Arrangement for efficiently updating status information of a network call-routing system

A method comprising:

• a network call routing each call through a communications network to one of plurality of call processing nodes exclusive of the network call router, without intermediary of another one of the plurality of nodes;
• each said node responsive to receipt of the call routed thereto, by processing said received call at said node;
• the nodes communicating with the network call router by sending status-update messages and not the calls to the network call router to affect the network call router's routing of the calls to the nodes;
• one of the nodes detecting a change in its status;
• in response, the one node determining whether the change in its status since a last time that a change in its status has been reported to the network call router has reached a threshold amount;
• in response to determining that the threshold amount has been reached, the one node sending one of said status-update messages reporting the change in its status to the network call router;
• and
• in response to determining that the threshold amount has not been reached, the one node forbearing from reporting the change in its status to the network call router until such time as the threshold amount of change in its status is reached.

An apparatus for updating node status information of a call router that routes calls to ones of plurality of call processing nodes, comprising:

• means in a call processing node for sending to the call router status-update messages and not the calls to affect the call router's routing of the calls to the ones of the nodes;
• means in the node for detecting a change in status of said node;
• means in the node, responsive to detection of the change in the status, for determining whether the change in the status of said node since a last time that a change in the status of said node has been reported to the call router has reached a threshold amount;
• wherein
• the sending nodes respond to determination that the threshold amount has been reached by sending one of said status-update messages reporting the change in the status of said node to the call value and a value of the status of the one node last reported to the call router, and respond to a determination that the threshold amount has not been reached by forbearing from reporting the change in the status of said node to the call router until such time as the threshold amount of change the status of said node is reached.

A communications network comprising:

• a network call router that routes each call through the network to one of a plurality of call processing nodes exclusive of the network call router, without intermediary of another one of the plurality of nodes;
• said plurality of call processing nodes, each said node responsive to receipt of the call routed thereto by processing said received call at said node, the nodes communicating with the network call router by sending status-update messages and not the calls to the network call router to effect the network call router's routing of the calls to the nodes;
• means in one of the nodes for detecting a change in status of said node;
• means in the one node, responsive to detection of the change in the status, for determining whether the change in the status of said node since a last time that a change in the status of said node has been reported to the network call router has reached a threshold amount;
• means in the one node, responsive to a determination that the threshold amount has been reached for sending one of said status-update messages reporting the change in the status of said node to the network call router, and responsive to a determination that the threshold amount has not been reached for forbearing from reporting the change in the status of said node to the network call router until such time as the threshold amount of change in the status of said node is reached.