier associated with one of a communication device and a person using the communication system;

automatically performing pattern analysis based on the location data and the identifiers; and

relocating private data, associated with one of the identifiers, from a first location to a second location within the communication system when the pattern analysis indicates that service can be provided more efficiently from the second location.

9. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 8, wherein said relocating is performed automatically.

10. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 9, wherein the pattern analysis produces results periodically and said relocating is performed under manual control based on the results of the pattern analysis.

11. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the communication system includes information servers geographically distributed to provide access to subscribers, and

wherein said generating includes storing access location identification as the location data indicating which of the information servers provided access to the subscribers.

12. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 11, wherein the communication system further includes at least one central management server,

wherein said generating is performed by the information servers, and

wherein said method further comprises:

initially storing the activity log file at the information servers, and

transferring log data derived from the activity log file from each of the information servers to the central management server, and

wherein the pattern analysis is performed by the central management server.

13. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 12, wherein said relocating moves at least a subscriber profile included in the private data of at least one subscriber from one of the information servers to another information server.

14. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 11,

wherein the communication system is an information services system and the information servers store and access data to provide services to the subscribers, and

wherein said relocating moves at least a subscriber profile included in the private data of at least one subscriber from one of the information servers to another information server.

16. A system as recited in claim 15,

wherein the communication system includes a data network coupled to said communication device, and

wherein said storage unit and said processor are disposed at first and second locations, both different from the destination location, and said processor receives the activity log file from said storage device via the data network.

19. An information services system as recited in claim 18,

wherein said at least one central management server groups the identifiers of subscriber profiles into batches according to which of said information servers store the subscriber profiles associated with subscribers identified by the pattern analysis for relocation, and sends each batch to an origination information server storing the subscriber profiles, and

wherein the origination information server automatically relocates the subscriber profiles associated with the identifiers in the batch to at least one destination information server.

15. A system for relocating data in a communication system, comprising:

a storage unit to store an activity log file including location data and identifiers, each identifier associated with one of a communication device and a person using the communication system;

a processor, coupled to said storage unit, to automatically perform pattern analysis based on the location data and the identifiers; and

a router, coupled to at least one of said storage unit and said processor to send private data, associated with one of the identifiers to a destination location within the communication system when the pattern analysis indicates that service can be provided more efficiently from the destination location.

17. A system for relocating data in a communication system, comprising:

means for generating an activity log file including location data and identifiers, each identifier associated with one of a communication device and a person using the communication system;

means for automatically performing pattern analysis based on the location data and the identifiers; and

means for relocating private data, associated with one of the identifiers, from a first location to a second location within the communication system when the pattern analysis indicates that service can be provided more efficiently from the second location.

18. An information services system having a data network, comprising:

information servers geographically distributed to provide access to subscribers by storing and access data, each information server including

a storage unit to store an activity log file including identifiers and access location identification data indicating which of the information servers provided access to the subscribers, each identifier associated with one of a communication device and a person using the communication system;

a processor, coupled to said storage unit, to extract log data from the activity log file; and

a router, coupled to the data network and at least one of said storage unit and said processor, to the log data over the data network; and

at least one central management server, coupled to the data network, to receive the log data, to automatically perform pattern analysis on the log data received from said information servers, based on the access location identification data and the identifiers, and to send instructions to said information servers to move at least a subscriber profile, associated with one of the identifiers, to a different information server when the pattern analysis indicates that service can be provided more efficiently from the different information server.