Selective location-aware paging

• US 8,472,983 B1
• Filed: 12/07/2011
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kapoor, Ankit, Yagna, Karthik
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, MAHENDRA R
• Application Number:
  US13/313,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20130150072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/411, 455/404.1, 455/415, 455/458, 455/435.1, 455/445, 455/410, 455/426.1, 370/338, 370/329, 380/248, 340/5.8
• US Class Current: 455/458
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/04 multi-step notification using statistical or historical mobility data

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method for efficiently paging home nodes comprises receiving location information from a home node which indicates that a mobile device is attached to the home node, storing the location information in one or more data structures, wherein the location information includes an identity of the mobile device and an identity of the home node, mapping in the one or more data structures the identity of the mobile device to the identity of the home node, receiving a paging request message which contains the identity of a desired mobile device, identifying one or more associated home nodes through the mapping with the identity of the desired mobile device, and forwarding the paging request message to the one or more associated home nodes.

Claims

1. A method operable at a home node gateway in communication with a core network and with a plurality of home nodes, the method comprising:

receiving, at the gateway, location information from a home node of the plurality of home nodes which indicates that a mobile device is attached to the home node;

storing, at the gateway, the location information in one or more data structures, wherein the location information includes an identity of the mobile device and an identity of the home node;

mapping, at the gateway, in the one or more data structures the identity of the mobile device to the identity of the home node;

receiving, at the gateway, a paging request message which contains the identity of a desired mobile device, wherein the paging request message requests the gateway to page the desired mobile device;

identifying, at the gateway, one or more associated home nodes through the mapping with the identity of the desired mobile device, wherein the paging request message contains information other than the identity of the desired mobile device which narrows the possible home nodes to which the desired mobile device is attached, and the one or more associated home nodes are a proper subset of the possible home nodes; and

forwarding, from the gateway, the paging request message to the one or more associated home nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information is received in a location update message that was sent by the mobile device to the home node and forwarded to the gateway by the home node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gateway is a home node B gateway.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising updating the one or more data structures to remove any association between the identity of the mobile device and one or more neighboring home nodes, the one or more neighboring home nodes and the home node sharing a location identifier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the one or more data structures is periodically flushed of all associations at pre-determined time intervals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more data structures is a counting bloom filter.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sub-dividing each of the one or more data structures into two or more sub-data structures, wherein the data stored by each of the one or more data structures comprising the union of the data stored by each of the two or more sub-data structures of that data structure;

flushing each of the two or more sub-data structures at a staggered time interval;

and storing in each of the two or more sub-data structures the location information received in the time interval beginning after that sub-data structure is flushed.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the two or more sub-data structures is a counting bloom filter.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity of the mobile device is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the home nodes is a home node B.

11. A home node gateway comprising:

an interface that is configured to provide communication with a core network and to receive location information from a plurality of home nodes, including information which indicates that a mobile device is attached to a home node of the plurality of home nodes;

a memory that is configured to store a module; and

a processor that is configured to run the module stored in memory to store the location information that includes an identity of the mobile device and an identity of the home node in one or more data structures and to map in the one or more data structures the identity of the mobile device to the identity of the home node, to receive a paging request message which contains the identity of a desired mobile device, identify one or more associated home nodes through the mapping with the identity of the desired mobile device, and forward the paging request message to the one or more associated home nodes, wherein the paging request message requests the home node gateway to page the desired mobile device, and wherein the paging request message contains information other than the identity of the desired mobile device which narrows the possible home nodes to which the desired mobile device is attached, and the one or more associated home nodes are a proper subset of the possible home nodes.

12. The home node gateway of claim 11, wherein the location information is received in a location update message that was sent by the mobile device to the home node and forwarded to the home node gateway by the home node.

13. The home node gateway of claim 12, wherein the one or more data structures is updated to remove any association between the identity of the mobile device and one or more neighboring home nodes, the one or more neighboring home nodes and the home node sharing a location identifier.

14. The home node gateway of claim 13, wherein each of the one or more data structures is periodically flushed of all associations at pre-determined time intervals.

15. The home node gateway of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more data structures is a counting bloom filter.

16. The home node gateway of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more data structures is sub-divided into two or more sub-data structures, the data stored by each of the one or more data structures comprising the union of the data stored by each of the two or more sub-data structures of that data structure, each of the two or more sub-data structures being flushed at a staggered time interval and each of the two or more sub-data structures storing the location information received in the time interval beginning after that sub-data structure is flushed.

17. The home node gateway of claim 16, wherein each of the two or more sub-data structures is a counting bloom filter.

18. Logic encoded on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media and when executed at a gateway in communication with a core network and with a plurality of home nodes operable to:

receive, at the gateway, location information from a home node of the plurality of home nodes which indicates that a mobile device is attached to the home node;

store, at the gateway, the location information in one or more data structures, wherein the location information includes an identity of the mobile device and an identity of the home node;

map, at the gateway, in the one or more data structures the identity of the mobile device to the identity of the home node;

receive, at the gateway, a paging request message which contains the identity of a desired mobile device, wherein the paging request message requests the gateway to page the desired mobile device;

identify, at the gateway, one or more associated home nodes through the mapping with the identity of the desired mobile device, wherein the paging request message contains information other than the identity of the desired mobile device which narrows the possible home nodes to which the desired mobile device is attached, and the one or more associated home nodes are a proper subset of the possible home nodes; and

forward, from the gateway, the paging request message to the one or more associated home nodes.