Methods, systems, and computer program products for dynamically coordinating collection and distribution of presence information

• US 8,204,052 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tekelec, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tekelec, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Baldwin, Patricia A., Khadri, Seetharaman, Sprague, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Chirag
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US11/120,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20060246880A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,605 Days
• Field of Search: 370/395.2, 370/401, 455/403, 455/414.1, 455/435.1, 455/419, 455/513, 455/566
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for dynamically coordinating collection and distribution of presence information are disclosed. According to one method, presence information is collected for a presentity. An event manager is selected from a plurality of event managers and is dynamically assigned to the presentity. The presence information is then communicated to the assigned event manager.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically coordinating collection and distribution of presence information, the method comprising:

(a) collecting presence information regarding a presentity, wherein collecting presence information regarding a presentity includes correlating, at a message correlator, signaling messages regarding a presentity and deriving presence information from the correlated signaling messages, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of the presentity via one or more telecommunications contact modes, wherein the presentity includes a telecommunications services subscriber;

(b) dynamically assigning a presence gateway event manager from a plurality of presence gateway event managers to the presentity in response to receiving a subscription request regarding the presentity from a presence server; and

(c) transmitting the presence information regarding the presentity to the assigned event manager.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein dynamically assigning a presence gateway event manager to the subscriber includes maintaining event manager resource utilization information regarding the event managers, assigning an event manager to the presentity based on the resource utilization information, and informing the message correlator of the assigned event manager.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising caching presence gateway event manager identification information for the presentity at the message correlator.

4. The method of claim 3 comprising, at the message correlator, sending the presence information regarding the presentity to the event manager using the cached location information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting presence information includes collecting presence information from a general packet radio service (GPRS) handset.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein dynamically assigning a presence gateway event manager includes:

(a) receiving the subscription request from the presence server;

(b) determining whether the presentity is currently assigned to an event manager; and

(c) in response to determining that the presentity is not assigned to an event manager, assigning an event manager, and redirecting the presence server to the assigned event manager.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein redirecting the presence server to the event manager includes sending a SIP redirect message to the presence server.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising, at the presence server, after receiving the redirect message, sending a subscription request to the assigned event manager.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein redirecting the presence server to the assigned event manager includes proxying the subscription request to the assigned event manager.

10. The method of claim 6 comprising caching the event manager identity at the presence server and using the cached event manager identity to obtain presence information regarding the presentity from the event manager.

11. A method for rebalancing subscribers among presence gateway event managers, the method comprising:

(a) providing a first presence gateway event manager for storing subscriber records including presence information for a plurality of telecommunications services subscribers and for communicating the presence information to a presence server, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of each of the telecommunications services subscribers via one or more telecommunications contact modes;

(b) adding a second presence gateway event manager to a network;

(c) dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager; and

(d) sending, to each of a plurality of message correlators configured to derive the presence information from received signaling messages associated with the telecommunications services subscribers, a reallocation notification message that indicates that subsequently collected presence information associated with the allocated subscriber records is to be sent to the second presence gateway event manager instead of the first presence gateway event manager.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second present gateway event manager comprises allocating new subscriber records to the first or second present gateway event managers based on relative resource utilization of the first and second presence gateway event managers.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager includes transferring at least some of the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager.

14. The method of claim 13 comprising, after transferring the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager, notifying a presence server of the transferred subscriber records.

15. A method for rebalancing subscribers among presence gateway event managers, the method comprising:

(a) providing a first presence gateway event manager for storing subscriber records including presence information for a plurality of telecommunications services subscribers and for communicating the presence information to a presence server, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of each of the telecommunications services subscribers via one or more telecommunications contact modes;

(b) adding a second presence gateway event manager to a network;

(c) dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager, wherein dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager includes transferring at least some of the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager; and

(d) after transferring the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager, notifying a presence server of the transferred subscriber records, wherein notifying a presence server of the transferred subscriber records includes terminating presence server subscriptions to the transferred subscriber records, receiving subscribe messages from the presence server for the transferred subscriber records, redirecting the presence server to the second presence gateway event manager, and receiving new subscribe messages regarding the transferred subscriber records from the presence server at the second presence gateway event manager.

