Cisco Technology, Inc.

Geetha Ravishankar

Satish Joshi

Lewis Dean Dodrill

Ryan Alan Danner

Steven J Martin

Zhiwei Zhang

Swaminathan Ravishankar

Susan Harrow Barban

Nagendran Parasu

Keith McKinley Basil

David William Geen

Govind V Pande

Robert James Lockwood

Brenda Gates Spielman

Melissa Lee Denbar

William Bateman Willaford, Iv

James Richard Grove, Jr

A unified web-based voice messaging system uses an application server, configured for executing a voice application defined by XML documents, that accesses subscriber attributes from a standardized information database server (such as LDAP), and messages from a standardized messaging server (such as IMAP), regardless of message format. The application server, upon receiving a request from a browser serving a user, accesses the standardized database server to obtain attribute information for responding to the voice application operation request. The application server generates an HTML document having media content and control tags for personalized execution of the voice application operation based on the attribute information obtained from the standardized database server. The application server also is configured for storing messages for a called party in the standardized messaging server by storing within the message format information that specifies the corresponding message format. Hence, the application server can respond to a request for a stored message from a subscriber by accessing the stored message from the standardized messaging server, and generating an HTML document having media content and control tags for presenting the subscriber with the stored message in a prescribed format based on the message format and the capabilities of the access device used by the subscriber.

Unified messaging system using web based application server for management of messages using standardized servers

A method for inter-process communication between non-persistent application instances includes establishing a first non-persistent application instance serving a first party and establishing a second non-persistent application instance serving a second party. In the first application instance, an HTML page is generated having instructions for a persistent browser instance having received the HTML page to initiate a new application session for the second party. Thus, inter-application communication is possible where one non-persistent application instance is able to notify and/or interrupt another non-persistent application instance by way of an associated real time component (web browser or proxy browser).

IP unified agent using an XML voice enabled web based application server

An application server is configured for initiating a messaging session for an incoming call by accessing a subscriber profile information from a directory server and a subscriber announcement from a messaging server. The application server includes a fault tolerant routine for initiating a messaging session, enabling playing of the subscriber's spoken name during the messaging session based on a determined unavailability of the messaging server. The subscriber announcement and the subscriber's spoken name (or another audible subscriber identifier) are stored in the messaging server as first and second data files having first and second sizes, respectively, where the second size is substantially smaller than the first size. The second data file also is stored in the directory server with the subscriber profile information. If, during initiation of the messaging session the application server determines that the messaging server is unavailable, the application server retrieves the second data file from the directory server and plays the corresponding audible subscriber identifier as an alternate announcement for the messaging session. Hence, the application server is able to initiate a messaging session that provides positive identification of the subscriber, enabling messages to be recorded for storage even when the messaging server is unavailable.

Messaging system configured for selectively accessing subscriber spoken name from a directory server based on determined unavailability of messaging server

An application server, configured for dynamically generating a web page (e.g., HTML) document based on execution of XML documents, dynamically generates an HTML page having selected form elements based on a stored XML document that defines available HTML form elements and respective attributes, and based on user attributes retrieved by the application server from an open network database server (such as LDAP). The application server, in response to a request from a user, accesses an XML document configured for specifying attributes associated with the request; the XML document may specify as form elements menus that are available for generation based on qualified user attributes, or may specify HTML fields that can be generated for display on the HTML page based on the qualified user attributes. The application server also retrieves the user attributes, and dynamically generates the HTML page based on identifying the user attributes matching the qualified user attributes of the accessed XML document. Hence, HTML pages having form elements can be dynamically generated, providing personalized HTML pages without the necessity of modifying CGI scripts or stored HTML pages.

Application server configured for dynamically generating web forms based on extensible markup language documents and retrieved subscriber data

A method for integrating a network application with different directory servers, each server having a different schema. The method includes providing meta-data specifying directory servers available to the application and a table mapping attributes utilized by the network application with attribute names used by the directory servers available to the application. The method further includes identifying in the table the directory server attribute name corresponding to an attribute requested by the application when the application runs. A request containing the identified directory server attribute name is sent to the corresponding directory server and information is received in response to the request.

System and method for integrating directory servers

An application server generates and maintains a server-side data record, also referred to as a 'brownie', that includes application state information and user attribute information for multiple users within a single session controlled by a web-based browser. The brownie includes a session identifier that uniquely identifies the session, and a subsession identifier that uniquely identifies each corresponding user of the application session. As each new user is added to the session, for example by initiating a call to the new user, the application server stores the subsession identifier and corresponding application state information for the new user in the same brownie. In response to receiving a second web page request from the browser that includes the session identifier, the application server initiates a new web application instance, and recovers the brownie from the memory based on the session identifier included in the second page request.

Apparatus and method for providing server state and attribute management for multiple-threaded voice enabled web applications

A unified web-based voice messaging system provides voice application control between a web browser and an application server via an hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) connection on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The web browser receives an HTML page from the application server having an XML element that defines data for an audio operation to be performed by an executable audio resource. The application server executes the voice-enabled web application by runtime execution of extensible markup language (XML) documents that define the voice-enabled web application to be executed. The application server, in response to receiving a user request from a user, accesses a selected XML page that defines at least a part of the voice application to be executed for the user. The application server then parses the XML page, and executes the operation describer by the XML page.

Application server configured for dynamically generating web pages for voice enabled web applications

A notification architecture utilizes multiple processes configured for managing notification operations based on reception of SMTP-based messages within IMAP based message stores. The notification architecture includes a notification process, configured for receiving notification messages for respective subscribers from messaging sources according to a prescribed open protocol such as Internet Protocol. The notification process accesses subscriber profile information from an open protocol-based subscriber directory based on the received notification messages. The subscriber directory is controlled by a directory management process, configured for storing subscriber notification preference information in an open protocol-based subscriber directory (such as LDAP). The directory management process stores, as a first object class, notification attributes for respective notification types, each notification attribute specifying for the corresponding notification type a corresponding notification device tag. The notification device tag can include native device information usable to generate a message for a corresponding native notification device. The directory management process selectively stores, as a second object class, device attributes for a non-native notification device referenced by the notification device tag, one of the device attributes specifying service provider information for the non-native notification device. The directory management process also selectively stores, as a third object class, service provider attributes based on the service provider information specified in the device attributes. Hence, the storage of subscriber notification preference information using a hierarchal structure of multiple object classes provides a schema enabling an efficient management of relatively complex device information for different notification devices having respective protocols and service providers. Hence, notification subscribers having different notification devices in communication with respective service providers can store all notification preference information for all the different notification devices in a single, unified subscriber directory.

Arrangement for managing notification preferences for notification delivery messages in an IP-based notification architecture

A unified web-based voice messaging system provides voice application control between a web browser and an application server via an hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) connection on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The application server executes the voice-enabled web application by runtime execution of extensible markup language (XML) documents that define the voice-enabled web application to be executed. Each voice application operation can be defined as any one of a user interface operation, a logic operation, or a function operation. Each XML document includes XML tags that specify the user interface operation, the logic operation and/or the function operation to be performed within a corresponding voice application operation, the XML tags being based on prescribed rule sets that specify the executable functions to be performed by the application runtime environment.

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Glen Allen, VA, United States of America

Geetha Ravishankar