Correlating communication sessions

• US 9,967,132 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2009
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Mutikainen, Jari, Poikselka, Miikka Juhana
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Parth
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, KAI J
• Application Number:
  US12/936,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20110032906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,318 Days
• Field of Search: 370352-356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/395 Internet protocol multimedia private identity [IMPI]; Internet protocol multimedia public identity [IMPU]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2596 Translation of addresses of the same type other than IP, e.g. translation from MAC to MAC addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1095 Inter-network session transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

The present invention relates to a session handling entity in a communication system, the session handling entity (S-CSCF) maintain a relationship between at least one public user identity, at least one private user identity and at least one contact address of a user of a communication system. Then receives from a subscription entity an indication of a correlation identity associated with the user, and stores the indication of the correlation identity as part of the relationship maintained by the maintaining means. When a session request of the user is received, determining the correlation identity for the user based on a contact address of the user included in the session request and the indication of a correlation identity associated with the user take place, and the correlation identity is included in the session request.

Claims

1. A subscription entity in a communication system, said subscription entity comprising:

one or more processors, and

one or more memories including computer program code, the one or more memories and the computer program code configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the subscription entity to perform the following;

maintaining subscription data of a user, the subscription data comprising at least one Circuit Switched identity of the user and at least one IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) identity of the user,

assigning one of the identities in the subscription data as a correlation identity for the user for correlating a Circuit Switched call of the user to a session initiation protocol (SIP) session of the user, and

sending an indication of the correlation identity to a session handling entity,

wherein said subscription entity provides said correlation identity to a session handling entity for use by said session handling entity in order to perform a domain transfer of the user from a circuit switched domain to an IMS domain, and

wherein the correlation identity comprises a mobile subscriber international ISDN number (MSISDN) of the user and wherein the correlation identity is bound to a private IMS identity of the user.

2. The subscription entity of claim 1, wherein the one or more memories and the computer program code are configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the subscription entity to:

send the indication of the correlation identity as part of a user profile download.

3. A method for correlating sessions in a communication system, said method comprising:

maintaining subscription data of a user, the subscription data comprising at least one Circuit Switched identity of the user and at least one IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) identity of the user,

assigning one of the identities in the subscription data as a correlation identity for the user for correlating a Circuit Switched call of the user to a session initiation protocol (SIP) session of the user, and

correlating the Circuit Switched call of the user to the session initiation protocol (SIP) session of the user based on the correlation identity,

wherein said method is performed by a subscription entity in a communication system to enable said subscription entity to provide said correlation identity to a session handling entity for use by said session handling entity in order to perform a domain transfer of the user from a circuit switched domain to an IMS domain, and

wherein the correlation identity comprises a mobile subscriber international ISDN number (MSISDN) of the user and wherein the correlation identity is bound to a private IMS identity of the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the maintaining and the assigning are performed at a home subscriber server and the correlating is performed at an application server.

5. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising code for performing the method according to claim 3.

6. A session handling entity in a communication system, said session handling entity comprising:

one or more processors, and

one or more memories including computer program code, the one or more memories and the computer program code configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the session handling entity to perform the following;

maintaining a relationship between at least one public user identity, at least one private user identity and at least one contact address of a user of a communication system, wherein the maintained relationship comprises at least one Circuit Switched identity of the user and at least one IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) identity of the user,

receiving from a subscription entity an indication of a correlation identity associated with the user,

storing the indication of the correlation identity as part of the relationship being maintained,

receiving a session request of the user,

determining the correlation identity for the user based on the at least one contact address of the user included in the session request and the indication of the correlation identity associated with the user, and

including the correlation identity in the session request to correlate a Circuit Switched call to a session initiation protocol (SIP) session,

wherein said session handling entity obtains said correlation identity from said subscription entity for use by said session handling entity in order to perform a domain transfer of the user from a circuit switched domain to an IMS domain, and

wherein the correlation identity comprises a mobile subscriber international ISDN number (MSISDN) of the user and wherein the correlation identity is bound to a private IMS identity of the user.

7. The session handling entity of claim 6, wherein the one or more memories and the computer program code are configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the session handling entity to:

transmit the session request to an application server.

8. The session handling entity of claim 6, wherein the one or more memories and the computer program code are configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the session handling entity to:

determine the correlation identity by mapping a combination of the at least one contact address and the at least one public identity received in the session request to the at least one private identity of the user.

9. The session handling entity of claim 6, wherein the session request comprises one of a request to transfer the session to another access network technology, a handover request and an emergency session request.

10. The session handling entity of claim 6, wherein the one or more memories and the computer program code are configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the session handling entity to:

maintain the relationship between the at least one public user identity, the at least one private user identity and the at least one contact address within a subscription of the user.

11. A method of correlating sessions in a communication system, said method comprising:

maintaining a relationship between at least one public user identity, at least one private user identity and at least one contact address of a user of a communication system, wherein the maintained relationship comprises at least one Circuit Switched identity of the user and at least one IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) identity of the user,

receiving from a subscription entity an indication of a correlation identity associated with the user,

storing the indication of the correlation identity as part of the maintained relationship,

receiving a session request of the user,

determining the correlation identity for the user based on the at least one contact address of the user included in the session request and the indication of the correlation identity associated with the user, and

including the correlation identity in the session request to correlate a Circuit Switched call to a session initiation protocol (SIP) session,

wherein said method is performed by a session handling entity in a communication system to obtain said correlation identity from said subscription entity for use by said session handling entity in order to perform a domain transfer of the user from a circuit switched domain to an IMS domain, and

wherein the correlation identity comprises a mobile subscriber international ISDN number (MSISDN) of the user and wherein the correlation identity is bound to a private IMS identity of the user.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising identifying a session leg to be transferred to another access technology based on the correlation identity received in the session request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying the session leg to be transferred is done at an application server to which the session request is transmitted.

14. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising code for performing the method according to claim 11.