KR100816438B1 - Method, apparatus and system for making message backup by using virtual signaling point - Google Patents

Abstract

A method, an apparatus and a system for message backup using a virtual signaling point are provided to prevent omission of processing of a message when a backup SMSC backs up a commercial SMSC, thereby processing all messages even when errors occur in the commercial SMSC or the backup SMSC. A commercial SMSC(Short Message Service Center)(172,174,182,184) shares a virtual signaling point to receive a short message through the virtual signaling point and processes the received short message. A backup SMSC(176,186) shares the virtual signaling point with the commercial SMSC, and confirms whether faults occur in the commercial SMSC if the short message is transmitted through the virtual signaling point. If not, the backup SMSC re-transmits the transmitted short message to the commercial SMSC. If so, the backup SMSC processes the short message by backing up the commercial SMSC. A signaling gateway(160) transmits plural short messages to the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC through the virtual signaling point.

Description

Method, Apparatus and System for Making Message Backup by Using Virtual Signaling Point}

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a message backup system using a virtual signal point according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is an exemplary view showing a connection state of a commercial SMSC and a backup SMSC according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a message backup method using a virtual signal point according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is an exemplary view showing a state in which virtual signaling points are allocated to a commercial SMSC and a backup SMSC according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

5 is an exemplary view for explaining a failure processing rule according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

110: mobile communication terminal 120: wireless base station

130: mobile switching center 140: home location register

150: signal repeater 160: signal gateway

170: first backup group 180: second backup group

172, 182: first commercial SMSC 174, 184: second commercial SMSC

176: first backup SMSC 186: second backup SMSC

190: EMS

The present invention relates to a message backup method, apparatus and system using a virtual signal point. More specifically, virtual signal points are assigned to one or a plurality of short message service centers (SMSCs) and backup SMSCs respectively, and a short message to be processed by a commercial SMSC is used. By distributing to the SMSC and backup SMSC, if there is no failure in the commercial SMSC, the short message received by the backup SMSC is re-delivered to the commercial SMSC, and in case of failure of the used SMSC, the backup SMSC processes the received message. In addition, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and system for processing all short messages by preventing unprocessed short messages from occurring even when a commercial SMSC fails.

As of 2006, the number of mobile communication terminals in Korea has exceeded 30 million units, and the use of mobile communication terminals is also based on voice calls, which is called short message service (SMS). Increasingly, the use of wireless data through a wireless Internet connection.

SMS is a type of mobile communication service that allows a mobile subscriber to send and receive a short sentence, that is, a short message using a mobile communication terminal. In general, an SMS is transmitted and received between many mobile subscribers in a mobile communication network. In order to process a short message, a plurality of servers, that is, an SMS server, are provided to process the short message.

On the other hand, SMS has evolved from simply transmitting a short message to send a short message at a scheduled time, or when the receiver's mobile terminal is turned off, the SMS is transmitted when the mobile terminal is turned on. As a result, SMS has been provided using a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), and as the number of subscribers increases, the number of short messages sent and received increases rapidly. As the number of SMSCs for short message processing increases, the number of SMSCs in the mobile communication network is provided.

As described above, since a large number of SMSCs are provided and operated in the mobile communication network, it is possible to properly handle a large number of short messages, but due to the characteristics of the short messages, it is likely to be congested at a specific time, and thus the capacity that each SMSC can process If the short message is congested, the specific SMSC may fail, as well as a hardware or software failure in normal operation.

Therefore, in recent years, in case of failure of a specific SMSC, a backup SMSC is provided to prepare for such a failure of the SMSC. In this case, the backup SMSC promptly handles a short message that must be handled by the specific SMSC. When the operating operator confirms the failure of a specific SMSC through a monitor, etc., the specific SMSC that has failed should be separated from the network and the backup SMSC should be replaced to replace the failed SMSC.

