Telecommunications exchange system and method thereof

Telecommunication switching system and method

This application is based on the pending patent application filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on October 31, 1996 and assigned serial number 08/741,130 and claims the priority of the application.

The present invention relates to telecommunications, and in particular to a method and device for dynamically selecting an optimal telecommunications path from a plurality of available paths based on the analysis of statically and dynamically changing variables and user priorities.

The telecommunications industry has recently rapidly changed from simple analog connections of telephones for voice communications to current systems for sending and receiving data, fax, e-mail, video, audio, and voice (collectively referred to herein as data) in both analog and digital forms. Data can be transmitted in a variety of different forms, such as data files, data packets, encapsulated packets, or data streams (herein collectively referred to as data files). Different types of telecommunications systems have been and continue to be established, acting as the backbone system for data transmission through many media. For example, data can be transmitted from one user to another via POTS (usually old telephone system), leased lines, mobile cellular networks, digital links, optical fibers, satellite links, and private and public data packet switching networks such as the Internet.

In addition, there are multiple price competitions among service providers that use different types of these transmission media. For example, so-called long-distance service providers such as AT&T and MCT compete with each other to provide prices to obtain a greater market share of consumers, businesses, non-profit organizations, and government users. As a result of the many types of telecommunications services available and the competition between providers of these services, users often face difficult choices about choosing the service that will provide them with the best value.

Often, at a certain moment, the user can obtain more than one telecommunication service provider to choose as the carrier of the data to be transmitted. For example, a user can subscribe to two or more long-distance service providers, and can visit one of them at a certain time by dialing the telephone number of the service provider first and then the destination telephone number. In addition, users can have different types of media to choose from; for example, they can establish connections via the Internet, satellites, and so on. This is especially true in a business environment, where economic considerations allow for the availability of numerous telecommunications resources.

In the prior art, low cost is generally considered as a factor in routing judgments made by data transmission. Similarly, the so-called "lowest cost routing" equipment has proliferated, allowing calls to be established by service providers that provide the lowest cost for a certain period of time. The PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system can use the lowest cost routing device that automatically connects the calling party with the destination number along the cheapest route obtained.

The present invention recognizes that the optimal value of a telecommunications medium at a certain time is not necessarily the lowest cost of the available options. That is to say, the optimization of routing not only includes low cost, but also considers, for example, the transmission bandwidth of the medium and where users need to use it Other factors such as availability, safety and reliability at a specific time. Moreover, the user's priority may change from time to time, and the requirements regarding the transfer of one data file may be different from the requirements of another file. In other words, users may want to transmit files in an emergency state as quickly as possible, regardless of its cost. Some files may require high security that cannot be eavesdropped illegally, while other files may only need to be transmitted at a minimum fee at any time in the near future, and do not care about speed.

Therefore, the present invention recognizes that the selection of the optimal route for data transmission at a certain time is a dynamic analysis that must be carried out in real time, and various factors regarding the available media, the user and the priority of the file to be transmitted must be considered.

US Patent 5,337,352 discloses a PBX system that maintains multiple tenants, where each tenant can specify which of multiple routes should be selected as the highest priority, then the second highest priority, and so on. Each tenant pre-determined routing selection according to their needs and available resources, and the selection is stored in the PBX table. Once a tenant wants to establish a call, the PBX observes the table to determine the highest priority route for that particular tenant, and connects the call accordingly. If the route is not available, then the next priority route is connected according to the predetermined tenant table. Therefore, a predetermined pecking order is established by each tenant and stored in the PBX. Because each tenant must reserve the priority of the specific provider used, the system is static and immutable on a real-time basis. Although the patent's system detects the availability of the highest predetermined priority route and uses the next highest priority if it is not available, this analysis is only a discrete yes/no investigation and does not consider the current traffic through the route To analyze the availability of routing on a relative basis.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the aforementioned prior art systems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for selecting an optimal telecommunication path connecting a call to a remote location by analyzing multiple protocol groups on a real-time basis, and transmitting data files through the path.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method for multi-protocol routing optimization, which analyzes the user priority regarding the transmission of a specific data file to determine the optimal route for the call.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method for multi-protocol routing optimization, which analyzes various factors about routing on a real-time basis to determine the optimal route for the call.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method for multi-protocol routing optimization, which allows users to specify key transmission parameters on a file-by-file basis regardless of preset default values.

According to these and other objectives, a telecommunications exchange system is provided, which includes a first storage for storing data files transferred to a remote destination and a plurality of interfaces connected to the first storage, wherein each interface is capable of transmitting data files to Interconnection of related telecommunications paths to distant destinations. The switching system includes a second memory storing predetermined parameters related to each telecommunication path and a device for measuring variable parameter values related to each telecommunication path. The third memory stores a set of user preferences regarding data file transmission. The processor device is operatively connected with the second and third memories and the variable parameter measuring device to determine which of the multiple telecommunications paths should be used for transmission based on a set of user priorities, predetermined telecommunications path parameters, and measured variable parameters data files. The exchange system also includes an input device that allows the user to change the user's priority in the third storage before transferring the file.

For example, the variable parameter measuring device performs the measurement of the data transmission speed of each telecommunication path, for example by the so-called acoustic impulse test. The predetermined parameters stored in the second memory include the cost per unit time of using each telecommunication path, which may be a function of the current time of the day and/or the current day of the week. The predetermined parameters stored in the second memory also include a measurement value of the data transmission reliability of each path and a measurement value of the data transmission bandwidth of each path. The exchange system may also include a device for determining whether an interface is available to transfer data files at a specific time.

In terms of the method of using the switching system of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining which of a plurality of telecommunication paths should be used to transmit data files according to a set of user priorities. The method includes the following steps: Variable parameters, analysis and measurement of variable parameters and predetermined parameters related to user priority; and according to user priority to determine which path can provide the characteristics that the user wants to transfer files.

Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of the switching system of the present invention using multi-protocol routing optimization; Fig. 2 is a flowchart of the main program implemented by the present invention; and Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the interface analysis subroutine implemented by the present invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the telecommunication switching system 10 of the present invention, which can be implemented on a personal computer platform, a personal digital assistant (PDA), such as a PBX, or a similar specialized system, for example. The switching system 10 is connected to various telecommunication media according to user resources. In particular, the switching system 10 can be configured to connect a high-speed digital link via the T1 interface 12, a local area network (LAN) via a LAN interface 14, a wide area network (WAN) via a WAN interface 16, and a normal old telephone system (POTS) via a POTS interface 18. ) In the local loop and connect to the wireless communication network via the wireless interface 20. The interfaces 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 are exemplary and provided to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, in fact, any number of the aforementioned interfaces can be used individually or in various combinations according to user needs. For example, some traditional carriers such as MCI, AT&T and SPRINT can be configured with the connection switching system 10 so that users can optimize the relative benefits of each carrier through the multi-protocol routing described herein. Also, the wireless interface 20 may be configured to communicate through any of different types of electromagnetic devices such as infrared, radio frequency, and the like.

Each telecommunications medium connected to the various interfaces of Figure 1 has specific parameters related to the implementation of the routing method of the present invention. The routing method divides these parameters into predetermined (fixed) or measurable (variable). The data about the predetermined parameters are stored in the memory 22 of the switching system 10, and the data about the measurable parameters must be collected by the path analysis module 24 from each interface in real time at or near the time of data file transmission so that the routing method can make a correct analysis. .

The predetermined parameters stored in the memory 22 include, but are not limited to, as follows:

$Maximum bandwidth (i): the maximum bandwidth available for interface (i). For example, a 28.8kbs modem has a $max bandwidth variable set to 28.8.

$Reliability (i): the indication of the reliability of the interface (i) according to the following scale: 10=unreliable transmission (wireless) 50=moderately reliable (e.g. modem) 75=very reliable (e.g. T1, WAN) 100 = The most reliable (e.g. Ethernet LAN) $Economy (i): The cost of the interface (i) over a period of time, which is normalized to make the high-cost interface produce a low economic measurement value: $Economy (i) =100-cost/minute$Availability (i): the availability of the interface (i) for a specific user. Not all users of the system can access every interface; for example, in a shared PBX environment, only certain users can access the T1 interface.

$availability = 0 unavailable

$Availability=1 Available$Security (i) An indication of the relative data security of the path. For example, it can be a function of the number of encryption key bits (for example, 1024). The measurable parameters include, but are not limited to:

$Current status (i) The current status of the interface (i), indicating whether the telecommunications path is now operational.

