Method and system for notifying an addressee of a communication session

• US 8,819,111 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2008
• Issued: 08/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Flash Networks, Ltd. (Constellation Software Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Flash Networks, Ltd. (Constellation Software Incorporated)
• Inventors: Langer, Moshe
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, NAM T
• Application Number:
  US12/102,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20080281905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,325 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

Requests for communications and for establishing communication sessions with an intended addressee are detected and notifications regarding the pending communication request are provided to the intended addressee. If the addressee is operating on-line in an IP environment, the messages are delivered to the addressee via a real-time mechanism. However, if the addressee is not operating on-line in an IP environment, a message is sent via an alternate means, such as SMS, email etc. For on-line addressees, if the addressee is presently running an application program, the type of application program can be ascertained and the notification message can be compatible with the rendering functions of the application program.

Claims

1. A Quality of Experience (QoE) server that is located between a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of servers, the QoE server is configured to provide a notification available to a user, who is currently participating in a first communication session over an Internet Protocol (IP) network via the user terminal, the notification regarding a pending communication session based on the Internet Protocol wherein said user is the intended recipient of the pending communication session, the QoE server comprising:

a processing unit providing at least one notification message generator processor that receives information on the pending communication session over an IP network, identifies the application program that is serving the first communication session, and in response to this identification, parses the received information and creates a notification message that complies with a protocol of the identified application program which is currently being used in the first communication session by the intended recipient of the pending communication session;

a processing unit providing at least one manipulator in association with the at least one notification message processor configured to manipulate at least portions of the data transfer from a server out of the plurality of servers by embedding the notification message within data that is carried by packets associated with the application program and that is transferred toward the intended addressee, which servers participates in the first communication session, toward the intended recipient of the pending communication session to include the notification message; and

a processing unit that provides an interface that intercepts data packets that are transferred between the plurality of users and the plurality of servers;

parses the data packets;

routes information on pending communication sessions to the at least one notification message generator processor;

routes packets coming from the plurality of servers toward the at least one manipulator; and

routes packets coming from the manipulator toward the plurality of users;

wherein the application program currently used in the first communication session can receive the notification message and render it to the intended recipient of the pending communication session while continuing in the first communication session.

2. The QoE server of claim 1, wherein the interface module is further configured to parse traffic associated with the first communication session to identify the application program.

3. The QoE server of claim 2, wherein the application program used in the first communication session by the intended recipient of the pending communication session is a browser, and the at least one notification message generator is further configured to create a markup language content notification message.

4. The QoE server of claim 2, wherein the application program used in the first communication session by the intended recipient of the pending communication session is a video stream player, and the at least one notification message generator is further configured to create a video content notification message.

5. The QoE server of claim 2, wherein the application program used in the first communication session by the intended recipient of the pending communication session is a messaging program, and the at least one notification message generator is further configured to create an injected text notification message.

6. The QoE server of claim 2, wherein the at least one notification message processor is further configured to create the notification message compatible with the application program used in the first communication session by creating content that can be rendered by the application program as content of the first communication session.

7. The QoE server of claim 1, wherein the pending communication is a real-time bi-directional communication session and, the at least one notification message generator is further configured to create a notification message by embedding instructions as to how to access the real-time bi-directional communication session.

8. The QoE server of claim 1, wherein the at least one notification message processor is configured to parse the received data packet of the pending communication session to identify a request to establish a communication session with the intended recipient.

9. The QoE server of claim 8, wherein the at least one notification message processor is further configured to create the notification message by including instructions on how to accept the request to establish a communication session.

10. A Quality of Experience (QoE) server that provides a pending communication session notification to an intended addressee, wherein the QoE server is installed in an intermediate node between a plurality of terminals and a plurality of servers, and wherein the communication between the terminals and the servers is carried over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, the apparatus comprising:

a processing unit that provides the functionality of one or more content manipulators that manipulate data that is carried by packets associated with an application and that are carried over an IP network, and that are accessible by the QoE server;

a processing unit that provides one or more notification message generators processors, each notification message generator processor being associated with at least one of the content manipulators and creates a notification message that complies with a protocol of the data that is manipulated by the associated one or more content manipulators;

wherein the associated notification message generator processor creates a notification message, which is delivered to the associated content manipulator to be embedded within data that is carried by packets associated with the application and that is transferred toward the intended addressee; and

wherein the intended addressee of the pending communication session is currently participating in a first communication over the IP network.

11. The QoE server of claim 10, further comprising:

a routing and management module that;

i. receives packets that are transferred between the plurality of terminals and the plurality of servers;

ii. analyzes a request contained in one or more packets for establishing the pending communication session between an initiator and the intended addressee and obtaining information about the pending communication session including the identity of the intended addressee; and

iii. transfers the information about the pending communication session to a notification message processor that is associated with the content manipulator that is associated with the intended addressee of the requested communication session.

12. A method for providing a communication notification to an intended addressee of a pending communication session, the intended addressee currently participating in a first communication session, wherein the first communication session and the pending communication sessions are based on the Internet Protocol (IP), the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a processor that is located in an intermediate node between a plurality of terminals and a plurality of servers, packets that are transferred between the plurality of terminals and the plurality of servers over an IP network;

the receiving processor parsing the received packets;

the receiving processor identifying in the received packets a request for establishing the pending communication;

the receiving processor analyzing the request to collect information about the pending communication session;

the receiving processor identifying an application that is being utilized in the first communication session;

in response to identifying the application that is being utilized in the first communication session, the receiving processor creates a notification message that is compatible for rendering through the identified application by embedding the notification message within data that is carried by packets associated with the application and that is transferred toward the intended addressee, wherein the notification message includes information about the pending communication session; and

the receiving processor sending the notification message toward the intended addressee over an IP network as content of the first communication session.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the identified application is involved in fetching markup language files, and the act of creating a notification message further comprises the step of including an object within a next requested markup language file.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of including an object within the next requested markup language file further comprises including a popup message.

15. The method of claim 12,

wherein the act of creating a notification message further comprises embedding the notification message within the content that is handled by the application.

16. The method of claim 12,

wherein the act of creating a notification message further comprises including instructions regarding how to access the pending communication.