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EP-4740423-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTING AT LEAST ONE MEDIA RESOURCE FUNCTION (MRF) SERVER

EP4740423A1EP 4740423 A1EP4740423 A1EP 4740423A1EP-4740423-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system (115) and a method (500) for selecting at least one MRF server (125) in a network (105) The system includes a configuration module (325) to configure a plurality of MRF pools (125a, 125b). The system (115) includes a transceiver module (320) to receive a service request. The system includes a selection module (330) to select a MRF pool (125a, 125b) based on the received request. The health status monitoring module (335) checks the health status of a primary and a secondary MRF servers (130a, 130b, 135a, 135b) and the selection module (230) selects the primary MRF server (130a, 130b) based on a pre-defined criteria. A switching module (340) switches to the secondary MRF server (135a, 135b) when each of the primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) does not meet the pre-defined criteria. Thereby, the system (115) manages MRF servers in the network (105).

Inventors

  • BHATNAGAR, AAYUSH
  • BISHT, BIRENDRA
  • Singh, Harbinder Pal
  • GUPTA, SANDEEP
  • KUMAR, ABHAY

Assignees

  • Jio Platforms Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240627

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A method (500) for selecting at least one Media Resource Function (MRF) server (125) in a network (105), the method (500) comprises the steps of: configuring, by one or more processors (305), a plurality of MRF pools (125a, 125b), each MRF pool (125a) includes at least a primary pool (130) and a secondary pool (135), the primary pool (130) including a plurality of primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) and a secondary pool (135) including a plurality of secondary MRF servers (135a, 135b), each MRF pool (125a) adapted to provide at least one service offered by a service provider; receiving, by the one or more processors (305), a service request initiated by a user to avail one or more services; selecting, by the one or more processors (305), at least one MRF pool (125a) from the plurality of MRF pools (125a, 125b) relevant to provide the one or more services related to the service request; checking in real time, by the one or more processors (305), health status of each of the primary MRF server of the plurality of primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) belonging to the primary pool (130) of the selected MRF pool (125a); selecting, by the one or more processors (305), at least one primary MRF server (130a) from the primary pool (130) whose health status meets a pre-defined criteria; and switching, by the one or more processors (305), to at least one secondary MRF server (135a) of the secondary pool (135) when the health status of each of the primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) does not meet the predefined criteria, thereby maintaining service continuity.
  2. 2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary pool (130) and secondary pools (135) are paired for each MRF pool (125a, 125b).
  3. 3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) of the primary pool (130) are configured as primary servers (130a, 130b) to provide the services as per the user request.
  4. 4. The method (500)as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of secondary MRF servers (135a, 135b) of the secondary pool (135) are configured as backup for service execution in the event the health status of none of the primary servers (130a, 130b) meet the pre-defined criteria.
  5. 5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of switching, to at least one secondary MRF server (135a) of the secondary pool (135) when the health status of each of the primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) does not meet the pre-defined criteria, includes the step of: selecting, by the one or more processors (305), the at least one secondary MRF server (135a) from the secondary pool (135) whose health status meets the pre-defined criteria.
  6. 6. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-defined criteria include the primary MRF server (130a, 130b) and the secondary MRF server (135a, 135b) being at least one of, available, working condition, sufficient number of resources to handle services requested by users, number of requests received from users are within an acceptable range or values, wherein the availability of the MRF server (130a, 130b, 135a, 135b) is when the said MRF server (130a, 130b, 135a, 135b) is online.
  7. 7. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (305) inspect each primary MRF server (130a, 130b) from the primary pool (130) for selection and each secondary MRF server (135a, 135b) of the secondary pool (135) for switching based on a pre-defined sequence, wherein the pre-defined sequence is at least one of, round robin.
  8. 8. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method (500) further comprises the step of: selecting, by the one or more processors (305), at least one primary MRF server (130a) from the primary pool (130) in a pre-defined sequence when all the plurality of primary MRF servers meet (130a, 130b) the predefined criteria, thereby balancing the load pertaining to the service request received from the user.
  9. 9. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (305), checks the health status of each of the primary MRF server of the plurality of MRF servers (130a, 130b) of the primary pool (130) belonging to the selected MRF pool (125a) based on, transmitting a health request and monitors if the response to the health request is received within a pre-defined time period from the respective server.
  10. 10. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of: switching, by the one or more processors (305), to a consecutive primary MRF server (130b) within the primary pool (130) which meets the pre-defined criteria in response to the at least one selected primary MRF server (130a) from the primary pool (130) does not meet the pre-defined criteria, thereby not switching to the secondary MRF server (135a) of the secondary pool (135) until none of the primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) meet the predefined criteria.
  11. 11. A system (115) for selecting at least one Media Resource Function (MRF) server (125) in a network (105), the system (115) comprising: a configuration module (325) configured to, configure, a plurality of MRF pools (125a, 125b), each MRF pool (125a) includes atleast a primary pool (130) and a secondary pool (135), the primary pool (130) including a plurality of primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) and a secondary pool (135) including a plurality of secondary MRF servers (135a, 135b), each MRF pool (125a) adapted to provide at least one service offered by a service provider; a transceiver (320) configured to, receive, a service request initiated by a user to avail one or more services; a selection module (330) configured to, select, at least one MRF pool (125a) from the plurality of MRF pools (125a, 125b) relevant to provide the one or more services related to the service request; a health status monitoring module (335) configured to, check in real time, health status of each of the primary MRF server of the plurality of primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) belonging to the primary pool (130) of the selected MRF pool (125a); the selection module (330) configured to, select, at least one primary MRF server (130a) from the primary pool (130) whose health status meets a pre-defined criteria; and a switching module (340) configured to, switch, to at least one secondary MRF server (135a) of the secondary pool (135) when the health status of each of the primary MRF servers ( 130a, 130b) does not meet the predefined criteria, thereby maintaining service continuity.
  12. 12. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the primary pool (130) and secondary pools (135) are paired for each MRF pool (125a, 125b).
  13. 13. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, the plurality of primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) of the primary pool (130) are configured as primary servers (130a, 130b) to provide the services as per the user request.
  14. 14. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the plurality of secondary MRF servers (135a, 135b) of the secondary pool (135) are configured as backup for service execution in the event the health status of none of the primary servers (130a, 130b) meet the pre-defined criteria.
  15. 15. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switching module (340) is further configured to: select the at least one secondary MRF server (135a) from the secondary pool (135) whose health status meets the pre-defined criteria.
  16. 16. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the pre-defined criteria include the primary MRF server (130a, 130b) and the secondary MRF server (135a, 135b) being atleast one of, available, working condition, sufficient number of resources to handle services requested by users, number of requests received from users are within an acceptable range or values, wherein the availability of the MRF server (130a, 130b, 135a, 135b) is when the said MRF server (130a, 130b, 135a, 135b) is online.
  17. 17. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the health status monitoring module (335) inspect each primary MRF server (130a, 130b) from the primary pool (130) for selection and each secondary MRF server (135a, 135b) of the secondary pool (135) for switching based on a pre-defined sequence, wherein the pre-defined sequence is at least one of, round robin.
  18. 18. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the selection module (330) is further configured to: select, at least one primary MRF server (130a) from the primary pool (130) in a pre-defined sequence when all the plurality of primary MRF servers meet (130a, 130b) the pre-defined criteria, thereby balancing the load pertaining to the service request received from the user.
  19. 19. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the health status monitoring module (335) is further configured to, check the health status of each of the primary MRF server of the plurality of MRF servers (130a, 130b) of the primary pool (130) belonging to the selected MRF pool (125a) based on, transmitting a health request and monitors if the response to the health request is received within a pre-defined time period from the respective server.
