Abstract: A network node comprises a core processing part to perform a core processing function, an ingress processing part to receive incoming signalling messages, an egress processing part to output signalling messages for transmission from the network node, and a message manipulation function to manipulate signalling messages. In a first configuration, the message manipulation function is comprised in the ingress processing part, and in a second configuration the message manipulation function is comprised in the egress processing part. In the first configuration, an egress characteristic is determined, indicative of how an outgoing signalling message is to be outputted, and an incoming signalling message is manipulated based on the egress characteristic. In the second configuration, an ingress characteristic is determined, indicative of how an incoming signalling message has been received, and an outgoing signalling message is manipulated based on the ingress characteristic.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to software-defined networks, and particularly, but not exclusively to programmable packet data processing systems, methods and computer readable products for use therein.

Abstract: The disclosures relates to a method of provisioning a subscriber profile into a subscriber data store of an IP Multimedia System (IMS) capable telecommunications network, the subscriber profile being for a subscriber which is a visiting subscriber with respect to the IMS-capable telecommunications network, the subscriber data store being for use in IP Multimedia System (IMS) call processing, the method comprising: receiving a request to allocate an IMS Access Point Name (APN); and in response to receiving the request to allocate the IMS APN, triggering a provisioning of the subscriber profile into the subscriber data store.

Abstract: Measures for providing timer services in a network including a cluster of nodes responsible for providing timer services to clients. At a given node in the cluster, a request to provide a timer is received from a client. Configuration of a primary replica of the requested timer on a first node in the cluster to pop after a first time has elapsed is initiated. A first timer replication message is transmitted to a second node in the cluster, the first timer replication message indicating that the second node should configure a first backup replica of the requested timer. A second timer replication message is transmitted to a third node in the cluster, the second timer replication message indicating that the third node should configure a second backup replica of the requested timer. Popping of the primary, first backup or second backup timer replicas includes initiating callback of a given client.

Abstract: Traffic is processed in a virtualised environment comprising: (i) a physical underlay network; (ii) a first overlay network (an overlay of the physical underlay network and associated with a first set of network addresses, IP1); (iii) a second overlay network (an overlay of the first overlay network and associated with a second set of network addresses, IP2); and (iv) virtualised applications each having an execution environment and being associated with at least one network address in each of the first and second sets of network addresses, IP1 and IP2. In the execution environment of a first virtualised application: (i) traffic communicated from the first virtualised application to the first overlay network is encapsulated; and/or (ii) traffic communicated from the first overlay network to the first virtualised application is decapsulated. Tenant separation processing is performed outside the execution environments of the virtualised applications.

Abstract: A virtualized computing environment of a telecommunications network comprises a cluster of virtual machines with a one-to-one ratio of active and backup virtual machines. One or more additional clusters of virtual machines have a N-to-K ratio of active and backup virtual machines where N>K. The backup virtual machines are configured to provide failover capacity for processing communications sessions in an event of a failure of one of the active virtual machines. A cluster redundancy capability indicates the ratio of the active and backup virtual machines for that cluster. A predetermined type associated with a requested communication session is determined. A cluster having a cluster redundancy capability corresponding to the predetermined type is selected. Data for the requested communication session is sent to an active virtual machine in the selected cluster.

Abstract: A network node has a graceful restart mode in which the node: sends a graceful restart notification to one or more neighbouring nodes; attempts to re-establish an adjacency with the neighbouring node(s); receives link state data from at least one of the neighbouring node(s), the received data being sent in response to said attempt; derives pre-restart link data from the received data, the derived data identifying formerly active links, including the node, for routing traffic before the restart; routes network traffic in accordance with routing information stored in the router; detects one or more links, of the formerly active links, which are currently inactive; continues with graceful restart after said detection; determines one or more links, of the formerly active links, which are currently active; and exits the graceful restart mode in response to successful re-establishment of adjacencies with a respective neighbouring node for each of the currently active link(s).

Abstract: Associating a user service with a telephony identifier. The user service is accessible by a user of a telephony device via an application on the telephony device. The telephony device is operable in a radio telephony network (RTN) and is contactable via the telephony identifier when operating in the RTN. Network equipment: communicates, between the network equipment and the application on the telephony device, first data comprising a communicated token; receives, from the telephony device, second data comprising a received token, wherein the second data is received from the telephony device via an RTN-native service; receives, from a network node in the RTN, the telephony identifier in control signalling associated with the RTN-native service; and based at least on correlating the received token with the communicated token, associates the received telephony identifier with the user service.

Abstract: A method of processing call establishment requests, the method comprising the steps of: a) receiving call establishment definition data relating to a called party identifier; b) receiving a call establishment request from a calling party, the call establishment request comprising the called party identifier; c) determining that a user terminal associated with the called party identifier is engaged in a call with a remote party; d) determining that call establishment definition data is associated with the called party identifier; and e) in response to steps b) c) and d), processing the call establishment request to connect the calling party to the called party.

Abstract: User traffic is processed in a virtualised network. First and second VNFs are initialised in the same network namespace as each other in user space in a host and have access to a shared memory region of the host. The first VNF processes user traffic and the second VNF provides a user plane service in relation to user traffic processed by the first VNF. The first VNF is used to establish a point-to-point, shared-memory interface between the first and second VNFs and is used to classify incoming user traffic. In response to the first VNF determining based on the classifying, that the incoming user traffic is to be subject to the user plane service, the first VNF is used to store the incoming user traffic in the shared memory region of the host to enable the second VNF to provide the user plane service in relation to the incoming trier traffic.

