CLIENT-SERVER ARCHITECTURE USING INTERNET AND GUARANTEED QUALITY OF SERVICE NETWORKS FOR ACCESSING DISTRIBUTED MEDIA SOURCES

An improved client-server architecture of the present invention utilizes the advantages of known QOS networks to provide guaranteed quality of service, security, and a charge mechanism for handling requests initiated over a packet network, such as the Internet, for access to distributed media sources. Such media sources may be independent of the QOS network provider and may be located by browsing the Internet. A method of operating a client-server network enables the system level merger of the Internet and a guaranteed QOS network, such as the public switched telephone network, in order to provide the users with a complete information superhighway today. It will appear to the average user that the Internet and the QOS network are fused together. Thus, when a user, connected to the Internet, selects an application that requires functionalities offered by the telephone network, such as guaranteed QOS delivery of media information or customized billing, the Internet-resident application will communicate information to a server, which will in turn initiate a session over the QOS network for delivery of the required information to the client using client information transmitted from the client (or from the application) to the server over the established Internet session. The client information may include a client account number, login and password, and/or phone number to enable the server to establish the switched network connection to the client. Accordingly, media sources which are separate and independent from the QOS network provider may be accessed using a secure, guaranteed QOS network in a manner providing for ease of identification and billing.