Automatic call manager traffic gate feature

• US 6,570,855 B1
• Filed: 12/30/1999
• Issued: 05/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sankalia, Anish, Kung, Fen-Chung, Wang, Spencer
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US09/475,745
• Time in Patent Office: 1,244 Days
• Field of Search: 379/111, 379/112, 379/113, 379/115, 379/219, 379/220, 379/221, 379/222, 379/224, 379/229, 379/230, 379/133, 379/134, 379/137, 370/229, 370/230, 370/237, 370/354
• US Class Current: 370/237
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8016 based on quality of service [QoS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7414 QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2263 Network management
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/367 Traffic or load control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

A method of managing a call traffic includes determining when a load of a first call manager exceeds a predetermined load level, and ameliorating the load when the load exceeds the predetermined load level. The load is ameliorated by either notifying a network that future calls are to be directed to a second call manager, or transferring at least one pending call from the first call manager to a second call manager, or both.

Claims

1. Apparatus for use in an Internet Protocol (IP) telephony network operated by a service provider, the apparatus comprising

a first call manager adapted to communicate with customer premises equipment served by said network in order to carry out processing necessary for the set-up of voice calls over said IP network,

a second call manager adapted to communicate with customer premises equipment served by said network in order to carry out processing necessary for the set-up of voice calls over said IP network, and

call manager logic that, in response to a determination that the processing load of said first call manager in carrying out said processing has exceeded a predetermined load level, offloads at least a portion of the processing load of said first call manager to said second call manager,

the processing carried out by said first and second call managers including communicating messages to and from other equipment within said service-provider-operated IP telephony network.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers includes the receipt from said customer premises equipment of dialed telephone number digits and further includes processing of those received digits to initiate the establishment of connections to called parties identified by said received digits.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes causing alerting signals and busy signals to be provided to said customer premises equipment.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes processing necessary for the tear-down of said calls.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes providing accounting messages containing information necessary for billing of said calls.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes control of operating parameters for generating announcements communicated to said customer premises equipment.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said offloading comprises notifying a network that future calls are to be directed to said second call manager.

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein said offloading comprises transferring at least one pending call to said second call manager.

9. A method for use in an Internet Protocol (IP) communications network of a type that includes a first call manager adapted to communicate with customer premises equipment served by said network in order to carry out processing necessary for the set-up of calls over said network, the processing carried out by said first call manager including communicating messages to and from other equipment within said service-provider-operated IP telephony network, the method comprising

offloading at least a portion of the processing load of said first call manager to a substantially similar second call manager in response to a determination that said first call manager is in an overloaded processing condition.

10. The invention of claim 9 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers includes the receipt from said customer premises equipment of dialed telephone number digits and the processing of those received digits to initiate the establishment of connections to called parties identified by said received digits.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes causing alerting signals and busy signals to be provided to said customer premises equipment.

12. The invention of claim 11 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers father includes processing necessary for the tear-down of said calls.

13. The invention of claim 12 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes providing accounting messages containing information necessary for billing of said calls.

14. The invention of claim 13 wherein the processing carried out by said first and second call managers further includes control of operating parameters for generating announcements communicated to said customer premises equipment.

15. The invention of claim 12 wherein said offloading comprises notifying a network that new calls originally targeted to the first call manager are to be directed to said second call manager.

16. The invention of claim 12 wherein said offloading comprises transferring at least one pending call to said second call manager.