Abstract: The present invention provides an H.323-based mobility system for real-time mobile multimedia communications and conferencing over packet-based networks. The H.323-based mobility system includes at least one H.323 Mobile Entity, arranged to send an H.323 call, that, upon detecting at least one H.323 mobility gatekeeper that supports H.323 mobility services in a Location Area, communicates with a Home Location Database, moves from the first Location Area to a second Location Area, registers locally, and sets up a mobile H.323-based call; at least one Base Station, for receiving/sending the location information from/to a Mobile Switching Center, and for receiving/sending calls from/to the Mobile Switching Center for forwarding to a callee Mobile/Nonmobile Entity; the Home Location Database, arranged to receive and store Mobile Entity location information and send it to a first Visitor Location Database, and upon the H.

Abstract: The present invention provides an intelligent signaling scheme for a computer-readable medium for an H.323-based mobility architecture for real-time mobile multimedia communications and conferencing over packet-based networks. The steps for the scheme include: (1) upon becoming mobile and initiating an H.323 communication that includes at least one of: audio, video and data, by the Mobile Entity, with respect to notification, one of providing, by at least one of a plurality of available H.323 Home/Foreign Mobility Gatekeepers, notification of H.323 mobility services availability by periodically broadcasting, multicasting or unicasting a Mobility Gatekeeper Advertisement with a multicast/unicast address; and where the Mobile Entity lacks notification of H.323 mobility services availability, broadcasting, multicasting, unicasting or sending, by the Mobile Entity, a message to the Home Gatekeeper or Home Location Database, which notifies H.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for providing multimedia conferencing services with selective performance parameters delivers a different representation of the same video signals to each of a plurality of users depending on the hardware limitations, software limitations, network limitations, and user preferences of each user device. Thus, each user can choose the quality of service he/she wants to receive in view of system limitations and cost considerations. The quality of service may be defined in terms of bandwidth, jitter, frame rate, and delay, for example. The apparatus includes a multimedia bridge that receives video signals from at least one of the plurality of users. The multimedia bridge scales-down the video signals as necessary before sending the video signals to the end users. The multimedia bridge also detects congestion occurring during the multimedia conference and scales-down the video signals, if necessary, to meet reduced network availability.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for providing multimedia conferencing services over an ATM network with an unspecified bit rate quality of service class. Because the signals of the unspecified bit rate multimedia conference will be dropped before those of any guaranteed quality of service conferences, a multimedia bridge monitors the ATM network for congestion. If congestion is detected, the multimedia bridge searches for alternate non-congested paths so that the UBR multimedia conference can be maintained without cell losses. If no non-congested paths are found, the multimedia bridge scales the video portion of the UBR multimedia conference signals so that the UBR multimedia conference can continue. The scaling is performed in accordance with user-defined parameters that result in a reduced bandwidth video signal that can be transmitted along the congested ATM network.

Abstract: Enhanced performance of a WAN is achieved by allowing devices to move from LAN to LAN and have the move be transparent to end user applications. This is accomplished by allowing devices to move, with no action being taken in response to a move. Instead, notice is taken of the LANE Emulation Client (LEC) address at which a device can be reached when the device that moved chooses to communicate with some other device. In such a device initiates communication, a table is updated in a LAN Emulation Server (LES), which is an entity maintained by the WAN that interconnects a number of LECs. A similar table is maintained in each LEC, and the table of each LEC is updated whenever a connection is made between one of its devices and some other device. At times, of course, a LEC would have an incorrect address of a sought destination device. In such a case, the LEC sends a query to the LES, and the LES provides what the LES believes to be the correct LEC address.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus and method that allows the operator of each user device participating in a multimedia conference to selectively receive information services during the multimedia conference. The apparatus includes a controller for receiving start-up signals from a user device, sending start-up requests to destination user devices, and receiving start-up signals from the destination user devices. The start-up signals may include information as to whether each user device requests information services to be provided during the multimedia conference. The controller establishes the multimedia conference and selectively provides the information services to the respective user devices. The information services are provided continuously or non-continuously at the preference of the user devices. The information services may also be provided in various formats at the preference of the user devices.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus and method that allows the operator of each user device participating in a multimedia conference to selectively receive information services during the multimedia conference. The apparatus includes a controller for receiving start-up signals from a user device, sending start-up requests to destination user devices, and receiving start-up signals from the destination user devices. The start-up signals may include information as to whether each user device requests information services to be provided during the multimedia conference. The controller establishes the multimedia conference and selectively provides the information services to the respective user devices. The information services are provided continuously or non-continuously at the preference of the user devices. The information services may also be provided in various formats at the preference of the user devices.

Abstract: A mobility support technique provides home agents and foreign agents in mobility aware access networks. Participating mobile hosts are assigned a home address that is used by other hosts as the mobile host's address. The home address actually addresses the home agent provided in the mobility aware access network. The home address provides additional privacy to the mobile host because it does not identify the mobile host's home premises network where the mobile host resides permanently absent any mobility of the mobile host. By providing home agents and foreign agents in a mobility aware access network, the agents may cooperatively establish optimal routing paths for data transmitted to a mobile host. The agents may identify a pseudo home agent, an agent in a mobility aware access network located near to a transmitting mobile host, that acts as the home agent of a destination mobile host.

Abstract: A novel method of and system for providing common value-added services for two-way point-to-point, multi-point-to-multi-point, point-to-multi-point, and/or multi-point-to-point real-time communications using various communication protocols. The present invention provides common value-added service protocols for receiving a request from a first of a multiple of communication protocol sources for a first value-added service using the first common value-added service protocol, and providing the requested first value-added service to the first communication protocol source using the first common value-added service protocol. The present invention further includes receiving a request from a second of the multiple communication protocol sources for the first value-added service using the first common value-added service protocol, and providing the requested first value-added service to the second communication protocol source using the first common value-added service protocol.

Abstract: A technique for providing real-time multimedia conferencing services with guaranteed performance, in a hybrid networking environment, by interconnecting cable modem-based premises networks via hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) access networks and an ATM wide area network is disclosed. The ATM wide area network may be divided into a plurality of access network domains and one backbone network domain to provide efficient and intelligent multimedia conferencing services. Each ATM access network domain has one cable modem server as well as access multimedia bridge server. There is only one central network server and one central multimedia bridge server within the backbone network domain. Each cable modem server located in an ATM access network domain maintains necessary information of how the cable network bandwidth is used by existing calls, and will be allocated when new multimedia conference calls are initiated, in accordance with desired priority and performance levels.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for inter-domain mobility management for a telephony network. The present invention also relates generally to the H.323 standard for transmitting audio and video data streams, and more particularly to extending the H.323 standard to support mobility in a multimedia communication system with services over packet-based networks.

Abstract: An interworking function (IWF) for a first and second protocol based network, for example, an H.323 protocol based network and an SIP protocol based network comprises an interworking gateway server including a state machine for defining each call processing state and a translation table for use in translating addresses formatted in each protocol.

Abstract: A method for providing real-time multimedia conferencing services is described over a hybrid network, consisting of packet-switched nonguaranteed quality of service local area networks and a cell-switched wide area network having a multimedia bridge connected to the wide area network. The local area networks and the multimedia bridge are interconnected to the wide area network via routers. New architectural entities within the multimedia bridge execute a multimedia performance and resource analysis algorithm and determine whether the network and the bridge have sufficient resources to satisfy the requirements of the multimedia conference call. If sufficient resources are not available, it is determined whether the requirements for the higher priority services can be provided by preempting the lower priority resources.

Abstract: A technique for providing real-time multimedia conferencing services with guaranteed performance, in a hybrid networking environment, by interconnecting cable modem-based premises networks via hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) access networks and an ATM wide area network is disclosed. A functional design constitutes both component and protocol architecture of an ATM cable modem for both premises networks and headend stations. The ATM wide area network may be divided into a plurality of access network domains and one backbone network domain to provide efficient and intelligent multimedia conferencing services. Each ATM access network domain has one cable modem server as well as access multimedia bridge server, while there is only one central network server and one central multimedia bridge server within the backbone network domain.

Abstract: Back-end services such as authentication and mobile H.323 entity location update services include providing an authentication function within the control of a home gatekeeper and a distributed visitor location function (VLF) under the same control. In inter-zone communications, several embodiments are described for providing a home location functionality (HLF). The several HLF architectures include a distributed HLF, a centralized HLF, and a centralized HLF with communications via VLF only. Message flows can be smoothed by utilizing parallel message transmission where, for example, both a home and a visited location database may be signaled simultaneously and by utilizing direct messaging, for example, whereby a VLF communicates directly with a centralized HLF rather than via its associated gatekeeper function.

Abstract: A method for providing real-time multimedia conferencing services is described over a hybrid network, consisting of packet-switched nonguaranteed quality of service local area networks and a cell-switched wide area network having a multimedia bridge connected to the wide area network. The local area networks and the multimedia bridge are interconnected to the wide area network via routers. New architectural entities within the multimedia bridge execute a multimedia performance and resource analysis algorithm and determine whether the network and the bridge have sufficient resources to satisfy the requirements of the multimedia conference call. If sufficient resources are not available, it is determined whether the requirements for the higher priority services can be provided by preempting the lower priority resources.

Abstract: A technique for providing real-time multimedia conferencing services with guaranteed performance, in a hybrid networking environment, by interconnecting ADSL modem-based premises networks via ADSL access networks and an ATM wide area network is disclosed. A functional design constitutes both component and protocol architecture of an ATM ADSL modem for both premises networks and headend stations of the ATM network. The ATM wide area network may be divided into a plurality of access network domains and one backbone network domain to provide efficient and intelligent multimedia conferencing services. Each ATM access network domain has one ADSL modem server as well as access multimedia bridge server, while there is only one central network server and one central multimedia bridge server within the backbone network domain.

Abstract: An enhanced H.321-based multipoint, multimedia conferencing service is provided over the ATM WAN interconnecting geographically dispersed H.321 terminals with a centralized H.321 MCU located within the WAN. The performance of H.321 multimedia conferencing services over the ATM WAN is improved by providing a modified WAN-based H.321 MCU which de-jiterizes cell delay variation and detects cell losses. The MCU supplies the reference clock signal that will be used by all communicating entities for synchronization, smoothes ATM cell delay variation and creates dummy bits in the case of cell losses, to create a more accurate H.221 frame. The information about the dummy bits of the H.221 frame is sent to upper layer entities to facilitate compensation at the appropriate positions of the cell/bit losses for audio and/or video traffic. The higher layer audio and video entities compensate for audio and/or video cell/bit losses with the information provided by the lower entities.

Abstract: Real-time multimedia services are transmitted over a hybrid network including a nonguaranteed quality of service packet switched local area network and a circuit switched ISDN wide area network having a centralized multimedia bridge located within the wide area network. The local area networks and multimedia bridge are interconnected via ISDN routers. An algorithm executed by the multimedia bridge receives signals from the packet switched network and detects the absence of properties needed for real-time audio visual services. The data signals are processed to compensate for the absence of the properties and then are transmitted over the wide area network to enable real-time audio visual services.