Method and apparatus for call setup within a voice frame network

• US 20050027861A1
• Filed: 09/02/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shah, Dhaval N., Tasker, Michael E., Joffe, Neil R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,181,522 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/25 of the same type
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0087 Network testing or monitoring arrangements

Abstract

The method involves transmitting plural endpoint probes to produce plural endpoint probe results indicating the preparedness of the endpoints for calls routed thereto; identifying similarly situated endpoints; and representing each of the similarly situated endpoints by a reduced number of recorded endpoint probe results that substantially represent the inter-connective preparedness of each of the similarly situated endpoints. The apparatus includes a mapping mechanism for mapping the probe results for the similarly situated endpoints into a reduced number of endpoint probe results that substantially represent the inter-connective preparedness of each of the similarly situated endpoints, and a recording mechanism for recording the reduced number of endpoint probe results. Such mapping permits an Internet operating system (IOS) router/gateway to act as an real-time responder/service assurance agent (RTR/SAA) proxy on behalf of non-RTR/SAA capable voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) endpoints.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing network endpoint probe results, the method comprising:

transmitting or receiving a plurality of endpoint probes associated with multiple different endpoint addresses;

identifying a group of the multiple endpoint addresses associated with a same network domain;

using a reduced number of network addresses less than a total number of the identified endpoint addresses to identify probe results for all of the identified endpoint addresses.

2. The method of claim 1 which further comprises:

caching all of the identified endpoint addresses in the reduced number of network addresses thereby reducing a total amount of cache required to store network preparedness results for the identified endpoint addresses.

3. The method of claim 1 receiving probe results for the individual endpoint addresses in the identified group and using a single network processing device address to identify the probe results for all of the individual endpoint addresses.

4. The method of claim 1 including using probe results for one of the identified endpoint addresses to represent probe results for multiple ones of the identified endpoint addresses.

5. The method of claim 1 including associating at least one of the reduced network addresses with a Public Branch Exchange (PBX) and associating multiple ones of the identified endpoint addresses with Internet Protocol (IP) phones.

6. The method of claim 1 including associating at least one of the identified endpoint addresses with an Internet protocol (IP) voice gateway.

7. Apparatus for consolidating plural endpoint probe results into a reduced number of representative endpoint probe results, the apparatus comprising:

a mapping mechanism for mapping the probe results for multiple endpoints into a reduced number of endpoint probe results that substantially represent the preparedness of each of the multiple endpoints, the mapping mechanism identifying the multiple endpoints within a network by their individual network addresses and mapping endpoint probe results associated with the individual network addresses into a same network address that is representative of the endpoints, and

a recording mechanism for recording the reduced number of endpoint probe results and associating the reduced number of endpoint probe results with the same network address.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 which further comprises:

a proxy reporting mechanism for reporting the reduced-and-recorded endpoint probe results as representative of one or more of the multiple endpoints that is mapped by said mapping mechanism into such reduced-and-recorded endpoint probe results.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 which further comprises:

a caching mechanism for caching the reduced-and-recorded probe results for the multiple endpoints.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 which further comprises:

a pinging mechanism for producing the plural endpoint probe results, said pinging mechanism test-probing plural endpoints to determine the preparedness thereof for calls routed thereto.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of the multiple endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) phone.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of the multiple endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) voice gateway.

13. A voice frame network address consolidation method for use with pinging endpoints to determine their interconnectivity preparedness, the method comprising:

identifying multiple endpoints within the voice frame network by their individual network addresses;

mapping the network addresses of the identified endpoints into a single network address that is representative of the multiple endpoints; and

utilizing the pinging results for the mapped-to network address to represent the interconnectivity preparedness of the multiple endpoints.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) phone.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) voice gateway.

16. A computer-readable medium containing a program for consolidating voice frame network address endpoint probe results to determine their interconnectivity preparedness, the program comprising:

instructions for identifying multiple endpoints within the network by their individual network addresses;

instructions for mapping the network addresses of the identified multiple endpoints into a network address that is representative of the multiple endpoints; and

instructions for utilizing the pinging results for the mapped-to network address to represent the interconnectivity preparedness of the multiple endpoints that are mapped thereto.

17. The computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 16, wherein at least one of the multiple endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) phone.

18. The computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 16, wherein at least one of the multiple endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) voice gateway.

19. Apparatus for consolidating plural endpoint probe results into a reduced number of representative endpoint probe results, the apparatus comprising:

means for identifying endpoints within the voice frame network by their individual network addresses;

means for mapping the network addresses of the identified ones of the endpoints into a network address that is representative of the endpoints; and

means for utilizing the pinging results for the mapped-to network address to represent the interconnectivity preparedness of the endpoints that are mapped thereto.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein at least one of the endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) phone.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of the endpoints includes an Internet protocol (IP) voice gateway.