TRANSACTION TIMEOUT HANDLING IN COMMUNICATION SESSION MANAGEMENT

• US 20080062863A1
• Filed: 09/11/2007
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Ginde, Samir Vijay
• Granted Patent: US 8,213,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• 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 67/143 Termination or inactivation of sessions, e.g. event-controlled end of session
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

This disclosure describes techniques for handling transaction timeouts during setup and management of communication sessions. In particular, a communication device may be configured to handle transaction timeouts differently based on the type of signaling and control message that experienced the transaction timeout. In one aspect, the communication devices may handle transaction timeouts experienced during register transactions differently than transaction timeouts experienced during non-register. For example, the communication device that initiated the transaction initiates at least one subsequent transaction to the current proxy server when a non-register transaction experiences the transaction timeout. After experiencing a threshold number of consecutive transaction timeouts, an expiration of a failure duration timer, or a transaction timeout associated with a register transaction, the communication device cancels the current communication session and sends a register message to a new proxy server.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a transaction timeout for a non-register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply message from a first device;

initiating at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction with the first device for a particular period of time after detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register transaction; and

initiating a register signaling and control transaction with a second device after the particular period of time when no reply message is received for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

incrementing a timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

initiating the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction comprises initiating the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction when a value of the timeout counter is less than a threshold value.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a reply message for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction; and

resetting the timeout counter upon receiving the reply message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

incrementing a timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

initiating the register signaling and control transaction comprises initiating the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device when a value of the timeout counter is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising dynamically determining the threshold value based on call arrival statistics.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating a timer upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

initiating the register signaling and control transaction comprises initiating the register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon expiration of the timer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a transaction timeout for a first register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply for the first register signaling and control transaction from the first device;

initiating a second register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon detecting the transaction timeout for the first register signaling and control transaction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction comprises sending an initial message for the subsequent signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message according to a retransmission schedule.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein sending the initial message and the one or more retransmissions of the message comprises sending the initial message of the subsequent signaling and control transaction and the one or more retransmissions of the message compressed with bytecode and without dynamic state information when there has been at least one transaction timeout.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending an initial message for the subsequent non-register signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message, wherein the initial message for the non-register signaling and control transaction and a first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a first compression technique and a second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a second compression technique.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using no compression.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the initial message for the non-register signaling and control transaction and the first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed using dynamic state information and the second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed without using dynamic state information.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting a decompression failure;

identifying a cause of the detected decompression failure; and

selecting the second compression technique for the second portion of the retransmissions based on the cause of the decompression failure.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error message

aborting further retransmissions of the message upon receiving the ICMP error message; and

initiating the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a terminal Internet Protocol Security (Ipsec) failure event; and

initiating the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device in response to detecting the IPsec failure event.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the transaction timeout comprises detecting the transaction timeout upon not receiving a reply message for the non-register signaling and control transaction from the first device before expiration of a transaction timeout timer.

17. An apparatus comprising:

transmit circuitry to transmit signals; and

a transaction management module that detects a transaction timeout for a non-register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply message from a first device, and initiates, via the transmit circuitry, at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction with the first device for a particular period of time after detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction and initiates, via the transmit circuitry, a register signaling and control transaction with a second device after the particular period of time when no reply message is received for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a timeout counter that tracks a number of transaction timeouts, wherein the transaction management module increments the timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction and initiates the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction when a value of the timeout counter is less than a threshold value.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the transaction management module receives a reply message for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction and resets the timeout counter upon receiving the reply message.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a timeout counter that tracks a number of transaction timeouts, wherein the transaction management module increments the timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction and initiates the register signaling and control transaction with the second device when a value of the timeout counter is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the transaction management module dynamically determines the threshold value based on call arrival statistics.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a timer that tracks the amount of time that has elapsed since the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein the transaction management module initiates the register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon expiration of the timer.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the transaction management module detects a transaction timeout for a first register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply message for the first register signaling and control transaction from the first device and initiates a second register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon detecting the transaction timeout for the first register signaling and control transaction message.

24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the transaction management module sends an initial message for the subsequent signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message according to a retransmission schedule.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the transaction management module sends the initial message of the subsequent signaling and control transaction and the one or more retransmissions of the message compressed with bytecode and without dynamic state information when there has been at least one transaction timeout.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the transaction management module sends an initial message for the subsequent non-register signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message, wherein the initial message and a first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a first compression technique and a second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a second compression technique.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the second compression technique comprises no compression.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the initial message for the non-register signaling and control transaction and the first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed using dynamic state information and the second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed without using dynamic state information.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the transaction management module detects a decompression failure, identifies a cause of the detected decompression failure, and selects the second compression technique for the second portion of the retransmissions based on the cause of the decompression failure.

30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the transaction management module receives an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error message, aborts further retransmissions of the message upon receiving the ICMP error message, and initiates the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device.

31. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the transaction management module detects the transaction timeout upon not receiving a reply message for the non-register signaling and control transaction from the first device before expiration of a transaction timeout timer.

32. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the transaction management module detects a terminal Internet Protocol Security (Ipsec) failure event and initiates the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device in response to detecting the IPsec failure event.

