Contacting a destination terminal from an originating terminal via a packet-based communications network
First Claim
1. A method of contacting a destination terminal from an originating terminal via a packet-based communications network which comprises a plurality of terminals connected to a plurality of gateways and further comprising a gatekeeper, said gatekeeper having information about each gateway comprising an identifier for each terminal connected to that gateway and said method comprising the steps of:
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(i) sending a request from an originating gateway connected to the originating terminal to the gatekeeper, said request comprising the identifier of the destination terminal;
(ii) receiving a reply at the originating gateway from the gatekeeper said reply comprising information about at least one and possibly more of the gateways which can be contacted to reach the destination terminal.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention concerns packet-based communications networks in which gateways are used to direct communications between terminals. For example, H.323 based communications networks are one example of this type of communications network. One problem relates to how such gateways can be enabled to direct communications between terminals in such a way that takes into account cost information and/or the fact that telephone numbers (or other identifiers) are repeated in different parts of the communications network. This is addressed by providing a gatekeeper with cost information associated with each gateway. An originating gateway sends a request to the gatekeeper comprising a unique identifier of that originating gateway and an identifier for a destination terminal. The gatekeeper uses this information to provide a reply comprising a list of all possible gateways that can be used to contact the destination terminal or a single preferred gateway. The list is preferably ordered on the basis of cost information and/or depending on which region in the network that the originating gateway is located.
54 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of contacting a destination terminal from an originating terminal via a packet-based communications network which comprises a plurality of terminals connected to a plurality of gateways and further comprising a gatekeeper, said gatekeeper having information about each gateway comprising an identifier for each terminal connected to that gateway and said method comprising the steps of:
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(i) sending a request from an originating gateway connected to the originating terminal to the gatekeeper, said request comprising the identifier of the destination terminal;
(ii) receiving a reply at the originating gateway from the gatekeeper said reply comprising information about at least one and possibly more of the gateways which can be contacted to reach the destination terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A gatekeeper arranged for use in a packet-based communications network comprising a plurality of terminals connected to a plurality of gateways and wherein identifiers are associated with each terminal, said gatekeeper comprising:
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(i) a memory arranged to store information about each gateway in the communications network said information comprising the identifier of each terminal connected to each gateway;
(ii) an input arranged to receive a request from a gateway in the communications network, said request comprising an identifier of a destination terminal;
(iii) an output arranged to send a reply to the requesting gateway, said reply comprising information about at least one and possibly more gateways which can be contacted to reach the destination terminal. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 26)
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22. A gateway arranged for use in a packet-based communications network comprising a plurality of terminals connected either to the gateway or to second gateways and wherein identifiers are associated with each terminal, said communications network further comprising a gatekeeper having information about each gateway comprising an identifier for each terminal connected to that gateway, said gateway comprising:
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(i) a processor arranged to issue a request to the gatekeeper, said request comprising an identifier of a destination terminal;
(ii) an input arranged to receive a reply from the gatekeeper, said reply comprising information about at least one and possibly more of the second gateways which can be contacted to reach the destination terminal. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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27. A computer program for controlling a gatekeeper which is arranged for use in a packet-based communications network comprising a plurality of terminals connected to a plurality of gateways and wherein identifiers are associated with each terminal, said computer program being arranged to control said gatekeeper such that:
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(i) information is stored about each gateway in the communications network said information comprising the identifier of each terminal connected to each gateway;
(ii) requests are received from gateways in the communications network, said requests comprising an identifier of a destination terminal; and
(iii) a reply is sent to the requesting gateway, said reply comprising information about at least one and possibly more gateways which can be contacted to reach the destination terminal.
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28. A computer program for controlling a gateway in order to contact a destination terminal from an originating terminal via a packet-based communications network which comprises a plurality of terminals connected either to the gateway or to second gateways and further comprising a gatekeeper, said gatekeeper having information about each gateway comprising an identifier for each terminal connected to that gateway, said computer program being arranged to control the gateway such that:
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(i) a request is sent from the gateway to the gatekeeper, said request comprising the identifier of the destination terminal;
(ii) a reply is received at the gateway from the gatekeeper said reply comprising information about one and possibly more of the second gateways which can be contacted to reach the destination terminal.
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Specification