LOCATION TAGGING METHOD FOR PACKET BASED SIGNALLING

• US 20100274908A1
• Filed: 12/13/2007
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Koskelainen, Petri Kalevi
• Granted Patent: US 9,246,954 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/30 Routing of multiclass traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]

Abstract

Location information is tagged in a packet based network. SIP signaling messages are used to initiate a communication session between at least two end user devices in a packet based telecommunications network. The communication session is routed through various intermediate network elements of the packet based network. The intermediate network elements tag the signaling messages with information indicating their geographic location or otherwise provide such location information. In response to the signaling messages and preferably before the communication session is established, the location information indicating the location of the intermediate network elements in the routing of the communication session between the end user devices is made available. An end user device or apparatus may receive the location information and provide a user display indicating the routing and status of the communication session being initiated.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A network element in a packet based network, the network element comprising:

a communication interface, said communication interface being adapted to communicate in said packet based network;

a processing element; and

a memory, said memory storing program instructions executable by said processing element to cause said network element to perform a function,

said communication interface being configured to receive a signaling message, said signaling message being related to the initiation of a communication session between at least two end user devices in said packet based network being routed through said network element, and

said processing element, in response to said signaling message, executing program instructions causing said network element to provide location information indicating the location of said network element in the routing of said communication session between said at least two end user devices.

26. The network element according to claim 25, wherein the location information is inserted into the header of said signaling message.

27. The network element according to claim 26, wherein the signaling message is a SIP signaling message, and the location information is provided using an extension header added to said SIP signaling message.

28. The network element of claim 27, wherein the extension header includes the location information or a reference to the location information.

29. The network element of claim 27, wherein the location information is provided to a network element information server or to the end-user device.

30. The network element of claim 25, further comprising providing said location information depending on the presence of a request for said location information in said signaling message.

31. The network element of claim 25, wherein the location information further comprises weather information related to the location of at least one of said network elements associated with the routing of said communication session between said at least two end user devices.

32. The network element of claim 25, wherein the location information further comprises host platform information related to at least one of said network elements associated with the routing of said communication session between said at least two end user devices.

33. The network element of claim 25, wherein the location information is configured to be provided to a network element information server or to at least one of the said end-user devices.

34. A user apparatus, said user apparatus comprising:

a communication interface, said communication interface adapted to communicate in a packet based network;

a processing element; and

a memory, said memory storing program instructions executable by said processing element to cause said user apparatus to provide a user interface,

said communication interface being configured to initiate or receive signaling messages, said signaling messages being related to the initiation of a communication session between said user apparatus and another network element, and location information related to at least the location of intermediate network elements in the routing of said communication session between said user apparatus and another network element,

said processing element, in response to said signaling messages and said location information, executing program instructions causing said user apparatus to provide an indication of said location information related to at least the location of one or more intermediate network elements in the routing of said communication session between said user apparatus and another network element.

35. The user apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the signaling messages are SIP signaling messages.

36. The user apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the user apparatus displays the routing of said communication session in real-time or near real-time while the communication session is being set up or after the communication session has been set up.

37. The user apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the location information includes status information relating to the status of the routing and the user apparatus displays said status information in real-time or near real-time while the communication session is being set up or after the communication session has been set up.

38. A network element information server in a packet based network, the server comprising:

a communication interface, said communication interface being adapted to communicate in said packet based network;

a processing element; and

a memory, said memory configured to store program instructions executable by said network element information server to cause said network element information server to provide location information for a plurality of network elements in said packet based network,

said communication interface being configured to receive signaling messages from said plurality of network elements, said signaling messages being related to the initiation of a communication session between at least two end user devices in said packet based network being routed through said plurality of network elements and containing location information related to said plurality of network element, and

said processing element executing program instructions causing said network element to store location information indicating the location of at least one network element in the routing of said communication session between said at least two end user devices, and configured to provide said location information in real-time or near real-time while the communication session is being set up or after the communication session has been set up

39. A network element information server according to claim 38, wherein the signaling messages are SIP signaling messages.

40. A method of tagging location information in a packet based network comprising:

receiving a signaling message, said signaling message being related to the initiation of a communication session between at least two end user devices in said packet based telecommunications network and being routed through intermediate network elements of said packet based network; and

in response to the signaling message, providing location information indicating the location of at least one intermediate network element in the routing of said communication session between said at least two end user devices.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the location information is inserted into the header of said signaling message.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the signaling message is a SIP signaling message, and the location information is provided using an extension header added to said SIP signaling message.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the extension header includes the location information.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the extension header includes a reference to the location information.