Patent ID: 8213410

Claim:
A method for suspending and resuming SS7 message communications over a stream-oriented connection, the method comprising: (a) establishing a first stream-oriented connection between a first signaling node and a second signaling node; (b) sending and receiving IP-encapsulated SS7 messages over the first stream-oriented connection; and (c) receiving, by a transport adapter layer interface (TALI) layer that resides between a transport layer and an SS7 layer in a network protocol stack at the first signaling node, a first control message originating from a TALI layer that resides between a transport layer and an SS7 layer in a network protocol stack of the second signaling node over the first stream-oriented connection and, in response, stopping the sending of SS7 messages from the first signaling node over the first stream-oriented connection, wherein the first control message includes a prohibit message that informs the first signaling node that the second signaling node is not willing to carry any SS7 service over the first stream-oriented connection, wherein the first-stream oriented connection includes a TALI-level session between the first signaling node and the second signaling node.