Method and apparatus for handling p-cscf failure and restoring connectivity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2015124588-A1
Application number	US-201214402471-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 21, 2012
Priority date	May 21, 2012
Publication date	May 7, 2015
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method for restoring connectivity between a node in an IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, network, and a User Equipment, UE. The UE is associated with a Proxy Call Session Control Function node, P-CSCF, of said IMS network, and with at least one control node of a packet access network, through which the UE connects to the IMS network. The method allows for restoring the connectivity of the UE to an IMS network node after said IMS node has failed to establish a communication to said UE via said P-CSCF node.

First claim

1 . A method for restoring connectivity between a node in an IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, network, and a User Equipment, UE, the UE being associated with a Proxy Call Session Control Function node, P-CSCF, of said IMS network, the UE further being associated with at least one control node of a packet access network that is used by the UE to connect to said IMS network, wherein said IMS node has failed to establish a communication to said UE via said P-CSCF node, said method comprising:
at said IMS node, sending a first DIAMETER request to a Home Subscription Server, HSS, node, requesting the UE to reset its connection to said packet access network, wherein the first request indicates a new registration of the UE is required; at said HSS node, receiving said first DIAMETER request from said IMS node, providing an identity of said UE, looking up an address of at least one control node to which said UE is associated in said packet access network, and sending a second request to said at least one control node, requesting the UE to reset its connection to said packet access network, wherein the second request indicates that re-attachment of the UE is required; and at said control node, receiving said second request from said HSS node, and sending a third request to said UE, requesting said UE to reset its connection to said packet access network, said reset comprising registration to an available P-CSCF node of said IMS network.

2 . A method for requesting at an Internet Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, network node, a User Equipment, UE, to reset its connection to a packet access network, the method comprising:
sending a DIAMETER request to a Home Subscription Server, HSS, node, requesting the UE to reset its connection to said packet access network, wherein the request indicates a new registration of the UE is required.

3 . A method for handling a first DIAMETER request at a Home Subscription Server, HSS, node, said request being received from an IMS node and said request requesting an UE to reset its connection to its packet access network, the method comprising:
providing an identity of a control node of said packet access network to which said UE is associated, and sending a request to said control node, requesting the UE to reset its connection to said packet access network, wherein the request indicates that re-attachment of the UE is required.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said first DIAMETER request is a DIAMETER User-Authorization-Request, UAR, having a User-Authorization-Type Attribute-Value-Pair, AVP, value indicating “NEW_REGISTRATION NEEDED”.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said second request is a DIAMETER Cancel-Location-Request, CLR, having a Cancellation-Type Attribute-Value-Pair, AVP, value indicating “RE_ATTACH_PROCEDURE”.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said IMS node is a Serving Call Session Control Function, S-CSCF.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said IMS node is an IMS Application Server, IMS AS, node, the IMS AS being a Multimedia Telephony Application Server, MMTel AS, providing Voice and multimedia communication services over a mobile packet service, or a Telephony Application Server, TAS, providing Voice over Long Time Evolution, LTE, networks, or a Session Continuity and Centralization Application Server, SCC AS.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said packet access network is a Long Time Evolution, LTE, network and wherein said control node is a Mobile Management Entity, MME, node.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said packet access network is a General Packet Radio Service, GPRS, network and wherein said control node is a Serving GPRS Support Node, SGSN.

10 . Apparatus configured to operate as an IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, network node, the apparatus comprising:
a transmission unit for sending DIAMETER requests; and a processing unit configured to:
generate a DIAMETER request, requesting a User Equipment, UE to reset the connection to its packet access network, wherein the request indicates a new registration of the UE is required; and
transmit said DIAMETER request to a Home Subscription Server, HSS, node.

11 . The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein said apparatus is configured to operate as a Serving Call Session Control Function, S-CSCF, IMS node.

12 . The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein said apparatus is configured to operate as an IMS Application Server, AS, node, the IMS AS being a Multimedia Telephony Application Server, MMTel AS, providing Voice and multimedia communication services over a mobile packet service, or an IMS Telephony Application Server, TAS, providing Voice over Long Time Evolution, LTE, networks, or an IMS Session Continuity and Centralization Application Server, SCC AS.

13 . An apparatus configured to operate as a Home Subscription Service, HSS, node the apparatus comprising:
a transmission unit for sending requests; a receiving unit for receiving DIAMETER requests; a memory configured for storing identities relating to User Equipments, UEs; and a processing unit configured to:
receive a first DIAMETER request, requesting a User Equipment, UE to reset the connection to its packet access network, wherein the first request indicates a new registration of the UE is required;
generate a second request, requesting the UE to reset its connection to said packet access network, wherein the second request indicates that re-attachment of the UE is required; and
transmit said second request to a control node of said packet access network, the UE being associated to said control node.

14 . The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein said first DIAMETER request is a DIAMETER User-Authorization-Request, UAR, having a User-Authorization-Type Attribute-Value-Pair value indicating “NEW_REGISTRATION NEEDED”.

15 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein said DIAMETER request is a DIAMETER User-Authorization-Request, UAR, having a User-Authorization-Type Attribute-Value-Pair, AVP, value indicating “NEW_REGISTRATION NEEDED”.

16 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein said IMS network node is an IMS Application Server, IMS AS, node, the IMS AS being a Multimedia Telephony Application Server, MMTel AS, providing Voice and multimedia communication services over a mobile packet service, or a Telephony Application Server, TAS, providing Voice over Long Time Evolution, LTE, networks, or a Session Continuity and Centralization Application Server, SCC AS.

17 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein said first DIAMETER request is a DIAMETER User-Authorization-Request, UAR, having a User-Authorization-Type Attribute-Value-Pair, AVP, value indicating “NEW_REGISTRATION NEEDED”.

18 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein said IMS node is an IMS Application Server, IMS AS, node, the IMS AS being a Multimedia Telephony Application Server, MMTel AS, providing Voice and multimedia communication services over a mobile packet service, or a Telephony Application Server, TAS, providing Voice over Long Time Evolution, LTE, networks, or a Session Continuity and Centralization Application Server, SCC AS.

19 . The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein said first DIAMETER request is a DIAMETER User-Authorization-Request, UAR, having a User-Authorization-Type Attribute-Value-Pair value indicating “NEW_REGISTRATION NEEDED”.

Assignees

• Hallenstål Magnus
• Blau Staffan
• Ericsson Telefon Ab L M

Inventors

• Hallenstål Magnus
• Blau Staffan

Classifications

• H04W76/028 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W24/04 Primary

  Arrangements for maintaining operational condition · CPC title

• H04L65/1016 Primary

  IP multimedia subsystem [IMS] · CPC title

• H04L61/4588

  containing mobile subscriber information, e.g. home subscriber server [HSS] · CPC title

• H04W76/30

  Connection release · CPC title