Mci Communications Corporation

Verizon Business Global LLC

Mci, Inc.

Worldcom, Inc.

Michael C Kirchner

Joel Hanson

Thomas Joseph Galvin

Mark O'Brien

Anthony W S Moey

Sridhar Krishnaswamy

Greg Young

George M Kult

Norman Reed

Thomas J Herder

Jeff Sackett

David C Scharf

A virtual private branch exchange (PBX) system that routes calls within a packet-switching network. Login information is received from a data device. The login information includes an alias identifying a user at the data device and a network address identifying the location of the data device on the packet-switching network. The virtual private branch exchange system associates the user's private branch exchange extension with the network address and routes calls to the user's (PBX) extension to the data device on the basis of the network address of the data device.

Virtual PBX system

A TCP/IP-based client-server interface for sending service requests from a client computer to a Network Information Distribution Services server. The TCP/IP-based client-server interface is an easily implemented and economical alternative to the proprietary UDP/IP-based client-server interface developed for communication between client computers and Network Information Distribution Services servers. A service request is sent to a specific TCP/IP logical port associated with a particular type of service. A process associated with the specific TCP/IP logical port formats the request in the same manner as requests received through the proprietary UDP/IP-based client-server interface are formatted, and then directs the formatted requests to the Network Information Distribution Services server process that executes the requests.

TCP/IP-based client interface to network information distribution system servers

The invention provides a mechanism for acknowledging in a NSPP environment when a data packet has been received at a destination. The invention provides an Ack Bit in the NSPP header of a data packet. If acknowledgment of receipt is not received, the data packet is resent. A timer may be used to determine the length of time to wait for acknowledgment.

Protocol extension in NSPP using an acknowledgment bit

The invention provides a generic session layer protocol that enables many generic complex transactions and exchanges between a client and a service/server. The generic session layer transactions and exchanges are available via a set of programming language functions. The functions reside in the Network Information Distribution Service (NIDS) Application Program Interface (API) of an operator services network. To introduce a new service on an operator services network, only the functions are need to be used. Accordingly, each time a new service is created, new functions calls, new protocols and a new session layer do not need to be created.

System and method for accessing a service on a services network

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Rapids, IA, United States of America

Michael C Kirchner