However, since such work is performed by the operator's manual work, it is not possible to quickly cope with the failure of the SMSC. That is, after a failure of a specific SMSC, a delay time occurs from the backup SMSC to process the short message of the failed SMSC, and the short message assigned to the failed SMSC during the delay is not processed and is lost. There is a problem that causes a decrease in service quality and increases the service dissatisfaction of the mobile subscribers.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a virtual signaling point to one or a plurality of commercial SMSCs and backup SMSCs, and distributes short messages to be processed by commercial SMSCs to commercial SMSCs and backup SMSCs, and delivers them to commercial SMSCs. If a failure does not occur, the backup SMSC forwards the short message delivered to the commercial SMSC. If a failure occurs in the used SMSC, the backup SMSC processes the received message, so that the short message is not processed even if the commercial SMSC fails. Its main purpose is to provide a method, apparatus and system for processing all short messages by preventing the occurrence of a.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a system for backing up a plurality of short messages transmitted from a mobile communication terminal, the commercial short message service for processing when a short message is transmitted through a virtual signal point by sharing a virtual signal point Center (SMSC: Short Message Service Center, hereinafter referred to as 'SMSC'); It shares the virtual signaling point with commercial SMSC, and if the short message is delivered through the virtual signaling point, it checks whether the commercial SMSC has a failure, and if the commercial SMSC has not failed, retransmits the short message to the commercial SMSC. A backup SMSC for processing a short message by backing up the commercial SMSC when the commercial SMSC fails; And a signaling gateway (SG) for transmitting a plurality of short messages to the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC through the virtual signaling point.

According to another object of the present invention, in a system including a commercial short message service center (SMSC), a backup SMSC and a signaling gateway (SG), mobile communication A method for backing up a plurality of short messages sent from a terminal, the method comprising: (a) a signal gateway delivering a plurality of short messages to a commercial SMSC and a backup SMSC using a virtual signaling point shared between the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC; (b) the backup SMSC checking whether the commercial SMSC has failed; (c) if the commercial SMSC does not fail, the backup SMSC re-delivers the short message delivered from the signaling gateway to the commercial SMSC; And (d) if the commercial SMSC has a failure, the backup SMSC processes the short message transmitted from the signaling gateway.

In addition, according to another object of the present invention, a signaling gateway (SG) for delivering a plurality of short messages transmitted from a mobile communication terminal and a commercial short message service center (SMSC) for processing when a short message is delivered. A device connected to a service center (hereinafter referred to as 'SMSC') for backing up a short message, sharing a virtual signal point with a commercial SMSC, and when a short message is transmitted from a signaling gateway through the virtual signal point, the failure of the commercial SMSC If there is no failure in the commercial SMSC, the short message delivered from the signaling gateway is re-delivered to the commercial SMSC.If the commercial SMSC fails, the commercial SMSC is backed up to process the short message delivered from the signaling gateway. A message backup device using a virtual signal point is provided.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First of all, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the mobile communication network is implemented as a code division multiple access (CDMA) system. However, this assumption is merely for convenience of description, and the present invention may be applied to other synchronous mobile communication systems or asynchronous mobile communication systems such as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) systems.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a message backup system using a virtual signal point according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Message backup system using a virtual signal point according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a mobile terminal 110, a wireless base station 120, a mobile switching center (MSC: 130), a home location register (HLR: Home) Location Register (140), Signaling Transfer Point (STP) 150, Signaling Gateway (SG) 160, First Backup Group 172 and Second Backup Group 180 and Component Management System ( EMS: Element Management System, hereinafter referred to as 'EMS', 190).

The mobile communication terminal 110 includes a wireless base station 120, a mobile communication switching station 130, a home location register 140, a signal repeater 150, a signal gateway 160, a first backup group 170, and a second backup. A mobile communication network including a group 180 and an EMS 190, that is, a mobile communication network (hereinafter referred to as a mobile communication network) provided by a voice call service, a data communication service, a short message service (SMS), and the like. A mobile communication terminal is provided with a communication service, performs a voice call with another mobile communication terminal or a wired telephone, performs data communication with a server on a network, and transmits and receives a short message with another mobile communication terminal or device.

