Dynamic provisioning system for policy-based traffic navigation for roaming traffic

• US 8,923,853 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaw, Venson, Hu, Q. James
• Primary Examiner(s): MAPA, MICHAEL Y
• Application Number:
  US11/480,787
• Time in Patent Office: 3,105 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/436, 455/456.1, 455410-411, 4554321-445, 455450-453, 370/331
• US Class Current: 455/432.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A policy based service aware engine is provided to dynamically and/or statically provision a traffic navigation processor at a visited network according to service profiles of the home network. The service aware engine thus allows the visited network to gain full knowledge of the service to which a user subscribes, and thus, a user experience consistent with the user'"'"'s home network can be obtained at the visited network. In various embodiments, the visited network'"'"'s front-end-processor retrieves or receives service policies from the service aware engine of the home network, and then performs policy-based traffic navigation to intelligently handle and/or backhaul roaming traffic received by the visited network. Thus, the visited network is capable of dynamically classifying incoming roaming traffic and intelligently routing the traffic according to the service characteristics of the traffic flow for each subscriber, e.g., the need for QoS (Quality of Service) support, real time performance requirement, specific level identification, or the like.

Claims

1. A method for processing a request for service, comprising:

determining, by a home network device of a home network comprising a processor, policy based service information, the policy based service information comprising network congestion level information and home network conditions, and subscriber information, the subscriber information comprising subscriber identity information and subscriber location information for use in processing a request for service applicable to a visited network device of a visited network, wherein the policy based service information indicates at least that, in response to the request for service being determined to comprise requirement information representative of a quality of service requirement comprising a time frame performance requirement, the request for service is to be serviced by the home network device and that, in response to the request for service being determined not to comprise the requirement information, the request for service is to be serviced by the visited network device;

transmitting, by the home network device, the policy based service information and the subscriber information to the visited network device;

receiving, by the home network device via the visited network device, a first request for service from a mobile device, wherein the first request for service is received by the home network device in response to the request for service being determined to comprise the quality of service requirement; and

receiving, by the home network device via the visited network device, a second request for service from the mobile device, wherein the second request for service is received by the home network device in response to the request for service being determined not to comprise the quality of service requirement.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising allocating resources by the home network device, the resources comprising servers, media gateways, and edge devices to meet the quality of service requirement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting by the home network device of the policy based service information comprises transmitting the policy information in response to determining a pre-defined criterion comprising at least a predetermined threshold for home network traffic levels is satisfied at the home network and transmitting the policy based service information and the subscriber information by the home network device from a serving call session control function of the home network to a proxy call session control function of the visited network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied by the home network device comprises determining based on an algorithm.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied by the home network device comprises determining based on a static algorithm.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied by the home network device comprises determining that a statically provisioned variable meets the pre-defined criterion.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied by the home network device comprises determining that a defined time interval has passed by comparing the defined time interval to a current time interval, the current time interval comprising a time difference between a first transmitting time comprising a time when a transmitting was performed last and a second transmitting time comprising a time of a current transmitting.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied by the home network device comprises determining based on a dynamic algorithm.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied by the home network device comprises determining that a dynamic parameter meets the pre-defined criterion.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining that the pre-defined criterion is satisfied comprises determining by the home network device that a congestion level of the home network has reached a pre-defined level.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting by the home network device comprises transmitting the policy based service information to a navigation component of the visited network device that applies the policy based service information of the home network device in order to route roaming traffic to the visited network device of the visited network from the home network devices of the home network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting by the home network device comprises transmitting the policy based service information to a navigation component of the visited network device, and further comprising:

classifying a first request for service from the home network device of the home network as a roaming request to the visited network device of the visited network; and

applying a policy by the navigation component of the visited network device transmitted from the home network device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the classifying by the home network device comprises classifying that the first request for service performed the quality of service requirement according to a policy of the home network device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising initiating the receiving by the home network device of the home network in response to the quality of service requirement being employed according to the policy of the home network device.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

instructing, by the home network device, processing of the second request for service by the visited network device in response to the quality of service requirement being absent from the request for service.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a result of processing the request for service from the home network device to the visited network device including returning the result to the home network device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting includes transmitting a service level agreement from the home network device of the home network to the visited network device of the visited network.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computing system to perform operations, comprising:

receiving, by a visited network device of a visited network comprising a processor, policy based service information, the policy based service information comprising network congestion level information and home network conditions, and subscriber information, the subscriber information comprising subscriber identity information and subscriber location information determined by a subscriber network device of a home network to process a request for service by the visited network device, wherein the policy based service information indicates at least that in response to the request for service being determined to comprise requirement information representative of a quality of service requirement comprising a time frame performance requirement, the request for service is to be serviced by the subscriber network device and in response to the request for service being determined not to comprise the requirement information, the request for service is to be serviced by the visited network device;

receiving, by the visited network device, a request for authentication and verification from a subscriber device of the home network to establish a call session comprising a request for service;

receiving by the visited network device, an initial request for service from the subscriber device of the home network; and

in response to the initial request for service including the quality of service requirement associated with the subscriber network device as set forth in the policy based service information, forwarding the initial request for service to the subscriber network device for processing; and

