PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8811988-B2
Application Number: US-201213485290-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Dynamically creating a globally unique identified of a subscriber device based on an identified of an aggregation device and identification information of the subscriber device for circuit-switched and packet-switched communication systems

Abstract:
To register a mobile device located in a first network with a packet-switched services network, a registration request is received from an aggregation device in the first network. The registration request contains an identifier of the aggregation device and identification information of the mobile device, where the identification information is previously unknown to the packet-switched services network. A globally unique identifier of the mobile device is dynamically created based on the identifier of the aggregation device and the identification information of the mobile device, wherein the globally unique identifier is used for uniquely identifying the mobile device in the packet-switched services network.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of registering a mobile device located in a first network with a packet-switched services network, comprising:
 receiving, from an aggregation device in the first network, a registration request containing a SIP address of record of the aggregation device and identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device, wherein the identification information comprises an identifier of the aggregation device and an identifier of the mobile device; and 
 dynamically creating a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) used to uniquely identify the mobile device in the packet-switched services network, the GRUU being a combination of the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device; 
 wherein the mobile device is configured to access services of the packet-switched services network through the aggregation device. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device is a SIP.INSTANCE parameter. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the SIP.INSTANCE parameter is a concatenation of a MAC address of the aggregation device, a mobile identity number of the mobile device, and an electronic serial number of the mobile device. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , further comprising receiving the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the MAC address of the aggregation device in response to the aggregation device performing a registration procedure with the packet-switched services network. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein creating the GRUU is part of a registration procedure performed in the packet-switched services network initiated by the registration request. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein performing the registration procedure in the services network comprises performing the registration procedure in a Session Initiation Protocol (IP) network. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device is previously unknown to the packet-switched services network. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sending the GRUU to an application server for storage at the application server to enable the application server to route calls directed to the mobile device. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein sending the GRUU to the application server comprises sending the GRUU to a voice call continuity (VCC) application server. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving and dynamically creating are performed by a node in the packet-switched services network. 
     
     
       11. A node configured to operate in a packet-switched services network, comprising:
 an interface configured to receive a registration request sent by an aggregation device associated with an enterprise network to register a mobile device in the packet-switched services network, the registration request containing a SIP address of record of the aggregation device and identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device, wherein the identification information comprises an identifier of the aggregation device and an identifier of the mobile device; and 
 a processor configured to dynamically create a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) used to uniquely identify the mobile device in the packet-switched services network, the GRUU being a combination of the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device. 
 
     
     
       12. The node of  claim 11  wherein the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device is a SIP.INSTANCE parameter. 
     
     
       13. The node of  claim 12 , wherein the SIP.INSTANCE parameter is a concatenation of a MAC address of the aggregation device, a mobile identity number of the mobile device, and an electronic serial number of the mobile device. 
     
     
       14. The node of  claim 13 , wherein the interface is configured to receive the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the MAC address of the aggregation device in response to the aggregation device performing a registration procedure with the packet-switched services network. 
     
     
       15. The node of  claim 11 , wherein the processor dynamically creates the GRUU as part of a registration procedure performed in the packet-switched services network initiated by the registration request. 
     
     
       16. The node of  claim 11 , wherein the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device is previously unknown to the packet-switched services network. 
     
     
       17. The node of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is also configured to send the GRUU to an application server for storage at the application server to enable the application server to route calls directed to the mobile device. 
     
     
       18. The node of  claim 17 , wherein the application server is a voice call continuity (VCC) application server. 
     
     
       19. A method of registering a mobile device located in a first network with a packet-switched services network, comprising:
 receiving, from an aggregation device in the first network, a registration request containing a SIP address of record of the aggregation device and identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device, wherein the identification information comprises a SIP.INSTANCE parameter, wherein the SIP.INSTANCE parameter comprises a concatenation of a MAC address of the aggregation device, a mobile identity number of the mobile device, and an electronic serial number of the mobile device; and 
 dynamically creating a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) used to uniquely identify the mobile device in the packet-switched services network, the GRUU being a combination of the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , further comprising receiving the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the MAC address of the aggregation device in response to the aggregation device performing a registration procedure with the packet-switched services network. 
     
