Overload call control in a VoIP network
AssigneeAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
InventorsRaghvendra G. Savoor, Steve Sposato, Michael Liu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides a system, method and apparatus for controlling a mass calling event in a VoIP network. The invention provides for monitoring port traffic information on a network edge device and detecting the occurrence of a mass calling event in conjunction with a call control module. Control instructions or information may then be provisioned to network edge devices to alleviate congestion. The invention enables network edge devices to gap or provide other controls to reduce call overloading. Controls for alleviating congestion include blocking the packets, providing an announcement to the call, re-routing the traffic associated with this specific mass calling event, and reducing the quality of the service.
Claims20
A call control method, comprising:
- detecting, on a port of a network edge device, a telephone call port utilization increase, corresponding to a difference between the port utilization during a prior interval and the port utilization during a subsequent interval, exceeding a particular threshold;
- responsive to said detecting, obtaining information indicative of a quantity of telephone calls to a common target destination during a first interval of time;
- in response to the quantity of telephone calls sharing the common target destination during the first interval of time exceeding a second threshold, sending, to a network edge device associated with the common target destination, a provisioning instruction to take mass calling event action including:
- blocking at least some packets associated with the mass calling event;
- re-routing at least some packets associated with the mass calling event, and
- reducing a quality of service for at least some packets associated with the massing calling event.
A server, comprising:
- a processor;
- a computer readable storage medium, accessible to the processor, including stored program instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations, comprising:
- detecting, on a port of a network edge device, a percentage increase in telephone call port utilization exceeding a particular threshold;
- telephone call port utilization increase, corresponding to a difference between the port utilization during a prior interval and the port utilization during a subsequent interval,
- responsive to said detecting, obtaining information indicative of a quantity of telephone calls to a common target destination during a first interval of time;
- in response to the quantity of telephone calls sharing the common target destination during the first interval of time exceeding a second threshold, sending, to a network edge device associated with the common target destination, a provisioning instruction to take mass calling event action including:
- blocking at least some packets associated with the mass calling event;
- re-routing at least some packets associated with the mass calling event, and
- reducing a quality of service for at least some packets associated with the massing calling event.
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including stored program instructions, executable by a processor, wherein the program instructions, when executed preform operating comprising:
- detecting, on a port of a network edge device, a telephone call port utilization increase, corresponding to a difference between the port utilization during a prior interval and the port utilization during a subsequent interval, exceeding a particular threshold;
- responsive to said detecting, obtaining information indicative of a quantity of telephone calls to a common target destination during a first interval of time;
- in response to the quantity of telephone calls sharing the common target destination during the first interval of time exceeding a second threshold, sending, to a network edge device associated with the common target destination, a provisioning instruction to take mass calling event action including:
- blocking at least some packets associated with the mass calling event;
- re-routing at least some packets associated with the mass calling event, and
- reducing a quality of service for at least some packets associated with the massing calling event.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.