# US 2014/0192805 A1 · Method And Apparatus For Sharing TCAP Traffic Load

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- Number: US 2014/0192805 A1
- Document ID: US20140192805A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/202,535
- Filed: 2014-03-10
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2007-02-26
- Assignees: Performance Technologies, Inc.
- Applicants: Performance Technologies, Inc.
- Inventors: Normand Glaude; Charles Wesley-James; Christine Aubry; Pierre Laporte
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140192805A1

## CPC

- H04L 12/1886: {with traffic restrictions for efficiency improvement, e.g. involving subnets or subdomains}
- H04L 45/74: Address processing for routing
- H04L 47/125: by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
- H04Q 3/0025: {Provisions for signalling}
- H04Q 3/0029: {Provisions for intelligent networking}
- H04W 4/06: Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
- H04L 49/3009: {Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags}
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04Q: SELECTING (switches, relays, selectors H01H; wireless communication networks H04W)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

The present invention relates to a point code emulation apparatus and method for dividing a Common Channel Signaling System No. 7 (or SS7) signaling network into two or more networks. The point code emulator is adapted to receive TCAP messages from two or more subnets and converts, for the messages crossing over the subnets, the information of the TCAP messages, including originating point code, destination point code, and transaction identifier, (and optionally, calling party number and called party number), and forwards to the other one of the two or more subnets. Correspondence among the two or more subnets may be provisioned by an authorized user of the system, may be learned automatically by the system based on ISUP message correspondences or previous TCAP transactions, or may be automatically discovered by the system broadcasting messages to nodes in the destined one of the two or more subnets.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) node for routing a transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) message from a first subnet to a second subnet by discovering a destination node from a plurality of nodes in the second subnet, comprising:
a) a first interface for the first subnet;
b) a second interface for the second subnet;
c) a processor in communication with the first and second interfaces, the processor carries out the steps of:
i) receiving the TCAP message from the first subnet through the first interface;
ii) broadcasting a message to all or a part of said plurality of the nodes in the second subnet through the second interface;
iii) receiving one or more responses to the message from one or more of said plurality of the nodes in the second subnet;
iv) determining the destination node based on a most successful one of the one or more responses; and
v) routing the most successful one of one or more responses to the first subnet through the first interface.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The SS7 node as recited in claim 1, wherein said broadcast message is TCAP Begin message.

### Claim 3

A method of routing a transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) message from a first subnet to a second subnet by discovering a destination node from a plurality of nodes in the second subnet, comprising the steps of:
a) at a node, receiving a TCAP message from the first subnet;
b) from the node, broadcasting a message to all or a part of said plurality of nodes in the second subnet;
c) at the node, receiving one or more responses to the message from one or more of said plurality of the nodes in the second subnet;
d) determining the destination node based on a most successful one of the one or more responses; and
e) routing the most successful one of one or more responses to the first subnet.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said broadcast message is TCAP Begin message.

### Claim 5

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions which, when executed at a node, causes the node to perform a process of routing a transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) message from a first subnet to a second subnet by discovering a destination node from a plurality of nodes in the second subnet, comprising the steps of:
a) at the node, receiving a TCAP message from the first subnet;
b) from the node, broadcasting a message to all or a part of said plurality of nodes in the second subnet;
c) at the node, receiving one or more responses to the message from one or more of said plurality of the nodes in the second subnet;
d) determining the destination node based on a most successful one of the one or more responses; and
e) routing the most successful one of one or more responses to the first subnet.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 5, wherein said broadcast message is TCAP Begin message.