Voice over IP (VoIP) network infrastructure components and method

• US 8,194,640 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2004
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genband US LLC (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Genband US LLC (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ramachandran, Sridhar, Tyagi, Paritosh, Mallesan, Saravanan, Kulshreshtha, Gaurav, Shetty, Sohan, Raman, Rohini, Bhatia, Medhavi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHARIFZADEH, IBRAHAM KALEL
• Application Number:
  US11/026,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20060146792A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,713 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-356, 370465-473
• 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 voice over Internet protocol communication system and method provides infrastructure components as intermediaries between networks, the components include multi-protocol session controllers and a multi-protocol signaling switch as well as a management system. The session controllers process calls and participate in the calls that flow through it. The session controllers process calls that are either at the edge of the network or at the core of the voice over Internet protocol network. The session controllers associate calls with one another in call peers for incoming calls as ingress call peers and for outgoing calls as egress call peers. A centralized database of call routing policies is provided to the session controllers. The session controllers provide cost management, topology hiding, and inter-working, or conversion, of calls from SIP networks to H.323 networks for both voice and video.

Claims

1. A system for routing of real time communications of packet data over networks, comprising:

at least one session border controller connected to at least one ingress network and egress network and operable to associate an ingress call peer for a call being processed, said session border controller being operable to match said ingress call peer to a policy so as to identify an egress call peer for said call, wherein said ingress call peer is a logical grouping for calls associated with the incoming of a call and wherein said egress call peer is a logical grouping for calls associated with the outgoing of a call, wherein matching said ingress call peer to said policy is based on an Internet protocol (IP) subnet and wherein said policy specifies call admission control parameters for said ingress network and determines said egress call peer for transmitting said ingress call to said egress network;

a signaling switch connected to said at least one session border controller;

a management system connected to said at least one session border controller to record performance data of said at least one session border controller;

a database accessible by said at least one session border controller to define a policy for groups of calls, wherein said policy specifies call admission control parameters for said ingress network and determines an egress call peer for transmitting the ingress call to said egress network;

said session border controller providing selective media routing, said selective media routing including application of a media routing policy to provision media routing per at least one of call peer and call peer group and realm, said session controller specifying one of intra-call peer routing for routing calls within a call peer, intra-call peer group routing for routing calls within a call peer group, intra-realm routing for routing calls within a realm, inter-call peer routing for routing calls between call peers, inter-call peer group routing for routing calls between call peer groups, and inter-realm routing for routing calls between realms.