DUPLICATING DIGITAL STREAMS FOR DIGITAL CONFERENCING USING SWITCHING TECHNOLOGIES

• US 20060179110A1
• Filed: 04/30/2002
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brown, Scott K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,124,166 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• 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 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• 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 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

Using switching technologies to duplicate packets of a digital stream (e.g., digital video stream) sent from one workstation to multiple recipient workstations, where the switching technologies enable the multiple streams sent from the switch to the recipient workstations to be generated from a single digital stream sent from the sending workstation to the switch. Data units, such as video data units, may be transmitted by using a switch to enable receipt of a stream of data units including a payload portion and an attribute portion from at least two conferencing participants. The switch is used to duplicate at least a subportion of the payload portion of a data unit within the stream of data units, and to enable access to the duplicated subportion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data units, the method comprising;

using a switch to receive communications;

using the switch to selectively filter the communications;

using the switch to receive a first stream of data units that are addressed to a unicast address on the switch, wherein the first stream of data units includes a payload portion and an attribute portion from at least two conferencing participants;

using the switch to duplicate at least a subportion of the payload portion of a data unit within the first stream of data units;

using the switch to enable access to a duplicated subportion of the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants; and

forwarding the duplicated subportion of the payload portion of the data unit within a second stream of data units addressed to a unicast address of each of the two or more conferencing participants,

wherein the selectively filtering and forwarding are performed by the switch that is structured and arranged to selectively filter and forward between different domains at a same level in a protocol stack.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data unit includes an Internet Protocol packet.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the attribute portion of the data unit includes an Internet Protocol header.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the attribute portion of the data unit specifies one or more pieces of information included in layer three of the OSI (“

Open System Interconnection”

) reference model.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising using the switch to generate and associate different attribute portions with duplicates of the payload portion generated by the switch.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein using the switch to associate different attribute portions with duplicates of the payload portion includes associating destination information that differs with the duplicates of the payload portion.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein using the switch to generate and associate different attribute portions includes changing an IP destination address.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein changing the IP destination address includes changing the IP destination address to an IP address corresponding to one or more conferencing participants to which access to the payload portion will be enabled.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein using the switch to duplicate at least the subportion of the payload portion includes duplicating only the payload portion of the data unit.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein using the switch to duplicate includes using the switch to duplicate the payload portion and the attribute portion.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein a first request is received from a device other than the conferencing participants.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a second request to receive the second stream of data units from one of the two or more conferencing participants.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein using the switch to enable access to the duplicated subportion of the data unit includes enabling access to the conferencing participant in response to the second request to receive the second stream of data units from one of the two or more conferencing participants.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein using the switch to enable access to the duplicated subportion of at least the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants includes transmitting two or more duplicated subportions to two or more conferencing participants using the switch.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein using the switch to enable access to the duplicated subportion of at least the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants includes transmitting two or more duplicated subportions from a transmitting participant to all of the other conferencing participants using the switch.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein using the switch to enable access to the duplicated subportion of at least the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants includes transmitting two or more duplicated subportions from all of the conferencing participants to each other of the conferencing participants using the switch.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein transmitting two or more duplicated subportions from all of the conferencing participants to all of the conferencing participants comprises transmitting a number of streams and enabling the switch to filter an originating stream so that a stream of data units from an originating conferencing participant is not transmitted back to the originating conferencing participant.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein using the switch to duplicate at least the duplicated subportion of the data unit includes partitioning content from a combined stream comprising a forwarded signal and a filtered signal.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the forwarded signal differs from the filtered signal.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein using the switch to duplicate at least the subportion of the payload portion of a data unit within the stream of data units includes transcoding an underlying media format of the data unit to a different bit rate.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether one of the conferencing participants is attempting to actively participate.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein using the switch to enable access to the duplicated subportions of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants includes enabling access to a stream of the conferencing participant attempting to actively participate most recently.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein streams of conferencing participants that have not been attempting to actively participate are not duplicated.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein using the switch to enable access to the duplicated subportions includes prioritizing among conferencing participants to determine which streams of the conferencing participants are duplicated.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein access to the streams of conferencing participants with a higher priority are duplicated before duplicating the stream of conferencing participants with a lower priority.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the priority is specified by one of a service provider, a conference organizer, or a conference manager.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein using a switch to enable access to the duplicated subportion of at least the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants comprises using a conference manager to designate which of the conferencing participants data streams are enabled to be accessed.

