A method, system, and computer program product for routing network traffic
(calls in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)), which expands the
capabilities of existing systems by providing faster and more efficient
direction of network traffic, is disclosed. A routing management system
includes a routing manager which maintains a list of local routes,
establishes and manages connections to the routing server(s), exports
routes to the routing server(s), imports disseminated routes from the
routing server(s), obtains static global and dynamic routes from the
routing server(s), caches those routes for future use, finds all matching
routes for a particular number dialed by the user, and prioritizing those
routes based on timing, access and ordering information. An additional
embodiment contains at least one routing server which provides look-up
services for gateway server(s), allows export of local routes from
gateway server(s), and distributes translation data, and at least one
gateway server which handles calls received on either the Internet
protocol (IP) or traditional telephony networks. The gateway server
bridges calls between the different kinds of networks, interacts with
users, interfaces with the routing system.