Intelligent call platform for an intelligent distributed network

• US 6,260,067 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1999
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Barnhouse, Robert, Cardy, Doug, Porter, Kelvin, Rambo, Ken, Waller, Carol, Wong, Wendy, Yao, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US09/428,116
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 709/100, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42136 Administration or customisation of services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0037 involving call modelling techniques, e.g. modifications to the basic call state model [BCSM]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/90 Internet, e.g. Internet phone, webphone, internet-based telephony

Abstract

The present invention provides an intelligent call processor, an intelligent switching node and an intelligent communications network for use in a communications system. The intelligent call processor comprises a logical platform having a plurality of functions wherein at least one of the functions is service processing function, at least one of the functions is call processing, and at least one of the functions is facility processing, and a processor for executing the plurality of functions. The intelligent switching node comprises an intelligent call processor and, a resource complex communicably linked to the intelligent call processor and logically separated from the intelligent call processor. The intelligent communications network comprises a plurality of intelligent distributed network nodes, a network management system for monitoring and controlling a wide area network and the plurality of intelligent switching nodes, and the wide area network interconnecting the plurality of intelligent distributed network nodes and the network management system.

Claims

1. An intelligent communications network comprising:

a plurality of intelligent distributed network nodes, each intelligent distributed network node having

an intelligent call processor having a processor for executing a plurality of functions within a logical platform wherein at least one of the functions is service processing, at least one of the functions is call processing and at least one of the functions is facility processing, and

a resource complex communicably linked to the intelligent call processor and logically separated from the intelligent call processor;

a network management system for monitoring and controlling a wide area network and the plurality of intelligent switching nodes; and

the wide area network interconnecting the plurality of intelligent distributed network nodes and the network management system.

2. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the wide area network is a synchronous optical network.

3. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the wide area network utilizes a common object request broker architecture.

4. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the network management system operates within a telecommunications management network compliant framework.

5. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the network management system monitors and controls the plurality of intelligent distributed network nodes such that services and functions can be flexibly and dynamically distributed across the plurality of intelligent distributed network nodes.

6. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the network management system controls deployment of services, maintains the health of those services, provides information about those services and provides network-level management functions.

7. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the network management system further includes:

means for accessing, controlling and monitoring the services and hardware in the plurality of intelligent network nodes through an agent functionality;

means for controlling the operation of a local operating system on each intelligent call processor, including the starting and stopping of a plurality of processes, querying the contents of a process table and the status of the plurality of processes;

means for monitoring the performance of the intelligent call processors;

means for controlling the initialization and operation of the wide area network; and

means for controlling and supporting the instantiation and operation of a plurality of service layer execution environments running on a single intelligent call processor.

8. The intelligent network as recited in claim 7, wherein the Managed Object Creation Environment utilizes modular tools so that service development work can be partitioned.

9. The intelligent network as recited in claim 7, wherein managed object software and respective dependencies are created in the Managed Object Creation Environment.

10. The intelligent network as recited in claim 7, wherein the Managed Object Creation Environment further includes a plurality of sub-components that can be used to create services.

11. The intelligent network as recited in claim 7, wherein the Managed Object Creation Environment further includes a unified collection of tools hosted on a single user environment or platform.

12. The intelligent network as recited in claim 7, wherein the Managed Object Creation Environment further includes a collection of operations that are required throughout the process of service creation, such as service documentation, managed object definition, interface definition, protocol definition and data input definition, which are encapsulated in managed objects, and service testing.

13. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of functions can be moved to the intelligent call processor within any intelligent distributed network node without interrupting the operation of the intelligent call processor.

14. The intelligent network as recited in claim 1, further including a Managed Object Creation Environment communicably linked to the network management system for creating, modifying, testing and deploying functions that are to be used by the call processor.