Patent Publication Number: US-2022232050-A1

Title: Relay server, relay method and relay program

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a relay server, a relay method, and a relay program. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Conventionally, there has been known a communication system that relays and transfers session information (see Patent Literature 1). In the communication system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a next generation network (NGN) configured with a plurality of arbitrarily divided groups can be connected to PSTN (Public Switchboard Telephone Network) and an IP network of another company, and subscriber terminals of the next generation network can be connected to terminals of those networks. Further, when a failure occurs in a part of a connection path thereof, a detour path can be used for connection. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 4757321 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     By the way, in a telephone service, there is provided number portability with which change of the provider or change to a next generation network (NGN) from PSTN can be done without changing the telephone number of the subscriber. For the number portability, subscriber information (equipment position information and the like) is inquired to a destination subscriber server at the time of the call connection. Therefore, unfortunately, when the subscriber server stops due to a disaster of extreme severity or the like, not only the subscribers accommodated in the subscriber server but also the subscribers to which the number portability is provided become unable to receive incoming calls. 
     The present invention is designed in view of the aforementioned circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to provide a relay server, a relay method, and a relay program capable of relieving incoming calls to subscribers accommodated in other provider networks or the like even when a subscriber server stops due to a failure or the like. 
     Means for Solving the Problem 
     A relay server according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a detection unit that detects a failure of a subscriber server; and a relay unit that relays a call connection request to another network in which a corresponding subscriber may possibly be accommodated according to connection attempt network information indicating a network to attempt a call connection, when a failure of the subscriber server is detected by the detection unit. 
     A relay method according to an aspect of the present invention executes, by a relay server: a detection step that detects a failure of a subscriber server; and a relay step that relays a call connection request to another network in which a corresponding subscriber may possibly be accommodated according to connection attempt network information indicating a network to attempt a call connection, when a failure of the subscriber server is detected in the detection step. 
     An aspect of the present invention is a relay program that causes a computer to function as the relay server. 
     Effects of the Invention 
     According to the present invention, it is possible to provide the relay server, the relay method, and the relay program capable of relieving incoming calls to the subscribers accommodated in other provider networks or the like even when the subscriber server stops due to a failure or the like. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an entire communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating subscriber information held in a subscriber server according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating relay destination information held in a relay server according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the entire communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a functional block diagram of the relay server according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the relay server according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating an example of operations of the relay server according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating an entire communication system of a comparative example. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Same reference signs are applied to same components in the description of the drawings to avoid duplicated explanations thereof. 
     A communication service provider employs a next generation network (NGN) that establishes and controls communication by using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). With the next generation network, mutual communication with PSTN is possible by employing a device that converts signals between PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and the next generation network. Further, with the next generation network, mutual connection with IP networks of other providers is also possible by connecting to the SIP servers of those other providers. 
     While mainly PSTN has undertaken the mutual connection function between the providers heretofore, it is becoming necessary for the next generation network to undertake the mutual connection with other providers, which has been undertaken by PSTN, because maintenance of the switchboard configuring PSTN start to reach the limit. Furthermore, in the relation between PSTN and the next generation network, the next generation network also needs to undertake the leading role in relaying a call connection request. 
     By the way, in a telephone service, there are provided portability between providers when changing the provider without changing the telephone numbers of the subscribers, service portability when changing the service from PSTN to the next generation network, location portability when changing the equipment position, and the like from the viewpoint of convenience of the subscribers. It is assumed here that, in the next generation network, telephone number bands to be accommodated in the subscriber servers are set for each of SIP servers (subscriber servers hereinafter) to which the subscribers are accommodated. Even if such telephone number bands are set, when a specific subscriber holding the number in the number band uses various kinds of portability, the subscriber is accommodated in a different subscriber server from the subscriber server, PSTN, or another provider network. Therefore, the subscriber server needs to hold not only attribute information of the subscriber accommodated in the subscriber server but also actual equipment position (PSTN, another provider network, or the like) of the subscriber who uses the various kinds of portability. 
