METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SMS TERMINATION OVERLOAD PROTECTION

• US 20110292808A1
• Filed: 02/09/2010
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc., Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Stephens, Gary Boyd
• Granted Patent: US 8,743,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/237
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/263 Rate modification at the source after receiving feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

In order to ameliorate the overload at an overloaded network node that is discarding some of the SMSs it is receiving, when a node is overloaded with received SMSs, it sends a message to the nodes from which it is receiving SMSs of that fact and includes a parameter indicating the extent to which it is overloaded. That parameter, for instance, may be the percentage of SMSs that it is receiving that are being discarded. With this information, the sending node can determine a percentage of the pending SMSs during such conditions that will help remove the overloaded node from the overload condition more quickly. Furthermore, the network protocol may be adapted to include a priority parameter in SMSs. Then, when an SMS sending node knows that a node to which it is sending SMSs is overloaded, the sending node may decide which SMSs to send to the overloaded node based on such priority information.

Claims

1. A method of managing communication traffic in a communication network comprising at least a first node, a second node, and a plurality of third nodes, the method comprising:

the first node sending a first plurality of first messages to the second node, the plurality of first messages intended for delivery by the second node to a plurality of third nodes;

if the second node cannot deliver all of the plurality of first messages due to receipt of messages at a rate greater than it can process the messages, the second node sending a second message to the first node, the second message containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the second node is overloaded;

the first node receiving the second message and parsing the second message to determine the overload parameter therein; and

responsive to the second message, the first node adjusting the rate at which it sends messages to the second node to an amount that is a function of each overload parameter.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first node is a Short Message Service Center (SMSC) and the second node is a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) node.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the third nodes are mobile communication units. first node is a Short Message Servicing Center (SMSC) and the second node is a Message Switching Service (MSC) node.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the overload parameter is a flow rate of messages.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first node reduces the rate at which it sends messages to the second node to a rate equal to the number of first messages it is processing for transmission to the second node that it has not previously attempted to transmit to the second node multiplied by (one minus the overload parameter).

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the first messages are Short Message Service Delivery Point to Point invoke (SMSDPP) messages and the second messages containing the overload parameter are smsdpp return results.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the first node incorporating into the first messages a priority parameter, the priority parameter disclosing a relative priority of the first message relative to other first messages;

the second node parsing the first messages to determine the priority parameters therein; and

if the second node is overloaded such that it cannot deliver all of the first messages it is receiving, the second node selecting a subset of the first messages it receives for delivery, the second node selecting the subset of first messages for delivery as a function of the priority parameters associated with the first messages.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the nodes of the third plurality of nodes send an acknowledgement message when they receive one of the plurality of first messages, wherein the acknowledgement messages contain a priority parameter, the value assigned to the priority parameter of the acknowledgement messages having a higher priority than messages that are not acknowledgement messages.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein some of the first messages comprise acknowledgements of other first messages and wherein first messages that are acknowledgement messages are assigned a priority parameter having a higher priority than first messages that are not acknowledgement messages.

11. A computer readable medium containing computer instructions for operating a Message Switching Center (MSC) node when the MSC is receiving SMSs from at least one Short Message Service Center (SMSC) node for delivery by the MSC node to a plurality of subscriber nodes at a rate greater than the MSC node can deliver the SMSs, the medium comprising computer executable instructions for:

receiving SMSs; and

responsive to the MSC being unable to deliver all of said SMSs received from the at least one SMSC, sending a smsdpp return result to the at least one SMSC containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the MSC is overloaded.

12. The computer readable product of claim 11 further comprising computer executable instructions for:

parsing the SMSs to determine a priority parameters therein; and

if the MSC is overloaded such that the MSC cannot deliver all of the SMSs it is receiving, selecting a subset of the SMSs received for delivery as a function of the priority parameters associated with the first messages.

13. A Mobile switching Center (SMC) node for a network configured to receive SMSs from at least one Short Message Service Center (SMSC) node for delivery by the MSC node to a plurality of subscriber nodes, the MCS node, responsive to receiving SMSs at a rate greater than a rate at which the MSC can deliver the SMS to the plurality of subscriber nodes, sending a message to the at least one SMSC containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the SMC is overloaded.

14. The MSC node of claim 13 wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of SMSs received by the MSC node that the MSC node is unable to deliver.

15. The MSC node of claim 13 wherein the MSC further parses the SMSs to determine priority parameters therein, and, if the MSC is overloaded, delivering a subset of the received SMS to the plurality of subscriber nodes, the subset selected as a function of the priority parameters associated with the SMSs.

16-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A Short Message Service Center (SMSC) node for a network configured to transmit a plurality of SMSs to at least one Mobile Switching Center (MSC) node for delivery by the MSC node to a plurality of mobile nodes, the SMS node further configured to receive return messages from the MSC responsive to the SMSs, the return messages containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the MSC is overloaded;

parse the return message to determine the overload parameter; and

adjust the rate at which the SMSC node sends SMSs to the MSC by an amount that is a function of the overload parameter.

20. The SMSC node of claim 19 wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of SMSs received by the MSC that the MSC node is unable to deliver and wherein the SMSC node adjusts the rate at which it sends SMSs to the MSC to an amount equal to a number of previously unsent SMSs times (one minus the overload parameter).