The mobile communication terminal 110 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention creates a short message and transmits it to the mobile communication network 120. In FIG. 1, only one mobile communication terminal 110 is illustrated for convenience of description, but in reality, a plurality of mobile communication terminals 110 may transmit a short message to a mobile communication network. Therefore, the short message transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 110 to the mobile communication network will be a plurality of messages.

The wireless base station 120 is a base station and a base station controller of a mobile communication network, and transmits and receives a wireless signal with the mobile communication terminal 110, a location registration function, a function for allocating a wireless channel, various functions necessary for wireless call processing such as handoff, etc. Do this.

The mobile communication switching center 130 is a mobile communication switching center of a mobile communication network, and processes basic and additional services for providing voice communication services, incoming and outgoing call processing of subscribers, location registration and handoff procedures, and interworking functions with other networks. And so on.

When the mobile communication exchange station 130 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention receives a mobile originating message (MO: short message) transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 110, it receives a MO short message. After confirming the information of the acquaintance, the mobile communication terminal or the destination server, and query the home location register 140 to determine the commercial SMSC to process the MO short message, and transmits to the signal relay 150.

The home location register 140 is a database that stores a service profile of mobile subscriber information, including a subscriber's telephone number, a mobile identification number (MIN) of the mobile communication terminal 110, and a terminal unique number. Stores subscriber information by storing (ESN: Electronic Serial Number) and service type information.

The signal repeater 150 is a signal point for transmitting a message in the form of a signal, and receives the MO short message from the mobile communication switching station 130 and transmits the message to the signal gateway 160.

Signal gateway 160 is a device that interworks the equipment of the SS7 (Signaling System 7) network and IP (Internet Protocol) network, and receives the signal from the SS7 network and delivers the IP to the equipment of the IP network, which is contained in the IP It translates the signal so that it can be received by SS7 and delivers it to the equipment of SS7 network, so that signal relay 150 belonging to SS7 network and commercial SMSC (172, 174, 182, 184) belonging to IP network, backup SMSC ( 176 and 186) and the MO short message transmitted and received between the EMS 190 and the like.

Signal gateway 160 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention forwards the MO short message to the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180, the first backup group 170 and the second backup group ( The MO short message is transmitted through the plurality of virtual signal points assigned to 180). In this case, the plurality of virtual signaling points of each group are shared by the first commercial SMSC 172, the second commercial SMSC 174, and the first backup SMSC 176, or the first commercial SMSC 182 and the second commercial SMSC. Since the 184 and the first backup SMSC 186 share with each other, three application server processes (ASPs) for each application server (AS) for each virtual signaling point are referred to. In the following, three ASPs are distributed in a round robin process scheduling method and distributed to three SMSCs sharing one virtual signaling point.

That is, the signal gateway 160 may send a short message to the first commercial SMSC 172, the second commercial SMSC 174, and the first backup SMSC 176 that share one virtual signal point in the first backup group 170. The first commercial SMSC 182, the second commercial SMSC 184, and the second backup SMSC 186 sharing and distributing the message in a cyclic order manner, and sharing a virtual signal point in the second backup group 180. It distributes and delivers MO short messages in a circular order. Of course, a plurality of virtual signaling points are assigned to the plurality of pairs of commercial SMSCs and the first backup SMSC 176 (or the second backup SMSC 186) in the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180. When the MO short message is transmitted through each virtual signaling point, it is distributed in a cyclic order manner to the first commercial SMSC, the second commercial SMSC, and the backup SMSC that share the virtual signaling point.

In addition, the signal gateway 160 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention manages the link status of the ASPs assigned to the commercial SMSCs and the backup SMSCs sharing the virtual signaling points, and notifies the EMS 190 when a failure occurs in the ASPs. .

