JP2007295237A - Gateway device including redundant voice processing module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gateway device including a plurality of redundant voice processing modules in which quick call relief is achieved while saving memory resource. <P>SOLUTION: The gateway device transmitting a voice information signal between an IP telephone network and a non-IP telephone network has a memory module for updating all call control information pieces defining a voice channel at all times and holding the updated information pieces, and a voice processing module captures the call control information pieces held in the memory module in response to an operation command and then transforms the signal format of the voice information signal to be transmitted through a voice channel defined by the call control information pieces. When any voice processing module operating under the operation command is abnormal, the operation command is given to other voice processing module in place of the defective one to command access to a call control information piece accessed by the defective voice processing module. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gateway apparatus for forming a voice channel for each call connection between an IP telephone network and a non-IP telephone network such as a public subscriber telephone network and transferring a voice information signal via the voice channel.

  In a media gateway device that connects between an IP telephone network and a public subscriber telephone network, in order to improve reliability and availability against a device failure, a voice processing module, which is an important part that performs voice processing, is added to N (positive number) +1. In many cases, the redundant configuration is used. For example, one spare voice processing module is prepared for N voice processing modules to be used for operation, and when any one of the voice processing modules under operation breaks down, this and the spare voice processing module are prepared. By executing the voice processing module switching method for switching between processing modules, reliability and availability can be improved. In executing this method, the call control information of the voice processing module to be switched due to a failure is transferred to the spare voice processing module so that the connected call is not disconnected when switching to the spare voice processing module. It is necessary to rescue the call. In addition, since a call being connected is processed by a real-time application, it is necessary to quickly take over the call.

  As one method for quickly executing call takeover, for example, call control information accessed by each voice processing module in operation by a spare voice processing module is always stored in its own memory. There is a method of using call control information of the voice processing module to be switched as it is.

  However, in this method, it is necessary for the spare voice processing module to have a large capacity memory in order to store all the call control information under operation. For example, one voice processing module is usually required to process calls of 2000 channels or more. In the N + 1 redundancy configuration, the spare voice processing module includes a memory capable of storing N × 2000 or more call control information, which is not practical.

  Therefore, call control information is centrally managed at one location, and when switching to the spare voice processing module, the call control information is downloaded from the centrally managed location to the memory of the spare voice processing module and copied. A method for resuming connection based on call control information has been proposed.

The Internet protocol-compatible private branch exchange disclosed in Patent Document 1 accommodates Internet protocol-compatible telephones connected to the Internet, Intranet, and LAN (Local Area Network) and terminals that do not support the Internet protocol, and adds an Internet protocol. An internet protocol-compatible private branch exchange for performing exchange control for a control target terminal including at least an Internet protocol terminal adapter that is provided in a multimedia gateway controller that performs call control processing, and call control information of the control target terminal And a plurality of terminal interfaces connected to either the system bus of the multimedia gateway controller or a system bus obtained by extending the system bus. A call control information slave table that is provided in each of the plurality of terminal interfaces and in which a part of the call control information master table is duplicated, and a terminal that has troubled call control for at least the control target terminal during operation Means for replicating the call control information of the control target terminal controlled by the interface from the call control information master table to the call control information slave table of another terminal interface (see paragraph 0024 in Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-318950 A

  However, in such a technique, the call control information of the control target terminal controlled by the terminal interface that has interfered with the call control may be copied from the centrally managed multimedia gateway controller to the call control information slave table. There is a problem that it is necessary, and it takes time to download the call control information for copying, and the call cannot be rescued promptly.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a gateway device that realizes quick call relief while saving memory resources in a configuration including a plurality of redundantly multiplexed audio processing modules.

  A gateway device according to the present invention is a gateway device that forms at least one voice channel between an IP telephone network and a non-IP telephone network and transfers a voice information signal through the voice channel, and a call that defines the voice channel. A control unit that generates control information pieces, a memory module that constantly updates and holds all of the call control information pieces, and accesses and fetches call control information pieces that are held in the memory module according to operation instructions. A plurality of voice processing modules for converting a signal form of a voice information signal to be transferred via a voice channel defined in the fetched call control information piece. If any of the sound processing modules operating in is detected as abnormal, another sound processing module is used instead of the abnormal sound processing module. Together provide operational command to Joules, the abnormal audio processing module and wherein the commanding access to the call control information piece being accessed.

