WO2000067403A1

WO2000067403A1 - Dynamic and scheduled computer telephony resource allocation

Info

Publication number: WO2000067403A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/011314
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dale White-Hauser
Original assignee: Dialogic Corporation
Priority date: 1999-04-29
Filing date: 2000-04-26
Publication date: 2000-11-09
Also published as: AU4495000A; US6643367B1

Abstract

A method to efficiently allocate telephony resources on a scheduled and dynamic basis, without requiring the shutting down and restarting of a telephony system, comprising the application of two algorithms (60, 70), one to respond to dynamic changes in resource allocation and one to respond to scheduled resource allocation. The method also makes provision for the modification and/or deactivation of the algorithms, and the manual allocation of resources, all by an operator.

Description

DYNAMIC AND SCHEDULED COMPUTER TELEPHONY RESOURCE ALLOCATION

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to computei telephony, specifically a method to efficiently allocate telephony resources based upon extrinsic circumstances

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern computer telephony systems are capable of processing large amounts of communications, either in the form of bandwidth broken down into specific, "virtual" communication channels or actual, separate communication channels These channels comprise the resources of the system Communication

er these channels may be voice, fax, video, data or other formats In order to process each form of communication, a computer telephony system must configure each specific channel to communicate using a specific format. A computer telephony system may be configured in any of a plurahtyof variations to allocate its resources such that the needs of a specific group of users are met. For example, a computer telephony system may have 800 channels m total, 400 channels configured for voice communications, 300 channels configured for videocommumcations, 80 channels configured for fax communications and 20 channels configured for data communications The problem with the configuration of computer telephony resources is that it is board dependant or static The resources can only be configured upon the start up of the computer telephony system The configuration remains static during the operation of the system In order to reallocate the system lesources to meet changing needs, the system must be shut down, restarted and manualh leconfgured by the system operatoi For example, the above-referenced 800 channel system is set-up m a typical

"daytime" configuration That is, resources are moie heavily allocated to voice and \ ideo than to fax and data because voice and video aie people-intensive formats, 1 e, people are at work during the day and use most of the telephom resouices for voice telephone calls and video-conferencing During evening and o\ ernιght penods it is desirable to more heavih allocate resources to machine-intensive formats such as fax and data, I e , during these time periods, most people are not at work, thus resources pieviously allocated to voice and video can be reallocated to fax and data formats which do not require the presence of people A typical "nighttime" configuration foi an 800 channel system would be 100 channels configured for voice communications, 100 channels for video communication, 300 channels for fax communications and 300 channels for data communications. This reconfiguration requires two things, a system operator and a shut down of the system. The need for an operator presents the obvious problems of 1) insuring that she is present when reconfiguration is desired and 2) her compensation. Further, the shut down and restart of the system, no matter how brief, is unacceptable in this age of 24 hour per day business operations.

A related problem to the predictable or scheduled daytime/nighttime shift in need is the potential occurrence of unforseen shifts in need. For example, an emergency may occur during the middle of the day or a deadline may approach which prompts many people to work late. In either case, the utilization of voice resources approaches 100%. As it does this, the need to allocate more resources towards voice communicaticns becomes great. Unless the system is reconfigured to reallocate resources from other communications to voice, capacity is reached and further voice communications cannot take place. Voice communications are either postponed or, in time-sensitive situations, permanently lost.

This is intolerable. Further, the reallocation of resources, by requiring shutting down and restarting the system, temporarily requires decreasing all resources to zero. This too is an intolerable option, especially during exigent circumstances, because it completely cuts off all communications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above and other problems of the prior art are overcome in accordance with the present invention which relates to a technique to efficiently and automatically allocate telephony resources based upon dynamic and scheduled changes in the priority of communications and demand for resources.

First of all, this method replaces static, board assigned configuration control with an active, non-board based function. This removes the need for the shutting down and restarting of the system whenever the configuration is altered.

The method further comprises the application of at least two algorithms, one to respond to dynamic changes in resource allocation and another to respond to scheduled resource allocation. The two algorithms work in conjunction with one another to determine the optimum configuration with which to allocate the system's resources, depending upon the estimated demand at a given time of day, and depending upon the actual demand at am given point in time The method also makes provision for the modification and/or deactivation of the algorithms, and the manual allocation of resources, all by an operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig 1 shows a high-level block diagram of an exemplary system in accordance with the techniques of the present invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in Fig 1 , telephony system 1 has communication resources, or channels, which are broken down into four types, voice or Type 1 communication 10, video or Type 2 communication 20, fax or Type 3 communication 30, and data oi Type 4 communication 40. All available of system 1 resources are allocated, in some variation, to all four types of communication Allocation function 50 of telephony system 1 is a non-board based control mechanism. Allocation function 50 is directly accessible by an operator and can be controlled by both dynamic and scheduled algorithms. Allocation function 50 is active and can effect running changes to telephony system 1 allocation of resources by the following exemplary control methods:

1. Scheduled Formula Algorithm 60: where t=tιme and wN+xN+yN+zN = Total Number of Channels (resources), at tO, Type 1 resources equal wO. Type 2 resources equal xO, Type 3 resources equal yO, and Type 4 resources equal zO; at tl , Type 1 resources equal wl , Type 2 resources equal xl. Type 3 resources equal yl . and Type 4 lesources equal zl . and at t2, Type 1 resources equal w2. Type 2 resouices equal x2, Type 3 resources equal y2, and Type 4 resources equal z2

