IP web based messaging system for localized management of wireless messaging

• US 7,124,175 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2004
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Joshi, Satish, Dodrill, Lewis Dean, Wolfe, William M.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US10/891,994
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/217, 709/219, 709/227, 719/328, 719/329
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/22 Arrangements for supervision, monitoring or testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53366 Message disposing or creating aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53391 dependent on calling party

Abstract

An application server, configured for executing a messaging application defined by XML documents, is able to provide messaging services to a calling party for a remote subscriber based on retrieval of subscriber attribute information obtained from a remote information database server (such as LDAP) via an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The application server, upon receiving a voice application operation request having subscriber identifier information from a browser serving the calling party, obtains from the remote information database server attribute information for responding to the voice application operation request based on the subscriber identifier information. The application server generates an HTML document having media content and control tags for personalized execution of the voice application operation based on the attribute information obtained from the standardized database server. The application server also is configured for sending and retrieving messages from a standardized remote messaging server via the IP network.

Claims

1. A method in an application server for executing a messaging application, the method comprising:

receiving a first HTTP request, from a proxy browser serving a user, for execution of a prescribed messaging application operation related to a specified remote subscriber;

obtaining, via an Internet Protocol (IP) based wide area packet switched network, subscriber attribute information for the specified remote subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes for local subscribers and retrieving the subscriber attributes for remote subscribers from remote IP based database servers;

generating a web page, for execution of the prescribed messaging application operation and having media content and control tags, based on the first HTTP request and the obtained subscriber attribute information; and

accessing via the IP based wide area packet switched network an IP-based messaging server for at least one of retrieval and storage of subscriber messaging information for the specified remote subscriber, based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information and a second HTTP request received from the proxy browser and having a reference to the prescribed messaging application operation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step includes receiving within the first HTTP request a telephone number that identifies the specified remote subscriber.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the obtaining step includes:

determining whether the subscriber attribute information for the specified remote subscriber is stored within a registry locally accessible by the application server; and

generating a query to the IP based database server according to LDAP protocol for the subscriber attribute information for the specified subscriber.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing step includes storing a message, included within the second HTTP request, for the specified remote subscriber in a prescribed directory of the IP-based messaging server specified by the corresponding subscriber attribute information according to IMAP protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing step includes retrieving at least a portion of the subscriber messaging information from the IP-based messaging server according to IMAP protocol in response to a retrieval request specified within the second HTTP request.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating a second web page, having media content and control tags, for playback by the proxy browser of the retrieved at least a portion of the subscriber messaging information to the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing step includes retrieving according to IMAP protocol a personalized prompt from a prescribed directory assigned for the specified remote subscriber in the IP-based messaging server, the generating step including supplying in the web page the personalized prompt for playback by the proxy browser.

48. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining includes executing a selected one of a plurality of extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request, and accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

8. A method in a wireless communications system of storing a message for a wireless subscriber, the method including:

terminating by a mobile switching center an incoming wireless telephone call from a wireless user to a proxy device configured for generating HTTP requests and playback of media content based on selective execution of tagged information within web pages;

initiating by the proxy device a messaging application session, related to the wireless subscriber, between the wireless user and an application server configured for generating the web pages based on the respective HTTP requests, at least one of the HTTP requests specifying the wireless subscriber;

obtaining by the application server subscriber attribute information related to the wireless subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server via an IP based wide area packet switched network;

supplying by the proxy device an HTTP request containing a message from the user to the application server; and

sending, by the application server, the message via the IP based wide area packet switched network to an IP-based messaging server for storage based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the terminating step includes terminating the incoming wireless telephone call to the proxy device in response to a detected unavailability of the wireless subscriber.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the obtaining step includes requesting the subscriber attribute information from the database server according to LDAP protocol based on a dialed number identification string received from the proxy device that identifies the wireless subscriber.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the obtaining step includes requesting the subscriber attribute information in response to a determined absence of the subscriber attribute information in a locally accessible registry.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising obtaining from the IP-based messaging server a personalized prompt from a messaging directory of the wireless subscriber specified by the prescribed messaging address.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of obtaining the personalized prompt includes obtaining the personalized prompt according to IMAP protocol.

