Patent ID: 6289025
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: H04L,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
In a system for managing voice and data communications of an office, the office having a plurality of computers coupled to the system over one or more packet buses and a plurality of telephones coupled to one or more time division multiplex (TDM) buses in the system, wherein a wide area communications network is coupled to the one or more TDM buses, wherein the system provides voice and data communications to a plurality of users in the office, a method comprising the steps of:logging on to the system with at least one of the computers, wherein the at least one computer executes an office attendant program for managing at least the voice communications of the office;determining in the system whether the at least one computer is authorized to manage the voice communications of the office;transmitting to the at least one computer over the packet bus data comprising a telephone subscriber directory, wherein the telephone subscriber directory includes information identifying the users in the office and their telephone extensions; andmanaging the voice communications of the office with the at least one computer based on communications between the system and the at least one computer over the packet bus and based on the subscriber directory transmitted to the at least one computer over the packet bus, wherein the voice communications of the office include voice communications that stay in a circuit-switched form via the one or more TDM buses, and wherein packet-based communications are selectively coupled to the wide area communications network via the one or more TDM buses.