Method and apparatus for providing disaster recovery using network peering arrangements

• US 8,582,590 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2012
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Croak, Marian, Eslambolchi, Hossein
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US13/567,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20120300770A1
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 370/401, 370/466
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

The present invention enables network providers to create peering arrangements with other providers that allow them to fail over to other networks in the event of a site failure. This invention would lower the cost to provide site diversity within a provider'"'"'s network by allowing cost sharing between the provider'"'"'s network and other networks. For example, when an Application Server (AS) in a network fails, the network provider can send a call to a partner'"'"'s network and uses an AS in the partner'"'"'s network to process the call request.

Claims

1. A method for processing a call setup message in a communication network, comprising:

receiving the call setup message by a processor of a peering network to process the call setup message, when a network element in the communication network is unavailable to process the call setup message; and

retrieving, by the processor, service logic for processing the call setup message on behalf of the communication network, wherein the call setup message originated from an endpoint device in the communication network for a call that is terminating in the peering network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication network comprises a voice over Internet protocol network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the peering network comprises a voice over Internet protocol network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the call setup message is initially received by a first call control element in the communication network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the receiving comprises:

receiving the call setup message from the first call control element, wherein the processor is a processor of a second call control element of the peering network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the network element comprises an application server in the communication network.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

accessing an application server in the peering network by the processor to process the call setup message.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining in the communication network a database of Internet protocol addresses of a plurality of network elements of the communication network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication network and the peering network are operated by different service providers.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor of a peering network, cause the processor to perform operations for processing a call setup message in a communication network, the operations comprising:

receiving the call setup message to process the call setup message, when a network element in the communication network is unavailable to process the call setup message; and

retrieving service logic for processing the call setup message on behalf of the communication network, wherein the call setup message originated from an endpoint device in the communication network for a call that is terminating in the peering network.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the communication network comprises a voice over Internet protocol network.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the peering network comprises a voice over internet protocol network.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the call setup message is initially received by a first call control element in the communication network.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the receiving comprises:

receiving the call setup message from the first call control element, wherein the processor comprises a processor of a second call control element of the peering network.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the network element comprises an application server in the communication network.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

accessing an application server in the peering network by the processor to process the call setup message.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein a database of internet protocol addresses of a plurality of network elements of the communication network is maintained in the communication network.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the communication network and the peering network are operated by different service providers.

19. A system for processing a call setup message in a communication network, comprising:

a processor of a peering network; and

a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving the call setup message to process the call setup message, when a network element in the communication network is unavailable to process the call setup message; and

retrieving service logic for processing the call setup message on behalf of the communication network, wherein the call setup message originated from an endpoint device in the communication network for a call that is terminating in the peering network.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the communication network comprises a voice over internet protocol network.