     
       21. A node configured to operate in a packet-switched services network, comprising:
 an interface configured to receive a registration request sent by an aggregation device associated with an enterprise network to register a mobile device in the packet-switched services network, the registration request containing a SIP address of record of the aggregation device and identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device, wherein the identification information comprises a SIP.INSTANCE parameter, wherein the SIP.INSTANCE parameter comprises a concatenation of a MAC address of the aggregation device, a mobile identity number of the mobile device, and an electronic serial number of the mobile device; and 
 a processor configured to dynamically create a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU) used to uniquely identify the mobile device in the packet-switched services network, the GRUU being a combination of the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the identification information created by the aggregation device on behalf of the mobile device. 
 
     
     
       22. The node of  claim 21 , wherein the interface is configured to receive the SIP address of record of the aggregation device and the MAC address of the aggregation device in response to the aggregation device performing a registration procedure with the packet-switched services network.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/346,983, filed Dec. 31, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,213,935, the content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates generally to creating a globally unique identifier of the subscriber device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many types of communications can be performed over data networks (wireless and/or wireline networks), including electronic mail, web browsing, file downloads, electronic commerce transactions, voice or other forms of real-time, interactive communications, and others. To enable the establishment of communications sessions in a network, various control functions are deployed in the network. Some standards bodies have defined subsystems within communications networks that include such control functions. One such standards body is the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which has defined an Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) that includes various control functions for provision of IP packet-switched multimedia services, including audio, video, text, chat, or any combination of the foregoing. 
     Another standards body is the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), which as defined a multimedia domain (MMD) network to provide packet-switched multimedia services. In the wireline context, the equivalent of an IP multimedia subsystem is sometimes referred to as a Next Generation Networks (NGN). 
     Services of a packet-switched services network (e.g., IMS network, MMD network, or NGN network) may be accessed by users within an enterprise network. An “enterprise network” refers to a network associated with an enterprise, such as a company, educational organization, or government agency. An “enterprise network” can also refer to a customer network such as a home network or small office network. In one scenario, the packet-switched services network can be considered to be a services “overlay” network that provides services accessible by users of an enterprise network. Typically, the enterprise network has an aggregation device (such as a femtocell base station, a set-top box proxy server that serves multiple set-top boxes, etc.) through which enterprise network users can access the external packet-switched services network. However, an enterprise network user may not have an explicit identity provisioned in the packet-switched services network. Although the aggregation device has an identity provisioned in the packet-switched services network, using the identity of the aggregation device alone does not provide the packet-switched services network enough context to perform communications, such as to route a terminating call request to a specific subscriber device. 
     SUMMARY 
     In general, a method of registering a subscriber device located in a first network with a services network includes receiving, from an aggregation device in the first network, a registration request containing an identifier of the aggregation device and identification information of the subscriber device. A globally unique identifier of the subscriber device is created based on the identifier of the aggregation device and the identification information of the subscriber device, where the globally unique identifier is used for uniquely identifying the subscriber device in the services network. 
     Other or alternative features will become apparent from the following description, from the drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a communications network that incorporates an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a SIP.INSTANCE parameter, used according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a message flow diagram for registering a subscriber device, according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a message flow diagram of processing a session request using a globally unique identifier generated as part of the registration procedure of  FIG. 3 , in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a node in which an embodiment of the invention can be incorporated. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that some embodiments may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible. 