49. The method of claim 8, wherein the obtaining includes executing a selected one of a plurality of extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request, and accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

14. A messaging system for a wireless communications system, the messaging system comprising:

a proxy device configured for terminating an incoming call from a mobile switching center, the proxy device configured for outputting a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) request in response to termination of the incoming call, and playback of selected tags within a received web document based on determined capabilities of a user device having initiated the incoming call; and

an application server configured for executing a messaging application operation related to an identified wireless subscriber by dynamic generation of the web documents in response to the HTTP request, the application server configured for accessing, via an Internet Protocol (IP) based wide area packet switched network, attribute information for the identified wireless subscriber from an IP-based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes, the application server configured for selectively accessing via the IP based wide area packet switched network an IP-based messaging server for at least one of retrieval and storage of the subscriber messaging information for the identified wireless subscriber, based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information, the application server generating the web documents for the messaging application based on the accessed attribute information for the identified wireless subscriber.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the application server includes an application runtime environment for executing selected extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request and stored application state information, the application runtime environment configured for accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a registry configured for storing the application state information for a duration of an application session between the user of the user device and the application server, the registry configured for storing the attribute information for the identified wireless subscriber.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the application server is configured for obtaining from the IP-based messaging server a personalized prompt for playback to callers attempting to reach the identified wireless subscriber, the application server configured for inserting into the Web page XML tags specifying playback of the personalized prompt based on determining the incoming call attempted to reach the identified wireless subscriber.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the application server is configured for accessing the IP-based messaging server according to LDAP protocol.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the application server is configured for retrieving stored messages from the IP-based messaging server based on validating the incoming call as initiated by the identified wireless subscriber relative to password information within the subscriber attributes.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the application server is configured for accessing the IP-based messaging server according to IMAP protocol.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the application server stores messages supplied by the proxy device to the IP-based messaging server, for storage in a prescribed directory for the identified wireless subscriber, according to one of SMTP protocol and IMAP protocol.

22. A computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for executing a messaging application, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

receiving a first HTTP request, from a proxy browser serving a user, for execution of a prescribed messaging application operation related to a specified remote subscriber;

obtaining, via an Internet Protocol (IP) based wide area packet switched network, subscriber attribute information for the specified remote subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes for local subscribers and retrieving the subscriber attributes for remote subscribers from remote IP based database servers;

generating a web page, for execution of the prescribed messaging application operation and having media content and control tags, based on the first HTTP request and the obtained subscriber attribute information; and

accessing via the IP based wide area packet switched network an IP-based messaging server for at least one of retrieval and storage of subscriber messaging information for the specified remote subscriber, based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information and a second HTTP request received from the proxy browser and having a reference to the prescribed messaging application operation.

23. The medium of claim 22, wherein the receiving step includes receiving within the first HTTP request a telephone number that identifies the specified remote subscriber.

24. The medium of claim 23, wherein the obtaining step includes:

determining whether the subscriber attribute information for the specified remote subscriber is stored within a registry locally accessible by the application server; and

generating a query to the IP based database server according to LDAP protocol for the subscriber attribute information for the specified subscriber.

25. The medium of claim 22, wherein the accessing step includes storing a message, included within the second HTTP request, for the specified remote subscriber in a prescribed directory of the IP-based messaging server specified by the corresponding subscriber attribute information according to IMAP protocol.

26. The medium of claim 22, wherein the accessing step includes retrieving at least a portion of the subscriber messaging information from the IP-based messaging server according to IMAP protocol in response to a retrieval request specified within the second HTTP request.

27. The medium of claim 26, further comprising instructions for performing the step of generating a second web page, having media content and control tags, for playback by the proxy browser of the retrieved at least a portion of the subscriber messaging information to the user.

28. The medium of claim 22, wherein the accessing step includes retrieving according to IMAP protocol a personalized prompt from a prescribed directory assigned for the specified remote subscriber in the IP-based messaging server, the generating step including supplying in the web page the personalized prompt for playback by the proxy browser.

50. The medium of claim 22, wherein the obtaining includes executing a selected one of a plurality of extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request, and accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

29. A computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for storing a message for a wireless subscriber, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

terminating by a mobile switching center an incoming wireless telephone call from a wireless user to a proxy device configured for generating HTTP requests and playback of media content based on selective execution of tagged information within web pages;

initiating by the proxy device a messaging application session, related to the wireless subscriber, between the wireless user and an application server configured for generating the web pages based on the respective HTTP requests, at least one of the HTTP requests specifying the wireless subscriber;

obtaining by the application server subscriber attribute information related to the wireless subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server via an IP based wide area packet switched network;

supplying by the proxy device an HTTP request containing a message from the user to the application server; and

sending, by the application server, the message via the IP based wide area packet switched network to an IP-based messaging server for storage based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information.

30. The medium of claim 29, wherein the terminating step includes terminating the incoming wireless telephone call to the proxy device in response to a detected unavailability of the wireless subscriber.

31. The medium of claim 29, wherein the obtaining step includes requesting the subscriber attribute information from the database server according to LDAP protocol based on a dialed number identification string received from the proxy device that identifies the wireless subscriber.

32. The medium of claim 31, wherein the obtaining step includes requesting the subscriber attribute information in response to a determined absence of the subscriber attribute information in a locally accessible registry.

