Method and Apparatus for Maintaining Long-Lived Connections Between a Mobile Client and a Server
First Claim
1. A method of maintaining a connection between a mobile terminal in a mobile communication network and a server in an external packet data network, said method comprising:
- receiving at a network node in the mobile communication network a keep alive message from said server intended for said mobile terminal; and
if there is no active packet data session for the mobile terminal, responding to said keep alive message on behalf of said mobile terminal to maintain a connection between said mobile terminal and said server.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus according to the present invention enables a mobile terminal in a mobile communication network to end a packet data session to save battery power while maintaining a long-lived TCP connection with a server in an external packet data network. The method comprises receiving a keep alive message from a server for a mobile client at a network node in the mobile communication network and, if there is no current packet data session between the mobile client and the network node, responding to the keep alive message on behalf of the mobile client to maintain a connection between the server and said mobile client. The apparatus comprises a GGSN or other network node in the mobile communication network configured to practice the method.
65 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of maintaining a connection between a mobile terminal in a mobile communication network and a server in an external packet data network, said method comprising:
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receiving at a network node in the mobile communication network a keep alive message from said server intended for said mobile terminal; and if there is no active packet data session for the mobile terminal, responding to said keep alive message on behalf of said mobile terminal to maintain a connection between said mobile terminal and said server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A network node in a mobile communication network configured to maintain a connection between a mobile terminal in a mobile communication network and a server in an external packet data network, said network node comprising:
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a packet filter to detect a keep-alive message from said server to said mobile terminal; and a proxy to respond to said keep alive message on behalf of said mobile terminal. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer readable medium having instructions stored therein for execution by a processor to cause a network node in a mobile communication network to perform a method comprising:
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receiving at a network node in the mobile communication network a keep alive message from an external server intended for a mobile terminal in said mobile communication network; and if there is no active packet data session for the mobile terminal, responding to said keep alive message on behalf of said mobile terminal to maintain a connection between said mobile terminal and said server. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification