Claims
- 1. A system for transmitting media traffic over a data network, the system comprising:
a media gateway converting the media traffic from a first media format to a second media format operable for transmission of the media traffic over the data network; and a soft switch communicatively connected to the media gateway by way of the data network, the soft switch receiving signaling information associated with the media traffic, and in response to the signaling information, controlling the media gateway by issuing one or more messages to the media gateway over the data network.
- 2. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the first media format is a circuit-switched format.
- 3. A system as defined in claim 2, wherein the second media format is a packet-switched format.
- 4. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein the data network is a packet-switched network, the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway being in the packet-switched format.
- 5. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein the packet-switched format is selected from the group consisting of:
wireless terrestrial format; wireless satellite format; ATM format; IP format; Ethernet format; and frame relay format.
- 6. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the soft switch comprises:
means for determining whether the media traffic received at the media gateway comprises a voice call or a data call.
- 7. A system as defined in claim 6, wherein the one or more messages issued by the soft switch to the media gateway comprise:
an instruction for the media gateway to terminate the call at a modem for transmission over the data network if the call is determined to be a data call; and an instruction for the media gateway to terminate the call at a second media gateway via an RTP connection over a second data network if the call is determined to be a voice call.
- 8. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the media gateway encapsulates the media traffic for transmission of the media traffic over the data network in the second media format.
- 9. A system as defined in claim 8, wherein the media gateway encrypts the encapsulated media traffic.
- 10. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway over the data network are Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) messages.
- 11. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway over the data network are media gateway control protocol (MGCP) messages.
- 12. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more messages transmitted by the soft switch to the media gateway over the data network are network access server messaging interface (NMI) protocol messages.
- 13. A method for controlling transmission of media traffic between an origination access gateway and a termination access gateway over a data network, the method comprising:
receiving the media traffic at the origination access gateway; receiving signaling information associated with the media traffic at a soft switch site located at a geographic location external to the origination access gateway; and in response to the signaling information, controlling the origination access gateway using commands transmitted by the soft switch site to the origination access gateway over the data network, wherein the commands relate to routing the media traffic between the origination access gateway and the termination access gateway.
- 14. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising:
converting the media traffic from a first media format to a second media format for transmission over the data network.
- 15. A method as defined in claim 14, further comprising:
receiving the media traffic at the origination access gateway from a circuit-switched network, wherein the first media format is a circuit-switched format.
- 16. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein the data network is packet-switched network and the second media format is a packet-switched media format.
- 17. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
- 18. A method as defined in claim 13, wherein the controlling act comprises:
issuing a command to the origination access gateway that identifies a network address of the termination access gateway on the data network, wherein the origination gateway uses the network address to prepare the media traffic for transmission across the data network to the termination access gateway.
- 19. A method as defined in claim 18, further comprising:
placing the media traffic into at least one data packet having header information inclusive of the network address of the termination access gateway on the data network.
- 20. A method as defined in claim 19, wherein the data network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network and the network address of the termination access gateway on the data network is an IP address.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/197,203, entitled VOICE OVER DATA TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK ARCHITECTURE, filed Nov. 20, 1998. This application of common assignee contains a related disclosure to U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,169, entitled “System and Method for Bypassing Data from Egress Facilities.” Both U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/197,203 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,169 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09197203 |
Nov 1998 |
US |
Child |
10366061 |
Feb 2003 |
US |