Routing T-37 E-mail over an H 323 (VOIP) network
View Patent ↗Disclosed are methods and systems for routing T-37 E-mail over an H 323 (VOIP) network. The methods and systems facilitate the obtaining and utilization of data from Gatekeepers with respect to the utilization of Gateways to be utilized to transmit the E-mail from the network over a conventional telephone network to the recipient. They thereby facilitate the choice of a Gateway which is less heavily utilized.
1. A method for facilitating the transmission of a facsimile document to a recipient, the method comprising:
a. utilizing a computer for electronically defining a Gateway domain name for one or more Zones in an H 323 network, each Zone comprising a set of one or more Gateways;
b. obtaining by utilizing the computer, from a Gatekeeper associated with the H 323 network, utilization data concerning one or more Gateways in one or more of the Zones; and
c. generating a lookup table by utilizing the computer, the lookup table electronically stored on a computer and comprising a Gateway domain name for one or more of the Zones, the utilization data with respect to one or more of the Gateways in the Zones obtained from the Gatekeeper, and an IP address for one or more of the Gateways in the Zones.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising formatting the facsimile document in a format suitable for transmission as an attachment to an electronic mail message.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein formatting includes formatting the facsimile document as a TIF attachment.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the utilization data includes querying the Gatekeeper periodically for the data.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein querying the Gatekeeper includes querying every minute.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lookup table is maintained at a facsimile mail server.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lookup table is maintained at the Gatekeeper.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
a. determining, by reference to a telephone number of the recipient in an electronic mail message address, a Gateway domain name associated with a Zone from which the facsimile document will be transmitted over a conventional telephone network to the recipient; and
b. selecting from the lookup table an IP address of a Gateway, from among the set of Gateways in the Zone associated with the Gateway domain name determined, whose utilization is lowest.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining the Gateway domain name associated with the Zone from which the facsimile document will be transmitted over the conventional telephone network to the recipient includes determining the name by reference to an area code portion of the telephone number of the recipient.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining the Gateway domain name associated with the Zone from which the facsimile document will be transmitted over the conventional telephone network to the recipient includes determining the name by reference to an area code portion of the telephone number of the recipient for some area codes, and to a combination of an area code portion and an exchange portion of the telephone number of the recipient for other area codes.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining the Gateway domain name associated with the Zone from which the facsimile document will be transmitted over the conventional telephone network to the recipient includes determining the name by reference to an area code portion and an exchange portion of the telephone number of the recipient.
12. A computing system comprising at least one computing device configured to:
a. generate a Gateway domain name for one or more Zones in an H 323 network, each Zone comprising a set of one or more Gateways;
b. obtain, from a Gatekeeper associated with the H 323 network, utilization data concerning one or more Gateways in one or more of the Zones; and
c. generate a lookup table comprising a Gateway domain name for one or more of the Zones, the utilization data with respect to one or more of the Gateways in the Zones obtained from the Gatekeeper, and an IP address for one or more of the Gateways in the Zones.
13. The computing system of claim 12 , further configured to format the facsimile document in a format suitable for its transmission as an attachment to an electronic mail message.
14. The computing system of claim 13 , further configured to format the facsimile document as a TIF attachment.
15. The computing system of claim 12 , further configured to query the Gatekeeper periodically for the data.
16. The computing system of claim 15 , further configured to query the Gatekeeper every minute.
17. The computing system of claim 12 , further configured to maintain the lookup table at a facsimile mail server.
18. The computing system of claim 12 , further configured to maintain the lookup table at the Gatekeeper.
19. The computing system of claim 12 , further configured to:
a. determine, by reference to a telephone number of the recipient in an electronic mail message address, a Gateway domain name associated with a Zone from which the facsimile document will be transmitted over a conventional telephone network to the recipient; and
b. select from the lookup table an IP address of a Gateway, from among the set of Gateways in the Zone associated with the Gateway domain name determined, whose utilization is lowest.
20. The computing system of claim 19 , further configured to determine the name by reference to an area code portion of the telephone number of the recipient.
21. The computing system of claim 19 , further configured to determine the name by reference to an area code portion of the telephone number of the recipient for some area codes, and to a combination of an area code portion and an exchange portion of the telephone number of the recipient for other area codes.
22. The computing system of claim 19 , further configured to determine the name by reference to an area code portion and an exchange portion of the telephone number of the recipient.