     In general, according to some embodiments, a technique or mechanism is provided for generating a globally unique identifier of a mobile subscriber device in an enterprise network, where the globally unique identifier enables the subscriber device to access services of an external packet-switched services network. A “subscriber device” refers to a device that is associated with a user. Examples of mobile subscriber devices include computers, personal digital assistants, mobile telephones, and so forth. An “enterprise network” refers to a network that is associated with an enterprise, such as a company, organization, or government agency. Alternatively, an enterprise network can also refer to a home, a small business environment, or other environment having a limited geographic area or a limited number of users. 
     The enterprise network has an aggregation device through which subscriber devices within the enterprise network can access the external packet-switched services network. An “aggregation device” refers to any device that is provided at the edge of an enterprise network, where multiple subscriber devices can connect to the aggregation device for the purpose of accessing services outside the enterprise network. One example of an aggregation device is a femtocell base station, which is a wireless access point that is designed for use in residential or small business environments. Another example of an aggregation device is a set-top box proxy server that serves multiple set-top boxes. Alternatively, the aggregation device can be some other type of wireless or wired access point that can be used in a larger environment provided by the enterprise network. 
     In accordance with some embodiments, a subscriber device within the enterprise network is able to register into the external packet-switched services network using the identity of the aggregation device. As part of the registration, the packet-switched services network is able to generate a globally unique identifier to identify the subscriber device in the packet-switched services network. The globally unique identifier is a dynamically created unique identifier that is based on the identity of the aggregation device, as well as identification information of the subscriber device provided in a registration message in the registration procedure. Using this technique, the subscriber device does not have to be explicitly provisioned in the packet-switched services network, which may be inefficient since there can be a large number of subscriber devices in various enterprise networks that have access to the packet-switched services network. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example communications network that includes an enterprise network  100  and a packet-switched services network  102 . The enterprise network  100  has an aggregation device  104  (or multiple aggregation devices) that is connectable to various subscriber devices, such as a mobile station  106 , a personal digital assistant  108 , and a portable computer  110 . 
     One example of packet-switched services network  102  is the Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) network that includes various control functions for provision of IP multimedia services, including audio, video, text, chat, or any combination of the foregoing. IMS is defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Alternatively, the packet-switched services network  102  can be a multimedia domain (MMD) network defined by 3GPP2, or a Next Generation Network (NGN) for use in the wireline context. 
       FIG. 1  also shows a circuit-switched network  112 . An example of the circuit-switched network  112  is a 1xRTT wireless access network according to CDMA 2000 (Code Division Multiple Access 2000) as defined by 3GPP2. Other types of circuit-switched networks can be employed in other implementations. 
     One of the services provided by the packet-switched services network  102  is to allow a subscriber device in the enterprise network  100  to establish a communication session with an endpoint of the circuit-switched network  112 . Alternatively, an enterprise network subscriber device can communicate with an endpoint in a packet-switched network (e.g., Internet, packet-switched wireless access network, etc.) using the packet-switched services network  102 . 
     In the ensuing discussion, reference is made to “IMS network  102 .” It is contemplated that in alternative embodiments, the same or similar techniques can be applied to other types of packet-switched services networks. 
     The IMS network  102  includes IMS core nodes to provide various packet-switched services supported by the IMS network. For example, the IMS core nodes can be nodes used for establishing Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) communications sessions. SIP is a protocol used for establishing IP multimedia sessions. SIP is described in RFC (Request for Comments) 3261, entitled “SIP: Session Initiation Protocol,” dated June 2002. 
     The IMS core nodes include a proxy call session control function (P-CSCF)  114 , which is the first SIP aware control contact point for a network entity desiring to access the IMS network  102 . The P-CSCF  114  in turn communicates SIP signaling with an interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF)  116  or serving CSCF (S-CSCF)  118  in the IMS network  102 . An I-CSCF is the contact point within a service operator&#39;s network for connections destined to destinations in the service operator&#39;s network. Example tasks performed by the I-CSCF include handling initial registration by interrogating a home subscriber server (HSS)  120 , routing a call control message received from another network towards an S-CSCF  118 , and other tasks. The S-CSCF  118  handles session control within the IMS network  102  on behalf of network entities. 
     The HSS  120  stores authentication credentials and other user profile information for subscribers of the packet-switched services network  102 . Another node within the packet-switched services network  102  is a voice call continuity application server (VCC) AS  122 , a media gateway control function (MGCF)  124 , and a media gateway (MG)  126 . It is noted that the IMS network  102  can also include other nodes. 
