MXPA99004042A - Multi-protocol telecommunications routing optimization - Google Patents

Abstract

A telecommunications switching system (10) employing multi-protocol routing optimization which utilizes predetermined and measured parameters in accordance with a set of user priorities in determining the selection of a telecommunications path to be utilized for transmitting a data file to a remote destination. The switching system (10) has a first memory (30) for storing the data file, a second memory (22) for storing predetermined parameters, a third memory for storing a set of user priorities (32), means (24) for measuring the value of variable parameters associated with each of the telecommunications paths, and a processor means (26) are operatively associated with the second and third memories (22 and 23) and the variable parameters for determining which of the plurality of telecommunications paths should be utilized.

Description

OPTIMIZATION OF ROUTING IN TELECOMM ICATIONS WITH MULTIPLE PROTOCOLS CROSS REFERENCE WITH RELATED REQUESTS This application is based on the priority claims of the co-pending patent application filed with the Office of the - ~ Patents and Trademarks of the United States on October 31, 1996, to which serial number 08 / 741,130 was assigned. 0 TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to telecommunications and in particular to a method and apparatus for dynamically selecting an optimal telecommunications route from a plurality of 5 available routes according to a statistical analysis, with dynamically changing variables and with the priorities of the user. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The telecommunications industry has changed rapidly in recent times, from the simple analogous connection of telephones for voice communications to current systems for transmission and reception of data, facsimiles, electronic mail, video and audio, as well as voice in both analog format and digital format (referred to in this document collectively as data). The data may be transmitted in any of the various formats, such as data file, data packets, encapsulated packets, or data strings (referred to in this document as data files). Various types of telecommunications systems have been and continue to be installed, and function as the backbone of systems for data transmission through numerous means. For example, data can be transmitted from one user to another through POTS (old simple telephone system), leased lines, mobile cellular, networks, digital links, fiber optics, satellite links and private packet switching networks and public, such as the Internet. In addition, there is great competition to fix prices among service providers that use different types of these means of transmission. For example, so-called long-distance service providers such as AT &T and MCI that offer rates competing with each other in order to gain greater market share among consumers, business users, nonprofits and government . As a result of the many types of telecommunications services available, as well as the competition among the providers of these services, users are often faced with difficult choices for the selection of a service that provides them with the best value. Many times, more than one telecommunications service provider is available at a certain time for a user to select it as a data carrier to be transmitted. For example, a user can subscribe to two or more long distance providers, and can access any of these at a certain time by dialing the service provider's code, and then dialing the destination telephone number. In addition, a user may have several types of media available to choose from; that is, the connection can be made via Internet, satellite, etc. This is especially true in the business environment, where economic considerations allow numerous telecommunications resources to be used. The prior technology generally recognizes low cost as a factor in which routing decisions are made for data transmission. As such, institutions denominated "routing at the lowest cost" proliferate, allowing a call to be placed with a service provider that offers the lowest cost at a given time. PBX systems (private branch switching) can employ the lowest cost routing facilities that automatically connect the calling party to the destination number along with the cheapest route available. The present invention recognizes that the best value for a telecommunications medium at a given time is not necessarily the one with the lowest cost among the selections available. This is, that the optimization of the routing selection does not only cover a low cost, but also takes into account other factors such as the bandwidth of the transmission as a means, the capacity at the specific moment that the user needs it, the security and reliability. In addition, the user's priorities may change from time to time, and the requirements on the transmission of a data file may be different from the requirements of another file. That is, a user may wish to transmit a file in an emergency situation at a faster speed, regardless of cost. Other files may require greater security to not be intercepted unlawfully, and even other files may only need to be transmitted at the lowest cost at any time in the near future, regardless of speed. Thus, the present invention recognizes that the selection of an optimal route for the transmission of data at a given