$current state = 0 inoperable $current state = 1 operable $average state (i) The average value of $current state (i) in the previous 5 minutes window.

$Data size (i) The size of the data file to be transferred in KB.

$Waiting time (i) The measured value in milliseconds of the delay through the path (i). This is based on, for example, real-time testing at the interface through a so-called sound pulse to a remote host.

$Time Time of day/day of week; this is the same for all interfaces.

$Available bandwidth (i) The available bandwidth of the interface (i) at a given time of file transfer. The present invention does not rely only on pre-programmed "lowest cost" routing criteria, but uses all or one of the above tables A and B. The variables of the logical subset are used to achieve the routing judgment of the data file to be transmitted. That is to say, by using the multi-protocol routing optimization of the present invention, the selected path for transmitting data files takes into account the real-time changes of parameters, so it does not rely on simple pre-programmed low cost as in the prior art Providers checklist. Moreover, the user can specify his priority with regard to important parameters in the transmission of a specific file, such as low cost, high speed, reliability, security, etc., to determine routing.

The method used in the present invention is processed by the routing optimization module 26 (which can be implemented in a microprocessor) and uses two main components, which include a variable combination of the parameters listed in Tables A and B above. The first component is a measurement value of the inherent efficiency and expectation of a particular telecommunication path, and is given by the following equation: (1)$previous value(i)=$maximum bandwidth(i)+$reliability(i )+$economy(i)+$security(i)variable$The previous value is a high measurement value (low cost) and/or high security along with the high bandwidth, high reliability, economy of the specific path And increase the linear value. This variable is basically unchanged for a given route, except that the $economy parameter is partly based on the $time variable derived from the real-time clock 28 (the cost of the route is a function of the time of day/day of the week).

The second component used in the routing method of the present invention is partly based on real-time parameters that may show wide deviations due to many reasons, some of which may not be controlled by the user: (2) $current value (i) = $economy( i)×$speed(i)+$average state(i)×10 where $speed(i)=10,000-($data size(i)×$waiting time(i)×100) result: $current value(i )=$economy(i)×(10,000-($data size(i)×$waiting time(i)×100))+$average state(i)×10 Therefore, $current for a given path (i) The value (i) will be higher because the path has greater economy (low cost), small data file size, and/or less waiting time through the path (high speed).

Then the selection of the optimal route used is the combination of the values calculated in equations (1) and (2) above: (3) $final value(i)=$previous value(i)+$current value( i)=$Maximum Bandwidth (i)+$Reliability (i)+$Economy (i)

+$security(i)+($economy(i)×(10,000-($data size(i)×$waiting time(i)×100))+$average state(i)×10) then as follows As the flowchart will describe, the path optimization method module 26 uses the highest $final value (i) for each path in the usable and operable system, and compares it with a threshold of 25 or higher ($average state×10) Value meets. This method therefore allows optimal selection based on the multi-protocol analysis used by the system, rather than simple minimum cost routing judgment.

The path analysis function module 24 obtains each path (i) through any method known in the prior art for obtaining the latency of an IP addressable path, for example, through the most famous utility software called "ping". The value of $waiting time(i). The sound pulse program sends the packet to the Internet and obtains the average delay value experienced by the packet to reach the destination and return. Other techniques that allow the system to obtain path latency measurements are also included in the present invention.

The user can customize the relative weights given for each variable appearing in Tables A and B according to his specific needs stored in the user priority memory 32. These fixed weighted values will be stored in the memory of the switching system and used in conjunction with the routing method for transmitting all files according to the present invention. The weighted value is used as a multiplier of the variables in the algorithm to allow users to customize the algorithm as needed. For example, the user may want to emphasize the $safety(i) parameter in the analysis, and may specify (for example) 2 as a weighted multiplier, so that the $safety(i) parameter is twice as high as the default $safety(i) Parameter weighting.

In addition, the user can input the user interface 34 to replace the pre-programmed fixed parameter weights in the memory with temporary values for the transmission of any given file. The user interface can be any type of device that allows the user to input data, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and so on.

In another form of parameter weighting, the user can also force the program to ignore certain parameters and concentrate on only one parameter to achieve routing judgment. For example, if the user wants to transfer the data file 30 to a remote location through the fastest route, regardless of cost or other factors, the user specifies this requirement to the routing optimization module 26 through the interface 34. The routing optimization module 26 then sets all variables except the $waiting time to predetermined factors, so that the routing optimization module 26 selects the path with the minimum $waiting time (for example, the smallest routing delay) as the fastest route.