33. The medium of claim 29, further comprising instructions for performing the step of obtaining from the IP-based messaging server a personalized prompt from a messaging directory of the wireless subscriber specified by the prescribed messaging address.

34. The medium of claim 33, wherein the step of obtaining the personalized prompt includes obtaining the personalized prompt according to IMAP protocol.

51. The medium of claim 29, wherein the obtaining includes executing a selected one of a plurality of extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request, and accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

35. A messaging system for a wireless communications system, the messaging system comprising:

means for terminating an incoming call from a mobile switching center, the terminating means configured for outputting a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) request in response to termination of the incoming call, and playback of selected tags within a received web document based on determined capabilities of a user device having initiated the incoming call; and

means for executing a messaging application operation related to an identified wireless subscriber by dynamic generation of the web documents in response to the HTTP request, the executing means configured for accessing, via an Internet Protocol (IP) based wide area packet switched network, attribute information for the identified wireless subscriber from an IP-based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes, the executing means configured for selectively accessing via the IP based wide area packet switched network an IP-based messaging server for at least one of retrieval and storage of the subscriber messaging information for the identified wireless subscriber, based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information, the executing means generating the web documents for the messaging application based on the accessed attribute information for the identified wireless subscriber.

36. An application server for executing a messaging application, the application server comprising:

means for receiving a first HTTP request, from a proxy browser serving a user, for execution of a prescribed messaging application operation related to a specified remote subscriber;

means for obtaining, via an Internet Protocol (IP) based wide area packet switched network, subscriber attribute information for the specified remote subscriber from an Internet Protocol (IP) based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes for local subscribers and retrieving the subscriber attributes for remote subscribers from remote IP based database servers;

means for generating a web page, for execution of the prescribed messaging application operation and having media content and control tags, based on the first HTTP request and the obtained subscriber attribute information; and

means for accessing via the IP based wide area packet switched network an IP-based messaging server for at least one of retrieval and storage of subscriber messaging information for the specified remote subscriber, based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information and a second HTTP request received from the proxy browser and having a reference to the prescribed messaging application operation.

37. The server of claim 36, wherein the obtaining means includes:

means for determining whether the subscriber attribute information for the specified remote subscriber is stored within a registry locally accessible by the application server; and

means for generating a query to the IP based database server according to LDAP protocol for the subscriber attribute information for the specified subscriber.

38. The server of claim 36, wherein the accessing means includes means for storing a message, included within the second HTTP request, for the specified remote subscriber in a prescribed directory of the IP-based messaging server specified by the corresponding subscriber attribute information according to IMAP protocol.

39. The server of claim 36, wherein the accessing means includes means for retrieving at least a portion of the subscriber messaging information from the IP-based messaging server according to IMAP protocol in response to a retrieval request specified within the second HTTP request.

52. The application server of claim 36, wherein the means for obtaining is configured for executing a selected one of a plurality of extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request, and accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

40. A server comprising:

a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) interface configured for receiving an HTTP request, and outputting a web document having tags selected based on determined capabilities of a user device having sent the HTTP request; and

an application runtime environment configured for executing a messaging application operation related to an identified subscriber by dynamic generation of the web document in response to the HTTP request, the application runtime environment configured for accessing, via an Internet Protocol (IP) based wide area packet switched network, attribute information for the identified subscriber from an IP-based database server configured for storing subscriber attributes, the application runtime environment configured for selectively accessing via the IP based wide area packet switched network an IP-based messaging server for at least one of retrieval and storage of the subscriber messaging information for the identified subscriber, based on a prescribed messaging address retrieved from the obtained subscriber attribute information, the application runtime environment generating the web document for the messaging application based on the accessed attribute information for the identified subscriber.

41. The server of claim 40, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for executing extensible markup language (XML) documents based on the HTTP request and stored application state information, the application runtime environment configured for accessing the IP-based database server based on a procedure call specified in a selected one of the XML documents.

42. The server of claim 41, wherein the application runtime environment accesses the stored application state information from a local registry.

43. The server of claim 40, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for obtaining from the IP-based messaging server a personalized prompt for playback to callers attempting to reach the identified subscriber, the application runtime environment configured for inserting into the web page XML tags specifying playback of the personalized prompt based on determining the incoming call attempted to reach the identified subscriber.

44. The server of claim 40, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for accessing the IP-based messaging server according to LDAP protocol.

45. The server of claim 40, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for retrieving stored messages from the IP-based messaging server based on validating the incoming call as initiated by the identified subscriber relative to password information within the subscriber attributes.

46. The server of claim 45, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for accessing the IP-based messaging server according to IMAP protocol.

47. The server of claim 40, wherein the application runtime environment is configured for storing messages supplied by the web request to the IP-based messaging server, for storage in a prescribed directory for the identified subscriber, according to one of SMTP protocol and IMAP protocol.