Session Association Method, Apparatus, and System

• US 20160044063A1
• Filed: 10/23/2015
• Published: 02/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2013
• 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: Hua, Yue
• Granted Patent: US 10,148,702 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

A session association method, apparatus, and system. The method includes collecting call control signaling, on a signaling link of a control plane in a communications network, transmitted by network elements, where the call control signaling includes speech channel information; and performing session association on the call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

Claims

1. A session association method, comprising:

collecting call control signaling, on a signaling link of a control plane in a communications network, transmitted by network elements, wherein the call control signaling comprises speech channel information; and

performing session association on the call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein collecting call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, transmitted by network elements comprises collecting first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and a calling subscriber, and second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and a called subscriber, and wherein performing session association on the call control signaling according to the speech channel information comprises performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the communications network is a packet switched bearer network, wherein the speech channel information is a user plane address, and wherein performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling according to the speech channel information comprises performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling when a first user plane address comprised in the first call control signaling and a second user plane address comprised in the second call control signaling are the same.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the communications network is a packet switched bearer network, wherein the speech channel information is a user plane address, and wherein, before collecting the first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the calling subscriber, and second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the called subscriber, the method further comprises obtaining an association relationship between user plane addresses, and wherein performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling according to the speech channel information comprises performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling when it is determined, according to the association relationship, that an association exists between a first user plane address comprised in the first call control signaling and a second user plane address comprised in the second call control signaling.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the communications network is a circuit switched bearer network, wherein the speech channel information is a circuit identification code, and wherein the method further comprises obtaining an association relationship between circuit identification codes before collecting the first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the calling subscriber, and second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the called subscriber, and wherein performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling according to the speech channel information comprises performing session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling when it is determined, according to the association relationship, that an association exists between a first circuit identification code comprised in the first call control signaling and a second circuit identification code comprised in the second call control signaling.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communications network is a mobile softswitch (CS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise either a mobile switching center (MSC) server, or the MSC server and a media gateway (MGW).

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communications network is a fixed-line softswitch (NGN) network, and wherein the network elements comprise either a softswitch or the SoftSwitch and an access gateway (AG)/a trunk gateway (TG).

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communications network is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise a call/session control function (CSCF), a breakout gateway control function (BGCF), an interconnection border control function (IBCF), a media gateway control function (MGCF), and an application server (AS).

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communications network is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise an interconnection border control function (IBCF), a transition gateway (TrGW), a media gateway control function (MGCF), an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) media gateway (IM-MGW), a multimedia resource function controller (MRFC), a multimedia resource function processor (MRFP), a service-based policy decision function (SPDF), and a border gateway function (BGF).

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communications network is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise media gateway control function (MGCF) and an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) media gateway (IM-MGW).

11. A monitoring apparatus, comprising:

a collection module configured to collect call control signaling, on a signaling link of a control plane in a communications network, transmitted by network elements, wherein the call control signaling comprises speech channel information; and

an association module configured to perform session association on the call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

12. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the collection module is configured to collect first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and a calling subscriber, and second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and a called subscriber, and wherein the association module is configured to perform session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

13. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the communications network is a packet switched bearer network, wherein the speech channel information is a user plane address, and wherein the association module is configured to perform session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling when a first user plane address comprised in the first call control signaling and a second user plane address comprised in the second call control signaling are the same.

14. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the communications network is a packet switched bearer network, wherein the speech channel information is a user plane address, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a first obtaining module configured to obtain an association relationship between user plane addresses before the collection module collects the first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the calling subscriber, and the second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the called subscriber, and wherein the association module is configured to perform session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling when it is determined, according to the association relationship, that an association exists between a first user plane address comprised in the first call control signaling and a second user plane address comprised in the second call control signaling.

15. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the communications network is a circuit switched bearer network, wherein the speech channel information is a circuit identification code, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a second obtaining module configured to obtain an association relationship between circuit identification codes before the collection module collects the first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the calling subscriber, and the second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and the called subscriber, and wherein the association module is configured to perform session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling when it is determined, according to the association relationship, that an association exists between a first circuit identification code comprised in the first call control signaling and a second circuit identification code comprised in the second call control signaling.

16. A communications network monitoring system, comprising:

at least one network element in a communications network; and

a monitoring apparatus configured to;

collect call control signaling, on a signaling link of a control plane in the communications network, transmitted by the at least one network element, wherein the call control signaling comprises speech channel information; and

perform session association on the call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the monitoring apparatus is further configured to:

collect first call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and a calling subscriber, and second call control signaling, on the signaling link of the control plane, between the network elements and a called subscriber; and

perform session association on the first call control signaling and the second call control signaling according to the speech channel information.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the communications network is a mobile softswitch (CS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise either a mobile switching center (MSC) server, or the MSC server and a media gateway (MGW).

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the communications network is a fixed-line softswitch (NGN) network, and wherein the network elements comprise either a softswitch or the SoftSwitch and an access gateway (AG)/a trunk gateway (TG).

20. The system according to claim 16, wherein the communications network is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise a call/session control function (CSCF), a breakout gateway control function (BGCF), an interconnection border control function (IBCF), a media gateway control function (MGCF), and an application server (AS).

21. The system according to claim 16, wherein the communications network is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise an interconnection border control function (IBCF), a transition gateway (TrGW), a media gateway control function (MGCF), an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) media gateway (IM-MGW), a multimedia resource function controller (MRFC), a multimedia resource function processor (MRFP), a service-based policy decision function (SPDF), and a border gateway function (BGF).

22. The system according to claim 16, wherein the communications network is an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, and wherein the network elements comprise media gateway control function (MGCF) and an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) media gateway (IM-MGW).