End-to-end logic tracing of complex call flows in a distributed call system

• US 20090238343A1
• Filed: 04/11/2008
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Hines, Gordon J., Geldenbott, Gerhard
• Granted Patent: US 8,576,991 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A logic history can be provided for every request or call instance through a distributed computing system that uniquely traces its entire path, end-to-end, in-band within the messaging for the system. The end result is a single true representation of what occurred with no post computational inference. Accordingly, unique logic history codes are not forced across the system. Rather sub-components that are logic history enabled can use codes that have meaning and applicability to itself. Unique logic history codes are not forced across the system, which in practice would be brittle. Rather each sub-component that is logic history enabled can use codes that have meaning and applicability only to itself. This allows the system to be flexible and lets sub-components change and redefine their logic and logic history traces without impacting the rest of the system.

Claims

1. An in-band call flow logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system, said in-band logic history comprising:

a first group of characters representing specific events in a logic flow of said call request relevant to a first component in said distributed call system; and

a second group of characters representing specific events in said logic flow of said call request relevant to a second component in said distributed call system;

wherein said first group of characters and said second group of characters are retrieved in-band with said call request as said call request travels through said distributed call system.

2. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said specific events are unique with respect to any given component encountered during said call flow.

3. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said second group of characters are embedded within said first group of characters.

4. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said logic history traces an end-to-end logic flow of said call request.

5. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said characters in said logic history are comprised of numbers each representing a given event in a logic flow.

6. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said characters in said logic history are comprised of alphanumeric characters representing a given event in a logic flow.

7. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said characters in said logic history are comprised of readable text representing a given event in a logic flow.

8. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said in-band logic history is instantiated by a first component in said distributed call system to encounter said call request.

9. The in-band logic history embedded with a call request passed through a distributed call system according to claim 1, wherein:

said in-band logic history is initialized with an identifier unique with respect to said first component.

10. A method of embedding an end-to-end logic flow history in-band with a given call request;

comprising;

receiving a call request;

instantiating a logic history in-band relating to said call request;

embedding characters representing a logic flow history into said in-band logic history;

passing said call request to another component in said distributed call system;

receiving a returned logic history string from said another component;

embedding said returned logic history string into said in-band logic history; and

storing said logic history in a suitable logic history database.

11. Apparatus for embedding an end-to-end logic flow history in-band with a given call request;

comprising;

means for receiving a call request;

means for instantiating a logic history in-band relating to said call request;

means for embedding characters representing a logic flow history into said in-band logic history;

means for passing said call request to another component in said distributed call system;

means for receiving a returned logic history string from said another component;

means for embedding said returned logic history string into said in-band logic history; and

means for storing said logic history in a suitable logic history database.