VoIP Call Flow Verification via Soft Endpoint Signaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
VoIP network providers lack efficient means to verify call routing and provisioning, leading to time-consuming and costly manual processes, and potential toll charges and annoyance to phone number owners.
Innovation Solution
Systems and methods for collecting, analyzing, and displaying signaling information across a network, including receiving requests for call data, querying network elements, and generating call detail records to visually represent call flows, thereby verifying call routing and provisioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual phone calls are placed to verify call routing, then provisioning verification is achieved, but toll charges are incurred and phone number owners experience annoyance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the phone number owner's device (soft endpoint) that receives test calls instead of the actual owner's device. This virtual endpoint is provisioned with the same phone number, allowing verification of call routing without involving the real owner, thus eliminating toll charges and annoyance while maintaining verification reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary component (the soft endpoint or virtual device) between the test call system and the phone number owner. This intermediary absorbs the test call traffic, allowing routing verification to occur without direct interaction with the owner's actual device, thereby preventing harmful effects while achieving verification goals
2Reliability
If manual call flow reconstruction is performed by mining log files, then call routing verification is achieved, but time and cost are significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing and storing signaling information (CDRs, SIP messages, SS7 messages) at each network element during call setup. This pre-captured data is readily available for immediate analysis, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual log mining and call flow reconstruction while ensuring accurate verification
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated feedback loops where signaling information is continuously collected from network elements, processed, and analyzed to verify call routing. This automated feedback mechanism replaces manual reconstruction processes, significantly reducing time and effort while maintaining verification accuracy through systematic data collection and analysis
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive signaling information is collected from all network elements, then verification accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the verification system into distinct functional modules: signaling information collection at individual network elements, centralized data aggregation, call flow reconstruction, and verification analysis. Each module handles specific tasks independently, reducing overall system complexity while enabling comprehensive data collection for high-accuracy verification through distributed processing
Data Source
AI summary
According to various embodiments of the present invention, systems and methods for collecting, analyzing, and/or displaying signaling information for a call through a network, including: receiving a request for signaling information, wherein the request identifies a particular call handled by at least one network element within a voice over internet protocol network, querying the at least one network element for signaling information related to the particular call, and displaying the signaling information for the particular call. According to some embodiments of the present invention, systems and methods may further include storing signaling information on a network element, generating a call detail record based on the signaling information, wherein the call detail record identifies the network element and the particular call, sending the call detail record to a database, and searching the database based on the one or more criteria to identify the at least one network element.