Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a portion of a packetized data stream is copied from a data network without interfering with the flow of the data in the network. A known test signal is then substituted for the information contained in each copied packet to prepare a pseudo-media packet stream. The known test signal is encoded and packetized using the same methods used for the copied data stream. The pseudo-media signal is then recovered from the pseudo-media stream using the same depacketizing and decoding methods to be used on the copied packetized data stream. The recovered signal is an accurate representation of the state of the media stream since it has gone through the same packetization/depacketization and encoding/decoding procedures and includes all of the same faults of the copied data stream. The subjective quality of the recovered signal is then measured providing an accurate measure of the subjective quality of the copied media stream.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for estimating the grade of service (52) and offered traffic (51) for voice over internet protocol calls at a gateway (2) bridging calls between a public switched telephone network (3) and an internet protocol network (4), the gateway (2) having a dial-control management information base. The method comprises the steps of periodically polling the dial-control management information base for dial peer traffic statistics (44), storing the polled data, estimating the carried traffic using the polled data (501), estimating the grade of service (52) by utilizing the Erlang-B formula in an inverse manner (502), operating on the estimated carried traffic obtained in the first estimating step (501), and estimating the offered traffic (51) using the estimated values for the carried traffic and the grade of service (52) obtained in the previous estimation steps (503). In a second embodiment of the invention, a system (FIG.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for improving the security of computer networks by providing a means operating passively on the network for detecting, reporting and responding to intruders. The system is comprised of a plurality of intruder sensor client computers and associated event correlation engines. Resident in the memory of the client computer and operating in the background is a Tactical Internet Device Protection (TIDP) component consisting of a passive intruder detector and a security Management Information Base (MIB). The passive intruder detector component of the TIDP passively monitors operations performed on the client computer and emits a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap to an event correlation engine when it identifies a suspected intruder. The event correlation engine, through the use of a behavior model loaded in its memory, determines whether the user's activities are innocent or those of a perspective intruder.

Abstract: A portal switch is provided that controls participation of merchants in on-line aggregators, such as portals, used for buying and selling goods and services. Merchants may enable or disable participation in an aggregator site by turning on or off software settings. When participation is enabled, the merchant's site makes its catalog entries and merchant profile available to the aggregator. By enabling or disabling the switch, the merchant actively expresses a willingness to participate in (or, conversely, a desire to be excluded from) the aggregator.

Abstract: The systems and methods described herein relate to secure extranets which utilize certificate authentication to mediate access, transactions, and user tracking. Such extranets may be employed to provide an interface accessible over a network, such as the Internet, capable of authenticating and recording transactions for business, medical, or other purposes.

Abstract: A system monitors performance in a network (130) having several routers (210). The system determines a roundtrip path in the network (130) between a source and a destination, identifies routers (210) located on the path, collects performance data from the identified routers (210), and compares the performance data to at least one performance criteria to determine compliance with a service-level guarantee.

Abstract: A method is provided for estimating a number of digital subscriber line nodes (220, 230) required to supply, from a line supply source (200), a geographically distributed network of substantially sequentially numbered twisted pair lines with digital subscriber line service. The method comprises the steps of: storing, in number order, data entries for every twisted pair line of the network, each data entry comprising a pair number and a line length of the respective twisted pair line in relation to the line supply source (200); sorting the entries stored in the database by line length; isolating those sorted entries whose twisted pair lines have a line length greater than a predetermined maximum line length in relation to the line supply source (200); sorting the isolated entries by number; and discriminating, from the sorted isolated entries, the presence of discrete groupings of substantially contiguous entries.

Abstract: A method and system for administering calls on a voice network allows a user to selectively determine which calls will be accepted and assists the user in placing calls to other users on the network. The user may establish a list of users whose calls will be accepted and may also establish a list of users whose calls will not be accepted. The method and system may provide unwanted callers with an option to speak with the user for a fee. The method and system may also display phone or other messages to the user on a video display.

Abstract: A system facilitates configuration of at least one of multiple network devices (130) of different types. The system includes a configuration database (310), a policies database (320), a configuration generator (330), and a protocol engine (340). The configuration database (310) stores data that defines a configuration for the network device (130). The policies database (320) stores rules for configuring the network device (130). The configuration generator (330) generates a deployable configuration from the data in the configuration database (310) and the rules in the policies database (320). The protocol engine (340) deploys the deployable configuration to the network device (130).

