Geographically distributed multiprocessor time-shared communication processing system

• US 4,500,960 A
• Filed: 06/28/1982
• Issued: 02/19/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: McDonald, John F., Matteo, Peter J., Escolar, Carlos, Babecki, Glenn R., MacLachlan, George F., Welt, Martin J., Wendt, Timothy A., Kaplan, Frank, Liu, Hueichi R., Yates, Gregory S., Palframan, John D., Zislis, Paul M., Kan, Hsin-Kuo, Garnant, Craig M., Tran, Roger T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Heckler, Thomas M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malamud, Ronni S.
• Application Number:
  US06/393,138
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200, 364/900
• US Class Current: 710/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities

Abstract

A geographically distributed multiprocessor system is implemented by locating groups of processors at nodes which are interconnected by way of a transport network and which are connected by way of local lines to customer terminals and hosts. Each processor supports a plurality of processes which communicate with other processes in the same processor by way of internal links and with other processes in other processors by way of combinations of internal links and external communication links. Interface processes exchange data between the internal and external links. A process can initiate a call to any other process and define the communication parameters for exchanging data information by selecting the appropriate internal link and supplying the code defining the communication parameters to the selected internal link. The interface process relays the communication parameter code to the external link when the terminating end process is in the remote processor and processes the code when the terminating end process is the interface process.

Claims

1. In a system for processing data calls from initiating end point users to terminating end point users, the system including at least one processor supporting a plurality of processes adaptable to the initiating and terminating end point users:

a process in the processor for interfacing an external communication link;

an internal communication subsystem for exchanging data between the processes through links internal to the processor in accordance with communication parameters defined by control data passed through the internal links during call initiation, at least one of the internal links extending to the interfacing process; and

means invoked by the interfacing process during call initiation for applying the control data on the one internal link to the external communication link when the terminating end point user is accessed by way of the external communication link and for processing the control data when the terminating end point user is the interfacing process.

2. In a processing system, in accordance with claim 1, wherein the initiating end point user applies the control data to the internal link during call initiation and the means invoked by the interfacing process transfers the control data to the external link without the processing thereof when the terminating end point user is accessed by way of the external link.

3. In a processing system, in accordance with claims 1 or 2, wherein the means invoked by the interfacing process comprises program code executed by the interfacing process.

4. In a multiprocessor communication processing system wherein each processor supports a plurality of processes:

a process in each processor for interfacing a communication link extending to a remote processor;

an internal communication subsystem for transferring data between processes in the same processor through internal links in accordance with communication parameters;

means invoked by each process requesting a connection to a terminating process for selecting an internal link and passing data defining communication parameters to the selected link; and

means invoked by the interfacing process in response to the selection of an internal link thereto for transferring the parameter data on the internal link to the communication link when the terminating process is in the remote processor and for processing the parameter data on the internal link when the terminating process is the interfacing process.

5. In a multiprocessor communication processing system, in accordance with claim 4, wherein the means invoked by each process comprises program code executed by the process and the means invoked by the interfacing process comprises program code executed by the interfacing process.

6. In a multiprocessor communication processing system, in accordance with claims 4 or 5, wherein the means invoked by each process requests a connection to a terminating process by applying a unique identification of the terminating process to the selected internal link and the means invoked by the interfacing process further includes means responsive to the unique identification applied to the internal link thereto for determining whether the terminating process is in the remote processor and whether the terminating process is the interfacing process.