Abstract: A next generation service node (NGSN) for providing advanced interactive voice response (IVR) services within a telecommunications network. The NGSN includes intelligent peripherals implemented as network audio servers, and application servers which execute customer application files to perform IVR services. The NGSN provides reliability through redundancy of application servers, including automatic application server failover within a node, and automatic node failover between NGSNs. The NGSN features include modular software and hardware architecture with internal function encapsulation. This allows multiple vendors products to be used and provides a common signaling interface to be used to any switch network. Other NGSN features include an open systems architecture with improved scaleability and increased application processing capability.

Abstract: A telecommunications network that handles call center calls by providing advanced interactive voice response (IVR) services using a next generation service node (NGSN). The NGSN nodes combine with several other interacting network components to provide a scaleable architecture which allows several different, customized and flexible call center services to be performed for telecommunications service provider customers. In addition the network includes virtual call routers, parking managers, host connect gateways, report servers, advanced network databases, data access points, and data gateways to deliver calls to customer call centers with various features enabled.

Abstract: A next generation service node (NGSN) for providing advanced interactive voice response (IVR) services within a telecommunications network. The NGSN includes intelligent peripherals implemented as network audio servers, and application servers which execute customer application files to perform IVR services. The NGSN provides reliability through redundancy of application servers, including automatic application server failover within a node, and automatic node failover between NGSNs. The NGSN features include modular software and hardware architecture with internal function encapsulation. This allows multiple vendors products to be used and provides a common signaling interface to be used to any switch network. Other NGSN features include an open systems architecture with improved scaleability and increased application processing capability.

Abstract: Enhanced voice services (EVS) interactively communicate with a caller so as to provide audio prompting and selection of the final termination of a call. The present improvement includes load balancing, wherein degraded service of audio response units (ARUs) is detected. With load balancing, individual EVS ARU nodes are lumped into groups, where a group is a set of two or more functionally identical EVS audio response units (ARUs) that all support the same EVS customer applications. An inbound call for a given EVS application can be routed, based on a lookup at the data access point (DAP), to any ARU in the group. With the operating level of each ARU in a particular group being known, the percent allocations for each ARU are determined and an update is made at the DAP to route incoming calls to each ARU in the group according to the specified percentages.