METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A MULTIMEDIA CONFERENCE BY AN APPLICATION SERVER

• US 20110185021A1
• Filed: 07/10/2009
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Inventors: Guo, Bin, Han, Yinjun
• Granted Patent: US 8,601,057 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• 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 65/1104 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: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server, the method includes: in the multimedia conference, the application server divides the m-line in a received terminal session description protocol (SDP), message into two SDPs according to the type of media, and sends them respectively to an audio-video media server and a data media server, or assembles SDPs returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server into one SDP, and sends it to a terminal. The apparatus includes an application server, and the application server includes an SDP dividing module and an SDP assembling module. This invention simplifies the process of signaling interaction, reduces the consumption of the signaling interaction; better synchronizes the controlling of the conventional audio-video media and the data media, makes the realization of the multimedia client more simple; meanwhile, is compatible with the terminals traditionally not supporting data media.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server, AS, comprising:

in the multimedia conference, the AS dividing m-line in a received terminal session description protocol, SDP, message into two SDPs according to the type of media, and sending them respectively to an audio-video media server and a data media server, or assembling SDPs returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server into one SDP, and sending it to a terminal.

2. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claim 1, wherein when the conference initiating terminal of the multimedia conference initiates the conference, the method specifically comprises the following steps:

Step 21, the AS parsing the SDP sent by the conference initiating terminal, obtaining the m-line of the audio-video media and the data media, and classifying the m-line;

Step 22, dividing the SDP sent by the conference initiating terminal into two or more SDPs according to the classification of the m-line, and sending them respectively to the audio-video media server and the data media server;

Step 23, when the AS has received one SDP returned by one media server, and not yet received another SDP returned by the other media server, saving the SDP of the former media server and waiting for the SDP of the latter media server, and extracting the SDP of the former media server when receiving the SDP of the latter media server;

Step 24, the AS assembling the SDPs returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server into one SDP, and sending it to the conference initiating terminal.

3. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claim 1, wherein when the conference initiating terminal of the multimedia conference needs to call a member, the method specifically comprises the following steps:

Step 31, the AS sending a session initiation protocol, SIP message to the member terminal, and obtaining the SDP of the member terminal;

Step 32, the AS parsing the SDP sent by the member terminal, obtaining the m-line of the audio-video media and the data media, and classifying the m-line;

Step 33, dividing the SDP sent by the member terminal into two SDPs according to the classification of the m-line, and sending the two SDPs respectively to the audio-video media server and the data media server;

Step 34, when the AS has received one SDP returned by one media server, and not yet received another SDP returned by the other media server, saving the SDP of the former media server and waiting for the SDP of the latter media server, and extracting the SDP of the former media server when receiving the SDP of the latter media server;

Step 35, the AS assembling the SDPs returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server into one SDP, and sending it to the member terminal transparently.

4. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claim 2, wherein after the multimedia conference has been successfully initiated, if the conference initiating terminal needs to switch off a type of conference media channel, then step 24 is further followed by the following steps:

Step 41, the conference initiating terminal setting the port of the m-line corresponding to the media channel to be switched off in the SDP to be 0, and sending it to the AS via the SIP message;

Step 42, the AS comparing the media type of the received SDP with the media type of the conference currently in progress, and extracting the m-line with the port being 0 in the SDP, forming one new SDP, and sending the new SDP to a corresponding media server to notify it to switch off the corresponding media channel;

Step 43, the AS assembling the SDPs of the two media servers corresponding to a member terminal into one new SDP, sending it to the member terminal, to notify it to switch off the corresponding media channel, and extracting the m-line corresponding to the media server of the media channel to be switched off in the SDP of the member terminal, forming one new SDP, and sending it to the corresponding media server;

the port of the m-line corresponding to media type to be switched off in the new SDP is 0.

5. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claim 2, wherein after the multimedia conference has been successfully initiated, if the conference initiating terminal needs to add a type of media channel, then step 24 is followed by the following steps:

Step 51, the AS switching on the media channel corresponding to the media server with the port of the m-line being 0, according to the SDP sent by conference initiating terminal;

Step 52, the AS notifying the member terminal supporting the type of media to switch on the corresponding media channel.

6. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claims 1, wherein the method for dividing SDP is:

first extracting the session description portion of the SDP sent by the conference initiating terminal, copying it directly to the divided SDP as the session description portion;

then classifying the m-line of the SDP transmitted by the conference initiating terminal into an m-line set of audio-video media and an m-line set of data media according to the media type, and copying the m-line set of audio-video media and the m-line set of data media respectively to the corresponding divided SDPs as the media description portion.

7. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claims 1, wherein the method for assembling SDP is:

first extracting the session description portion of the SDP returned by the audio-video media server as the session description portion of an assembled SDP, then according to the order of the m-line in the SDP of the conference initiating terminal, assembling the m-line of the SDP returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server as the media description portion of the assembled SDP, if there is no corresponding m-line in the SDP returned by the audio-video media server or the data media server, setting the port of the m-line to be 0.

8. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claim 1, wherein in the method, for the terminal without data media capability, the AS merely interactively negotiates with the audio-video media server corresponding to the terminal during the whole media negotiation process.

9. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claim 4, wherein in the method, if one media type needs to be switched off by the conference initiating terminal, the AS directly sending an ending message to the corresponding media server, and using the SDP of the other media server to form an SDP, in which the port of the m-line of the media type of a switched-off media server is 0, sending the SDP to the conference initiating terminal, then switching off the media type corresponding to each member;

if the whole conference needs to be switched off by the conference initiating terminal, the AS sending an ending message to all media servers, and forming an SDP with all ports of m-line being 0 and transmitting it to the conference initiating terminal, then sending an ending message to each member and the media server corresponding to it.

11. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claims 2, wherein the method for dividing SDP is:

first extracting the session description portion of the SDP sent by the conference initiating terminal, copying it directly to the divided SDP as the session description portion;

then classifying the m-line of the SDP transmitted by the conference initiating terminal into an m-line set of audio-video media and an m-line set of data media according to the media type, and copying the m-line set of audio-video media and the m-line set of data media respectively to the corresponding divided SDPs as the media description portion.

12. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claims 3, wherein the method for dividing SDP is:

first extracting the session description portion of the SDP sent by the conference initiating terminal, copying it directly to the divided SDP as the session description portion;

then classifying the m-line of the SDP transmitted by the conference initiating terminal into an m-line set of audio-video media and an m-line set of data media according to the media type, and copying the m-line set of audio-video media and the m-line set of data media respectively to the corresponding divided SDPs as the media description portion.

13. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claims 2, wherein the method for assembling SDP is:

first extracting the session description portion of the SDP returned by the audio-video media server as the session description portion of an assembled SDP, then according to the order of the m-line in the SDP of the conference initiating terminal, assembling the m-line of the SDP returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server as the media description portion of the assembled SDP, if there is no corresponding m-line in the SDP returned by the audio-video media server or the data media server, setting the port of the m-line to be 0.

14. The method for controlling a multimedia conference by an application server according to claims 3, wherein the method for assembling SDP is:

first extracting the session description portion of the SDP returned by the audio-video media server as the session description portion of an assembled SDP, then according to the order of the m-line in the SDP of the conference initiating terminal, assembling the m-line of the SDP returned by the audio-video media server and the data media server as the media description portion of the assembled SDP, if there is no corresponding m-line in the SDP returned by the audio-video media server or the data media server, setting the port of the m-line to be 0.

10. An apparatus for controlling a multimedia conference, comprising an application server, AS, further comprising a session description protocol, SDP, dividing module and an SDP assembling module, the SDP dividing module is configured to divide the SDP sent by a terminal into two SDPs according to the classification of the m-line;

the SDP assembling module is configured to assemble the SDPs returned by an audio-video media server and a data media server into one SDP.