Patent ID: 7366792

Claim:
A method of proxying telephony messages on a proxy computer of a network, the method comprising the following steps: registering an alias corresponding to a callee computer with a directory service, the directory service associates an internet protocol (IP) address of the proxy computer with the alias; utilizing the alias of the callee computer to request the IP address, a calling computer initiates the request to the callee computer using the alias; submitting the request to the directory service, the directory service matches the alias in a directory and returns the IP address that is listed for the alias, which is the public network address of the proxy computer; receiving a first call control message from a calling computer of a public network, the first call control message comprising the public network address of the proxy computer and a first set of port assignments assigned by the calling computer for media communication between the proxy computer and the calling computer on behalf of the callee computer; generating a second call control message, the second call control message comprising a private network address of the callee computer and a second set of port assignments assigned by the proxy computer for media communication between the proxy computer and the callee computer on behalf of the calling computer; and sending the second call control message to the callee computer, the proxy computer sends the second call control message to the callee computer on behalf of the calling computer.