Session border control system, method and computer readable medium supporting IP multicast technology

Abstract

This invention discloses a meeting boundary control system, method, and computer-readable medium supporting IP multicast technology. A voice gateway provides a telephone interface to connect to the user's telephone, converting the telephone signal into a VoIP signal to connect to the IP Multimedia Subsystem. A user control module parses the content of the multicast signal received by the multicast / unicast control module to distinguish whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. When it is an outbound call, the user checks whether the user's calling number is whitelisted. If the user's calling number is not whitelisted, the user control module rejects the outbound call. If the user's calling number is whitelisted, the user control module forwards the outbound call to the call control module. The call control module then checks whether the current call count has reached a threshold. If the current call count has reached the threshold, the call control module rejects the outbound call. If the current call count has not reached the threshold, the call control module manages / accumulates the number of simultaneous calls and forwards the outbound call.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a meeting boundary control technology, and more particularly to a meeting boundary control system, method, and computer-readable medium that supports IP (Internet Protocol) multicast technology. Prior Technology

[0002] Given the limited bandwidth of heterogeneous networks, ensuring that important calls can be connected, call quality can be guaranteed, or the maximum number of calls can be increased are urgent problems to be solved.

[0003] Furthermore, current technologies are unable to analyze the content of mass broadcast signals to distinguish whether a user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. They also cannot check whether the user's calling number is on a whitelist when the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call in order to decide whether to deny or allow the call. They also cannot establish a whitelist of users or provide a whitelist mechanism to control users making outbound communications or make good use of network resources. Moreover, they cannot accumulate the number of simultaneous calls in the system to control the number of outbound calls and ensure call quality.

[0004] Therefore, how to provide an innovative meeting boundary control technology that supports IP multicast technology to solve any of the above problems, or to provide related systems and methods, has become a major research topic for those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The meeting boundary control system supporting IP (Internet Protocol) multicast technology as described in this invention includes: a voice gateway and an IP multimedia subsystem. The voice gateway provides a telephone interface for communication connections to users' telephones, and then converts the telephone signals into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) signals to communicate with the IP multimedia subsystem; and a meeting boundary controller, which communicates with the IP multimedia subsystem to support parallel IP multicast and unicast technology. The meeting boundary controller has a multicast / unicast control module, a user management module, and a call management module. The multicast / unicast control module receives multicast signals, and the user management module parses the signal content of the multicast signals received by the multicast / unicast control module to distinguish whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call, so that the user's dialing behavior is a local call. When a call is made, the user control module does not need to handle local calls. When the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call, the user control module checks whether the user's calling number is on the whitelist. If the user's calling number is not on the whitelist, the user control module rejects the user's outbound call. If the user's calling number is on the whitelist, the user control module forwards the user's outbound call to the call control module. The call control module then checks whether the current call count of the conference boundary control system has reached a threshold. If the current call count of the conference boundary control system has reached the threshold, the call control module rejects the user's outbound call. If the current call count of the conference boundary control system has not reached the threshold, the call control module manages / accumulates the simultaneous call count of the conference boundary control system and forwards the user's outbound call.

[0006] The meeting boundary control method supporting IP (Internet Protocol) multicast technology described in this invention includes: a voice gateway providing a telephone interface for communication connection to a user's telephone; the voice gateway converting the telephone signal into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) signal for communication connection to an IP multimedia subsystem; and a meeting boundary controller with a multicast / unicast control module, a user management module, and a call management module being communicationally connected to the IP multimedia subsystem to support parallel IP multicast and unicast technology. The multicast / unicast control module receives multicast signals, and the user management module parses the signal content of the multicast signals received by the multicast / unicast control module to distinguish whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. When the user's dialing behavior is a local call, the user management module does not need to process the data. When a user dials an outbound call, the user control module checks if the user's calling number is on a whitelist. If the user's calling number is not on a whitelist, the user control module rejects the outbound call. If the user's calling number is on a whitelist, the user control module forwards the outbound call to the call control module. The call control module then checks if the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has reached a threshold. If the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has reached the threshold, the call control module rejects the outbound call. If the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has not reached the threshold, the call control module manages / accumulates the simultaneous call count of the meeting boundary control system and forwards the outbound call of the user.

[0007] The computer-readable medium of the present invention is applied in a computing device or computer, stores instructions, and executes the computer-readable medium through a processor and memory, so as to execute the above-mentioned session boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology when executing the computer-readable medium.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention provides an innovative meeting boundary control system, method, and computer-readable medium that supports IP multicast technology. It can provide a telephone interface through a voice gateway to efficiently connect users' telephones and can also automatically convert telephone signals into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) signals to quickly connect IP multimedia subsystems.

[0009] Furthermore, the user management module of this invention can automatically parse the signal content of the multicast signal received by the multicast / unicast control module to effectively distinguish whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. This is beneficial when the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call, the user management module can quickly check whether the user's calling number is on the whitelist to decide whether to reject or allow the call.

[0010] Furthermore, the user management module of the meeting boundary controller of the present invention can pre-create a whitelist of users or create a whitelist in real time, and can also automatically activate the whitelist mechanism to effectively manage users who communicate with the outside world (such as making external calls), or allow only whitelisted users to make external calls to make good use of network resources.

[0011] In addition, the call control module of the meeting boundary controller of the present invention can control / accumulate the number of simultaneous calls of the meeting boundary control system, so as to effectively control the number of external communications (such as external calls) and ensure call quality.

[0012] To make the above-described features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, and such features and advantages will be partly apparent from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative and explanatory, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the application scenario of the meeting boundary control system supporting IP multicast technology described in this invention.

[0014] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) and its connected components in the Session Boundary Control System supporting IP multicast technology according to the present invention.

[0015] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the first embodiment of the call-related process in the meeting boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology described in this invention.

[0016] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the second embodiment of the call-related method in the meeting boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology described in this invention.

[0017] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the operation mode of the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) in the Session Boundary Control System and Method supporting IP multicast technology described in this invention. Implementation

[0018] The following describes the implementation of the present invention through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification, and can therefore implement or use it through other different specific equivalent embodiments.

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the application scenario of the meeting boundary control system 1 supporting IP (Internet Protocol) multicast technology according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 and connected components in the meeting boundary control system 1 supporting IP multicast technology according to the present invention.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the session border control system 1 supporting IP multicast technology may include a voice gateway 10, a switch 11, a session border controller (SBC) 20, and an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 30 that are interconnected. It may also include at least one network interface (such as a first network interface 41 and a second network interface 42), a database 50, a cache memory 51, and a voice codec 52.

[0021] In one embodiment, the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 may have interconnected multicast / unicast control modules 21, user management modules 22, whitelist cache modules 23, call management modules 24, and media control modules 25, etc. The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 may have interconnected Commercial Session Border Controller (C-SBC) 31, Interrogating-Call Session Control Element (I-CSCF) 32, Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 33, and Serving-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34, etc. Furthermore, the aforementioned Interrogating-Call Session Control Element (I-CSCF) 32 also possesses, or may be referred to as Interrogating-Call Session Control Function, and the Serving-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 also possesses, or may be referred to as Serving-Call Session Control Function.

[0022] In one embodiment, the multicast / unicast control module 21 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 can be a multicast / unicast control component (chip / circuit), multicast / unicast control software (program), etc.; the user management module 22 can be a user management component (chip / circuit), user management software (program), etc.; the whitelist caching module 23 can be a whitelist caching component (chip / circuit), whitelist caching software (program), etc.; the call management module 24 can be a call management component (chip / circuit), call management software (program), etc.; and the media control module 25 can be a media control component (chip / circuit), media control software (program), etc. The database 50 can be a data server, data storage (such as a data disk / memory), a cloud database (cloud disk), a remote database, a network database, etc.

[0023] In this invention, "at least one" means one or more (e.g., one, two, or three or more), "plural" means two or more (e.g., two, three, four, or ten or more), and "communication connection" means mutual communication or connection through various forms such as data, signal, electrical, wired (e.g., wired network), or wireless (e.g., wireless network). However, this invention is not limited to those mentioned in the various embodiments.

[0024] In one embodiment, the voice gateway 10 can provide a telephone interface for communication connection to a user's (e.g., a landline user's) telephone A (e.g., a traditional telephone / local telephone). The voice gateway 10 then converts the signal of telephone A into a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) signal to communicate with / interface the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30. Furthermore, the voice gateway 10 can be located in different regions (e.g., different locations / areas / townships / counties / counties / counties) from the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 and its Commercial Session Border Controller (C-SBC) 31. The voice gateway 10 can also communicate with / interface the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 and its Commercial Session Border Controller (C-SBC) 31 via a fixed network C1, where the fixed network C1 can be, for example, an underground fiber optic cable or a submarine cable.

[0025] Voice gateway 10 can be located in the same room B as meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20, and the voice gateway 10 and meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 can communicate via switch 11. The meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 can communicate / interface IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 and its Service Call Meeting Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 via heterogeneous network C2, where heterogeneous network C2 can be, for example, a satellite network or microwave network (such as a backup path).

[0026] In detail, as shown in Figure 1, the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 may be composed of the following multiple network elements, including: [1] Commercial Session Border Controller (C-SBC) 31, [2] Query-Call Session Control Element (I-CSCF) 32, [3] Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 33, [4] Service-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34, etc.

[0027] [1] Commercial Meeting Boundary Controller (C-SBC) 31: It can be responsible for communication connection / interfacing of voice gateway 10 and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30.

