Abstract: Various methods and devices are provided to address the need for improved backhaul monitoring capabilities. In a first method, a network node determines whether an operational setting indicates that a traffic monitoring mode is enabled. When the traffic monitoring mode is enabled, the network node sends GTP-U packets, each GTP-U packet including a GTP-U header with an S bit set to 1 and a corresponding sequence number in a sequence number field. In a second method, a network node receives such GTP-U packets and utilizes the corresponding sequence numbers of the received GTP-U packets to provide performance measurement counts of missed GTP-U packets.

Abstract: A method of facilitating paging in a wireless communications network includes generating, at a radio access network (RAN) element of the communications network, a select paging area for a UE which is improved or optimized by taking RAN and UE specific information into account, the select paging area including information indicating one or more cells from among cells of the communications network to which paging messages are to be sent when paging the UE; and sending the select paging area from the RAN element to a core network (CN) element of the communications network.

Abstract: A method, in one example, comprising the steps of receiving a tracking area identifier indicating a tracking area where a user equipment (UE) is located, and updating a current tracking area of the UE based on whether the tracking area identifier indicates that the UE is currently in a previously visited tracking area.

Abstract: A method, in one example, comprising the steps of receiving a tracking area identifier indicating a tracking area where a user equipment (UE) is located, and updating a current tracking area of the UE based on whether the tracking area identifier indicates that the UE is currently in a previously visited tracking area.

Abstract: A method and system for improving the reliability of a system, such as a software system, is disclosed. “Service measurements” that are routinely measured and monitored in connection with the operation of systems (e.g., QOS (Quality Of Service) measurements) are utilized in the reliability architecture of the system. Service measurements include a number of alternative data types, such as transactions completed, messages received, messages sent, calls completed, bytes transmitted, jobs processed, etc. Any operations of the system that are typically monitored for other purposes can be utilized in the reliability architecture of the present invention. Most systems track these types of statistics as, for example, part of their billing procedures or part of their performance bench-marking or QOS processes.

Abstract: A computer data backup method where copying of data blocks from one medium to another is deferred until a data structure, e.g. a bit map, is generated defining those data blocks that in fact contain data. The data structure is then read to copy to the backup medium the data-containing blocks as defined by the data structure. Since the data structure is generated before the copying is effected, a range of contiguous data-containing blocks is determinable such that all the blocks of that contiguous range may be copied as a single continuous operation. The magnitude of required backup storage is reduced by eliminating the copying of empty blocks in general unless the number of empty blocks between two ranges of contiguous data-containing blocks is less than a predefined number.