Method and system for dynamic message registration by a service controller

• US 7,113,987 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2001
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International, Inc.
• Inventors: Norby, Steven E., Nabkel, Jafar S., Jaramillo, Paul D., Egan, Ronald J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar, Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin T
• Application Number:
  US09/842,581
• Publication Number:
  US 20020169888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,980 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/225, 709/249, 709/224, 379/201.01, 379/201.02, 379/214.01, 370/265
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5022 by giving priorities, e.g. assigning classes of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1225 Details of core network interconnection arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13034 A/D conversion, code compression/expansion
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13296 Packet switching, X.25, frame relay
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13345 Intelligent networks, SCP
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 LAN, internet

Abstract

A system and method for providing centralized control of one or more communication services, includes an Integrated Services Controller (ISC), which is in communication with any number of communications networks, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network or in the Internet. The ISC may be further configured to dynamically receive a Message Registration List (MRL) through an interactive exchange of commands with one or more communications services. This MRL may include one or more messages in which a particular communications service has a notification interest. The ISC may provide centralized processing for messages received from the communications services. Intelligent prioritization rules may be configurable by a communications service provider so as to affect the prioritization of the communications services by ISC.

Claims

1. A system for providing integrated control of at least one communication service provided by at least one communication service provider comprising:

at least one integrated services controller (ISC) connectable to a plurality of communications networks so as to communicate with system entities, wherein the at least one ISC is configured to dynamically receive a message registration list (MRL) through an interactive exchange of one or more commands, registering one or more messages each of the at least one communication services has a notification interest in, wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to provide centralized prioritized processing for the one or more messages exchanged with the other system entities through use of intelligent prioritization rules, wherein the system entities include at least one of;

a transport association controller (TAC), an association state manager (ASM), and a message broker (MB),

wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to receive a profile of service-specific parameters settable by at least one of a customer or the service which contains one or more variable entries from each of the at least one communication services defining a service profile for said at least one communication service and

wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to automatically merge shared master key fields of the service profile from each of the at least one communication services and append corresponding service-specific fields from each of the at least one communication services into a merged multi-service profile (MMSP).

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to control the at least one communication service for an individual person customer.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured as a child member within a group all related to a parent ISC that manages a customer group of related individual persons or a group of related ISC groups.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to control the at least one communication service for a plurality of individual person customers.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to monitor the high-level current state of each of the at least one communication services.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the intelligent prioritization rules are dynamically configurable by the at least one communications service provider so as to effect the prioritization of the at least one communication services by the at least one ISC.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the message registration list (MRL) is statically established with the at least one ISC through parameters set within the at least one ISC, from each of the at least one communication service providers.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to relay the MRL for each of the at least one communication services to one or more of the system entities.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to receive an event registration list (ERL) defining one or more events for each of the at least one communication services registering notification interest in said events by said at least one communications services, whereby the at least one ISC is further configured to relay the ERL for each of the at least one communication services to one or more of the system entities.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the service profile adheres to a profile schema pre-defined by the at least one ISC which includes at least one master key field shared across the at least one communication services and comprises at least one service-specific field unique to each of the at least one communication services.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the profile schema defines a visibility attribute settable by the at least one communication service providing at least one level of visibility setting that defines whether the service-specific fields for said service are visible to other services when merged by the at least one ISC.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the profile schema supports a default entry for each of the at least one service-specific field settable by at least one of a customer or the service wherein if defined establishes a default setting for said field whereby all other entries in the profile schema establish exceptions to the default entry.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the profile schema supports a child ISC modifiability attribute for each of the at least one master key field and each of the at least one service-specific field settable by at least one of a customer or the service wherein if defined establishes a default setting of modifiability for said field by other child ISCs related to said at least one ISC.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the current entry values for the at least one master key field and possible service-specific field in the service profile are dynamically communicated, through an interactive exchange of one or more commands, from each of the at least one communication services to the at least one ISC at the time the said service is installed.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising a user interface connectable to the at least one ISC which provides for viewing and editing access to all or a portion of the MMSP.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein a first ISC is further configurable to communicate with at least one other ISC to provide inter-ISC integration.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein one of the at least one ISCs is configured as a master ISC and another of the at least one ISCs is configured as a remote ISC relative to the master ISC for a specific customer.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the master ISC restricts access to the at one or more messages and capabilities of the remote ISC.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein a plurality of the at least one ISCs is configured as peer ISCs.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein one of the at least one ISCs is configured as a standalone ISC within a hierarchy of the at least one ISCs.