[0028] [2] Query-Call Talk Control Element (I-CSCF) 32: can process registration packets forwarded by the Talking Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 and the Commercial Talking Boundary Controller (C-SBC) 31, so that the Query-Call Talk Control Element (I-CSCF) 32 can forward the processed registration packets to the available Service-Call Talk Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 for user registration.

[0029] [3] Home User Server (HSS) 33: It can store user authentication, service and other information, and provide a standard interface for query-call conference control element (I-CSCF) 32 and service-call conference control element (S-CSCF) 34 to query user authentication, service and other information.

[0030] [4] Service-Call Talk Control Element (S-CSCF) 34: It can be responsible for user authentication, registration and call sending and receiving behavior, etc.

[0031] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 may be composed of the following multiple modules, including: [1] multicast / unicast control module 21, [2] user management module 22, [3] whitelist caching module 23, [4] call management module 24, [5] media control module 25, etc.

[0032] [1] Multicast / unicast control module 21: can receive multicast requests, so that the multicast / unicast control module 21 can analyze (compare) the correctness of multicast group D (see Figure 3) based on the multicast request, and the multicast / unicast control module 21 can also receive unicast requests.

[0033] In one embodiment, the ensemble / unicast control module 21 can receive (1) a ensemble signal D1 from a specific ensemble group D (see Figure 3) and convert it into unicast for transmission, and can also directly receive (2) a unicast signal D2 from the voice gateway 10. For example, the ensemble / unicast control module 21 can receive the ensemble signal D1 through a network interface (such as the first network interface 41). When it receives a ensemble signal D1 that conforms to a specific ensemble group D, the ensemble / unicast control module 21 processes and judges the ensemble signal D1 so that it is converted into unicast for transmission, thereby completing the subsequent process. In addition, the ensemble / unicast control module 21 can also directly receive the unicast signal D2 from the voice gateway 10 through this network interface (such as the first network interface 41).

[0034] [2] User management module 22: can parse the signal content of the group broadcast signal D1 or the unicast signal D2 received by the group broadcast / unicast control module 21 to further distinguish whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call.

[0035] In one embodiment, if the signal content received by the multicast / unicast control module 21 is "multicast signal D1", the user control module 22 can obtain the dialed number in the signal content of the multicast signal D1 received by the multicast / unicast control module 21 to determine whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. If the user's dialing behavior is a local call, the user control module 22 does not need to process this call (such as a local call in the user's dialing behavior). Furthermore, if the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call, the user control module 22 first checks whether the user's calling number is in the whitelist E. If the user's calling number is in the whitelist E, the user control module 22 further forwards this call (such as an outbound call in the user's dialing behavior) to the call control module 24; otherwise, if the user's calling number is not in the whitelist E, the user control module 22 can reject this call (such as an outbound call in the user's dialing behavior).

[0036] Furthermore, after parsing the content of the multicast signal D1 or unicast signal D2 received by the multicast / unicast control module 21, if the content of the multicast / unicast control module 21 is "unicast signal D2", the user control module 22 can obtain the dialing number in the content of the unicast signal D2 to determine whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. If the user's dialing behavior is a local call, the user control module 22 directly forwards this call (such as a local call) to the network of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30. If the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call, the user control module 22 first checks whether the user's calling number is in the whitelist E. If the user's calling number is in the whitelist E, the user control module 22 further forwards this call (such as the user's dialing behavior being an outbound call) to the call control module 24. Conversely, if the user's calling number is not in the whitelist E, the user control module 22 can reject this call (such as the user's dialing behavior being an outbound call).

[0037] [3] Whitelist caching module 23: It can provide a whitelist caching mechanism, so that the whitelist caching module 23 can read the whitelist E from the database 50 to calculate the number of whitelists, and then the whitelist caching module 23 can configure the appropriate storage space of the cache memory 51 for importing the whitelist E. When the user control module 22 wants to check whether the user's call number is in the whitelist E, the user control module 22 can directly read the whitelist E from the storage space of the cache memory 51 through the whitelist caching module 23, so as to reduce the input / output (I / O) delay caused by the meeting boundary control system 1 frequently reading the database 50, and also improve the access speed of the whitelist E through the cache memory 51.

[0038] [4] Call control module 24: can receive requests (such as forwarding requests) from user control module 22, so that call control module 24 can check whether the current number of calls in the conference boundary control system 1 has reached a set (predetermined) threshold. If the current number of calls in the conference boundary control system 1 has reached the threshold, call control module 24 can reject the call (such as an outbound call made by a user); conversely, if the current number of calls in the conference boundary control system 1 has not reached the threshold, call control module 24 can control or accumulate the number of simultaneous calls in the conference boundary control system 1, and can also forward the call (such as an outbound call made by a user).

