WO2008102328A1

WO2008102328A1 - A messaging system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2008102328A1
Application number: PCT/IE2008/000013
Authority: WO
Inventors: Taco Nieuwenhuis; James Greenwood; Hugh Carr
Original assignee: Markport Limited
Priority date: 2007-02-20
Filing date: 2008-02-15
Publication date: 2008-08-28
Also published as: CA2678720A1; ZA200905793B; AU2008218571B2; AU2008218571A1

Abstract

A messaging system comprises SMS router (A) and SMSC (B) nodes for routing of messages. The nodes have overlapping responsibilities for message transfer, and hand over coordination information elements to each other and automatically process the elements to perform message operations in a co-ordinated manner. The information elements may include a correlation identifier which uniquely identifies a message which is intended to be passed on to another node. Other examples are a time of a last delivery attempt, a number of charging units, validation status, delivery error data, prepaid transaction identifiers, or keys that correlate charging records of multiple nodes.

Description

"A Messaging System and Method"

INTRODUCTION

Field of the Discussion

The invention relates to messaging systems.

Prior Art Discussion

Some messaging systems have complex architectures by having nodes with overlapping responsibilities and message routes that may or may not involve each of the nodes (depending on dynamic logic on a message-by-message basis).

Messaging networks in which Short Messages (SMs) are transmitted can have two or more nodes which might handle a message and have overlapping functionalities in routing the message to its destination. Examples of such nodes are SMS routers and Short Message Service Centres (SMSCs). These networks are frequently configured with dynamic routing flexibility so that the route and nodes which handle the message are often determined dynamically as the message is handled.

Because any one node does not "know" exactly what other nodes have done there is often duplication in operations, or inefficient service behaviour such as immediate delivery attempts by successive nodes in quick succession, i.e. without scheduled retry mechanisms coming into play first. This adds considerably to the network resources required for routing of messages. Also, it adds considerably to the complexity of offline processing required by network activity monitoring nodes, or nodes involved in service aspects such as billing.

In this specification the term "node" means any network element or assembly of elements for performing a defined set of tasks, possibly consisting of a number of hardware systems. Examples are SMS routers, SMSCs, and MMSCs. Also, the term "platform" is intended to mean any grouping of hardware systems and software which is not in the route of a message i.e. does not itself perform message delivery, but receives notifications concerning message handling.

The present invention aims to resolve these issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a messaging system comprising a plurality of nodes for routing of messages, at least some of said nodes having overlapping responsibilities for message transfer in some messaging scenarios, and in which: at least one of said nodes is adapted to hand over coordination information elements indicating message state to another of said nodes by embedding the elements in a message which it hands over to the other node, and at least one of the nodes is adapted to receive said coordination information elements and to dynamically process the elements to perform a message operation in a coordinated manner.

In another aspect, the invention provides a messaging method performed by a plurality of messaging nodes at least some of which have overlapping responsibilities for message transfer in some messaging scenarios, the method comprising the steps of: a first node handing over coordination information elements indicating message state to a second of said nodes by embedding the elements in a message as it is handed over, and the second node receiving said coordination information elements and automatically processing the elements to perform a message operation in a coordinated manner.

In one embodiment, said nodes are adapted to both hand over coordination information elements and to process received coordination information elements, for bi-directional coordination. In one embodiment, the coordination information elements are categorized according to capabilities shared by the nodes.

In one embodiment, said coordination information elements include a correlation identifier which uniquely identifies a message which is intended to be passed on to another node.

In one embodiment, the system further comprises a platform for receiving notifications including correlation identifiers from the nodes, and for using the correlation identifiers to correlate notifications for a message received during the message lifetime.

In one embodiment, a node is adapted to embed the coordination information elements in a PDU transferred according to a protocol in a transfer layer.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements are embedded in an SMTP PDU transferred in an SMS transfer layer.

In one embodiment, the layer is an SMS transfer layer according to 3GPP 23.040.

