H.323 user, service and service provider mobility framework for the multimedia intelligent networking

• US 20040223488A1
• Filed: 04/30/2004
• Published: 11/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roy, Radhika R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,317,701 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2596 Translation of addresses of the same type other than IP, e.g. translation from MAC to MAC addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/301 Name conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4547 for personal communications, i.e. using a personal identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4588 containing mobile subscriber information, e.g. home subscriber server [HSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for assuring H.323 alias address portability to an H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications where the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user. Alias address portability may be obtained using a central database that is known to the administrative zones and is used for alias address mapping, or alternatively, may be obtained by using a distributed database. The method may be implemented by: sending, by the H.323 user, a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity; confirming that the alias address, services, and service providers are portable; converting the alias address to a called routable alias address for the called H.323 entity and sending the alias address to the H.323 user; and placing the call to the called H.323 entity.

Claims

1. A method for assuring H.323 alias address portability, services portability, and service provider portability to an H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications where the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user, comprising the steps of:

sending, by the H.323 user, a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity;

confirming that the alias address is portable;

converting the alias address to a called routable address for the called H.323 entity and sending the routable address to the H.323 user; and

placing the call to the called H.323 entity.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein address portability includes, for selected information in the message, having a same source address, a same destination address and different intermediate addresses.

2. A method for providing H.323 alias address portability to an H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications wherein a geographical location is divided into home/visitor zones, and wherein each home/visitor zone has an associated home gatekeeper that maintains a centralized home/visitor location database for home and visitor location information wherein administrative zones of the geographical location of the centralized home/visitor location database are known and the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user, comprising the steps of:

sending, by the H.323 user, a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity;

translating, by the home gatekeeper, the alias address to a called routable address for the called H.323 entity;

sending, by the home gatekeeper, the called routable address to the called H.323 entity; and

placing the call to the called H.323 entity.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein each administrative domain has at least one zone.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein an alias address assigned to an H.323 user is kept fixed as the user moves from one place to another.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the alias address is an E.164 number.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein a domain for an alias address assigned to the H.323 user in an administrative domain is a donor domain.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein, where the alias address assigned to the H. 323 user is moved from a donor domain to a new domain due to roaming of the H.323 user, the new domain is called a recipient domain.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the alias address in the recipient domain is referred to as a ported number.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein, before sending, by the home gatekeeper, the called routable address to the called H.323 entity, the home gatekeeper notifies the H.323 user of the called routable address.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein location information for the H.323 user is updated by querying, by the home gatekeeper, location databases during call establishment by the H.323 user.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein the call is placed directly by the H.323 user.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein the H.323 user moves to an administrative domain of the called H.323 entity and the call is placed via a home gatekeeper of the called H.323 entity.

30. The method of claim 2 wherein alias address portability includes, for selected information in the message, having a same source address, a same destination address and different intermediate addresses.

13. A method for providing H.323 alias address portability to an H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications wherein a geographical location is divided into home/visitor zones, and wherein each home/visitor zone has an associated home gatekeeper with an administrative domain having an administrative domain database for providing alias addresses to a requesting home gatekeeper, wherein administrative zones of the geographical location of the administrative domain database are known and the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user, comprising the steps of:

sending, by the H.323 user, a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity;

sending a query message with the alias address to a home gatekeeper of the administrative domain for the called H.323 entity to determine portability of the alias address;

where the administrative domain of the H.323 user confirms portability of the alias address, implementing the following steps;

querying a database containing the alias address to determine whether the alias address must be mapped to a routable address and where the alias address must be mapped, implementing the following steps;

mapping the alias address to the routable address for the called H.323 entity;

sending the routable address for the called H.323 entity to the H.323 user; and

placing the call to the called H.323 entity.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein each administrative domain has at least one zone.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein an alias address assigned to an H.323 user is kept fixed as the user moves from one place to another.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the alias address is an E.164 number.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein a domain for an alias address assigned to the H.323 user in an administrative domain is a donor domain.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein, where the alias address assigned to the H.323 user is moved from a donor domain to a new domain due to roaming of the H.323 user, the new domain is called a recipient domain.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the alias address in the recipient domain is referred to as a ported number.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein, before sending, by the home gatekeeper, the called routable address to the called H.323 entity, the home gatekeeper notifies the H.323 user of an approximation of a cost of making the call.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein location information for the H.323 user is updated by querying, by the home gatekeeper, location databases during call establishment by the H.323 user.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the call is placed directly by the H.323 user.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein the H.323 user moves to an administrative domain of the called H.323 entity and the call is placed via a home gatekeeper of the called H.323 entity.

