Cisco Technology, Inc.

Andrew H West

Fred R Rednor

Clay H Neighbors

Lev Volftsun

Douglas C Shriver

Adrian Richard Kingston

John Joseph Costello

Owen Brendan Friel

David Auerbach

Mikhail Rabinovitch

Ollie Fagan

In one embodiment, an endpoint in a network sends a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) registration request to a device. The device generates a first key using information included in the SIP registration request. The device also writes the first key to a storage location accessible by a Traversal Using Relays around Network address translators (TURN) server. The endpoint generates a second key based on the information included in the SIP registration request. The endpoint sends an allocate request to the TURN server that includes the second key. The TURN server authenticates the endpoint based in part by comparing the second key to the first key. The endpoint receives an allocate response from the TURN server, after the TURN server authenticates the endpoint.

Turn authentication using SIP channel discovery

An auxiliary communication network is introduced into a virtual private network for passing signaling messages that present features not supported by the public, primary communication network portion of the virtual private network. Protocol converters are positioned within the virtual private network to intercept signaling messages, establish a connection through the auxiliary network, determine whether the intercepted messages present unsupported features, and, in which case, route corresponding feature requested through the auxiliary communication network. Preferably, the auxiliary network connection is established in a direction reverse to and in response to the primary network connection.

Advanced voice communication feature transparency in a telecommunications network

Communicating voice over a packet-switching network is implemented on a telecommunications network that includes the packet-switching network, two coding units coupled to the packet-switching network and two signaling apparatuses. Signaling data for establishing the voice call is received by an originating signaling apparatus, which generates a message that encapsulates the signaling data in accordance with a common signaling protocol, and transmits the message to a destination signaling apparatus. The message, in accordance with the common signaling protocol, includes a call identifier that uniquely identifies the voice within the packet-switching network, the network address of a signaling apparatus, and/or a connection descriptor for a coding unit.

System using a signaling protocol for controlling voice calls originating in a circuit switching telephone network and routed over a packet switching network

Communicating voice over a packet-switching network is implemented on a telecommunications network that includes the packet-switching network, two coding units coupled to the packet-switching network and two signaling apparatuses. Signaling data for establishing the voice call is received by an originating signaling apparatus, which generates a message encapsulates the signaling data in accordance with a common signaling protocol, and transmits the message to destination signaling apparatus. The message, in accordance with the common signaling protocol, includes a call identifier that uniquely identifies the voice within the packet-switching network, the network address of a signaling apparatus, and/or a connection descriptor for a coding unit.

Signaling protocol for controlling voice calls in a packet switching network

A method and apparatus for protocol conversion using channel associated signaling (CAS) is disclosed. A protocol conversion system is located logically between a first signaling system and a second signaling system, in which the first signaling system uses the Common Channel Signaling (CCS) protocol and the second signaling system uses CAS, which is incompatible with CCS. The protocol conversion system receives a first message from the first signaling system that conforms to the CCS protocol, converts the first message to one or more second messages that conform to the CAS protocol, and communicates the one or more second messages to the second signaling system, whereby a voice conversation is established between the first signaling system and the second signaling system. The protocol conversion system preferably comprises a universal protocol converter coupled to a CAS module. The CAS module interfaces trunks of the two incompatible networks and drops or inserts signaling information in frames carried by the trunks. The universal protocol converter executes a state machine that determines how to convert CCS messages into CAS messages, and instructs the CAS module what messages are to be sent to each network. In this configuration, voice conversations can be set up over incompatible signaling networks.

Growing community of inventors

High Wycombe, United Kingdom

Andrew H West