SUPPORTED FEATURE OVERRIDE

• US 20130095812A1
• Filed: 10/18/2011
• Published: 04/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent Canada Incorporated (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Yeung, Lui Chu, Mann, Robert A., Vrbaski, Mira, Lalseta, Sachin J., Mohebi-Sarmadi, Partoo, Ma, Haiqing H., SIDDAM, Kalyan Premchand
• Granted Patent: US 8,744,428 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: receiving, at the network device, a message; determining, in response to receiving the message, that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device; determining, based on the partner device, whether a default set of features should be overridden; if the default set of supported features should be overridden, transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device; and if the default set of supported features should not be overridden, transmitting a standard set of features based on the default set of features to the partner device.

Claims

1. A method performed by a network device for overriding supported features, the method comprising:

receiving, at the network device, a message;

determining, in response to receiving the message, that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device;

determining, based on the partner device, whether a default set of features should be overridden;

if the default set of supported features should be overridden, transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device; and

if the default set of supported features should not be overridden, transmitting a standard set of features based on the default set of features to the partner device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining, in response to receiving the message, that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device comprises determining that an S9 session should be established with the partner device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the alternative set of features to the partner device comprises transmitting an S9 message to the partner device, wherein the S9 message does not include a Supported-Features AVP.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the message is received from the partner device and includes a set of advertised features; and

the step transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device comprises;

identifying a set of allowed features based on a set of override features associated with the partner device,

determining a set of agreed features based on the set of advertised features and the set of allowed features, and

transmitting the set of agreed features to the partner device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the message is received from another network device; and

the step of transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device comprises;

identifying a set of allowed features based on a set of override features associated with the partner device,

transmitting the set of allowed features to the partner device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining, based on the partner device, whether a default set of supported features should be overridden comprises determining whether the network device stores a set of override features in association with the partner device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the network device and the partner device are both policy and charging rules nodes (PCRNs); and

at least one of the network device and the partner device belong to home public land mobile network (HPLMN) of a user associated with the message.

8. A network device for overriding supported features, the network device comprising:

an interface that receives a message;

a roaming communication module configured to, in response to the interface receiving the message, determine that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device;

a default override module configured to determine, based on the partner device, whether a default set of features should be overridden; and

a feature list constructor configured to;

if the default set of supported features should be overridden, generate a feature list including an alternative set of features, and

if the default set of supported features should be overridden, generate a feature list including a standard set of features based on the default set of features; and

a negotiation module configured to transmit the feature list to the partner device.

9. The network device of claim 8, wherein in determining that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device, the roaming communication module is configured to determine that an S9 session should be established with the partner device.

10. The network device of claim 8, wherein in transmitting the feature list to the partner device, the negotiation module is configured to transmit an S9 message to the partner device, wherein the S9 message does not include a Supported-Features AVP.

11. The network device of claim 8, wherein:

the message is received from the partner device and includes a set of advertised features;

the default override module is further configured to identify a set of allowed features based on a set of override features associated with the partner device; and

in generating a feature list including an alternative set of features, the feature list constructor is configured to;

determine a set of agreed features based on the set of advertised features and the set of allowed features, and

generate a feature list including the set of agreed features.

12. The network device of claim 8, wherein:

the message is received from another network device;

the default override module is further configured to identify a set of allowed features based on a set of override features associated with the partner device; and

in generating a feature list including the default set of features, the feature list constructor is configured to generate a feature list including the set of allowed features.

13. The network device of claim 8, wherein, in determining whether a default set of features should be overridden, the default override module is configured to determine whether the network device stores a set of override features in association with the partner device.

14. A tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions for execution by a network device for overriding supported features, the tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising:

instructions for receiving, at the network device, a message;

instructions for determining, in response to receiving the message, that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device;

instructions for determining, based on the partner device, whether a default set of features should be overridden;

instructions for if the default set of supported features should be overridden, transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device; and

instructions for if the default set of supported features should not be overridden, transmitting a standard set of features based on the default set of features to the partner device.

15. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for determining, in response to receiving the message, that a set of supported features should be transmitted to a partner device comprise instructions for determining that an S9 session should be established with the partner device.

16. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for transmitting the alternative set of features to the partner device comprise instructions for transmitting an S9 message to the partner device, wherein the S9 message does not include a Supported-Features AVP.

17. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein:

the message is received from the partner device and includes a set of advertised features; and

instructions for transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device comprise;

instructions for identifying a set of allowed features based on a set of override features associated with the partner device,

instructions for determining a set of agreed features based on the set of advertised features and the set of allowed features, and

instructions for transmitting the set of agreed features to the partner device.

18. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein:

the message is received from another network device; and

the instructions for transmitting an alternative set of features to the partner device comprise;

instructions for identifying a set of allowed features based on a set of override features associated with the partner device,

instructions for transmitting the set of allowed features to the partner device.

19. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for determining, based on the partner device, whether a default set of supported features should be overridden comprise instructions for determining whether the network device stores a set of override features in association with the partner device.

20. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein:

the network device and the partner device are both policy and charging rules nodes (PCRNs); and

at least one of the network device and the partner device belong to home public land mobile network (HPLMN) of a user associated with the message.