Method for handling conversational transactions in a distributed processing environment

Claim 2

In a distributed processing system having at least an originating and a responding node connected through a communication path wherein the responding node comprises a plurality of processors and a memory device, wherein each of said processors has a corresponding database associated therewith and residing within said memory device, a method for use in processing successive portions of a conversational transaction using different ones of said processors comprising the steps of: in a first one of the processors in said responding node: processing a first portion of a conversational transaction as specified by a first record, wherein the first record defines a manner in which the conversational transaction is to be completely processed and is located within a first database residing within the memory device and associated with the first processor; storing context information for the conversational transaction as a second record at a pre-defined address in the first database, wherein the context information defines a current state of the conversational transaction; and producing a first message, as part of the conversational transaction for transmission from said responding node over said communication path to said originating node wherein the first message contains a request for application information from the originating node, and a first transaction identifier field having a value that corresponds to said pre-defined address, said application information being defined by the first record and required for processing a second portion of the conversational transaction subsequent to said first portion; in said originating node; generating a second message, as part of said conversational transaction and in response to said first message, for transmission over said communication path to said responding node, wherein said second message contains the application information, furnished in response to said request, and a second transaction identifier field having the same value as the first transaction identifier field; and in a second one of said processors in said responding node and different from the first one of said processors: receiving said second message; generating the pre-defined address from the value of the second transaction identifier field contained in the second message; accessing, in response to said pre-defined address generating step, the context information from said first database; and processing the second portion of the conversational transaction using the application information contained in said second message and commencing at a point in the first record defined by the context information.

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 wherein, in said first one of the processors, said producing step comprises the step of inserting an instruction field into said first message wherein said instruction field specifies a pre-defined item of the application information, said item being defined by said first record and required by said responding node to process the second portion of the conversational transaction; and wherein, in said originating node, the second message generating step comprises the step of inserting a protocol field into the second message wherein said protocol field contains the item of application information.

Claim 4

The method in claim 2 further comprising, in said second one of the processors, the step of updating the context information stored in said second record to reflect the current state of the conversational transaction.

Claim 5

The method of claim 3 wherein the first record is a customer record and, in the first one of the processors, the first message producing step comprises the step of preforming a database look up operation into the customer record to determine the pre-defined item of information required to process the second portion of the conversational transaction.

Claim 6

The method in claim 4 further comprising, in the first one of the processors, the steps of: receiving a request from said originating node to process a conversational transaction; and performing said first portion processing step in response to said request.

Claim 7

The method of claim 4 further comprising, in said first one of the processors, the step of forming said first transaction identifier to contain a plurality of separate fields wherein first, second and third ones of said separate fields contain corresponding numbers that respectively identify a specific one of the processors, a specific software process executing on the specific processor and a relative address pointing to a desired one of a plurality of second records residing within a context file situated in said first database.

Claim 8

The method in claim 4 wherein said communication path comprises a signalling network having an internal node and being interconnected between said originating and responding nodes wherein each of the processors in the responding node is connected through a separate corresponding front end processor located in said responding node to a physical link in a link set that connects the responding node to the internal node and said method further comprises the step of distributing messages being transmitted from said internal node to said responding node on a substantially equal basis over individual physical links then active in the link set.

Claim 9

The method in claim 7 in which the originating node is a service switching point, the responding node is a service control point and the internal node is a signal transfer point.

Claim 10

The method in claim 4 wherein said first database comprises a context file formed of a plurality of second records and further comprises, in said first one of the processors, the steps of: storing a relative address to a first one of the second records in the context file as an index value, said second records forming the context file within said first database; and incrementing the index value after each successive one of the second records has been established in the context file.

Claim 11

The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of permitting the index value to roll over to a relative address associated with the first one of the second records in the context file after said index has been incremented past a relative address associated with a last one of the second records in the context file.

Claim 12

The method in claim 10 wherein said first message producing step comprises the step of forming said first transaction identifier to contain a plurality of separate fields wherein first, second and third ones of said separate fields contain corresponding numbers that respectively identify a specific one of the processors, a specific software process executing on the specific processor and a relative address pointing to a desired one of the plurality of second records residing within the context file situated in said first database.

