초록 ▼

A telecommunications system and method is disclosed for managing congestion in the Home Location Register (HLR). At regular intervals or in response to a registration message associated with a Mobile Station (MS) registration request, the HLR can transmit the current load conditions in the HLR to on

A telecommunications system and method is disclosed for managing congestion in the Home Location Register (HLR). At regular intervals or in response to a registration message associated with a Mobile Station (MS) registration request, the HLR can transmit the current load conditions in the HLR to one or more Mobile Switching Centers (MSC's) within the area served by the HLR. In response, the MSC's can use this load information to reduce the registration intensity in order to protect the HLR from congestion. Each MSC can include one or more HLR load thresholds, and if the current load level in the HLR is above one of these thresholds, the MSC can reduce the number of registration messages sent to the HLR by a certain amount.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A telecommunications system for managing congestion within a home location register within a cellular network, said telecommunication system comprising:a central processor within said home location register, said central processor having a current load associated therewith;at least one mobile swi

1. A telecommunications system for managing congestion within a home location register within a cellular network, said telecommunication system comprising:a central processor within said home location register, said central processor having a current load associated therewith;at least one mobile switching center physically separate from and in communication with said home location register, said at least one mobile switching center being capable of receiving registration requests from mobile stations in wireless communication with said at least one mobile switching center and transmitting at least one registration message associated with each of said registration requests to said home location register;wherein said home location register periodically transmits said current toad to said at least one mobile switching center;at least one threshold associated with said at least one mobile switching center, said current load being compared with said at least one threshold;a reduction algorithm associated with said at least one mobile switching center, said reduction algorithm being capable of determining a reduction amount when said current load exceeds said at least one threshold; andan access restriction algorithm associated with said at least one mobile switching center, said access restriction algorithm being capable of receiving said reduction amount and reducing the number of said at least one registration message transmitted from said mobile switching center to said home location register by at least said reduction amount. 2. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said at least one threshold, said reduction algorithm and said access restriction algorithm are within said mobile switching center. 3. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least one threshold, said reduction algorithm and said access restriction algorithm is within said home location register. 4. The telecommunications system of claim 1, further comprising:a measurement algorithm within said home location register adapted to measure said load within said central processor. 5. The telecommunications system of claim 1, further comprising:a timer within said home location register, said timer being initialized with a predetermined time period, said current load being measured at the expiration of said timer, said timer being reinitialized with said predetermined time period after said current load is measured. 6. The telecommunications system of claim 5, wherein said current load is compared with said at least one threshold at the beginning of each said predetermined time period. 7. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said current load is a percentage of the capacity of said central processor currently in use. 8. The telecommunications system of claim 7, wherein said reduction amount is based upon said percentage. 9. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said access restriction algorithm accepts only a certain number of registration requests within a predefined time period, said certain number being based upon said reduction amount. 10. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein each of said mobile stations has one of a plurality of mobile classes associated therewith, said access restriction algorithm restricting said mobile stations associated with one or more of said mobile classes from transmitting registration requests to said mobile switching center based upon said reduction amount. 11. A method for managing congestion within a home location register within a cellular network, said home location register being in communication with at least one mobile switching center physically separate from said home location register, said least one mobile switching center being capable of receiving registration requests from mobile stations in wireless communication with said at least one mobile switching center and transmitting at least one registration message associated with each of said re gistration requests to said home location register, said method comprising the steps of:measuring a current load of a central processor within said home location register;comparing said current load with at least one threshold associated with said at least one mobile switching center;determining a reduction amount when said current load exceeds said at least one threshold;periodically transmitting said current load or said reduction amount from said home location register to said at least one mobile switching center; and reducing the number of said at least one registration message transmitted from said at least one mobile switching center to said home location register as a function of said current load or said reduction amount. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step of measuring further comprises the steps of:initializing a timer within said home location register with a predetermined time period;measuring said current load at the expiration of said timer; andreinitializing said timer with said predetermined time period after said current load is measured. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said step of comparing further comprises the step of:comparing said current load with said at least one threshold at the beginning of each said predetermined time period. 14. The method of claim 11, wherein said current load is a percentage of the capacity of said central processor currently in use. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said reduction amount is based upon said percentage. 16. The method of claim 11, wherein said step of reducing further comprises the step of:accepting only a certain number of registration requests at said at least one mobile switching center within a predefined time period, said certain number being based upon said reduction amount. 17. The method of claim 11, wherein each of said mobile stations has one of a plurality of mobile classes associated therewith, and wherein said step of reducing further comprises the step of:restricting said mobile stations associated with one or more of said mobile classes from transmitting registration requests to said mobile switching center based upon said reduction amount. 18. A telecommunications system for controlling the number of registration messages associated with registration requests transmitted within a cellular network, said telecommunications system comprising:a home location register within said cellular network, said home location register being capable of measuring a current load of said home location register; andat least one mobile switching center physically separate from and in communication with said home location register;wherein said home location register periodically transmits a message containing an indicia of said current load to said mobile switching center, said indicia comprising said current load or a computed reduction amount that is a function of said current load, said at least one mobile switching center being capable of receiving said message containing said indicia from said home location register and reducing the number of said registration messages transmitted from said at least one mobile switching center to said home location register as a function of said indicia. 19. The telecommunications system of claim 18, wherein said at least one mobile switching center is further capable of determining a reduction amount used by said at least one mobile switching center in reducing the number of said registration messages transmitted to said home location register. 20. The telecommunications system of claim 19, wherein said at least one mobile switching center is further capable of accepting only a certain number of registration requests from mobile stations in wireless communication with said at least one mobile switching center within a predefined time period, said certain number being based upon said reduction amount. 21. The telecommunications system of claim 19, wherein said at least one mobile switching center is further capable of transmitting a message to mobile stations in wireless communication with said at least one mobile switching center restricting certain ones of said mobile stations from transmitting registration requests to said mobile switching center, said certain ones being determined based upon said reduction amount. 22. The telecommunications system of claim 18, wherein said home location register is further capable of measuring said current load at predefined time Intervals. 23. The telecommunications system of claim 18, wherein said message comprises a registration request response message transmitted from said home location register to said mobile switching center.