METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR A HIERARCHICAL, REDUNDANT OAM&P ARCHITECTURE FOR USE IN AN IP MULTIMEDIA SUBSYSTEM (IMS) NETWORK

• US 20100268802A1
• Filed: 06/30/2010
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tekelec, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tekelec, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Lipps, Thomas P., Sprague, David M.
• Application Number:
  US12/827,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20100268802A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0695 the faulty arrangement being the maintenance, administration or management system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for a hierarchical, redundant OAM&P architecture for use in an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) are disclosed. According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includes a system for managing an Internet protocol multimedia system (IMS) network. The system includes a network operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&P) entity for communicating with an operator'"'"'s network, a system OAM&P entity associated with the network OAM&P entity, and at least one message processing entity associated with the system OAM&P entity for processing signaling information and for implementing at least one application. The system OAM&P entity receives OAM&P information from one or more message processing entities and communicates at least some of the received OAM&P information to the network OAM&P entity. The network OAM&P entity receives OAM&P information from the system OAM&P entity and communicates at least some of the received OAM&P information to the operator'"'"'s network.

Claims

1. A method for remotely configuring an Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) entity, the method comprising:

(a) detecting the presence of a configurable IMS entity at a system operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&

P) entity;

(b) communicating the detection to a network OAM&

P entity;

(c) receiving configuration data from the operator at the network OAM&

P entity; and

(d) communicating the configuration data to the system OAM&

P entity and configuring the configurable IMS entity based on the configuration data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein communicating the detection to a network OAM&

P entity includes providing an operator with options to configure the configurable IMS entity to perform at least one of a proxy call session control function (P-CSCF), an interrogating call session control function (I-CSCF), a serving call session control function (S-CSCF), a home subscriber server (HSS) function, an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) function, and an application server (AS) function.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the an application server function includes at least one of a prepaid services function, a presence services function, an E.164 number translation (ENUM) services function, a location-based services function, a number portability services function, a message services function, a billing applications function, a network monitoring function, a call control function, a conference call services function, an announcement services function, a push-to-talk services function, a voicemail services function, a text to speech/speech to text services function, a law-enforcement-related services function, and a 2-G gateway services function.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring the configurable IMS entity comprises activating at least one of a plurality of preloaded applications.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein at least some of the plurality applications perform different application functions or different variants of an application function.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein activating the at least one of a plurality of preloaded applications comprises setting a software or hardware flag, the flag corresponding to a preloaded application to be activated.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by the processor of a computer control the computer to perform steps comprising:

(a) detecting the presence of a configurable IMS entity at a system operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&

P) entity;

(b) communicating the detection to a network OAM&

P entity;

(c) receiving configuration data from the operator at the network OAM&

P entity; and

(d) communicating the configuration data to the system OAM&

P entity, wherein the system OAM&

P entity configures the configurable IMS entity based on the configuration data.