CN1303782C - Method for implementing network conference in control and bearing separated network - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a conference system that can adapt to the control and bearer separation characteristics of 3G and NGN networks. In the conference system, one of the functional entities of the MCU in the conventional conference system, that is, a multipoint controller (MC), is implemented in a soft switch device. Another functional entity of the MCU, that is, a multipoint processor (MP), is implemented in the MGW device. The present invention can well inherit existing conference solutions (such as H.323, H.320 and other conference systems), and at the same time can well adapt to the design framework of 3G and NGN networks.

Description

Method for Realizing Network Conference in Network Separated from Control and Bearer

technical field

The invention relates to the realization of the network conference, in particular to a method for realizing the network conference in the network conference which separates control and bearer.

Background technique

Multiparty conferencing is a service feature in the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Private Telephone Network (PTN) and IP Telephony Network (IPTel). Includes voice conferences with only audio sessions and video conferences with audio and video sessions. The current conference systems include H.323, H.320, H.324, H.310 and other conference systems based on fixed networks, as well as conference systems based on wireless GSM networks. Their common feature is that conference systems are based on control and bearer Integrated network.

For example, a form of conference is defined in ITU-T recommendation H.323, called "ad hoc conference". In an ad hoc conference, a normal call (point-to-point call) between two participants is extended into a conference (multiparty call). One of the existing participants simply calls the other participant, who joins the conference after answering the call.

Figure 1 shows a typical networking diagram of a conventional telecommunication network. As shown in Figure 1, the telecommunications network mainly includes the internal system of the telecommunications bureau, data transmission networks such as circuit switching networks and wide area networks, and user terminal equipment.

There is a service platform in the internal system of the telecommunications bureau for address translation, terminal authentication and registration, terminal authorization, and area management; it also has functions such as conference scheduling, billing, and user data management. In addition, there is also a business desk, which is responsible for accepting the user's account opening/cancellation matters, querying/outputting bills and other operations.

The MCU (Multipoint Control Unit, multipoint control unit) in the internal system of the telecommunications bureau is a key component to realize the centralized multipoint conference function. In the case of a multipoint conference, each terminal participating in the conference establishes a connection with the MCU through a circuit switching network in a point-to-point manner. The MCU can also be connected to the terminals participating in the conference through the wide area network through the router. MCU's MC (MultipointControl, multipoint controller) centrally manages conferences and provides control for multiple terminals participating in multipoint conferences; MCU's MP (Multipoint Process, multipoint processor) is used to handle multipoint processing of more than three endpoint devices. The video, audio and data streams transmitted by the conference are processed and then returned to each terminal. Therefore, functions such as audio and video codecs and conference audio mixing need to be implemented. At present, the communication between MP and MC is internal communication, and there is no standard to follow.

The built-in gateway in the internal system of the telecommunications bureau is used to realize the intercommunication between different multimedia networks and the codec conversion of data formats.

The current conference implementation scheme is mainly based on a network that integrates control and bearer, and its main defects are:

1. The function of conference MCU equipment is very complex. Because it integrates various audio and video codecs and gateway functions for various multimedia network intercommunication, its performance and stability are affected.

2. It cannot adapt to the interface characteristics of separation of bearer and control of 3G (third generation mobile communication system) and NGN (next generation network).

3G and NGN networks are an inevitable trend in the evolution and development of future communication networks. Therefore, it is necessary to design a new conference system implementation solution for the characteristics of separation of bearer and control in 3G and NGN network structures. At present, people have carried out some research in this area. For example, Chinese patent application 02115659.X discloses a multi-point controller for a video conferencing system that separates control and bearer. Among them, the introduction of the softswitch structure system and its complete set of protocol specifications is proposed, and the multi-point controller function module in the MCU of the video conference system is placed in the third layer of the NGN system structure of the next generation network, which is realized by the media gateway control technology; The multi-point processor function module in the MCU is placed in the fourth layer of the NGN architecture, and is implemented with a media server and an application server. This solution uses the interlayer interface technical specifications of the softswitch standard to separate the functions of the multi-point control function module and the multi-point processing function module, that is, to separate signaling processing from media service processing, and use a media server (Media Server: MS) respectively. and the media gateway controller (Media Gateway Control: MGC), they communicate through the SIP protocol, so as to solve the problem that the MCU function of the video conferencing system based on the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) standard is too integrated and the processing capacity is too large. The bottleneck of the network system.