In one embodiment, a node is adapted to transmit a notification to a monitoring platform indicating a message state.

In one embodiment, the notifications include coordination information elements including correlation information.

In one embodiment, the notifications include Call Detail Records.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include a time and status of a last delivery attempt and a node is adapted to use the time and status of the last delivery attempt to determine whether there should be a next delivery attempt and, if so, to determine an appropriate time for scheduling a next delivery attempt. In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include a number of charging units.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include validation status.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include a prepaid transaction identifier which was generated at the time of an original debit.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include one or more keys that correlate charging records of multiple nodes.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include information concerning manipulation of message parameters such as addresses and/or payload.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include information concerning spam or spoof checks.

In one embodiment, the coordination information elements include information concerning subscriber-specific services. .

In one embodiment, a node is a message router such as an SMS router.

In one embodiment, a node is an SMSC.

In one embodiment, a node is an application gateway.

In one embodiment, the nodes are adapted to include coordination information elements in a message to a recipient, and also to include coordination information elements in a subsequent delivery receipt message for the original message.

In one embodiment, said coordination information elements include a correlation identifier which uniquely identifies a message which is intended to be passed on to another node, and a node sends to a platform a notification including said correlation identifier, and the platform uses the correlation identifier to correlate notifications for a message received during the message lifetime.

In another aspect, the invention provides a computer readable medium comprising software code for performing operations of any above method when executing on a digital processor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: -

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a messaging architecture; and

Figs. 2 to 8 are messaging diagrams showing use case scenarios.

Description of the Embodiments

Overview

The invention provides a mechanism for optimising operation of multiple network nodes which work together to handle message transmission, particularly where the nodes have overlapping responsibilities and information on one node is of benefit for operations of the other.

Referring to Fig. 1 , consider a messaging environment consisting of two message delivery nodes A and B, with a submission network X (to carry in this instance messages from device C to node A) and a delivery network Y (to carry in this instance messages from nodes A or B to device D). There is a message originator device C and a message recipient device D. Node A is an SMS router which provides instant delivery services in transactional mode (without persistent storage), and has the following functionality: logic to determine whether delivery should be done from A itself or from another node, delivery capability, and handover capability. Node B is an SMSC which allows for a secure form of messaging including storage and scheduling and has the following functionality: persistent storage and scheduling capabilities, delivery capability, and retry capability. The combination of an SMS router A and an SMSC B are frequently found in mobile networks. Also, there is an external service-based platform E for monitoring and charging. It receives and processes asynchronous or synchronous notifications indicating messaging events.

Assume a user C sends via the network X a message to a user D. Node A receives the submitted message and determines whether or not immediate delivery applies to it on the basis of internal logic combined with message characteristics (such as addresses, location, or payload) and external parameters (such as time, day, type of subscription, presence, or connectivity status). Depending on the status of D and the outcome of the logic applied on node A, any of the following scenarios may happen: i) No immediate delivery is required. Node A hands the message over to node B where it is secured in persistent storage and scheduled for delivery. After one or more delivery attempts the message eventually is received by D. ii) Immediate delivery is required and node A successfully directly delivers the message to D. iii) Immediate delivery is required, delivery from node A does not succeed but no handover is required. iv) Immediate delivery is required, delivery from node A does not succeed and handover is required. Node A hands the message over to node B where it is secured in persistent storage and scheduled for delivery. After one or more delivery attempts the message eventually is transmitted to D via the network

Y. Scenarios i), ii) and iii) are architecturally unambiguous as the responsibility for message delivery always lies on a single node and is never shifted to another one.

