Use of traffic load reduction indicator for facilitating mobility management entity overload control function

1. A method comprising:

determining whether a received overload message includes a traffic load reduction indication element;

determining a percentage of network elements to which to relay the received overload message if the received overload message includes the traffic load reduction indication element;

selecting ones of the network elements to which to send the received overload message based on the determined percentage;

modifying the received message to change a value of the traffic load reduction indication element; and

sending the modified message to the selected ones of the network elements.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received overload message comprises a mobility management element (“MME”) START message.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending the received overload message to all of the network elements if the received overload message does not include the traffic load reduction indication element.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending the received overload message to a configurable percentage of the network elements if the received overload message does not include the traffic load reduction indication element.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the network elements comprises a Home eNodeB (“HeNB”).

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the determining whether the received overload message includes a traffic load reduction indication element, receiving at a gateway element the overload message.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the gateway element comprises an HeNB gateway disposed between an MME and the network elements.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein upon receipt of the modified overload message, the selected network elements perform traffic filtering based on the modified overload message.

9. One or more non-transitory tangible media that includes code for execution and when executed by a processor is operable to perform operations comprising:

determining whether a received overload message includes a traffic load reduction indication element;

determining a percentage of network elements to which to relay the received overload message if the received overload message includes the traffic load reduction indication element;

selecting ones of the network elements to which to send the received overload message based on the determined percentage;

modifying the received message to change a value of the traffic load reduction indication element; and

sending the modified message to the selected ones of the network elements.

10. The media of claim 9 , wherein the received overload message comprises a mobility management element (“MME”) START message.

11. The media of claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise sending the received overload message to all of the network elements if the received overload message does not include the traffic load reduction indication element.

12. The media of claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise sending the received overload message to a configurable percentage of the network elements if the received overload message does not include the traffic load reduction indication element.

13. The media of claim 9 , wherein each of the network elements comprises a Home eNodeB (“HeNB”).

14. The media of claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise, prior to the determining whether the received overload message includes a traffic load reduction indication element, receiving at a gateway element the overload message.

15. The media of claim 9 , wherein upon receipt of the modified overload message, the selected network elements perform traffic filtering based on the modified overload message.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a memory element configured to store data; and

a processor operable to execute instructions associated with the data;

wherein the apparatus is configured to:

determine whether a received overload message includes a traffic load reduction indication element;

determine a percentage of network elements to which to relay the received overload message if the received overload message includes the traffic load reduction indication element;

select ones of the network elements to which to send the received overload message based on the determined percentage;

modify the received message to change a value of the traffic load reduction indication element; and

send the modified message to the selected ones of the network elements.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to send the received overload message to all of the network elements if the received overload message does not include the traffic load reduction indication element.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to send the received overload message to a configurable percentage of the network elements if the received overload message does not include the traffic load reduction indication element.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to, prior to the determining whether the received overload message includes a traffic load reduction indication element, receiving at a gateway element the overload message.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein upon receipt of the modified overload message, the selected network elements perform traffic filtering based on the modified overload message.