Patents Assigned to Level 3 Communications, LLC
  • Patent number: 9832243
    Abstract: An embodiment of a method includes receiving a subscription request specifying one or more destination sites to receive a video feed and respective times at which to deliver the video feed to each of the one or more destination sites over a terrestrial network, wherein respective delivery times are within a publication time range in which the video feed will be available, and configuring available resources to deliver the requested video feed to the one or more destination sites at the respective times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Ryan Korte, Billy Hoffmann, Drew Hall, David Balda
  • Patent number: 9825868
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for increasingly applying network resources to traffic flows based on heuristics and policy conditions. A network determines that a traffic flow satisfies a first condition and transmits a first portion of the traffic flow to a network service. A network service then inspects the first portion of the traffic flow at a first level of detail and determines that the traffic flow satisfies a second condition. The network can then transmit a second portion of the traffic flow to the network service based on the determining the traffic flow satisfies the second condition. The network service can inspect the second portion of the traffic flow at a second level of detail, wherein the inspecting at the second level of detail requires a different amount of computing resources than the inspecting at the first level of detail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Pete Joseph Caputo, II, William Thomas Sella
  • Publication number: 20170331729
    Abstract: A differentiated routing system includes an electronic service in communication with an ingress gateway that receives a communication service, such as a call from a terminal, over a trunk. The service receives a request from the ingress gateway for establishing a communication service for the calling party terminal. The service obtains information associated with the calling party terminal, which may be based on the trunk and its relationship to a customer, in which the information is to be used for applying at least one of a routing decision and policy decision to the communication service, and appends a tag to the request based on the information. The service may then transmit the request appended with the information to a routing device, which may then use the information when providing the service.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Publication date: November 16, 2017
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Richard D. Moore, Matthew C. Hess, Patrick S. Callahan
  • Publication number: 20170332154
    Abstract: A differentiated routing system includes a computer-executable system to receive a request from a first network gateway of a native network for establishing a communication service from a calling party terminal to a called party terminal. Upon receipt of the request, the system determines that policy information is not known for the calling party terminal that has originated the request, and therefore append a tag to the request in which the tag indicates that the requested communication service is to be established using one or more generic policies. The generic policies include one or more default policies to be used for establishing the communication service. The system then transmits the request to a routing device, wherein the routing device determines how the communication service is routed through the native network according to the one or more generic policies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Publication date: November 16, 2017
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Richard D. Moore, Joseph M. Roy
  • Patent number: 9817709
    Abstract: Systems and methods for automatic repair, replacement, and/or configuration of various network devices within a communications network are disclosed. The system may receive indication of a failed network device and automatically perform diagnostic on the network device to determine any problems associated with the hardware and/or software components within the network device. Subsequently one or more repair, replacement, and/or configuration procedures may be automatically initiated in an attempt to resolve the problems and restore the failed network device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Lawrence Wayne Gowin, Matthew David Flynn, Mark Michael Warren, Ricky Lynn Nooner
  • Patent number: 9819554
    Abstract: At a service on a device, for a first property including a first one or more resources: maintaining first invalidation information relating to resources associated with the first property in the memory on the device; and controlling receipt of invalidation information relating to the first property based on the an amount of space in the memory used by the invalidation information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Lewis Robert Varney, Laurence R. Lipstone, William Crowder, Andrew Swart, Christopher Newton
  • Patent number: 9819576
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for dynamically applying network functions to traffic flows based on heuristics, policy conditions and client-specified conditions. A network monitors a network traffic flow to determine whether the network traffic flow meets a first criterion of a first rule. The criterion specifies that when the first criterion is met a network function be used to analyze or process the network traffic flow. When the network traffic flow is determined to meet the first criterion, the network determines a first route through the network to a network function provider that provides the network function and configures one or more routers along the first route to forward the network traffic flow to the network function provider for analysis or processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: William Thomas Sella, Harold Wayne Teets, James Michael Sella, Pete Joseph Caputo, II, Travis Duane Ewert
  • Publication number: 20170324771
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems and methods for detecting a potentially fraudulent access of a collaboration conferencing system on a telecommunications network and executing a corrective action in response to the detected access attempt. In some instances, the corrective action includes denying access to the collaboration system when the fraudulent access attempt occurs. In other instances, the corrective action includes providing a warning to the caller, rerouting the communication to another system within the network, or reporting and storing of the fraudulent attempt. To detect the possible fraudulent access attempt, a device may detect more than one fraudulent access attempt to the collaboration conferencing system and determine a pattern. With the pattern of attempts known, the system accesses a database to determine if a valid account is likely to be accessed by the fraudulent attempts and takes actions to prevent access to the valid account.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Publication date: November 9, 2017
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew J. Broadworth, Matthew McCarthy
  • Patent number: 9805412
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure disclose systems and methods for providing order entry platform that automatically enables telecommunication service providers to process customer orders for telecommunication products and/or services in near real-time. More particularly, one or more interactive interfaces, dynamically driven by a products catalog, may be generated that enable telecommunication service providers to automatically process orders received from customers for such products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: George T. Joseph, Gregory Arnold, Paul Farnsworth, Steven Rdzak
  • Patent number: 9807124
    Abstract: A network provisioning system includes a computer-based set of instructions that receive, from a third party network provisioning system managed by a third party service provider, provisioning information associated with a wiretap to be setup on a customer communication device. The instructions then transmit the provisioning information to a policy server in a network domain. Thereafter, when the media gateway transmits a policy request message to the policy server to establish a call session for the customer communication device, the policy server issues instructions to establish the wiretap in the media gateway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth C. Bade