This is not the case for Scenario iv). However the invention provides coordination between the nodes A and B for situations where there is shared responsibility, such as Scenario iv). The coordination is achieved by node A embedding information elements relating to the services applied to the message prior to handover in the PDU (which also contains the message) which is transferred to the other node. In one embodiment, in GSM we can take the example of an SMS router handing over to an SMSC and there is an inter-working MSC (IWMSC) co-located with the SMSC. In this example, the new information elements are embedded in an SM-TP PDU transferred via the 3GPP 23.040 SMS transfer layer. In the case of delivery receipt handover this may be achieved with a newly-defined PDU or by way of exchange of new information elements in an existing PDU. In another example, the information elements could be embedded in a PDU transferred via the SMPP or UCP protocols running over TCP/IP.

The information elements are embedded by program code in the nodes which handle the message at the SMS transfer layer and very little additional processing is required. A node receiving a PDU (which also contains the message) with embedded information elements is not required to perform significant additional processing to process the elements, and this level of additional processing is much less than the processing which is saved (of the order of 20% to 30%) because of the coordination. In this document the term "message" is intended to cover a PDU incorporating the message.

The information elements may include a correlation identifier which uniquely identifies a message which is intended to be passed on to another node. Advantageously, for example the correlation identifier enables information received from the nodes A and B by platform E during the message lifetime to be correlated. Thus, the invention avoids the prior art problems such as duplication of operations being performed. In this case (A being an SMS router and B being an SMSC), coordination is of particular benefit for the following areas:

• Delivery Scheduling: SMSCs typically immediately try to deliver incoming traffic to their destinations. In the case of SMS router handover this would not be efficient as delivery failed just prior to the handover. With the invention, the SMSC B is made aware of this because the router A embeds information elements in the message when handing the message over to the SMSC B. In one embodiment the information elements indicate that a delivery attempt was made. In another embodiment, the information elements include a detailed delivery outcome, i.e. the delivery error and time of last delivery attempt. In either embodiment, the SMSC B reacts to the information it receives and so can operate in an optimum manner. For example, a message received by the SMSC from the SMS router which has already undergone a delivery attempt by the router could be flagged for retry instead of undergoing an immediate delivery attempt by the SMSC.

• Prepaid Charging: Since the SMS router A does not know the outcome of its immediate delivery attempt beforehand, in order to ensure payment and prevent scenarios such as a fraud window, prepaid charging must be done by the SMS router A prior to initiating delivery. On handover, the SMSC B should suppress prepaid charging in order to prevent double charging. Moreover, if subsequent refunding is necessary, the SMSC B also should know the identification of the earlier prepaid transaction from the SMS router so that correlation between prepaid transactions is possible. Thus for example the invention in this scenario (for a successful delivery from the SMSC) prevents the prior art situation of a debit/credit on the router plus a debit on the SMSC, with in the invention only a debit on the router being sufficient.

• Postpaid Charging and Reporting: CDRs and reporting data referring to the same message originate both from the SMS router and from the SMSC. The invention allows consistent charging and statistics because keys that correlate these records unambiguously are contained in the information elements, exchanged between the network nodes and thus can be put into the CDRs and reporting data that are passed to other network elements. The keys may for example be correlation identifiers, or any other data that uniquely identifies a message transmission.

• Mobile Number Portability Check: As handover is initiated from the SMS router A, it has applied all necessary number portability checks and also all number portability number resolutions. Hence, as the SMSC B is made aware of this, it can bypass its own number portability checks and number portability resolutions in order to minimize HLR and SRF loads.

• Delivery Receipts: If the SMS router A successfully delivers a message, and generates a delivery receipt but does not succeed in delivering it, this delivery receipt is handed over to the SMSC B for securing delivery of it. This requires support for receipt handover on the SMS router to SMSC interface.

• Miscellaneous Services: In general, the invention enables messaging services to remain transparent and efficient, independent of the path messages take through the messaging architecture. Hence, service coordination achieves features such as: blacklisting, manipulations of message parameters (addresses, payload), spam and spoof checks, and subscriber specific services such as copying or forwarding of messages and out-of-office notifications.

