Patent ID: 7043253

Claim:
A method for load balancing in a telecommunications network comprising a mobile node (MN) with a unique identity, a Base Station Controller/Packet Core Function (BSC/PCF) and a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN), wherein the PDSN logically comprises a manager and a plurality of agents each having its own network address, the method comprising the steps of: sending from the BSC/PCF to the manager a request comprising an indication that load balancing is supported; upon reception of the request, verifying by the manager that load balancing is supported; selecting by the manager an agent; verifying if the unique identity of the MN is associated with an agent; if this is the case: selecting that agent; if the unique identity is not associated with any agent: selecting an agent with the least load; redirecting by the manager the request to the selected agent; sending from the selected agent to the BSC/PCF a reply comprising an indication that redirection has been performed and the network address of the agent; and setting up a connection between the BSC/PCF and the agent.