     At this time, when the function of the subscriber server stops, not only the subscribers accommodated in the subscriber server but also the subscribers actually accommodated in PSTN or another provider network become unable to receive incoming calls. That is, while it is common for the subscriber server to increase availability such as use of highly reliable hardware and redundancy of power supply routes, there is a possibility that the function stops due to double failures of the power supply routes, damages to buildings in a disaster of extreme severity, or the like. In that case, it is necessary to prevent the termination of the function of the subscriber server from affecting also on incoming calls to the subscribers of PSTN and another provider network. 
     Thus, the embodiment of the present invention enables reception of incoming calls for the subscribers whose equipment positions are held on the subscriber server but not actually accommodated, even in a case where the function of the subscriber server stops. Specifically, upon detecting a failure of the subscriber server, a relay server relaying a call connection request (SIP signal) relays a call connection request to another network in which actually the subscriber may possibly be accommodated according to connection attempt network information of each telephone number band held in advance. Further, when a response “no corresponding subscriber” is returned from the network at the time of relaying the call connection request to another network, a guidance is provided to a caller terminal notifying that there is a failure being occurred. 
     Embodiments 
     Hereinafter, a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     (Overall Configuration of Communication System) 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an entire communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes subscriber terminals  14 ,  15 ,  16 , . . . , subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , . . . , relay servers  31 ,  32 , . . . , and the like. The subscriber terminals  14 ,  15 , and  16  are general-purpose terminals such as telephones. The subscriber servers  21  and  22  are general-purpose SIP servers that hold equipment positions and attribute information of the subscribers. The relay servers  31  and  32  are SIP servers including a connection function with PSTN. 
     A next generation network is capable of having mutual communication with PSTN and also capable of having mutual communication with a provider A network and a provider B network by connecting to SIP servers of the provider A and the provider B. The subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , and  23  hold not only the attribute information of the subscribers accommodated in the subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , and  23  but also actual equipment positions (PSTN, the provider A network, or the like) of the subscribers using various kinds of portability. 
     In this example, assumed is a case where the subscriber terminal  16  accommodated in the provider B network makes a call to YYYY-yyyy, ZZZZ-zzzz, and WWWW-wwww. That is, an arrow  51  in the diagram indicates a call connection to YYYY-yyyy (a call to a user accommodated in the subscriber server  21 ), an arrow  52  indicates a call connection to ZZZZ-zzzz (a call to a user accommodated in PSTN), and an arrow  53  indicates a call connection to WWWW-wwww (a call to a user accommodated in the provider A). For the call connection request, the same reference numerals  51 ,  52 , and  53  are used. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating subscriber information  21 D held in the subscriber server  21 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , telephone numbers, equipment position information, and subscriber attribute information are included in the subscriber information  21 D. The subscribers of XXXX-xxxx and YYYY-yyyy are the users accommodated in the server itself (the users accommodated in the subscriber server  21 ). The subscriber of ZZZZ-zzzz is the user accommodated in PSTN. The subscriber of WWWW-wwww is the user accommodated in the provider A. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating relay destination information  31 D held by the relay server  31  according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , number bands, relay destination information, and connection attempt network information are included in the relay destination information  31 D. The relay destination information is the information indicating the original relay destination. The connection attempt network information is the information indicating a network that may be able to receive an incoming call by attempting a call connection (in other words, a network in which the user to receive an incoming call may possibly be accommodated). In a case where the telephone number band included in the call connection request is NGN number band (XXXX), it is indicated that the relay destination is the subscriber server  21  and that there is no connection attempt network. That is, it is indicated to have no connection attempt network since the user of the NGN number band is necessarily accommodated in the subscriber server  21  (no possibility of being accommodated in PSTN or another provider network). Further, in a case where the telephone number band included in the call connection request is the PSTN number band (YYYY, ZZZZ), it is indicated that the relay destination is the subscriber server  21  and that the connection attempt network is PSTN. Furthermore, in a case where the telephone number band included in the call connection request is the number band of the provider A (WWWW), it is indicated that the relay destination is the subscriber server  21  and that the connection attempt network is the provider A. 
     As described, for each of the number bands included in the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53 , the relay server  31  holds in advance the information indicating which of the subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , and  23  the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  are to be transferred. Therefore, in a state where the subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , and  23  are operating properly, the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  are transferred as follows. 