However, the solutions disclosed in the above patent applications are mainly aimed at video conferencing systems. Moreover, the technical solution provided in the description of the patent application only lists the components of the conference system and only describes the functions that these parts should realize, without proposing a specific implementation method. Therefore, this patent application only proposes a conception, and does not actually propose a specific implementation plan for the problem of how to inherit the existing conference solution and at the same time adapt well to the network structure of 3G and NGN.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for realizing network conferencing in the next generation network in which control and bearer are separated according to the characteristics of 3G and NGN network structures. The present invention can well inherit existing conference solutions (such as H.323, H.320 and other conference systems), and at the same time can well adapt to the design framework of 3G and NGN networks.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for implementing a network conference that can solve the above problems. The method includes: the conference business management center receives conference reservation information, selects a corresponding media gateway (MGW) device as a conference audio mixing device for the conference, and the conference audio mixing device has a conference resource processing module; the conference business management center will book the conference information and the selected conference audio mixing equipment information is sent to the conference resource processing module of the softswitch equipment; the softswitch equipment starts to start and configure the conference resources of the conference audio mixing equipment for the conference after receiving the above information; The conference connection establishment information of the participant terminal is sent to the corresponding softswitch device, and the softswitch device establishes a conference circuit connection between the MGW device corresponding to the terminal and the MGW device serving as the conference audio mixing device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above method may further include the step of the conference business management center judging whether the conference initiator's conference reservation meets the conference initiation conditions. The initiating condition may include authentication of the conference initiator terminal and judging whether the scale of the reserved conference exceeds the processing capacity of the system. If the conditions are met, select the corresponding media gateway device as the audio mixing device for the conference; otherwise, notify the conference reservation party that the conference reservation is invalid.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above method may further include: before the conference service management center transmits the information of establishing a conference connection with the conference participant terminal to the corresponding softswitch device, authenticating the conference participant terminal. Only authenticated participant terminals can join the conference.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned step of selecting a conference audio mixing device includes: querying the information of the MGW device equipped with a conference resource processing module stored in the conference business management center; selecting a suitable MGW device as the conference Mixing equipment.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, for a terminal that exits the conference, the softswitch device controls to disconnect the MGW device corresponding to the terminal from the conference circuit connection of the conference audio mixing device, and releases corresponding conference resources.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the following steps are further included: in the case of the end or cancellation of the conference, the conference business management center notifies the softswitch device to cancel the corresponding configuration of the conference, and releases the conference audio mixing device Conference resources of MGW equipment.

In the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention, the MGW device as a conference audio mixing device implements conference audio mixing processing through its conference control module, and the softswitch performs conference resource configuration and conference circuit connection through its conference control module, and in the A standard communication protocol is adopted between the conference business management center and the conference control module of the softswitch device, and between the conference control module of the softswitch device and the conference resource processing module in the MGW device as a conference audio mixing device Adopt standard communication protocol.

The conference business management center of the present invention includes the functions of all conference management entities (such as: business platform, business desk, etc.) in the traditional conference system. On the other hand, the present invention realizes the main function of the MC module in the MCU device of the traditional conference system by the conference control unit of the softswitch device, and realizes the function of the original MP module in the MCU device of the traditional conference system by the conference resource processing unit of the MGW device. The main function. Therefore, the present invention not only inherits the traditional conference solution well, but also can well adapt to the characteristics of 3G and NGN networks with separated bearer and control.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network that integrates control and bearer in a traditional conference system solution;

Fig. 2 is a system schematic diagram, and this system can realize the network conferencing based on 3G bearer network according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for implementing a network meeting in an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of Embodiments of the Invention

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the conference system solution of this embodiment. In this embodiment, a 3G bearer network is used as an example for illustration. Obviously, it is also applicable to other networks that separate control and bearer, such as NGN.

In Fig. 2, the dotted line indicates the signaling channel in the network system, and the solid line indicates the bearer channel in the network system. Various types of user terminals send conference service reservation requests to the conference service management center via softswitch equipment, MGW equipment and softswitch equipment, or directly through RNS (radio network system), BSS (base station subsystem), etc. During the conference, the conference service management center receives the interaction of control signaling through the signaling channel and interacts with the conference service management center through the bearer channel for conference service data such as video, audio steps and data streams. In the network example shown in this figure, PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) users communicate with related softswitch equipment through the H.324 protocol, and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) users communicate with the softswitch equipment through the H.320 protocol. And other users can communicate with the soft switching equipment through the H.323 protocol supporting the packet switching network. In addition, the H.248 protocol can be used between the MGW equipment and the softswitch equipment. Of course, the method of the present invention is not limited to these protocols.

