Determining pairings of telephone numbers and IP addresses from caching and peer-to-peer lookup

摘要

A method for a first device (102) to communicate with a second device (104) over a public computer network (106) includes detecting a user dialing a telephone number of the second device and searching a pairing list (103) for a pairing including the telephone number and an IP address of the second device. If the pairing is found in the pairing list (103), the method then includes using the IP address in the pairing to establish a computer network connection with the second device (104) over the public computer network and exchanging data packets with the second device (104). If the pairing is not found in the pairing list (103), the method then includes using a peer-to-peer lookup protocol to find the pairing. If the pairing is not found using the peer-to-peer lookup protocol, the method then includes establishing a telephone connection with the second device (104) over a telephone network (108) to receive the IP address.