time is a dynamic analysis that must be done in real time, and must take into consideration several factors relating to the available elements as well as to the user's priorities and the file that will be transmitted. The U.S. Patent No. 5,337,352 discloses a PBX system serving a plurality of tenants, where each tenant can specify which of the routing pluralities should be selected as the highest priority, the second highest priority, etc. The routing selections are predetermined by each of the tenants, according to their requirements and their available resources, and the selections are stored in a table in the PBX. Once the tenant wishes to place a call, the PBX searches 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 searched, according to the default table of the tenant, to which it will connect. This is how an order to have a place in the hierarchy is established through each of the tenants and stored in the PBX. This system is static and does not change based on real time since each tenant must predetermine the priority of the specific providers they must use. Although the system of this patent reviews the availability of the predetermined higher priority route and uses the next higher priority if the previous one is not available, this analysis is only a discrete yes / no query and does not take into account the quantity current traffic on the route to analyze the availability of the route on a relative basis. It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the problems of prior technology systems as described above. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for selecting an optimal telecommunication path to connect a call to a remote location to transfer a data file from there when analyzing in a real time basis a series of multiple protocols. It is also another objective of the present invention to provide a system and a method for the routing optimization of multiple protocols that analyze the priorities of a user in relation to the transmission of a particular data file when determining the optimal path for the call. It is also another objective of the present invention to provide the system and the method for the optimization of multiple protocol routing that analyzes the various factors related to the route, based on the actual time of determining the optimal route for the call. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for routing optimization with multiple protocols that allow a user to exceed the predetermined default values and specify the critical transfer parameters on a file-by-file basis. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In accordance with these and other objectives, a telecommunications switching system is provided comprising a first memory for holding a data file to be transferred to a remote destination and a plurality of interfaces coupled to the first memory, where each of the interfaces are interconnected to a path telecommunications company capable of transferring the data file to a remote destination. The switching system comprises a second memory for storing predetermined parameters associated with each of the routes and telecommunications elements for measuring the value of the variable parameters associated with each of the telecommunications routes. A third memory stores a series of user priorities in relation to the transmission of data files. The processor element is operatively associated with the second memory and the third memory and the measuring element of the variable parameters to determine which of the pluralities of the telecommunication paths should be used to transfer the data file according to the series of priorities of the user, the predetermined parameters of the route of the telecommunications and the measurement of the variable parameters. The switching system further comprises input elements that allow the user to change the user's priorities in the third memory before transmitting the file. For example, the element that measures the variable parameter performs a measurement of the data transfer speed of each of the telecommunications routes, for example through the test called ping. The predetermined parameters stored in the second memory comprise the cost per unit time of use of each of the telecommunications routes, which are a function of the current time of the day and / or the current day of the week. The parameters stored in the second memory also include a measurement of the reliability of the data of each of the routes as well as a measure of the bandwidth of the data transfer of each of the routes. The switching system can also be comprised of elements to check whether an interface is available for the transfer of a data file at a particular time. In one aspect of the method using the switching system of the present invention, a method is provided for determining which of the pluralities of the telecommunication paths should be used to transfer a data file according to a series of user priorities, the method comprises the steps of measuring the variable parameters of each of these trajectories, analyzing the measured variable parameters and the predetermined parameters in relation to the user's priorities; and determine which of the routes offers the characteristics desired by the user to transfer the file according to the user's priorities. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of the switching system of the present invention using routing optimization with multiple protocols; Figure 2 is a flow chart of a main routine carried out by the present invention / and Figure 3 is a flow diagram of the sub-routine analysis carried out by the present invention. BEST MODALITY FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of the telecommunications switching system 10 of the present invention, which can be implemented for example on a platform of a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a dedicated system such as a PBX, or similar. The switching system 10 is connected to various telecommunications elements according to the user's resources. In particular, the switching system 10 can be configured at a high digital link speed via a Tl 12 interface, a local area network (LAN) via a LAN 14 interface, an extended area network (WAN) via a WAN 16 interface, to a local loop in a simple old telephone system (POTS) via a POTS 18 interface, and to a wireless communication network via a wireless interface 20. Interfaces 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 are exemplifications and are provided for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Thus, in practice, any of the numbers of the aforementioned interfaces can be used alone or with any combination as required by the user. For example, a number of common carriers such as MCI, AT & TY SPRINT may be configured to the switching system 10 such that the user can take advantage of the relative benefits of each bearer via routing optimization with protocols. multiple that will be described in this document. In addition, the wireless interface 20 may be configured for communications through any of the various types of electromagnetic elements, such as infrared, radio frequency and the like. Each of the telecommunications elements connected to the various interfaces of Figure 1 have certain parameters associated therewith which are implemented through the routing methodology of the present invention. These parameters are classified through the routing methodology as predetermined (fixed) or measurable (variables). The data related to the predetermined parameters are stored in a memory 22 in the switching system 10, although the data referring to the measurable parameters must be collected through a path analysis block 24 for each of the interfaces in real time in time or around the time in which the data file is transferred in order for the routing methodology to make a correct analysis. The predetermined stored parameters in memory 32 include, but are not limited to the following. : Smaxbandwidth (i): maximum available amount of bandwidth for the interface (i). For example, a 28.8 bs modem you should have a variable Smaxbandwidth adjusted to 28.8. $ reliability (i): an interface reliability indicator (1) according to the following scale: 10 = untrusted transfer (wireless) 50 = moderately reliable (eg modem) 75 = very reliable (eg Tl, WAN) 100 = ultra reliable (for example Ethernet LAN) $ economy (i): the foreign exchange expense of the interface (i) for a period of time, normalized in such a way that a high-cost interface has a performance of a low measurement of economy: $ economy (l) = 100 - cost / minute Savailability (i): the availability of the interface (1) for a particular user. Not all system users have access to each of the interfaces; for example in a shared PBX environment only certain subscribers can access the Tl interface. $ availability = 0 Not available Savailability = 1 Available $ security (i): an indication of the relative security of the data of a route, which can be for example a function of the number of bits in an encoded key (for example 1024) Measurable parameters include, but are not limited to, the following: TABLE B $ presenttate (i) the present state of the interface (i) indicating whether the telecommunications route is currently operative $ presentstate = 0 Not operating $ presentstate = 1 Operating $ avgstate (i) average of $ presentstate (i) over the previous five-minute window $ datasize (i) the size in KB of the data file to be transmitted Slatency (i) measured in msec of delay through the path (i) This is based on a test Real-time on the interface such as a test called ping on the remote host Stime time of the day / day of the week, this is the same for all interfaces .. Savailbandwidth available bandwidth of the interface (i) on a determined time of file transfer.

Instead of just relying on a preprogrammed "least cost" routing criterion, the present invention uses all subseries or a logical substring of the series set forth in the above Tables A and B to arrive at a routing decision for a file of data that will be transmitted. That is, through employing a routing optimization with multiple protocols of the present invention, the chosen route for the transmission of a data file takes into account the parameters that vary in real time, so that one does not trust a table simple preprogrammed search of suppliers with a low cost as in the previous technology. In addition, the user can specify their priorities according to the parameters that are critical in the transmission of a particular file, that is, low cost, high speed, reliability, security, etc., when making the determination of the routing. The methodology employed by the present invention is processed through the routing optimization block 26 (which can be implemented in a microprocessor) and which uses two main