Coordination between an instant delivery node such as the node A and a secure delivery node such as the node B is transparent. The invention provides that node B knows the functional history on node A of each handed-over message, i.e. the message context or "state".

While the above describes message handover flow from A to B, this does not preclude the application of the invention with flow in the reverse direction in support of particular services. Also, although the preferred embodiment shows interaction between two nodes, this does not preclude the invention being applied to message handover flow involving multiple manifold nodes. As an illustration, as will be seen from the use cases described in more detail below (e.g. Figs 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) it is demonstrated that the invention can also be applied to optimise the interworking involving application gateways as well as SMS routers and SMSCs.

In more detail the messaging system of Fig. 1 operates as follows in one scenario: 1. Device C submits a message via network X intended for delivery to device D 2. Network X routes the message to node A

3. Node A analyses the message and determines whether or not to try to handle it locally or to shift this responsibility to node B immediately.

4a) In the case where A decides to hand the message over to B, B will apply its services to the message and try to deliver the message to device D via network Y. o In the case where delivery via B is successful, the service is assumed to be delivered. o In the case where delivery is unsuccessful, B will reschedule a subsequent delivery attempt and continue to do so until the delivery succeeds or the message lifetime is expired.

4b) In the case where A decides to handle the message itself, A will apply its services and attempt to deliver it to device D via network Y. o In the case where delivery via A is successful, the service is assumed to be delivered. o In the case where delivery is unsuccessful, A determines based on internal messaging logic to do either of the following:

^■ Discard the message and report this back to device C via network X

^■ Hand the message and context over to node B. Further detail for this case, on the handling of the message by node B according to the invention, is provided in the use-cases (for example, refer to the description for use-case Basic Delivery Handoff (Fig.2)). 5. During each of the above alternatives, the external platform E will receive one or more triggers from A and/or B. The platform E will aggregate these triggers into a single-message view. Much less processing than for conventional networks is required by the platform E as there is coordinated operation of the nodes A and B.

Use-Case: Basic Delivery Handoff (Tig. 2)

A scenario which illustrates advantageous features of the invention is summarized by the message sequence diagram of Fig. 2. This describes a message delivery scenario with specific references to service nodes within the GSM infrastructure for illustrative purposes, but is not intended to imply limitations to such.

In this example a mobile user initiates sending of a message which is handled by the GSM network in the conventional way, and routed to the interworking-MSC within an

SMS router. The SMS router initiates an immediate delivery attempt to the destination mobile user, via the conventional mechanism of querying the HLR for subscriber location information, and then initiating delivery via the Visited-MSC indicated in the

HLR' s response. In this use-case the destination mobile-user is assumed to be unavailable for message delivery. Conventionally an SMS router's principal distinguishing characteristic from a standards-based SMSC is that it does not support message storage and long-term redelivery mechanisms, and hence at this point the message would be considered undeliverable to the destination. However, in the invention, at this point the message is handed off to an SMSC, together with information relating to the delivery process up to this point. This information can be categorized according to various capabilities which are shared between the SMS router and the SMSC. The following table gives examples of information elements.

The following key advantages of the invention are evident.

^■ The inclusion of delivery information such as the time of last delivery attempt and the error-status of this attempt enables the SMSC to determine an appropriate time for scheduling the next delivery attempt. This avoids the necessity for an immediate redelivery attempt which has a very high likelihood of failure for certain common conditions.

^■ The inclusion of the results of the HLR response in handoff information allows the SMSC to bypass the repeated HLR request, if a message redelivery is deemed to be immediately required.

In Fig 2 (also in Figs 3, 4, 5) although a HLR query for subscriber location information is illustrated being initiated from the SMSC, however it is meant to be understood that the SMSC determines based on the handover delivery information it receives how quickly a redelivery attempt should be made, and whether a delivery attempt using the handover subscriber location information (i.e. without the SMSC doing a HLR query for subscriber location information) is appropriate or not.

