Routing decision context objects

1. A method performed by a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) for processing a Diameter message, the method comprising:

receiving a Diameter message at the DRA from an origin device;

establishing a routing decision context object in response to receiving the Diameter message, wherein the routing decision context object is associated with a destination device chosen to receive a previous message;

evaluating a rule that includes a context object reference, wherein the evaluation includes accessing the routing decision context object based on the context object reference; and

transmitting a message based on the evaluation of the rule.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting a message based on the evaluation of the rule comprises transmitting the Diameter message to the destination device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Diameter message is associated with a first Diameter application and the previous message is associated with a second Diameter application.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to receiving the Diameter message:

receiving the previous message at the DRA;

deciding that the previous message should be routed to the destination device;

transmitting the previous message to the destination device; and

storing an identification of the previous message and the destination device as a routing decision.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein accessing the routing decision context object comprises updating a timestamp associated with the routing decision.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

determining that the routing decision should be deleted based on a timestamp associated with the routing decision; and

deleting the routing decision from a memory of the DRA.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of establishing the routing decision context object and accessing the routing decision context object comprises:

extracting at least one piece of identifying information from the Diameter message; and

determining that the at least one piece of identifying information corresponds to the previous message.

8. A Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) for processing a Diameter message, the DRA comprising:

a rule storage configured to store a rule that includes a context object reference;

a routing decision database configured to store a previous routing decision, wherein the previous routing decision includes an identification of a destination device chosen for a previous message;

a Diameter stack configured to receive a Diameter message from an origin device;

a context creator configured to establish a routing decision context object based on receiving the Diameter message, wherein the routing decision context object is associated with the previous routing decision;

a rule engine configured to evaluate the rule, wherein the evaluation includes accessing the routing decision context object based on the context object reference; and

a message handler configured to transmit, via the Diameter stack, a message based on the evaluation of the rule.

9. The DRA of claim 8 , wherein, in transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the rule, the message handler is configured to transmit the Diameter message to the destination device.

10. The DRA of claim 8 , wherein the Diameter message is associated with a first Diameter application and the previous message is associated with a second Diameter application.

11. The DRA of claim 8 , wherein:

the Diameter stack is further configured to receive the previous message prior to receiving the Diameter message;

the rule engine is further configured to decide that the previous message should be routed to the destination device; and

the routing decision context object is configured to, based on an access by the rule engine, store an identification of the previous message and the destination device as a routing decision.

12. The DRA of claim 11 , wherein the routing decision context object is configured to, based on an access by the rule engine, update a timestamp associated with the routing decision.

13. The DRA of claim 11 , further comprising a cleanup module configured to:

determine that the routing decision should be deleted based on a timestamp associated with the routing decision; and

delete the routing decision from a memory of the DRA.

14. The DRA of claim 8 , wherein, the routing decision context object is configured to:

extract at least one piece of identifying information from the Diameter message; and

determine that the at least one piece of identifying information corresponds to the previous message.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions for execution by a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) for processing a Diameter message, the medium comprising:

instructions for receiving a Diameter message at the DRA from an origin device;

instructions for establishing a routing decision context object in response to receiving the Diameter message, wherein the routing decision context object is associated with a destination device chosen to receive a previous message;

instructions for evaluating a rule that includes a context object reference, including instructions for accessing the routing decision context object based on the context object reference; and

instructions for transmitting a message based on the evaluation of the rule.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the Diameter message is associated with a first Diameter application and the previous message is associated with a second Diameter application.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising:

instructions for receiving the previous message at the DRA;

instructions for deciding that the previous message should be routed to the destination device;

instructions for transmitting the previous message to the destination device; and

instructions for storing an identification of the previous message and the destination device as a routing decision.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the instructions for accessing the routing decision context object comprise instructions for updating a timestamp associated with the routing decision.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , further comprising:

instructions for determining that the routing decision should be deleted based on a timestamp associated with the routing decision; and

instructions for deleting the routing decision from a memory of the DRA.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein at least one of the instructions for establishing the routing decision context object and the instructions for accessing the routing decision context object comprise:

instructions for extracting at least one piece of identifying information from the Diameter message; and

instructions for determining that the at least one piece of identifying information corresponds to the previous message.