  According to the gateway device of the present invention, in a configuration including a plurality of redundantly multiplexed voice processing modules, a call control information piece generated for each voice channel is not stored in the voice processing module, but is separately provided in a memory module. A holding configuration is provided. As a result, rapid call relief is realized while saving memory resources.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and shows an overall configuration including a media gateway. The media gateway device 20 is a gateway device that forms a voice channel between an IP telephone network and a public subscriber telephone network as a non-IP telephone network and transfers a voice information signal through the voice channel. The media gateway device 20 is realized as one computer device to which a central processing unit 25 (hereinafter referred to as a CPU 25) and a main memory 26 (hereinafter referred to as a MEM 26) are connected via a bus 27. The media gateway device 20 also includes an IP telephone network interface 21, a public subscriber telephone network interface 22, a plurality of redundantly multiplexed voice processing module groups 23, and a memory module 24. Are connected to each other.

  The CPU 25 performs overall control of the media gateway device as a computer device by executing a program stored in the MEM 26 connected to the bus 27. The CPU 25 and the MEM 26 constitute a control unit 28 which is a component of the present invention, and a voice channel is formed for each call connection to generate call control information, and a plurality of redundantly multiplexed voice processing module groups. A function of sending an operation command to each of the 23 audio processing modules and operating them is provided.

  The IP telephone network interface 21 has a function of transmitting / receiving IP packets to / from an external IP telephone network and inputting / outputting the IP packets to / from the voice processing module group 23. The public subscriber telephone network interface 22 has a function of transmitting / receiving voice information signals to / from an external public subscriber telephone network and inputting / outputting the voice information signals to / from the voice processing module group 23.

  The voice processing module group 23 includes a plurality of voice processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 (n is a positive number). Each of the plurality of voice processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 (n is a positive number) has a function of transferring a voice information signal, a voice information signal of a public subscriber telephone network and a voice information signal converted into an IP packet of an IP telephone network. Including a function for converting or inversely converting different signal forms between the audio information signals, an audio codec that performs audio compression encoding processing and audio expansion decoding processing on the audio information signal, and an echo canceller that performs echo signal cancellation processing . The plurality of voice processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 have an N + 1 redundant configuration, and each voice processing module is an exchange unit that is physically exchanged when a failure occurs. That is, each of the plurality of voice processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 is made detachable from the media gateway device 20, and the failed voice processing module can be separated from the memory module 24.

  Each of the plurality of sound processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 performs sound processing for the allocated channel among the plurality of sound channels. For example, assuming that the required specification of the media gateway device 20 relays a maximum of 10,000 channels of audio information signals, the ten audio processing modules M1 to M10 are each assigned 2000 channels as operational audio processing modules. One audio processing module M11 is assigned to a spare audio processing module so that 2000 channels can be processed.

  Note that it is not necessary to permanently assign which voice processing module will be the backup voice processing module, and it is also possible to replace the operational voice processing module and the backup voice processing module. Further, the number of spare audio processing modules is not limited to one and may be plural.

  The memory module 24 is a memory that is connected to the bus 27 and stores a plurality of call control information blocks. The memory module 24 is preferably configured redundantly using a technique such as sparing, mirroring, or RAID (Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks). The call control information block is a block that holds call control information for a plurality of channels assigned to one voice processing module. The call control information for one channel is a piece of information generated for each call connection. For example, the IP address, the MAC address, the UDP port number, the used voice codec name, the packetization period, the presence / absence of silence compression, And information such as echo canceller setting conditions.

  The memory module 24 and the audio processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 are connected to each other via a bus 27. Thereby, each of the voice processing modules M1 to Mn + 1 can directly access the memory module 24, that is, directly read or write the call control information.

  FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure for switching the voice processing module. Here, the voice processing module M1 and the voice processing module M2 are operational voice processing modules, and the other voice processing modules M3 to Mn + 1 are standby voice processing modules.

