Auto-configured voice over internet protocol

• US 8,223,754 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2009
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rosenberg, Jonathan David
• Primary Examiner(s): Scheibel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mais, Mark A
• Application Number:
  US12/367,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20100202438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,254 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-354, 370/356, 370/386, 370/389, 370/392, 370/395.31, 370/395.52, 370/400, 370/401, 370/402, 370/494
• US Class Current: 370/353
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42289 with carrierprovider selection by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1205 where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/123 where the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol Multimedia System-type network

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus may receive a call over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) from a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) adapter. The VoIP adapter may be one or more devices that may create and accept VoIP connections over a network, such as the Internet, and that may transmit a call over the PSTN. The apparatus may store a call detail of the received call in a registry service, where the call detail is associated with a node identifier of the apparatus in the registry service. The apparatus may further determine a dial sequence at which the apparatus may be reached over the PSTN based on corresponding call details also stored in the registry service.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the memory including computer code executable with the processor, wherein the computer code is executable to;

receive a call over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) at the apparatus, the call initiated from a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) adapter;

store a node identifier of the apparatus and a call detail of the call in a registry service in response to receipt of the call over the PSTN, wherein the call detail of the call includes proof of knowledge of the call initiated over the PSTN, the call detail of the call is associated in the registry service with the node identifier of the apparatus, and wherein the registry service is accessible by a plurality of VoIP adapters over a network for storage and retrieval of values by the VoIP adapters, the VoIP adapters including the VoIP adapter that initiated the call over the PSTN;

determine, at the apparatus, a dial sequence at which the apparatus was reached in the call over the PSTN based on a match of the call detail of the call stored in the registry service with a corresponding call detail generated at the VoIP adapter, wherein the dial sequence includes digits dialed to initiate the call; and

advertise that the apparatus is reachable over VoIP at the dial sequence in response to the determination of the dial sequence at which the apparatus was reached over the PSTN.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an Ethernet jack, a first phone jack, and a second phone jack, wherein the processor is in communication with the Ethernet jack, the first phone jack, and the second phone jack, wherein the Ethernet jack is configured to connect to a network, wherein the first phone jack is configured to connect to the PSTN, and wherein the second phone jack is configured to connect to an analog phone.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the registry service includes a peer-to-peer network maintained on a plurality of VoIP adapters, the VoIP adapters including the apparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the call detail of the call is stored in the registry service as a hash and the hash is generated from a cryptographic hash function.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further executable to initiate a VoIP connection in response to detection of digits dialed on an analog phone, the analog phone in communication with the processor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a keypad, wherein the processor is in communication with the keypad and wherein the computer code is further executable to determine whether to initiate a VoIP connection over the Internet or a second call over the PSTN in response to a detection of digits selected on the keypad.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further executable to remove the dial sequence from the registry service in response to a break in communication between the apparatus and the PSTN, wherein the dial sequence stored in the registry service indicates the apparatus is reachable over the PSTN at the dial sequence.

8. Logic encoded in one or more tangible non-transitory media for execution with a processor and when executed operable to:

receive, at a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) adapter, a plurality of calls over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN);

generate a plurality of hashed call details of the calls at the VoIP adapter, each one of the hashed call details generated from a cryptographic hash function applied to a corresponding one of a plurality of call details, and each one of the call details includes proof of knowledge of a respective one of the calls received over the PSTN;

determine, at the VoIP adapter, at least one dial sequence at which the VoIP adapter is reached in the calls over the PSTN based on a search of a registry service for a match of the hashed call details of the calls received over the PSTN with corresponding hashed call details of calls that are stored in the registry service, wherein the registry service is accessible by a plurality of VoIP adapters over a network for storage and retrieval of values by the VoIP adapters including the VoIP adapter that received the calls over the PSTN; and

advertise in the registry service that the VoIP adapter is reachable over VoIP at the at least one dial sequence in response to the determination of the at least one dial sequence at which the VoIP adapter is reached in the calls over the PSTN.

9. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the encoded logic when executed is further operable to write each one of the hashed call details and a node identifier of the VoIP adapter to the registry service as a corresponding one of a plurality of key-value pairs, wherein each one of the hashed call details is a key in the corresponding one of the key-value pairs.

10. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the VoIP adapter is a first VoIP adapter and the encoded logic when executed is further operable to receive the at least one dial sequence from a second VoIP adapter over a network, wherein the calls were initiated over the PSTN from the second VoIP adapter.

11. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the VoIP adapter is a first VoIP adapter and the encoded logic when executed is further operable to:

initiate a call to a dial sequence over the PSTN;

determine a node identifier of a second VoIP adapter based on a hash of call details of the call, wherein the second VoIP adapter is reachable over the PSTN at the dial sequence, and the hash of the call details is generated from the cryptographic hash function applied to the call details of the call; and

transmit the dial sequence to the second VoIP adapter.

12. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein each one of the call details includes at least one of a start time of the respective one of the calls and an end time of the respective one of the calls.

13. The tangible media of claim 11, wherein the encoded logic when executed is further operable to:

round time-based information included in the call details of the call prior to generation of the hash of the call details of the call;

find the node identifier associated with the hash of the call details of the call in the registry service; and

repeat a search for the node identifier in the registry service until the node identifier is found, wherein for each repetition of the search, the hash of the call details of the call is generated from the cryptographic hash function applied to a plurality of alternate rounded values of the time-based information.

14. A method comprising:

storing in a registry service a plurality of call details of a plurality of calls received over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) at a first Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) adapter, wherein the registry service is accessible by a plurality of VoIP adapters over a network for storage and retrieval of values by the VoIP adapters, the VoIP adapters including the first VoIP adapter that received the calls over the PSTN, each one of the call details comprises proof of knowledge of a respective one of the calls received over the PSTN;

determining, by the first VoIP adapter, a dial sequence at which the first VoIP adapter was reached in the calls received over the PSTN based on a match of at least one of the call details stored in the registry service with at least one call detail of calls generated by a second VoIP adapter, wherein the dial sequence includes digits dialed to initiate the calls over the PSTN, and the at least one call detail of the calls generated by the second VoIP adapter comprises proof of knowledge of at least one of the calls received at the first VoIP adapter; and

advertising the first VoIP adapter as reachable over VoIP at the dial sequence in response to the determination of the dial sequence at which the first VoIP adapter was reached in the calls over the PSTN.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the dial sequence includes receiving, at the first VoIP adapter, the dial sequence from the second VoIP adapter in response to a determination by the second VoIP adapter that the at least one of the call details stored in the registry service matches the at least one call detail of the calls generated by the second VoIP adapter.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein advertising the first VoIP adapter as reachable over VoIP at the dial sequence further comprises storing a hash of the dial sequence and a node identifier of the first VoIP adapter in the registry service as a key-value pair.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising initiating a PSTN call over the PSTN to the first VoIP adapter prior to advertising the first VoIP adapter as reachable over VoIP.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the second VoIP adapter initiating a call to the first VoIP adapter over VoIP in response to the advertising by the first VoIP adapter that the first VoIP adapter is reachable over VoIP at the dial sequence.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising removing any advertised dial sequence of the first VoIP adapter in response to a loss of power on a power line provided by the PSTN, wherein the power line is coupled to the first VoIP adapter.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the dial sequence based on the at least one of the call details in the registry service includes:

the second VoIP adapter searching in the registry service for a plurality of hashed call details generated from at least two of the call details to find a plurality of associated node identifiers; and

in response to each one of the associated node identifiers matching a node identifier of the first VoIP adapter, transmitting the dial sequence to the first VoIP adapter.