High availability for voice enabled applications

• US 20080052344A1
• Filed: 08/28/2006
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Narasimhan, Mahesh, Alecci, Anthony J., Velamala, Vivekananda, Ezell, Joel M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,137,287 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/50 Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers H04M3/487 takes precedence; centralised dictation systems H04M11/10; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

The present invention provides methods and systems for providing high availability voice applications. More specifically, one or more applications may share an extension of a switch among each other. This allows each application to receive data from the switch without occupying additional extensions of the switch. A first application sharing the extension with a second application may be provided as a backup to the second application in case the second application fails. Thus, the second application does not represent a single point of failure for the overall system.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

connecting a first contact with at least a first communication device through a switch;

at least substantially simultaneously forwarding data associated with the first contact to first and second servers; and

wherein the first and second servers are associated with a common endpoint identifier of the switch.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

registering a first server with the switch using a first endpoint identifier; and

registering a second server with the switch using the first endpoint identifier while the first server is registered with the switch using the first endpoint identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second servers are registered with the switch at start up.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second servers are registered with the switch upon receipt of the first contact.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising registering a third server with the switch using the first endpoint identifier while at least one of the first and second server is registered with the switch using the first endpoint identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least a first communication device is connected to the switch using the common endpoint identifier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least a first communication device is connected to the switch using a second endpoint identifier that differs from the common endpoint identifier.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the first and second servers running at least a first application for servicing the first contact.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least a first application run by the first and second servers is the same application.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least a first application comprises at least one of a recording application, an automated response application, a signaling application, a media application, and an emergency application.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first server functioning as a primary server;

the first server at least partially failing to fulfill the role as the primary server; and

the second server switching from a backup server role to the primary server role.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising detecting that the first server is at least partially failing to fulfill the role as the primary server prior to switching the second server from the backup server role to the primary server role.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the common endpoint identifier comprises at least one of an extension and a Uniform Reference Identifier.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first server is functioning as a primary server when the first contact is received, the method further comprising:

analyzing a current load for the first server;

determining that the first server has a current load exceeding a predetermined threshold; and

requesting the second server to function as the primary server and service the first contact.

15. A computer readable medium comprising processor executable instructions operable to perform the method of claim 1.

16. A communication system, comprising:

a switch;

a first application server connected to the switch using a first endpoint identifier; and

a second application server connected to the switch using the first endpoint identifier while the first application server is connected to the switch with the first endpoint identifier.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein data is transferred from the switch to the first and second application servers at substantially the same time.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein data comprises at least one of downlink call control data, device control messages, and streaming media.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising a first communication device associated with an enterprise connected to the switch via a second endpoint identifier, wherein the switch is associated with the enterprise.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the first endpoint identifier is different from the second endpoint identifier.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the first endpoint identifier is the same as the second endpoint identifier.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the first application server comprises a first Internet Protocol (IP) address and wherein the second application server comprises a second IP address that differs from the first IP address.

23. The system of claim 16, further comprising a first and second intermediate server, wherein the first intermediate server connects the first application server to the switch, and wherein the second intermediate server connects the second application server to the switch.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the first intermediate server further connects the second application server to the switch, and wherein the second intermediate server further connects the first application server to the switch.

25. A method, comprising:

receiving a first contact;

determining that a first server enabled application will service the first contact;

connecting at least two endpoints to the first contact through a switch; and

wherein a first and second of the at least two endpoints are registered with the switch using a first endpoint identifier, and wherein the first of the at least two endpoints comprises the first server enabled application.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the second of the at least two endpoints comprises a second server comprising the first server enabled application.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the second of the at least two endpoints comprises a communication device.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising delivering data from the switch to the first and second of the at least two endpoints at substantially the same time.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the first and second of the at least two endpoints are registered with the switch prior to receiving the first contact.