Method, system and media gateway for realizing mobile switch center pool

• US 9,924,563 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2009
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ye, Sihai, Cui, Xiaochun, Wang, Bei, Liu, Zhenhua, Luo, Hualin, Zhang, Hao, Zeng, Fudong
• Primary Examiner(s): Chriss, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cehic, Kenan
• Application Number:
  US12/356,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20090122743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,346 Days
• Field of Search: 370310-350, 370389
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method for realizing a Mobile Switch Center (MSC) pool, a system for realizing an MSC pool and a Media Gateway (MGW). The method for realizing an MSC pool includes: connecting with a Base Station Controllers (BSC)/Radio Network Controller (RNC), by a Media Gateway (MGW) through the use of a common signaling point; and upon receipt of a message whose destination signaling point is the common signaling point from the BSC/RNC, determining, by the MGW, a destination MSC server of the message according to ID information carried in the message, and sending the received message to the destination MSC server. According to the present invention, the networking scheme for an MSC pool may be implemented without upgrading any BSC/RNC. The flexibility of the networking scheme for mobile communication systems may be improved, and the traffic load of the subscribers may be shared.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a Mobile Switch Center (MSC) server by a first Media Gateway (MGW) coupled to a plurality of MSC servers, comprising:

receiving a message in which a destination signaling point is a common signaling point from a Base Station Controller (BSC) or Radio Network Controller (RNC), wherein the first MGW is connected to the BSC or RNC via the common signaling point through which a second MGW is connected to the BSC or RNC, and wherein the message is a Layer 3 message;

upon receipt of the message from the BSC or RNC, determining a destination MSC server among the plurality of MSC servers according to identification (ID) information carried in the message;

sending the received message to the destination MSC server over a Mc interface between the first MGW and the destination MSC server,

wherein the method further comprises;

upon receipt of a message sent from one of the plurality of MSC servers, parsing a signaling connection control protocol (SCCP) layer message therein,

if the received message from the MSC server is an SCCP downlink connection oriented message, forwarding the received message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC;

if the received message from the MSC server is an SCCP downlink connectionless message, parsing a Layer 3 message therein, and if the Layer 3 message in the received message from the MSC server is a paging message and its subscriber ID is an international mobile subscriber ID (IMSI), saving a correspondence relationship between the IMSI and the MSC server which sends the message, and forwarding the received message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when each MSC server of the plurality of MSC servers establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through a signaling point different from the common signaling point, before the first MGW sends the received message to the destination MSC server the method further comprises:

modifying the destination signaling point carried in the received message into a signaling point of the destination MSC server.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when each MSC server of the plurality of MSC servers establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through a signaling point different from the common signaling point, before the first MGW sends the message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC the method further comprises:

modifying a source signaling point carried in the message into the common signaling point.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the destination MSC server establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through the common signaling point;

or

the destination MSC server establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through a signaling point different from the common signaling point, and the first MGW provides another signaling point different from the common signaling point to connect with the destination MSC server.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first MGW connects with the plurality of MSC servers through a signaling point which is different from the common signaling point.

2. A method for selecting a Mobile Switch Center (MSC) server by a first Media Gateway (MGW) coupled to a plurality of MSC servers, comprising:

receiving a message in which a destination signaling point is a common signaling point from a Base Station Controller (BSC) or Radio Network Controller (RNC), wherein the first MGW is connected to the BSC or RNC via the common signaling point through which a second MGW is connected to the BSC or RNC, and wherein the message is a Layer 3 message;

upon receipt of the message from the BSC or RNC, determining a destination MSC server among the plurality of MSC servers according to identification (ID) information carried in the message;

sending the received message to the destination MSC server over a Mc interface between the first MGW and the destination MSC server;

wherein before the first MGW determines the destination MSC server according to the ID information carried in the message, the method further comprises;

determining whether a BSC or RNC corresponding to a source signaling point carried in the message is a BSC or RNC which needs to enable an MSC server select function;

determining the destination MSC server according to the ID information carried in the message if the BSC or RNC corresponding to the source signaling point carried in the message is the BSC or RNC which needs to enable the MSC server select function; and

forwarding the received message to a respective MSC server directly according to a signaling connection control protocol (SCCP) layer routing function if the BSC or RNC corresponding to the source signaling point carried in the message is not the BSC or RNC which needs to enable the MSC server select function.

5. A system, comprising:

a media gateway (MGW) configured to communicate with a base station controller (BSC) or radio network controller (RNC) via a common signaling point through which another MGW communicates with the BSC or RNC;

a plurality of MSC servers each of which is coupled to the MGW over a Mc interface; and

wherein the MGW is configured to;

receive a message from the BSC or RNC in which a destination signaling point is the common signaling point, wherein the message is a Layer 3 message,

upon receipt of the message, determine a destination MSC server according to identification (ID) information carried in the message, and send the received message to the destination MSC server,

receive a message sent from one of the plurality of MSC servers, and parse a signaling connection control protocol (SCCP) layer message therein,

if the received message from the MSC server is an SCCP downlink connection oriented message, forward the received message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC,

if the received message from the MSC server is an SCCP downlink connectionless message, parsing a Layer 3 message therein, and

if the Layer 3 message in the received message from the MSC server is a paging message and its subscriber ID is an international mobile subscriber ID (IMSI), saving a correspondence relationship between the IMSI and the MSC server which sends the message temporarily, and forwarding the received message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein when each of the plurality of MSC servers establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through a signaling point different from the common signaling point, the MGW is further configured to modify the destination signaling point carried in the message into a signaling point of the destination MSC server.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein when each of the plurality of MSC servers establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through a signaling point different from the common signaling point, the MGW is further configured to:

receive a message from one of the plurality of MSC servers;

modify a source signaling point carried in the message from the MSC server into the common signaling point; and

send the modified message to the BSC or RNC.

11. The system according to claim 5, wherein the destination MSC server establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through the common signaling point;

or

the destination MSC server establishes a signaling connection with the BSC or RNC through a signaling point different from the common signaling point, and the MGW provides a signaling point different from the common signaling point to connect with the destination MSC server.

12. The system according to claim 5, wherein the MGW connects with the plurality of MSC servers through a signaling point which is different from the common signaling point.

8. A media gateway (MGW) which is operable to connect with a base station controller (BSC) or radio network controller (RNC) through a common signaling point, the MGW comprising:

receiver configured to receive a message in which a destination signaling point is the common signaling point from the BSC or RNC, wherein the message is a Layer 3 message;

a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to receive the message from the receiver, determine a destination MSC server among a plurality of MSC servers according to identification (ID) information carried in the message and send the message to the destination MSC server, and to modify the destination signaling point carried in the message into a signaling point of the destination MSC server,

wherein the MGW is connected with each of the plurality of MSC servers over a Mc interface,

wherein the receiver is configured to receive a message sent from one of the plurality of MSC servers,

wherein the processor is configured to;

if the received message from the MSC server is a signaling connection control protocol (SCCP) downlink connection oriented message, forward the received message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC,

if the received message from the MSC server is an SCCP downlink connectionless message, parse a Layer 3 message therein, and

if the Layer 3 message in the received message from the MSC server is a paging message and its subscriber ID is an international mobile subscriber ID (IMSI), save a correspondence relationship between the IMSI and the MSC server which sends the message temporarily, and forward the received message from the MSC server to the BSC or RNC.

13. The MGW according to claim 8, wherein the MGW connects with the plurality of MSC servers through a signaling point which is different from the common signaling point.