Gateway

• US 20070268922A1
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Aepona Limited (Persistent Systems Limited)
• Inventors: Dougan, Damien, Corrigan, Louis, McConnell, Richard, Hansen, Hans
• Granted Patent: US 7,844,741 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways

Abstract

A work flow manager (1) of a gateway comprises a process automation component (2), a policy engine (3), and a traffic gateway (4). The work flow manager (1) communicates via the internet (5) over IP with content providers (6) and content aggregators (7). On the other side it communicates over the Internet or over a private IP network, using diverse proprietary and known protocols with service enabler resources (20) including mobile network SMSCs, MMSCs and IMSs (IP Multi-Media Sub-systems). The process automation component (2) presents a GUI to generate a work flow definition in a high level business process execution language (BPEL), with interaction with the service enabler resources (20) which implement the process. The policy engine (3) interprets the BPEL to provide lower-level policy enforcement work, flows in a policy enforcement execution language (PEEL). The traffic gateway (4) interprets the PEEL to provide a low level language (traffic policy execution language, TPEL) for high performance implementation of steps of the work flow process. PRP means Policy Request Protocol, a lightweight protocol for AAA request/responses within the gateway 1.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A gateway for interfacing between content provider servers and a communication network for delivery of content to user devices, the gateway comprising a work flow manager comprising:

a process automation component for interfacing with operators and defining according to operator inputs required work flows;

a traffic gateway for managing execution of traffic flow for delivery of content;

a policy engine for interfacing with the process automation component and with the traffic gateway;

wherein each of the process automation component, the policy engine, and the traffic gateway execute workflow instances; and

wherein the policy engine workflow instances act as decision points, and the process automation component workflow instances and the traffic gateway workflow instances act as enforcement points; and

wherein the policy engine comprises;

policy decision nodes, each having a traffic policy, a management policy, and a decision server,

traffic nodes communicating with the decision servers,

management nodes communicating with the decision servers; and

wherein the management nodes access the operator-level workflow model and the traffic nodes access a traffic-optimised work flow model.

22. The gateway as claimed in claim 21, wherein the decision point workflow instances execute work flow rules to determine compliance of work flows with a service level agreement and generate responses to requests from the enforcement point workflow instances.

23. The gateway as claimed in claim 22, wherein the policy engine comprises an interface for access to a stored mark-up language service level agreement representation.

24. The gateway as claimed in claim 21, wherein the process automation component generates a human-readable operator-level model of desired content routing work flows, and allows dynamic operator-driven modification of said work flow.

25. The gateway as claimed in claim 24, wherein the process automation component automatically defines said desired work flows independently of the service level agreement.

26. The gateway as claimed in claim 22, wherein each request is an authentication, authorising and accounting request.

27. The gateway as claimed in claim 21, wherein the process automation component workflow instances generate:

for some work flow processes only a single policy enforcement point request to initiate said processes,

for some work flow processes a policy enforcement point request for every process task, and

for some work flow processes a policy enforcement point request for only key process tasks, and

for some work flow processes a conditional policy enforcement point request for some or all process tasks.

28. The gateway as claimed in claim 27, wherein the process tasks operate with process data at different levels within a process data model for the desired work flows.

29. The gateway as claimed in claim 27, wherein the process tasks operate with process data at different levels within a process data model for the desired work flows;

and wherein the process data model incorporates branches for different content provider servers.

30. The gateway as claimed in claim 29, wherein each branch includes process data permissions governing read-only or write-enabled access to content on per-user and per-content provider server basis.

31. The gateway as claimed in claim 21, wherein the traffic-optimised work flow model comprises a plurality of tables linked with a starting content provider server hash table.

32. The gateway as claimed in claim 21, wherein the tables are linked from said content provider hash table according to content communication protocol.

33. The gateway as claimed in claim 32, wherein there is a link for SMS communication, a link for MMS communication, and a link for WS communication.

34. The gateway as claimed in claim 31, wherein each table has a counter which is incremented for every occurrence of a parameter.

35. The gateway as claimed in claim 34, wherein a table at the end of a chain automatically computes data according to entries to the tables in the chain.

36. The gateway as claimed in claim 21, wherein the traffic gateway comprises a traffic policy sub-cluster for each of a plurality of traffic protocols.

37. The gateway as claimed in claim 26, wherein each policy sub-cluster receives requests from the policy engine, and generates responses.

38. The gateway as claimed in claim 26, wherein each sub-cluster communicates with a traffic load balancer, which in turn routes traffic onto the mobile network or a content provider server network.

39. The computer program product comprising software code for performing work flow manager operations of a gateway of claim 21 when executing on a digital data processor.