System and Method for Providing a Proxy in a Short Message Service (SMS) Environment

• US 20110165899A1
• Filed: 03/14/2011
• Published: 07/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wright, Michael A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,374,638 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

According to a particular embodiment, a method for distributing messages is provided that includes receiving one or more short message service (SMS) messages. The method also includes distributing one or more of the messages to a selected one or a plurality of short message service center (SMSC) servers.

Claims

1. An apparatus for distributing messages, comprising:

a short message service center (SMSC) proxy configured to communicate with a plurality of SMSC servers, the SMSC proxy operable to;

receive an SMS message;

determine, based on an application type of the SMS message, one or more of the plurality of SMSC servers that can accommodate the application type; and

distribute the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SMSC proxy is operable to distribute the SMS message to the selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on network availability.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SMSC proxy is operable to distribute the SMS message to the selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on network congestion.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SMSC proxy is operable to distribute the SMS message to the selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on one or more of the following:

a B-address of the SMS message;

an A-Address of the SMS message; and

content of the SMS message.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SMSC proxy is operable to distribute the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on a weighted round robin algorithm.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the SMSC proxy is provided in one or more mobile switching center (MSC) sites; and

routing of the SMS message can be done through an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the SMSC proxy is coupled to an IP transfer point (ITP) that reflects a stateful proxy,

the ITP is operable to communicate with-the plurality of SMSC servers.

8. A method for distributing messages, comprising:

receiving a short message service (SMS) message;

determining, based on an application type of the SMS message, one or more of a plurality of SMSC servers that can accommodate the application type; and

distributing the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein distributing the SMS message to the selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers comprises distributing the SMS message based on based on network availability.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein distributing the SMS message to the selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers comprises distributing the SMS message based on based on network congestion.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein distributing the SMS message to the selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers comprises distributing the SMS message based on one or more of the following:

a B-address of the SMS message;

an A-Address of the SMS message; and

content of the SMS message.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein distributing the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined subset of SMSC servers comprises distributing the SMS message based on a weighted round robin algorithm.

13. The method of claim 8, comprising routing the SMS message through an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein:

an IP transfer point (ITP) that reflects a stateful proxy is provided; and

the ITP is operable to communicate with the plurality of SMSC servers.

15. The method of claim 8, comprising terminating a dialogue request received from a selected one of a plurality of MSCs because the dialogue is to be routed based on the B-addresses of the SMS message.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the dialogue request is terminated in order to obtain a next message, which contains the SMS message.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising opening a new dialogue with the selected SMSC server, wherein:

the two dialogues are tied together; and

an address associated with an origination or a servicing MSC can be preserved.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising withholding a response to the selected one of the plurality of MSCs until a result from the selected SMSC server is received.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising software for distributing messages, the software comprising computer code and when executed to perform operations comprising:

receiving a short message service (SMS) message;

determining, based on an application type of the SMS message, one or more of a plurality of SMSC servers that can accommodate the application type; and

distributing the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, comprising distributing the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on network availability.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, comprising distributing the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on network congestion.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, comprising distributing the SMS message to a selected SMSC server among the determined one or more SMSC servers based on a weighted round robin algorithm.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the code is operable to perform operations comprising terminating a dialogue request received from a selected one of a plurality of MSCs because the dialogue is to be routed based on the B-addresses of the SMS message.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein the dialogue is terminated in order to obtain a next message, which contains the SMS message.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the code is operable to perform operations comprising opening a new dialogue with the selected SMSC server, wherein the two dialogues are tied together.

26. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the code is operable to perform operations comprising withholding a response to the selected one of the plurality of MSCs until a result from the selected SMSC server is received.