Providing web real-time communications (WebRTC) media services via WebRTC-enabled media servers, and related methods, systems, and computer-readable media

• US 10,581,927 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2014
• Issued: 03/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Ezell, Joel, Yoakum, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Todd, Gregory G
• Application Number:
  US14/255,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20150304379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,147 Days
• 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 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4046 with distributed floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1093 Some peer nodes performing special functions

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system for providing WebRTC media services comprises a WebRTC-enabled media server including a scripting engine, a WebRTC functionality provider, and a control application programming interface (API). The WebRTC-enabled media server is configured to receive, from a WebRTC application server, a stream establishment application, and to establish, via the stream establishment application, a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows associated with a corresponding plurality of WebRTC clients. The WebRTC-enabled media server is also configured to apply a media service to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows to generate one or more media server flows, and provide the media server flows to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients. The WebRTC-enabled media server may thus provide functionality via familiar WebRTC control interfaces.

Claims

1. A system for providing Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) media services, comprising:

at least one communications interface;

a processor; and

a computer readable medium coupled with the processor and comprising processor readable and executable instructions that program the processor to implement a WebRTC-enabled media server comprising a scripting engine, a WebRTC functionality provider, a control application program interface (API) providing an interface between the scripting engine and the WebRTC functionality provider, and a WebRTC client API, the WebRTC-enabled media server communicatively coupled to a WebRTC application server and a plurality of WebRTC clients via the at least one communications interface;

wherein the WebRTC-enabled media server;

receives, from the WebRTC application server, a stream establishment application;

establishes, via execution of the stream establishment application by the scripting engine and through the WebRTC client API, a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows associated with corresponding ones of the plurality of WebRTC clients through a WebRTC initiation dialogue between the stream establishment application of the Web-RTC-enabled media server and each of the plurality of WebRTC clients, wherein the WebRTC-enabled media server interacts through the WebRTC client API with the WebRTC clients as a WebRTC peer and provides media server functionality based on media server commands received from the WebRTC application server through the control API;

applies a media service to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows to generate one or more media server flows; and

provides the one or more media server flows to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the WebRTC-enabled media server receives the stream establishment application in response to a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request or a Web Sockets request, or combinations thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the control API receives a media server command from the WebRTC application server; and

the WebRTC functionality provider applies a media service indicated by the media server command to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the control API receives the media server command via a Representational State Transfer (REST) API invocation or a JavaScript API invocation.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the WebRTC functionality provider generates a media server event responsive to applying the media service to the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows; and

the control API provides the media server event to the WebRTC application server.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the control API provides the media server event via a REST API or a JavaScript API.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the control API comprises a JavaScript API; and

the WebRTC-enabled media server further receives a media control application configured to access the functionality of the WebRTC functionality provider via the control API.

8. A method for providing Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) media services, comprising:

providing, by a WebRTC-enabled media server executing on a computing device, a scripting engine, a WebRTC functionality provider, a control application programming interface (API) providing an interface between the scripting engine and the WebRTC functionality provider, and a WebRTC client API;

receiving, by the WebRTC-enabled media server, a stream establishment application from a WebRTC application server;

establishing, via execution of the stream establishment application by the scripting engine and through the WebRTC client API, a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows associated with corresponding ones of a plurality of WebRTC clients through a WebRTC initiation dialogue between the stream establishment application of the Web-RTC-enabled media server and each of the plurality of WebRTC clients, wherein the WebRTC-enabled media server interacts through the WebRTC client API with the WebRTC clients as a WebRTC peer and provides media server functionality based on media server commands received from the WebRTC application server through the control API;

applying a media service to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows to generate one or more media server flows; and

providing the one or more media server flows to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the stream establishment application comprises receiving the stream establishment application in response to a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request or a Web Sockets request, or combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, via the control API, a media server command from the WebRTC application server; and

applying a media service indicated by the media server command to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the media server command comprises receiving the media server command via a Representational State Transfer (REST) API invocation or a JavaScript API invocation.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating a media server event responsive to applying the media service to the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows; and

providing, via the control API, the media server event to the WebRTC application server.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the media server event comprises providing the media server event via a REST API or a JavaScript API.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the control API comprises a JavaScript API; and

the method further comprises receiving a media control application configured to access the functionality of the WebRTC functionality provider via the control API.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement a method for providing Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) media services, comprising:

providing, by a WebRTC-enabled media server, a scripting engine, a WebRTC functionality provider, a control application programming interface (API) providing an interface between the scripting engine and the WebRTC functionality provider, and a WebRTC client API;

receiving, by the WebRTC-enabled media server, a stream establishment application from a WebRTC application server;

establishing, via execution of the stream establishment application by the scripting engine and through the WebRTC client API, a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows associated with corresponding ones of a plurality of WebRTC clients through a WebRTC initiation dialogue between the stream establishment application of the Web-RTC-enabled media server and each of the plurality of WebRTC clients, wherein the WebRTC-enabled media server interacts through the WebRTC client API with the WebRTC clients as a WebRTC peer and provides media server functionality based on media server commands received from the WebRTC application server through the control API;

applying a media service to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows to generate one or more media server flows; and

providing the one or more media server flows to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein receiving the stream establishment application comprises receiving the stream establishment application in response to a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request or a Web Sockets request, or combinations thereof.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, further comprising:

receiving, via the control API, a media server command from the WebRTC application server; and

applying a media service indicated by the media server command to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein receiving the media server command comprises receiving the media server command via a Representational State Transfer (REST) API invocation or a JavaScript API invocation.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, further comprising:

generating a media server event responsive to applying the media service to the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows; and

providing, via the control API, the media server event to the WebRTC application server.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein providing the media server event comprises providing the media server event via a REST API or a JavaScript API.