     For example, in a case where the relay server  31  receives the call connection request  51 , the call connection request  51  is transferred to the subscriber server  21  from the relay server  31  and, if the subscriber of YYYY-yyyy is accommodated under the subscriber server  21 , the call connection request  51  is directly transferred to the subscriber terminal  12  of YYYY-yyyy. In the meantime, in a case where the relay server  31  receives the call connection request  52 , the call connection request  52  is transferred to the subscriber server  21  from the relay server  31 , it is returned to the relay server  31  from the subscriber server  21  that the subscriber of ZZZZ-zzzz is accommodated on the PSTN side, and the call connection request  52  is transferred to the PSTN side from the relay server  31 . Similarly, in a case where the relay server  31  receives the call connection request  53 , the call connection request  53  is transferred to the subscriber server  21  from the relay server  31 , it is returned to the relay server  31  from the subscriber server  21  that the subscriber of WWWW-wwww is accommodated on the provider A side, and the call connection request  53  is transferred to the provider A side from the relay server  31 . 
     Note here that, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , it is assumed that the subscriber server  21  holding the subscriber information  21 D stops the function due to damages to buildings or the like. In that case, conventionally, not only the subscribers actually accommodated in the subscriber server  21  but also the subscribers actually accommodated in other networks (PSTN, another provider) become unable to receive incoming calls. Further, in that case, it is not possible to distinguish whether the connection destination is really “no corresponding subscriber” or accommodated in the subscriber server  21  that is having a failure. Thus, if “no corresponding subscriber” is directly notified to the caller side, there is a possibility of sending a wrong notification. 
     Therefore, when the subscriber server  21  holding the subscriber information  21 D stops the function due to damages to buildings or the like, the relay server  31  according to the embodiment of the present invention relays the call connection request to another network in which the subscriber may possibly be accommodated according to the connection attempt network information held in advance (see  FIG. 3 ) upon detecting a failure of the subscriber server  21  by a no-response timeout of the call connection request or the like. In this example, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the call connection requests  51  and  52  are relayed to PSTN, and the call connection request  53  is relayed to the provider A network. Since ZZZZ-zzzz is the subscriber accommodated in PSTN and WWWW-wwww is the subscriber accommodated in the provider A, the call connection will be successfully performed by relaying the call connection requests  52  and  53 . This makes it possible to prevent the influence on incoming calls to the subscribers of PSTN and another provider network even when the function of the subscriber server  21  stops, so that reliability of the next generation network can be improved. 
     Further, at the time of relaying the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , or  53  to another network, if a response “no corresponding subscriber” is returned from the network, the relay server  31  provides a guidance to the caller terminal (subscriber terminal  16 ) for notifying that there is a failure being occurred. In this example, the call connection request  51  is relayed to PSTN. However, YYYY-yyyy is not the subscriber accommodated in PSTN so that a response “no corresponding subscriber” is to be returned from PSTN. Thus, in that case, a guidance is provided to the caller terminal (subscriber terminal  16 ) for notifying that there is a failure being occurred. This makes it possible to avoid inconvenience of sending a notification “no corresponding subscriber” directly to the caller. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the entire communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. As has been described above, the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the subscriber terminals  14 ,  15 ,  16 , . . . , the subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , . . . , the relay servers  31 ,  32 , . . . , and the like. While not specifically mentioned in the explanation above, it is natural that there are a switchboard  14 A and the like in PSTN, and there are also SIP servers  15 A,  16 A, and the like in the provider A network and the provider B network. 
     As described above, the embodiment of the present invention is a technique related to relay and transfer of a call connection when there is a failure in the subscriber server  21 . That is, in a telephone service, there is provided number portability with which change of the provider or change to a next generation network (NGN) from PSTN can be done without changing the telephone number of the subscriber. For the number portability, subscriber information (equipment position information and the like) is inquired to the destination subscriber server  21  at the time of the call connection. Therefore, unfortunately, when the subscriber server  21  stops the function due to a disaster of extreme severity or the like, not only the subscribers accommodated in the subscriber server  21  but also the subscribers to which the number portability is provided become unable to receive incoming calls. 
     Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the subscriber server  21  stops the function, the relay server  31  relaying the call connection signal (SIP signal) to the subscriber server  21  relays and transfers the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  to another provider network and the like in which the subscribers may possibly be accommodated according to the connection attempt network information for each of the telephone number bands held in advance. Thereby, (a part of) incoming calls to the subscribers accommodated in another provider network and the like is relieved even if the function of the subscriber server  21  stops due to a failure and the like, so that it is possible to decrease the influence of the failure upon the incoming calls. 
     (Configuration of Relay Server) 
       FIG. 5  is a functional block diagram of the relay server  31  according to the embodiment of the present invention. The relay server  31  is a computer that relays the call connection requests (SIP signals)  51 ,  52 , and  53 , and includes a detection unit  31 A, a relay unit  31 B, a guidance unit  31 C, and relay destination information  31 D. The detection unit  31 A detects the failure of the subscriber server  21  by a no-response timeout and the like of the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  transmitted to the subscriber server  21 . Upon detecting the failure of the subscriber server  21 , the relay unit  31 B relays the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  transmitted from other servers according to the connection attempt network information held in advance. The relay unit  31 B also has a function and the like for making an inquiry to the destination subscriber server  21  about the subscriber information at the time of the call connection. When a response indicating that there is no corresponding subscriber is returned from other servers to which the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  are transmitted according to the connection attempt network information, the guidance unit  31 C provides a guidance to the caller terminal (subscriber terminal  16 ) indicating that there is a failure being occurred. The content of the relay destination information  31 D is as has been described above (see  FIG. 3 ), and such relay destination information  31 D is stored in a storage device to be described later. 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the relay server  31  according to the embodiment of the present invention. For the relay server  31  according to the embodiment described above, it is possible to use a general-purpose computer system that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit, processor)  301 , a memory  302 , a storage  303  (HDD: Hard Disk Drive, SSD: Solid State Drive), a communication device  304 , an input device  305 , and an output device  306 . The memory  302  and the storage  303  are storage devices. In this computer system, each function of the relay server  31  is implemented by executing, with the CPU  301 , a prescribed program loaded on the memory  302 . 
     Note that the relay server  31  may be implemented by a single computer or a plurality of computers. Further, the relay server  31  may be a virtual machine implemented on a computer. 
     A program for the relay server  31  can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as HDD, SSD, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, CD (Compact Disc), or DVD (Digital versatile Disc), or may be distributed via a network. 
     (Operations of Relay Server) 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operations of the relay server  31  according to the embodiment of the present invention. Herein, also assumed is a case where the subscriber server  21  stops the function. 
     First, upon detecting a failure of the subscriber server  21  by a no-response timeout or the like of the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  (step S 1 ), the relay server  31  refers to the connection attempt network information of the relay destination information  31 D. Thereby, when there is no connection attempt network information, a guidance is provided to the caller terminal (subscriber terminal  16 ) for notifying that there is a failure being occurred (step S 2 →S 5 ). In the meantime, when there is connection attempt network information, the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  are relayed according to the connection attempt network information (step S 2 →S 3 ). 
     Then, at the time of relaying the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  to another network, if a response “no corresponding subscriber” is returned from the network, the relay server  31  provides a guidance to the caller terminal (subscriber terminal  16 ) for notifying that there is a failure being occurred (step S 4 →S 5 ). In the meantime, when there are corresponding subscribers, the call connection will be successfully performed by relaying the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53 . 
     Modification Example 
     Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. For example, the relay servers  31  and  32  may automatically start relay of the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  using the connection attempt network information upon detecting a failure of the subscriber server  21  as the original relay destination or may start relay by an operation of a maintenance worker notified of having a failure. In a case where it is started by an operation of the maintenance worker, the maintenance worker may predict how long the failure of the subscriber server  21  will continue and start relay only when it is assumed that the failure state will last for a long time. Further, when relay of the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  to the connection attempt networks is started with intervention of the maintenance worker, the relay destination information may be updated at the timing of starting relay of the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  without holding in advance the connection attempt networks as the relay destination information separately from the original relay destination. Further, the relay destination information may not be held by the relay servers  31  and  32  but may be held by an independent different server, and each of the relay servers  31  and  32  may inquire to such a server about the relay destination information. 
