Abstract: Methods and apparatus for deriving and/or generating, user presence information from communication signals monitored by a SBC or PRI Gateway and aggregating and/or distributing the user presence information. An exemplary method embodiment includes the steps of storing a plurality of user profile records, each of the user profile records mapping contact information for a user to one or more user identifiers corresponding to the user; receiving first signaling information; determining a first user corresponding to the first signaling information by comparing at least a first portion of the information contained in the first signaling information to at least a first portion of the information contained in the plurality of user profiles; and generating presence status information for the first user and communicating the first presence status information to a presence server as presence status information corresponding to a first user identifier, said first user identifier corresponding to said first user.

Abstract: The present invention includes various novel systems and methods for communication in a network. A System Environment Monitor is employed in some embodiments to extract from the network both real-time and historical Network Metrics at the Infrastructure Layer, as well as Application Metadata at the Application Layer. Network analytics facilitate decisions based upon the differing characteristics of Application Components and lower-level hardware components across multiple DTTs. In response, an SDN Controller generates modified sets of SDN Flows, and implements them in real time across a mixed technology (multi-DTT) network in a manner that avoids disrupting existing SDN Flows and other real-time network traffic.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media are disclosed which provide improved performance for packet switched (PS)-to-PS handovers. Embodiments provide for improved handover operations by utilizing registration refreshing techniques to reduce the time required to complete signaling and registration of a UE over a target access in connection with a handover of a communication session from a serving access to the target access. Embodiments further provide improved handover operations that eliminate the exchange of signaling information with a remote UE in connection with a handover of a communication session from a serving access to the target access. Further, handover operations are processed by a network node that is closer to the UE requesting the handover (e.g., the network node may be an Access-SBC/P-CSCF that operates between a core network and the UE).

Abstract: Methods and systems for supporting parallel processing utilizing Central Processing Unit(s) (CPU(s)) and at least one Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) device to provide high scale processing of content streams. An exemplary method embodiment including the steps of: receiving at a CPU multiple data units corresponding to a first frame time for each of first through Nth content streams; sequentially processing by the CPU data units corresponding to different content streams and the first frame time; operating a set of cores of a GPU, in parallel, to perform processing on a set of data units, processing including operating each core of the set of cores to perform an operation on a data unit corresponding to a single one of the first plurality of content streams, each core in the set of cores processing a data unit of a different content stream, said processing generating a set of generated data units.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods, systems and apparatus for identifying and acting upon suspect robocalls. An exemplary method embodiment includes the steps of processing call records of a customer to identify calls which are possibly from a robocaller, based on at least one of i) a call characteristic or ii) a call pattern; storing calling party source identification information of the identified calls in a suspect robocall database; processing an incoming call, said processing including comparing calling party source identification information of an incoming call to the calling party source identification information in the suspect robocall database; and completing the incoming call in a standard manner if the incoming call is not in the suspect robocall database; and handling the call as a suspect robocall if the incoming calling party source identification information is in the suspect robocall database.

Abstract: The present invention relates to communications methods and apparatus dynamically detecting and/or mitigating anomalies in communications systems/networks. An exemplary embodiment includes the steps of: processing a set of call detail records (CDRS), each CDR in said set of CDRs corresponding to an individual call and including multiple information fields providing information about the individual call to which the CDR corresponds, said processing including: generating from said CDRs, on a per CDR basis one or more Field GroupIDs using a hash function; generating for CDRs corresponding to a first Field GroupID a first set of key performance indicators (KPIs), said first set of (KPIs) including one or more KPIs corresponding to the first Field GroupID, said one or more KPIs including at least a first KPI; and determining that a first KPI violation has occurred for the first Field GroupID when the first KPI exceeds a dynamic performance threshold.

Abstract: The present invention relates to communications methods and apparatus for determining whether a received call originated from an artificial intelligence system and the call handling procedures to be used on the received call based on whether or not the call was determined to have been originated from an artificial intelligence system. An exemplary method embodiment includes the steps of: receiving a first call at a communications device including a first artificial intelligence system; determining whether said first call originated from a second artificial intelligence system; and when said first call is determined to have originated from a second artificial intelligence system performing one or more artificial intelligence call handling operations.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus related to the storage and/or recovery of session state information are described. A communications server, e.g., a web RTC server, supporting a communications session, stores session state information corresponding to the communications session in a client device, e.g., a user device including a web browser, participating in the communications session. Following a failure of the communications server, the client device establishes a new connection with a replacement communications server and communicates the stored session state information to the replacement communications server. In some embodiments, the session state information is communicated between a communications server and a client device in encrypted form via a secure HTTP web socket connection. In various embodiments, both the communications server and the replacement communications server include or have access to a shared encryption key.