Prepaid-Charging Handoff (Fig. 3)

A further use-case shows an extension of the above scenario, in which prepaid charging is a shared capability between an SMS router and an SMSC. From the above example further key advantages of the invention can be seen. ^■ The inclusion of a transaction-id (refer to table above) allows the SMSC to apply a corresponding refund for the original debit made by the SMS router. A correlation identifier could also or alternatively be used

^■ There is no requirement for the SMS router to apply a refund for its failed delivery attempt (which has been charged) and for the SMSC to reapply a separate debit. This creates a charging experience which is consistent with that which is provided when only a single system is responsible for coordinating charging operations.

The nodes transmit notifications to a monitoring and services platform for network management, reporting, billing, and other services. The billing notifications are in one embodiment transferred in the Diameter protocol. The invention thus provides much more useful information to the monitoring platform, avoiding problems such as a wrong billing event and the consequent refund event.

Application to Mobile User (SMS-Router to SMSC Handoff) (Fig. 4)

This use-case demonstrates an application sending a message to a mobile-terminated subscriber, with an SMS router providing an initial delivery attempt to the subscriber. Handoff to the SMSC, after an initial delivery-failure, allows the storage and subsequent retry capability of the SMSC to be exploited, while consistent handling of functions such as charging is enabled by including relevant message-handling information in the message-handoff.

Application to Mobile-User (Gateway to SMSC Handoff) (Tig. 5)

This use-case again demonstrates an application sending to a mobile-terminated subscriber, with an SMS router providing an initial delivery attempt to the mobile subscriber. However this scenario shows that handoff to the SMSC may be mediated by the application gateway after an initial delivery-failure.

Mobile User to Application (SMS-Router -> SMSC Handoff) (Fig. 6) This demonstrates a mobile subscriber sending to an application, with an SMS router providing an initial delivery attempt to the application via the application gateway. Handoff to the SMSC after an initial delivery-failure allows the storage and subsequent retry capability of the SMSC to be exploited, while maintaining consistency of functions such as charging and enabling message correlation.

Mobile-User to Application (Application Gateway -> SMSC Handoff) (Fig. 7)

A further use-case demonstrates a mobile subscriber sending to an application, with an SMS router providing an initial delivery attempt to the application via the application gateway. However, in this case handoff to the SMSC, after an initial delivery-failure is initiated by the application gateway itself. This handoff again allows the storage and subsequent retry capability of the SMSC to be exploited, while maintaining consistency of functions such as charging, and enabling message correlation.

Delivery-Receipt Handoff (SMS-Router -> SMSC Handoff) for a receipt relating to an original Application->Mobile-User message (Fig. 8)

This demonstrates handling of a delivery receipt generated as a result of a successful application to mobile-terminated delivery. In this scenario, the SMS router effects the original message delivery, without involving an SMSC, and then attempts to deliver the delivery-receipt to the original message originator (application) in the same way.

However, in this case if the delivery of the receipt itself fails, the SMS router requires the use of conventional SMSC services to provide message storage and retry capability. The SMS router therefore hands off further responsibility for the delivery of the receipt to the SMSC, including all of the relevant information which the SMSC requires to effect onward delivery.

Delivery receipt handoff to an SMSC may also be used with advantage to achieve delivery of receipts relating to original Mobile-Originated to Mobile-Terminated messages. When an SMS router has directly delivered the original message, but encounters a failure when attempting to directly deliver the corresponding delivery- receipt to the message originator, the delivery-receipt can be handed off to the SMSC for subsequent redelivery attempts, since a key distinguishing characteristic of an SMS router, when contrasted with an SMSC, is that the former does not provide persistent message storage and long-term retry.

It will be appreciated from the above that the invention achieves excellent coordination between network nodes, significantly reducing the number of operations performed by the various message-handling nodes in a network. The saving may be of the order of 20% to 30% versus the resources required in a conventional prior art messaging network. It also helps to achieve improved service consistency. In addition it can help to achieve enhanced user experience.

