UNIVERSAL MOBILE MANAGER INTERWORKING TO SUPPORT GLOBAL ROAMING
The present invention provides a method of interworking to support global roaming across circuit-switched and packet-switched domains. Embodiments of the methods include selecting a first routing number that identifies the mobility manager as a gateway to the originating domain. The selection is performed at a mobility manager in response to receiving a request from a first gateway in an originating domain to locate a user. Embodiments of the method further include identifying a second gateway that serves the user in a destination domain using a first user identifier included in the request received from the first gateway. Embodiments of the mobility manager can store information associating the first routing number with a second routing number that identifies the second gateway.
1 . A method, comprising:
selecting, at a mobility manager in response to receiving a request from a first gateway in an originating domain to locate a user, a first routing number that identifies the mobility manager as a gateway to the originating domain;
identifying, at the mobility manager, a second gateway that serves the user in a destination domain using a first user identifier included in the request received from the first gateway; and
storing, in the mobility manager, information associating the first routing number with a second routing number that identifies the second gateway.
2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising establishing, at the mobility manager, a bearer between the first gateway and the second gateway by mapping the first routing number to the second routing number using the stored information.
3 . The method of claim 2 , comprising releasing the first routing number so that it can be selected to identify the mobility manager to the originating domain in response to receiving a subsequent request to locate another user.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the originating domain is a circuit-switched domain, and wherein selecting the first routing number comprises selecting a first routing number that identifies a first interface between the first gateway and the mobility management as a gateway that operates according to circuit-switched protocols.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the destination domain is a packet-switched domain, and wherein identifying the second gateway that serves the user in the packet-switched domain comprises identifying a second user identifier that identifies the user in the packet-switched domain based on the first user identifier that identifies the user in the circuit-switched domain.
6 . The method of claim 4 , comprising transmitting, from the mobility manager to the first gateway, a request to redirect a call from the originating domain to the user in the destination domain when a forwarding condition has been detected for the user.
7 . The method of claim 6 , comprising receiving, at the mobility manager from the first gateway, a request for a call forwarding number.
8 . The method of claim 7 , comprising retrieving the call forwarding number from a database in the mobility manager and forwarding the call forwarding number to the first gateway.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the originating domain is a packet-switched domain, and wherein selecting the first routing number comprises selecting a first routing number that identifies a first interface between the first gateway and the mobility manager as a gateway that operates according to packet-switched protocols.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the destination domain is a circuit-switched domain, and wherein identifying the second gateway that serves the user in the circuit-switched domain comprises identifying a second user identifier that identifies the user in the circuit-switched domain based on the first user identifier that identifies the user in the packet-switched domain.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the user is registered in the circuit-switched domain and the packet-switched domain, and comprising determining whether the user is reachable in at least one of the circuit-switched domain or the packet-switched domain.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein determining whether the user is reachable comprises providing a first message to the packet-switched domain and determining that the user is reachable if the packet-switched domain provides a positive response within a first time interval.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein determining whether the user is reachable comprises providing a second message to the circuit-switched domain following expiration of the first time interval and determining that the user is reachable if the circuit-switched domain provides a positive response within a second time interval.
14 . The method of claim 1 , comprising accessing presence information stored by the mobility manager, the presence information indicating whether the user is present in the destination domain.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the second gateway comprises converting the request into a domain-independent query to a database in the mobility manager and querying the database for a user profile including information indicating the second gateway associated with the user.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the first routing number comprises selecting a temporary routing number drawn from a pool maintained at the mobility manager.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the second gateway comprises identifying one of a plurality of terminals associated with the user based on a destination selection policy.
18 . A protocol dependent logic server configured to:
select, in response to receiving a request from a circuit-switched domain to originate a call to a user in a packet-switched domain, a first routing number that identifies the protocol dependent logic server as a gateway to the circuit-switched domain;
map a directory number associated with the user in the circuit-switched domain to a public identifier in the packet-switched domain; and
route the call from the circuit-switched domain to the packet-switched domain using the first routing number, the directory number, and the public identifier.
19 . The protocol dependent logic server set forth in claim 18 , wherein the protocol dependent logic server is further configured to select the first routing number from a pool of temporary routing numbers and return the first routing number to the pool after the call has been routed to the packet-switched domain.
20 . A protocol dependent logic server configured to:
determine, in response to receiving a request from a packet-switched domain to originate a call to a user in a destination domain, whether the destination domain is a circuit-switched domain or a packet-switched domain;
route the call using a public identifier included in the request when the destination domain is a packet-switched domain; and
route the call using a temporary directory number selected by the protocol dependent logic server when the destination domain is a circuit-switched domain.