Multiplex communications – Pathfinding or routing – Combined circuit switching and packet switching
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-05
2004-06-15
Patel, Ajit (Department: 2664)
Multiplex communications
Pathfinding or routing
Combined circuit switching and packet switching
C370S356000, C370S466000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06751216
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communications, and in particular, to the use of peer-to-peer IP connections to extend the service reach of packet telephony networks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Communication Service Provider Environment in the Prior Art
FIG. 1
illustrates a service provider environment in the prior art. End-user systems
130
,
140
,
150
are coupled to first service provider
110
over respective connections
131
,
141
,
151
. End-user systems
160
,
170
,
180
are coupled to second service provider
120
over respective connections
161
,
171
,
181
. First service provider
110
is coupled to public telephone network
100
and Internet
101
by respective connections
112
and
113
. Second service provider
120
is coupled to public telephone network
100
and Internet
101
by respective connections
121
,
122
-
123
. First service provider
110
is coupled to second service provider
120
over peer-to-peer Internet Protocol (IP) connection
111
.
FIG. 2
illustrates first service provider
110
in the prior art. First service provider
110
includes mux system
211
, router
212
, services network
213
, telephony gateway
214
, and internet gateway
215
. Mux system
211
is coupled to router
212
and to connections
131
,
141
,
151
from end-user systems
130
,
140
,
150
. Router
212
is coupled to services network
213
, telephony gateway
214
, and Internet gateway
215
. Router
212
is also coupled to peer-to-peer IP connection
111
to second service provider
120
. Telephony gateway
214
is coupled to connection
113
to public telephone network
100
. Internet gateway
215
is coupled to connection
112
to Internet
101
.
FIG. 3
illustrates second service provider
120
in the prior art. Second service provider
120
includes router
312
and packet telephony network
313
. Router
312
is coupled to peer-to-peer IP connection
111
to first service provider
110
and connection
123
to Internet
101
. Packet telephony network
313
is coupled to connections
161
,
171
,
181
to end-user systems
160
,
170
,
180
. Packet telephony network
313
is also coupled to connection
122
to Internet
101
and to connection
121
to public telephone network
100
.
Referring to
FIGS. 1-3
, end-user systems
130
,
140
,
150
use first service provider
110
to access public telephone network
100
and Internet
101
. First service provider
110
provides telephony service through telephony gateway
214
and provides Internet access through Internet gateway
215
. First service provider
110
may also provide other services through services network
213
.
End-user systems
160
,
170
,
180
use second service provider
120
to access packet telephony network
313
. Packet telephony network
313
provides telephone services and Internet access over a packet network. End-user systems
160
,
170
,
180
include interface devices for use between their computers or telephones and packet telephony network
313
. Using end-user systems
160
,
170
,
180
and packet telephony network
313
, available telephony features include: 3-way calling, call forwarding, message waiting notification, ring-again, caller ID, voice-activated dialing, unified messaging, and unified communications.
Unfortunately, end-users of first service provider
110
do not have effective access to packet telephony network
313
. To access packet-based telephony, end-user systems
130
,
140
,
150
typically employ computer telephony over Internet
101
. Computer telephony requires two fairly sophisticated end-users who configure their computers to operate like telephones—including microphone, speaker, telephone circuitry, and user interface—and then operate their computers to exchange voice IP packets with one another over Internet
101
. For example, end-user systems
130
,
140
would exchange voice IP packets over first service provider
110
and Internet
101
. Computer telephony is much more complex than simply plugging-in a telephone and dialing a familiar number.
In contrast, end-users of second service provider
120
may plug standard telephones into their interface devices, and with relative ease, enjoy packet-based telephony service using a standard telephone. One example of a packet telephony network and associated end-user systems are the Integrated On-demand Network (ION) provided by Sprint Corporation.
Peer-to-Peer IP Connections in the Prior Art
Peer-to-peer IP connections are established between two different service providers to exchange IP traffic destined for the other service provider. It is important for a service provider to transfer this IP traffic as soon as possible to relieve other systems in that service provider from handling the traffic. For example, router
212
can transfer IP traffic to second service provider
120
over two different routes: 1) peer-to-peer IP connection
111
, or 2) Internet gateway
215
and Internet
101
. First service provider
110
wants to use peer-to-peer IP connection
111
whenever possible to reserve capacity through Internet gateway
215
for other IP traffic.
A brief discussion of IP addressing follows to further illustrate peer-to-peer IP connections. An Internet address is currently a 32-bit number that is comprised of four 8-bit blocks that are separated by decimals. It is expected that this addressing scheme will be expanded to a 128-bit number that is separated into four 32-bit blocks. An Internet address is also separated into a network part and a host part. The network part identifies the destination network, and the host part identifies the destination host on the destination network. Internet addresses are separated into classes based on how many bits are used for the network part and how many bits are used for the host part. Class “A” addresses use the first block for the network part and the final three blocks for the host part. Class “B” addresses use the first two blocks for the network part and the final two blocks for the host part. Class “C” addresses use the first three blocks for the network part and the final block for the host part.
Class A addresses are typically not used because the first block in an Internet address typically carries “www” for the world wide web, and the subnet on the web must be identified in the second and/or third blocks. Class B addresses are rare because if the first block identifies “www”, then only eight bits remain to provide a mere 256 Class B addresses on the web.
Internet backbone providers carry large amounts of Internet traffic and typically host the largest and most popular websites. The rare Class B addresses are often used by Internet backbone providers to collect IP traffic for their portion of the backbone, and consequently, these Class B addresses are used by other service providers to quickly identify and dump IP traffic over peer-to-peer connections to the Internet backbone provider. In the above example, second service provider
120
could be an Internet backbone provider with Class B addresses. Thus, when router
212
receives Internet traffic with these class B addresses from end-user systems
130
,
140
,
150
, router
212
transfers this IP traffic over peer-to-peer connection
111
to second service provider
120
. This routing is far more efficient than transferring the IP traffic through Internet Gateway
215
and over internet
101
to second service provider
120
.
Problems in the Prior Art
The above networking arrangement creates a serious problem for end-users. The service provider who owns the connection to the end-user has a near monopoly over local services for that end-user. Exorbitant costs prevent other service providers from deploying their own end-user connections in competition with existing service providers. The deregulation that was supposed to usher in local competition has yet to deliver a meaningful level of competition i
Cope Warren B.
Johnson Harold W.
Patel Ajit
Sprint Communications Company L.P.
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