16. A system for dynamically coordinating collection and distribution of presence information, the system comprising:

(a) a correlator for correlating telecommunications signaling messages regarding a presentity and deriving presence information regarding the presentity based on the telecommunications signaling messages, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of the presentity via one or more telecommunications contact modes, wherein the presentity includes a telecommunications services subscriber;

(b) a plurality of event managers for receiving presence information from the correlator; and

(c) an event manager coordinator for dynamically assigning one of the event managers for receiving the presence information regarding the presentity.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the correlator is adapted to correlate SS7 signaling messages regarding the presentity.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the correlator is adapted to correlate IP telephony signaling messages regarding the presentity.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein the event managers are adapted to communicate resource utilization data to the event manager coordinator and wherein the event manager coordinator is adapted to utilize relative resource utilization data in assigning the event manager to the presentity.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the event manager coordinator is adapted to dynamically assign the event manager based on request message from the correlator.

21. The system of claim 16 wherein the event manager is adapted to dynamically assign the event manager based on a subscription message from a presence server.

22. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for performing steps comprising:

(a) collecting presence information for a presentity, wherein collecting presence information includes correlating, at a message correlator, telecommunications signaling messages regarding a presentity and deriving presence information from the correlated telecommunications signaling messages, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of the presentity via one or more telecommunications contact modes, wherein the presentity includes a telecommunications subscriber;

(b) dynamically assigning a presence gateway event manager from a plurality of presence gateway event managers to the presentity in response to receiving a subscription request regarding the presentity from a presence server; and

(c) transmitting presence information regarding the presentity to the assigned event manager.

23. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein dynamically assigning a presence gateway event manager to the subscriber includes maintaining event manager resource utilization information regarding the event managers, assigning an event manager to the presentity based on the resource utilization information, and informing the message correlator of the assigned event manager.

24. The computer program product of claim 23 comprising caching presence gateway event manager identification information for the presentity at the message correlator.

25. The computer program product of claim 23 comprising, at the message correlator, sending the presence information regarding the presentity to the event manager using the cached location information.

26. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein collecting presence information includes collecting presence information from a general packet radio service (GPRS) handset.

27. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein dynamically assigning a presence gateway event manager includes:

(a) receiving the subscription request from the presence server;

(b) determining whether the presentity is currently assigned to an event manager; and

(c) in response to determining that the presentity is not assigned to an event manager, assigning an event manager, and redirecting the presence server to the assigned event manager.

28. The computer program product of claim 27 wherein redirecting the presence server to the event manager includes sending a SIP redirect message to the presence server.

29. The computer program product of claim 28 comprising, at the presence server, after receiving the redirect message, sending a subscription request to the event manager.

30. The computer program product of claim 27 wherein redirecting the presence server to the event manager includes proxying the subscription request to assigned event manager.

31. The computer program product of claim 27 comprising caching the event manager identity at the presence server and using the cached event manager identity to obtain presence information regarding the presentity from the event manager.

32. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for performing steps comprising:

(a) providing a first presence gateway event manager for storing subscriber records including presence information for a plurality of telecommunications services subscribers and for communicating the presence information to a presence server, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of each of the telecommunications services subscribers via one or more telecommunications contact modes;

(b) adding a second presence gateway event manager to a network;

(c) dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager; and

(d) sending, to each of a plurality of message correlators configured to derive the presence information from received signaling messages associated with the telecommunications services subscribers, a reallocation notification message that indicates that subsequently collected presence information associated with the allocated subscriber records is to be sent to the second presence gateway event manager instead of the first presence gateway event manager.

33. The computer program product of claim 32 wherein dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second present gateway event manager comprises allocating new subscriber records to the first or second present gateway event managers based on relative resource utilization of the first and second presence gateway event managers.

34. The computer program product of claim 32 wherein dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager includes transferring at least some of the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager.

35. The computer program product of claim 34 comprising, after transferring the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager, notifying a presence server of the transferred subscriber records.

36. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for performing steps comprising:

(a) providing a first presence gateway event manager for storing subscriber records including presence information for a plurality of telecommunications services subscribers and for communicating the presence information to a presence server, wherein the presence information includes information indicating the availability of each of the telecommunications services subscribers via one or more telecommunications contact modes;

(b) adding a second presence gateway event manager to a network;

(c) dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager, wherein dynamically allocating subscriber records to the second presence gateway event manager includes transferring at least some of the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager; and

(d) after transferring the subscriber records from the first presence gateway event manager to the second presence gateway event manager, notifying a presence server of the transferred subscriber records, wherein notifying a presence server of the transferred subscriber records includes terminating presence server subscriptions to the transferred subscriber records, receiving subscribe messages from the presence server for the transferred subscriber records, redirecting the presence server to the second presence gateway event manager, and receiving new subscribe messages regarding the transferred subscriber records from the presence server at the second presence gateway event manager.