Abstract: In operation, packets traverse the packet processing data structure, and the network processing represented by each object in the data structure is applied to each packet. From time to time, the packet processing data structure may need to be updated. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for lock-free updating of a packet processing data structure by means of epoch-based garbage collection. In embodiments, a particular past packet processing epoch is considered to be no longer referenced by any cores when the sequence numbers recorded in each said memory location are different to the sequence number of that particular past packet processing epoch. The deletion thread checks both whether a past epoch is being referenced by any packets and whether it is being reference by any cores. Thus memory is safely freed without having any impact on any packet processing which may be occurring in parallel to the deletion thread.

Abstract: In a telecommunications network, a network node processes messages according to different sets of user-programmable message processing rules. The network node includes an input for receiving a series of input messages which are processed in a message manipulation function. Processed messages are also output from the network node according different communication protocols.

Abstract: According to a first aspect, there is provided a method of testing a plurality of virtual network functions (VNFs) during commissioning of the plurality of VNFs in a virtualized environment in a customer network, the method comprising: at a VNF testing component configured to have access to the virtualized environment of the customer network, performing interoperability testing between a first VNF component instantiation (VNFCI) within a first VNF of the plurality of VNFs and a second VNFCI within a second VNF of the plurality of VNFs, the second VNF being different from the first VNF, the first VNF and the second VNF comprising a subset of VNFs within the plurality of VNFs, wherein performing the interoperability testing comprises: instructing the first VNFCI to interoperate directly with the second VNFCI in a predetermined manner; and determining whether the second VNFCI reacts to the instructed direct interoperation in an expected manner.

Abstract: A method of determining trigger conditions for scaling a scalable unit of network function comprising identifying a primary set of metrics associated with usage of an instance of the unit of network function as a primary indicator of occurrence of a load state thereof, and determining usage points when the primary indicator indicates that the load state occurs. Deriving a secondary set of the metrics, different to the primary set, as a secondary indicator of occurrence of the load state of the instance at each of a group of one or more of the usage points when the primary indicator indicates that the load state occurs, and measured data corresponding to values of the metrics in the secondary set of metrics at each of the group of usage points. Storing a trigger condition for scaling the unit of network function based on the secondary set and the measured data.

Abstract: A machine-implemented method for controlling transfer of at least one data item from a data cache component, in communication with storage using at least one relatively higher-latency path and at least one relatively lower-latency path, comprises: receiving metadata defining at least a first characteristic of data selected for inspection; responsive to the metadata, seeking a match between said at least first characteristic and a second characteristic of at least one of a plurality of data items in the data cache component; selecting said at least one of the plurality of data items where the at least one of the plurality of data items has the second characteristic matching the first characteristic; and passing the selected one of the plurality of data items from the data cache component using the relatively lower-latency path.

Abstract: Certain aspects provide a method of commissioning a virtualized network function (VNF), including: at a commissioning virtual machine instantiated in a virtualized environment of a customer network, configuring a remote access connection facility for accessing the commissioning virtual machine remotely from outside of the customer network, wherein the commissioning virtual machine has access to a virtual infrastructure manager (VIM) component of the virtualized environment; causing, via the remote access connection facility, configuration of a VNF manager component within the commissioning virtual machine; and causing, via the remote access connection facility, the configured VNF manager component to instruct the VIM component to instantiate one or more virtual machines in the virtualized environment, the one or more virtual machines being operable to perform at least a part of the VNF.

Abstract: A graph data structure for a packet processing system is generated. The structure comprises graph data objects representing classifier nodes of a packet processing graph. The classifier nodes include a root node and leaf nodes. The root node is connected to each of the leaf nodes through respective corresponding packet processing paths through the graph. Each graph data object includes node match data indicative of at least one match to be applied by the respective classifier node. One or more n-type match graph data objects are identified, which include node match data indicative of an n-type match corresponding to content from n header field types. One or more (n+m)-type match graph data objects are identified, which include node match data indicative of an (n+m)-type match corresponding to a combination of content from a (n+m) different header field types. n and m are integer values of 1 or more.

Abstract: A packet classifier and methods of processing data packets in a data communications network can include receiving a data packet comprising packet header data; performing rule-based classification of the received data packet to generate rule-based classification data; and processing the data packet in accordance with the rule-based classification data.

Abstract: Proxying Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) communications in a load balancing device. An outgoing SIP message is received from a session border controller device. The received outgoing SIP message comprises a routing control parameter in the form of a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). The received outgoing message comprises one or more additional outgoing routing control parameters different to the URI. The one or more additional outgoing routing control parameters have been originated at the session border controller device to control one or more outgoing routing characteristics at the load balancing device. The one or more additional outgoing routing control parameters are extracted from the received outgoing SIP message. The outgoing SIP message is forwarded to a peer device using the one or more outgoing routing characteristics on the basis of the one or more extracted outgoing routing control parameters.

Abstract: A packet processing system comprises a packet processing graph comprising classifier nodes including a root classifier node and leaf classifier nodes. The root classifier node is connected to each of the classifier nodes through a respective packet processing path in the graph. Each classifier node stores node match data indicative of at least one match to be applied by the respective classifier node. The classifier nodes comprise first and second classifier nodes arranged in a first packet processing path of said plurality of packet processing paths. The first classifier node stores node match data indicative of a match corresponding to content from a plurality of packet header field types, including first and second, different packet header field types. The second classifier node stores node match data indicative of a match corresponding to content from at least one packet header field type, including the first packet header field type.