27. The method of claim 13 wherein alias address portability includes, for selected information in the message, having a same source address, a same destination address and different intermediate addresses.

24. A system for providing H.323 alias address portability to a H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications wherein a geographical location is divided into home/visitor zones, and wherein each home/visitor zone has an associated home gatekeeper that maintains a centralized home/visitor location database for home and visitor location information wherein administrative zones of the geographical location of the centralized home/visitor location database are known and the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user, comprising:

a H.323 user, arranged to send by a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity, and, upon receiving a called routable address for the called H.323 entity, to complete the call to the called H.323 entity; and

the home gatekeeper, arranged to translate the alias address to the called routable address for the called H.323 entity and send the called routable address to the called H.323 entity.

28. The system of claim 24 wherein alias address portability includes, for selected information in the message, having a same source address, a same destination address and different intermediate addresses.

25. A system for providing H.323 alias address portability to an H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications wherein a geographical location is divided into home/visitor zones, and wherein each home/visitor zone has an associated home gatekeeper with an administrative domain having an administrative domain database for providing alias addresses to a requesting home gatekeeper, wherein administrative zones of the geographical location of the administrative domain database are known and the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user, comprising:

the H.323 user, arranged to send a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity, and upon receiving a routable address for the called H.323 entity, completing the call to the called H.323 entity; and

the home gatekeeper, arranged to send a query message with the alias address to a home gatekeeper of the administrative domain for the called H.323 entity to determine portability of the alias address, and where the administrative domain of the H.323 user confirms portability of the alias address, by querying a database containing the alias address to determine whether the alias address must be mapped to the called H.323 routable address and where the alias address must be mapped, by mapping the alias address to the routable address for the called H.323 entity and sending the routable address for the called H.323 entity to the H.323 user.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein alias address portability includes, for selected information in the message, having a same source address, a same destination address and different intermediate addresses.

31. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of executable instructions to perform a method for providing H.323 alias address portability to an H.323 user in real-time H.323 multimedia communications wherein a geographical location is divided into home/visitor zones, and wherein each home/visitor zone has an associated home gatekeeper that maintains a centralized home/visitor location database for home and visitor location information wherein administrative zones of the geographical location of the centralized home/visitor location database are known and the H.323 user is registered with a home gatekeeper for the home zone of the H.323 user, the method comprising the steps of:

sending, by the H.323 user, a message with a called H.323 entity'"'"'s alias address, to the home gatekeeper to originate a call to the called H.323 entity;

translating, by the home gatekeeper, the alias address to a called routable address for the called H.323 entity;

sending, by the home gatekeeper, the called routable alias address to the called H.323 entity; and

placing the call to the called H.323 entity.

32. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein each administrative domain has at least one zone.

33. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein an alias address assigned to an H.323 user is kept fixed as the user moves from one place to another.

34. The program storage device of claim 33 wherein the alias address is an E.164 number.

35. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein a domain for an alias address assigned to the H.323 user in an administrative domain is a donor domain.

36. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein, where the alias address assigned to the H.323 user is moved from a donor domain to a new domain due to roaming of the H.323 user, the new domain is called a recipient domain.

37. The program storage device of claim 36 wherein the alias address in the recipient domain is referred to as a ported number.

38. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein location information for the H.323 user is updated by querying, by the home gatekeeper, location databases during call establishment by the H.323 user.

39. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein the call is placed directly by the H.323 user.

40. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein the H.323 user moves to an administrative domain of the called H.323 entity and the call is placed via a home gatekeeper of the called H.323 entity.

41. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein alias address portability includes, for selected information in the message, having a same source address, a same destination address and different intermediate addresses.

42. The program storage device of claim 31 wherein, before sending, by the home gatekeeper, the called routable address to the called H.323 entity, the home gatekeeper notifies the H.323 user of an approximation of a cost of making the call.