Cisco Technology, Inc.

David Auerbach

Fred R Rednor

David Anthony Hughes

Douglas C Shriver

Andrew West

Udaya Shankar

Kenneth Alfred Morneault

Diane M Berg

Pascal Thubert

Patrick Wetterwald

Marco Molteni

Clay H Neighbors

Lev Volftsun

Andrew H West

Adrian Richard Kingston

A generic backhaul protocol is provided for passing telecommunication signaling messages according to multiple signaling protocols between a gateway and a media gateway controller. A message in accordance with the generic backhaul protocol includes a message header that indicates the signaling protocol and/or the channel being used on the gateway. The message also includes a message body that contains a protocol data unit encapsulating signaling data in accordance with a signaling protocol.

Method and apparatus for backhaul of telecommunications signaling protocols over packet-switching networks

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 to an originating node and a terminating node, respectively, and at least one signaling apparatus. The first of the two coding units is configured to extract signaling data associated with the voice call and transmit the signaling data and its network address to the signaling apparatus. Signaling data for establishing the voice call is received by the signaling apparatus, and a network address of the coding unit in the packet-switching network is obtained. The second coding unit is controlled to establish a bearer channel with the first coding unit for carrying the voice data through the packet-switching network, based on the network address.

Communicating voice over a packet-switching network

A mobile router is configured for optimized utilization of reverse routing headers, to specify a path between an originating mobile router and a home agent. Reverse routing headers enable each mobile router within the path to the home agent to specify its care of address, enabling the home agent to establish a bidirectional tunnel to the originating mobile router via the corresponding mobile router. The mobile router selectively updates the reverse routing header in a received packet by inserting the source address value of the received packet into the reverse routing header and inserting its corresponding care of address into the source address field, based on whether the mobile router lacks a routing table entry that specifies reachability of a most recent entry in the reverse routing header via the source address value. The mobile router also may request the originating mobile router to increase the reverse routing header size.

Arrangement in a router of a mobile network for optimizing use of messages carrying reverse routing headers

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 to an originating node and a terminating node, respectively, and at least one signaling apparatus. The first of the two coding units is configured to extract signaling data associated with the voice call and transmit the signaling data and its network address to the signaling apparatus. Signaling data for establishing the voice call is received by the signaling apparatus, and a network address of the first coding unit in the packet-switching network is obtained. The second coding unit is controlled to establish a bearer channel with the first coding unit for carrying the voice data through the packet-switching network, based on the network address.

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.

Protocol conversion using channel associated signaling

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Reston, VA, United States of America

David Auerbach