[0039] [5] Media control module 25: can obtain the content of supported voice codecs 52 by parsing the signal content. If the parsed signal content includes low-bandwidth (such as below 64K or a bandwidth threshold) voice codecs 52 (such as G.729 or G.723 voice codecs, where G.729 or G.723 is audio encoding), the media control module 25 can modify the parsed signal content to adjust / move the low-bandwidth voice codecs 52 in the signal content to the highest priority position (such as the first position), or only retain the low-bandwidth voice codecs 52. The media control module 25 can also coordinate with the called party (such as the called user) to prioritize the use of low-bandwidth voice codecs 52 to save call bandwidth.

[0040] For example, when the meeting boundary control system 1 performs a startup or reload, the whitelist cache module 23 of the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 can read the whitelist E from the database 50 to calculate the number of whitelists, and then the whitelist cache module 23 configures the appropriate storage space of the cache memory 51 for importing the whitelist E.

[0041] The multicast / unicast control module 21 of the Meeting Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can receive multicast or unicast requests through a network interface (such as the first network interface 41) to check whether it is a multicast group D (see Figure 3) or unicast signal D2 that needs to be processed. Then, the multicast / unicast control module 21 transmits the multicast or unicast request to the user management module 22 of the Meeting Boundary Controller (SBC) 20.

[0042] The user control module 22 of the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can receive multicast or unicast requests transmitted by the multicast / unicast control module 21. The user control module 22 can then parse the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signal content based on the multicast or unicast request. The user control module 22 can then determine whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call based on the SIP signal content. Alternatively, if the user control module 22 detects that the user's calling number is in the whitelist E (e.g., the outbound call), it can decide to allow the call (e.g., the outbound call) and transmit it to the call control module 24.

[0043] When the call control module 24 of the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 receives a request from the User Control Module 22, the call control module 24 can check whether the current number of calls in the Session Boundary Control System 1 has reached a set threshold. If the current number of calls in the Session Boundary Control System 1 has not reached the threshold, the call control module 24 can control or accumulate the number of simultaneous calls in the Session Boundary Control System 1, and can also interact with the Media Control Module 25.

[0044] The Media Control Module 25 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 can parse the signal content of the Session Description Protocol (SDP) signal to obtain the content of the supported voice codec 52, and can also prioritize the use of low-bandwidth voice codec 52 to save call bandwidth. After processing, the Call Control Module 24 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 can transmit the processed signal to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 through a network interface (such as the second network interface 42), and then the Media Control Module 25 is responsible for transmitting the user's voice media stream (such as voice content).

[0045] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a call-related process in the meeting boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology according to the present invention, and is described in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2. Furthermore, in Figure 3, the flowchart of the first embodiment of the call-related process may include the following steps S11 to S13, or steps S21 to S26.

[0046] When voice gateway 10 detects an interruption in the network (such as fixed network C1, main link, or uplink network) between itself and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30, the detection method of voice gateway 10 may be that the registration signal sent by voice gateway 10 has not received a reply, or the call signal sent by voice gateway 10 has not received a reply. In this case, voice gateway 10 will enter local call mode to send and receive call signals using IP multicast. If a user of voice gateway 10 makes a call, voice gateway 10 will send a request signal (such as an INVITE signal) and set the destination IP address to the IP address of multicast group D.

[0047] As shown in steps S11 to S13 of Figure 3, in the "Local Call" scenario, when the voice gateway 10 receives a request signal (such as an INVITE signal) at the IP address of the multicast group D (see step S11), if the user's dialed number is a local call (e.g., the first digit of the dialed phone number is not 0), and the called number is a user of the voice gateway 10, then the voice gateway 10 will reply with a request success signal (such as a 200 OK signal) (see step S12), and set the destination IP address to the IP address of the multicast group D. After receiving the reply, the voice gateway 10 will reply with an acknowledgment signal (such as an ACK signal) in the same manner (see step S13).

[0048] As shown in steps S21 to S26 of Figure 3, in the "outbound call" scenario, if the first digit of the phone number dialed by the user of the voice gateway 10 is 0, it indicates that this is an outbound call (such as an outbound call across call rates or a mobile phone call). When the voice gateway 10 receives this request signal (such as an INVITE signal) at the IP address of the multicast group D (see step S21), it will not process this call (such as an outbound call made by the user's dialing behavior). In addition, the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can listen to and parse signals at the IP address of the multicast group D. If the first digit of the phone number dialed by the user of the voice gateway 10 is 0, the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can convert the request signal (such as the INVITE signal) into a unicast IP address, and then send the request signal (such as the INVITE signal) to the Service Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 through the heterogeneous network C2 (see step S22). When the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 receives a request success signal (such as a 200 OK signal) from the Service-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 (see step S23), the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can reply with the request success signal (such as a 200 OK signal) to the Voice Gateway 10 in a unicast IP address (see step S24). The Voice Gateway 10 then replies with an acknowledgment signal (such as an ACK signal) to the IP address of the multicast group D (see step S25). The Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 then converts the acknowledgment signal (such as an ACK signal) into a unicast IP address and sends it to the Service-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 (see step S26).

