Protocol independent control module

• US 20020156900A1
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: nVoq, Inc.
• Original Assignee: nVoq, Inc.
• Inventors: Abbott, Mark B., Waibel, Paul, Melendez, Jesse, Butcher, Bret B., Marquette, Brian
• Application Number:
  US10/113,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20020156900A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1017 based on a round robin mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1036 Load balancing of requests to servers for services different from user content provisioning, e.g. load balancing across domain name servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

The present invention provides a protocol independent control module for providing applications and services to requesting clients across multiple protocol formats. In particular, the control module is able to identify required or requested protocols and select application and service providers capable of supporting the identified protocol.

Claims

13-1. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

establishing a call connection to the at least one provider to fulfill the at least one request; and

controlling the call.

15. An apparatus for connecting a resource request with a resource provider, comprising:

a controller capable of receiving at least one request for at least one resource;

a protocol stack capable of determining at least one transmission protocol associated with the at least one request;

a resource locator capable of identifying at least one provider of the at least one requested resource capable of supporting the determined transmission protocol; and

a router for routing the request to the at least one provider.

29. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium including computer readable code embodied therein for processing data to control at least one requests for access to at least one application, the computer usable medium comprising;

a request receiving module configured to receive at least one request for at least one resource;

a protocol determining module configured to determine at least one transmission protocol associated with the at least one request;

a resource locator module configured to identify at least one provider of the at least one requested resource capable of supporting the determined at least one transmission protocol; and

a routing module configure to route the at least one request to the actual provider of the at least one identified provider.

33. The computer program product of 29, comprising:

the rules module is configured to route the at least one request to the actual provider using routing rules comprising load balancing rules, least busy rules, and time based rule.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the accounting module is further configured to generate the at least one accounting record based on the at least one provider.