Patent ID: 8036215
Filing Date: 2011-10-11
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: determining, during establishment of a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) session between a first device and a second device, whether a refresh mechanism is supported, by including additional information with existing protocol messages that are used to establish a SIP session; generating, at the first device, a first new protocol message to initiate a refresh of a session with the second device, where the first new protocol message is a modified version of an existing protocol message that is used for purposes other than a refresh; sending, from the first device, the first new protocol message to the second device, where the first new protocol message includes information indicating that a refresh of the session is requested; and determining, at the first device and based on receiving a second new protocol message from the second device in response to the first new protocol message and reading the contents of the second new protocol message, if the session between the first device and the second device is active or inactive.