Method and apparatus for generating an identifier to facilitate deliver of enhanced data services in a mobile computing environment

• US 20030028649A1
• Filed: 07/31/2001
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Uhlik, Christopher, Cai, Zhifeng, Sinha, Neeraj
• Granted Patent: US 7,363,376 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/169 Special adaptations of TCP, UDP or IP for interworking of IP based networks with other networks protocols for interworking, protocol conversion H04L69/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00 Hand-off or reselection arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols

Abstract

An apparatus and method for generating an identifier to facilitate delivery of enhanced data services in a wireless computing environment is presented. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method is presented comprising receiving a request to establish a communication session between a subscriber unit in a wireless communication system and a data network access server through a basestation, and selectively generating a communication session identifier to uniquely identify the communication session from a plurality of communication sessions supported by the network access server to enable mobility management within the point-to-point communication session between the basestation and the network access server.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request to establish a communication session between a subscriber unit in a wireless communication system and a data network access server through a basestation; and

selectively generating a communication session identifier to uniquely identify the communication session from a plurality of communication sessions supported by the network access server to enable mobility management within the point-to-point communication session between the basestation and the network access server.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the network access server, whether the received request is a request for a new communication session or a handoff of an existing communication session.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein generation of the communication session identifier is selectively performed if the received request is a request for a new communication session.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein determining comprises:

analyzing attribute-value pair(s) (AVP) of the received incoming call request to identify a callType AVP; and

identifying the incoming call request as a request for a new communication session if the callType AVP is absent from the incoming call request, or an identified callType AVP associated with the incoming call request denotes a new call.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein selectively generating the communication session identifier comprises:

composing a deterministic element of the communication session identifier;

composing a random element of the communication session identifier; and

employing a mathematical function to generate the communication session identifier using the deterministic element and the random element.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the deterministic element is comprised of one or more of an electronic serial number (ESN) of the accessing subscriber unit, a media access control (MAC) address of the subscriber unit, and/or a telephone number associated with the subscriber unit.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the random element is comprised of one or more of a pseudo-random number, and/or a true random number generated from radio frequency (RF) energy of thermal noise associated with the communication session.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein the function employed concatenates the deterministic element and the random element to generate the communication session identifier.

9. A method according to claim 5, wherein the function employed generates a hash of the deterministic element and the random element to generate the communication session identifier.

10. A machine accessible storage medium comprising a plurality of executable instructions which, when executed by an accessing computing device, implement the method according to claim 1.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface, to receive a request for a point-to-point communication session between a wireless communication system subscriber unit and the apparatus through a basestation; and

a communications agent, to selectively generate a communication session identifier to uniquely identify the communication session from a plurality of communication sessions supported by the apparatus to enable mobility management within the point-to-point communication session between the basestation and the network access server.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the communications agent determines whether the received request is a request for a new communication session or a handoff of an existing communication session.

13. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein communications agent comprises:

a session identification generator, selectively invoked by communications agent, to dynamically generate a communication session identifier including at least a deterministic element and a random element.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein communications agent analyzes attribute-value pair(s) (AVP) of a received incoming call request control command to identify a callType AVP to determine whether the incoming call request indicates a new communication session or a handoff of an existing communication session.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein communications agent selectively invokes communication session identification generator if the AVP denotes a newCall call type, or if the callType AVP is not identified within the incoming call request control command.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the session identification generator composes the deterministic element using one or more of an electronic serial number (ESN) of the accessing subscriber unit, a media access control (MAC) address of the subscriber unit, and/or a telephone number of the subscriber unit.

17. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the session identification generator composes the random element of the session identifier utilizing a pseudo-random number generator.

18. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the session identification generator composes the random element of the session identifier by generating a true random number from radio frequency (RF) thermal noise.

19. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the session identification generator composes a session identifier for the communication session by computing a function of one or more of at least the deterministic element and/or the random element.

20. A machine accessible medium having stored therein a plurality of executable instructions which, when executed by an accessing machine, implement a communications agent to receive a request from a wireless communication system subscriber unit through a basestation for a point-to-point communication session with the machine and to selectively generate a communication session identifier to uniquely identify the communication session from one or more of a plurality of communication sessions supported by the machine, and to enable mobility management within the point-to-point communication session between the basestation and the machine.

21. A machine accessible medium according to claim 20, wherein the medium is a storage device.

22. A machine accessible medium according to claim 20, wherein the medium is a propagated signal.

23. A machine accessible medium according to claim 20, wherein the communications agent generates the session identifier upon determining that an incoming call request is for a new communication session and not a handoff of an existing communication session.

24. A machine accessible medium according to claim 23, wherein the communications agent dynamically generates a unique session identifier including a deterministic element and a random element.