Voice processing systems connected in a cluster

• US 5,301,226 A
• Filed: 02/05/1992
• Issued: 04/05/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Octel Communications Corp. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Olson, Peter D., Kendall, Burton N.
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US07/831,464
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 379/89, 379/88, 379/67, 379/84, 379/231, 379/232, 379/233
• US Class Current: 379/88.18
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems

Abstract

The present invention provides a highly reliable network of interconnected voice processing modules. The voice processing modules are interconnected by a high speed FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) network so that information can be transferred between the modules at high speed. All of the incoming lines for all the interconnected modules are connected in a single hunt group. Each user'"'"'s profile is stored in two modules and each module includes a directory that shows were each user'"'"'s profile is stored. When a call arrives at a particular module, the directory is first checked to insure that the desired user does have a mailbox somewhere on the network and to determine where the particular user'"'"'s profile is located. The user'"'"'s profile is obtained via the FDDI network from one of the modules where it is located. The profile will show where the associated greeting is stored. The greeting is obtained via the FDDI bus (if it is not on the system which received the call) and the greeting is played. If the caller leaves a message, it is stored on the system which received the call. The user'"'"'s profile is updated to show that a message was stored and to show where the message is stored. The updated user'"'"'s profile is then returned to the two systems where it was originally stored.

Claims

1. A system including a cluster of voice processing sub-systems for providing a plurality of voice mail boxes for a plurality of users, each user having a profile which contains information about said user and about said user'"'"'s mailbox, said cluster including in combination:

a plurality of input lines for receiving calls, said input lines being connected as a single hunt group, said lines going to said voice processing sub-systems, each input line going to one voice processing sub-system,

means in each of said sub-systems for storing a plurality of user profiles,

each of said sub-systems having means for storing a table which lists all the users in said cluster and which lists were the profile for each user is stored,

network means interconnecting said voice processing sub-systems, whereby user profiles can be transferred between said sub-systems,

means responsive to an incoming call, to obtain the associated user'"'"'s profile from the sub-system where such profile is resident,

means for storing incoming messages on the sub-system which received a call, and

means for updating a user profile to show where messages are stored,

whereby any sub-system can handle a call for any user on the cluster of sub-systems.

4. The system recited in claim 1 wherein said network means comprises a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) network.

5. The system recited in claim 1 including means for storing each user profile in two of said sub-systems, whereby said system can continue operating if one module is inoperative.

6. The system recited in claim 5 including means for obtaining at least one of said profiles via said network means when a call comes into a sub-system.

2. An information server system comprising in combination,

a plurality of information server modules for providing mailbox facilities for a plurality of users,

a plurality of input lines arranged in one hunt group, said input lines being distributed among said information server modules,

a profile for each of said users, said profiles being distributed among said modules, each profile being stored on at least two of said modules,

a local bus means connecting said information server modules into a cluster and,

profile obtaining means in each of said modules operable in response to an incoming call directed to a particular user, for obtaining the profile of said particular user irrespective of where said profile is stored,

whereby any of said information server modules can handle a call directed to any user.

7. The system recited in claim 2 wherein said local bus is a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) network.

3. A cluster of voice processing modules for providing voice mailboxes for a plurality of suers, each user having an associated voice mailbox, each particular one of said modules including means for responding to an incoming call, and for storing messages on memory devices associate with the particular module,

a local Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) network interconnecting all of said modules, each of said users having an associated profile, each profile being stored on at least two of said modules,

each of said modules having stored therein an access management table with entries that list the modules where the profiles associated with each of said users is stored and,

cluster controller means in each of said modules responsive to a call to the associated module for a particular user for interrogating the access management table stored in said module to determine where the particular user'"'"'s profile is stored and for retrieving said profile, updating said profile indicating the location messages for said particular user are stored and for returning said updated profile to the module listed in the access management table,

whereby any one of said modules can handle a call for any one of said users.