  First, the control unit 28 forms a voice channel in response to the call connection, generates call control information that defines the voice channel, and sends an operation command specifying the call control information to the operation voice processing module (step S1). . In the example of this figure, it is sent to the voice processing module M2. In response to the operation command, the voice processing module M2 accesses the call control information block in the memory module 24 to read and write or read the call control information, and the voice processing of the voice channel corresponding to this content Is executed (step S2).

  FIG. 3 shows the correspondence between the voice processing module and the call control information block in the normal time. Here, each of the voice processing modules M1 and M2 does not hold the call control information for the allocated channels in its own memory, and the call control information block D1 to which each corresponds in the redundant memory module 24. And D2 are held and are directly accessed to perform voice processing.

  Referring to FIG. 2 again, the control unit 28 monitors the abnormality of the operational voice processing module (step S3). Here, it is assumed that a failure has occurred in the voice processing module M2 (step S4). The occurrence of the failure is detected by the control unit 28 (step S5). Based on the detection, the control unit 28 selects the voice processing module M3 as the backup voice processing module, and issues an operation command specifying the call control information block in the memory module 24 that was previously accessed by the voice processing module M2. The data is sent to the voice processing module M3 (step S6).

  In response to the operation command, the voice processing module M3 accesses the call control information block in the memory module 24, takes in all the call control information included therein, takes over the call, and resumes the voice processing. (Step S7). Here, it should be noted that the voice processing module M3 takes over the voice processing for all the channels executed by the voice processing module M2.

  The correspondence relationship between the voice processing module and the call control information block at the time of failure is shown in FIG. Here, the voice processing module M3 takes over the call control information in order to rescue the call being connected by the voice processing module M2. In order to execute this takeover quickly, the voice processing module M3 directly accesses the call control information block D2 in the memory module 24 used by the voice processing module M2 without downloading it, and performs call control. Take over the information and resume operation. The voice processing module M2 to be replaced due to a failure can be physically replaced.

  In the above embodiment, since the voice processing module to be newly started directly uses the call control information block used by the voice processing module before switching, the call control information is newly downloaded and copied at the time of switching. There is no need to do. As a result, an effect of shortening the switching time can be obtained. Further, since it is not necessary for the spare voice processing module to hold the call control information used by the operational voice processing module in its own memory, an effect of reducing the amount of memory can be obtained as compared with the case where it is held in its own memory.

  The gateway device according to the present invention is not limited to a gateway device called a media gateway, and is required to relay a voice information signal between an IP telephone network and a non-IP telephone network. It can be applied to a gateway device with a different name.

It is a block diagram which shows the Example of this invention and shows the whole structure containing the gateway apparatus by this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence which switches an audio | voice processing module. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of the audio | voice processing module and call control information block in the normal time. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of the voice processing module at the time of a failure, and a call control information block.

Explanation of symbols

20 Media Gateway Device 21 IP Telephone Network Interface 22 Public Subscriber Telephone Network Interface 23 Voice Processing Module Group 24 Memory Module 25 CPU
26 MEM
27 Bus 28 Control Unit M1-Mn + 1 Voice Processing Module D1-Dn Call Control Information Block

Claims (4)

A gateway device that forms at least one voice channel between an IP telephone network and a non-IP telephone network and transfers a voice information signal through the voice channel,
A control unit for generating a piece of call control information defining the voice channel;
A memory module that constantly updates and holds all of the call control information pieces;
In response to an operation command, a call control information piece stored in the memory module is accessed and fetched, and a signal of a voice information signal to be transferred via a voice channel defined in the fetched call control information piece A plurality of audio processing modules for converting the form,
When the control unit detects that any of the sound processing modules operating under the operation command is abnormal, the control unit replaces the abnormal sound processing module with another operation command. And instructing access to the call control information piece accessed by the abnormal voice processing module.   The gateway device according to claim 1, wherein the memory module further holds all copies of the call control information piece, and the voice processing module also accesses the copy.   The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice processing module further includes a unit that performs compression coding processing on the voice information signal.   The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice processing module further includes means for performing echo cancellation processing on the voice information signal.

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