Method and apparatus for SMS termination overload protection

摘要

In order to ameliorate the overload at an overloaded network node that is discarding some of the SMSs it is receiving, when a node is overloaded with received SMSs, it sends a message to the nodes from which it is receiving SMSs of that fact and includes a parameter indicating the extent to which it is overloaded. That parameter, for instance, may be the percentage of SMSs that it is receiving that are being discarded. With this information, the sending node can determine a percentage of the pending SMSs during such conditions that will help remove the overloaded node from the overload condition more quickly. Furthermore, the network protocol may be adapted to include a priority parameter in SMSs. Then, when an SMS sending node knows that a node to which it is sending SMSs is overloaded, the sending node may decide which SMSs to send to the overloaded node based on such priority information.

主权项

1. A method of managing communication traffic in a communication network comprising at least a first node, a second node, and a plurality of third nodes, the method comprising:
the first node sending a plurality of first messages to the second node, the plurality of first messages intended for delivery by the second node to a plurality of third nodes; if the second node cannot deliver all of the plurality of first messages due to being overloaded, wherein being overloaded comprises receipt of messages at a rate greater than it can process the messages, the first node receiving a second message from the second node, the second message containing an overload parameter, the overload parameter disclosing an amount by which the second node is overloaded, wherein the overload parameter is a percentage of messages received by the second node that the second node is unable to deliver; the first node parsing the second message to determine the overload parameter therein; and responsive to the second message, the first node adjusting the rate at which it sends messages to the second node to an amount that is a function of the overload parameter.