[0049] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of the call-related process in the meeting boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology according to the present invention, and is described in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2. Furthermore, in Figure 4, the flowchart of the second embodiment of the call-related process may include the following steps S31 to S36.

[0050] To change the multicast mode to normal unicast mode, the management system can adjust the Domain Name System (DNS) records to allow the voice gateway 10 to automatically find the IP address of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20. Alternatively, the management system can modify the settings of the voice gateway 10 to reconfigure the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server to the IP address of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20. In this case, after the voice gateway 10 detects that it can connect to the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20, it will revert to normal call mode and send and receive call signals using unicast.

[0051] As shown in steps S31 to S36 of Figure 4, in the "Local or External Call" scenario, if a user of the voice gateway 10 makes a call, whether it is a local or external call, the voice gateway 10 can send a request signal (such as an INVITE signal) to the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 (see step S31). The Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 then sends the request signal (such as an INVITE signal) to the Service Call Conference Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 via the heterogeneous network C2 (see step S32). When the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 receives a request success signal (such as a 200 OK signal) from the Service-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 (see step S33), the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can reply with the request success signal (such as a 200 OK signal) to the Voice Gateway 10 using a unicast IP address (see step S34). The Voice Gateway 10 then replies with an acknowledgment signal (such as an ACK signal) to the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 (see step S35), so that the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can send the acknowledgment signal (such as an ACK signal) to the Service-Call Session Control Element (S-CSCF) 34 (see step S36).

[0052] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the operation of the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 in the Session Boundary Control System 1 and Method supporting IP multicast technology according to the present invention, and is described in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2. Furthermore, in Figure 5, the operation of the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 may include the following steps S41 to S53.

[0053] [1] Multicast mode: The Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 can listen for signals in multicast group D (see Figure 3) so that when the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 receives a multicast packet in step S41, it triggers the multicast / unicast control module 21 and then enters step S43, so that the multicast / unicast control module 21 can use the multicast packet to check whether it is the correct multicast group D. If not (not the correct multicast group D), then enter step S44 and end directly; otherwise, if it is (the correct multicast group D), then enter step S45.

[0054] In step S45, the user control module 22 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 receives a "multicast" request to parse the signal content of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signal, and then proceeds to step S46, whereby the user control module 22 determines whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call based on the dialed number in the signal content. If it is (the user's dialing behavior is a local call), then proceed to step S47, where the user control module 22 does not process this call (such as the user's dialing behavior being a local call) and terminates it directly; otherwise, if it is not (the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call rather than a local call), then proceed to step S48.

[0055] In step S48, if the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call rather than a local call, the user control module 22 of the conference border controller (SBC) 20 can check whether the user's calling number is in the whitelist E (e.g., the calling whitelist). If so (the user's calling number is in the whitelist E), the user control module 22 will send this call (e.g., the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call) to the call control module 24, and then proceed to step S49; otherwise, if not (the user's calling number is not in the whitelist E), then proceed to step S50, where the user control module 22 will reply with a Forbidden error message (e.g., a 403 error message, where 403 is an error code) to reject this call (e.g., the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call).

[0056] In step S49, the call control module 24 of the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 receives a request and checks whether the current number of calls in the meeting boundary control system 1 has reached a set threshold. If so (the current number of calls in the meeting boundary control system 1 has reached the threshold), then proceed to step S51, where the call control module 24 replies with a service unavailable message (such as a 503 error message, where 503 is an error code) to reject the call (such as an outbound call made by a user). Otherwise, if not (the current number of calls in the meeting boundary control system 1 has not reached the threshold), the call control module 24 can control or accumulate the number of simultaneous calls in the meeting boundary control system 1, and can also interact with the media control module 25 before proceeding to step S52.

[0057] In step S52, the media control module 25 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 can parse the signal content of the Session Description Protocol (SDP) signal to obtain the content of the supported voice codec 52. If the signal content of the SDP signal includes the content of a low-bandwidth voice codec 52 (such as G.729 or G.723 voice codec), the media control module 25 can modify the signal content of the SDP signal to adjust / move the low-bandwidth voice codec 52 in the signal content to the highest priority position (such as the first position). Then, the media control module 25 and the called party (such as the called user) coordinate with each other to give priority to the use of the low-bandwidth voice codec 52 to save call bandwidth. After the media control module 25 completes its processing, it proceeds to step S53 to forward the data to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30.

[0058] [2] Unicast mode: When the Talking Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 receives a unicast packet in step S42, it can directly proceed to step S45.

[0059] In step S45, the user control module 22 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 receives a "unicast" request to parse the signal content of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signal, and then proceeds to step S54, whereby the user control module 22 determines whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call based on the dialed number in the signal content. If so (the user's dialing behavior is a local call), then proceed directly to step S53 to forward this call (such as the user's dialing behavior being a local call) to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30; otherwise, if not (the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call rather than a local call), then proceed to step S48.

