Signaling gateway for multihop-relaying a signaling message

• US 7,764,668 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2005
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kawai, Eri, Yoshizawa, Masahiro, Yumoto, Kazuma
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh; Ayaz R
• Assistant Examiner(s): HALIYUR, VENKATESH N
• Application Number:
  US11/316,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20060203831A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,673 Days
• Field of Search: 370229-463, 370/522, 709/238, 379/207.01
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13106 Microprocessor, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13164 Traffic (registration, measurement,...)
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13166 Fault prevention
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13176 Common channel signaling, CCS7
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13196 Connection circuit/link/trunk/junction, bridge, router, gateway
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13204 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13348 Channel/line reservation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 LAN, internet

Abstract

If interaction between signaling gateways frequently occurs, it is possible that extended processings are executed redundantly on a path of signaling messages. To avoid such a redundancy, a consistent method is necessary for deciding a signaling gateway to execute an extended processing from among the signaling gateways. The signaling gateways, each time they receive a signaling message, calculate information about a path through which it is transferred. By passing the path information in addition to the signaling message to an extended processing program, the signaling gateways decide whether to execute the extended processing on the signaling gateways, on a session basis. A signaling gateway that has executed an extended processing adds information indicating a processing status to the signaling message to notify other signaling gateways of it.

Claims

1. A first signaling gateway managed by a service provider and connected to communication terminals and second signaling gateways, at least one of the second signaling gateways being managed by a different service provider, comprising:

a transmitting/receiving part that receives a signaling message from the communication terminals or the second signaling gateways and transmits the signaling message outside of the first signaling gateway to a destination; and

a control part that, based on first information indicating a position of the first signaling gateway on a path through which the signaling message passes to the destination, and second information indicating a status of whether an extended processing has been executed by the second signaling gateways on the path in a session to which the signaling message belongs, the first information and the second information being included in the signaling message, decides, on the basis of the second information, whether to execute the extended processing in the first signaling gateway, and executes the extended processing therein only if the extended processing has not been executed by the second signaling gateways to avoid redundant execution along the path in the session,

wherein the extended processing includes communicating with a real-time transport protocol (RTP) proxy server, a presence server, a web server, or a quality of service (QoS) control server coupled to the first signaling gateway via a network,

wherein processing required by the session to which the signaling message belongs is a plurality of independent processing including the extended processing, and

wherein the first signaling gateway and the second signaling gateways are SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) proxy servers.

2. The first signaling gateway according to claim 1, wherein if the first signaling gateway executes the extended processing therein, the control part updates the second information to indicate that the first signaling gateway has executed the extended processing, and the transmitting/receiving part transmits the signaling message including the updated second information.

3. The first signaling gateway according to claim 1, further comprising a storage part,

wherein the storage part stores:

a program that acquires the first information indicating the position of the first signaling gateway on the path through which the signaling message passes to the destination;

a program that acquires third information regarding processing required by the session to which the signaling message belongs, the third information being included in the signaling message; and

a program that, based on the first information indicating the position of the first signaling gateway on the path through which the signaling message passes to the destination, and the third information regarding the processing required by the session to which the signaling message belongs, decides whether to execute the processing required by the session in the first signaling gateway,

wherein the control part executes the programs stored in the storage part.

4. The first signaling gateway according to claim 3, wherein the program that decides whether to execute the processing required by the session in the signaling gateway can be added or deleted for the processing required by the session.

5. The first signaling gateway according to claim 1, wherein the extended processing includes recording logs or accounting information.

6. The first signaling gateway according to claim 1, wherein the extended processing is executed by the first signaling gateway in conjunction with the RTP server, the presence server, the web server, or the QoS control server.

7. The first signaling gateway according to claim 1, wherein the signaling message is an INVITE message with conformity to SIP, and the second information is included in the INVITE message.