Claim 13

In a distributed processing system having at least an originating and a responding node connected through a communicating path wherein the responding node comprises a plurality of processors and a memory device, wherein each of said processors has a corresponding database associated therewith and residing within said memory device, a method for use in processing successive portions of a conversational transaction using different ones of said processors comprising the steps of: in said originating node: generating, in response to an incoming request for a specific service, a corresponding request to begin a conversational transaction; transmitting the corresponding request over said communication path to said responding node; in a first one of the processors in said responding node: receiving said corresponding request; processing, in response to said corresponding request, a first portion of a conversational transaction as specified by a first record, wherein the first record defines a manner in which the conversational transaction is to be completely processed and is located within a first database residing within the memory device and associated with the first processor; creating a second record at a pre-defined address in the first database; storing context information for the conversational transaction within the second record, wherein the context information defines a current state of the conversational transaction; producing a first message, as part of the conversational transaction for transmission from said responding node over said communication path to said originating node wherein the first message contains a request for application information from the originating node, and a first transaction identifier field having a value that corresponds to said pre-defined address, said application information being defined by the first record and required for processing a second portion of the conversational transaction subsequent to said first portion; and transmitting said first message to said originating node; in said originating node; receiving said first message; and generating a second message, as part of said conversational transaction and in response to said first message, for transmission over said communication path to said responding node, wherein said second message contains the application information, furnished in response to said request, and a second transaction identifier field having the same value as the first transaction identifier field; and in a second one of said processors in said responding node and different from the first one of said processors: receiving said second message; generating the pre-defined address from the value of the second transaction identifier field contained in the second message; accessing, in response to said pre-defined address generating step, the context information from said first database; processing the second portion of the conversational transaction using the application information contained in said second message and commencing at a point in the first record defined by the context information so as to provide a response message; and transmitting said response message to said originating node to conclude the conversational transaction such that the originating node is able to provide the specific service.

Claim 14

In a distributed processing system having at least an originating and a responding node connected through a communicating path wherein the responding node comprises a plurality of processors and a memory device, wherein each of said processors has a corresponding database associated therewith and residing within said memory device, a method for use in processing successive portions of a conversational transaction using different ones of said processors comprising the steps of: in said originating node: generating, in response to an incoming request for a specific service, a corresponding request to begin a conversational transaction; transmitting the corresponding request over said communication path to said responding node; in a first one of the processors in said responding node: receiving said corresponding request; processing, in response to said corresponding request, a first portion of a conversational transaction as specified by a first record, wherein the first record defines a manner in which the conversational transaction is to be completely processed and is located within a first database residing within the memory device and associated with the first processor; creating a second record at a pre-defined address in the first database; storing context information for the conversational transaction within the second record, wherein the context information defines a current state of the conversational transaction; producing a first message, as part of the conversational transaction for transmission from said responding node over said communication path to said originating node wherein the first message contains a request for application information from the originating node, and a first transaction identifier field having a value that corresponds to said pre-defined address, said application information being defined by the first record and required for processing a second portion of the conversational transaction subsequent to said first portion; and transmitting said first message to said originating node; in said originating node; receiving said first message; and generating a second message, as part of said conversational transaction and in response to said first message, for transmission over said communication path to said responding node, wherein said second message contains the application information, furnished in response to said request, and a second transaction identifier field having the same value as the first transaction identifier field; and in a second one of said processors in said responding node and different from the first one of said processors: receiving said second message; generating the pre-defined address from the value of the second transaction identifier field contained in the second message; accessing, in response to said pre-defined address generating step, the context information from said first database; processing the second portion of the conversational transaction using the application information contained in said second message and commencing at a point in the first record defined by the context information so as to provide a response message; and transmitting said response message to said originating node to conclude the conversational transaction such that the originating node is able to provide the specific service.

Claim 15

The method of claim 12 further comprising, in said second one of the processors, the step of updating the context information stored in said second record to reflect the current state of the conversational transaction.

Claim 16

The method of claim 13 wherein the first record is a customer record and, in the first one of the processors, the first message producing step comprises the step of preforming a database look up operation into the customer record to determine the pre-defined item of information required to process the second portion of the conversational transaction.

Claim 17

The method of claim 14 wherein said communication path comprises a signalling network having an internal node and being interconnected between said originating and responding nodes wherein each of the processors in the responding node is connected through a separate corresponding front end processor located in said responding node to a physical link in a link set that connects the responding node to the internal node and said method further comprises the step of distributing messages being transmitted from said internal node to said responding node on a substantially equal basis over individual physical links then active in the link set.

Claim 18

The method of claim 14 wherein said first database comprises a context file formed of a plurality of second records and further comprises, in said first one of the processors, the steps of: storing a relative address to a first one of the second records in the context file as an index value, said second records forming the context file within said first database; and incrementing the index value after each successive one of the second records has been established in the context file.

Claim 19

The method of claim 16 wherein said first message producing step comprises the step of forming said first transaction identifier to contain a plurality of separate fields wherein first, second and third ones of said separate fields contain corresponding numbers that respectively identify a specific one of the processors, a specific software process executing on the specific processor and a relative address pointing to a desired one of the plurality of second records residing within the context file situated in said first database.

