Methods, Systems, and computer program products for routing and processing ENUM queries

• US 20080019356A1
• Filed: 07/18/2007
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tekelec
• Original Assignee: Tekelec
• Inventors: Marsico, Peter J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,787,445 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0075 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/123 where the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol Multimedia System-type network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13141 Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13353 Routing table, map memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/76 Translation from the called subscriber's number to the outgoing or incoming control information

Abstract

The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, and computer program products for routing ENUM queries to an ENUM database. According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includes a method for routing ENUM queries to an ENUM database. The method includes receiving an ENUM query including a subscriber identifier. An ENUM database is identified among a plurality of non-identically provisioned ENUM databases based on the subscriber identifier. The ENUM query is routed to the identified ENUM database.

Claims

1. A method for routing E.164 number mapping (ENUM) queries to an ENUM database, the method comprising:

receiving an ENUM query including a subscriber identifier;

identifying an ENUM database among a plurality of non-identically provisioned ENUM databases based on the subscriber identifier; and

routing the ENUM query to the identified ENUM database.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an ENUM query includes receiving an ENUM query including an E.164 telephone number.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an ENUM query includes receiving an ENUM query generated by one of a service switching point (SSP), a mobile switching center (MSC), a media gateway controller (MGC), a session initiation protocol (SIP) proxy server, an H.323 gatekeeper, and an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) node.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an ENUM query includes receiving an ENUM query at a flexible ENUM routing node where the query is addressed to the flexible ENUM routing node.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an ENUM query includes intercepting an ENUM query addressed to an ENUM database.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an ENUM database identifier includes searching a range-based data structure.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an ENUM database identifier includes searching an exception-based data structure and, in response to failing to identify an ENUM database corresponding to the subscriber identifier in the exception-based data structure, searching a range-based data structure.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying an ENUM database includes determining at least one of a uniform resource indicator (URI), an IP address, and a port number associated with the identified ENUM database.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying an ENUM database includes determining a uniform resource indicator (URI) associated with the identified ENUM database.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein routing an ENUM query includes modifying the ENUM query to include the address of the identified ENUM database.

11. A method for processing an E.164 number mapping (ENUM) query, the method comprising:

receiving an ENUM query including a subscriber identifier;

utilizing the subscriber identifier to identify an ENUM database among a plurality of non-identically provisioned ENUM databases; and

terminating the ENUM query, generating and forwarding a new ENUM query to the identified ENUM database.

12. The method of claim 11 comprising storing state information for an ENUM transaction associated with the ENUM queries.

13. The method of claim 12 comprising:

receiving an ENUM response;

associating the ENUM response with the ENUM transaction using the stored state information;

terminating the ENUM response, generating a new ENUM response, and forwarding the new ENUM response to an originator of the received ENUM query.

14. A flexible ENUM routing node for routing ENUM queries to an ENUM database, the node comprising:

a communications module for receiving an ENUM query including a subscriber identifier;

an E.164-to-ENUM database identifier mapping data structure for associating one or more subscriber identifiers with one or more ENUM database identifiers; and

an ENUM database identifier function for identifying, based on the subscriber identifier and using the E.164-to-ENUM database identifier mapping data structure, an ENUM database from a plurality of non-identically provisioned ENUM databases.

15. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the communications module is configured to receive an ENUM query generated by one of a service switching point (SSP), a mobile switching center (MSC), a media gateway controller (MGC), a session initiation protocol (SIP) proxy server, an H.323 gatekeeper, and an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) node.

16. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the communications module is configured to receive an ENUM query addressed to the flexible ENUM routing node.

17. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the communications module is configured to intercept an ENUM query addressed to one of the ENUM databases.

18. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the E.164-to-ENUM database identifier mapping data structure includes a range-based data structure.

19. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the E.164-to-ENUM database identifier mapping data structure includes an exception-based and a range-based data structure and wherein the ENUM database identifier function is adapted to search the exception-based data structure for an entry matching the subscriber identifier, and, in response to failing to locate a matching entry in the exception-based data structure, to search the range-based data structure for an entry matching the subscriber identifier.

20. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the ENUM database identifier function is configured to determine at least one of a uniform resource indicator (URI), an IP address, and a port number associated with the identified ENUM database.

21. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the ENUM database identifier function is configured to determine a uniform resource indicator (URI) associated with the identified ENUM database and to perform a domain name system (DNS) query to resolve the URI into an Internet protocol (IP) address.

22. The flexible ENUM routing node of claim 14 wherein the ENUM database identifier function is configured to modify the ENUM query to include an address of the identified ENUM database.

23. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions embodied in a computer readable medium for performing steps comprising:

receiving an ENUM query including a subscriber identifier;

identifying an ENUM database among a plurality of non-identically provisioned ENUM databases based on the subscriber identifier; and

routing the ENUM query to the identified ENUM database.