components comprising the parameters set forth in the above Tables A and B in varying combinations. The first component is an inherent efficiency measure and the desire for a particular telecommunications journey, as presented in the following equation: (1) $ prevalue (i) = $ maxbandwidth (i) + $ reliability (1) + $ economy (i) + $ security (i) The $ prevalue variable is a linear value that increases with a high bandwidth, a high reliability, a measure of high economy (low cost) and / or a high degree of security of a particular route. This variable essentially remains unchanged for a given path, except for the fact that the parameter $ economy is based in part on the variable $ time (cost of the route based on the time of day / day of the week) which is derived of the real-time clock 28. The second component used by the routing methodology of the present invention is based in part on the real-time parameters that may exhibit wide variation due to numerous reasons, some of which go beyond the control of the user: (2) $ current alue (i) = $ economy (i) x $ speed (i) + $ avgstate (i) x 10 where $ speed (i) = 10, 000 - ($ datasize (i) x $ latency (i) x 100) so that: $ currentvalue (i) = $ economy (i) x (10,000 - ($ datasize (i) x $ latency (i) x 100) + $ avgstate (i) x 10 It thus, the Scurrentvalue (i) for a given route (i) will be greater for the trajectory that has a greater economy (low cost), a smaller size of l Data file, and / or low latency through the path (high speed). The selection of the optimal routing to use is then a combination of the values calculated previously in equations (1) and(2): (3) $ finalvalue (i) = $ prevalue (i) + $ currentvalue (i) = $ maxband idth (i) + $ reliability (i) + $ economy (i) + $ security (i) + ($ economy (i) (10, 000 - ($ datasize (i) x $ latency (i) x 100) + $ avgstate (i) x 10) The routing optimization methodology block 26 then takes the $ finalvalue (i) highest for each of the routes in the system that is available, operational, and that meets a threshold value ($ avgstate x 10) of 25 or higher as shown in the flow diagrams that will be described below This methodology therefore allows the optimal selection based on an analysis of multiple protocols used by the system, instead of simply the routing decision at the lowest cost.The function block of the analysis of the route 24 obtains the value of $ latency (i) for each route (i) through any means known in the art to obtain the latency of a steerable IP path, such as the rec known software utility known as "ping". The ping routine sends a packet to a network and obtains a value of the average delay found by a packet in the destination investigation and return. Also included in the present invention are other techniques that will allow the system to obtain a measure of the latency of the route. A user must customize the determined relative weights of each of the variables set forth in Tables A, B according to their specific requirements as they are stored in the user's priority memory 32. These fixed weight values will be stored in a memory of the user. switching system and will be used in conjunction with the routing methodology for all files transferred according to the "invention." The values for weighing are used as multipliers of the variables in the algorithms in order to allow the user to customize the algorithm As an example, if a user wishes to emphasize the parameter $ security (i) in the analysis, then specify a weight for the multiplier of (for example) two so that the parameter $ security (i) has a weight twice greater than if the parameter $ security (l) had been left in the default state, and a user can exceed it by way of an User interface to the user interface 34 the weights of the preprogrammed parameters in the memory for any given file transfer with temporary values. The user interface can be of any type of device to allow the user to enter the data, such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc. In another way to weigh the parameter, the user also forces the program to ignore certain parameters and focus on one of the parameters only when arriving at the routing decision. For example, if a user wishes to transmit a data file 30 to a remote location through the route more quickly, regardless of cost or any other factor, then the user specifies this requirement to the routing optimization block 26 through of the interface 34. The routing optimization block 26 will then cause all the variables except the $ latency variable to be a predetermined factor, so that the path with the lowest value of $ latency (ie the lowest routing delay) be chosen by the routing optimization block 26 as the fastest route. Other permutations and variations to the previous example can be easily derived by a person trained in technology to allow the user to specify their priorities regarding the transfer of data from a file at any given point of time, for example the analysis can be forced to see in any of the two variables, etc. In addition, a user can store certain sets of parameter weights that will be used in different situations, and then select the series when desired. The series of weights can then be applied as described above. further, the program will be configured to automatically apply certain series of weights as a function of the data type. For example, the user can specify that all facsimile messages are given with a high economy factor, while all video files are given with a low security factor, etc. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the flow diagrams of the methodology employed by the present invention to arrive at the optimal choice for routing a data file among a plurality of available paths according to the present invention. First, as shown in Figure 2, the user's fixed priorities are unloaded so that the parameters used in the analysis can be weighed accordingly. Then the user is allowed to enter their values to exceed their temporary priority for the transmission of the file. Assuming that for this example no fixed weights or temporary values were entered to surpass, then the parameter Sfinalvalue is determined for each of the paths (i) in the switching system 10 in the following manner. First, with reference to Figure 3, the routing optimization block 26 checks the memory 22 to determine if the interface (i) has been programmed as available for use by that user observing the variable Savailability (i). For example, if the switching system 10 is interlocked in a PBX system, then not all users will have access to all the routes (i) due to their economic resources. This information is contained in memory 22 and is reviewed as a first step in the process of Figure 3. If $ availability (i) = 0, then $ finalvalue (i) is set to zero and the routine is exited. However, if the interface (i) is available, the $ availbility (i) is set to 1 and the process continues. The routine then makes a revision to see if the tour (i) is operative at that moment, and the variable Spresentsatate returns from the $ interface (i) correspondingly. If $ presenttate (i) = 0 (inoperable travel or down), then $ finalvalue (i) is set to zero and the routine is exited. If Spresentstate (i) = 1 (operable path or above), then the routine continues. If the $ avgstate variable is checked to ensure that it is higher than the default threshold value, for example if Savgstate x 10 > 25. If this is real, then the interface (i) is considered as essentially operable. If it is false, then the interface (i) is considered to be in an inoperable condition, regardless of the fact that $ presentstate indicates operability at a particular time. The routine then proceeds to obtain the value $ latency (i) via the analysis block of the path 24. When using $ latency (i), the variable $ speed (i) is calculated as shown in the flow diagram and explains below. The variable $ economy (i), which is a function of the variable $ time, is obtained from memory 22. Then the variable $ currentvalue (i) is calculated as a function of $ economy (i), $ speed (i) and $ avgstate (i). The variable $ prevalue (i) is then calculated as a function of the variables Smaxbandwidth (i), $ reliability (i), and $ security (i), which are obtained from memory 26, as well as from $ economy ( i) that are determined previously. Finally, the variable $ finalvalue is obtained as shown in the routine, and this is stored in a pending calculation record of $ finalvalue (i) for the remaining interfaces as shown in Figure 2. After all the interfaces have been analyzed in the above manner, then the routing optimization block 26 makes a determination as to which interface (i) should be selected according to the highest value for $ finalvalue (i). The data file is then routed from the memory 30 to the selected interface for transmission. The routines shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be complemented by the characteristics to exceed the user priority described above, which allow the user to specify the fastest route, the least expensive route, and the most reliable route, etc. The measurable parameter of $ availabandwidth (i) can also be used in the algorithms presented in this document to provide a real-time indication of the desire to select a particular interface (i) at a certain time. Although the fixed parameter Smaxbandwidth (i) provides a measure of the maximum bandwidth that may be available for a given interface, the interface can be tested if desired in order to determine what portion of that bandwidth is actually available for use. A test known in the technology to achieve this measurement is the test called "show zero serial interface", which can be performed through measuring the number of packets received in the last n seconds as well as the number of packets that will be transmitted on the interface at that time. Thus, the parameter $ availbandwidth can be used instead of the measured $ latency parameters or in conjunction with them to perform the analysis of this one. In addition, although the system and method of the present invention has been shown in conjunction with the transmission of a single data file (as defined in this document), it may also be applicable to the transmission of multiple data files based on series or parallels (with intervals), through the modification of the algorithm and the routines as appropriate. The selection of the particular variables and parameters used herein are the preferred embodiment; it should be anticipated that other variables may be used in conjunction with the present invention to arrive at the optimal route in. a certain situation. In addition, the algorithm in particular, although determined to provide a required relative weight of the fixed and measurable variables, can also be complemented according to the user's requirements in order to arrive at the optimal routing choice.