  20. 20. The system (115) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switching module (340) is further configured to: switch, to a consecutive primary MRF server (130b) within the primary pool (130) which meets the pre-defined criteria in response to the at least one selected primary MRF server ( 130a) from the primary pool ( 130) does not meet the pre-defined criteria, thereby not switching to the secondary MRF server (135a) of the secondary pool (135) until none of the primary MRF servers (130a, 130b) meet the pre-defined criteria.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTING AT LEAST ONE MEDIA RESOURCE FUNCTION (MRF) SERVER FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to communication networks, and more particularly relates to selecting at least one Media Resource Function (MRF) server in a network. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Telephony services have evolved significantly over the years, enabling businesses and individuals to communicate effectively over vast distances. With the advent of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), telephony services have become more versatile, scalable, and cost-effective. To deliver advanced telephony features, such as conferencing and virtual PBX, businesses often utilize a BTAS, which acts as a central server managing the telephony applications and services. [0003] Traditionally, the integration of different MRF servers with the BTAS for providing various services and announcements has been a complex task. MRF servers are responsible for processing media streams, such as voice announcements or conference audio, in telephony systems. Each MRF server may support different protocols, making it challenging to connect and coordinate between them and the BTAS. Furthermore, in the event of MRF or MRF pool failure, ensuring uninterrupted service continuity becomes crucial to avoid disruption and inconvenience to users. [0004] Existing solutions attempt to address these challenges, but they often require significant development efforts and lack flexibility. The need to modify the BTAS software to connect with different MRF servers for specific services leads to complexity and delays in deploying new services or making changes. Moreover, load balancing and seamless traffic handling in case of MRF failures are not efficiently addressed, resulting in service interruptions and dissatisfied users. [0005] Therefore, there is a need for an advancement for a system and method that can overcome at least one of the above shortcomings, particularly to manage integration of different Media Resource Function (MRF) servers with the BTAS and ensuring service continuity in the event of MRF or MRF pool failures. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method for managing Media Resource Function (MRF) servers in a network. [0007] In one aspect of the present invention, the system for selecting at least one MRF server in the network is disclosed. The system includes a configuring module to configure a plurality of MRF pools. Each MRF pool include at least a primary pool and a secondary pool. The primary pool includes a plurality of primary MRF servers, and a secondary pool includes a plurality of secondary MRF servers. Each of the MRF pools is adapted to provide at least one of one or more services offered by a service provider. The system further includes a transceiver configured to receive a service request initiated by a user via User Equipment (UE) to avail one or more services. The system further includes a selection module configured to select at least one MRF pool from the plurality of MRF pools relevant to provide the one or more services related to the service request. The system further includes a health status monitoring module configured to check in real time the health status of each of the primary MRF servers of the plurality of primary MRF servers belonging to the primary pool of the selected MRF pool. The selection module is further configured to select at least one primary MRF server from the primary pool whose health status meets a pre-defined criteria. The system further includes a switching module configured to switch to at least one secondary MRF server of the secondary pool when the health status of each of the primary MRF servers does not meet the pre-defined criteria, thereby maintaining service continuity. [0008] The system is further configured to utilize the primary and secondary pools that are paired for each MRF pool. The plurality of primary MRF servers of the primary pool is configured as primary servers to provide the services as per the user request. The plurality of secondary MRF servers of the secondary pool is configured as a backup for a service execution in the event the health status of none of the primary servers meet the pre-defined criteria. The system is further configured to select at least one secondary MRF server from the secondary pool whose health status meets the predefined criteria, when the health status of each of the primary MRF servers does not meet the pre-defined criteria. The pre-defined criteria include the primary MRF server and the secondary MRF server being at least one of, available, working condition, sufficient number of resources to handle services requested by users, number of requests received from users are within an acceptable range or values. The availability of the MRF server is when the said MRF server is online. [0009] In another embodiment,