Arrangement for protocol independent transfer of control parameters across internetworks using generic transparency descriptor objects

A method in a network node configured for interfacing between a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol and a destination network having a destination telephony protocol, the method comprising:

• receiving an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing a signaling message generated by a source network according to a source telephony protocol, the generic attributes including a protocol name and a message identifier;
• determining the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types based on parsing the protocol name, and a message type for the signaling message according to the source telephony protocol based on parsing the message identifier;
• selectively generating the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol based on the source telephony protocol and the determined message type;
• and
• selectively outputting a new signaling message, onto the destination network, representing the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol.

A network node configured for interfacing between a source network having a source telephony protocol and a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol, the network node comprising:

• a signaling interface configured for receiving a signaling message from the source network according to the source telephony protocol, the signaling message specifying a signaling operation to be executed according to the source telephony protocol;
• an encoder configured for generating an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing the signaling message, the generic attributes including a protocol name that specifies the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types, and a message identifier that specifies a message type according to the source telephony protocol;
• and
• an IP interface configured for outputting the IP-based transport message, having the generic transparency descriptor, to a node via the packet network.

A network node configured for interfacing between a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol and a destination network having a destination telephony protocol, the network node comprising:

• an IP interface configured for receiving an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing a signaling message generated by a source network according to a source telephony protocol, the generic attributes including a protocol name and a message identifier;
• a parser configured for determining the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types based on parsing the protocol name, and a message type for the signaling message according to the source telephony protocol based on parsing the message identifier, the parser selectively generating the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol based on the source telephony protocol and the determined message type;
• and
• a signaling interface configured for selectively outputting a new signaling message, onto the destination network, representing the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for interfacing between a source network having a source telephony protocol and a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

• receiving a signaling message from the source network according to the source telephony protocol, the signaling message specifying a signaling operation to be executed according to the source telephony protocol;
• generating an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing the signaling message, the generic attributes including a protocol name that specifies the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types, and a message identifier that specifies a message type according to the source telephony protocol;
• and
• outputting the IP-based transport message, having the generic transparency descriptor, to a node via the packet network.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for interfacing between a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol and a destination network having a destination telephony protocol, the sequences of instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

• receiving an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing a signaling message generated by a source network according to a source telephony protocol, the generic attributes including a protocol name and a message identifier;
• determining the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types based on parsing the protocol name, and a message type for the signaling message according to the source telephony protocol based on parsing the message identifier;
• selectively generating the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol based on the source telephony protocol and the determined message type;
• and
• selectively outputting a new signaling message, onto the destination network, representing the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol.

A network node configured for interfacing between a source network having a source telephony protocol and a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol, the network node comprising:

• means for receiving a signaling message from the source network according to the source telephony protocol, the signaling message specifying a signaling operation to be executed according to the source telephony protocol;
• means for generating an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing the signaling message, the generic attributes including a protocol name that specifies the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types, and a message identifier that specifies a message type according to the source telephony protocol;
• and
• means for outputting the IP-based transport message, having the generic transparency descriptor, to a node via the packet network.

A network node configured for interfacing between a packet network configured for sending and receiving data according to Internet Protocol and a destination network having a destination telephony protocol, the network node comprising:

• means for receiving an IP-based transport message having a generic transparency descriptor specifying generic attributes for describing a signaling message generated by a source network according to a source telephony protocol, the generic attributes including a protocol name and a message identifier;
• means for determining the source telephony protocol relative to a prescribed set of source telephony protocol types based on parsing the protocol name, and a message type for the signaling message according to the source telephony protocol based on parsing the message identifier, and selectively generating the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol based on the source telephony protocol and the determined message type;
• and
• means for selectively outputting a new signaling message, onto the destination network, representing the signaling message according to the destination telephony protocol.