Claims (24)

1. CLAIMS 1. In a telecommunications switching system comprising a plurality of interfaces, where each of the interfaces is connected to an associated telecommunications path, capable of transferring a data file to a remote destination, where each of the routes of telecommunications have predetermined parameters associated with this, stored to a memory in the switching system and the parameters associated with this, where a method for determining which of the pluralities of the telecommunication paths should be used to transfer a data file, where the method comprises the steps of: a) measuring the variable parameters for each of the routes; b) analyze the measured variable parameters and the predetermined parameters; and c) determine which of the routes provide an optimal set of characteristics to transfer the file to a remote destination. The method of Claim 1 in which the determined step analyzes a series of priorities to determine which of these routes provide the optimum series of characteristics for transferring a file to the remote destination. 3. The method of Claim 2 wherein the user priorities are predefined and stored in the memory of the switching system. 4. The method of Claim 3 in which the user's predefined priorities can be changed by the user before the analysis step. 5. The method of Claim 2 wherein the variable parameters of the telecommunication path comprise the data transfer speed of the path at a given point in time. 6. The method of Claim 2 wherein the predetermined parameters of the travel of the telecommunications comprise the cost per unit time of use of the route. 7. The method of Claim 6 wherein the cost per unit of time is a function of the current time of the day. 8. The method of Claim 6 wherein the cost per unit of time is a function of the current day of the week. The method of Claim 1 wherein the predetermined parameters of the telecommunication path comprise a measure of reliability of the data transferred from the path. The method of Claim 1 wherein the predetermined parameters of the telecommunication path comprise a measure of the bandwidth of the path data transfer. 11. The method of Claim 2 further comprises the step of analyzing the size of the file that is sent in relation to the user's priorities. 12. The method of Claim 1 comprises the additional step to first check whether the interface is available before performing the analysis. The method of Claim 3 wherein each of the predetermined and measured parameters are weighted with respect to the user's priorities in performing the analysis step. A telecommunication switching system comprising: a) a first memory for holding a data file that will be transferred to a remote destination; b) a plurality of interfaces coupled with the first memory, wherein each of the interfaces is interconnected with an associated telecommunications path capable of transferring the data file to the remote destination; c) a second memory for storing the predetermined parameters associated with each of the telecommunications routes; d) elements to measure the value of a variable parameter associated with each of the telecommunications routes; and e) a processor element operatively associated with the second and third memory and wherein the measurement element of the variable measurement parameter for determining which of the pluralities of the telecommunication paths should be used to transfer the data file according to the predetermined parameters of the travel of the telecommunications and the variable parameters measured. The system of Claim 14 further comprises a third memory for storing a series of user priorities concerning the transmission of data files., and where the processor element determines which of the plurality of telecommunications paths should be used to transfer the data file according to the user's priorities. 16. The switching system of Claim 15 further comprises input elements to allow the user to change the user's priorities in a third memory. 17. The switching system of Claim 15 in which the variable parameter measuring element performs a measurement of the data transfer rate of each of the telecommunications paths. 18. The switching system of Claim 16 wherein the measurement of the data transfer rate is performed through a "ping" test. 19. The switching system of Claim 15 wherein the predetermined parameters stored in the second memory comprise the cost per unit time of use of the telecommunications paths. 20. The switching system of Claim 19 in which the cost per unit of time is a function of the current time of the day. 21. The switching system of Claim 19 in which the cost per unit of time is a function of the current day of the week. 22. The switching system of Claim 15 in which the predetermined parameters stored in the second memory comprise a measure of the reliability of data transfer of each of the routes. 23. The switching system of Claim 15 wherein the predetermined parameters stored in the second memory comprise a measure of the bandwidth of the data transferred to each of the paths. 24. The switching system of Claim 15 further comprises the elements for checking whether an interface is available for the transfer of the data file. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objective of this invention is that of the Routing Optimization in Telecommunications with Multiple Protocols that provide a telecommunications switching system comprising a first memory to retain a data file that will be transferred to a remote destination and a plurality of interfaces coupled with the first memory, where each of the interfaces is connected to an associated telecommunications path capable of transferring the data file to the remote destination. The switching system comprises a second memory for storing the predetermined parameters associated with each of the telecommunication paths and the elements for measuring the value of the variable parameters associated with each of the telecommunication paths. A third memory stores a series of user priorities concerning the transmission of the data files. The elements of the processor are associated with the second and third memories and the elements for measuring the variable parameter to determine which of the pluralities of the telecommunication paths should be used to transfer the data file. The switching system comprises input elements to allow a user to change the user's priorities in the third memory before transmitting the file.