Advantageously an external service platform may be in a position itself to take action, based on intelligent processing/correlation of information that it receives from messaging nodes such as an SMS router and an SMSC.

Although several examples of protocols to transfer the information elements of the invention have been mentioned in the embodiments, advantageously the invention is essentially protocol agnostic being realisable in any suitable protocol.

Also although the invention has been shown in a GSM embodiment, the invention is also applicable to other network technologies such as CDMA or TDMA. For example, the node may embed information elements in a PDU transferred according to a protocol in a transfer layer of CDMA mobile network technology, or alternatively TDMA mobile network technology. Also, the information elements may be embedded in a PDU transferred via the SMPP protocol, or embedded in a PDU transferred via the UCP protocol.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described but may be varied in construction and detail.

Claims

1. A messaging system comprising a plurality of nodes for routing of messages, at least some of said nodes having overlapping responsibilities for message transfer in some messaging scenarios, and in which: at least one of said nodes is adapted to hand over coordination information elements indicating message state to another of said nodes by embedding the elements in a message which it hands over to the other node, and at least one of the nodes is adapted to receive said coordination information elements and to dynamically process the elements to perform a message operation in a coordinated manner.

2. A messaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said nodes are adapted to both hand over coordination information elements and to process received coordination information elements, for bi-directional coordination.

3. A messaging system as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein the coordination information elements are categorized according to capabilities shared by the nodes.

4. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said coordination information elements include a correlation identifier which uniquely identifies a message which is intended to be passed on to another node.

5. A messaging system as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a platform for receiving notifications including correlation identifiers from the nodes, and for using the correlation identifiers to correlate notifications for a message received during the message lifetime.

6. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a node is adapted to embed the coordination information elements in a PDU transferred according to a protocol in a transfer layer.

7. A messaging system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the coordination information elements are embedded in an SM-TP PDU transferred in an SMS transfer layer.

8. A messaging system as claimed in claims 6 or 7, wherein the layer is an SMS transfer layer according to 3GPP 23.040.

9. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a node is adapted to transmit a notification to a monitoring platform indicating a message state.

10. A messaging system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the notifications include coordination information elements including correlation information.

11. A messaging platform as claimed in claims 9 or 10, wherein the notifications include Call Detail Records.

12. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include a time and status of a last delivery attempt and a node is adapted to use the time and status of the last delivery attempt to determine whether there should be a next delivery attempt and, if so, to determine an appropriate time for scheduling a next delivery attempt.

13. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include a number of charging units.

14. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include validation status.

15. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include a prepaid transaction identifier which was generated at the time of an original debit.

16. A messaging system as claimed in any of claims 10 to 15, wherein the coordination information elements include one or more keys that correlate charging records of multiple nodes.

17. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include information concerning manipulation of message parameters such as addresses and/or payload.

18. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include information concerning spam or spoof checks.

19. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the coordination information elements include information concerning subscriber- specific services.

20. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a node is a message router such as an SMS router.

21. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a node is an SMSC.

22. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a node is an application gateway.

23. A messaging system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the nodes are adapted to include coordination information elements in a message to a recipient, and also to include coordination information elements in a subsequent delivery receipt message for the original message.

24. A messaging method performed by a plurality of messaging nodes at least some of which have overlapping responsibilities for message transfer in some messaging scenarios, the method comprising the steps of: a first node handing over coordination information elements indicating message state to a second of said nodes by embedding the elements in a message as it is handed over, and the second node receiving said coordination information elements and automatically processing the elements to perform a message operation in a coordinated manner.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24, wherein said coordination information elements include a correlation identifier which uniquely identifies a message which is intended to be passed on to another node, and a node sends to a platform a notification including said correlation identifier, and the platform uses the correlation identifier to correlate notifications for a message received during the message lifetime.

26. A computer readable medium comprising software code for performing operations of a method of claims 24 or 25 when executing on a digital processor.