Provision of distributed call handling over a plurality of network nodes

A method comprising the steps of:

• A) assigning each of a plurality of call model elements to at least two selected network nodes of a plurality of network nodes, yielding a call model assignment, wherein at least one of the at least two selected network nodes is not a repeater;
• B) detecting that at least one of the at least two selected network nodes is not currently available, yielding at least one unavailable network node;
• C) determining which of the plurality of call model elements is assigned to the at least one unavailable network node, yielding at least one unassigned element;
• D) reassigning the at least one unassigned call model element to at least one of the plurality of network nodes which is not the at least one unavailable network node, yielding a modified call model assignment;
• and
• E) using the modified call model assignment to process a call in response to a call request made prior to an exception condition event.

A method comprising the steps of:

• A) assigning each of a plurality of call model elements to at least two selected network nodes of a plurality of network nodes, yielding a call model assignment;
• B) detecting, during the call, that at least one of the at least two selected network nodes has become unavailable, yielding at least one unavailable network node;
• C) determining which of the plurality of call model elements is assigned to the at least one unavailable network node, yielding at least one unassigned element;
• D) determining which of the plurality of call model elements is currently active, yielding a currently active element;
• E) determining if the at least one unassigned element needs to be reassigned;
• F) if the at least one unassigned element needs to be reassigned, reassigning the at least one unassigned element to at least one of the plurality of network nodes which is not the at least one unavailable network node, yielding a modified call model assignment;
• and
• G) using the modified call model assignment to continue processing the call.

A method of providing distributed call handling over a plurality of network nodes, wherein each of the plurality of network nodes is capable of handling one or more of a plurality of call model elements from a call model, comprising the steps of:

• selecting at least two of the plurality of network nodes over which to distribute the plurality of call model elements, yielding at least two selected network nodes;
• assigning each of the plurality of call model elements to the at least two selected network nodes, yielding a call model assignment;
• and
• using the call model assignment to process a call in response to a call request, wherein the call model has a controlling point for the call, and the controlling point resides in the network node currently providing the call model element that is active, such that when the active call model element changes from residing in a first network node to residing in a second network node, the controlling point changes from the first network node to the second network node during a single call.