Distributed server function in a VoIP to telephony bridging network

In an infrastructure supporting both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a system comprising:

• a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to:
• bridge a call between the Internet and the PSTN;
• store PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• and
• a first one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices operable to:
• receive a call bridging setup request from a calling PSTN terminal, the call bridging setup request including a calling PSTN number and a destination PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieve PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• select a second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices based upon the PSTN access point information and the destination PSTN number;
• bridge the call between the PSTN and the Internet to service the calling PSTN terminal;
• and
• enable the second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices to bridge the call between the Internet and the PSTN to support termination of the call to the destination PSTN terminal.

In an infrastructure supporting both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a system comprising:

• a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to:
• bridge a call between the Internet and the PSTN;
• store PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• and a first one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices operable to:
• receive a call bridging setup request from a calling PSTN terminal, the call bridging request including a calling PSTN number and a destination PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieve PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• select a second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices based upon the PSTN access point information and the calling PSTN number;
• select a third one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices based upon the PSTN access point information and the destination PSTN number;
• enable the second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices to bridge the call between the PSTN and the Internet to service the calling PSTN terminal;
• and
• enable the third one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices to bridge the call between the Internet and the PSTN for termination to the destination PSTN terminal.

In an infrastructure supporting both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a system comprising:

• a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to bridge calls between the Internet and the PSTN;
• and
• server processing circuitry distributed among the plurality of client telephony bridging devices and operable to:
• track a plurality of subscribers of the group of subscribers to the system;
• and
• for each of the plurality of tracked subscribers, store at least one current IP address of a VoIP terminal corresponding to the tracked subscriber.

In an infrastructure supporting both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a system comprising:

• a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to bridge calls between the Internet and the PSTN;
• and
• server processing circuitry distributed among the plurality of client telephony bridging devices and operable to:
• store PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• receive a call bridging setup request from a calling VoIP terminal, the call bridging request including a PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieve PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• based upon the PSTN access point information, select one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices for call bridging;
• and
• direct the calling terminal to the selected one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices for call bridging between the Internet and the PSTN to access the destination PSTN terminal.

In an infrastructure supporting both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a system comprising:

• a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to bridge calls between the Internet and the PSTN;
• and
• server processing circuitry distributed among the plurality of client telephony bridging devices and operable to:
• store PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• receive a call bridging setup request from a calling PSTN terminal, the call bridging request including a PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieve PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• select a first one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices for call bridging from the calling PSTN terminal to the Internet based upon the PSTN access point information;
• select a second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices for call bridging from the Internet to the PSTN based upon the PSTN access point information;
• and
• setup the first and second ones of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices for call bridging.

In a system having a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to support both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a method comprising:

• a first one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices:
• receiving a call bridging setup request from a calling VoIP terminal, the call bridging request including a PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieving PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• based upon the PSTN access point information and the destination PSNT number, selecting a second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices for call bridging;
• and
• the second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices bridging the call between the Internet and the PSTN to support termination to the destination PSTN terminal.

In a system having a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to support both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a method comprising a first one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices:

• receiving a call bridging setup request from a calling PSTN terminal, the call bridging request including a calling PSTN number and a destination PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieving PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• selecting a second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices based upon the PSTN access point information and the destination PSTN number;
• bridging the call between the PSTN and the Internet to service the calling PSTN terminal;
• and
• enabling the second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices to bridge the call between the Internet and the PSTN to support termination of the call to the destination PSTN terminal.

In a system having a plurality of client telephony bridging devices, each communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to support both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a method comprising a first one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices:

• receiving a call bridging setup request from a calling PSTN terminal, the call bridging request including a calling PSTN number and a destination PSTN number of a destination PSTN terminal;
• retrieving PSTN access point information regarding at least some of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices;
• selecting a second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices based upon the PSTN access point information and the calling PSTN number;
• selecting a third one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices based upon the PSTN access point information and the destination PSTN number;
• enabling the second one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices to bridge the call between the PSTN and the Internet to service the calling PSTN terminal;
• and
• enabling the third one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices to bridge the call between the Internet and the PSTN for termination to the destination PSTN terminal.