Patent ID: 6738458
Filing Date: 2004-05-18
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
In a messaging system providing messaging services where mailboxes are organized into domains, where each mailbox is assigned a mailbox name including a domain and a mailbox number, where information relating to access of the mailboxes is stored respectively in mailbox records including fields for mailbox name and fields for other names, and where a name included in the field of mailbox name is unique with respect to names included in the field of other names in the same mailbox record, andfurther, where the messaging system includes an incoming configuration using the domain of the mailboxes to route messages to the mailboxes, a method for changing the association of a selected mailbox from an old domain to a new domain, where the selected mailbox has an old mailbox name including the old domain and a first mailbox number, and where the mailbox name is stored in a field of mailbox name within a mailbox record corresponding to the selected mailbox, the method comprising: creating a new mailbox name for the selected mailbox, the new mailbox name including the new domain and the first mailbox number; adding the new mailbox name to a field for other names in the mailbox record; in the incoming configuration, changing the association of the selected mailbox from the old domain to the new domain; deleting the new mailbox name from the field for other names in the mailbox record; and changing the old mailbox name to the new mailbox name in the field of mailbox name, whereby adding the new mailbox name in the field of other names without deleting the old mailbox name from the field of mailbox name allows for messages to be routed to the selected mailbox using either the old domain or the new domain so as not to disrupt messaging service to the selected mailbox, and whereby the actions only minimally disrupt messaging service to the selected mailbox.