Arrangement for improving availability of services in a communication system

• US 6,275,709 B1
• Filed: 10/05/1999
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Do, Thanh Van
• Primary Examiner(s): MAUNG, NAY AUNG
• Application Number:
  US09/413,218
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 455/461, 455/403, 455/422, 455/445, 455/435, 455/560, 455/456, 707/109, 709/203, 709/218, 370/310, 370/328
• US Class Current: 455/461
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/03 Protocol definition or specification protocol conformance testing H04L1/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/005 Personal communication services, e.g. provisions for portability of subscriber numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0095 Specification, development or application of network management software, e.g. software re-use
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/084 using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

The present invention relates to an arrangement for improving availability of services in a communication system, especially a telecommunication system, said system comprising distributed hardware and software components which interact in order to provide services to one or more users, and in order to facilitate the designer'"'"'s tool when preparing such communications systems for enhanced mobility, it is according to the present invention suggested an improvement by introducing in said system a Generic Mobility System, for thereby enabling facilitated application design including inter alia terminal or personal mobility. More specifically the present invention suggests that a module of package called Generic Mobility System is introduced to give such mobility support in distributed system.

Claims

1. Arrangement for improving availability of services in a telecommunication system, said arrangement comprising:

distributed hardware and software components which interact in order to provide services to one or more users through terminals connected to said telecommunication system through network access point(s), said distributed hardware and software components including a Generic Mobility System (GMS) processing and managing data necessary to support mobility for said terminal(s) and user(s);

wherein the GMS comprises the following mobility support functions;

terminal mobility functions keeping track of which network access point each terminal is connected to at any time, for allowing the terminals to change locations while still being capable of requesting outgoing services or receiving incoming ones;

user mobility functions allowing the user(s) to utilize different terminals including means for user registration and informing the system of which terminal(s) the user(s) is/are utilizing;

session mobility functions allowing a session or sessions, being used by the user(s), to follow the user(s) independently of the location of the user(s), the terminal(s) or the access point(s) utilized by the user(s), said session mobility functions including registration of the user(s), said session(s) and the terminal(s) the user(s) is using;

mobility transparency support functions making all mobility support functions transparent to all applications of the system;

mobility-related security functions providing protection against abuse or unauthorized use of both the terminal(s), the telecommunication system and the services, including access control thereto and identification and authentication of the user(s);

mobility-unaware application support functions making ordinary applications and services not adjusted for mobility available for the user(s) at anytime from any of the terminals and access points;

mobility-aware application support functions allowing mobility-aware application including registration and collection of mobility information to be implemented, and

mobility-based application support functions keeping track of positions of the terminal(s) at any time.

2. Arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the terminal mobility support functions comprises functions and mechanisms to support terminal mobility at an object communication level.

3. Arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the user mobility support functions comprises functions and mechanisms to support user mobility at an object communication level.

4. Arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mobility transparency support functions comprises functions and mechanisms to make mobility transparent at an object communication level.

5. Arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mobility-related security functions comprises functions and mechanisms to handle mobility-related security issues.

6. Arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the mobility-unaware application comprises functions and mechanisms to support and make mobility transparent to an application considered as an entire unit of activity.

7. Arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mobility-aware application support functions comprises functions and services offered to mobility-aware applications.

8. Arrangement as claimed in claim 7, wherein the mobility based application support functions comprises functions and services offered to the mobility-based applications.

9. Arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein the session mobility support functions comprises functions to support session mobility.

10. Arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further including means to choose, select, customize and combine any of the mobility functions as desired.

11. Arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein the GMS can be installed and used in any type of communication system, public or private, local area or wide area, wireline or wireless.

12. The arrangement of claim 1, further including means for separating the recited mobility functions from certain other functions in a manner such that the GMS may be installed in a network system which does not originally support mobility thereby allowing such network system to thereafter support mobile systems following installation of the GMS.

13. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the recited mobility functions are separated from a network layer and an application layer, and are grouped into a separate layer referred to as a mobility layer.

14. A mobility arrangement in a telecommunications system, the mobility arrangement comprising:

distributed hardware and software for providing services to one or more users;

a Generic Mobility System (GMS) for providing terminal or personal mobility services, the GMS comprising the following mobility support functions;

terminal mobility support function, user mobility support function, session mobility function, mobility transparency support function, mobility-related security function, mobility-unaware application support function, mobility-aware application support function, and mobility-based application support function;

wherein the session mobility function allows a session(s) being used by the user(s) to follow the user(s) independently of the location of the user(s), the terminal(s) and the access point(s) utilized by the user(s), and wherein said session mobility function includes registration of the user(s), said session(s) and the terminal(s) the user(s) is using; and

wherein said mobility support functions are separated from a network layer and an application layer and are grouped into a separate layer referred to as a mobility layer.

15. The mobility arrangement of claim 14, wherein said mobility support functions are separated from other functions in network and application layers in a manner such that the GMS may be installed in a network system which does not originally support mobility, in order to enable such system to support mobility after installation of the GMS.