US 20080263389Al (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2008/0263389 A1 KU et al. (43) Pub. Date: Oct. 23, 2008 (54) SYSTEM FOR MONITORING ENUM (22) Filed: Apr. 20, 2007 PERFORMANCE Publication Classi?cation (75) Inventors: BERNARD KU, AUSTIN, TX (51) Int Cl (US); MEHRAD YASREBI, ' ' AUSTIN’ TX (Us); JAMES G06F 11/00 (2006.01) JACKSON, AUSTIN, TX (US) (52) US. Cl. .......................................................... .. 714/4 Correspondence Address: (57) ABSTRACT AKERMAN SENTERFITT P.O. BOX 3188 A system for monitoring tElephone NUmber Mapping WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33402-3188 (US) (ENUM) performance is disclosed. A system that incorpo rates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for (73) Assignee: AT&T KNOWLEDGE example, an ENUM system having a subsystem to monitor VENTURES, L.P., RENO, Nv one or more operations of the ENUM system, and generate a (Us) fault notice responsive to detecting one or more faults in the operations monitored. Additional embodiments are dis (21) Appl. No.: 11/738,385 closed. Network Management System (NMS) M Calling Party Home Network 126 124 Backbone Packet <- - - -> Signaling <—> Bearer Patent Application Publication Oct. 23, 2008 Sheet 1 0f 3 US 2008/0263389 A1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ Network Management System (NMS) m Calling Party Home Network 126 Backbone Packet 4' - - -> Signaling <—> Bearer 100 Patent Application Publication Oct. 23, 2008 Sheet 2 of3 US 2008/0263389 A1 NMS monitors the ENUM NMS compares a result derived from a monitoring step to a E A corresponding expectancy threshold 21 Monitor a response time to queries processed by the ENUM E No Fault Detected? Monitor a throughput of queries E processed by the ENUM & Yes Monitor a maximum response NMS asserts a fault notice time to queries submitted to the responsive to one or more ENUM E faults detected @ V Monitor a minimum response NMS submits the fault notice to time to queries submitted to the a service agent managing ENUM @ operations of the ENUM 21 Monitor an average response NMS mitigates operations of time to queries submitted to the the ENUM system according ENUM E to the fault A Monitor utilization of resources of the ENUM @ NMS redistributes resources of the ENUM system to counteract one or more effects Monitor test queries submitted caused by the one or more to the ENUM @ faults @ FIG. 2 Patent Application Publication Oct. 23, 2008 Sheet 3 0f 3 US 2008/0263389 Al N 308 Processor video > 4 Display Instructions — 310 a \ — 324 Main Memory Alpha-Numeric ‘ <—> Input Instructions -\ ' Device 312 E 324 Cursor Control Static Memory ' , Device Instructions _ \ 31—4 324 Machine Network Readable Interface ‘ , <—> Medium Device 2 3_0 //‘ Instructions 322 324 — 316 Signal Generation <—> Device 318 FIG. 3 E US 2008/0263389 A1 Oct. 23, 2008 SYSTEM FOR MONITORING ENUM more lightWeight directory access protocol (LDAP) servers PERFORMANCE 143 organiZed by Zones 142, anApplication Server (AS) 128, an Access NetWork (AN) 132, a backbone packet-sWitched FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE netWork 134, and a plurality of IMS User Equipment (UE) [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to monitor devices denoted by the IMS UE l and IMS UE 2. The IMS UE ing techniques, and more speci?cally to a system for moni devices can connect to netWorks, though not shoWn. Signal toring tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) performance. ing and bearer activities are depicted by dashed versus solid lines betWeen IMS terminal devices. BACKGROUND [0012] ENUM is a suite of protocols that is best suited to offer services that expand the means to complete calls over IP [0002] As large communication carriers migrate to an IP netWorks. ENUM accesses the DNS 141 to translate E.l64 Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based Voice over Internet Pro telephone numbers into IP addressing schemes (e.g. SIP, tocol (VoIP) using ENUM, a carrier grade ENUM system Will H323, or email) DNS 141 can be used to look up Internet be required that can provide desired characteristics such as addresses for services such as VoIP telephony. Naming scalability, fast response time, and overall ef?cient use of Authority Pointer or NPTR records are used for translating hardWare and software resources to offer robust multimedia E.l64 addresses to SIP addresses. The LDAP servers 143 can services. Presently, hoWever, there are feW means for evalu store resource records (RRs) in an object-oriented format ating such operational characteristics of the ENUM system in such as by classes and corresponding Zones. With classes and an IMS netWork, and even feWer means for ensuring reliable Zones, RRs can be organiZed by a country code, a Numbering delivery of the multimedia services in the IMS netWork. Plan Area (NPA), and/or a Numeric Numbering Exchange [0003] A need therefore arises for a system for monitoring (NXX). As an example, an ENUM record can be broken into ENUM performance. a number of Zones such as by country (country code “l”), NPA (“222”), and/or NXX (“333”). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] A NetWork Management System (NMS) 110 utiliZ [0004] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a com ing common computing and communications technologies munication system; can be used to monitor and maintain a desired operational [0005] FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary method operating in performance of the ENUM system 126. When the operational portions of the communication system; and ef?ciency of the ENUM system is in question, the NMS 110 [0006] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic repre can apply mitigating steps to overcome predicted or detected sentation of a machine in the form of a computer system faults. Within Which a set of instructions, When executed, may cause [0014] A P-CSCF 130 can be a Session Initiation Protocol the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies (SIP) proxy serving as a ?rst point of contact to an IMS UE. disclosed herein. An I-CSCF 120 is a SIP proxy that can among other things query the HSS 124 to retrieve IMS UE location and route SIP DETAILED DESCRIPTION calls to its assigned S-CSCF 122. An S-CSCF 122 is a SIP [0007] Embodiments in accordance With the present disclo server that can handle SIP registrations, Which alloWs it to sure provide a system for monitoring ENUM performance. bind the IMS UE device. [0008] In a ?rst embodiment of the present disclosure, a [0015] The HSS 124 can serve as a master database that computer-readable storage medium can include at least one supports the IMS netWork 100 for processing calls. It can among a group of computer instructions for monitoring a contain subscription information. It can also perform authen response time to queries submitted to a Telephone Number tication and authorization of an IMS UE, and can provide Mapping (ENUM) system, a throughput of queries processed information about the physical location of an IMS UE. by the ENUM system, a maximum response time to queries [0016] The ANs 132 support Wireline or Wireless access submitted to the ENUM system, a minimum response time to technologies including Without limitation BluetoothTM, Wire queries submitted to the ENUM system, an average response less Fidelity (WiFi), WorldWide Interoperability for Micro time to queries submitted to the ENUM system, and utiliZa Wave Access (WiMAX), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and cel tion of resources of the ENUM system. lular access technologies such as CDMA-LX, W-CDMA/ [0009] In a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, and EVDO. IMS UEs Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) system can have a can represent residential or commercial ?xed line IMS termi subsystem to monitor one or more operations of the ENUM nals as Well as portable IMS devices such as cellular phones system, and generate a fault notice responsive to detecting conforming to an IMS standard. The packet-sWitched back one or more faults in the operations monitored. bone 134 can represent a packet netWork supporting any [0010] In a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a number of protocols such as IP, Multi-Protocol Label SWitch netWork element of an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) net ing (MPLS), Asynchronous Transfer Mode/Frame Relay Work can have a controller element to monitor operations of a (ATM/FR), and so on. Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) system. [0017] FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary method 200 to monitor [0011] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a com ENUM performance. Method 200 can begin With step 202 in munication system depicted as an IP Multimedia Subsystem Which the NMS 110 monitors the performance of the ENUM (IMS) netWork 100. The IMS netWork 100 can comprise system 126. For instance, as shoWn in steps 203-209, the among other things a Proxy Call Session Control Function NMS 110 can monitor: a response time to queries submitted (P-CSCF) 130, an Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 120, a Serv to the ENUM system 126, a maximum response time to ing CSCF (S-CSCF) 122, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) queries submitted to the ENUM system, a minimum response 124, an tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) system 126, time to queries submitted to the ENUM system, an average one or more Domain Name Service (DNS) servers 141, one or response time to queries submitted to the ENUM system, a US 2008/0263389 A1 Oct. 23, 2008 utilization of resources of the ENUM system, and/or other set. These tests can be speci?c to an IMS application Which suitable test queries submitted to the ENUM system. may expose faults in an ENUM service. [0018] The NMS 110 can perform any one ofsteps 203-209 [0020] As shoWn in step 210, the NMS 110 can compare to evaluate the performance of the ENUM system 126, and is results derived from at least one of the monitoring steps not limited to the order, or number, of steps shoWn.