As shown in Figure 2, in the embodiment of the present invention, the management entities that realize conference management in the traditional conference system are retained, such as business platforms and business desks, etc., and the functions of these management entities to manage conferences, such as conference number registration, terminal User access management, conference scheduling and billing, etc. In the embodiment of the present invention, the conference business management center is not an independent physical device, but an independent functional entity capable of realizing the above functions. The method of realizing these functions by the conference business management center is the same as that in the traditional conference system. In the present invention, the conference business management center can be integrated in the media server (MS) or network management equipment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the soft switch equipment (softswitch) shown in Fig. 2 is provided with conference control module, is used for realizing the function of the multipoint controller of MCU equipment in the traditional conference system, for at least three more than participating in the conference The terminal provides control. It can interact with the conference service management center to configure and control the bearers of the conference participants. Its specific operation will be described in more detail in the business process of the conference system of this embodiment described below.

In Fig. 2 several MGW devices are shown. It is divided into general end office and gateway office MGW equipment, and MGW equipment with conference bridge function, such as the MGW equipment marked as conference bridge in Figure 2; other MGW equipment is used as general end office and conference bridge in conference processing The MGW equipment of the gateway office is only used as an ordinary media gateway equipment. For these MGW devices, the conference call service is the same as the common circuit service. The MGW device with the conference bridge function is responsible for realizing the function of the multipoint processor (MP) of the traditional MCU device. The conference resource processing module of the MGW device centrally processes service flows (such as audio, video and data flow), and send the service flow to each terminal of the conference participants. In this way, the audio mixing function of the multi-party conference can be realized.

It should be noted that the above two types of MGW devices are not absolutely differentiated. All MGW devices support voice conference features, that is, common circuit services. The MGW device with the conference bridge function has all the functions of an ordinary media gateway device. That is to say, it can be used as the MGW equipment of general end office and gateway office. On the other hand, only the MGW device in which the conference resource processing module (or conference board) is set can serve as the MGW device with the conference bridge function.

In this embodiment, when a multipoint conference is required, the MGW equipment as a general end office and gateway office receives instructions from the softswitch equipment, and establishes a circuit connection with the corresponding MGW equipment with conference audio mixing function.

In this embodiment, the call circuit of the conference is the same as the common end-to-end call circuit, that is, the terminals of the parties participating in the conference communicate with the MGW with the conference bridge function (conference mixing function) through the MGW as a general end office or a gateway office. The MGW establishes an end-to-end circuit connection. For the intercommunication between different protocol networks (such as the intercommunication between H.324, H.323, H.320 and 3G networks), as long as the common end-to-end circuit services support network intercommunication, the conference system of this embodiment can realize different Meeting business on the web.

Below in conjunction with accompanying drawing 3, illustrate a kind of business operation realization flow that realizes network conferencing of the present invention:

First of all, when the user terminal needs to initiate a conference, it can proceed according to the traditional conference reservation method. For example, the conference originator dials the special conference service number to call the operator, or reserves the conference through a graphical user interface (which may be a WEB interface (WEB: World Wide Web)) provided by the conference service management center. The reservation content includes, for example: conference scale (that is, how many user terminals can participate at most), permission restriction of conference participants (access passwords, access rights, etc.), and reserved conference time slot, etc. The conference size can be specified by the user or dynamically allocated by the system, depending on the user's choice and system settings. That is, the user can choose to specify the conference size. If the conference size is not specified (for example, it is not filled in the conference size item on the conference booking page), the system will dynamically determine the conference size according to the available resources.

After the conference business management center receives the reservation request from the initiator, it processes the conference reservation request as in the traditional conference system. These processes include, for example, performing analysis and judgment on the user who initiates the conference reservation (that is, user authority check), and judging whether the scale of the conference exceeds the system processing capability, and when the result of the analysis and judgment shows that the conference is allowed, Assign a group number for this meeting. Otherwise, inform the conference reservation party that the conference reservation is invalid.