Abstract: Context values used by filters corresponding to different streams are stored in an interleaved manner in a block of contiguous memory locations, e.g., of a buffer, to facilitate coalesced access of data units, e.g., context values, corresponding to different channels to facilitate filtering of multiple streams, e.g., audio streams, in parallel using a graphics processing unit. Context values corresponding to different channels are intentionally grouped together on an interleaved per channel basis in staging memory. This allows context values for multiple different streams to be transferred, e.g., loaded, as a single block e.g., with a context value of each different channel being loaded into a different GPU core. By organizing the context values to facilitate GPU processing, device operation is improved and execution efficiency is achieved as compared to what would be the case if multiple non-contiguous memory locations had to be implemented to load the cores of the GPU.

Abstract: The present invention relates to communications methods, apparatus and systems for providing media micro flow services in a scalable manner using SDN principles. In an exemplary method embodiment a session border controller in a SDN network is operated to receive first signaling information for establishing a first media session, the first media session including a first media packet flow that passes through a first programmable switch of the SDN network; generate instructions to implement a media micro flow service on the first programmable switch through which the first media packet flow passes; and send the instructions to a SDN controller which controls the first programmable switch.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for detecting and minimizing the effects of Denial Of Service (DOS) attacks in high-speed networks in which packet processing is carried out by multiple processing cores. In one embodiment of the invention a communications method and apparatus detects and deletes denial of service attack packets in a multi-core distributed packet processing system using a lightweight DOS attack packet detection and deletion process.

Abstract: A client device, e.g., a smartphone including a web browser, requests a call authorization token from a web server, e.g., a web page server. The web server, acting on behalf of a company, whose web page is hosted and whose phone corresponds to the called party, screens incoming requests and decides whether or not to issue an authorization token, e.g., a signed token including an encrypted portion. The web server issues a call authorization token and communicate the issued token to the client device. The client device includes the received issued call authorization token in a signal, e.g., a SIP INVITE signal, which it generates and sends to a session border controller (SBC). The session border controller processes the received authorization token and checks the authorization token to validate the received token. The SBC establishes a communications session if the received token passes the validation check.

Abstract: An individual session border controller in a cluster of SBCs, e.g., in a Cloud, sends a resource utilization reporting message to the current master resource manager for the cluster. In response to the received utilization reporting message from the individual SBC, the master resource manager determines a mode of operation, e.g. one of: normal, critical or overshoot, for the cluster and a resource allocation for the SBC, the resource allocation method used being different for at least two different modes. The master resource manager communicates the determined cluster mode and the determined resource allocation to the individual SBC, e.g., in a response message. The SBC controls its resource utilization reporting rate as a function of the mode. In at least one mode, e.g., normal mode, the SBC is allowed to use more resources, e.g., X % more, than the amount of resources allocated to the SBC by the master resource manager.

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 relates to methods, systems and apparatus for mitigating 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 first device packets of a first packet flow; sending, from the first device, control information to a switch through which packets of the first packet flow pass or to a control device which controls the switch, the control information including a mask corresponding to a range of expected packet values to be used for determining which packets in the first packet flow should be dropped.

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: Systems and methods which enable an authentication procedure to be used within the standard network security architecture to authenticate third party applications that are forbidden access to a particular secret key are disclosed. Third party smartphone applications that are unable to use SIM-based authentication due to being forbidden access to a SIM-based key are provided an alternate secret key for use in an EAP-AKA or EAP-SIM type procedure according to embodiments. An authentication server or other backend authentication infrastructure of embodiments requests authentication vectors from a backend system sharing the alternative secret key. Accordingly, the backend authentication platform of embodiments is adapted to know or detect that an application is using an alternative secret key (e.g., a secret key other than the SIM-based secret key) and to perform the appropriate procedure for the key type.

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: Methods and apparatus for providing load balancing in a Software Defined Network (SDN). An exemplary embodiment includes the steps of: receiving by a Session Border Controller (SBC) cluster leader a first SIP invite message including a source IP address, assigning responsibility for processing the received message to a first SBC in a cluster of SBCs, and initiating by the first SBC installation of a first flow table entry into SDN switches used to control packet routing in an SDN network, the first flow table entry controlling SDN switches into which the first flow table entry is installed to replace a destination IP address in received packets which satisfy matching criteria of the first flow table entry with a first SBC IP ingress address of the first SBC and to route received packets matching the criteria of the first flow table entry based on the first SBC IP ingress address.