Location-based IMS server selection

• US 9,749,837 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2015
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Narkar, Vishal Ashok, Shah, Mehul Jayant
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, KHOA B
• Application Number:
  US14/670,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20150201320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/487 using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/69 using geographic information, e.g. room number
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/10 adapted for application session management, e.g. SIP [Session Initiation Protocol] connection management H04W76/00; arrangements for session management H04L67/14

Abstract

A user location is estimated based on an IP address assigned to the user'"'"'s device/equipment during registration for multimedia application services that are provided over the IP multimedia subsystems (IMS) network. The latitude and longitude information of the user location is obtained based on the IP address assigned to the user device/equipment. Such information is used to determine an appropriate server(s) for establishing an IP multimedia service session. In some embodiments, a closely located IMS server(s) is selected for proxying, interrogating, providing or delivering IP multimedia services. In this manner, each user device/equipment communicates with IMS servers that are located close to the user and thus, the geographically distributed load among the IMS gateway servers can be achieved.

Claims

1. A subsystem, the subsystem comprising a plurality of communicatively connected Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) servers for providing IP multimedia services, wherein the plurality of IMS servers each include memory that stores data and wherein the subsystem is configured to execute computer-executable instructions that cause the subsystem to:

determine location information associated with a user device that initiates a request for an IP multimedia service;

identify a matching region for the user device by comparing the location information associated with the user device against one or more regions of the subsystem based, at least in part, on boundary information defining the one or more regions, wherein the boundary information is independent from IP addresses;

select a first IMS server that resides within the matching region;

forward information related to the request for the IP multimedia service to the selected first IMS server; and

select, by the selected first IMS server, a second IMS server for providing the IP multimedia service to the user device.

2. The subsystem of claim 1, wherein the boundary information defining the one or more regions corresponds to geographic boundary information.

3. The subsystem of claim 2, wherein the geographic boundary information includes at least one of a longitude or latitude value.

4. The subsystem of claim 1, wherein the subsystem is configured to executed computer-executable instructions that further cause the subsystem to obtain a table that represents relationships between at least a subset of the one or more regions as defined by the boundary information and at least a subset of the plurality of IMS servers.

5. The subsystem of claim 4, wherein the table corresponds to a single type of IMS servers.

6. The subsystem of claim 4, wherein the table further indicates capacity information associated with individual IMS servers included in the table.

7. The subsystem of claim 6, wherein the subsystem is configured to execute computer-executable instructions that further cause the subsystem to select the first IMS server based on the capacity information.

8. The subsystem of claim 1, wherein the one or more regions are further defined based on at least one of a quantity, type, or presence of IMS servers within individual regions of the one or more regions.

9. A computer-implemented method for selecting servers associated with Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia service, comprising:

determining location information associated with a user device that initiates a request for an IP multimedia service;

identifying a matching region for the user device by comparing the location information associated with the user device against one or more regions associated with the IP multimedia service based, at least in part, on boundary information defining the one or more regions, wherein the boundary information is independent from IP addresses;

selecting a first IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server that resides within the matching region;

forwarding information related to the request for the IP multimedia service to the selected first IMS server; and

selecting, by the selected first IMS server, a second IMS server for providing the IP multimedia service to the user device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more regions are further defined based on at least one of a quantity, type, or presence of IMS servers within individual regions of the one or more regions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the type of IMS servers corresponds to an Interrogating-Call Session Control Function (I-CSCF), Proxy-Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF), or Serving-Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF).

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising causing re-defining of the one or more regions in response to a change of location of the one or more IMS servers.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising causing re-defining of the one or more regions based, at least in part, on a number of end-user subscribers associated with the IP multimedia service.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the location information associated with the user device corresponds to geographic information about the user device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the geographic information includes longitude and latitude values associated with the user device.

16. The method of claim 9 further comprising obtaining the location information associated with the user device based, at least in part, on a network identifier associated with the user device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the network identifier corresponds to an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor perform operations comprising:

determining location information associated with a user device that initiates a request for an Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia service;

identifying a matching region for the user device by comparing the location information associated with the user device against one or more regions associated with the IP multimedia service based, at least in part, on boundary information defining the one or more regions, wherein the boundary information is independent from IP addresses;

selecting a first IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server that resides within the matching region;

forwarding information related to the request for the IP multimedia service to the selected first IMS server; and

selecting, by the selected first IMS server, a second IMS server for providing the IP multimedia service to the user device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein identifying the matching region comprises identifying the matching region that includes the location of the user device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the second IMS server resides within a second matching region, wherein the first IMS server and the second IMS server correspond to different IMS server types.