in response to the initial request for service not including the quality of service requirement associated with the subscriber network device as set forth in the policy based service information, processing the initial request for service by the visited network device;

receiving, by the visited network device, a subsequent request for service from the subscriber device of the home network; and

in response to the subsequent request for service including the quality of service requirement associated with the subscriber network device as set forth in the policy based service information, forwarding the subsequent request for service to the subscriber network device for servicing; and

in response to the subsequent request for service not including the quality of service requirement associated with the subscriber network device as set forth in the policy based service information, processing the subsequent request for service at the visited home network device.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, further comprising receiving by the visited network device an indication of the subscriber network device allocating resources, the resources comprising servers, media gateways, and edge devices to meet the quality of service requirement.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, further comprising receiving by the visited network device the policy based service information in response to determining by the subscriber network device a pre-defined criterion comprising at least a predetermined threshold for home network traffic levels being satisfied at the home network and further comprising receiving by the visited network device the policy based service information and the subscriber information from a serving call session control function of the subscriber network device to a proxy call session control function of the visited network.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied comprises determining by the subscriber network device based on an algorithm.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied by the subscriber network device comprises determining based on a static algorithm.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied comprises determining by the subscriber network device whether a statically provisioned variable meets the pre-defined criterion.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied comprises determining by the subscriber network device that a defined time interval has passed by comparing the defined time interval to a current time interval, the current time interval comprising a time difference between a first transmitting time comprising a time when a transmitting was last received and a second transmitting time comprising a time a current transmitting was received.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied by the subscriber network device comprises determining based on a dynamic algorithm.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied by the subscriber network device comprises determining that a dynamic parameter meets the pre-defined criterion.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the determining that the pre-determined criterion is satisfied by the subscriber network device comprises determining that a congestion level of the visited network has reached a pre-defined level.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising receiving the policy based service information by a navigation component of the visited network that applies the policy based service information of the subscriber network device in order to route roaming traffic to the visited network device from the subscriber network device of the home network.

29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising receiving the policy based service information by a navigation component of the visited network device that classifies the initial request for service from the subscriber network device of the home network roaming to the visited network device as a transmitted policy from the subscriber network device of the home network to the navigation component of the visited network device.

30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 29, the operations further comprising:

classifying by the visited network device that the initial request for service demands the quality of service requirement associated with processing by the subscriber network device according to a policy of the subscriber network device.

31. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 30, the operations further comprising:

initiating by the visited network device the forwarding of the initial request from the visited network device to the subscriber network device in response to the quality of service requirement being demanded by the initial request.

32. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 30, the operations further comprising:

servicing, by the visited network device, the initial request for service in response to the quality of service requirement missing from the request for service.

33. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising sending, via the visited network device, a processing result to the subscriber network device.

34. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising receiving a service level agreement by the visited network device, the service level agreement generated by the subscriber network device.

35. A method for processing a request for service in a network, comprising:

receiving, by a visited network device of a visited network, policy based service information, the policy based service information comprising network conditions information and network congestion level information and subscriber information comprising subscriber identity information and subscriber location information from a home network device, the policy based service information indicating the home network device is to process a service request, the service request comprising a quality of service requirement comprising a time frame performance requirement and based on a dynamic provisioning logic that enforce policy based service information of at least one network carrier and the visited network device is to process the service request where the quality of service requirement is absent;

receiving, by the visited network device, a request for authentication from a subscriber device of the home network to establish a call session comprising a request for service;

receiving, by the visited network device, a first request for service from the subscriber device;

determining, by the visited network device, that the visited network device is to service the first request for service based upon the policy based service information;

receiving, by the visited network device, a second request for service from the subscriber device; and

determining, by the visited network device, that the visited network device is to service the second request for service based upon the policy based service information.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

forwarding by the visited network device at least one of the first request for service or the second request for service to the home network device in response to the first request for service or the second request for service including a quality of service requirement that the visited network device is unable to fulfill in accord with the policy based service information.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

wherein the receiving of the policy based service information by the visited network device as a function of a performance threshold employed by the home network device.

38. The method of claim 35, further comprising associating by the visited network device the policy based service information with the subscriber information.

39. A system, comprising:

at least one memory that stores executable instructions; and

at least one processor, coupled to the at least one memory, that facilitates execution of the executable instructions to perform operations, comprising;

receiving by a visited network device policy based service information comprising network condition information and network congestion level information and subscriber information comprising subscriber identity information and subscriber location information transmitted from a home network device to a visited network device, the policy based service information indicates the home network device is to process a service request when the service request comprises a quality of service requirement comprising a time frame performance requirement, and the visited network device is to process the service request where the quality of service requirement is absent;

receiving by a visited network device a request for authentication from a subscriber device of the home network to establish a call session comprising a request for service;

receiving by a visited network device a first request for service from the subscriber device of the home network;

receiving by a visited network device a second request for service from the subscriber device of the home network; and

determining, based upon the policy based service information, whether the visited network device or the home network device is to service the first request for service or the second request for service.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor further facilitates the execution of the computer-executable instructions to at least

forward the first request for service or the second request for service to the home network in response to the first request for service or the second request for service including a quality of service requirement that the visited network device is unable to fulfill in accord with the policy based service information.