Methods, systems, and computer readable media for enriching a diameter signaling message

• US 8,547,908 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2012
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tekelec, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tekelec, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Marsico, Peter J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Chuong T
• Application Number:
  US13/412,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20120224524A1
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• Field of Search: 370/315, 370/328, 370/329, 370/522, 455/515, 455/466, 709/206
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1407 Policy-and-charging control [PCC] architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1027 Persistence of sessions during load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for enriching a Diameter signaling message are disclosed. In one example, the method comprises receiving, at a Diameter routing node, a Diameter signaling message that is associated with a mobile subscriber and includes mobile subscriber related information and querying a Diameter binding repository (DBR) using the mobile subscriber related information to select a network service node from a plurality of network service nodes configured to process the Diameter signaling message. The method further includes obtaining DBR information associated with the mobile subscriber from the DBR, wherein the DBR information includes an identifier associated with the selected network service node and modifying the Diameter signaling message to include at least a portion of the DBR information.

Claims

1. A method for enriching a Diameter signaling message, the method comprising:

receiving, at a Diameter routing node, a Diameter signaling message that is associated with a mobile subscriber and includes mobile subscriber related information;

querying a Diameter binding repository (DBR) using the mobile subscriber related information to select a network service node from a plurality of network service nodes configured to process the Diameter signaling message;

obtaining DBR information associated with the mobile subscriber from the DBR, wherein the DBR information includes an identifier associated with the selected network service node and at least one additional identifier identifying the mobile subscriber that differs from the mobile subscriber related information; and

modifying the Diameter signaling message to include the at least one additional identifier identifying the mobile subscriber.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising routing the modified Diameter signaling message to the selected network service node using the identifier associated with the selected network service node.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the DBR is co-located with the Diameter routing node.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the DBR is implemented on a network node separate from the Diameter routing node.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the Diameter routing node includes a Diameter signaling router (DSR), a Diameter routing agent (DRA), a Diameter proxy agent (DPA), a Diameter redirect agent, a Diameter translation agent, or a Diameter relay agent.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the DBR information associated with the mobile subscriber includes at least one of:

Diameter session-identifier information, network service node identification information, user-name information, a user Internet protocol (IP) information, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) private identity (IMPI) information, IMS public identity (IMPU) information, session initiation protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI) information, IMS charging identifier information, mobile station international subscriber directory number (MSISDN) information, mobile/dialable number information, a session identifier, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), a mobile subscriber directory number (DN), a globally unique temporary identifier (GUTI), a serving mobile switching center (MSC) address information, visitor location register (VLR) number information, serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) address information, SGSN number information, visited mobile country code (MCC) information, mobile network code (MNC) information, a user-name attribute value pair (AVP), a network access identifier (NAI), serving location area code information, serving cell identification information, mobile subscriber geo-location coordinate information, and tracking area information.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of network service nodes includes:

a network charging node, an online charging system (OCS) node, an offline charging system (OFCS) node, a charging trigger function (CTF) node, a charging gateway function (CGF) node, a charging data function (CDF) node, a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) node, a home subscriber server (HSS) node, or a home location register node (HLR).

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the network service node is selected by accessing at least one binding record stored in the DBR.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the at least one binding record includes at least one of:

a Diameter session binding, a Diameter session identifier-to-network service node association, a Diameter end to end identifier-to-network service node association, a subscriber identifier-to-network service node association, and a charging identifier-to-network service node association.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the Diameter signaling message includes receiving a credit control request (CCR) message, an accounting request (ACR) message, an update location request (ULR) message, a Diameter mobility management message, or a Diameter charging message.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected service node is of a first Diameter service type, wherein the DBR information identifies an additional Diameter node of a second Diameter service type different from the first Diameter service type, and wherein modifying the Diameter signaling message includes modifying the message to include identifying information for the additional service node.

12. The method of claim 11 comprising forwarding the Diameter signaling message to the selected service node.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the selected service node comprises a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) and wherein the additional service node comprises a charging data function (CDF).

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the selected service node comprises a charging data function (CDF) and wherein the additional service node comprises a policy and charging rules function (PCRF).

