System for server obtaining terminal address via searching address table or via broadcasting to all terminals through exchange in response to terminal address interrogation request

A communication system equipped with a plurality of terminals, and a server having an address table for storing registering a corresponding relationship between a protocol first address and terminal second address of each terminal, and an exchange which accommodates each terminal and the server, wherein each of the said the terminals comprises:

• means for sending a terminal , to the server, an address interrogation request to the server if the terminal address of another party's terminal is unknown at the time of communication which includes a first value indicative of a request and a first address;
• and
• communication means for communicating with the other party's terminal via the exchange using a terminal address of which it has been notified by the server in response to the interrogation request;
• and
• Terminal address answering means for answering the server with an answer including its own terminal address if which is not registered in the server and a second value indicative of an answer when a protocol first address contained , included in an a terminal address interrogation request transferred which has been received from the server agrees with its own protocol first address;
• and
• said the server comprises:
• means for referring to the address table and searching for a terminal address corresponding to a protocol address contained in a terminal address interrogation request from a terminal;
• means which, if a terminal address corresponding to said protocol address has not been registered in the address table, is for transferring the terminal address interrogation request containing said protocol which includes the first value and the first address to all a plurality of terminals via the exchange ;
• and
• means for notifying the terminal which has issued the interrogation request of a terminal address found from the address table or of a terminal address obtained by an answer from a terminal
• registration means for registering, in the server, a corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address which is included in the answer which has been received from one of the plurality of terminals in response to the address interrogation request which has been transferred from the server.

A server in a communication system equipped with a plurality of terminals, the server for managing a corresponding relationship between a protocol address and terminal address of each terminal, and an exchange which accommodates each terminal and the server, said the server comprising:

• an address table for storing the corresponding relationship between a protocol address and terminal address of each of the plurality of terminals;
• search means for referring to said address table and searching for a terminal address corresponding to a protocol address contained in a terminal address interrogation request from a terminal;
• and
• interrogation means which, if a terminal address corresponding to the protocol address has not been registered in the address table, is for interrogating all receiving, from an originating terminal, an address interrogation request including a first value indicative of a request and a first address, and for transferring the address interrogation request to a plurality of terminals, via an exchange, or the terminal address corresponding to this protocol address;
• wherein in response to receipt of a terminal address interrogation request from an originating terminal, said search means refers to said address table to obtain the terminal address conforming to the protocol address contained in this terminal address interrogation request and, if this terminal address has not been registered, said interrogation means interrogates the terminals for terminal address ;
• means for receiving, form one of the plurality of terminals having it's own second address which is not registered in the server, an answer including a second value indicative of an answer and a second address which corresponds to the first address, in response to the address interrogation request which has been transferred from the server;
• and
• registration means for registering, in a memory, a corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address which is included in the answer.

In a network system having a server, the method of registering in the server a corresponding relationship between a first identifier and a second identifier for a communication party, comprising the steps of:

• receiving an interrogation request including a first value indicative of a request and a first identifier;
• determining a corresponding second identifier is not registered in the server;
• transferring the interrogation request to a plurality of terminals which can accommodate the communication party;
• receiving, from a terminal having it's own second identifier which is not registered in the server, an answer including a second value indicative of an answer and a second identifier which corresponds to the communication party identified by the first identifier, in response to the interrogation request;
• and
• registering a corresponding relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier which is included in the answer.

In a network system having a server, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving, from an originating terminal by the server, an address interrogation request including a first address and a first value indicative of a request;
• transferring, by the server, the address interrogation request to a plurality of terminals;
• receiving, from an originating terminal by the server, an answer including a second value indicative of an answer and second address which corresponds to a first address;
• deleting, from the server, an entry which has a corresponding relationship between a first address and a second address from the server to form a vacancy when the server cannot register a corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address which is included in the answer;
• and
• registering in a vacancy of the server a corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address which is included in the answer.

An address resolution system equipped with a plurality of terminals, a switch or exchange which accommodates each terminal of a plurality of terminals and a server, wherein

• each terminal of the plurality of terminals comprises:
• means for sending a terminal address interrogation request which includes a first value indicative of a request and a first address to the server if a second address of another party's terminal is unknown at the time of communication;
• and
• means for answering the server with an answer including a terminal own second address and a second value indicative of an answer when a first address included in a terminal address interrogation request received from the server agrees with a terminal own first address;
• and
• the server comprises:
• means for transferring the terminal address interrogation request including the first value indicative of the request and the first address to the plurality of terminals;
• and
• receiving means for receiving, in response to the terminal address interrogation request which has been transferred by the server, an answer including a second address corresponding to the first address from one of the plurality of terminals;
• means for registering in the server a corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address which has been included in the answer.

A sever comprising:

• means for receiving, from an originating terminal, an address interrogation request including a first address and a first value indicative of a request;
• means for transferring the address information request to a plurality of terminals;
• means for receiving an answer including a second value indicative of an answer and a second address which corresponds to the first address from one of the plurality of terminals in response to the address interrogation request which has been transferred;
• and
• means for registering, in a memory of the server, a corresponding relationship between the first and the second address in a place designated by an index value which is calculated based on a value of the first address or the second address,
• wherein when the server receives the answer including the second address corresponding to the first address from the one of the plurality of terminals, the registration means deletes a corresponding relationship, referred to least recently, when the server can not accommodate a corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address, and registers the corresponding relationship between the first address and the second address which is included in the answer.

In a network system including communication parties accommodated by terminals, a method of registering a corresponding relationship between a first identifier and a second identifier for a communicating party, comprising the steps of:

• when a communication request is issued, determining, in a terminal accommodating an originating party, whether a second identifier for another communicating party is registered;
• sending to a server an interrogation request including a first value indicative of a request and a first identifier of the other communicating party when the second identifier is not registered in the terminal;
• transferring, by the server, the interrogation request to a plurality of terminals which can accommodate the other communicating party when the second identifier corresponding to the first identifier is not registered in the server;
• receiving, at the server, an answer including a second value indicative of an answer and the second identifier which corresponds to the other communicating party identified by the first identifier in response to the interrogation request, said answer from a terminal having it's own second identifier which is not registered in the server;
• sending the answer to the terminal accommodating the originating party;
• and
• registering, in the terminal accommodating the originating party, a corresponding relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier which is included in the answer.

A network identifier resolution system equipped with a plurality of terminals, a switch or exchange which accommodates each terminal of a plurality of terminals and a server, wherein:

• each terminal of the plurality of terminals comprising:
• a processor that receives a communication request message, determines a first identifier from the communication request message, checks a local storage area for a corresponding second identifier, and when a second identifier is not registered, creates an interrogation request message which includes a first value indicative of a request and the first identifier;
• and
• a network interface unit that sends to the server the interrogation request message and receives answers and interrogation request messages from the server;
• the server comprising:
• a processor that receives the interrogation request message, checks a storage area for a corresponding second identifier, and when a second identifier is not registered, forwards the interrogation request;
• network interface unit for transferring the interrogation request message including the first value indicative of the request and the first identifier to a plurality of terminals, and receiving, in response to the interrogation request message, an answer including a second identifier corresponding to the first identifier from one of the plurality of terminals having it's own second identifier which is not registered in the server;
• and
• the storage area for registering a corresponding relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier which has been included in the answer.