Diameter bus communications between processing nodes of a network element

A method of performing processing node communication, the method comprising:

• providing a data structure within a network element, wherein the network element comprises first and second processing nodes;
• generating a Diameter message from the first processing node for transfer to the second processing node;
• copying the Diameter message to a location in the data structure;
• linking the second processing node to the location in the data structure to access the Diameter message;
• and
• accessing the Diameter message, with the second processing node, from the location in the data structure.

An IMS network element, comprising:

• a plurality of IMS processing nodes comprising first and second IMS processing nodes;
• a communication interface adapted to communicate with an external IMS network element via a Diameter base protocol;
• and
• a Diameter bus adapted to communicatively couple the IMS processing nodes, wherein the Diameter bus comprises a data structure adapted to receive a Diameter message at a first storage location in the data structure from the first IMS processing node and to transfer the Diameter message to the second IMS processing node.