Separation of validation services in VoIP address discovery system

• US 8,228,902 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mehmood, Hakim N., Hendrickson, Mark L., Rosenberg, Jonathan David, Jennings, Cullen F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Scheibel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mais, Mark A
• Application Number:
  US12/495,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20090323677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,120 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 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history recording a computer conference H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• 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 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0063 where the network is a peer-to-peer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/123 where the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol Multimedia System-type network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0025 Provisions for signalling

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus may receive at least one call attribute of a public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated to a destination telephone number. The apparatus may verify a destination Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent for the destination telephone number based on demonstrated knowledge of the PSTN call. The apparatus may transmit an indication the destination VoIP call agent is verified for the destination telephone number.

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 configured to;

receive at least one call attribute for each respective one of at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated from an originating Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent over the PSTN to a destination telephone number;

verify calls to the destination telephone number over the PSTN reach a destination VoIP call agent based on receipt of demonstrated knowledge by the destination VoIP call agent of at least one corresponding call attribute, the at least one corresponding call attribute determined to match the at least one call attribute for each respective one of the at least one PSTN call initiated over the PSTN to the destination telephone number, the at least one call attribute for each respective one of the at least one PSTN call demonstrating knowledge of a respective one of the at least one PSTN call; and

transmit an indication to the originating VoIP call agent that a VoIP route mapping the destination telephone number to the destination VoIP call agent is valid based on the verification that calls to the destination telephone number over the PSTN reach the destination VoIP call agent.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer code configured to receive the at least one call attribute is further configured to receive the at least one call attribute from the originating call agent.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further configured to:

receive at least one telephone number assigned to the originating VoIP call agent; and

store the at least one telephone number in a peer-to-peer network to indicate the at least one telephone number is assigned to a node in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the node is associated with the originating VoIP call agent.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further configured to:

receive a call attribute of a PSTN call to at least one telephone number, wherein the originating VoIP call agent received the PSTN call;

receive a request to demonstrate knowledge of the PSTN call; and

in response to the request, transmit proof of the knowledge of the call attribute of the PSTN call.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one call attribute includes a start time of the respective one of the at least one PSTN call.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one call attribute includes an end time of the respective one of the at least one PSTN call.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the VoIP route is included in the indication that the VoIP route is valid.

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

transmit, to a validation server, at least one call attribute for a public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated to a destination telephone number over the PSTN;

receive, from the validation server, information indicative of a verification of a destination Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent as an owner of the destination telephone number, wherein the verification is based on a determination that the destination VoIP call agent demonstrates knowledge of at least one corresponding call attribute that indicates the at least one corresponding call attribute matches the at least one call attribute of the PSTN call initiated over the PSTN, the at least one call attribute demonstrating knowledge of the PSTN call;

receive a call initiation message, the call initiation message including the destination telephone number; and

initiate, in response to receipt of the call initiation message, a VoIP call over a VoIP network to the destination VoIP call agent instead of a new PSTN call over a circuit switched network based on receipt of the information indicative of the verification of the destination VoIP call agent as the owner of the destination telephone number.

9. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic when executed is further operable to store a VoIP route in a cache of valid VoIP routes in response to receipt of the information indicative of the verification of the destination VoIP call agent as the owner of the destination telephone number, wherein the VoIP route maps the destination telephone number to the destination VoIP call agent.

10. The tangible media of claim 9, wherein the logic to initiate the VoIP call over the VoIP network to the destination VoIP call agent is further operable to search the cache of valid VoIP routes for an entry matching the destination telephone number to determine whether the information indicative of the verification of the destination VoIP call agent as the owner of the destination telephone number was received.

11. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic when executed is further operable to transmit information received in a VoIP invite message to the validation server for validation of the VoIP invite message.

12. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein the logic when executed is further operable to transmit owned telephone numbers to the validation server for advertisement of an originating call VoIP agent as an owner of the owned telephone numbers.

13. The tangible media of claim 8, wherein communication to and from the validation server conforms to a validation access protocol.

14. A method comprising:

receiving at least one call attribute of at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call initiated from an originating Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent to a destination telephone number over the PSTN, the at least one call attribute demonstrating knowledge of the at least one PSTN call;

verifying, with a processor, that calls to the destination telephone number over the PSTN reach a destination VoIP call agent based on a determination that the destination VoIP call agent demonstrates knowledge of at least one corresponding call attribute that indicates the at least one corresponding call attribute matches the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call to the destination telephone number over the PSTN; and

transmitting, to the originating VoIP call agent, an indication that calls to the destination telephone number are routable as VoIP calls to the destination VoIP call agent based on the verification that calls to the destination telephone number over the PSTN reach the destination VoIP call agent.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein verifying that calls to the destination telephone number over the PSTN reach the destination VoIP call agent further comprises:

transmitting a request to a destination validation server associated with the destination VoIP call agent, the request indicating the destination validation server is to demonstrate knowledge of the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call; and

receiving a response to the request from the destination validation server, the response including proof of knowledge of the at least one corresponding call attribute of the at least one corresponding PSTN call, the proof of knowledge indicating that the destination VoIP call agent demonstrates knowledge of the at least one corresponding call attribute.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein verifying that calls to the destination telephone number reach the destination VoIP call agent over the PSTN further comprises delaying a random amount of time after receiving the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call before transmitting a request for proof of knowledge of the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising querying a peer-to-peer network to discover a network address of the destination VoIP call agent associated with the destination phone number.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting the indication that calls to the destination telephone number are routable as VoIP calls to the destination VoIP call agent comprises transmitting Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call routing information to the originating VoIP call agent, the VoIP call routing information including the destination telephone number and a network address of the destination VoIP call agent.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

receiving a range of telephone numbers assigned to the originating call agent; and

storing the range of telephone numbers and an identifier of the originating VoIP call agent in a peer-to-peer network to advertise the originating call VoIP agent as assigned to the range of telephone numbers.

20. 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 configured to;

receive at least one call attribute of at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) call received at a destination Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) call agent and initiated to a destination telephone number over the PSTN, the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call demonstrating knowledge of the at least one PSTN call; and

transmit proof of knowledge of the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call as verification that calls over the PSTN to the destination telephone number reach the destination VoIP call agent, the proof of knowledge transmitted over a network different than the PSTN, wherein calls to the destination telephone number from an originating VoIP call agent are routed as VoIP calls to the destination VoIP call agent in response to a determination that the proof of knowledge received from the apparatus indicates a match of the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call with at least one corresponding call attribute of at least one corresponding call initiated from the originating VoIP call agent.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 further configured to receive a request for the verification that calls over the PSTN to the destination telephone number reach the destination VoIP call agent, wherein the apparatus is configured to transmit the proof of knowledge of the at least one call attribute of the at least one PSTN call in response to receipt of the request.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 further configured to:

receive at least one call attribute of at least one call to a target telephone number initiated from the destination VoIP call agent over the PSTN; and

verify that calls to a target telephone number over the PSTN reach the originating VoIP call agent based on the at least one call attribute of the at least one call to the target telephone number initiated from the destination VoIP call agent over the PSTN.