2 Dynamic Formula Algorithm 70 at w% of utilization of Type 1 resources, Type 2 resources are decreased x %. Type 3 resources are decreased by y% and Type 4 resources are decreased by z%, and Type 1 resources are increased x%Type2 -^•- y%Type3 z%Type4. such that 100% of all resources are allocated, at w^'% of utilization of Type 2 lesources. Type 1 resources are decreased x %, Type 3 resources are decreased by \ '% and Type 4 resources are decreased by z'%, and Type 2 resources are increased λ %Typel -+- y^'%Type3 + z"%Type4, such that 100%) of all resources are allocated; at w ^λ% of utilization of Type 3 resources. Type 1 resources are decreased x"%. Type 2 resources are decreased by y"% and Type 4 resources are decreased by z^"%, and Type 3 resources are increased x" "%Typel + y"%Type2 + z"%Type4, such that 100% of all resources are allocated; and at w^{Λ , ,}% of utilization of Type 4 resources, Type 1 resources are decreased x" %. Type 2 resources are decreased by y^{, Λ ,}% and Type 4 resources are decreased by z ^{, λ}%, and Type 3 resources are increased χ^{, Λ ,}%)Typel + \ " ^,%Type2 + z^{Λ , ,}%Type3. such that 100% of all resources are allocated. 3. Manual Resource Allocation 80: a. Operator modification of scheduled formula algorithm 60. The operator can vary the schedule of resource allocation and the amount of resources allocated to a specific communication type at any given point in time; b. Operator modification of dynamic formula algorithm 70. The operator can vary threshold parameters at which resource reallocation will take place and the percentage of resources allocated to a specific communication type at any given threshold; and c. Direct operator input of how resources are allocated among communication types, regardless of algorithm-dictated allocation. In the preferred embodiment, scheduled formula algorithm 60 is the default algorithm controlling allocation function 50 Under normal circumstances, channels are allocated among the communication types pursuant to the schedule of algorithm 60 In practice, unscheduled events will inevitably arise which will cause the need of a certain type of communication for resources to exceed the parameters of scheduled formula algorithm 60. Dynamic formula algorithm 70 analyzes the need for resources, exclusive of time W hen a utilization threshold w% is exceeded, indicating that demand for channels bya specific communication type is near exceeding allocated capacity . dynamic formula algorithm 70 ox erndes scheduled formula algorithm 60 and configures s\ stem 1 resources to match the immediate need. In situations where a communication type is not bemg taxed in excess of w % thresholds, allocation function 50 will follow the scheduled formula algorithm 60 in anticipation of the load that will be put on system 1 during a specific period of time. Algorithms 60 and 70 can be modified, deactivated oi overridden via manual operator input 80 Scheduled formula algorithm 60 can be varied to change the schedule of resource allocation and the amount of resources allocated to a specific communication type at any given point in time Dynamic formula algorithm 70 can be varied to change w% thresholds at which resource reallocation will take place and the percentage of resources allocated to a specific communication type Manual operator input 80 may also be used to set static resource allocation, giving each communication type a fixed number of channels dictated by an operatoi who feels that the best allocation of resources cannot be achieved by using either algorithm but can be achieved through human input The above describes the preferred embodiment of the invention Dynamic formula algorithm 70 is simplified for exemplary purposes In practice, dynamic formula algorithm 70 can involve additional steps to further prioritize communication types in relation to each other, such that when for more than one communication type exceeds the algorithm threshold, the algorithm determines an optimum allocation to remedy any conflict between the communication types. It is understood that various modifications or additions will be apparent to those of skill in the art. Such additions are intended to be covered by the claims appended hereto

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED:

1. A method for allocating telephony resources in a computer telephony system comprising: an active resource allocation function that utilizes. a scheduled formula algorithm for allocating said telephony resources on a time basis; a dynamic formula algorithm for allocating said telephony resources on an demand basis; and a manual resource allocation function for modifying and/or deactivating said scheduled formula algorithm and said dynamic formula algorithm, said manual resource allocation function also allowing direct allocation of said telephony resources by an operator.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the system resources comprise raw digital bandwidth broken down into virtual communication channels.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the system resources comprise separate communication channels.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the system resources comprise voice communication channels, video communication channels, fax communication channels, and data communication channels.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said dynamic formula algorithm allocates said telephony resources when a threshold of resource utilization is exceeded

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said dynamic formula algorithm overrides said scheduled formula algorithm when said threshold of lesource utilization is exceeded.

7. A communication system for processing \ oice video data and facsimile images, said communication system comprising of a plurality of channels, each channel being configured to effectuate an independent communications link with a remote equipment, said communication system comprising' means for measuring time; and means for changing system resouice allocation such that channels previously configured to communicate with video, facsimile, voice, oi data are reconfigured as channels for communicating w ith a different one of voice video, data, or facsimile.

9. The method of claim 6 furthei comprising means for measuring system loading for each of said four types of channels, and for reallocating system resources such that the number of channels for at least one of said types changes in response to system loading.