Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for fast automated recovery from toll switch failure in a telephone network

US6078659A · kind A · utility

4Cited by
5References
15Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 29, 1998
Grant dateJun 20, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 29, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04Q3/0062
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides an efficient recovery mechanism when a toll switch within a telephone network is inoperative. A telephone network management operating system and a network manager determines that a toll switch is sufficiently inoperative and invokes a trunk group reconfiguration mechanism. A cross connect system, such as a DCS (Digital Cross-connect System), links the toll-completing trunk groups coming into such an inoperative toll switch to intertoll trunk groups coming into such a toll switch. In this manner, an alternative toll switch within the telephone network replaces the inoperative toll switch for such toll-completing trunk groups thereby restoring operation to customers previously tied to the inoperative toll switch in an efficient and low-cost manner by using already existing components within the telephone network. In addition, the telephone network management operating system within the telephone network ensures that calls that previously would have been routed through that failed toll switch are now routed through the alternative toll switch.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.