Central conferencing routing server

• US 10,212,073 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2018
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellison, Gregory Thomas, Broadworth, Andrew James
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thai
• Application Number:
  US15/935,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20180213011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 330 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/44 Distributed routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for collaboration conferencing with multiple participants over a communications network, and more specifically for a conferencing routing service for managing and routing collaboration participants.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining, by a computing device, a list of master identification numbers associated with a plurality of customers of a communications network;

determining a priority list of conference bridges for a first customer of the plurality of customers;

receiving, after determining the priority list for the first customer, a communication from a user associated with the first customer to establish a collaboration conference on the communications network; and

in response to the receiving step;

associating the user with a first master identification number from the list of master identification numbers;

analyzing performance information for one or more conference bridges associated with the network;

automatically selecting one of the one or more conference bridges associated with the network for hosting the collaboration conference based at least on the priority list and the performance information; and

automatically causing the collaboration conference to be initiated on the first conference bridge.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication from the user of the communications network comprises a telephone number and an access code number.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining at least one routing rule associated with the first master identification number.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

selecting the first conference bridge based at least on the at least one routing rule.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting one or more routing messages to the communications network, wherein the one or more routing messages include an indication of the selected first conference bridge.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the performance information from the one or more conference bridges associated with the network comprises an indicator of technical capabilities of the one or more conference bridges.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein at least one of the one or more conference bridges is a session initiation protocol (SIP) based telecommunication device.

8. A system for selecting a conference bridge associated with a communications network for hosting a collaboration conference event, the system comprising:

a network interface unit configured to receive a communication from a user associated with a first customer of a plurality of customers of the communications network to establish the collaboration conference event on the network;

a processing device in communication with the network interface unit; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to maintain a list of master identification numbers associated with a plurality of customers of the communications network, including at least a first master identification number associated with the first customer,

wherein the computer-readable medium is connected to the processing device and is configured to store information and instructions that, when executed by the processing device, performs the operations of;

determining a priority list of conference bridges for a first customer of the plurality of customers;

storing the priority list for the first customer prior to the network interface unit receiving the communication from the user;

associating the user with a first master identification number from the list of master identification numbers stored in the computer-readable medium;

analyzing performance information for the one or more conference bridges associated with the network;

selecting a first conference bridge of the one or more conference bridges associated with the network for hosting the collaboration conference event based at least on the priority list and the performance information; and

automatically causing the collaboration conference event to be initiated on the first conference bridge.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the communication from the user of the communications network comprises a telephone number and an access code number.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium maintains at least one routing rule associated with the first master identification number and wherein the processing device selects the first conference bridge based at least on the at least one routing rule.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to further perform the operation of:

transmitting one or more routing messages to the communications network, wherein the one or more routing messages include an indication of the selected first conference bridge.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the performance information from the one or more conference bridges associated with the network comprises an indicator of technical capabilities of the one or more conference bridges.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein at least one of the one or more conference bridges is a session initiation protocol (SIP) based telecommunication device.