Full PBX telephony feature preservation across a voice over packet network

• US 7,830,865 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2006
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tamsil, Yosef Rizal
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, IV; William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shand; Roberta A
• Application Number:
  US11/423,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20060215643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: 370352-355, 370/389, 370/392, 370465-466, 379/221.01
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport

Abstract

A method for providing supplementary services in a packet voice network. The method includes the steps of receiving a list of information elements from a sending station and then inserting the list into a call control message. The message is inserted in such a manner as to ensure that any supplementary services information included in the information elements is preserved. In addition locally significant messages are included in a globally significant message so any supplementary services information in the locally significant messages is preserved. After the supplementary services information is preserved, the messages are sent to a receiving station. A network device operable to provide this functionality is also discussed.

Claims

1. A network device operable to provide supplementary services information in a packet voice network, comprising:

a first communication device to receive a list of information elements as a Q.931 message from a separate and independent sending station in a private branch exchange network;

a tandem node separate and independent from the first communication device to;

insert the list into an analogous call control message for the packet voice network such that any supplementary services information included in the information elements from the Q.931 message is preserved in the packet voice network, wherein the tandem node is configured to insert the list into the analogous call control message by appending the list to a tail of the analogous call control message, and wherein supplementary services are services that rely upon the presence of another service to operate and include at least one of call forwarding, call hold, call transfer, call waiting, and completion of call to busy subscriber; and

map a locally significant message into a globally significant message in a private branch exchange network wherein any supplementary services information in the locally significant messages is preserved in the packet voice network, wherein the locally significant message is a message that is otherwise not transmitted to other stations on a network but upon which at least one supplementary service relies; and

a second communication device to send the analogous call control message and the globally significant message to a receiving station in the private branch exchange network.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the packet voice network further comprises one of the group comprising:

Voice over FR, Voice over IP and Voice over ATM.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second communication devices further comprise routers.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second communication devices are part of one router.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the locally significant message is the Q.931 message.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the analogous call control message is a Voice over Frame Relay (VoFR) call control message.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the analogous call control message is a Voice over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (VoATM) call control message.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the list of information elements is encapsulated.

5. A method of providing supplementary services information in a packet voice network, comprising:

communicating with a sending node;

communicating with a receiving node;

mapping a locally significant Q.931 message to a globally significant message in a private branch exchange network from the sending node to the receiving node such that private branch exchange services are transferred from the sending node to the receiving node via the packet voice network, wherein the locally significant Q.931 message is a message not otherwise transmitted to other stations on the network but upon which at least one Q.931 supplementary service relies, and wherein the private branch exchange services include at least one of call forwarding, call hold, call transfer, call waiting, and completion of call to busy subscriber;

receiving the Q.931 message from the sending node, the Q.931 message comprising a list of information elements; and

inserting the list of information elements into a call control message for the packet voice network such that any supplementary services information included in the information elements from the Q.931 message is preserved in the packet voice network, wherein the inserting comprises appending the list to a tail of the call control message.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the list of information elements is encapsulated.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the packet voice network comprises one of the group comprising:

Voice over FR, Voice over IP and Voice over ATM.

8. An article of manufacture including computer-readable code stored on a computer-readable storage medium, the code when executed by a computer, causes the computer to:

communicate with a sending node;

communicate with a receiving node;

map a locally significant Q.931 message to a globally significant message in a private branch exchange network from the sending node to the receiving node such that private branch exchange services are transferred from the sending node to the receiving node via a packet voice network, wherein the locally significant Q.931 message is a message not otherwise transmitted past the sending node but upon which at least one Q.931 supplementary service relies, and wherein the private branch exchange services include at least one of call forwarding, call hold, call transfer, call waiting, and completion of call to busy subscriber;

receive the Q.931 message from the sending node, the Q.931 message comprising a list of information elements; and

insert the list of information elements into a call control message for the packet voice network such that any supplementary services information included in the information elements from the Q.931 message is preserved in the packet voice network, wherein the inserting comprises appending the list to a tail of the call control message.

9. The article of claim 8, wherein the list of information elements is encapsulated.

10. A network device operable to provide supplementary services information in a packet voice network, comprising:

means for receiving a list of information elements as a Q.931 message from a separate and independent sending station in a private branch exchange network;

means for inserting the list into an analogous call control message for the packet voice network such that any supplementary services information included in the information elements from the Q.931 message is preserved in the packet voice network, wherein supplementary services are services that rely upon the presence of another service to operate and include at least one of call forwarding, call hold, call transfer, call waiting, and completion of call to busy subscriber, wherein the means for inserting the list into the analogous call control message comprises means for appending the list to a tail of the analogous call control message;

means for mapping a locally significant message into a globally significant message in a private branch exchange network wherein any supplementary services information in the locally significant messages is preserved in the packet voice network, wherein the locally significant message is a message that is otherwise not transmitted to other stations on a network but upon which at least one supplementary service relies; and

means for sending the analogous call control message and the globally significant message to a receiving station in the private branch exchange network.

15. The network device of claim 10, wherein the locally significant message is the Q.931 message.

16. The network device of claim 10, wherein the analogous call control message is a Voice over Frame Relay (VoFR) call control message.

17. The network device of claim 10, wherein the analogous call control message is a Voice over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (VoATM) call control message.

18. The network device of claim 10, wherein the list of information elements is encapsulated.