Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Including private cordless extension system
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-07
2003-12-02
Vo, Nguyen T. (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Including private cordless extension system
C455S445000, C455S433000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06658259
ABSTRACT:
FIELD
The present invention relates generally to communication networks, and more particularly to a private or corporate wireless network having a virtual HLR (home location registry) and a method of operating the same.
BACKGROUND
Home location registries or HLRs are used in communication systems to record and store information relating to users or subscribers of the systems. Prior art public communication systems typically include a small number of HLRs, for example, in the United States there are just two to three public HLRs per state per operator. A prior art communication system
10
with a small number of HLRs
12
is shown in FIG.
1
. Referring to
FIG. 1
, each of the HLRs
12
are connected to a network of communication nodes or subsystems through a gateway mobile switching center (GMSC
16
). Each communication subsystems in the communication network typically includes: (i) a GMSC
16
or a mobile switching center (MSC
18
) to communicate with a public switched telephone network (PSTN
19
) and other MSCs or GMSCs in the communication system
10
, (ii) one or more base station controllers (BSCs
20
) to control and communicate with one or more base transceiver stations (BTS
22
), and (iii) a number of BTSs to communicate with mobile stations (MS
24
). The HLRs
12
are further connected to an SS7 signaling network
26
through a mobile access part (MAP) interface or link to enable communication to other GMCs or visitor location registries (VLRs). Although not shown, transfer of signaling information between the MSCs
18
and GMSCs
16
, as opposed bearer information, is also communicated through the SS7 signaling network
26
. Each HLR
12
is identified to the SS7 network by a unique node number of address, for example, an ITU E-series address such as an E.
164
(PSTN telephone numbers) or E.
212
. The HLRs
12
are further connected through a maintenance interface, such as an E
1
or T
1
trunk, to an operation support system (OSS
28
), which includes an operation management controller (OMC
30
). The OMC
30
serves to configure and manage each of the HLRs
12
. For example, the OMC
30
is used to add, delete or alter the profile of subscribers to the communication system
10
; to configure the system by specifying to which HLR
12
to direct requests for information on a particular subscriber, and alert operators to failure or degraded performance of an HLR.
The above prior art communication system
10
suffers from a number of problems or disadvantages, including: vulnerability where failure of a single HLR
12
or more can take down the system; delay and congestion of the maintenance interface due to the necessity of backhauling information or access requests to the HLR even when connecting a communication path between two MSs
24
using the same MSC
18
resulting in inefficient utilization of system resources-and the expense of purchasing and operating large servers or switches on which the HLRs reside.
Another approach, which alleviates some of the above problems and is commonly used by operators of private or corporate communication systems, is shown in FIG.
2
. Referring to
FIG. 2
, is this approach the communication system
10
has a large number of HLRs
12
, each at a different site
32
and each associated with one or a small number of GMSCs or MSCs. Each HLR
12
has its own OMC
30
, which are coupled to a telecommunications management network (TMN
34
) through which operators can operate the OMC to configure and manage the associated HLR. It will be appreciated that this approach increases reliability by eliminating the possibility of the failure of a single HLR taking. a large portion of the communication system. Efficiency of the system is also increased by reducing or eliminating the need to backhaul information or access requests to one or a few large HLRs distant from the point of origination for the call.
Although in many ways an improvement over communication systems having a single or few large HLRs, the above approach is still not entirely satisfactory. One problem with the above approach is increases the time and expense incurred in configuring and managing the multiple HLRs. For example, adding, deleting or altering the profile of a user can require the operator to access all or a substantially of the HLRs. Moreover, adding HLRs can require reconfiguration of the communication system and all HLRs therein by highly skilled programmers, a time consuming an expensive task. Finally, it may not be possible to add HLRs in some countries or regions, since the number of unique node numbers by which each HLR is identified is limited and usually tightly regulated by a governmental authority.
Accordingly, there is a need for a communication system and method of operating the same that provides increased robustness and reliability. There is a further need for an system and method that consolidates control and management of operation functions, subscription functions and alarm functions for the multiple HLRs. There is a still further need for a system and method that improves utilization of system resources through the reduction or elimination of backhauling of messages from an originating MSC to a remote HLR.
The system and method of the present invention provides these and other advantages over the prior art.
SUMMARY
It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system or network having a logical or virtual home location registry (HLR) and a method for operating the same.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a private or corporate network having a number of corporate wireless networks located at a number of sites, each of the corporate wireless networks having a physical HLR, an internet protocol (IP) network coupling each of the corporate wireless networks to one another, an operation management controller (OMC) coupled to a public mobile switching center (MSC), and an HLR management routing function or routing function coupled to the OMC and to the corporate wireless networks via the IP network. Generally, the routing function is configured to route access requests from the OMC to the physical HLRs, and the OMC is configured to manage the physical HLRs to provide a single virtual HLR for the corporate wireless networks.
In one embodiment, the OMC is an OMC of a single corporate enterprise, and the sites include separate branches of the enterprise. Alternatively, the corporate network includes an additional OMC of another private enterprise, and the sites include branches of both enterprises at separate sites, and branches of both enterprises at a shared site. Preferably, the corporate wireless network at the shared site includes an HLR containing information relating to branches of both enterprises at the shared site, and each of the OMCs are configured to manage each of the physical HLRs at their associated separate sites and the shared site to form a virtual HLR for the associated enterprise.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a communication network having a public and private or corporate network. Generally, the public network includes a public wireless network with a public mobile switching center (MSC). The corporate network includes a number of corporate wireless networks located at a number of sites, each of the corporate wireless networks coupled to the public MSC, several or all of the corporate wireless networks having a physical HLR. In accordance with the present invention, the corporate network further includes an OMC coupled to the public MSC, and an IP network, such as a private intranet, coupling each of the corporate wireless networks to one another. An HLR routing functions couples to the OMC and to the corporate wireless network via the IP network, and is configured to manage each of the physical HLRs to provide a single virtual HLR for the corporate network. Preferably, the corporate wireless networks communicate with one another using a proprietary signaling scheme including information identifying each physical HLR. More preferably,: the physical HLRs are i
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
interWave Communications International, Ltd.
Ramos-Feliciano Eliseo
Vo Nguyen T.
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