The first backup group 170 includes a plurality of commercial SMSCs and backup SMSCs, and processes the short message transmitted from the signal gateway 160 to the destination (that is, the destination mobile terminal or the specific server).

The first backup group 170 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is composed of a plurality of commercial SMSCs 172 and 174 and a first backup SMSC 176. The plurality of commercial SMSCs 172 and 174 are typically made of a first backup group. One commercial SMSC (Primary Commercial SMSC) and a second commercial SMSC (Secondary Commercial SMSC) are divided into a plurality of pairs are managed, each of the plurality of commercial SMSC (172, 174) and the first backup SMSC (176) each one The virtual signaling point is shared to receive the MO short message from the signal repeater 150 through the virtual signal point.

On the other hand, the first backup group 170 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be composed of a pair of commercial SMSC 172, 174 and one first backup SMSC 176, in practice, as shown The first backup SMSC 176 backs up the plurality of pairs of commercial SMSCs 172 and 174. The first backup SMSC 176 backs up the plurality of pairs of commercial SMSCs 172 and 174.

Thus, the plurality of pairs of commercial SMSCs 172, 174 each share a single virtual signal point, but the first backup SMSC 176 assigns a plurality of virtual signal points to the plurality of pairs of commercial SMSCs 172, 174. To share) This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

Here, the conventional commercial SMSCs 172 and 174 are SMSCs that process short messages that are normally transmitted and received, and process mobile shortened (MT) short messages as well as MO short messages. The first commercial SMSC 172 and the second commercial SMSC 174, which are commercial SMSCs according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, share a virtual signal point for receiving and processing only the MO short message, and the signal gateway 160 or the first commercial SMSC 174. 1 Process by passing MO short message from backup SMSC 176 to the destination.

The first backup SMSC 176 is a server on a network that performs the same role as the commercial SMSCs 172 and 174. When the commercial SMSCs 172 and 174 fail, the first backup SMSC 176 backs up the commercial SMSCs 172 and 174 to perform a commercial SMSC ( 172, 174 to process the short message to be sent to the destination.

The first backup SMSC 176 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of virtual signaling points, each of which has one or more pairs of the first commercial SMSC 172 and the second commercial SMSC 174 and each virtual. The first commercial SMSC 172 sharing the signal point and checking the prefix table provided when the MO short message is normally transmitted from the signal gateway 160 through the virtual signal point to share the corresponding virtual signal point. And second commercial SMSC 174 to re-deliver the MO short message.

Here, the station number table is a table that pre-defines the commercial SMSC to be processed according to the station number of the mobile communication telephone number. The first backup SMSC 176 checks the station number table and sends the MO short message to the mobile communication terminal 110. The MO short message is re-delivered to a commercial SMSC (that is, either one of the first commercial SMSC 172 and the second commercial SMSC 174) classified according to the station number among the phone numbers of.

In addition, the first backup SMSC 176 periodically checks the state table, and if a failure occurs in the commercial SMSC, the MO short message is re-delivered or backed up according to a failure handling rule and processed. To this end, the first backup SMSC 176 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention generates, stores and manages a state table. Here, the state table is a table indicating whether or not the commercial SMSCs 172 and 174 fail. Accordingly, the first backup SMSC 176 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention grasps the state of the line connected to each commercial SMSC 172 and 174 and updates the status table in the state table, and each commercial SMSC 172 from the EMS 190. In response to the result of detecting the signal point of 174, the failure of the application, and the like, the state table is updated under the control of the EMS 190.

In the present invention, the failure handling rule means a rule for processing operation in which the backup SMSC 176, 186 backs up the commercial SMSC 172, 174, 182, 184 when the commercial SMSC 172, 174, 182, 184 fails. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5.

The second backup group 180 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of commercial SMSCs and backup SMSCs, such as the first backup group 170, to receive the MO short message transmitted from the signal gateway 160. (I.e., receiving mobile communication terminal or specific server).

In addition, the second backup group 180 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is composed of a plurality of commercial SMSCs 182 and 184 and a second backup SMSC 186, which is different from the first backup group 170. The second backup SMSC 186 backs up the commercial SMSCs 182 and 184. Accordingly, the first commercial SMSC 182, the second commercial SMSC 184, and the second backup SMSC 186 are the first commercial SMSCs 172, the second commercial SMSCs 174, of the first backup group 170. It performs the same or similar function as the first backup SMSC 176.

The EMS 190 is a system for managing network devices. It manages the functions and performance of network devices and integrates and operates with a higher level network management system (NMS) for integrated management and management between network devices of other communication networks. do.

EMS 190 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention to the link state of the ASP assigned to all commercial SMSC and backup SMSC in the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180 from the signal gateway 160 Notified of the failure, update status status stored in the first backup SMSC 176 and the second backup SMSC 186, and all commercial in the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180. The SMSC, the signaling point of the backup SMSC, the failure of the application, and the like are sensed to update the state tables stored in the first backup SMSC 176 and the second backup SMSC 186.

2 is an exemplary view showing a connection state of a commercial SMSC and a backup SMSC according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The signal gateway 160 is connected to all commercial SMSCs and backup SMSCs in the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180. At this time, the first commercial SMSC 172 and 182 and the second commercial SMSC 174 and 184 are paired to share a virtual signal point with the first backup SMSC 176 or the second backup SMSC 186, respectively. In the group, there may be a plurality of pairs formed by the first commercial SMSCs 172 and 182 and the second commercial SMSCs 174 and 184. In this case, the first backup SMSC 176 or the second backup SMSC 186 may include a plurality of pairs. The virtual signal point is shared with each pair of commercial SMSCs.

When the signal gateway 160 receives the MO short message from the mobile switching center 130 through the signal repeater 150, the MO short message through each virtual signal point to the commercial SMSC of the destination designated by the mobile switching center 130. When transmitting the MO short message to each virtual signaling point, the first commercial SMSC (172, 182), the second commercial SMSC (182, 184) and the first backup SMSC (176) sharing each virtual signaling point or The second backup SMSC 186 delivers the MO short message in a cyclic order manner. That is, when the MO short message is transmitted to the corresponding virtual signaling point, the MO is transmitted to the first commercial SMSC 172 and 182, the second commercial SMSC 182 and 184, and the first backup SMSC 176 or the second backup SMSC 186. Deliver short messages evenly distributed.

In addition, the first backup SMSC 176 or the second backup SMSC 186 checks the status table to determine whether the commercial SMSCs 172, 174, 182, and 184 have failed, and then the commercial SMSCs 172, 174, 182, 184), if there is no failure, check the station number table and re-deliver the MO short message to the first commercial SMSC (172, 182) or the second commercial SMSC (174, 184) that share the corresponding virtual signal point. When a failure occurs in the SMSCs 172, 174, 182, and 184, the MO short message is processed according to a failure handling rule.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a message backup method using a virtual signal point according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In describing the message backup method using a virtual signal point according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention through FIG. 3, for convenience of description, the first backup group 170 may include one first commercial SMSC 172 and one first. It is assumed that only the second commercial SMSC 174 and the first backup SMSC 176 are configured.

When the plurality of mobile communication terminals 110 transmits the plurality of MO short messages, that is, the first MO short message to the nth MO short message to the mobile communication switching station 130 through the wireless base station 120 (S302), the mobile communication Switching station 130 determines the destination mobile communication terminal or destination server using the home location register 140, determines the commercial SMSC to deliver the MO short message and transmits it to the signal gateway 160 through the signal relay 150. In addition, the signal gateway 160 transmits the MO short message to a commercial SMSC that shares the virtual signal points in the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180. The MO short message is transmitted through one virtual signal point. When transmitting the message, the MO short message is delivered to the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC sharing the virtual signaling point in a cyclic order manner.

That is, the signal gateway 160 transmits the first MO short message to the first commercial SMSC 172 (S304), and the first commercial SMSC 172 that receives the first MO short message transmits the first MO short message. Processing is performed by transmitting to the destination (S306). In addition, when the second MO short message is delivered, the signal gateway 160 transmits the second MO short message to the second commercial SMSC 174 (S308), and the second commercial SMSC 174 that receives the second MO short message receives the second MO short message. Process by sending a message to the destination (S310). In addition, when the third MO short message is delivered, the signal gateway 160 transmits the first MOS message to the first backup SMSC 176 (S312).

 The first backup SMSC 176 that receives the third MO short message checks the station number of the mobile communication terminal 110 that has transmitted the third MO short message, checks the station number table, and then retransmits the third MO short message. Determine the SMSC (ie, one of the first commercial SMSC 172 and the second commercial SMSC 174 sharing the virtual signaling point). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the decision is made to re-deliver to the first commercial SMSC 172 (S314).

The first backup SMSC 176, determined to re-deliver to the first commercial SMSC 172, checks the status table to determine whether the commercial SMSC has failed (S316), and if there is no failure, the third MO. Resending the short message to the first commercial SMSC 172 (S318), and receiving the third MO short message, the first commercial SMSC 172 processes the third MO short message (S320), and sends it to the commercial SMSC. If a failure occurs, the third MO short message is processed according to a failure handling rule.

That is, the first backup SMSC 176 determines that one of a pair of commercial SMSCs (that is, the first commercial SMSC 172 and the second commercial SMSC 174) is detected when the commercial SMSC fails as a result of checking in step S316. It is checked whether or not a failure has occurred in only commercial SMSCs (S322), so that not only one commercial SMSC has failed, but a pair of commercial SMSCs (that is, a first commercial SMSC 172 and a second commercial SMSC 174). If all failures occur, the commercial SMSC is backed up to process the third MO short message (S324).

In addition, when the first backup SMSC 176 confirms in step S322 that the failure occurs in only one commercial SMSC, the first backup SMSC 176 uses another counterpart SMSC (that is, a commercial SMSC other than the failed commercial SMSC among the pair of commercial SMSCs). Checking the ratio and checking whether the usage ratio exceeds 50% (S326), if the usage ratio of the counterpart SMSC exceeds 50%, the commercial SMSC is backed up to process the third MO short message as in step S324. If the usage rate of the other party's SMSC does not exceed 50%, the third MO short message is re-delivered to the other party's commercial SMSC (S328). For example, if the failed commercial SMSC is the first backup SMSC 172 and the usage rate of the second commercial SMSC 174, the counterpart commercial SMSC 174, does not exceed 50%, the first backup SMSC 176 Re-deliver the third MO short message to the second commercial SMSC 174. The second commercial SMSC 174, which has received the third MO short message again, processes the third MO short message (S330).

As described above, the signal gateway 160 delivers the MO short message to be transmitted using a virtual signaling point, and delivers the MO short message to a commercial SMSC and a backup SMSC that share the virtual signaling point in a cyclic order manner. The backup SMSC normally forwards the received MO short message back to the appropriate commercial SMSC.In case of a failure of the commercial SMSC, the backup SMSC re-delivers the MO short message according to the error handling rule or backs up the commercial SMSC that has failed. To process

Through this, when a commercial SMSC fails and the backup SMSC backs up the failed commercial SMSC to process the short message, the short message is prevented from being lost without being processed while the backup SMSC backs up the commercial SMSC.

4 is an exemplary view showing a state in which virtual signaling points are allocated to a commercial SMSC and a backup SMSC according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4A is an exemplary table showing virtual signaling points assigned to commercial SMSCs 172, 174 and first backup SMSC 176 in first backup group 170. In the table shown, 'P' means the first commercial SMSC, 'S' means the second commercial SMSC.

Thus, in the example shown in 4A, five first commercial SMSCs 11_P, 14_P, 15_P, 18_P, 26_P and five second commercial SMSCs 11_S, 14_S, 15_S, 18_S, 26_S in the first backup group 170. ) Configure a total of 5 pairs of commercial SMSCs, and the first backup SMSC backs up 5 pairs of commercial SMSCs. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, as shown in the five pairs of commercial SMSCs, they are referred to as '11_P / S, 14_P / S, 15_P / S, 18_P / S and 26_P / S'.

As shown, each virtual signal point 'H'2701, H'2702, H'2703, H'2704, H' is applied to 11_P / S, 14_P / S, 15_P / S, 18_P / S and 26_P / S, respectively. 2705 'is allocated so that a pair of P and S share a single virtual signal point (e.g., 11_P / S shares a virtual signal point H'2701), and each pair of Ps in the first backup SMSC A virtual signal point shared by S is allocated and a total of five virtual signal points are allocated, so that the first backup SMSC shares five virtual signal points in total with five pairs of commercial SMSCs.

The signal gateway 160 distributes and transmits the MO short message to the first commercial SMSC (P), the second commercial SMSC (S), and the first backup SMSC in a cyclic order manner through the virtual signaling point.

4B is a table that exemplarily shows virtual signaling points assigned to commercial SMSCs 182 and 184 and first backup SMSC 186 in second backup group 180. In the table shown, 'P' means the first commercial SMSC, 'S' means the second commercial SMSC. Since the virtual signal point in the second backup group 180 is also allocated as described in FIG. 4A similarly to the virtual signal point in the first backup group 180, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

4C exemplarily shows that the signal gateway 160 sets the AS and the ASP for each virtual signal point to deliver the MO short message to all commercial SMSCs of the first backup group 170 and the second backup group 180. It is shown.

Signal gateway 160 assigns AS 1 to AS10 AS to a total of 10 pairs of commercial SMSCs in first backup group 170 and second backup group 180, and assigns each AS to deliver MO short message. The corresponding virtual signaling point is matched, and three ASPs are respectively assigned to the first commercial SMSC, the second commercial SMSC, and the backup SMSC that share the virtual signaling point, and the MO short message is transmitted through the ASP. For example, a virtual signal point of 'H'2701' corresponds to AS 1, and three ASPs are allocated to 11_P / S and the first backup SMSC that share the virtual signal point.

5 is an exemplary view for explaining a failure processing rule according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The table shown in FIG. 5 exemplarily shows the operation of the backup SMSC according to the failure of an application (APP): Sigtran, and 5A is only used for one commercial SMSC among a pair of commercial SMSCs. 5B shows an operation of the backup SMSC when a failure occurs in a pair of commercial SMSCs.

If only one commercial SMSC fails, such as 5A, only update the status table according to the application and Sigtran failure, re-deliver the MO short message to the other commercial SMSC, or process according to the usage rate of the other commercial SMSC. Decide whether or not to do so. Here, processing according to the usage rate of the other party's commercial SMSC, if the usage rate of the other party's commercial SMSC exceeds 50%, the corresponding SMS short message is processed by the backup SMSC, and the usage rate of the other party's commercial SMSC does not exceed 50%. If not, it means to re-deliver the MO short message to the other party's commercial SMSC.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5B, when a pair of commercial SMSCs fails, the state table is updated or the MO short message is processed by itself according to whether the application and Sigtran fail.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, a virtual signal point is assigned to and shared with the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC, so that the serial SMS is normally processed by the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC is processed when the failure occurs. This can be done automatically, and the backup SMSC can prevent the processing of messages from being missed during the backup of the commercial SMSC so that all messages can be processed even if the commercial SMSC or the backup SMSC fails.

In addition, whether a failure occurs in a pair of commercial SMSCs or only a single commercial SMSC is confirmed, and if a failure occurs in only one commercial SMSC, the rate of use of the counterpart commercial SMSCs is checked. As a result, appropriate backups can be made.

Claims (10)

In the system for backing up a plurality of short messages transmitted from a mobile communication terminal, A commercial short message service center (SMSC), which shares a virtual signal point and processes the short message when the short message is transmitted through the virtual signal point; The virtual signaling point is shared with the commercial SMSC, and when the short message is transmitted through the virtual signal point, the commercial SMSC is checked for a failure, and when the commercial SMSC does not occur, the short message is transmitted. A backup SMSC for re-delivering to a commercial SMSC and for processing the short message by backing up the commercial SMSC when a failure occurs in the commercial SMSC; And Signaling gateway (SG) for delivering the plurality of short messages to the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC through the virtual signaling point Message backup system using a virtual signal point comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal gateway, And a plurality of short messages are distributed to the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC in a round robin process scheduling method. The method of claim 1, wherein the backup SMSC, And a state table indicating whether or not the commercial SMSC has failed, and checking the state table to determine whether the commercial SMSC has failed. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the system is Message back up system using a virtual signal point further comprises a component management system (EMS: element management system, hereinafter referred to as "EMS") to check the failure of the commercial SMSC to update the state table . The method of claim 1, And when the commercial SMSC consists of a pair of commercial SMSCs to process the short message, the pair of commercial SMSCs and the backup SMSC share the virtual signal points. The method of claim 5, wherein The backup SMSC stores a station number table, and uses the station number table to determine a commercial SMSC to re-deliver the short message among the pair of commercial SMSCs. In a system including a commercial short message service center (SMSC), a backup SMSC and a signaling gateway (SG), a plurality of short messages transmitted from a mobile terminal are backed up In the way, (a) the signal gateway forwarding the plurality of short messages to the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC using a virtual signal point shared between the commercial SMSC and the backup SMSC; (b) the backup SMSC checking whether the commercial SMSC has failed; (c) if the commercial SMSC does not fail, the backup SMSC re-delivers the short message transmitted from the signaling gateway to the commercial SMSC; And (d) if the commercial SMSC fails, the backup SMSC processes the short message delivered from the signaling gateway; Message backup method using a virtual signal point comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein step (d) is (d1) when the commercial SMSC includes a pair of commercial SMSCs, checking whether the backup SMSC has failed in only one commercial SMSC of the pair of commercial SMSCs; (d2) the backup SMSC processing the short message when the failure occurs in both of the pair of commercial SMSCs; (d3) if the failure occurs only in one commercial SMSC, the backup SMSC detects a usage ratio of the other commercial SMSC among the pair of commercial SMSCs and processes the short message according to the usage ratio of the other commercial SMSCs; Message backup method using a virtual signal point comprising a. The method of claim 8, wherein (d3), (d31) if the failure occurs only in the one commercial SMSC, the backup SMSC grasps the use rate of the counterpart commercial SMSC and confirms whether the use rate of the counterpart commercial SMSC exceeds a predetermined range; (d32) processing the short message by the backup SMSC when the rate of use of the counterpart commercial SMSC exceeds the range; And (d33) if the usage rate of the other party's commercial SMSC does not exceed the range, the backup SMSC re-delivering the short message to the other party's commercial SMSC Message backup method using a virtual signal point comprising a. Signaling gateway (SG) for delivering a plurality of short messages transmitted from a mobile communication terminal and a commercial short message service center (SMSC) for processing when the short message is delivered. In the apparatus for backing up the short message, The virtual signaling point is shared with the commercial SMSC, and when the short message is transmitted from the signal gateway through the virtual signaling point, the commercial SMSC is checked for failure. Re-deliver the short message transmitted from the gateway to the commercial SMSC, and if a failure occurs in the commercial SMSC, back up the commercial SMSC and process the short message transmitted from the signaling gateway. Backup device.

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