Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for dynamically detecting and/or mitigating threats in communications systems. Exemplary methods and apparatus of the present invention allow for a combination of automated and operator controlled responses to threats. While an operator is provided an opportunity to provide input on how to respond to a threat, after one or more threats of a given type are identified, the system will automatically take corrective action without waiting for operator input and/or in the absence of operator input following notification of a threat.

Abstract: Communications methods and apparatus for providing and/or adding STIR/SHAKEN Diversion Information to requests. An exemplary method embodiment includes the steps of: receiving at a second communications network a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Invite request from a first communications network, the SIP Invite request being directed to a first SIP address corresponding to a first user equipment device located within the second communications network, the SIP Invite request including a SIP Identity shaken header and one or more SIP Identity div headers; determining at the second communications network whether or not the received SIP Invite request was previously diverted by the second communications network to another network; and when the SIP Invite request is determined to have been previously diverted by the second communications network to another network, processing the SIP Invite request at the second communications network as a previously received and diverted SIP Invite request.

Abstract: A method includes, with a Virtual Network Function (VNF) manager that manages a VNF that includes plurality of VNF components running on a plurality of virtual machines, determining that an additional VNF component should be provisioned on an additional virtual machine. The method further includes, in response to the determining that the additional VNF component should be provisioned, instructing a compute controller to provision the additional virtual machine. The method further includes instructing a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) controller to connect the additional virtual machine to a network that interconnects the VNF components, and provisioning the additional VNF component on the additional virtual machine.

Abstract: A method performed by a computing system that collects information on transactions in a telecommunication system includes receiving an event object. The event object includes parameters associated with a telecommunication event. The method further includes classifying the event object, using a classification mechanism, as one of a plurality of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by using the parameters, including considering events from multiple protocols for classifying event objects. The method further includes, after classifying the event object, inferring relationships between a set of inputs and a set of outputs, the set of inputs including information types from the event object and the set of outputs including KPIs.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to communications methods and apparatus for efficiently distributing traffic to processing entities. An exemplary method includes the steps of: receiving, at a first Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) load balancer (SLB), a first SIP INVITE message; selecting, at the first SLB, which Session Border Controller (SBC) in a first cluster of SBCs to send the first SIP invite message based on a message allocation weight determined based on message loss information corresponding to different SBCs in the first cluster of SBCs, the selecting including allocating a portion of incoming received SIP INVITE messages to an individual SBC based on a message loss rate corresponding to the individual SBC and the message allocation rate, said selecting including selecting a first SBC from the first cluster of SBCs to send said first SIP INVITE message, and sending the first SIP INVITE message to the first SBC.

Abstract: The present invention relates to communications methods and apparatus for detecting and/or mitigating split brain occurrences in high availability systems. A split brain condition being a condition wherein both a standby processing node and another processing node of a cluster of processing nodes included in a high availability system are both operating at the same time in an active mode of operation. An exemplary method embodiment of operating a high availability system including a plurality of processing nodes includes the steps of determining at a standby processing node that a failure condition exists, said standby processing node being one of the cluster of processing nodes; switching the standby processing node from a standby mode of operation to an active mode of operation in response to determining that a failure condition exists; and determining whether the high availability system is experiencing a split brain condition.

Abstract: Embodiments of methods and systems for mobility in enterprise networks are presented. The methods and systems described herein provide a mobile wireless device with access to both an enterprise network and an external network by establishing a proxy connection between a gateway component of the enterprise network and a gateway component of the external network. Such embodiments may maintain the security of the enterprise network. Additionally, such embodiments may not require modification of the User Equipment (UE) or of components of the external network. Indeed, the methods and systems may operate transparently to both the UE and to components of the external network.

Abstract: A method includes, with a Virtual Network Function (VNF) component associated with a VNF, communicating with an access network over a first physical network connected to a first physical network interface of a physical machine associated with the VNF component. The method further includes, with the VNF component, communicating with a core network over a second physical network connected to a second physical network interface of the physical machine, the second network being isolated from the first network.

Abstract: The present invention relates to communications methods and apparatus dynamically detecting and/or mitigating anomalies in communications systems/networks. An exemplary method embodiment includes the steps of: (i) storing a set of N key performance indicator (KPI) models; (ii) associating each of a plurality of recurring time slots of a recurring time frame on a per group member basis with one of the N KPI models wherein the associating including associating a first group member of a first group and a first recurring time slot with a first one of the N models, the first one of the N models being a first model; (iii) receiving event data for the first group member for a first time period; and (iv) determining based on the first model if a key performance indicator value for the first group member and first time period is anomalous.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to methods, apparatus and systems for optimizing media paths in communications networks. An exemplary embodiment includes the steps of a first SBC (SBC1) receiving a session request including a SDP offer for a session between first and second devices including media stream(s), said request being sent by a second SBC (SBC2) and traversing a portion of a signaling path including intermediary device(s), determining that media stream(s) should bypass one or more of the intermediary device(s), generating and transmitting to SBC2 from SBC1 a SDP answer including at least one of: (i) all SDP media descriptor transport addresses being set to zero; (ii) all SDP media stream connection values being set to 0.0.0.0 and at least one media transport address being non-zero; or (iii) header information or SDP information indicating that at least one intermediary device should be bypassed for the one or more media streams.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for detecting, minimizing and/or preventing message processing faults and in particular message processing fault avalanches at a single processing device and among a cluster of message processing devices. An exemplary method embodiment includes: enabling message blocking at a Session Border Controller (SBC) for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages including a first key value in response to a first threshold number of SIP messages including the first key value having caused a SIP message processing failure; receiving, at the SBC, a SIP message including at least one key value; determining if message blocking is enabled for one or more key values included in the SIP message; and dropping by the SBC the SIP message in response to determining that message blocking is enabled for one or more key values included in the SIP message, but otherwise processing the SIP message by the SBC.