21. The system of claim 16 wherein each of the at least one ISCs is configured as at least one of:

a master ISC to other remote ISCs, a remote ISC to other of the master ISCs, a peer ISC to other peer ISCs, or a standalone ISC.

22. The system of claim 16 wherein the other ISC is provisioned in the same network domain operated by the same communication service provider as the first ISC.

23. The system of claim 16 wherein the at least one other ISC is provisioned in a different network domain operated by a different communication service provider as the first ISC.

24. A method for providing integrated control of at least one communication service provided by at least one communication service provider comprising the steps of:

configuring at least one Integrated Service Controller (ISC) to establish a connection with a plurality of communications networks, so as to communicate control messages with system entities; and

dynamically receiving at least one message registration list (MRL) through an interactive exchange of one or more commands from the at least one communications service provider, registering one or more messages for which the at least one communications service has a notification interest, wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to provide centralized prioritized processing for the messages exchanged with the other system entities through use of intelligent prioritization rules, wherein the system entities include at least one of;

a transport association controller (TAC), an association state manager (ASM), and a message broker (MB),

wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to receive a profile of service-specific parameters settable by at least one of a customer or the service which contains one or more variable entries from each of the at least one communication services defining a service profile for said at least one communication service and

wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to automatically merge shared master key fields of the service profile from each of the at least one communication services and append corresponding service-specific fields from each of the at least one communication services into a merged multi-service profile (MMSP).

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to control the at least one communication service for an individual person customer.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured as a child member within a group all related to a parent ISC that manages a customer group of related individual persons or a group of related ISC groups.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to control the at least one communication service for a plurality of individual person customers.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to monitor the high-level current state of each of the at least one communication services.

29. The method of claim 24 wherein the intelligent prioritization rules are dynamically configurable by the at least one communications service provider so as to effect the prioritization of the at least one communication services by the at least one ISC.

30. The method of claim 24 wherein the message registration list (MRL) is statically established with the at least one ISC through parameters set within the at least one ISC, from each of the at least one communication services provider.

31. The method of claim 24 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to relay the MRL for each of the at least one communication services to one or more of the system entities.

32. The method of claim 24 wherein the at least one ISC is further configured to receive an event registration list (ERL) defining one or more events from each of the at least one communication services registering notification interest in said events by said at least one communications services, whereby the at least one ISC is further configured to relay the ERL for each of the at least one communication services to one or more of the system entities.

33. The method of claim 24 wherein the service profile adheres to a profile schema pre-defined by the at least one ISC which includes at least one master key field shared across the at least one communication services and comprise at least one service-specific field unique to each of the at least one communication services.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the profile schema defines a visibility attribute settable by the at least one communication service providing at least one level of visibility setting that defines whether the service-specific fields for said service are visible to other services when merged by the at least one ISC.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein the profile schema supports a default entry for each of the at least one service-specific field settable by at least one of a customer or the service wherein if defined establishes a default setting for said field whereby all other entries in the profile schema establish exceptions to the default entry.

36. The method of claim 33 wherein the profile schema supports a child ISC modifiability attribute for each of the at least one master key field and each of the at least one service-specific field settable by at least one of a customer or the service wherein if defined establishes a default setting of modifiability for said field by other child ISCs related to said at least one ISC.

37. The method of claim 24 wherein the current entry values for the at least one master key field and possible service-specific field in the service profile are dynamically communicated, through an interactive exchange of one or more commands, from each of the at least one communication services to the at least one ISC at the time the said service is installed.

38. The method of claim 24 further comprising a user interface connectable to the at least one ISC which provides for viewing and editing access to all or a portion of the MMSP.

39. The method of claim 24 wherein a first ISC is further configured to communicate with at least one other ISC to provide inter-ISC integration.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein a plurality of the at least one ISCs is configured as peer ISCs.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein one of the at least one ISCs is configured as a standalone ISC within a hierarchy of the at least one ISCs.

42. The method of claim 39 wherein each of the at least one ISCs is configured as at least one of:

a master ISC to other remote ISCs, a remote ISC to other of the master ISCs, a peer ISC to other peer ISCs, or a standalone ISC.

43. The method of claim 39 wherein the other ISC is provisioned in the same network domain operated by the same communication service provider as the first ISC.

44. The method of claim 39 wherein the at least one other ISC is provisioned in a different network domain operated by a different communication service provider as the first ISC.

45. The method of claim 24 wherein one of the at least one ICSs is configured as a master ISC and another of the at least one ICSs is configured as a remote ISC relative to the master ISC for a specific customer.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the master ISC restricts access to the one or more messages and capabilities of the remote ISC.