The information table of the MGW equipment with the conference audio mixing function (conference bridge) is stored inside the conference business management center (as mentioned above, these MGW equipment all have a conference resource processing module for realizing the conference audio mixing function). The information table contains the information of each MGW device with conference audio mixing function (conference bridge), such as: MGW device ID, corresponding softswitch device address, total conference processing capacity and occupied capacity, etc.

In the processing of the conference reservation request by the conference business management center, while assigning the conference group number, it also uses certain decision-making conditions to select a suitable The MGW device of the device serves as the conference bridge device of this conference. The decision-making condition may be a conventional selection condition, for example, selecting an MGW device with the largest idle conference processing capacity as the conference bridge device for the conference. The conference bridge device is responsible for the control of conference audio mixing, etc., and transmits the mixed conference conversation content to all parties in the conference. The MGW device as a conference bridge only provides the conference audio mixing function in the conference, unlike the MCU device in the traditional conference system, which has various audio and video codecs and gateway functions for intercommunication between different networks. Various audio and video codecs and gateway functions for intercommunication between different networks are provided by the MGW equipment on the conference terminal side. Therefore, the selected MGW device is referred to as a conference sound mixing device hereinafter. The conference service management center transmits the information of the reserved conference and the identification (ID) of the selected conference audio mixing device to the corresponding softswitch device, and the softswitch device starts and configures conference resources of the conference audio mixing device for the conference. Specifically, the softswitch device receives the conference resource information of the conference audio mixing device corresponding to the identifier of the conference audio mixing device through the network management system, such as how many conference channels the conference audio mixing device has. Then the softswitch device controls and provides corresponding resources to the network conference according to the information.

In the traditional conference system solution, there are generally two ways for conference participants to participate in the conference. One is that the participants are invited to join the conference, that is, they receive a call from one of the conference participants or the operator; the second way is Publish a specific and unique phone number (conference special service number), and conference participants can directly dial the conference special service number to join the meeting.

In one embodiment of the present invention, if the conference participant directly dials the conference special service number (that is, in the second way) to join the conference, the access device on the user side, after receiving the special service number, The information will be automatically transmitted to the conference business management center by the communication system. The conference business management center, like the business platform in the traditional conference system, notifies the user to input access rights information such as conference group number and access password. After receiving the access right information input by the user, the conference business management center performs authentication processing on the conference participants. If the authentication is successful, the conference business management center will transmit the information of establishing the conference connection to the corresponding softswitch device, such information includes the MGW ID of the user terminal side, the ID of the conference audio mixing device, etc.

The softswitch device initiates a circuit connection establishment request to the selected MGW device with the conference audio mixing function, so as to establish a conference circuit between the MGW device at the user terminal side and the conference audio mixing device. The circuit establishment process is the same as the connection establishment process of a normal circuit call.

During the progress of the conference, the MGW device on each conference terminal side only establishes a circuit call connection with the MGW device serving as a conference bridge, that is, the conference audio mixing device. The conference sound mixing device is responsible for controlling the conference sound mixing, etc., and then the conference sound mixing device transmits the mixed conference conversation content to all parties in the conference. During the establishment and progress of the conference, the MGW devices on the conference terminal side only regard the conference call as a common circuit call, and they do not recognize the conference service.

When the conference party wants to exit the conference, it only needs to hang up like a common telephone service. At this time, the softswitch device notifies the conference audio mixing device and the MGW device at the user end to remove the established circuit connection. The conference audio mixing device releases the corresponding conference resources in its conference resource processing module, and at the same time, the management center will delete the user from the conference online information.

On the other hand, as long as one party does not withdraw from the conference, the conference business management center will continue to charge the conference. Only when all the parties in the conference quit, the conference service management center stops charging, but still does not issue the message of canceling the conference reservation configuration.

Only when the reservation time is up or the conference initiator actively applies for canceling the reservation service, the conference business management center will notify each softswitch device to cancel various configurations corresponding to the conference number, and release the conference configuration of the conference audio mixing device at the same time. Update the database information of the conference business management center. So far, the business of this meeting has come to an end.

According to the conference implementation method of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention, because the conference call circuit is the same as the common end-to-end call circuit, all MGW devices on the user terminal side only establish end-to-end circuit connections with the conference audio mixing device. Therefore, there is no need to distinguish the concept of end office and gateway office. Moreover, the 3G network itself does not distinguish conference services. For the intercommunication between different networks (such as the intercommunication between H.324, H.323, H.320 networks and 3G networks), as long as ordinary end-to-end circuit services support network interoperability, conference services can be supported. There are no special requirements for network interoperability.

