Instance identification

• US 20060018272A1
• Filed: 11/01/2004
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Mutikainen, Jari, Garcia, Miguel, Isomaki, Markus
• Application Number:
  US10/976,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20060018272A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4588 containing mobile subscriber information, e.g. home subscriber server [HSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

The invention proposes a method for routing sessions in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) used in a communication system, comprising the step of using a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) for identifying the instance, wherein the Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) is related to a serving network control element of the instance. By this GRUU, a user equipment can be uniquely identified and a session can reliably be routed via the serving network control element such as an S-CSCF to the user equipment.

Claims

1. A method for instance identification in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) used in a communication system, comprising the step of:

using a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) for uniquely identifying an instance, wherein the Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) is related to a serving network control element of the instance.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

creating the GRUU based on a Public User Identity and the Contact information supplied by the instance;

binding the GRUU to the serving network control element of the instance; and

binding the GRUU to a Public User ID.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of creating the GRUU based on an identification of the serving network control element associated to a domain of the instance.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the GRUU comprises two parts, a first part being based on an identification of the serving network control element, and a second part being a unique identifier for the instance.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the GRUU comprises a routable identifier to a hostname of the serving network control element.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the GRUU comprises a routable identifier to an Internet Protocol address of the serving network control element.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of creating comprises creating the GRUU by the serving network control element.

8. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of supplying the created GRUU to a central network element of a user of the instance.

9. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of supplying the created GRUU to the instance.

10. The method according to claim 2, wherein the GRUU is created by a central network element of a user.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the GRUU created by the central network element of the user is supplied to the serving network control element of the user.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the instance comprises a user equipment (UE).

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the serving network control element is a Serving Call/Session Control Function (S-CSCF).

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the central network element is a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication system is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, at an edge control element, a communication message to the instance;

determining the serving network control element of the instance based on a relation between the GRUU and serving network control element of the instance; and

forwarding the communication message to the determined serving network control element of the instance.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the relation is a binding between the GRUU and the serving network control element, and the determining step further comprises the steps of:

accessing a central network element of a user of the instance; and

receiving an identification of the serving network control element from the central network element.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the relation is that the GRUU contains an identification of the serving network control element, and the determining step further comprises the step of:

extracting an identification of the serving network control element from the GRUU.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the identification contains a routable identifier to a hostname of the serving network control element.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the identification contains a routable identifier to an Internet Protocol address of the serving network control element.

21. The method according to claim 16, wherein the edge control element is an Interrogating Call/Session Control Function (I-CSCF).

22. A generic control element comprising:

means for identifying an instance by using a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and

means for relating the Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) to a serving network control element of the instance.

23. The generic control element according to claim 22, comprising:

GRUU creating means for creating the GRUU based on the Public User Identity and a Contact-information supplied by the instance.

24. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the GRUU is based on an identification of the serving network control element associated with a domain of the instance.

25. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the GRUU comprises two parts, a first part being based on the identification of the serving network control element, and a second part being a unique identifier for the instance.

26. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the GRUU comprises a routable identifier to a hostname of the serving network control element.

27. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the GRUU comprises a routable identifier to an Internet Protocol address of the serving network control element.

28. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the generic control element is the serving network control element.

29. The generic control element according to claim 23, further comprising means for supplying the created GRUU to a central network element of the user.

30. The generic control element according to claim 23, further comprising means for supplying the created GRUU to the instance.

31. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the generic control element is a central network element.

32. The generic control element according to claim 29, wherein the central network element comprises means for binding the GRUU to the serving network control element.

33. The generic control element according to claim 31, wherein the central network element comprises means for binding the GRUU to the serving network control element.

34. The generic control element according to claim 31, further comprising means for supplying the created GRUU to a serving network control element of the user.

35. The generic control element according to claim 29, wherein the central network element is a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

36. The generic control element according to claim 31, wherein the central network element is a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

37. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the instance comprises a user equipment (UE).

38. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein the serving network control element is a Serving Call/Session Control Function (S-CSCF).

39. The generic control element according to claim 22, wherein a communication system is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

40. The generic control element according to claim 22, further comprising:

means for receiving a communication message to the instance;

means for determining the serving network control element of the instance based on a relation between the GRUU and the serving network control element of the instance; and

means for forwarding the communication message to the determined serving network control element of the instance.

41. The generic control element according to claim 40, wherein the relation is a binding between the GRUU and the serving network control element, and the determining means is configured to:

access a central network element of a user of the instance; and

receive an identification of the serving network control element from the central network element.

42. The generic control element according to claim 40, wherein the relation is that the GRUU contains an identification of the serving network control element, and the determining means is configured to:

extract an identification of the serving network control element from the GRUU.

43. The generic control element according to claim 42, wherein the identification contains a routable identifier to the hostname of the serving network control element.

44. The generic control element according to claim 42, wherein the identification contains a routable identifier to an Internet Protocol address of the serving network control element.

45. The generic control element according to claim 40, wherein the generic control element is an edge control element.

46. The generic control element according to claim 45, wherein the edge control element is an Interrogating Call/Session Control Function (I-CSCF).

47. A network system comprising:

a generic control element, wherein the generic control element comprises means for identifying an instance by using a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and the Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) is related to a serving network control element of the instance;

and

a central network element of a user of an instance device, wherein the central network element comprises means for binding the GRUU to the serving network control element in the central network element.

48. The network system according to claim 47, wherein the generic control element is a serving network control element.

49. The network system according to claim 47, wherein the serving network control element is a Serving Call/Session Control Function (S-CSCF).

50. The network system according to claim 47, wherein the generic control element further comprises:

GRUU creating means for creating the GRUU based on a Public User Identity and a Contact information supplied by the instance.

51. The network system according to claim 47, wherein the GRUU is based on an identification of the serving network control element associated with a domain of the instance.

52. The network system according to claim 47, wherein the GRUU comprises two parts, a first part being based on an identification of the serving network control element, and a second part being a unique identifier for the instance.

53. The network system according to claim 47, wherein the GRUU comprises a routable identifier to a hostname of the serving network control element.