Communication controller

• US 6,449,259 B1
• Filed: 06/30/1997
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Szurkowski, Edward Stanley, Specht, Dennis W., Allain, Brian Jerry
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Huy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, STEVEN H D
• Application Number:
  US08/885,539
• Time in Patent Office: 1,898 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/253, 370/242, 370/238, 370/236, 370/230, 370/231, 370/232, 370/465, 370/351, 370/353, 370/401, 340/827, 340/2.23, 379/114.02, 379/114.07, 379/356, 379/402
• US Class Current: 370/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/325 in the network layer [OSI layer 3], e.g. X.25 H04L69/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication controller interfaced to a plurality of networks. The communication controller is able to monitor and measure the network characteristics of all the networks and route information signals that are part of established communications between users of a network to another network based on criteria set by the users or the network system provider. The routing is done without any disruption of the established communications.

Claims

1. A communication controller for routing information signals between a plurality of communication networks, at least two of the communication networks having different protocols, the communication controller comprising:

a QoS monitor module configured to receive monitor signals containing quality of service network characteristic measurement data where such monitor signals are either from network monitoring equipment or from received test signals transmitted by the QoS monitor module and where the QoS monitor is further configured to compile the quality of service network measurement characteristic data;

a User Interface module configured to receive user response signals from a user responding to a request message transmitted by the communication controller where such user response signals indicate whether the user has decided to reroute its information signals; and

a Network Port coupled to the QoS monitor module and to the User Interface module where the Network Port is configured to receive signals and determine whether such signals are monitor signals, criteria signals, user response signals or information signals and where the Network Port is further configured to route received information signals to one of the networks with an acceptable QoS based on network characteristic measurement data contained in the received monitor signals, network and/or service provider criteria data contained in the received criteria signals and request messages contained in the received user response signals.

2. The communication controller of claim 1 where the Network Port routes information signals that are part of established communications substantially without any disruptions to the established communications.

3. The communication controller of claim 1 further comprising a User/System criteria module coupled to the Network Port where the User/System criteria module is configured to receive network criteria signal and store network criteria data contained in such network criteria signals transferred from the Network Port.

4. The communication controller of claim 3 further comprising:

a Reroute Processing module coupled to the Network Port and to the user interface module; and

a Decision Processing module coupled to the Reroute Processing module, the User/System criteria module and the QoS monitor module where the Decision Processing module generates a decision message which is transferred to the Reroute Processing module causing the Reroute Processing module to generate control signals that are transferred to the Network Port causing the Network Port to route received information signals in accordance with the control signals.

5. The communication controller of claim 1 interfaced to a communication device.

6. The communication controller of claim 5 where the communication device is a personal computer or a mainframe computer.

7. The communication controller of claim 5 where the communication device is a gateway.

8. A method for routing information signals received by a communication controller from a plurality of communication networks, at least two of the communication networks having different protocols, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving monitor signals, which contain quality of service network characteristic measurement data, from the communication networks;

receiving network criteria signals, which contain criteria data, from the networks;

receiving user response signals in response to a request message transmitted by the controller;

generating a decision message based on the monitor signals and the network criteria signals;

generating control signals based on the decision message and a user response message; and

routing the received information signals via one of the networks selected in accordance with the control signals.

9. The method of claim 8 where the step of receiving monitor signals further comprises the step of compiling the quality of service network characteristic measurement data.

10. The method of claim 8 where the user response message is generated based on the received user response signals.