System and method for providing a subscriber database using group services in a telecommunication system

A wireless network comprising:

• a plurality of base stations capable of communicating with a plurality of mobile stations in a coverage area of said wireless network;
• and
• a mobile switching center coupled to said plurality of base stations and to a public switched telephone network by a plurality of trunk lines, wherein said mobile switching center is capable of handling call connections between calling devices and called devices on said plurality of trunk lines, and wherein said mobile switching center is capable of executing call processing applications, wherein each of said call processing applications is associated with one of said call connections, wherein said mobile switching center comprises:
• a controller for providing a subscriber database associated with said mobile switching center, wherein said controller comprises:
• N call application nodes capable of executing call process server applications, wherein a first subscriber database server application is executed on a first one of said N call application nodes and is associated with a similar second subscriber database server application executed on a second one of said N call application nodes separate from said first call application node, said first and second subscriber database server applications thereby forming a subscriber database load sharing group server application, and
• wherein said each call processing application sends a subscriber database service request to said subscriber database load sharing group server application and said subscriber database load sharing group server application selects one of said first and second subscriber database server applications to perform said requested subscriber database service request according to a load distribution algorithm.

For use in a wireless network comprising:

• a plurality of base stations capable of communicating with a plurality of mobile stations in a coverage area of said wireless network;
• and
• a mobile switching center coupled to said plurality of said base stations and to a public switched telephone network by a plurality of trunk lines, wherein said mobile switching center is capable of handling call connections between calling devices and called devices on said plurality of trunk lines, and wherein said mobile switching center is capable of executing call processing applications, wherein each of said call processing applications is associated with one of said call connections;
• a method for providing a subscriber database associated with said mobile switching center, said method comprising the steps of:
• providing N call application nodes within said mobile switching center, said N call application nodes capable of executing a plurality of subscriber database server applications;
• executing a first subscriber database server application on a first one of said N call application nodes;
• executing a second subscriber database server application on a second one of said N call application nodes separate from said first call application node, said first and second subscriber database server applications thereby forming a subscriber database load sharing group server application;
• sending a subscriber database service request from a call processing application to said subscriber database load sharing group server application;
• selecting in said subscriber database load sharing group server application one of said first and second subscriber database server applications to perform said requested subscriber database service request;
• and
• performing said requested subscriber database service request according to a load distribution algorithm.