[0060] In step S48, if the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call rather than a local call, the user control module 22 of the conference boundary controller (SBC) 20 can check whether the user's calling number is in the whitelist E (e.g., the calling whitelist). If so (the user's calling number is in the whitelist E), the user control module 22 will send this call (e.g., the user's dialing behavior for an outbound call) to the call control module 24, and then proceed to step S49; otherwise, if not (the user's calling number is not in the whitelist E), then proceed to step S50, where the user control module 22 will reply with a prohibition error message (e.g., error message 403) to reject this call (e.g., the user's dialing behavior for an outbound call).

[0061] In step S49, the call control module 24 of the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 receives a request and checks whether the current number of calls of the meeting boundary control system 1 has reached the set threshold. If so (the current number of calls of the meeting boundary control system 1 has reached the threshold), then proceed to step S51, where the call control module 24 replies with a service unavailable message (such as a 503 error message) to reject the call (such as an outbound call made by a user). Otherwise, if not (the current number of calls of the meeting boundary control system 1 has not reached the threshold), the call control module 24 can control or accumulate the number of simultaneous calls of the meeting boundary control system 1, and can also interact with the media control module 25 before proceeding to step S52.

[0062] In step S52, the media control module 25 of the Session Border Controller (SBC) 20 can parse the signal content of the Session Description Protocol (SDP) signal to obtain the content of the supported voice codec 52. If the signal content of the SDP signal includes the content of a low-bandwidth voice codec 52 (such as G.729 or G.723 voice codec), the media control module 25 can modify the signal content of the SDP signal to adjust / move the low-bandwidth voice codec 52 in the signal content to the highest priority position (such as the first position). Then, the media control module 25 and the called party (such as the called user) coordinate with each other to give priority to the use of the low-bandwidth voice codec 52 to save call bandwidth. After the media control module 25 completes its processing, it proceeds to step S53 to forward the data to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30.

[0063] Furthermore, the present invention provides a computer-readable medium for a session boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology, which is applied in a computing device or computer having a processor and memory. The computer-readable medium stores instructions and can be executed by the computing device or computer through the processor and memory to perform the aforementioned session boundary control method supporting IP multicast technology. In another embodiment, this computer-readable medium is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0064] In one embodiment, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), microprocessor (MPU), microcontroller (MCU), artificial intelligence (AI) processor, etc., and the memory may be random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, memory card, hard disk (such as cloud / network / external hard disk), optical disk, USB flash drive, database, etc., and the computing device or computer may be a computer, smartphone, tablet computer, personal computer, notebook computer, desktop computer, server (such as cloud / remote / network / AI server), etc.

[0065] In one embodiment, the modules can be software, hardware, or firmware; if they are hardware, they can be processing units, processors, computers, or servers with data processing and computing capabilities; if they are software or firmware, they can include instructions executable by processing units, processors, computers, or servers, and can be installed on the same hardware device or distributed across different multiple hardware devices.

[0066] In summary, the meeting boundary control system, method, and computer-readable medium system supporting IP multicast technology described in this invention have at least the following features, advantages, or technical effects.

[0067] 1. When the network (such as fixed network C1, main link or uplink network) between the voice gateway 10 and the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 is interrupted, the voice gateway 10 can automatically enter the local call mode to facilitate the use of IP multicast for local users to make phone calls to each other, thereby eliminating the need for external communication (such as external calls) through the network of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30.

[0068] Second, the Meeting Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 of the present invention enables the voice service provider of the voice gateway 10 to meet the voice communication needs between local users in the event of a network outage, and to provide external communication (such as external calls) using diverse heterogeneous networks C2 (such as satellite networks / microwave networks, etc.), thereby improving network resilience.

[0069] Third, the SBC 20 of the present invention can effectively provide parallel technology or function of IP multicast and unicast, so that the voice gateway 10 can use multicast to communicate in local call mode, and can also use unicast to communicate after switching the signal path of the voice gateway 10.

[0070] Fourth, the Session Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 of the present invention can communicate with / interface the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 through a heterogeneous network C2 (such as a satellite network / microwave network, etc.) to facilitate rapid support for the parallel technology or function of IP multicast and unicast.

[0071] Fifth, this invention can take into account the limited bandwidth of heterogeneous network C2 (such as satellite network / microwave network, etc.) to provide user and bandwidth management functions, and effectively manage the number of call users and calls while ensuring call quality.

[0072] VI. This invention can provide user and bandwidth control functions to effectively control users of external communications (such as external calls) to ensure that important calls can be connected. It can also control the number of simultaneous calls of the meeting boundary control system 1 to ensure call quality. It can also modify the parsed signal content to use a low-bandwidth voice codec 52 to increase the number of calls of external communications (such as external calls).

