Patent ID: 8578050

Claim:
A method for routing Diameter messages between multiple message processors within a Diameter Signaling Router (DSR), the method comprising: receiving, at an ingress Diameter message processor included within the DSR, a Diameter message from a first Diameter node, wherein the Diameter message includes Diameter parameter values; accessing, using the ingress Diameter message processor, Diameter peer routing information to determine an egress Diameter message processor among a plurality of egress Diameter message processors within the DSR and associated with a second Diameter node that is a peer of the DSR and to which the Diameter message is to be forwarded, wherein a Diameter routing layer (DRL) in the DSR extracts the Diameter parameter values from the Diameter message to search the Diameter peer routing information stored in a peer routing table to locate a rule entry that identifies the egress Diameter message processor; modifying, using the ingress Diameter message processer, the Diameter message to contain a hop by hop identifier that identifies the ingress Diameter message processor; and forwarding the Diameter message containing the hop-by-hop identifier that identifies the ingress Diameter message processor to the determined egress Diameter message processor, wherein the egress Diameter message processor utilizes the hop-by-hop identifier to route a Diameter answer message associated with the Diameter message to the ingress Diameter message processor.