Patent ID: 7660299

Claim:
A method performed by a network-based call interface device located in a network, the method comprising: receiving, in one or more packets, a call server registration request from a client call device, the client call device being located remotely from the network-based call interface device; in response to said received call server registration request, registering the network-based call interface device with each of a plurality of call servers on behalf of the client call device; subsequent to said registration with each of the plurality of call servers and while network-based call interface device is registered with the plurality of call servers: receiving, in one or more packets, an initiate call request for establishing a real-time media packet-based call between the client call device and a destination client call device registered with a particular call server of the plurality of call servers; in response to said received initiate call request, setting up a particular call between the client device and the destination client call device, which includes establishing calls between the client device and the network-based call interface device and between the network-based call interface device and the destination client call device and interfacing said established calls, with each of said established calls being real-time media packet-based calls; wherein said establishing calls includes communicating one or more signaling messages with the particular call server; and maintaining a virtual phone for each of the plurality of call servers and a virtual server-phone for the client call device and communicating call data between the virtual server-phone and said virtual phone corresponding to the particular call server; wherein said maintaining the particular call includes maintaining a real-time media packet-based call between the client call device and the virtual server-phone and maintaining a real-time media packet-based call between said virtual phone corresponding to the particular call server and the destination client call device.