Abstract: The present invention relates to communications methods, apparatus and systems for efficiently managing NAPT bindings and mappings. An exemplary embodiment of operating a communication system includes the steps of (i) receiving, at a real-time communications entity, a media session offer from a device, (ii) transmitting, from the communications entity to a Network Address and Port Translation entity (NAPT), a request signal to allocate a public Internet Protocol (IP) address and port number pair corresponding to an interface on the NAPT for the session; (iii) determining, at the communications entity, a remote IP address and port number pair corresponding to an interface on the device to be used for communicating media of the media session; (iv) transmitting, from the communications entity to the NAPT, a signal identifying the determined remote IP address and port number pair; and (v) releasing, at the NAPT, the allocated public IP address and port number pair.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods, systems and apparatus for providing efficient packet flow fillrate adjustments and providing protection against distributed denial of service attacks. One exemplary embodiment in accordance with the invention is a method of operating a communication system including the steps of receiving, at a session border controller, a first SIP invite request message; making a decision, at the session border controller, as to whether the first SIP invite request originated from an Integrated Access Device or an IP-PBX device; generating, at the SBC, a packet flow fillrate based on said decision as to whether the SIP invite request originated at an Integrated Access Device or an Internet Protocol-Private Branch Exchange (IP-PBX) device.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for synchronizing packet streams and in particular to the synchronization of transcoded and/or transrated Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) packet streams, e.g., transcoded and/or transrated RTP packet streams carrying audio and/or video data. In one embodiment, a packet processing device receives packets of a first RTP packet stream and a first RTCP packet stream and generates a second RTP packet stream from the first RTP packet stream and generates a second RTCP packet stream from the first RTCP packet stream. The second RTP packet stream including packets with timestamps different than packets of the first RTP packet stream. The second RTCP packet stream including NTP timestamps received in or based on the NTP timestamps of the first RTCP packet stream and associated with RTP timestamps corresponding to content in the second RTP packet stream which was generated by transrating or trancoding content in the first RTP packet stream.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and systems for load balancing Session Initiation Protocol session transactions among a self-organized cluster of SIP processing devices. An exemplary method embodiment includes the steps of dynamically forming a load balancing cluster of SIP processing devices from a plurality of SIP processing devices, said cluster of SIP processing devices being self-organized; dynamically building a communications network, by said cluster of SIP processing devices, for distributing session transaction load state information among the SIP processing devices in the cluster; and each of the SIP processing devices of the cluster asynchronously determining session transaction load state information on a recurring basis reflecting its current session transaction load state. In some embodiments, the SIP processing devices are session border controllers.

Abstract: Features relating to communicating delay information and minimizing aggregate processing delays corresponding to content streams, e.g., audio and video streams, in a multi-media communication session while still achieving stream synchronization, are described. Some embodiments are well suited for systems where video and audio streams are transcoded by different entities. In some embodiments downstream entities, e.g., transcoder and/or receiving end device, are informed about the delay introduced to at least one stream by one or more upstream devices, e.g., a transcoder. The downstream entity synchronizes the received content streams by adding artificial latency as needed to the relevant one of the streams based on the received delay information thereby avoiding unnecessary introduction of artificial delays at every transcoding node in the path.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to communications methods and apparatus for efficiently distributing traffic to processing entities. An exemplary method includes the steps of: receiving, at a first Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) load balancer (SLB), a first SIP INVITE message; selecting, at the first SLB, which Session Border Controller (SBC) in a first cluster of SBCs to send the first SIP invite message based on a message allocation weight determined based on message loss information corresponding to different SBCs in the first cluster of SBCs, the selecting including allocating a portion of incoming received SIP INVITE messages to an individual SBC based on a message loss rate corresponding to the individual SBC and the message allocation rate, said selecting including selecting a first SBC from the first cluster of SBCs to send said first SIP INVITE message, and sending the first SIP INVITE message to the first SBC.

Abstract: An administrative interface is provided between a first network and a second network, where the administrative interface is separate from one or more communications session signaling interfaces between the first network and second network. At least one of authorization, authentication, and accounting messages is communicated over the administrative interface. A module associated with the administrative interface is provided to perform topology hiding of the first network such that topology information of the first network is hidden from the second network.

Abstract: Communications methods, apparatus and systems for detecting a status condition indicative of a failure of a media processing entity and providing media redirection to increase media resource function availability. One embodiment of the present invention is a method that includes directing, by a first Session Border Controller (SBC), a first media call flow of a first call through a first media content processing entity to a second SBC, detecting, at one of said first or second SBCs, a status condition indicative of a failure condition for the first media content processing entity, and redirecting, by the SBC that detects the status condition indicative of a failure condition, the first media call flow for the first call so that the first media call flow passes through a second media content processing entity instead of through the first media content processing entity without terminating the first call.

Abstract: A method performed by a controlling computer node in a network with a plurality of subordinate computing nodes, the method including: receiving, from a first subordinate computer node, information indicating computing resource impacts for a plurality of different processing functions; receiving, from a communication endpoint, a processing task; determining an impact upon available resources of the first subordinate computer node if the task were to be assigned to the first subordinate computer node, wherein the determining is performed using the information indicating computing resource impacts; and assigning the task to either the first subordinate computer node or another one of the subordinate computer nodes based at least in part on the determining the impact.