15. A system for enriching a Diameter signaling message, the system comprising:

a Diameter binding repository (DBR) configured to store binding records; and

a Diameter routing node configured to receive a Diameter signaling message that is associated with a mobile subscriber and includes mobile subscriber related information, to query the DBR using the mobile subscriber related information to select a network service node from a plurality of network service nodes configured to process the Diameter signaling message, to obtain DBR information associated with the mobile subscriber from the DBR, wherein the DBR information includes an identifier associated with the selected network service node and at least one additional identifier identifying the mobile subscriber that differs from the mobile subscriber related information, and to modify the Diameter signaling message to include the at least one additional identifier identifying the mobile subscriber.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the Diameter routing node is configured to route the modified Diameter signaling message to the selected network service node using the identifier associated with the selected network service node.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the DBR is co-located with the Diameter routing node.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the DBR is implemented on a network node separate from the Diameter routing node.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the Diameter routing node includes a Diameter signaling router (DSR), a Diameter routing agent (DRA), a Diameter proxy agent (DPA), a Diameter redirect agent, a Diameter translation agent, or a Diameter relay agent.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the DBR information associated with the mobile subscriber includes at least one of:

Diameter session-identifier information, network service node identification information, user-name information, a user Internet protocol (IP) information, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) private identity (IMPI) information, IMS public identity (IMPU) information, session initiation protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI) information, IMS charging identifier information, mobile station international subscriber directory number (MSISDN) information, mobile/dialable number information, a session identifier, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), a mobile subscriber directory number (DN), a globally unique temporary identifier (GUTI), a serving mobile switching center (MSC) address information, visitor location register (VLR) number information, serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) address information, SGSN number information, visited mobile country code (MCC) information, mobile network code (MNC) information, a user-name attribute value pair (AVP), a network access identifier (NAI), serving location area code information, serving cell identification information, mobile subscriber geo-location coordinate information, and tracking area information.

21. The system of claim 15 wherein each of the plurality of network service nodes includes:

a network charging node, an online charging system (OCS) node, an offline charging system (OFCS) node, a charging trigger function (CTF) node, a charging gateway function (CGF) node, a charging data function (CDF) node, a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) node, a home subscriber server (HSS) node, or a home location register node (HLR).

22. The system of claim 15 wherein the network service node is selected by accessing at least one binding record stored in the DBR.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the at least one binding record includes at least one of:

a Diameter session binding, a Diameter session identifier-to-network service node association, a Diameter end to end identifier-to-network service node association, a subscriber identifier-to-network service node association, and a charging identifier-to-network service node association.

24. The system of claim 15 wherein the Diameter signaling message includes a credit control request (CCR) message, an accounting request (ACR) message, an update location request (ULR) message, a Diameter mobility management message, or a Diameter charging message.

25. The system of claim 15 wherein the selected service node is of a first Diameter service type, wherein the DBR information identifies an additional Diameter node of a second Diameter service type different from the first Diameter service type, and wherein the Diameter routing node is configured to modify the Diameter signaling message to include identifying information for the additional service node.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the Diameter routing node is configured to forward the Diameter signaling message to the selected service node.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the selected service node comprises a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) and wherein the function additional service node comprises a charging data function (CDF).

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the selected service node comprises a charging data function (CDF) and wherein the function additional service node comprises a policy and charging rules function (PCRF).

29. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions embodied in a computer readable medium that when executed by a processor of a computer control the computer to perform steps comprising:

receiving, at a Diameter routing node, a Diameter signaling message that is associated with a mobile subscriber and includes mobile subscriber related information;

querying a Diameter binding repository (DBR) using the mobile subscriber related information to select a network service node from a plurality of network service nodes configured to process the Diameter signaling message;

obtaining DBR information associated with the mobile subscriber from the DBR, wherein the DBR information includes an identifier associated with the selected network service node and at least one additional identifier identifying the mobile subscriber that differs from the mobile subscriber related information; and

modifying the Diameter signaling message to include the at least one additional identifier identifying the mobile subscriber.