Those skilled in the art can easily obtain other permutations and changes of the above examples, so that the data transfer about the file at any given point in time allows the user to specify his priority, for example, the analysis can be forced to consider any two variables, and so on.

In addition, users can store several sets of parameter weights used in different situations, and then select one set when they want. Then this set of weights is applied as described above. Moreover, the program can be configured to automatically apply a specific weighting group as a function of the data type. For example, the user can assign a high economic factor to all fax messages, and a low security factor to all video files, and so on.

2 and 3 illustrate the flow chart of the method used in the present invention to achieve the optimal selection of routing for data files among multiple available paths. First, as shown in Figure 2, take out the fixed user priority so that the parameters used in the analysis can be weighted accordingly. The user is then allowed to enter his temporary priority override value for file transfer. Assuming that no fixed weight or temporary replacement value is input in this example, the $final value parameter is determined in the switching system 10 for each path (i) in the following manner.

First, according to FIG. 3, the routing optimization module 26 checks the memory 22 to determine whether the interface (i) has been programmed to be usable by the user by observing the variable $availability (i). For example, if the switching system 10 is implemented in a PBX system, not all users can access all paths (i) because of their economic resources. This information is stored in the memory 22 and detected in the first step of the process in FIG. 3.

If $availability(i)=0, then $final value(i) is set to 0 and the program exits. However, if interface (i) is available, then $availability(i) is set to 1 and the process continues. Then the program checks whether path (i) is operable at this time, and whether the $current state variable is therefore returned from $interface (i). If $current status (i) = 0 (path is inoperable or faulty), then $ final value (i) is set to 0 and the program exits. If $current state (i) = 1 (path can be operated or restored), then the process continues.

Then check the variable $average state to determine whether it is greater than a predetermined threshold, for example, whether it is $average state×10>25. If it is, then interface (i) is considered to be in an operational state. If not, it is considered that interface (i) must be in a non-operating state, even if the current state of $ indicates operability at that specific moment.

The program then obtains the value of $waiting time (i) through the path analysis module 24. Using the $waiting time (i), the variable $speed (i) is calculated as shown in the flowchart and explained above. The variable $economy (i) as a function of the $time variable is obtained from the memory 22. Next, the variable $current value (i) is calculated as a function of $economy (i), $speed (i), and $average state (i).

Then the variable $previous value (i) is used as a function of the variables $maximum bandwidth (i), $reliability (i) and $security (i) obtained from the memory 26, as well as a predetermined $economy (i) Calculated. Finally, as shown in the program, the final value of the variable $ is obtained, and it is stored in the register to wait for the calculation of the final value (i) of the remaining interface shown in Figure 2.

After all the interfaces have been analyzed in the above manner, the routing optimization module 26 then determines which interface (i) should be selected according to the maximum value of the $final value (i). The data file is then routed from the storage 30 to the selected interface for transmission.

The program shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be supplemented with the user priority substitution feature described above, which allows the user to specify the fastest route, the lowest cost route, the most reliable route, and so on.

The measurable parameter $available bandwidth (i) can also be used in the algorithm mentioned here to provide a real-time indication of the desirability of selecting a particular interface (i) at a certain time. Although the fixed parameter $MaxBandwidth(i) provides a measurement of the maximum bandwidth available for a given interface, the interface can be tested if necessary to determine which part of the bandwidth is truly usable. A well-known test used to complete this measurement in the prior art is the so-called "show interface serial zero" test, which can measure the number of packets received in the last n seconds and at that time How many packets have been transmitted by the interface for execution. Therefore, the parameter $available bandwidth can be substituted or used in conjunction with the measured parameter $waiting time for analysis here.

In addition, when the system and method of the present invention have been combined with the transmission representation of a data file (defined here), it can also be applied to multiple data files based on either serial or parallel (interleaved) by appropriately improving algorithms and procedures. transmission.

The selection of the specific variables and parameters used here is a preferred embodiment; it can be expected to use other variables in conjunction with the present invention to achieve the optimal route under given conditions. In addition, specific algorithms determined to provide the necessary relative weighting of fixed and measurable variables can also be supplemented according to user needs to achieve optimal routing.