     (Characteristic Configuration and Effects Thereof) 
     As described above, the relay server  31  according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the detection unit  31 A and the relay unit  31 B. The detection unit  31 A detects the failure of the subscriber server  21 . The relay unit  31 B relays the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  to another network in which the subscribers may possibly be accommodated according to the connection attempt network information indicating a network to attempt the call connection, when the failure of the subscriber server  21  is detected by the detection unit  31 A. This makes it possible to provide the relay server  31  that is capable of relieving incoming calls to the subscribers accommodated in another provider network and the like, even if the subscriber server  21  stops due to a failure or the like. 
     The relay server  31  may further include the guidance unit  31 C. When a response indicating that the subscribers are not accommodated is returned from other servers to which the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  are relayed, the guidance unit  31 C provides a guidance to the caller terminal (subscriber terminal  16 ) indicating that there is a failure being occurred. Thereby, it is possible to avoid inconvenience of sending a notification “no corresponding subscriber” directly to the caller side. 
     Further, the relay unit  31 B may hold in advance the connection attempt network information for each of the telephone number bands and relay the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  based on the telephone number bands included in the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53 . Thereby, it is possible to increase the possibility of receiving incoming calls by attempting the call connection. 
     Further, when number portability is provided in the telephone service, the relay unit  31 B may inquire to the destination subscriber  21  server about the subscriber information at the time of the call connection. That is, the present invention is effective when number portability is provided, and it is the invention with a high utilitarian value. 
     Further, in the relay method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the relay server  31  executes: a detection step that detects a failure of the subscriber server  21 ; and a relay step that relays the call connection requests  51 ,  52 , and  53  to another network in which the subscribers may possibly be accommodated according to the connection attempt network information indicating a network to attempt the call connection, when a failure of the subscriber server  21  is detected in the detection step. Thereby, it is possible to provide the relay method capable of relieving incoming calls to the subscribers accommodated in other provider networks, even when the subscriber server  21  stops due to a failure or the like. 
     Further, the relay program according to an embodiment of the present invention is a relay program that causes a computer to function as the relay server  31 . Thereby, it is possible to provide the relay program capable of relieving incoming calls to the subscribers accommodated in other provider networks, even when the subscriber server  21  stops due to a failure or the like. 
     Comparative Example 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating an entire communication system of a comparative example. As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , it is assumed that the subscriber server  21  holding the subscriber information  21 D stops the function due to damages to buildings or the like. In that case, according to the comparative example, not only the subscribers actually accommodated in the subscriber server  21  but also the subscribers actually accommodated in other networks (PSTN, another provider) become unable to receive incoming calls. Further, in that case, it is not possible to distinguish whether the connection destination is really “no corresponding subscriber” or accommodated in the subscriber server  21  that is having a failure. Thus, if “no corresponding subscriber” is directly notified to the caller side, there is a possibility of sending a wrong notification. 
     Note that distribution (relay) of calls to the subscriber servers  21 ,  22 , and  23  is performed according to distribution destination information (routing information) for each of the number bands (XXXX-x, YYYY-y, and the like in a case of 1000 number bands) held in advance in the relay servers  31  and  32 . If the relay servers  31  and  32  hold all the subscriber information, relay targeted at the actual equipment position (PSTN or other providers) is possible from the beginning. However, it is not practical from the viewpoint of the data amount. 
     Other Embodiments 
     While some embodiments are described above, it is to be understood that the description and the drawings forming a part of the disclosure are illustrative only and not intended as a limitation. Various substitute embodiments, examples, and operation techniques may occur to those skilled in the art from the disclosure. The embodiments of the present invention include various embodiments and the like that are not described herein. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
     
         
         
           
               21  Subscriber server 
               22  Subscriber server 
               31  Relay server 
               31 A Detection unit 
               31 B Relay unit 
               31 C Guidance unit 
               32  Relay server 
               51  Call connection request 
               52  Call connection request 
               53  Call connection request