Communications network

• US 20020194336A1
• Filed: 06/24/2002
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Kett, Richard JM, Mason, Jeremy R
• Granted Patent: US 7,660,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0054 Service creation techniques

Abstract

A registration server in a network implementing an API (application programming interface) authenticates services and provides discovery of network resources, prior to registering services with selected network resources. Multiple instances of services and/or multiple service nodes are registered in a single service agreement.

Claims

1. A method of operating a communications network including one or more service nodes, a registration server arranged to control access by service applications to the one or more service nodes, and a platform remote from the registration server running one or more communications service applications, the method including:

e) distributing data identifying service resources available on the or each service node connected to the communications network;

f) communicating to the registration server a request for access by at least one of the service applications running on the said platform to at least some of the service resources identified in step (a);

g) at the registration server, in response to the request of step (b), executing a service agreement permitting access by the service application to the one or more service nodes providing the said requested services resources;

h) subsequently binding the service application to the one or more service nodes;

characterised in that in step (c) the service agreement specifies plural instances of the service application and/or specifies a plurality of service nodes and in that step (d) includes at least one of

(i) binding a plurality of instances of the service application to the one or more service nodes; and

/or

(iii) binding at least one instance of the service application to a plurality of service nodes.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein when step (d) includes binding a plurality of instances of the service application to the at least one service node, the method further includes distributing sucessive initial event notifications between the plurality of instances of the service application.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, including registering a plurality of service nodes with the least one instance of a service application, the method including distributing successive initial session request between the plurality of service nodes.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a step, carried out by the registration server, of repeatedly polling a plurality of service nodes registered with the registration server, and communicating to the or each service application running on the platform instance data indicating any change in the availability of the service nodes.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein when a plurality of service application instances are registered with the registration server, the method further comprises repeatedly polling each of the plurality of service application instances registered with the registration server, and communicating to the or each service node data indicating any change in the availability of the service application instances.

6. A communications network comprising one or more service nodes, a registration server arranged to control access by service applications to the one or more service nodes, and a platform remote from the registration server running one or more communications service applications, the network being further arranged to operate according to all the steps of the method of any of the preceding claims.

7. A registration server adapted for use in a communications network of claim 6, the server comprising:

means for receiving requests for access by at least one of the service applications running on the said platform to at least some service resources available on the or each service node connected to the communications network; and

means for executing a service agreement in response to a received request for access, the service agreement permitting access by the service application to the one or more service nodes providing the said requested service resources;

wherein the service agreement specifies plural instances of the service application and/or specifies a plurality of service nodes.