System and method for presenting chat QoS indication to user

• US 20060020697A1
• Filed: 07/20/2004
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines SA (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kelso, Scott Edwards, Weksler, Arnold S., Peterson, Nathan J., Waltermann, Rod David, Mese, John Carl Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/894,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20060020697A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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

Abstract

Real time quality of service (QoS) of a link between Internet chat users is gathered and displayed to the users.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

establishing a communication link between at least first and second chat client computers to facilitate a chat session between the computers; and

displaying, at at least one of the chat client computers, at least one indication representing at least one real time quality of service (QoS) metric relating to at least a portion of the communication link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metric is an aggregated QoS metric.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metric is link availability.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metric is link data throughput.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the metric is link error rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the metric is link latency.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first chat client computer sends at least one QoS test signal to a second chat client computer to facilitate obtaining real time QoS information pertaining to the link.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a chat server pings at least one chat client to facilitate obtaining real time QoS information pertaining to the link.

9. The service of claim 1, wherein the displaying act is undertaken using at least one icon.

10. The service of claim 1, wherein the displaying act is undertaken using alpha-numeric characters.

11. A service comprising:

gathering, in real time, quality of service (QoS) information pertaining to a communication link having as one node a first chat client; and

providing the QoS information to at least one of;

the first chat client, and a Web server associated with the first chat client.

12. The service of claim 11, wherein the providing act facilitates display of the QoS information at the first chat client.

13. The service of claim 11, wherein the QoS information is aggregated from plural QoS metrics.

14. The service of claim 11, wherein the QoS information is at least one selected from the group consisting of:

link availability, data throughput, link error rate, and link latency.

15. The service of claim 11, wherein the first chat client computer sends at least one QoS test signal to a second chat client computer to facilitate obtaining real time QoS information pertaining to the link.

16. The service of claim 11, wherein a chat server pings at least one chat client to facilitate obtaining real time QoS information.

17. A computer system, comprising:

at least one chat client computer programmed to receive real time quality of service (QoS) information relating to a chat link used by the chat client computer; and

at least one output device communicating with the chat client computer for displaying the QoS information.

18. The system of claim 17, comprising at least one chat server computer communicating with the chat client computer.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the chat server computer gathers the QoS information and sends it to the chat client computer.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the chat client computer initiates gathering of the QoS information.