# US 6,724,747 B1 · Method and system for media connectivity over a packet-based network > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 6,724,747 B1 - Document ID: US6724747B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 09/205,560 - Filed: 1998-12-03 - Granted: 2004-04-20 - Earliest claimed: 1997-12-03 - Assignees: Telcordia Technologies, Inc., A Corp. of Delaware - Inventors: Mauricio Arango; Louis Cahl; Michael J. Cook; Thomas C. Ely; Christian Huitema; Frederick Obrock; Darek A. Smyk - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US6724747B1 ## CPC - H04L 65/1069: Session establishment or de-establishment - H04L 67/10: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) - H04L 67/14: Session management (for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066) - H04L 69/329: in the application layer [OSI layer 7] - H04M 7/1245: {where a network other than PSTN/ISDN interconnects two PSTN/ISDN networks} - H04Q 3/0045: {involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems} - H04Q 2213/13034: A/D conversion, code compression/expansion - H04Q 2213/13176: Common channel signaling, CCS7 - H04Q 2213/13196: Connection circuit/link/trunk/junction, bridge, router, gateway - H04Q 2213/13296: Packet switching, X.25, frame relay - H04Q 2213/13388: Saturation signaling systems - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08) - H04Q: SELECTING (switches, relays, selectors H01H; wireless communication networks H04W) ## Abstract Methods and systems for a distributed scalable hardware independent system that supports multiple functions regarding management and support of communications over a packet-based network. The communications supported by these methods and systems include, but are not limited to, Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VOIP”), voice over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”), video conferencing, data transfer, telephony, and downloading video or other data. These methods and systems use a call agent, which is composed of various objects distributed along a CORBA software bus, for exercising call management over two endpoints communicating over a packet-based network. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A communication system for providing local and long distance telephone service over a packet based network to telephone subscribers connected to circuit switched switching offices, said system comprising a plurality of gateways including trunk gateways connecting the packet based network to individual ones of the switching offices, residential gateways connected to subscriber telephones, and SS7 gateways connected to individual ones of the switching offices, and a service control system including a plurality of call agent clusters, each of said gateways being connected to one of said call agent clusters, one of said call agent clusters serving as an ingress call agent cluster and another of said call agent clusters serving as an egress call agent cluster for a specific communication to be set up through the packet based network between a calling and a called telephone subscriber, and a software bus interconnecting the ingress call agent cluster receiving information from the calling subscriber and the egress call agent cluster associated with the called subscriber, said egress call agent cluster communicating to the gateway element associated with the called subscriber for establishing the connection over the packet based network. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The communication system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said service control system further comprises a routing engine for determining the appropriate egress call agent cluster for the communication desired to be established between the calling and called subscribers. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The communication system in accordance with claim 2 wherein one of said gateways is an accounting gateway. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The communication system in accordance with claim 2 wherein said SS7 gateways are connected to individual ones of the switching offices. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The communication system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said call agent clusters each include a packet network message queue, an endpoint manager, a state machine, and a media control device manager. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The communication system in accordance with claim 5 wherein each call agent cluster connected to a trunk gateway further includes a message handler and a connection set descriptor manager and said media control device manager is connected to the trunk gateway. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The communication system in accordance with claim 6 wherein said packet network message queue of each said call agent cluster connected to a trunk gateway is connected to an SS7 gateway, said SS7 gateway serving to control the establishment of a communication path through a switching office and the trunk gateway serving to complete the communication path from the packet based network through the switching office to the called subscriber. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The communication system in accordance with claim 5 wherein in each call agent cluster connected to a residential gateway said media control device manager is connected to said residential gateway. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The communication system in accordance with claim 8 wherein in each call agent cluster connected to a residential gateway said packet network message queue is connected to said residential gateway. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The communication system in accordance with claim 1 further comprising an announcing server connected to one of said call agent clusters. ### Claim 11 A method for establishing communication for local and long distance telephone service over a packet based network between a calling and a called subscriber connected to circuit switched switching systems, the calling and called subscribers being connected to a service control system by gateways and said service control system including a plurality of call agent clusters, and said method comprising the steps of: transmitting information from a calling subscriber through a gateway to a first call agent cluster, said information regarding establishing a communication with a called subscriber; setting up a connection in said service control system between said first call agent cluster and a called agent cluster associated with the calling subscriber, said setting up the connection comprising the first call agent cluster transmitting information to a routing engine and the routing engine determining a second call agent cluster associated with the called subscriber from the plurality of called agent clusters in the service control system and transmitting the information to the determined second call agent cluster; and thereafter exchanging communication over the packet network between the calling and called subscribers. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11 wherein said step of the routing engine determining the second call agent cluster includes the steps of the routing engine transmitting a request to a network resource database and the network resource database responding back to the routing engine.