Location register and accommodation transfer control method

• US 20070049271A1
• Filed: 08/14/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawakami, Hiroshi, Takita, Wataru, Hayashi, Yasuhisa
• Granted Patent: US 7,702,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• 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

HLR installed in an environment in which there are a plurality of mobile communication networks, is provided with a whole managed object manager for storing and managing subscriber number IDs and HLR information to manage the subscriber number IDs, in correspondence to each other; a subscriber data manager for storing and managing subscriber number IDs registered as managed objects of the host HLR and subscriber data of the subscriber numbers in correspondence to each other; and a determination controller for determining whether subscriber management information (subscriber number IDs and subscriber data) of managed objects in the host HLR is to be transferred to another HLR, based on criterion information such as current subscriber management information volume and accommodation capacity information, and for, when the transfer is necessary, determining a recipient HLR and subscriber management information of a transferred object, based on the criterion information in each HLR and a predetermined standard.

Claims

1. A location register installed in a system environment in which there are a plurality of mobile communication networks, each mobile communication network consisting of a plurality of location registers and at least one switching system, said location register belonging to one mobile communication network, and comprising:

whole managed object managing means for storing and managing subscriber number information each defined as a managed object in the system environment, and manager location register information about each location register to manage the subscriber number information, in correspondence to each other;

subscriber data managing means for storing and managing subscriber number information each registered as a managed object of the host location register through management by the whole managed object managing means, and subscriber data about a subscriber of the subscriber number, in correspondence to each other;

accommodation change determining means for determining whether subscriber management information consisting of the subscriber number information and subscriber data corresponding to the subscriber number information, which is stored and managed by the subscriber data managing means, is to be separated and transferred to one of other location registers, based on criterion information including a data volume of current subscriber management information and an accommodation capacity of the subscriber data managing means; and

accommodation transfer determining means for, when the accommodation change determining means determines that the subscriber management information is to be separated, acquiring the criterion information in said other location registers and determining a recipient location register and subscriber management information to be defined as a transferred object, based on the criterion information in each of the host location register and said other location registers and based on a predetermined standard.

2. The location register according to claim 1,

wherein the subscriber data managing means comprises:

accommodation identifying means for identifying whether each of the subscriber number information stored and managed by the subscriber data managing means is defined as a managed object by the domestic mobile communication network to which the host location register belongs;

a first management table for storing and managing subscriber number information each defined as a managed object by the domestic mobile communication network, and first subscriber data; and

a second management table for storing and managing subscriber number information each defined as a managed object by each foreign mobile communication network, and second subscriber data.

3. The location register according to claim 1,

said location register further comprising:

transfer notifying means for notifying the recipient location register determined by the accommodation transfer determining means, of the subscriber management information to be defined as a transferred object, determined by the accommodation transfer determining means;

wherein the whole managed object managing means updates the subscriber number information and manager location register information stored and managed, based on the recipient location register information and the subscriber management information to be defined as a transferred object, determined by the accommodation transfer determining means, and

wherein the subscriber data managing means updates the subscriber management information each defined as a managed object of the host location register, based on the recipient location register information and the subscriber management information to be defined as a transferred object, determined by the accommodation transfer determining means.

4. The location register according to claim 3,

wherein the transfer notifying means is configured as follows:

the transfer notifying means notifies the switching system comprising means equivalent to the whole managed object managing means of the location register, of the recipient location register information and the subscriber number information to be defined as a transferred object, determined by the accommodation transfer determining means, and

wherein as notified, the subscriber number information and manager location register information stored and managed in the switching system is updated.

5. The location register according to claim 3,

wherein the transfer notifying means is configured as follows:

when a transmission request for the recipient location register information and the subscriber number information to be defined as a transferred object, determined by the accommodation transfer determining means, is received from the switching system comprising means equivalent to the whole managed object managing means of the location register, the transfer notifying means notifies the switching system of the determined recipient location register information and subscriber number information to be defined as a transferred object; and

wherein as notified, the subscriber number information and manager location register information stored and managed by the switching system is updated.

6. The location register according to claim 1,

wherein the accommodation transfer determining means is configured as follows:

for each of the host location register and the other location registers, the accommodation transfer determining means determines an effective accommodation rate equivalent to a percentage of the data volume of the current subscriber management information to the accommodation capacity of the subscriber data managing means, based on the criterion information, and compares the effective accommodation rates of the respective location registers to determine a location register with the smallest effective accommodation rate as the recipient location register.

7. The location register according to claim 1,

wherein the accommodation transfer determining means is configured as follows:

the accommodation transfer determining means determines a total number of subscriber numbers to be transferred, based on the criterion information in the host location register;

the accommodation transfer determining means compares bandwidths between a start number band obtained by searching for a number band corresponding to the total number of subscriber numbers to be transferred, in ascending order from a start number of the subscriber number information each having been defined as a managed object of the host location register, and an end number band obtained by searching for a number band corresponding to the total number of subscriber numbers to be transferred, in descending order from an end number of the subscriber number information each having been defined as a managed object of the host location register, and thereby determines a number band with a greater bandwidth, as the subscriber number information to be defined as a transferred object;

the accommodation transfer determining means determines a location register managing a number band continuous to the determined number band, as the recipient location register.

8. An accommodation transfer control method in a location register installed in a system environment in which there are a plurality of mobile communication networks, each network consisting of a plurality of location registers and at least one switching system, said location register belonging to one mobile communication network, and comprising:

whole managed object managing means for storing and managing subscriber number information each defined as a managed object in the system environment and manager location register information about a location register to manage the subscriber number information, in correspondence to each other; and

subscriber data managing means for storing and managing subscriber number information each registered as a managed object of the host location register through management by the whole managed object managing means, and subscriber data about a subscriber of the subscriber number, in correspondence to each other, the accommodation transfer control method comprising;

an accommodation change determining step of determining whether subscriber management information consisting of the subscriber number information and subscriber data corresponding to the subscriber number information, stored and managed by the subscriber data managing means, is to be separated and transferred to one of other location registers, based on criterion information including a data volume of current subscriber management information and an accommodation capacity of the subscriber data managing means; and

an accommodation transfer determining step of, when the subscriber management information is determined to be separated in the accommodation change determining step, acquiring the criterion information in said other location registers and determining a recipient location register and subscriber management information to be defined as a transferred object, based on the criterion information in each of the host location register and said other location registers and based on a predetermined standard.