Abstract: A method and system for controlling congestion in an ATM network comprises the steps of pre-allocating, for a pre-determined interval of time, a set of burst access parameters to a set of pre-allocated virtual paths between a set of source node and destination node pairs in the ATM network, and controlling, at the burst level, the traffic at each source node based on the pre-allocated set of burst access parameters and without communicating with other nodes in the ATM network. Specifically, the network, for a pre-determined interval of time, pre-allocates a set of virtual paths between each source-destination node pair in the network, pre-allocates a set of maximum permitted rates to the pre-allocated set of virtual paths, respectively, and pre-assigns a set of burst access thresholds to a set of service classes, respectively, in the pre-allocated virtual paths, where the pre-assigned burst access thresholds are less than or equal to the corresponding pre-allocated maximum permitted rates.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for processing and collecting, at a telephone network central office, information for a call directed to a call center prior to the call being received at the call center. A call is received for processing at a telephone network central office that is local to the call origination location. At the central office, a determination is made as to whether the destination number of the call is identified in a selected database. In response to the call destination number being identified in the selected database, the central office solicits the caller to provide requested information. An indication of the requested information received from the caller is included in a data packet associated with the telephone call before the call is transferred from the central office. The call, including the indication of the requested information, is routed to the call center.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus are disclosed for communicating between dissimilar radio voice communication devices across a wireless or wireline interface. The apparatus comprises a voice over Internet protocol (voIP) terminal connected to a computer network and an analog radio transceiver. The voIP terminal is comprised of at least one microprocessor for providing master control to a data acquisition (DAQ) board to create a system which is fully integrated in terms of the interface capability it provides to end users. In operation, the voIP terminal receives analog data from the analog radio transceiver, converts the data into a format recognizable by the computer network, and transmits the data to a desired location on the network. It also receives digital data from the computer network and transmits it into a format recognizable by the attached analog voice transceiver.

Abstract: A system assures quality of service provided by a distributed network having at least one object. The system creates a contract that stores levels of quality of service offered by the network, determines a quality of service required by the object, and evaluates the contract to select a level of quality of service that corresponds to a current quality of service provided by the network. The system then compares the current quality of service to the required quality of service, and adjusts the current quality of service to obtain the required quality of service when the current quality of service fails to satisfy the required quality of service.

Abstract: A system facilitates two-way messaging in a network that includes at least one paging device. The system includes a paging service provider and a server. The paging device generates a message intended for a called party and transmits the message to the paging service provider. The paging service provider forwards the message to the server. The server translates the message to a form used by the called party and sends the translated message to the called party.

Abstract: Systems and methods consistent with the present invention analyze control parameters of evolutionary algorithms. To this end, the system determines the value of a control parameter that controls the operation of the evolutionary algorithm. The system then executes the evolutionary algorithm according to the determined value of the control parameter to obtain a response value. Finally, the system determines an effect vector describing how a change in the value of the control parameter affects the response value. Systems and methods consistent with the present invention may also predict how changing the levels of a control parameter will affect the response value of the evolutionary algorithm. The system may also normalize an objective function of the evolutionary algorithm such that control parameters of the objective function have a relatively equal effect on the overall objective function.

Abstract: A delegate assures quality of service in a distributed system while performing a remote object invocation. The delegate receives a request for the remote object invocation from a client object, identifies a current quality of service provided by the distributed system, and determines whether the current quality of service is acceptable. The delegate then performs the requested remote object invocation when the current quality of service is acceptable.

Abstract: A voice activated and operated Internet web browser where voiced utterances are digitized and the digitized representation is input to a speech recognition program is disclosed. The speech recognition program determines the most likely set of words from a stored vocabulary making up the utterances. The words are analyzed and searched against a database of topics or micro-domain areas. If a match occurs the words are analyzed by a subprogram associated with the specific topic area and key words are identified and other words discarded. The key words are input to a search engine or the equivalent. The search engine returns information associated with the topic. If no topic match is found a general search on the recognized words is performed. The recognized words are fed to a identification module where key words are extracted that are associated with names of people, organizations, locations, and companies; times; money amounts; percentages; dates; and not-a-name.

Abstract: In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, an improved fact recognition system is provided that automatically learns from syntactic language examples and semantic language examples, thus facilitating development of the system. The language examples are rather simplistic and can be provided by a lay person with little training, thus relieving the need for knowledge engineers. Furthermore, the learning performed by the improved fact recognition system results in a collection of probabilities that is used by the system to recognize facts in a typically more accurate manner than conventional systems.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and technique for obtaining calling party information where existing “caller-id” techniques do not provide calling party information. Described is a service for a subscriber of a communication medium service for handling incoming calls when the subscriber is connected to the Internet. The techniques give a calling party a chance to provide information to the called party in the form of a voice recording in described circumstances, such as where caller identification information is unavailable if there is an unlisted phone number of a calling party.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for managing the resources of a network so that a data signal can be carried more efficiently over the network. Generally, the methods of the invention include the steps of identifying a link in the network over which the data signal can be carried, determining whether the data signal can be carried over the link as a part of a multiplexed signal, comparing network resource requirements for delivering the data signal as part of a multiplexed signal with network resource requirements for delivering the data signal directly, and allocating network resources for the data signal as a result of the comparison.