  • Publication number: 20170310744
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for managing the distribution of content and/or communications from a telecommunications or computer network to an end user of the network. In general, the system receives a request for content from a user of the network and analyzes the request to determine an estimated geographic region and/or an access network associated with the requesting device. Based on the determined geographic region or access network, a networking device returns a specific anycast IP address from which the content may be received. In this manner, the content providing network may utilize multiple anycast IP addresses within the network to provide content to one or more end users of the network. The specific anycast IP address is provided to an end user device to obtain the requested content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2017
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: Joel C. Maslak
  • Patent number: 9800956
    Abstract: Implementations of the present disclosure involve an apparatus and/or method for a regional independent tandem switch of a telecommunications network. The tandem switch processes communications between a long distance carrier and a local exchange carrier through a voice over IP (VOIP) network. By utilizing the VOIP network, the regionally independent tandem may process long distance communications to and from any point in the network, regardless of the physical proximity of the tandem to the originating/destination communication device. The regionally independent nature of the tandem also allows for flexibility in communication routing through the network, load balancing between the network tandem switches and reduction of needed components of the network for proper processing of the long distance communications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Sayer, Rogier Ducloo, Richard Terpstra
  • Patent number: 9794142
    Abstract: A method for analyzing traffic in a communications network includes sampling data packets at a plurality of network interconnection points, wherein sampling the data packets includes generating a plurality of sampled packet data in one or more standardized formats, converting the sampled packet data from the one or more standardized formats into a neutral format, and aggregating the sampled packet data in the neutral format from the plurality of network interconnection points. A system includes a communications node operable to sample data packets flowing through and generate sample packet data in a specified format, a collector node operable to convert the sampled packet data into a neutral format, the collector node further operable to map IP addresses of the sampled packet data to corresponding prefixes in a routing table; and an aggregator node operable to aggregate neutrally formatted sampled packet data from a plurality of collector nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Raoul Alcala, Niclas Comstedt, Jeff Whitaker
  • Patent number: 9787551
    Abstract: A method is operable in a network comprising multiple service endpoints, the service endpoints running on a plurality of devices, wherein the multiple service endpoints form one or more sub-clusters. The method includes defining a group from an arbitrary set of nodes comprising service instances across the machines of the one or more sub-clusters, wherein each node in the group assumes one or more discrete responsibilities involved in processing of a request across the group. In response to a request made at a node the group, the service type of the request is dynamically determined; and, based on the type of the request, one or more nodes in the group are selected to be responsible for processing the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Newton, Lewis Robert Varney, Laurence R. Lipstone, William Crowder, Andrew Swart
  • Patent number: 9787732
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure disclose system, apparatus and methods for providing an integrated web conferencing. In various aspects, the disclosure is directed to integrating a VoIP client for audio conferencing with a web client. In particular, the system provides for integrating a web portion of a web conference with an audio portion of the web conference. More specifically, the system, apparatus and methods provide for connecting a VoIP client to an audio conferencing portion of the system to facilitate communications between client and server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Richard Dean Terpstra, Adam Charles Uzelac
  • Patent number: 9787547
    Abstract: A method for determining network topology of a provider network includes selecting a first network element, selecting a first port on the first network element, and iteratively performing connectivity validation tests using the first port, wherein each connectivity validation test is associated with a type of network element and yields a result that indicates whether a second port on a second network element of the associated type is connected to the first port. A system for discovering topology of a network, the system comprising a topology discovery engine in operable communication with a near network element and operable to identify a first port of a far network element that is connected to a second port of the near network element by remotely altering operation of the near network element to cause the second network element to respond in a manner that identifies the first port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Joshua D. Voigt, Christopher T. Coston, Robert J. Feuerstein, Daniel Youngblood, Dan Rosenstock, Troy Kau, Greg Bernhardt
  • Patent number: 9774486
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for implementing a registrar component or functionality in a telecommunications network. In one implementation, the registrar functionality is handled at a Session Border Controller (SBC) or Network Address Translation (NAT) Traversal Manager (NTM) device of the network to alleviate an application server of the network from performing the registration function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
    Inventor: Richard Dean Terpstra
  • Patent number: 9774818
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method obtains a plurality of image files, each corresponding to an image in a video stream and builds a common file from a contiguous grouping of the plurality of image files. The video stream has a plurality of contiguous video segments, each having a first video frame, and the plurality of image files correspond to the plurality of first video frames of the plurality of video segments. The plurality of video segments are of approximately equal duration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
    Inventors: William Crowder, Jeffrey G. Koller, David Fullagar
  • Patent number: 9774706
    Abstract: A network application may transmit data over a network connection. The application may require certain functionality for the network connection. An embodiment provides a method for the application to inform the network of its requirement. The application may use a control packet to inform the network of its functionality requirement for the connection it is using. The control packets may be sent to the network at the same time the application is transmitting its data. In an embodiment, a user using the application instructs the network to provide certain functionality using the control packet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventor: William Thomas Sella
  • Publication number: 20170272153
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for monitoring optical communications between a managed location and a remote location. In particular, an optical signal is transmitted over an optical fiber and passed-through a test device. A portion of the optical signal is filtered from the original optical signal and passed to a monitoring unit. The monitoring unit may instruct one or more switches in the test device to loop the optical signal back toward the managed location. Subsequently, testing and monitoring may be performed at the managed location. The device may provide a test output or may transmit the information to the managed location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2017
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Applicant: Level 3 Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey K. Storey, John F. Waters, Andrew Dugan, Salvador Parades, Gary Ratteree