Analog voice bridge

• US 9,160,753 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2010
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Forcepoint Federal Holdings LLC (Forcepoint LLC)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Masiyowski, John F., Magon, Raymond A., Tierney, Michael O., Marchant, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chu, Wutchung
• Application Number:
  US12/686,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20100296507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,099 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/401, 370/329, 370/351, 370/488, 370/490, 370/494, 370/493, 713/151, 713/166, 726/1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/30 for supporting lawful interception, monitoring or retaining of communications or communication related information circuit switched telephony call monitoring H04M3/2281
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1076 Screening of IP real time communications, e.g. spam over Internet telephony [SPIT]

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a communication system includes an analog voice bridge coupling one secure network domain to another. The analog voice bridge includes two codecs that are each coupled to a secure network domain and to each other through an analog voice line. One codec decapsulates an analog voice signal from a digital voice stream received from a terminal, and transmits the analog voice signal to the other codec through the analog voice line. The other codec encapsulate the analog voice signal in another digital voice stream and transmit the encapsulated digital voice stream to another terminal coupled through the other secure network domain. The analog voice line conveys the analog voice signal from the first codec to the second codec while restricting communication of the digital packet stream between the two secure network domains.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a first codec coupled to a first terminal through a first packet network and operable to decapsulate an analog voice signal from a first packet stream received from the first terminal, wherein the first packet stream comprises, within the same packet stream, digitized information representing both an analog voice signal portion and a non-voice signal portion, the analog voice signal portion comprising an analog voice signal and the non-voice signal portion comprising a data signal, the data signal comprising non-voice data and including no analog voice signals, and wherein the first codec is configured to transmit only the analog voice signal portion of the first packet stream to an analog voice line and is configured to prevent the data signal from being transmitted to the analog voice line;

a second codec coupled to a second terminal through a second packet network, the second packet network being separate from the first packet network, wherein the second codec is operably coupled to the first codec through the analog voice line and one or more signaling lines, wherein the first packet network and the second packet network are configured in a multi-level security (MLS) architecture, the first packet network having a security level that is different than the security level of the second packet network, wherein the second codec is operable to encapsulate the received analog voice signal in a second packet stream and transmit the second packet stream to the second terminal; and

wherein the analog voice line is operably coupled to the first and second codecs and the first and second packet networks and wherein the analog voice line is constructed and arranged to carry only the analog voice signal and not the data signal, whereby the analog voice line is operable to convey only the analog voice signal portion of the first packet stream from the first codec to the second codec while restricting communication of the data signal in the non-voice signal portion of the first packet stream from being transmitted using the analog voice line, wherein the analog voice line blocks communication of the non-voice data signal of the first packet stream to the second packet network, and blocks communication of the second packet stream with the first packet network, to ensure that the data signal from the first terminal is not transmitted to the second terminal; and

wherein the one or more signaling lines are operable to convey control signals associated with the analog voice signal, the signaling lines being decoupled from at least one of the first packet network and the second packet network.

2. A communication system comprising:

a first codec coupled to a first terminal through a first packet network and operable to decapsulate an analog voice signal from a first packet stream received from the first terminal, wherein the first packet stream comprises, within the same packet stream, information that comprises a voice portion and a non-voice portion, the voice portion comprising an analog voice signal and the non-voice portion comprising a data signal that comprises non-voice data and includes no analog voice signals, wherein the first codec is configured to prevent the data signal of the first packet stream from being transmitted to an analog voice line configured between the first packet network and a second packet network, the second packet network separate from the first packet network, wherein the first codec is further configured to permit transmission of only the analog voice signal of the first packet stream, and not the data signal, using the analog voice line, and wherein the first codec is configured to prevent the data signal from being transmitted to the second packet network via the analog voice line; and

a second codec coupled to a second terminal through the second packet network and operably coupled to the first codec through the analog voice line, the second codec operable to encapsulate the received analog voice signal in a second packet stream and transmit the second packet stream to the second terminal;

wherein the analog voice line is operably coupled to the first and second codecs and the first and second packet networks, and wherein the analog voice line is configured to convey only the analog voice signal from the first codec to the second codec while restricting communication of the data signal of the first packet stream from being transmitted using the analog voice line, so as to block communication of the data signal of the first packet stream to the second packet network and to ensure that the data signal from the first terminal is not transmitted to the second terminal.

3. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the first codec is configured in a first computing system and the second codec is configured in a second computing system, the first computing system being separate from the second computing system.

4. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the first packet network and the second packet network are configured in a multi-level security (MLS) architecture, the first packet network having a security level that is different than the security level of the second packet network.

5. The communication system of claim 2, further comprising one or more signaling lines coupled between the first computing system and the second computing system, the one or more signaling lines operable to convey control signals associated with the analog voice signal, the signaling lines being decoupled from the first packet network or the second packet network.

6. The communication system of claim 2, further comprising a first routing table associated with the first codec and a second routing table associated with the second codec, the first routing table operable to store registration information associated with the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively, wherein the first codec and the second codec are operable to encapsulate and decapsulate, respectively, the analog voice signal only if the first terminal and the second terminal are registered in the first routing table and the second routing table.

7. The communication system of claim 6, wherein at least one of the first routing table and the second routing table is not configurable from the first packet network or the second packet network.

8. The communication system of claim 6, wherein the first codec is operable to decapsulate the analog voice signal only if the first terminal is registered in the first routing table.

9. The communication system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of first codecs coupled to a plurality of second codecs through a plurality of analog signal lines, each of the plurality of analog signal lines having a physical port that is associated with a differing colored label relative to the other plurality of analog signal lines.

10. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the analog voice signal comprises an intercom link.

11. The communication system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises a push-to-talk button, the transmission of the analog voice signal from its respective terminal allowed only during actuation of the push-to-talk button.

12. A communication method comprising:

decapsulating, using a first codec, an analog voice signal from a first packet stream transmitted over a first packet network by a first terminal, wherein the first packet stream comprises, within the same first packet stream, information corresponding to an analog voice signal portion and a non-voice signal portion, the non-voice signal portion comprising a data signal that comprises non-voice data and includes no analog voice signals, and wherein the first codec is configured to prevent the data signal of first packet stream from being transmitted over the analog voice line configured between the first packet network and a second packet network, the second packet network separate from the first packet network, wherein the first codec is further configured to permit transmission, via the analog voice line, of only the analog voice signal portion of the first packet stream, and not the data signal portion, to a second codec in operable communication with the second packet network;

transmitting only the analog voice signal over the analog voice line to the second codec, wherein the analog voice line is operable to convey only analog voice signal information between the first and second codecs and is configured to block communication of the data signal information, such that the data signal is prevented from being transmitted from the first terminal to the second terminal via the analog voice line; and

encapsulating, by the second codec, the transmitted analog voice signal in a second packet stream, and transmitting the second packet stream to the second terminal through the second packet network.

13. The communication method of claim 12, wherein the first codec is configured in a first computing system and the second codec is configured in a second computing system, the first computing system being separate from the second computing system.

14. The communication method of claim 12, wherein the first packet network and the second packet network are configured in a multi-level security (MLS) environment, the first packet network having a security level that is different than the security level of the second packet network.

15. The communication method of claim 12, further comprising conveying control signals associated with the analog voice signal between the first codec and the second codec using one or more signaling lines, the one or more signaling lines being decoupled from at least one of the first packet network and the second packet network.

16. The communication method of claim 12, wherein the first codec and the second codec decapsulate and encapsulate, respectively, the analog voice signal only if the first terminal and the second terminal are registered in a first routing table associated with the first packet network and the second routing table associated with the second packet network.

17. The communication method of claim 16, further comprising modifying at least one of the first routing table and the second routing table only from a locally configured console.

18. The communication method of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of first codecs coupled to a plurality of second codecs through a plurality of analog signal lines, each of the plurality of analog signal lines having a physical port that is associated with a differing colored label relative to the other plurality of analog signal lines.

19. The communication method of claim 12, wherein the analog voice signal comprises an intercom link.

20. The communication method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises a push-to-talk button, the transmission of the analog voice signal from its respective terminal allowed only during actuation of the push-to-talk button.