Traffic distribution in a communications network

• US 20070153813A1
• Filed: 12/29/2005
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Level 3 Communications Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Jin-Gen, Terpstra, Rich
• Application Number:
  US11/322,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20070153813A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/088 among core entities

Abstract

Systems and methods for implementing telecommunications systems and services are provided. More specifically, embodiments relate to systems and methods for distributing traffic within a telecommunications network. According to various embodiments, systems and methods for establishing a communication session are described which provide for determining information descriptive of an originator of the communication session. Using this information related to the originating communicator, a prioritized list of processing servers and interface modules pairs may be determined. The accessing modules, may then attempt to route the communication session through the communication network based on the devices returned in the prioritized list until the session is successfully routed.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a communications session, the method comprising:

receiving at a load balancer a request to establish a communications session between a mobile origination endpoint and a destination endpoint, wherein the request is sent from a communication device server that serves the origination endpoint within a first geographic region;

determining a path in a communications network by selecting an IP Media Gateway Controller (IP MGC) from a plurality of IP MGCs, wherein selecting the IP MGC is based on data in the request that is independent of the first geographic region; and

establishing the communications session between the origination endpoint and the destination endpoint through the determined path in the communications network.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the determining of the path in the communications network further includes selecting a session border controller communicably coupled to the load balancer and the selected IP MGC.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising selecting a port of the session border controller.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein selecting the port comprises selecting the port associated with the selected IP MGC.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the request to establish a communications session comprises a session initiation protocol (SIP) invite message.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first geographic location is different from a second semi-static location associated with the originating endpoint.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising determining the semi-static location and wherein selecting the IP MGC is based on the semi-static location.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the data includes a Numbering Plan Area (NPA) identifier associated with the origination endpoint.

9. A computer-readable media having thereon computer executable instructions causing a network load balancer to carry out a method for establishing a communication session, the method comprising:

receiving at the load balancer a request to establish a communication session;

determining from the request information descriptive of an originator of the communication session;

selecting a processing server based on the determined information descriptive of the originator, without regard to a current location of the originator;

selecting an interface module, the interface module including a plurality of ports through which the communication session may be routed;

determining an interface module port through which the communication session should be routed, wherein the interface module port is associated with the selected communication session processing server; and

routing the communication session from the load balancer to the selected communication session processing server.

10. The computer readable media as recited in claim 9, the method further comprising:

determining if the routing of the communication session to the selected communication session processing server was successful;

selecting an alternate communication processing server and an alternate interface module if the routing of the communication session was unsuccessful; and

rerouting the communication session from the load balancer to the alternate communication processing server through the alternate interface module.

11. The computer readable media as recited in claim 9, the method further comprising:

issuing a communication session invitation from the load balancer to the selected processing server via the selected interface module;

waiting for the communication session invitation to time-out;

selecting an alternate communication processing server and an alternate interface module if the communication session invitation timed-out; and

rerouting the communication session from the load balancer to the alternate communication processing server through the alternate interface module.

12. The computer readable media as recited in claim 11, wherein the rerouting of the communication session is performed at least in part based on information contained in signaling message information associated with the communication invitation.

13. The computer readable media as recited in claim 11, wherein the rerouting of the communication session is performed, at least in part, based on information contained in one or more signaling messages associated with the communication invitation.

14. A communications system comprising:

a plurality of IP Media Gateway Controllers (IP MGCs);

an interface module including ports, wherein each port is associated with, and communicably coupled to, one of the plurality of IP MGCs; and

an accessing module configured to receive a communications request from an origination endpoint, wherein the accessing module selects one of the plurality of IP MGCs based on a parameter associated with the origination endpoint, wherein the parameter is independent of a current geographic location of the origination endpoint.

15. The communications system of claim 14, wherein the accessing module is one of a plurality of accessing modules, wherein each of the plurality of accessing modules share an internet protocol (IP) address using Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol.

16. The communications system of claim 14, wherein the accessing module is one of a plurality of accessing modules, and wherein a domain name server (DNS) is utilized to determine which one of the plurality of accessing modules the communications request should be routed to.

17. The communications system as recited in claim 14, wherein each of the IP MGCs is associated with multiple servers, the system further comprising at least one internal load balancer logically positioned between the interface module and the plurality of IP MGCs configured to balance multiple communication requests across the multiple servers associated with the IP MGC.

18. The communications system as recited in claim 14, wherein the parameter associated with the origination endpoint is a geographic parameter indicating a home geographic location associated with the origination endpoint, and wherein the accessing module thereby selects the IP MGC associated with the home geographic location.

19. The communications system as recited in claim 18, wherein the origination endpoint is a mobile endpoint and sends the request from a roaming geographic location different from the first geographic location.

20. The communications system as recited in claim 19, wherein the request is directed at a destination endpoint associated with a third geographic location different from the home geographic location.

21. The communications system of claim 14 wherein the accessing module is operable to iteratively select IP MGCs from a list of IP MGCs, without sending the list to the origination endpoint.

22. A communications system comprising:

a communications network;

a destination endpoint operable to enter into a communication session over the communications network;

an origination endpoint issuing a communication session request requesting the destination endpoint to enter into a communication session;

a plurality of IP Media Gateway Controllers (IP MGC) providing ingress to the communications network;

one or more session border controllers, each session border controller capable of directing the communications session request to a selected one of the IP MGCs;

an association database configured to store a prioritized list of session border controllers and IP MGC pairs;

a customer database configured to store a list of customers authorized to access the communications network; and

a plurality of load balancers, wherein each load balancer provides a common interface point for the origination endpoint to access the communications network, wherein each load balancer is configured to;

receive the communications session request from the origination endpoint;

access the customer database to determine if the origination endpoint corresponds to a customer who is authorized to access the communications network;

use one or more properties associated with the origination endpoint, other than current location of the origination endpoint, to select one of the plurality of IP MGCs through which to route the communication request;

access the association database to determine which of the one or more session border controllers is associated with the selected IP MGC; and

direct the communications session request through the determined session border controller to the IP MGC.

23. The communications system of claim 22, wherein each of the plurality of load balancers share an IP address using Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol.

24. The communications system of claim 22, wherein each of the one or more session border controllers comprises a plurality of ports, wherein each port is associated with one of the one or more IP MGCs.

25. A system for establishing a communications session, the system comprising:

a communication device server handling calls from an originator communications device;

means for establishing the communications session independent of a current geographic location of the originator communications device.