57. The method of claim 17 wherein the switch duplicates the streams such that the number of streams sent by the switch is 2(N−

1) where N is a number of conferencing participants that are participating in the stream.

28-38. -38. (canceled)

39. A duplicating switch comprising:

a first communications interface structured and arranged to;

receive communications,

selectively filter the communications, and

receive a first stream of data units including a payload portion and an attribute portion that are addressed to a unicast address on the switch from at least two conferencing participants;

a first processor structured and arranged to duplicate at least a subportion of the payload portion of a data unit within the first stream of data units; and

a second communications interface structured and arranged to;

enable access to the duplicated subportion of the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants.

forward the duplicated subportion of the payload portion of the data unit within a second stream of data units that are addressed to a unicast address of each of the two or more conferencing participants; and

wherein the first communications interface and the second communications interface are structured and arranged to selectively filter and forward between different domains at a same level in a protocol stack.

40. The duplicating switch of claim 39 wherein the data unit includes an Internet Protocol packet.

41. The duplicating switch of claim 40 wherein the attribute portion of the data unit includes an Internet Protocol header.

42. The duplicating switch of claim 39 further comprising a second processor structured and arranged to generate and associate different attribute portions with duplicates of the payload portion generated by the duplicating switch.

43. The duplicating switch of claim 42 wherein the second processor is structured and arranged to associate different attribute portions with duplicates of the payload portion includes associating destination information that differs with the duplicates of the payload portion.

44. The duplicating switch of claim 42 wherein the second processor is structured and arranged to generate and associate different attribute portions includes changing an IP destination address.

45. The duplicating switch of claim 44 wherein the second processor is structured and arranged to change the IP destination address to an IP address corresponding to one or more conferencing participants to which access to the payload portion will be enabled.

46. The duplicating switch of claim 39 wherein the first processor is structured and arranged to duplicate at least the payload portion includes duplicating only the payload portion of the data unit.

47. The duplicating switch of claim 39 wherein the first processor is structured and arranged to duplicate the payload portion and the attribute portion.

48. The duplicating switch of claim 39 where the second communications interface is structured and arranged to transmit two or more duplicated subportions to two or more conferencing participants using the duplicating switch.

49. The duplicating switch of claim 48 wherein the second communications interface is structured and arranged to transmit two or more duplicated subportions from a transmitting participant to all of the other conferencing participants using the duplicating switch.

50. The duplicating switch of claim 48 wherein the second communications interface is structured and arranged to transmit two or more duplicated subportions from all of the conferencing participants to each other of the conferencing participants using the duplicating switch.

51. The duplicating switch of claim 50 wherein the second communications interface is structured and arranged to filter an originating stream so that a stream of data units from an originating conferencing participant is not transmitted back to the originating conferencing participant.

52. The duplicating switch of claim 39 wherein the first processor is structured and arranged to partition content from a combined stream comprising a forwarded signal and a filtered signal.

53. The duplicating switch of claim 39 further comprising a third communications interface structured and arranged to determine whether one of the conferencing participants is attempting to actively participate.

54. The duplicating switch of claim 53 wherein the third communications processor is structured and arranged to not duplicate streams of conferencing participants that have not been attempting to actively participate.

55. The duplicating switch of claim 39 wherein the second communications interface is structured and arranged to prioritize among conferencing participants to determine which streams of the conferencing participants are duplicated.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein a priority used to prioritize among conferencing participants is specified by one of a service provider, a conference organizer, or a conference manager.

58. (canceled)

59. A duplicating switch comprising:

means for receiving communications;

means for selectively filtering the communications;

means for receiving a first stream of data units that are addressed to a unicast address on the switch, wherein the first stream of data units includes a payload portion and an attribute portion from at least two conferencing participants;

means for duplicating at least a subportion of the payload portion of a data unit within the first stream of data units; and

means for enabling access to the duplicated subportion of the payload portion of the data unit by two or more conferencing participants; and

means for forwarding the duplicated subportion of the payload portion of the data unit within a second stream of data units addressed to a unicast address of each of the two or more conferencing participants,

wherein the selectively filtering and forwarding are performed by the switch that is structured and arranged to selectively filter and forward between different domains at a same level in a protocol stack.