Claim 20

In a system for processing calls for network services, said system having a service switching point (SSP) and a service control point (SCP) connected through a signalling network containing a signal transfer point (STP) and wherein the SCP comprises a plurality of processors and a memory device, wherein each of the processors has a corresponding database associated therewith and residing within said memory device, a method for use in processing successive portions of a conversational transaction using different ones of said processors comprising the steps of: in the SSP: generating a query message to begin a conversational transaction in response to an incoming call for a desired network service; and transmitting the query message over said network to the SCP; in a first one of the processors in the SCP: receiving said query message; processing, in response to said query message, a first portion of a conversational transaction as specified by a first record, wherein the first record defines a manner in which the conversational transaction is to be completely processed and is located within a first database residing within the memory device and associated with the first processor; creating a second record at a pre-defined address in the first database; storing context information for the conversational transaction within the second record, wherein the context information defines a current state of the conversational transaction; producing a first message, as part of the conversational transaction for transmission from said SCP over said communication path to said SSP wherein the first message contains a request for application information from the SSP, and a first transaction identifier field having a value that corresponds to said pre-defined address, said application information being defined by the first record and required for processing a second portion of the conversational transaction subsequent to said first portion; and transmitting said first message to the SSP; in the SSP: receiving said first message; and generating a second message, as part of said conversational transaction and in response to said first message, for transmission over said network to said SCP, wherein said second message contains the application information, furnished in response to said request, and a second transaction identifier field having the same value as the first transaction identifier field; and in a second one of said processors in the SCP and different from the first one of said processors: receiving said second message; generating the pre-defined address from the value of the second transaction identifier field contained in the second message; accessing, in response to said pre-defined address generating step, the context information from said first database; processing the second portion of the conversational transaction using the application information contained in said second message and commencing at a point in the first record defined by the context information so as to provide a response message; and transmitting said response message to said SSP to conclude the conversational transaction such that the SSP is able to provide the desired network service.

Claim 21

In a system for processing calls for network services, said system having a service switching point (SSP) and a service control point (SCP) connected through a signalling network containing a signal transfer point (STP) and wherein the SCP comprises a plurality of processors and a memory device, wherein each of the processors has a corresponding database associated therewith and residing within said memory device, a method for use in processing successive portions of a conversational transaction using different ones of said processors comprising the steps of: in the SSP: generating a query message to begin a conversational transaction in response to an incoming call for a desired network service; and transmitting the query message over said network to the SCP; in a first one of the processors in the SCP: receiving said query message; processing, in response to said query message, a first portion of a conversational transaction as specified by a first record, wherein the first record defines a manner in which the conversational transaction is to be completely processed and is located within a first database residing within the memory device and associated with the first processor; creating a second record at a pre-defined address in the first database; storing context information for the conversational transaction within the second record, wherein the context information defines a current state of the conversational transaction; producing a first message, as part of the conversational transaction for transmission from said SCP over said communication path to said SSP wherein the first message contains a request for application information from the SSP, and a first transaction identifier field having a value that corresponds to said pre-defined address, said application information being defined by the first record and required for processing a second portion of the conversational transaction subsequent to said first portion; and transmitting said first message to the SSP; in the SSP: receiving said first message; and generating a second message, as part of said conversational transaction and in response to said first message, for transmission over said network to said SCP, wherein said second message contains the application information, furnished in response to said request, and a second transaction identifier field having the same value as the first transaction identifier field; and in a second one of said processors in the SCP and different from the first one of said processors: receiving said second message; generating the pre-defined address from the value of the second transaction identifier field contained in the second message; accessing, in response to said pre-defined address generating step, the context information from said first database; processing the second portion of the conversational transaction using the application information contained in said second message and commencing at a point in the first record defined by the context information so as to provide a response message; and transmitting said response message to said SSP to conclude the conversational transaction such that the SSP is able to provide the desired network service.

Claim 22

The method of claim 18 wherein the first record is a customer record and, in the first one of the processors, the first message producing step comprises the step of preforming a database look up operation into the customer record to determine the pre-defined item of information required to process the second portion of the conversational transaction.

Claim 23

The method of claim 19 wherein each of the processors in the SCP is connected through a separate corresponding front end processor located in the SCP to a physical link in a link set that connects the SCP to the STP and said method further comprises the step of distributing messages being transmitted from the STP to said SCP on a substantially equal basis over individual physical links then active in the link set.

Claim 24

The method of claim 20 wherein said first database comprises a context file formed of a plurality of second records and further comprises, in said first one of the processors, the steps of: storing a relative address to a fist one of the second records in the context file as an index value, said second records forming the context file within said first database; and incrementing the index value after each successive one of the second records has been established in the context file.

Claim 25

The method of claim 21 wherein said first message producing step comprises the step of forming said first transaction identifier to contain a plurality of separate fields wherein first, second and third ones of said separate fields contain corresponding numbers that respectively identify a specific one of the processors, a specific software process executing on the specific processor and a relative address pointing to a desired one of the plurality of second records residing within the context file situated in said first database.