Methods and apparatus for controlling call admission to a network based on call peers

• US 8,085,758 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2006
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Genband US LLC (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ramachandran, Sridhar, Tyagi, Paritosh, Mallesan, Saravanan, Kulshreshtha, Gauray, Shetty, Sohan, Raman, Rohini, Bhatia, Medhavi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Laekemariam, Yosef K
• Application Number:
  US11/427,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20070019625A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,008 Days
• Field of Search: 379/114.2, 379/112.04, 379/221.03, 379/230, 379/395.2, 379/88.27, 379/165, 379/221.09, 370/230, 370/231, 370/235, 370/352, 370/395.2
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• 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 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/3065 for real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/00 Traffic control in data switching networks arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received H04L1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1066 Session management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1072 Discovery involving ranked list compilation of candidate peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/126 Interworking of session control protocols

Abstract

A session controller configured to be coupled to a database and configured to receive an indication associated with an ingress call is disclosed. The session controller is further configured to query the database for an ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call, and to query the database for a dynamic-peer-definition template associated with the ingress call when the ingress-call peer is not identified upon query of the database. The session controller is further configured to reject the ingress call when the dynamic-peer-definition template is not identified upon query of the database.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a session controller configured to be coupled to a database and configured to receive an indication associated with an ingress call from an ingress network,

determining an ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call based on the indication, wherein the ingress-call peer is a logical grouping of calls associated with the ingress network, wherein determining the ingress call peer is based on an Internet protocol (IP) subnet,

the session controller being further configured to query the database for a policy associated with the ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call, wherein the policy specifies call admission control parameters for the ingress network and determines an egress call peer for transmitting the ingress call to an egress network,

the session controller being further configured to query the database for a dynamic-peer-definition template associated with the ingress call when the ingress-call peer is not identified upon query of the database,

the session controller being further configured to reject the ingress call when the dynamic-peer-definition template is not identified upon query of the database.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the session controller is further configured to query the database for an ingress-call-peer group associated with the ingress call, and further configured to query the database for the dynamic-peer-definition template when the ingress-call-peer group is not identified upon the query of the database for the ingress-call-peer group.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the session controller is further configured to reject the ingress call based on a call-loading balance threshold.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the session controller is further configured to reject the ingress call based on a best-effort service threshold associated with an overflow call.

5. A method, comprising:

receiving an indication of an ingress call from an ingress network at a session controller;

determining an ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call based on the indication, wherein the ingress-call peer is a logical grouping of calls associated with the ingress network, wherein determining the ingress call peer is based on an Internet protocol (IP) subnet;

querying a peer database for a policy associated with the ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call, wherein the policy specifies call admission control parameters for the ingress network and determines an egress call peer for transmitting the ingress call to an egress network;

when the ingress-call peer is not identified by the querying of the peer database, querying a template database for a dynamic-peer-definition template associated with the ingress call; and

when the dynamic-peer-definition template is not identified by the querying of the template database, rejecting the ingress call.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising rejecting the ingress call when the ingress call exceeds a service-level assurance.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising rejecting the ingress call when a call-loading balance threshold is exceeded.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising rejecting the ingress call when a best-effort service-level threshold associated with an overflow call is exceeded.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the querying of the peer database further includes

querying for an ingress-call-peer group associated with the ingress call, and when the ingress-call-peer group is not identified by the querying of the peer database, querying the template database for a dynamic-peer-definition template associated with the ingress call.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the processor of a computer control the computer to perform steps comprising:

a receiving instruction to receive an ingress-call indicator associated with an ingress call from an ingress network;

a determining instruction to determine an ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call based on the ingress-call indicator, wherein the ingress-call peer is a logical grouping of calls associated with the ingress network, wherein determining the ingress call peer is based on an Internet protocol (IP) subnet;

a first querying instruction configured to query a peer database for a policy associated with the ingress-call peer associated with the ingress call, wherein the policy specifies call admission control parameters for the ingress network and determines an egress call peer for transmitting the ingress call to an egress network;

a second querying instruction to query a template database for a dynamic-peer-definition template associated with the ingress call the ingress-call peer is not identified by the querying of the peer database; and

a rejection instruction to reject the ingress call when the dynamic-peer-definition template is not identified by the querying of the template database.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the rejection instruction is further to reject the ingress call when the ingress call exceeds a service-level assurance.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the rejection instruction is further to reject the ingress call when a call-loading balance threshold is exceeded.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the rejection instruction is further to reject the ingress call when a best-effort service-level threshold associated with an overflow call is exceeded.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein:

the first querying instruction is further to query the peer database for an ingress-call-peer group associated with the ingress call; and

the second querying instruction is further to query the template database for the dynamic-peer-definition template associated with the ingress call when the ingress-call-peer group is not identified by the querying of the peer database.