     The circuit-switched network  112  includes a home location register (HLR)  128 , which is a central database of the circuit-switched network  112  for storing credentials of each subscriber that is authorized to use the circuit-switched network  112 . The circuit-switched network  112  also includes other nodes, such as mobile switching centers (MSCs), base station controls (BSCs), and base stations (not shown) to allow for circuit-switched access by subscribers. 
     In accordance with some embodiments, the IMS network  102  is able to create a dynamically generated globally unique identifier on behalf of a subscriber device attached to the enterprise network  100 . The globally unique identifier can be a Globally Routable User Agent Uniform Resource Identifier (GRUU), in a format described in J. Rosenberg, Internet-Draft, entitled “Obtaining and Using Globally Routable User Agent (UA) URIs GRUU) in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP),” draft-ietf-sip-gruu-15, dated Oct. 11, 2007. In other embodiments, other types of globally unique identifiers can be used for identifying subscriber devices within an enterprise network that desire to access an external packet-switched services network, such as the IMS network  102 . 
     The GRUU is a combination of a SIP address of record (AOR) of the aggregation device  104  and identification information created by the aggregation device  104  on behalf of the subscriber device. In one embodiment, the identification information of the subscriber device created by the aggregation device  104  is a SIP.INSTANCE parameter, as described in C. Jennings et al., Internet-Draft, “Managing Client Initiated Connections in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP),” draft-ietf-sip-outbound-16, dated Oct. 29, 2008. 
     An example SIP.INSTANCE parameter that can be generated by the aggregation device  104  on behalf of a mobile device is depicted in  FIG. 2 . The SIP.INSTANCE parameter is a concatenation of a MAC (media access control) address ( 202 ) of the aggregation device  104 , a mobile identity number (MIN) ( 204 ) of the attached mobile subscriber device, and an electronic serial number ( 206 ) of the attached mobile subscriber device. The concatenation of the MAC address  202  of the aggregation device, the MIN  204  of the mobile subscriber device, and the ESN  206  of the mobile subscriber device make up the identification information that is provided in the form of the SIP.INSTANCE parameter in  FIG. 2 , in one example embodiment. 
     The identification information in the SIP.INSTANCE parameter is then combined with the address of record of the aggregation device  104  to form the GRUU. The address of record for the aggregation device  104  is provided when the aggregation device  104  registers its preconfigured SIP address of record into the IMS network  102  when the aggregation device initially powers up. During registration of the aggregation device  104 , the aggregation device  104  provides its contact information that contains the IP address of the aggregation device and the port of the aggregation device to use for signaling. This information allows the IMS network  102  to communicate with the aggregation device  104 . 
     For each mobile subscriber device that the aggregation device  104  hosts, the aggregation device  104  will additionally register an additional contact into the IMS network  102 . The additional contact contains the identification information in the form of a SIP.INSTANCE parameter explained above. Note that the identification information uniquely identifies the mobile device. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a registration procedure performed according to an embodiment in which a GRUU is dynamically created for an enterprise network subscriber device (e.g., subscriber device  106 ,  108 , or  110  in  FIG. 1 ), in accordance with an embodiment. When the subscriber device first powers up or enters the enterprise network  100 , the subscriber device sends a registration request (at  302 ) to the aggregation device  104 , which in  FIG. 3  is depicted as a femtocell base station  104 . In response to the registration request from the subscriber device, the femtocell base station  104  sends an SIP Register message (at  304 ) to the IMS network  102 . More specifically, the SIP Register message sent at  304  is directed to the P-CSCF  114  in the IMS network  102 . 
     In accordance with some embodiments, the Register message sent at  304  contains an indication that GRUU is supported, by setting the Supported field of the Register message to a value indicating support of GRUU. Moreover, the Register message contains a Contact field that has the following value: &lt;sip:callee@192.0.2.2&gt;; +SIP.INSTANCE, where SIP.INSTANCE is the parameter depicted in  FIG. 2 , in accordance with one example. The value &lt;sip:callee@192.0.2.2&gt; is the contact information of the femtocell base station  104 . In addition, the Register message sent at  304  also contains unique identification information of the subscriber device that is registering with the femtocell base station  104 , in the form of the SIP.INSTANCE parameter. 
     The P-CSCF  114  forwards (at  306 ) the Register message to the I-CSCF  116 . Upon receipt of the Register message (sent at  306 ), the I-CSCF  116  performs an exchange with the HSS  120  to identify the S-CSCF that is to be used for performing registration. This is accomplished by the I-CSCF  116  sending a UAR (User Authorization Request) message (at  308 ) to the HSS  120 , which responds with a UAA (User Authorization Answer) message (at  310 ), where the UAA message identifies the S-CSCF  118 . The UAR/UAA messages are described in 3GPP 29.228. In response, the I-CSCF  116  forwards (at  312 ) the Register message to the S-CSCF identified in the UAA message. 
