Context sessions: a novel approach for scalable context management in NGN networks

In this paper we present a context-management middleware for Next Generation Networks (NGN). Our middleware, called ICE, is based on the concept of Context Sessions. In contrast to earlier work in context management, we apply NGN design principles to context management and separate signalling from context exchange. We believe that ICE provides an ideal starting point for more flexible and adaptive management of large scale context information compared to existing approaches. In order to allow for easy integration into NGN networks, ICE is implemented as a service on top of the IP Multimedia Subsystem.