Method and apparatus for SMS termination overload protection
First Claim
1. A method of managing communication traffic in a communication network comprising at least a first node, a second node, and a plurality of third nodes, the method comprising:
- the first node sending a plurality of first messages to the second node, the plurality of first messages intended for delivery by the second node to a plurality of third nodes;
if the second node cannot deliver all of the plurality of first messages due to being overloaded, wherein being overloaded comprises receipt of messages at a rate greater than it can process the messages, the first node receiving a second message from the second node, the second message containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the second node is overloaded, wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver;
the first node parsing the second message to determine the overload parameter therein; and
responsive to the second message, the first node adjusting the rate at which it sends messages to the second node to an amount that is a function of the overload parameter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In order to ameliorate the overload at an overloaded network node that is discarding some of the SMSs it is receiving, when a node is overloaded with received SMSs, it sends a message to the nodes from which it is receiving SMSs of that fact and includes a parameter indicating the extent to which it is overloaded. That parameter, for instance, may be the percentage of SMSs that it is receiving that are being discarded. With this information, the sending node can determine a percentage of the pending SMSs during such conditions that will help remove the overloaded node from the overload condition more quickly. Furthermore, the network protocol may be adapted to include a priority parameter in SMSs. Then, when an SMS sending node knows that a node to which it is sending SMSs is overloaded, the sending node may decide which SMSs to send to the overloaded node based on such priority information.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of managing communication traffic in a communication network comprising at least a first node, a second node, and a plurality of third nodes, the method comprising:
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the first node sending a plurality of first messages to the second node, the plurality of first messages intended for delivery by the second node to a plurality of third nodes; if the second node cannot deliver all of the plurality of first messages due to being overloaded, wherein being overloaded comprises receipt of messages at a rate greater than it can process the messages, the first node receiving a second message from the second node, the second message containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the second node is overloaded, wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver; the first node parsing the second message to determine the overload parameter therein; and responsive to the second message, the first node adjusting the rate at which it sends messages to the second node to an amount that is a function of the overload parameter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer instructions for operating a Message Switching Center (MSC) node when the MSC is receiving SMSs from at least one Short Message Service Center (SMSC) node for delivery by the MSC node to a plurality of subscriber nodes at a rate greater than the MSC node can deliver the SMSs, the computer instructions executable by a processor to perform:
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receiving short message service (SMS) messages; and responsive to the MSC being overloaded, wherein being overloaded comprises the MSC being unable to deliver all of said SMS messages received from the at least one SMSC, sending a smsdpp return result to the at least one SMSC comprising an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the MSC is overloaded, wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver, wherein the SMSC is configured to adjust its rate of sending the SMS messages to the MSC according to a function of the overload parameter. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A Mobile Switching Center (MSC) node for a network, comprising:
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communication hardware, configured to perform communication within the network; and processing hardware coupled to the communication hardware, wherein the processing hardware is configured to operate with the communication hardware to; receive short message service (SMS) messages from at least one Short Message Service Center (SMSC) node for delivery by the MSC node to a plurality of subscriber nodes; and responsive to being overloaded, wherein being overloaded comprises receiving SMS messages at a rate greater than a rate at which the MSC can deliver the SMS messages to the plurality of subscriber nodes, sending a message to the at least one SMSC containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the SMC is overloaded, wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver, wherein the SMSC is configured to adjust its rate of sending the SMS messages to the MSC according to a function of the overload parameter. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A Short Message Service Center (SMSC) node for a network, wherein the SMSC node comprises:
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communication hardware, configured to perform communication within the network; and processing hardware coupled to the communication hardware, wherein the processing hardware is configured to operate with the communication hardware to; transmit a plurality of short message service (SMS) messages to at least one Mobile Switching Center (MSC) node for delivery by the MSC node to a plurality of mobile nodes; receive return messages from the MSC responsive to the SMS messages, the return messages containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the MSC is overloaded, wherein being overloaded comprises receiving messages at a rate greater than a rate that the MSC node can process, wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver; parse the return message to determine the overload parameter; and adjust the rate at which the SMSC node sends SMSs to the MSC by an amount that is a function of the overload parameter. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification