KR20050080972A - Apparatus and method for sharing service - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and method for sharing a subscriber service profile in a next generation network, the apparatus comprising: a subscriber service database storing a subscriber service profile; and an internal database storing some or all of the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database. (c) a soft switch for determining a service to be provided by the call upon receiving the call, and transmitting the call to an application server providing the service; and a part of a subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database. Or an application database for storing all of the information, and the application server for providing a specific service for the call by referring to the internal database when receiving a call from the soft switch. The present invention has the advantage that the soft switch and the application server can efficiently share the subscriber service profile, and can use a variety of information as well as the number prefix in the triggering operation of the soft switch.

Description

Apparatus and method for sharing subscriber service profile in next generation network {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHARING SERVICE}

The present invention relates to the Next Generation Network (NGN), and in particular, in a next generation network, a softswitch and an application server (AS) can effectively share a service profile using a single database. An apparatus and method are provided.

Recently, telecom operators are faced with the rapidly changing communication environment, faced with the integration of existing telephone network and new data, complex network operation, increasing customer demand for new applications. As a result, the next generation network (NGN) has emerged as a solution to the above problems. The next generation network currently under discussion consists of soft switches, application servers, line access gateways (G / W), and trunk access gateways. Among these components, the softswitch is responsible for routing functions, and the application server is responsible for providing services for calls, transmitting call detail record (CDR) information, and load balancing among these servers. In this way, the softswitch chooses which application server to send the call to, and the application server takes care of all services.

In the prior art, the soft switch has only dial prefix information related to a service, and is configured in a form in which an application server has a service profile. That is, the softswitch performs only a function of transmitting an incoming call to the corresponding application server according to the prefix, and the application server performs all control on the call. However, there is no problem when the soft switch interworks with a few application servers, but when interworking with several application servers having the same function, problems occur in operation and the soft switch cannot authenticate the service subscriber. There is. In addition, when accommodating a session initiation protocol (SIP) subscriber, service division by a simple dial prefix may become meaningless.

On the other hand, some application server companies have proposed a model that does not require sharing of subscriber service files by allowing the application server to forward all calls arriving by the soft switch to the application server unconditionally and to handle incoming calls. This model of softswitch sending all incoming calls to the application server has the advantage of not needing to share the subscriber service profile, but all other incoming calls that are not serviced are also delivered to the application server. There is a problem of generating useless call paths to the server.

As described above, in the prior art, the soft switch simply provides a triggering operation using a number prefix, or only the application server has the subscriber service profile, so that the soft switch exists in the network in the form of a dummy switch. There is a problem.

In the future, when various services are created, in order to provide a service using an application server, the soft switch must accurately transmit an incoming call to the corresponding application server. In addition, the softswitch must be able to perform an authentication process as to whether the subscriber is eligible for the service.

As such, the soft switch must use the subscriber's service profile to provide the incoming call processing function, and the service profile of the subscriber must be used to provide the service for the incoming call received from the soft switch in the application server. That is, since both the soft switch and the application server need a service profile, there is a need to share a subscriber service profile between the two.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for effectively sharing subscriber service profiles using a single database in a next generation network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for effectively sharing a subscriber service profile using a single database by a soft switch and an application server in a next generation network.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for a soft switch to route an incoming call to a subscriber service profile in a next generation network.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for automatically updating a database in a soft switch and an operation server when a database managing a subscriber service profile is changed in a next generation network.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for requesting a subscriber service profile from a softswitch and operation server to a database managing a subscriber service profile in a next generation network.

A next generation network according to the present invention for achieving the above objects includes a subscriber service database storing a subscriber service profile, and an internal database storing some or all of the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database. (c) a soft switch for determining a service to be provided by the call upon receiving the call, and transmitting the call to an application server providing the service; and a part of a subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database. Or an internal database for storing the entirety, wherein the application server provides a specific service for the call by referring to the internal database when the call is received from the soft switch.

Preferably, when the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database is changed, internal databases of the soft switch and the application server are automatically updated.

Preferably, the soft switch and the application server, if the subscriber service profile for the call does not exist in the internal database, characterized in that to download and request the subscriber service profile to the subscriber service database.

Preferably, the soft switch and the application server is characterized in that the communication with the subscriber service database through the 'diameter' interface.

Preferably, the soft switch and the application server is characterized in that the communication in the SIP (session initiation protocol).

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, the present invention provides a soft switch and an application server effectively share a subscriber service profile using a single database in a next generation network (NGN), and allow the soft switch to use various information in a triggering operation. We will discuss how to allow the softswitch to be the leading call controller in the network.

The triggering operation refers to a process of determining which path to forward a call or what service is provided by using specific information of an incoming call.

1 schematically illustrates a next-generation network based on softswitch according to the present invention.

As shown, a softswitch 11 for routing and call control, and various gateways 12 for accommodating various subscriber stations to handle protocol processing and media conversion for connection with the softswitch 11. 16) an application server 17 for providing various services to these subscribers, a packet delivery network 18 for transferring information between these elements, and a subscriber service database 19 storing service profiles for the subscribers. . Here, the access gateways 12, 13 and 14 connect the next generation network subscriber station with the packet delivery network 18, and the trunking gateway 15 is connected with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to connect the general public telephone network subscriber station with the packet delivery network 18. The signaling gateway 16 is connected to the SS7 signaling network to process the SS7 standard protocol.

At present, the international standardization organizations have control protocols between the soft switch 11, the various gateways 12 to 16, and the application server 17. H.323, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Media gateway control protocol (MGCP), MEGACO / H248 is proposed. In particular, the soft switch 11 and the application server 17 communicate with each other via SIP. When a call request comes in to the soft switch 11, the SIP message is immediately requested to the application server 17, the application server 17 is to provide a service according to the situation. Meanwhile, the soft switch 11 and the application server 17 communicate with the service subscriber database 19 through a 'diameter' interface.

As such, the application server 17 is a service server and provides various services to the subscriber. For example, call forwarding to transfer a call to another number previously assigned by the subscriber, call transfer that occurs when A and B request a transfer to C during a call, or another call request during a call. You can provide a call waiting service (expanded call routing) or a service that redirects a call by time zone, QoS, or date.

In the following description, it is assumed that one soft switch may be linked with one or more application servers, and the arrangement of the application servers may be any form. For example, each application server may provide a separate service, and a plurality of application servers may be configured in the form of a server farm so that the soft switch recognizes the plurality of application servers as one application server. It is also possible. 2 shows a network configuration when one softswitch is interlocked with a plurality of application servers, and FIG. 3 shows a network configuration when one softswitch is interlocked with an application server in the form of a server farm.

According to the present invention, unlike the model in which the soft switch 11 and the application server 17 distribute and manage information necessary for providing a service, a separate subscriber service database 19 is configured to apply the soft switch 11 and the application. It is characterized in that the server 17 shares information necessary for providing a service (gaza and service profile). In this case, the soft switch 11 may transmit a call to the application server using various information as well as prefix information. In other words, the soft switch 11 determines which service the call is to be provided for the incoming call, and whether the call originated from a subscriber who is entitled to the service, and calls the application server 17 that provides the service. Send it. In this case, the soft switch 11 should be distinguishable from a service using a local SCF (Service Control Function).

In this case, the subscriber service database 19 is managed by an operator, and in order to provide a service, a subscriber service profile must be provided to the soft switch 11 and the application server 17. When the subscriber service profile is changed by the operator, the subscriber service database 19 transmits a message indicating that the subscriber service profile change has occurred to the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 to perform a service profile update. do.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process between the soft switch 11 or the operation server 17 and the subscriber service database 19 when updating the subscriber service profile stored in the soft switch 11 or the operation server 17 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Show messages exchanged in

As shown, first, when the subscriber service profile is changed by the operator, the subscriber service database 19 generates a profile change notification message and transmits it to the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 in step 401. . Upon receiving the profile change notification message, the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 generates a profile update request message and transmits the profile update request message to the subscriber service database 19 in step 403. Then, the subscriber service database 19 transmits the changed contents to the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 in step 405 to update the profile.

On the other hand, when the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 does not have a subscriber service profile or temporarily loses information, the soft switch 11 and the application server 17 are configured to process the incoming call. The service database 19 should be able to request and use subscriber service profiles.

5 is a diagram of the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 and the subscriber when the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 requests a subscriber service profile from the subscriber service database 19 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Show messages exchanged between service database 19.

As shown in the figure, if the user does not have a subscriber service profile or temporarily loses information, the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 generates a profile request message in step 501 to generate the subscriber service database 19. To send. The subscriber service database 19 receiving the profile request message transmits the corresponding subscriber service profile to the soft switch 11 or the application server 17 in step 503 to perform profile download.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the present invention is a structure in which the subscriber service profile managed in the subscriber service database 19 is automatically distributed to the soft switch and the application server, even if the operator manages only one subscriber service database. Maintain consistent service profiles between switches and application servers.

Based on the above description, the operation of the soft switch 11 and the application server 17 according to the present invention will be described.

6 illustrates a procedure for the soft switch 11 to deliver an incoming call to the application server 17 in a next generation network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, first, the soft switch 11 checks whether a call is received in step 601. If the call reception is not detected, the soft switch 11 proceeds to step 625 to perform the corresponding mode. If the call reception is detected, the soft switch 11 checks the subscriber number (calling party number and called party number) for the call in step 603. This can generally be seen as a number translation process performed at the exchange.

Thereafter, the soft switch 11 searches the internal database with the confirmed subscriber number in step 605. This internal database stores some or all of the subscriber service profiles stored in the subscriber service database 19 as described above.

In operation 607, the soft switch 11 checks whether a subscriber service profile corresponding to the confirmed subscriber number exists in the internal database. If there is a subscriber service profile corresponding to the confirmed subscriber number, the soft switch 11 proceeds to step 615. If the desired subscriber service profile does not exist, the soft switch 11 proceeds to step 609 to generate a profile request message requesting the corresponding subscriber service profile. In operation 611, the soft switch 11 transmits the profile request message to the subscriber service database 19.

After transmitting the profile request message, the soft switch 11 checks whether the corresponding subscriber service profile is received from the subscriber service database 19 in step 613. When the corresponding subscriber service profile is received, the soft switch 11 stores the received subscriber service profile in a corresponding area of the database in step 614.

The soft switch 11 checks the subscriber service profile stored in the internal database in step 615 and checks whether the corresponding subscriber requests a specific service in step 617. If not requesting a specific service, the soft switch 11 connects the call to the called subscriber according to the number translation result in step 623 to perform general call processing.

If a specific service is requested, the soft switch 11 identifies the application server providing the specific service in step 619. The soft switch 11 transmits the incoming call to the identified application server in step 621. For example, when a called subscriber requests a call forwarding service, the soft switch 11 forwards the incoming call to an application server providing the call forwarding service.

FIG. 7 illustrates a procedure for providing a service for a call received from the soft switch 11 by the application server 17 in a next-generation network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the application server 17 first checks whether a call is received from the soft switch 11 in step 701. If the call reception is not detected, the application server 17 proceeds to step 719 to perform the corresponding mode. If call reception is detected, the application server 17 checks the subscriber number (calling party number and called party number) for the call in step 703.

After confirming the subscriber number, the application server 17 searches the internal database with the confirmed subscriber number in step 705. This internal database stores some or all of the subscriber service profiles stored in the subscriber service database 19 as described above.

In operation 707, the application server 17 checks whether a subscriber service profile corresponding to the confirmed subscriber number exists in the internal database. If there is a subscriber service profile corresponding to the confirmed subscriber number, the application server 17 proceeds to step 715. If the desired subscriber service profile does not exist, the application server 17 proceeds to step 709 to generate a profile request message for requesting the subscriber service profile. The application server 17 transmits the profile request message to the subscriber service database 19 in step 711.

After transmitting the profile request message, the application server 17 checks whether the corresponding subscriber service profile is received from the subscriber service database 19 in step 713. When the corresponding subscriber service profile is received, the application server 17 stores the received subscriber service profile in a corresponding area of the internal database in step 714.

The application server 17 checks the subscriber service profile stored in the internal database in step 715 and provides a specific service for the call in step 717. For example, when the called subscriber requests the call forwarding service, the application server 17 performs overall call control so that the received call can be forwarded to the number previously designated by the subscriber.

In this way, the soft switch 11 uses the subscriber service profile provided from the subscriber service database 18 to determine what service the incoming call will receive. In this case, the information used may be not only the existing number prefix but also the type, priority, and rate policy of the service to which the subscriber is subscribed.

This various information triggering operation is useful when providing complex services. If the subscriber is an IP Centrex subscriber and requests a call forwarding service, a problem may occur when the soft switch 11 simply processes the incoming call using only the number prefix information. In other words, the criteria for determining whether the call forwarding service is a function provided by the soft switch 11 itself or a service provided by IP Centlex (a kind of private network) becomes ambiguous. However, the present invention can clearly determine and process that the call forwarding service is provided by IP CENTLEX by processing an incoming call using various information provided from the subscriber service database 19.

Referring to FIG. 8, the soft switch 11 receiving a call checks the subscriber service profile for the called number for the triggering operation. The subscriber service profile is information provided from the subscriber service database 19. As a result of checking the subscriber service profile for the called number, if the called subscriber is an IP Centx subscriber and requests call forwarding, the call forwarding service should be provided with the service of IP Centlex according to the service priority. The soft switch 11 forwards the call to an operation server 17 providing the service of IP Centx. Thereafter, the application server 17 provides a corresponding service (call forwarding service) for the call received from the soft switch 11.

As described above, the soft switch needs to know the service to be provided for the incoming call and transmit the call to the application server providing the service. At this time, if one application server provides all the same service for all subscribers, it does not matter, but if two or more application servers provide the service by dividing the subscribers, the soft switch must have the subscriber information assigned for each application server. Also, in this model, the application server is always configured to belong to a specific softswitch. In this case, the utilization rate of the application server is low because the application server must exist in the network to accommodate all subscribers to receive the service even though the frequency of use of the service is not high.

However, as in the present invention, when the application server downloads and uses the required subscriber service profile using the independent subscriber service database 19, the utilization rate of the application server is increased. It is also possible for an application server to be independent of a softswitch without being dependent on that particular softswitch.

In addition, since the present invention can perform a triggering operation using a variety of information it can provide sufficient structural flexibility (flexibility) to provide a variety of services for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) subscribers in the future.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by those equivalent to the scope of the claims.

As described above, the present invention allows a soft switch and an application server to efficiently share a subscriber service profile using a separate database. Compared to the structure of application server with subscriber service profile, it does not generate useless call path from softswitch to application server. In addition, in performing the triggering operation on the incoming call, various information as well as the number prefix can be used, which is useful when providing a complex service. In addition, a separate subscriber service database may be usefully used to support various services for SIP subscribers in the future.

1 is a view schematically showing a next-generation network based on a soft switch according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration when one soft switch is linked with a plurality of application servers.

3 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration when one soft switch is interlocked with an application server in the form of a server farm.

4 illustrates messages exchanged between a softswitch or operations server and a subscriber services database when updating a subscriber service profile stored in a softswitch or operations server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 illustrates messages exchanged between the softswitch or application server and the subscriber service database when the softswitch or application server requests a subscriber service profile from the subscriber service database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for a soft switch to transfer an incoming call to an application server in a next generation network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for providing a service for a call received from a soft switch by an application server in a next-generation network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram for explaining a triggering operation according to service priority.

Claims (11)

In the subscriber service file sharing device in the next generation network, A subscriber services database that stores subscriber service profiles; An internal database for storing a part or all of a subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database; when a call is received, the internal database is determined with reference to the internal database to determine a service to be provided by the call; Soft switch and transmit to the application server to provide, An internal database for storing a part or all of a subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database, wherein the application server provides a specific service for the call by referring to the internal database when a call is received from the softswitch. Apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, And when the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database is changed, internal databases of the softswitch and application server are automatically updated. The method of claim 1, The soft switch and the application server, if the subscriber service profile for the call does not exist in the internal database, characterized in that the request to download the subscriber service profile to the subscriber service database to download. The method of claim 1, Wherein the softswitch and application server communicate with the subscriber service database via a 'diameter' interface. The method of claim 1, And the softswitch and the application server communicate in a session initiation protocol (SIP). In a next generation network in which a subscriber service database for storing a subscriber service profile is separately provided, in which a soft switch and an application server store some or all of the subscriber service profiles stored in the subscriber service database in an internal database, the soft switch is introduced. In the method for processing an incoming call, When receiving a call, checking a subscriber number associated with the call; Searching for an internal database using the subscriber number and checking whether a subscriber service profile exists; If the subscriber service profile exists, checking the subscriber service profile and checking whether the subscriber requests a specific service; When requesting the specific service, checking an application server providing the specific service; And forwarding the call to the identified application server. The method of claim 6, When the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database is changed, internal databases of the softswitch and application server are automatically updated. The method of claim 6, If the corresponding subscriber service profile does not exist in the internal database, transmitting a profile request message to the subscriber service database; Receiving the subscriber service profile from the subscriber service database and storing the subscriber service profile in an internal database; Inspecting the stored subscriber service profile, and checking whether the subscriber requests a specific service; When requesting the specific service, checking an application server providing the specific service; And forwarding the call to the identified application server. In a next generation network in which a subscriber service database storing a subscriber service profile is separately provided, the soft switch and the application server store some or all of the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database in an internal database. A method for processing a call received from a softswitch, When receiving a call from the softswitch, checking a subscriber number associated with the call; Searching for an internal database using the subscriber number and checking whether a subscriber service profile exists; If the subscriber service profile exists, providing a specific service for the call based on the subscriber service profile. The method of claim 9, When the subscriber service profile stored in the subscriber service database is changed, internal databases of the softswitch and application server are automatically updated. The method of claim 9, If the corresponding subscriber service profile does not exist in the internal database, transmitting a profile request message to the subscriber service database; Receiving the subscriber service profile from the subscriber service database and storing the subscriber service profile in an internal database; Providing a specific service for the call based on the stored subscriber service profile.