To sum up, the implementation scheme of the conference system that realizes separation of control and bearer proposed by the present invention has the following advantages:

1. It can well adapt to the characteristics of networks such as 3G and NGN where the bearer and control are separated;

2. Because the conference control module of the softswitch implements the main functions of the MC in the traditional conference system, including the interface module between the MC and the conference management system entity, the conference system designed by the present invention can completely inherit the traditional conference system.

3. The function of the conference resource processing module is simplified, its conference processing performance is higher, and the operation will be faster and more stable.

4. Since the softswitch equipment can completely shield services such as conferences and multi-party calls, the MGW equipment that bears part of them treats these services as conferences, so services such as conferences and multi-party calls can be well unified.

Claims (11)

1. a method that realizes Web conference in control and network that carrying separates is characterized in that, comprises the steps:

(1) convention business administrative center receives the meeting subscription information, selects the meeting audio mixing equipment of corresponding media gateway MGW equipment as this meeting;

(2) convention business administrative center sends meeting subscription information and selected meeting audio mixing facility information to Softswitch, and described Softswitch is the conferencing resource of described meeting configuration meeting audio mixing equipment after receiving above-mentioned information;

(3) convention business administrative center handle and conferenced party terminal are set up the information that meeting is connected and are sent corresponding described Softswitch to, and described Softswitch is set up described terminal corresponding M GW equipment and is connected with conference circuit as the MGW equipment of described meeting audio mixing equipment.

2. method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described step (1) further comprises the steps:

Convention business administrative center judges whether the meeting reservation meets meeting and initiate condition, if eligible, then selects corresponding media gateway equipment as meeting audio mixing equipment, otherwise this meeting reservation of notification of meetings subscriber is invalid.

3. method according to claim 2 is characterized in that, described convention business administrative center judges that meeting is subscribed and whether meets meeting and initiate the step of condition and comprise:

(1) to the authentication of meeting initiator terminal and

(2) judge whether the parliamentary dimension of subscribing exceeds system processing power.

4. method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, selects the step of meeting audio mixing equipment to comprise in the described step (1):

The information of the MGW equipment that is provided with the conferencing resource processing module that inquiry stores in convention business administrative center; With

Select the audio mixing equipment of suitable MGW equipment as above-mentioned meeting.

5. method according to claim 4 is characterized in that, described MGW facility information comprises: the ID of MGW equipment, the address of the Softswitch that it is corresponding, the total capacity that meeting is handled, and occupied capacity.

6. method according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, described convention business administrative center sets up before information that meeting is connected sends corresponding described Softswitch in handle and conferenced party terminal, described conferenced party terminal is carried out authentication, and the conferenced party that allows to pass through authentication adds meeting.

7. method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, further comprises the steps:

For the terminal that withdraws from meeting, the MGW equipment of being removed this terminal correspondence by described soft exchange device controls is connected with the conference circuit of described meeting audio mixing equipment, and discharges corresponding conferencing resource.

8. method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, further comprises the steps:

Meeting adjourned or the situation of cancellation under, described convention business administrative center notice Softswitch is cancelled the corresponding configuration of this meeting, and discharges the conferencing resource as the MGW equipment of meeting audio mixing equipment.

9. method according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, described MGW equipment as meeting audio mixing equipment is carried out the meeting audio mixing and is handled, and the conference content after audio mixing handled sends the meeting relevant party to, the intercommunication of the various audio frequency of described terminal corresponding M GW device processes, coding and decoding video and heterogeneous networks.

10. according to each described method of claim 1-9, it is characterized in that,

Its meeting control module of passing through described MGW equipment as meeting audio mixing equipment realizes the processing of meeting audio mixing, and the configuration that described Softswitch passes through its meeting control module execution conferencing resource is connected with conference circuit, and

Between the meeting control module of described convention business administrative center and described Softswitch, adopt standard communication protocol, in the meeting control module of described Softswitch and describedly also adopt standard communication protocol between as the conferencing resource processing module in the MGW equipment of meeting audio mixing equipment.

11. method according to claim 10, the communication protocol between the meeting control module of wherein said convention business administrative center and described Softswitch adopts H.225.0 agreement; The meeting control module of described Softswitch and as adopting H.248 agreement between the conferencing resource processing module in the MGW equipment of meeting audio mixing equipment.

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