     Next, the S-CSCF sends (at  314 ) an MAR (Multimedia Authentication Request) message to the HSS  120  to ask for authorization data and to check for access permission of the femtocell base station (aggregation device) that initiated the registration flow. The HSS  120  responds (at  316 ) to the MAR message with an MAA (Multimedia Authentication Answer) message that includes an authentication vector used by the S-CSCF  118  to form an authentication challenge. The MAR/MAA messages are described in 3GPP 29.228. 
     Upon receipt of the MAA message, the S-CSCF  118  sends (at  318 ) a SIP 401 Unauthorized message to the P-CSCF  114 . The 401 Unauthorized message is a SIP message that indicates that user authentication is required and contains the authentication challenge generated by the S-CSCF. The P-CSCF  114  forwards (at  320 ) the 401 Unauthorized message to the femtocell base station  104 . 
     In response to the 401 Unauthorized message including the authentication challenge, the femtocell base station  104  again sends (at  322 ) a Register message to the P-CSCF  114 . The Register message sent at  322  contains the femtocell base station&#39;s response to the challenge. 
     The P-CSCF  114  forwards (at  324 ) the Register message to the I-CSCF  116 . The I-CSCF  116  again accesses the HSS  120  using the UAR message ( 326 ) to identify the S-CSCF  118  that the I-CSCF  116  should contact. The identification of the S-CSCF is provided back in the UAA message (at  328 ). In response, the I-CSCF  116  sends (at  330 ) a Register message to the S-CSCF  118 . Upon receipt of the Register message at  330 , the S-CSCF  118  sends a Server Assignment Request (SAR) message (at  332 ) to the HSS  120 . The HSS  120  responds with an SAA message (at  334 ). The SAR/SAA messages are described in 3GPP 29.228. 
     At this point, the S-CSCF  118  is able to create the GRUU on behalf of the mobile subscriber device that is registering through the femtocell base station  104 . The GRUU created is a public GRUU, where the public GRUU is a combination of the address of record of the femtocell base station (e.g., sip:callee@example.com) and the identification information contained in the SIP.INSTANCE parameter depicted in  FIG. 2 , in one example. The public GRUU generated by the S-CSCF  118  is sent (at  336 ) by the S-CSCF  118  to the P-CSCF  114  in a 200 OK message, which is forwarded (at  338 ) to the femtocell base station  104 . 
     The femtocell base station  104  can use the GRUU to direct an incoming call to an enterprise network subscriber device. During call termination that specifies an enterprise network subscriber device as a destination, a calling gateway can insert the public GRUU into the Request-URI of the Invite message prior to sending the Invite message to the S-CSCF  118 . The S-CSCF  118  will then insert the SIP.INSTANCE parameter into the Request URI prior to sending the Invite message to the P-CSCF  114  and subsequently to the femtocell base station  104 . The femtocell base station  104  then uses the SIP.INSTANCE parameter in the Invite message to identify the correct subscriber device to alert. 
     The dynamically created GRUU is also sent to the VCC AS  122  in the IMS network  102  so that the VCC AS can identify the newly registered enterprise network subscriber device. Later, the VCC AS  122  can be contacted by a node attempting to establish a session with the subscriber device. As further depicted in  FIG. 3 , the S-CSCF  118  sends (at  340 ) a third party Register message to the VCC AS  122 . The VCC AS  122  acknowledges with a 200 OK message (at  342 ). Also, the VCC AS  122  sends an SIP Subscribe message (at  346 ) to the S-CSCF  118 , where the Subscribe message contains a registration event package to indicate that the VCC AS  122  is interested in obtaining the GRUU of the subscriber device that is the subject of the third party registration. The S-CSCF  118  responds to the Subscribe message with a 200 OK message (at  346 ). 
     Next, in response to the Subscribe message, the S-CSCF  118  sends (at  348 ) a Notify message to the VCC AS, where the Notify message contains a registration event package that contains the newly created GRUU of the enterprise network subscriber device (in addition to the previously created GRUUs for other active subscriber devices). The newly created GRUU is added to a database maintained by the VCC AS  122 . Finally, the VCC AS  122  acknowledges the Notify message with a 200 OK message (sent at  350 ). 
       FIG. 4  shows an incoming session request directed to the subscriber device in the enterprise network that is behind the femtocell base station  104 . It is assumed that the incoming session request comes from a node in the circuit-switched network  112  ( FIG. 1 ). In response to the call originated in the circuit-switched network  112 , the HLR  128  in the circuit-switched network  112  is contacted to identify the destination information for the subscriber device in the enterprise network. 
     In response, the HLR  128  sends a ROUTEREQ message (at  402 ) to the VCC AS  122  that is in the IMS network  102 . The ROUTEREQ message contains the mobile directory number (MDN), which identifies the destination subscriber device. In response, the VCC AS  122  sends (at  404 ) a routereq message that contains a corresponding IMRN (IMS Routing Number) back to the HLR  128 . Note that the VCC AS  122  also caches the MDN that is provided over the ROUTEREQ message. 
     Once the IMRN is provided back to the HLR  128 , the HLR  128  enables the circuit-switched network  112  to send a call origination message (not shown) to the MGCF  124  in the IMS network  102 . In response to the call request received by the MGCF  124 , the MGCF  124  sends (at  406 ) a SIP Invite message, which contains a request-URI that contains the IMRN. 
