Method and apparatus for providing a virtual distributed gatekeeper in an H.323 system
US6925076B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 13, 1999 |
| Grant date | Aug 2, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 13, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L61/2567
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for improving the scalability of H.323 systems is described. An H.323 gateway can be modified to store call state information associated with a call on at least one of the ports of the modified H.323 gateway. The modified H.323 gateway can send registration, admission, and status requests to a modified H.323 gatekeeper. This relieves the modified H.323 gatekeeper of the need to maintain call status information for that call. If the modified H.323 gatekeeper fails, there is no disruption of the call or the billing information associated with the call. The modified H.323 gateway and the modified H.323 gatekeeper can be embodied in interface cards suitable for IP telephony gateways. Additionally, the modified H.323 gateway can support a standard network address translation protocol and an H.323 proxy service. These features help prevent users of the modified H.323 gateway from bypassing the billing and user authentication systems while also conserving the IP address space.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.