ROUTING DECISION CONTEXT OBJECTS

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

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

determining a first message type associated with the first Diameter message;

identifying a first set of rules of a plurality of sets of rules as being associated with the first message type;

evaluating a first rule of the first set of rules; and

transmitting a message based on the evaluation of the first rule.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the message type is based on an application type and a command type of the first Diameter message.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a second set of rules of the plurality of sets of rules as being applicable to at least two different message types; and

evaluating a second rule of the second set of rules,

wherein the transmitting a first message based on the evaluation of the first rule comprises transmitting a first message based on the evaluation of the first rule and the evaluation of the second rule.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the evaluating the second rule is performed before the evaluating the first rule.

5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

receiving a second Diameter message at the DRA from a second origin device, wherein the second Diameter message is a Diameter request;

evaluating a third rule of the second set of rules, wherein evaluating the third rule generates at least part of a Diameter answer; and

transmitting the Diameter answer to the second origin device, wherein the transmitting is performed after only the second set of rules has been evaluated.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the evaluating the first rule comprises modifying the first Diameter message, and

the transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the first rule comprises transmitting the first Diameter message to another device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first Diameter message is a Diameter request,

the evaluating the first rule comprises modifying a Diameter answer, and

the transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the first rule comprises transmitting the Diameter answer to the first origin device.

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

a rule storage configured to store a plurality of sets of rules;

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

a message handler configured to:

determine a first message type associated with the first Diameter message, and

identify a first set of rules of a plurality of sets of rules as being associated with the first message type; and

a rule engine configured to evaluate a first rule of the first set of rules,

wherein the message handler is further configured to transmit a message based on the evaluation of the first rule.

9 . The DRA of claim 8 , wherein the message type is based on an application type and a command type of the first Diameter message.

10 . The DRA of claim 8 , wherein:

the message handler is further configured to identify a second set of rules of the plurality of sets of rules as being applicable to at least two different message types,

the rule engine is further configured to evaluate a second rule of the second set of rules, and

in transmitting a first message based on the evaluation of the first rule, the message handler is configured to transmit a first message based on the evaluation of the first rule and the evaluation of the second rule.

11 . The DRA of claim 10 , wherein the rule engine evaluates the second rule before evaluating the first rule.

12 . The DRA of claim 11 , wherein:

the Diameter stack is further configured to receive a second Diameter message from a second origin device, wherein the second Diameter message is a Diameter request,

the rule engine is further configured to evaluate a third rule of the second set of rules, wherein evaluating the third rule generates at least part of a Diameter answer, and

the message handler is further configured to transmit the Diameter answer to the second origin device, wherein the transmitting is performed after only the second set of rules has been evaluated.

13 . The DRA of claim 8 , wherein:

in evaluating the first rule, the rule engine is configured to modify the first Diameter message, and

in transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the first rule, the message handler is configured to transmit the first Diameter message to another device.

14 . The DRA of claim 8 , wherein:

the first Diameter message is a Diameter request,

in evaluating the first rule, the rule engine is configured to modify a Diameter answer, and

in transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the first rule, the message handler is configured to transmit the Diameter answer to the first origin device.

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 first Diameter message at the DRA from a first origin device;

instructions for determining a first message type associated with the first Diameter message;

instructions for identifying a first set of rules of a plurality of sets of rules as being associated with the first message type;

instructions for evaluating a first rule of the first set of rules; and

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

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

instructions for identifying a second set of rules of the plurality of sets of rules as being applicable to at least two different message types; and

instructions for evaluating a second rule of the second set of rules,

wherein the instructions for transmitting a first message based on the evaluation of the first rule comprise instructions for transmitting a first message based on the evaluation of the first rule and the evaluation of the second rule.

17 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions for evaluating the second rule are executed before the instructions for evaluating the first rule.

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

instructions for receiving a second Diameter message at the DRA from a second origin device, wherein the second Diameter message is a Diameter request;

instructions for evaluating a third rule of the second set of rules, wherein evaluating the third rule generates at least part of a Diameter answer; and

instructions for transmitting the Diameter answer to the second origin device, wherein the instructions for transmitting the Diameter answer are executed after only the second set of rules has been evaluated.

19 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein:

the instructions for evaluating the first rule comprise instructions for modifying the first Diameter message, and

the instructions for transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the first rule comprise instructions for transmitting the first Diameter message to another device.

20 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein:

the first Diameter message is a Diameter request,

the instructions for evaluating the first rule comprise instructions for modifying a Diameter answer, and

the instructions for transmitting the message based on the evaluation of the first rule comprise instructions for transmitting the Diameter answer to the first origin device.