[0073] 7. The multicast / unicast control module 21 of the Meeting Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 of the present invention can automatically receive multicast signal D1, convert it into unicast signal D2 and transmit it to the network of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30, and can also directly receive unicast signal D2 from voice gateway 10 and forward it to the network of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 30 to complete the connection.

[0074] 8. The user management module 22 of the Meeting Boundary Controller (SBC) 20 of the present invention can pre-create a whitelist of users E (such as senior users / paid users / company colleagues / government agencies / public units, etc.), and can also allow only users on the whitelist E to make external calls, so as to make good use of network resources.

[0075] 9. The present invention can provide user and bandwidth control functions, so that under the condition of limited bandwidth in heterogeneous network C2, the user control module 22 of the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 can automatically start the whitelist mechanism (such as whitelist caching mechanism) to effectively control users who communicate with the outside world (such as making external calls).

[0076] 10. The whitelist caching module 23 of the SBC 20 of the present invention can provide a whitelist caching mechanism to load the whitelist E into the cache memory 51 to improve access (read) speed. It can also solve the problem of input / output (I / O) delay caused by the SBC 1 frequently reading the database 50, and avoid affecting system performance or call quality.

[0077] 11. The call control module 24 of the meeting boundary controller (SBC) 20 of the present invention can set a threshold value for the number of simultaneous calls of the meeting boundary control system 1, so as to effectively control the number of external communications (such as external calls) and ensure call quality.

[0078] 12. The media control module 25 of the SBC (Session Boundary Controller) 20 of the present invention can prioritize the use of low-bandwidth voice codecs 52 to save call bandwidth and also increase the number of simultaneous calls of the SBC control system 1.

[0079] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles, features, and effects of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art can modify and alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes and modifications made using the content disclosed in this invention should still be covered by the claims. Therefore, the scope of protection of this invention should be as listed in the claims.

[0080] 1: Negotiation Boundary Control System 10: Voice gateway 11: Switch 20: Talks Boundary Controller (SBC) 21: Multicast / Unicast Control Module 22: User Management Module 23: Whitelist Cache Module 24: Call Control Module 25: Media Control Module 30: IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 31: Commercial Meeting Boundary Controller (C-SBC) 32: Inquiry-Call Conferencing Control Element (I-CSCF) 33: Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 34: Service-Call Conference Control Element (S-CSCF) 41: First Network Interface 42: Second Network Interface 50: Database 51: Cache memory 52: Speech Codec A: Telephone B: Computer Room C1: Fixed Network C2: Heterogeneous Network D: Mass Broadcast Group D1: Broadcast signal D2: Unicast signal E: Whitelist S11 to S13, S21 to S26: Steps S31 to S36, S41 to S54: Steps

Claims

1. A meeting boundary control system supporting Internet Protocol multicast technology, comprising: The system includes a voice gateway and an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IPMS). The voice gateway provides a telephone interface for connecting to a user's telephone, and then converts the telephone signal into an Internet Voice Protocol (IMP) signal to connect to the IMPMS. It also includes a session boundary controller, which connects to the IMPMS to support parallel IMP multicast and unicast technologies. The session boundary controller has a multicast / unicast control module, a user management module, and a call management module to control the multicast / unicast signals. The unicast control module receives the unicast signal, and then the user management module analyzes the signal content of the unicast signal received by the unicast / unicast control module to distinguish whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call. If the user's dialing behavior is a local call, the user management module does not need to process the local call. If the user's dialing behavior is an outbound call, the user management module checks whether the user's calling number is on the whitelist. If the user's calling number is not on the whitelist, the user management module rejects the user's dialing behavior. When a user makes an outbound call, and the user's calling number is on the whitelist, the user control module forwards the outbound call to the call control module. The call control module then checks whether the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has reached a threshold. If the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has reached the threshold, the call control module rejects the user's outbound call. If the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has not reached the threshold, the call control module manages / accumulates the call count of the meeting boundary control system. Simultaneously, the call count and forwarding of the user's dialing behavior for the outbound call; wherein, the conference boundary controller further includes a media control module, which obtains the content of the supported voice codec by parsing the signal content, and when the signal content includes the content of a low-bandwidth voice codec, the media control module modifies the signal content, and then adjusts the low-bandwidth voice codec in the signal content to the highest priority position or only retains the low-bandwidth voice codec, so that the media control module and the called party coordinate with each other to give priority to the use of the low-bandwidth voice codec.

2. The negotiation boundary control system as described in claim 1, wherein, When the voice gateway detects an interruption in the fixed network, main link, or uplink network between itself and the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IPMS), it enters local call mode to send and receive call signals using Internet Protocol multicast. This allows the voice gateway to send a request signal and set the destination Internet Protocol address to the address of the multicast group when a user of the voice gateway makes a call.

3. The negotiation boundary control system as described in claim 1, wherein, The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IPMS) has a commercial meeting boundary controller. The voice gateway is located in a different region from the IMS and its commercial meeting boundary controller, and the voice gateway is connected to the IMS and its commercial meeting boundary controller via fixed network communication.

