Patent ID: 8635326

Claim:
A method of managing subscriber sessions with a mobile gateway of a mobile service provider network that provides access to services of one or more packet data networks, the method comprising: apportioning a protocol session identifier namespace for a control protocol into a plurality of contiguous, non-overlapping protocol session identifier ranges with the mobile gateway; allocating a porotocol session identifier range of the protocol session identifier ranges to a subscriber management service unit of a plurality of subscriber management service units of the mobile gateway, wherein the plurality of subscriber management service units that present a uniform interface to nodes within the mobile service provider network; generating an aggregate route based at least on the allocation of the protocol session identifier range to the subscriber management service unit and installing the aggregate route to a forwarding unit of the mobile gateway; receiving a session request with the subscriber management service unit, wherein the session request identifies a mobile device and requests the mobile gateway to serve as an anchor for a subscriber session for the mobile device when accessing one of the packet data networks; selecting a protocol session identifier from the protocol session identifier range with the subscriber management service unit; and executing, with the subscriber management service unit in response to the session request, the control protocol to exchange control protocol messages with an external network device in a protocol session identifiable by the protocol session identifier; receiving, with the forwarding unit and from the external network device, a control protocol message that conforms to the control protocol and that includes the protocol session identifier; sending the control protocol message from the forwarding unit to the subscriber management service unit based at least on the aggregate route.