Quantum and promiscuous user agents

• US 8,391,138 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2009
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Balasaygun, Mehmet C., Edamadaka, Rajeshwari, Mendiratta, Harsh V., Milton, Stephen M., Ross, Timothy I.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Fan
• Application Number:
  US12/614,562
• Publication Number:
  US 20110110362A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,212 Days
• Field of Search: 370/229, 370/230, 370/231, 370/235, 370351-430
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms

Abstract

A call processing system includes a call processing server. The call processing server processes calls for an internal network that employs SIP features and functions. The call processing server can receive calls from or send calls to one or more external communication endpoints that are not part of the internal network. However, the call processing server can associate a floating user agent with the communication from the external communication endpoint and lock the floating user agent to a gateway. After locking onto a gateway and initiating the call, the floating user agent can then publish call event status and receive SIP primitives similar to other SIP-enabled devices.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

a processor receiving a request to establish a communication with an external communication endpoint, the request received at an internal network, the internal network being a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) communication system;

the processor receiving a user identity associated with an internal user, wherein the internal user is associated with the external communication endpoint;

the processor determining an address for the external communication endpoint based on the user identity;

the processor determining a gateway for the communication;

the processor instantiating a user agent on the gateway for the communication, wherein the user agent is associated with the external communication endpoint, and wherein the user agent provides SIP functionality to the external communication endpoint;

the gateway beginning the communication;

the user agent registering the user identity with a Dialog State Event/Event State Composer (DSE/ESC); and

the DSE/ESC reporting event status for the communication to an application that subscribed to receive event status associated with the user identity.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the address for the external communication endpoint is one of a group consisting of a mobile phone number, a phone number, and an IP address.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the user identity is an address-of-record for the internal user.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication request is directed to a-the user agent, and wherein the user agent is a quantum user agent.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the request to establish the communication is received from an internal communication endpoint.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the request to establish the communication is received from the application.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein determining the address for the external communication endpoint comprises:

a location service receiving the user identity;

the location service searching for the user identity; and

upon finding the user identity, the location service retrieving the associated address.

8. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein determining the gateway for the communication comprises determining from two or more gateways which gateway is associated with an external network that is associated with the external communication endpoint.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein the external network is one of a group consisting of an Internet, a PSTN, and a mobile phone network.

10. A call processing system comprising:

an external network;

an external communication endpoint in communication with the external network;

an internal network in communication with the external network;

an internal communication endpoint; and

a call processing server in communication with the internal communication endpoint and the internal network, the call processing server comprising;

a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Proxy operable to process communications between the internal communication endpoint and the external communication endpoint;

two or more gateways in communication with the SIP Proxy, the two or more gateways operable to receive calls from or send calls to the external communication endpoint; and

a floating user agent executing on at least one of the two or more gateways, the floating user agent associated with a communication with the external communication endpoint, the floating user agent operable to provide one or more SIP features to the communication associated with the external communication endpoint, the floating user agent operable to lock onto one of the two or more gateways, the floating user agent operable to publish a contact address for the floating user agent after the floating user agent locks onto one of the two or more gateways, and the floating user agent operable to receive a SIP primitive at the contact address after publishing the contact address.

11. The call processing system as defined in claim 10, wherein the call processing server further comprises a location service operable to determine if a user identity is associated with a phone number received by the gateway with a call from an external communication endpoint, and the location service also operable to determine a phone number associated with the user identity received for a call from an internal communication endpoint.

12. The call processing system as defined in claim 10, wherein the call processing server further comprises a Dialog State Event/Event State Composer (DSE/ESC) in communication with the floating user agent, the DSE/ESC operable to receive of the publication of a user identity and the contact address from the floating user agent, the DSE/ESC operable to report the user identity and/or contact address to an application.

13. The call processing system as defined in claim 12, wherein when the floating user agent is associated with a user identity of an internal user, and wherein the floating user agent is a quantum user agent.

14. The call processing system as defined in claim 12, wherein when the floating user agent is not associated with a user identity of an internal user, wherein the floating user agent is a promiscuous user agent, and wherein the promiscuous user agent registers a general identity with the DSE/ESC.