Patent ID: 8619556

Claim:
A method of call admission control for a continuous stream of data in packet switched networks including at least two local area networks that communicate with one another across a connecting network, for use in a call attempt across the connecting network from a calling node in a first local area network to a receiving node in a receiving local area network, the method comprising: using the calling node to decide, based on a packet loss rate of previous calls from the calling node to the receiving node, whether to drop the call attempt from the calling node to the receiving node; using a gatekeeper for the first local area network to construct an estimate of loss probability for the call attempt by using statistics about the success or failure of calls to the receiving local area network; and using the gatekeeper to decide, based on the estimate of loss probability, whether to determine a current packet loss rate by sending a burst of trial packets from the calling node to the receiving node, or to drop the call attempt from the calling node to the receiving node.