4. The meeting boundary control system as described in claim 1 further includes a switch, and the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem has a service call meeting control element for communicating with the voice gateway and the meeting boundary controller through the switch, and for communicating with the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem and its service call meeting control element through a heterogeneous network.

5. The negotiation boundary control system as described in claim 1, wherein, The multicast / unicast control module receives the multicast signal through a network interface. When it receives the multicast signal of a matching multicast group, the multicast / unicast control module converts the multicast signal into unicast mode for transmission.

6. The negotiation boundary control system as described in claim 1, wherein, The ensemble / unicast control module receives unicast signals through a network interface. The user management module determines whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call based on the dialing number in the signal content of the unicast signal received by the ensemble / unicast control module. If the user's dialing behavior is a local call, the user management module forwards the local call of the user's dialing behavior to the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem.

7. The meeting boundary control system as described in claim 1 further includes a database and a cache memory, wherein, The meeting boundary controller also has a whitelist caching module to provide a whitelist caching mechanism, in which the whitelist caching module reads the whitelist from the database to calculate the number of whitelists, and then the whitelist caching module configures the storage space of the cache memory for importing the whitelist.

8. A meeting boundary control method supporting Internet Protocol multicast technology, comprising: A voice gateway provides a telephone interface for communication with user telephones. The voice gateway then converts the telephone signal into Internet Voice Protocol (IVP) signals to communicate with an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IPMS). A conference boundary controller, equipped with a multicast / unicast control module, a user management module, and a call management module, is communicatively connected to the IVP to support IVP multicast and unicast parallel technology. The multicast / unicast control module receives multicast signals, and the user management module parses them. The multicast / unicast control module receives the multicast signal content to distinguish whether the user's dialing action is a local call or an outbound call. When the user's dialing action is a local call, the user control module does not need to process it. When the user's dialing action is an outbound call, the user control module checks whether the user's calling number is on a whitelist. If the user's calling number is not on the whitelist, the user control module rejects the outbound call made by the user. When the code is on the whitelist, the user control module forwards the user's outbound call to the call control module. The call control module then checks if the current call count of the meeting boundary control system has reached a threshold. If the current call count has reached the threshold, the call control module rejects the user's outbound call. If the current call count has not reached the threshold, the call control module manages / accumulates the simultaneous call count of the meeting boundary control system. The system forwards the user's dialing behavior to the outbound call; and one of the media control modules of the conference boundary controller obtains the content of the supported voice codec by parsing the signal content. When the signal content includes the content of a low-bandwidth voice codec, the media control module modifies the signal content and adjusts the low-bandwidth voice codec in the signal content to the highest priority position or retains only the low-bandwidth voice codec, so that the media control module and the called party can coordinate with each other to give priority to the use of the low-bandwidth voice codec.

9. The meeting boundary control method as described in claim 8 further includes, when the voice gateway detects an interruption in the fixed network, main link, or uplink network between itself and the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, causing the voice gateway to enter local call mode, so as to send and receive call signals using Internet Protocol multicast, so that when a user of the voice gateway makes a call, the voice gateway sends a request signal and sets the destination Internet Protocol address to the Internet Protocol address of the multicast group.

10. The meeting boundary control method as described in claim 8 further includes setting the voice gateway and the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem and its commercial meeting boundary controller in different regions, so that the voice gateway can connect to the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem and its commercial meeting boundary controller via fixed network communication.

11. The conversation boundary control method as described in claim 8 further includes connecting the voice gateway and the conversation boundary controller via a switch, and connecting the conversation boundary controller to the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem and its service call conversation control element via a heterogeneous network.

12. The meeting boundary control method as described in claim 8 further includes receiving the ensemble signal through a network interface by the ensemble / unicast control module, so that when the ensemble signal of a matching ensemble group is received, the ensemble / unicast control module converts the ensemble signal into unicast mode for transmission.

13. The meeting boundary control method as described in claim 8 further includes receiving unicast signals through a network interface by the ensemble / unicast control module, so that the user control module can determine whether the user's dialing behavior is a local call or an outbound call based on the dialing number in the signal content of the unicast signal received by the ensemble / unicast control module, so that if the user's dialing behavior is a local call, the user control module forwards the local call of the user's dialing behavior to the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem.

14. The meeting boundary control method as described in claim 8 further includes a whitelist caching mechanism provided by a whitelist caching module of the meeting boundary controller, wherein the whitelist caching module reads the whitelist from a database to calculate the number of whitelists, and then the whitelist caching module configures a cache memory storage space for importing the whitelist.

15. A computer-readable medium, applied in a computing device or computer, storing instructions and executing the computer-readable medium via a processor and memory, such that, when the computer-readable medium is executed, a session boundary control method supporting Internet Protocol multicast technology as described in any one of claims 8 to 14 is performed.

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