System and method for device registration replication in a communication network

• US 7,733,845 B1
• Filed: 05/25/2000
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pearce, Christopher E., Entrop, Clint D.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HANH N
• Application Number:
  US09/579,348
• Time in Patent Office: 3,666 Days
• Field of Search: 370/260, 370/261, 370/262, 370/263, 370/270, 370/352, 370/350, 370/449, 370/503, 370/511, 370/389, 370/400, 370/356, 370/335, 370/264, 370/392, 370/468, 370/395.21, 370/395.4, 370/401, 370/230, 370/216, 370/217, 370/395.1, 370/412, 379/114.01, 379/106.08, 379/272, 379/279, 379/9, 379/10, 714/4, 714/10, 714/11, 707/204, 709/204, 709/238, 709/239, 709/240
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error

Abstract

A system for device registration replication in a packet-based network includes a first call manager and a second call manager that are coupled to the packet-based network. The first and second call managers each control one or more devices and store composite registration information associated with the devices. The first call manager communicates status information to the second call manager in response to a change in the control status of a device controlled by the first call manager. The second call manager updates the composite registration information stored by the second call manager in response to receiving status information from the first call manager.

Claims

1. A system for device registration replication in a packet-based network, comprising:

a first call manager and a second call manager coupled to the packet-based network, the first and second call managers each controlling one or more devices and storing composite registration information associated with the devices controlled by the first and second call managers;

the first call manager operable to;

determine that the second call manager has come on-line and communicate local registration information associated with the devices controlled by the first call manager to the second call manager;

communicate registration information associated with a newly registered device controlled by the first call manager to the second call manager;

communicate a deletion message to the second call manager indicating the removal of a device from the control of the first call manager; and

determine that the second call manager has gone off-line and delete registration information associated with devices controlled by the second call manager from the composite registration information stored by the first call manager.

2. A method for device registration replication, comprising:

providing a plurality of call managers in a packet-based network, each call manager controlling one or more devices coupled to the packet-based network and storing composite registration information associated with the devices, wherein the composite registration information comprises a telephone number associated with at least one device and a process identification string identifying a device process executing in a call manager controlling the at least one device, the device process coordinating communication with the at least one device;

communicating status information from a first call manager to a second call manager in response to a change in which call manager of the plurality of call managers controls a device; and

updating the composite registration information stored by the second call manager in response to receiving the status information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

communicating status information in response to a change in the control status of a device comprises communicating registration information associated with a newly registered device controlled by the first call manager; and

updating the composite registration information comprises adding the registration information associated with the newly registered device to the composite registration information stored by the second call manager.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein:

communicating status information in response to a change in the control status of a device comprises communicating a deletion message indicating the removal of a device from the control of the first call manager; and

updating the composite registration information comprises deleting the registration information associated with the device from the composite registration information stored by the second call manager.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining that a device has been removed from the control of the first call manager in response to a failure by the first call manager to receive a response from the device to a polling message transmitted to the device by the first call manager.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the composite registration information comprises:

local registration information associated with devices controlled by the second call manager storing the composite registration information; and

remote registration information associated with devices controlled by other call managers.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the composite registration information is stored in a registration information table.

8. A system for device registration replication in a packet-based network comprising a plurality of call managers, the system comprising:

a first call manager and a second call manager coupled to the packet-based network, the first and second call managers each controlling one or more devices and storing composite registration information associated with the devices, wherein the composite registration information stored in the first and second call managers comprises a telephone number associated with at least one device and a process identification string identifying a device process executing in the call manager controlling the at least one device, the device process coordinating communication with the at least one device;

the first call manager operable to communicate status information to the second call manager in response to a change in which call manager of the plurality of call managers controls a device; and

the second call manager operable to update the composite registration information stored by the second call manager in response to receiving status information from the first call manager.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first call manager is operable to communicate status information in response to a change in the control status of a device by communicating registration information associated with a newly registered device controlled by the first call manager; and

the second call manager is operable to update the composite registration information stored the second call manager by adding the registration information associated with the newly registered device to the composite registration information stored by the second call manager.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first call manager is operable to communicate status information in response to a change in the control status of a device by communicating a deletion message indicating the removal of a device from the control of the first call manager; and

the second call manager is operable to update the composite registration information stored by the second call manager by deleting the registration information associated with the device from the composite registration information stored by the second call manager.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first call manager is further operable to determine that a device has been removed from the control of the first call manager in response to a failure by the first call manager to receive a response from the device to a polling message transmitted to the device by the first call manager.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the composite registration information stored in the second call manager comprises:

local registration information associated with devices controlled by the second call manager; and

remote registration information associated with devices controlled by the first call manager.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein each telephone number is associated with a process identification string in a registration information table.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the first call manager is further operable to:

determine that the second call manager has gone off-line; and

delete registration information associated with devices controlled by the second call manager from the composite registration information stored by the first call manager.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first call manager determines that the second call manager has gone off-line when the first call manager fails to receive a response to a polling message sent to the second call manager, the second call manager having previously responded to a polling message from the first call manager.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the first call manager is further operable to:

determine that the second call manager has come on-line; and

communicate local registration information associated with devices controlled by the first call manager to the second call manager.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first call manager determines that the second call manager has come on-line when the first call manager receives a response to a polling message from the second call manager indicating that the second call manager is on-line.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a third call manager operable to:

determine that the second call manager has come on-line; and

communicate local registration information associated with devices controlled by the third call manager to the second call manager.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second call manager is further operable to combine the registration information received from the first and third call managers to form the composite registration information stored by the second call manager.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the second call manager is further operable to add local registration information associated with devices controlled by the second call manager to the composite registration information stored by the second call manager.