33. A computer-program product comprising a computer readable medium having instructions thereon, the instructions comprising:

code for detecting a transaction timeout for a non-register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply message from a first device;

code for initiating at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction with the first device for a particular period of time after detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register transaction; and

code for initiating a register signaling and control transaction with a second device after the particular period of time when no reply message is received for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction.

34. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising:

code for incrementing a timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

code for initiating the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction comprises code for initiating the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction when a value of the timeout counter is less than a threshold value.

35. The computer-program product of claim 34, further comprising:

code for receiving a reply message for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction; and

code for resetting the timeout counter upon receiving the reply message.

36. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising:

code for incrementing a timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

code for initiating the register signaling and control transaction comprises code for initiating the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device when a value of the timeout counter is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

37. The computer-program product of claim 36, further comprising code for dynamically determining the threshold value based on call arrival statistics.

38. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising:

code for initiating a timer upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

code for initiating the register signaling and control transaction comprises code for initiating the register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon expiration of the timer.

39. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising:

code for detecting a transaction timeout for a first register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply for the first register signaling and control transaction from the first device;

code for initiating a second register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon detecting the transaction timeout for the first register signaling and control transaction.

40. The computer-program product of claim 33, wherein code for initiating the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction comprises code for sending an initial message for the subsequent signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message according to a retransmission schedule.

41. The computer-program product of claim 40, wherein code for sending the initial message and the one or more retransmissions of the message comprises code for sending the initial message of the subsequent signaling and control transaction and the one or more retransmissions of the message compressed with bytecode and without dynamic state information when there has been at least one transaction timeout.

42. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising code for sending an initial message for the subsequent non-register signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message, wherein the initial message for the non-register signaling and control transaction and a first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a first compression technique and a second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a second compression technique.

43. The computer-program product of claim 42, wherein the second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using no compression

44. The computer-program product of claim 42, wherein the initial message for the non-register signaling and control transaction and the first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed using dynamic state information and the second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed without using dynamic state information.

45. The computer-program product of claim 42, further comprising:

code for detecting a decompression failure;

code for identifying a cause of the detected decompression failure; and

code for selecting the second compression technique for the second portion of the retransmissions based on the cause of the decompression failure.

46. The computer-program product of claim 42, further comprising:

code for receiving an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error message

code for aborting further retransmissions of the message upon receiving the ICMP error message; and

code for initiating the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device.

47. The computer-program product of claim 33, wherein code for detecting the transaction timeout comprises code for detecting the transaction timeout upon not receiving a reply message for the non-register signaling and control transaction from the first device before expiration of a transaction timeout timer.

48. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising:

code for detecting a terminal Internet Protocol Security (Ipsec) failure event; and

code for initiating the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device in response to detecting the IPsec failure event.

49. An apparatus comprising:

means for detecting a transaction timeout for a non-register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply message from a first device; and

means for initiating at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction with the first device for a particular period of time after detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein the initiating means initiates a register signaling and control transaction with a second device after the particular period of time when no reply message is received for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

means for incrementing a timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

the initiating means initiates the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction when a value of the timeout counter is less than a threshold value.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, further comprising:

means for receiving a reply message for the at least one subsequent signaling and control transaction; and

means for resetting the timeout counter upon receiving the reply message.

52. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

means for incrementing a timeout counter upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

the initiating means initiates the register signaling and control transaction with the second device when a value of the timeout counter is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising means for dynamically determining the threshold value based on call arrival statistics.

54. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

means for initiating a timer upon detecting the transaction timeout for the non-register signaling and control transaction, wherein

the initiating means initiates the register signaling and control transaction with the second device upon expiration of the timer.

55. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

means for detecting a transaction timeout for a first register signaling and control transaction upon not receiving a reply message for the first register signaling and control transaction from the first device;

wherein

the initiating means initiates a second register signaling and control transaction message with the second device upon detecting the transaction timeout for the first register signaling and control transaction message.

56. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the initiating means initiates an initial message for the subsequent signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message according to a retransmission schedule.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the initiating means initiates the initial message for the subsequent signaling and control transaction and the one or more retransmissions of the message compressed with bytecode and without dynamic state information when there has been at least one transaction timeout.

58. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the initiating means initiates an initial message for the subsequent non-register signaling and control transaction and one or more retransmissions of the message, wherein initial message for the subsequent non-register signaling and control transaction and a first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a first compression technique and a second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent using a second compression technique.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the second compression technique comprises no compression.

60. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the initial message of the non-register signaling and control transaction and the first portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed using dynamic state information and the second portion of the retransmissions of the message are sent compressed without using dynamic state information.

61. The apparatus of claim 58, further comprising:

means for detecting a decompression failure and identifying a cause of the detected decompression failure; and

means for selecting the second compression technique for the second portion of the retransmissions based on the cause of the decompression failure.

62. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the initiating means receives an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error message, aborts further retransmissions of the message upon receiving the ICMP error message, and initiates the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device.

63. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the detecting means detects the transaction timeout upon not receiving a reply message for the non-register signaling and control transaction from the first device before expiration of a transaction timeout timer.

64. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

means for detecting a terminal Internet Protocol Security (Ipsec) failure event; and

wherein the initiating means initiates the register signaling and control transaction message with the second device in response to detecting the IPsec failure event.