Voice over data telecommunications network architecture

• US 20040022237A1
• Filed: 02/12/2003
• Published: 02/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Level 3 Communications Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Jin-Gen, Peterson, Jon, Elliott, Isaac K., Baker, Bruce W., Mitchell, Jonathan S., Higgins, Steven P., Stearns, Harold, Zimmerer, Eric, Hernandez, Robert L., Steele, Rick D., Lewis, Shawn M., Owen, Kraig, Dugan, Andrew John, Terpstra, Rich, Waibel, Ray
• Granted Patent: US 7,564,840 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• 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 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1245 where a network other than PSTN/ISDN interconnects two PSTN/ISDN networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1255 where the switching fabric and the switching logic are decomposed such as in Media Gateway Control
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0025 : Provisions for signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 : involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

The present invention describes a system and method for communicating voice and data over a packet-switched network that is adapted to coexist and communicate with a legacy PSTN. The system permits packet switching of voice calls and data calls through a data network from and to any of a LEC, a customer facility or a direct IP connection on the data network. The system includes soft switch sites, gateway sites, a data network, a provisioning component, a network event component and a network management component. The system interfaces with customer facilities (e.g., a PBX), carrier facilities (e.g., a LEC) and legacy signaling networks (e.g., SS7) to handle calls between any combination of on-network and off-network callers.

The soft switch sites provide the core call processing for the voice network architecture. The soft switch sites manage the gateway sites in a preferred embodiment, using a protocol such as the Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) protocol to request the set-up and tear-down of calls. The gateway sites originate and terminate calls between calling parties and called parties through the data network. The gateway sites include network access devices to provide access to network resources. The data network connects one or more of the soft switch sites to one or more of the gateway sites. The provisioning and network event component collects call events recorded at the soft switch sites. The network management component includes a network operations center (NOC) for centralized network management.

Claims

1. A system for transmitting media traffic over a data network, the system comprising:

a media gateway converting the media traffic from a first media format to a second media format operable for transmission of the media traffic over the data network; and

a soft switch communicatively connected to the media gateway by way of the data network, the soft switch receiving signaling information associated with the media traffic, and in response to the signaling information, controlling the media gateway by issuing one or more messages to the media gateway over the data network.

2. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the first media format is a circuit-switched format.

3. A system as defined in claim 2, wherein the second media format is a packet-switched format.

4. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein the data network is a packet-switched network, the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway being in the packet-switched format.

5. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein the packet-switched format is selected from the group consisting of:

wireless terrestrial format;

wireless satellite format;

ATM format;

IP format;

Ethernet format; and

frame relay format.

6. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the soft switch comprises:

means for determining whether the media traffic received at the media gateway comprises a voice call or a data call.

7. A system as defined in claim 6, wherein the one or more messages issued by the soft switch to the media gateway comprise:

an instruction for the media gateway to terminate the call at a modem for transmission over the data network if the call is determined to be a data call; and

an instruction for the media gateway to terminate the call at a second media gateway via an RTP connection over a second data network if the call is determined to be a voice call.

8. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the media gateway encapsulates the media traffic for transmission of the media traffic over the data network in the second media format.

9. A system as defined in claim 8, wherein the media gateway encrypts the encapsulated media traffic.

10. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway over the data network are Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) messages.

11. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway over the data network are media gateway control protocol (MGCP) messages.

12. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway over the data network are network access server messaging interface (NMI) protocol messages.

13. A method for controlling transmission of media traffic between an origination access gateway and a termination access gateway over a data network, the method comprising:

receiving the media traffic at the origination access gateway;

receiving signaling information associated with the media traffic at a soft switch site located at a geographic location external to the origination access gateway; and

in response to the signaling information, controlling the origination access gateway using commands transmitted by the soft switch site to the origination access gateway over the data network, wherein the commands relate to routing the media traffic between the origination access gateway and the termination access gateway.

14. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising:

converting the media traffic from a first media format to a second media format for transmission over the data network.

15. A method as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

receiving the media traffic at the origination access gateway from a circuit-switched network, wherein the first media format is a circuit-switched format.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein the data network is packet-switched network and the second media format is a packet-switched media format.

17. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

18. A method as defined in claim 13, wherein the controlling act comprises:

issuing a command to the origination access gateway that identifies a network address of the termination access gateway on the data network, wherein the origination gateway uses the network address to prepare the media traffic for transmission across the data network to the termination access gateway.

19. A method as defined in claim 18, further comprising:

placing the media traffic into at least one data packet having header information inclusive of the network address of the termination access gateway on the data network.

20. A method as defined in claim 19, wherein the data network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network and the network address of the termination access gateway on the data network is an IP address.