     The I-CSCF  116  then consults the HSS to identify the application server hosting the IMRN. To do this, the I-CSCF  116  sends (at  408 ) a LIR (Location Information Request) message to the HSS  120 . The HSS  120  sends a response LIA (Location Information Answer) message (at  410 ) containing the address of the VCC AS  122  back to the I-CSCF  116 . The I-CSCF  116  then forwards (at  412 ) the Invite message to the VCC AS  122 . 
     The VCC AS  122  recognizes the incoming request and maps the MDN in the incoming Invite request to the identity of the femtocell base station  104  and to the GRUU corresponding to the destination subscriber device. The VCC AS  122  then modifies the Invite message to change the request-URI to refer to the address of record of the femtocell base station  104  as well as the identification information contained in a “gr” parameter in the Invite message. 
     The Invite message is then sent (at  414 ) to the I-CSCF  116 . The I-CSCF  116  then forms an LIR/LIA exchange ( 416 ,  418 ) with the HSS  120  to identify the S-CSCF serving the femto public identity (femto_impu). In response, the I-CSCF  116  forwards (at  420 ) the modified Invite message to the S-CSCF, which in turn forwards (at  422 ) the modified Invite message to the VCC AS  122 . The VCC AS  122  then sends (at  424 ) this Invite message back to the S-CSCF. The exchange at  422 ,  424  is part of the normal terminating procedure for a subscriber device that includes evaluation of terminating initial filter criteria. Within the subscriber&#39;s profile, the VCC AS  122  will be identified as requiring all Invite messages since it will need to anchor the signaling for potential future handoff requests. The S-CSCF routes the Invite message (at  422 ) to the VCC AS  122  due to the initial filter criteria, and the VCC AS  122  acts as a back-to-back user agent in routing the request back to the S-CSCF  118 . 
     Next, the S-CSCF  118  modifies the request-URI in the Invite message to refer to the contact address of the femtocell base station, and sends this modified Invite message (at  426 ) to the P-CSCF  114 , which in turn forwards the Invite message (at  428 ) to the femtocell base station. The Invite message sent at  426  and  428  includes the SIP.INSTANCE parameter. The femtocell base station uses the GRUU information contained in the Invite message to direct the incoming session request to the appropriate subscriber device. 
     The tasks above as performed by various nodes in the communications network, including the aggregation device  104 , nodes in the IMS network  102 , and nodes in the circuit-switched network  112 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts a generic node  500  that is representative of any of the nodes discussed above. The node  500  includes software  502  that is executable on one or more central processing units (CPUs)  504 , which is (are) connected to storage  506 . The node  500  also includes one or more interfaces to allow the node  500  to communicate with other nodes, as explained above. 
     Instructions of the software  502  is loaded for execution on a processor, such as the CPU(s)  504 . The processor includes microprocessors, microcontrollers, processor modules or subsystems (including one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers), or other control or computing devices. A “processor” can refer to a single component or to plural components. 
     Data and instructions (of the software) are stored in respective storage devices, which are implemented as one or more computer-readable or computer-usable storage media. The storage media include different forms of memory including semiconductor memory devices such as dynamic or static random access memories (DRAMs or SRAMs), erasable and programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable and programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs) and flash memories; magnetic disks such as fixed, floppy and removable disks; other magnetic media including tape; and optical media such as compact disks (CDs) or digital video disks (DVDs). 
     In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20120531
Publication Date: 20140819
Grant Date: 20140819
Priority Date: 20081231
Inventors: JONES ANTHONY ROBERT
QUAH ELAINE E E LAY
NIELSEN DOUGLAS JON
EMINOVIC LEJLA
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W8/04", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/04", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/045", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/045", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/3015", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L2101/39", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L2101/33", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L2101/33", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L65/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L2101/39", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L2101/33", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/3015", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L2101/39", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/3015", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/04", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/04", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L29/12669", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L29/12764", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/3015", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/304", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W84/045", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L61/309", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L29/12622", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 42285584