Communication network utilizing autonomous servers to establish a communication session
View Patent ↗An architectural model is proposed which enables the breaking of the dedicated bond between voice-oriented peripheral equipment (PE) based resources and the voice call processing services that classically reside in PBXs, Central Offices, and Key Systems. In addition to being able to physically remote voice PE across data networks, this model enables the voice PE to become a shareable, network-owned resource (as per a Distributed Client/Server model) rather than the dedicated, non-shareable resource of a single voice host attached to the network. This places the voice PE in the same league that data resources (eg bridges, routers, . . . ) and server-based applications have always been. Disjoint voice products based upon this proposed architectural model would likewise be able to simultaneously share voice PE resources, thereby enabling equipment concentration and it's corresponding cost reductions at network level, as well as PE-based sparing/redundancy. In addition, a new, more powerful usage paradigm is described for the telephone that resembles that of the PC. Of course, nothing prevents the network from being configured with only a singleton voice client utilizing the various servers. This degenerate case then corresponds to a distributed, but still logically unbundled PBX complete with traditional telephones.
1. A distributed system for establishing a voice communication session, the voice communication session being established by executing a series of functions, said distributed system comprising:
a client device constituting an originating point of the voice communication session;
a plurality of servers capable to be placed in a data communicative relationship with said client device, each server being capable to establishing a data exchange transaction with the client device to execute a certain function of the voice communication session, each server being characterized in that it establishes a data exchange transaction with said client device in a manner autonomous from a data exchange transaction between said client device and a different server.
2. A distributed system for establishing a voice communication session as defined in claim 1 , wherein each server includes a computing apparatus.
3. A distributed system for establishing a voice communication session as defined in claim 2 , wherein said computing apparatus includes a processor in a data communicative relationship with a memory, said memory including a program element executed by said processor to implement an event of the communication session.
4. A private branch exchange network to permit establishing of internal and external voice communication sessions, each voice communication session being established by executing a series of functions, said private branch exchange network including:
a plurality of servers in a data communicative relationship, each server capable of interacting autonomously from other servers with telephone instruments connected to said network to execute a certain function of a voice communication session;
said plurality of servers including a PSTN access server to connect said network and the PSTN for establishment of external voice communication sessions.
5. A method for establishing a voice communication session, the voice communication session being established by executing a series of functions, said method comprising:
providing a client device at which the communication session originates;
providing a plurality of servers, each server being capable to interact with said client device to execute a certain function of the voice communication session; and
establishing a plurality of autonomous data exchange transactions between said client device and said servers to execute a series of functions permitting establishment of the voice communication session.
6. A method as defined in claim 5 , wherein the establishment of a data exchange transaction between said client device and a server comprises the exchange of data packets between said client device and the server.
7. A method as defined in claim 6 , wherein said data packets are IP data packets.