System and method for providing peer-oriented control of telecommunications services

• US 6,317,438 B1
• Filed: 04/14/1999
• Issued: 11/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harold Herman Jr. Trebes
• Original Assignee: Harold Herman Jr. Trebes
• Inventors: Trebes, Harold Herman Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US09/291,485
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 370/395, 370/397, 370/399, 370/400, 370/401, 370/408, 370/409, 370/410, 370/254, 370/465, 370/460, 370/351, 709/220, 709/221, 709/222
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2854 Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5601 Transfer mode dependent, e.g. ATM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5048 Automatic or semi-automatic definitions, e.g. definition templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

In a telecommunications network environment including non-participating elements and participating elements, a method for providing a telecommunications service between a first peer element connected to the telecommunications network environment and a second peer element connected to the telecommunications network. At a first peer element, an indication of the type of telecommunications service to be provided between the first peer element and the second peer element is received. A telecommunications service template in association with the indicated telecommunications service is determined, the telecommunications service template including instructions for configuring the non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment to provide the indicated telecommunications service and instructions for configuring the participating elements of the telecommunications network environment. The telecommunications service template may further comprise routing instructions for the non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment and routing instructions for the participating elements of the telecommunications network environment. The instructions to configure the participating elements and non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment are executed to provide the telecommunications service.

Claims

1. In a telecommunications and data network environment including non-participating elements and participating elements, a method for providing a telecommunications service between a first peer element connected to the telecommunications network environment and a second peer element connected to the telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:

receiving at the first peer element an indication of the type of telecommunications service to be provided between the first peer element and the second peer element;

determining a telecommunications service template in association with the indicated telecommunications service, the telecommunications service template including instructions for configuring the non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment to provide the indicated telecommunications service and instructions for configuring the participating elements of the telecommunications network environment, the telecommunications service template further comprising routing instructions for the non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment and routing instructions for the participating elements of the telecommunications network environment;

executing the instructions to configure the participating elements and non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment to provide the telecommunications service; and

transmitting data between the first peer element and the second peer element via a predefined transmission protocol indicated by the telecommunications service template, the data including the routing instructions for the non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment in a first portion of the predefined transmission protocol and the routing instructions for the participating elements of the telecommunications network environment in a second portion of the predefined transmission protocol.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first peer element and second peer element are computer systems.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined transmission protocol is asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and access protocols is a second transmission protocol.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication received by the first peer element is in response to a user dragging and dropping a telecommunications service icon associated with the telecommunications service template.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first portion of the predefined transmission protocol is a header portion.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the second portion of the predefined transmission protocol is a payload portion.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the participating elements are connected in an active network such that the participating elements may receive communications data from each other and transmit communications data to each other.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the communications data comprises status information and routing information.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of connecting the first peer element to the network via a first network interface and connecting the second peer element to the network via a second network interface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first network interface and the second network interface comprise a first network interface card and a second network interface card, respectively.

11. A system for providing a telecommunication service between a first peer element and a second peer element, the system comprising:

a first peer element connected to a first network interface, wherein the first peer element comprises means for determining a telecommunications service template in association with the telecommunications service, the telecommunications service template comprising instructions for configuring the non-participating network to provide the telecommunications service and instructions for configuring the participating network, the telecommunications service template further comprising routing instructions for the non-participating network and the participating network, and an executing means to configure the participating elements and non-participating elements of the telecommunications network environment to provide the telecommunications service;

a second peer element connected to a second network interface;

at least one participating network interconnecting first network interface and the second network interface; and

at least one non-participating network interconnecting first peer clement and the second peer element and an edge network that is non-participating.