System and method for enabling multicast telecommunications

• US 7,079,495 B1
• Filed: 01/04/2000
• Issued: 07/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pearce, Christopher E., Michalewicz, Larry G., Whetten, Delon R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsu, Alpus H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blount, Steven
• Application Number:
  US09/477,298
• Time in Patent Office: 2,387 Days
• Field of Search: 370/260, 370/261, 370/262, 370/352, 370/390, 370/392, 370/401, 370/432, 370/466, 709/204, 709/204.277, 340/3.52, 379/88.17, 455/416
• US Class Current: 370/260
• 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 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2044 Group features, e.g. closed user group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/205 Broadcasting broadcasting in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1205 where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks

Abstract

A communication network is provided that includes a unicast telephony device, and a plurality of multicast telephony devices operable to receive multicast media streaming transmitted to a multicast group address. The communication network further includes a multicast intermediary operable to receive multicast media streaming sent to the multicast group address. The multicast intermediary is further operable to communicate the media streaming to the unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in the multicast communication with the multicast telephony devices.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a multicast telecommunication session, comprising:

receiving a call initiation request indicating a desire to create a communication link between a multicast telephony device and a unicast telephony device;

determining that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming;

generating a virtual multicast intermediary in response to determining that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming;

receiving multicast media streaming sent to a multicast group address from a plurality of multicast telephony devices at the virtual multicast intermediary;

sorting, at the virtual multicast intermediary, the multicast media streaming sent to the multicast group address from the plurality of multicast telephony devices into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicating, from the virtual multicast intermediary, the sorted media streaming to a unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in a multicast telecommunication session; and

indicating to the unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different multicast telephony devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving unicast media streaming from the unicast telephony device at the multicast intermediary; and

communicating the media streaming to the multicast group address.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a first logical port of the multicast intermediary with the unicast telephony device;

receiving multicast media streaming from the multicast group address at the first logical port;

modifying source address information in the received multicast media streaming to specify a second logical port of the multicast intermediary associated with the multicast group address; and

communicating the media streaming with the modified source address information to the unicast telephony device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein associating a second logical port of the multicast intermediary with the unicast telephony device comprises associating a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) logical port to enable the streaming of Internet Protocol (IP) packets.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein modifying source address information in the received media streaming comprises modifying a source IP address and port information in a header of an IP packet.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving multicast media streaming sent to a multicast group address comprises receiving multicast media streaming from one or more multicast telephony devices participating in a conference call with the unicast device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein indicating to the unicast telephony device that the individual media streams originated from different telephony devices comprises indicating a different logical port of the multicast intermediary as the source address of packets comprising each of the individual media streams.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving multicast media streaming sent to a multicast group address comprises receiving multicast media directed to the unicast telephony device when the unicast telephony device is placed on hold.

9. A communication network, comprising:

a unicast telephony device;

a plurality of multicast telephony devices operable to receive multicast media streaming transmitted to a multicast group address;

a call manager operable to;

receive a call initiation request indicating a desire to create a communication link between a multicast telephony device and a unicast telephony device;

determine that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming;

a virtual multicast intermediary operable to;

receive multicast media streaming sent to the multicast group address from the plurality of multicast telephony devices;

sort the multicast media streaming transmitted to the multicast group address into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicate the sorted media streaming to the unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in the multicast communication with the multicast telephony devices; and

indicate to the unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different multicast telephony devices;

wherein the virtual multicast intermediary is generated in response to a determination that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming.

10. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the multicast intermediary is further operable to receive unicast media streaming from the unicast telephony device and to communicate the media streaming to the multicast group address.

11. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the multicast intermediary comprises a logical device implemented using software executed on one or more devices coupled to the communication network.

12. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the unicast telephony device and the multicast telephony devices comprise Internet Protocol (IP) telephony devices.

13. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the multicast media streaming comprises Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) media streaming.

14. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the multicast media streaming comprises media transmitted in a conference call between the unicast telephony device and the multicast telephony devices.

15. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the virtual multicast intermediary is further operable to indicate a different logical port of the multicast intermediary as the source address of packets comprising each of the individual media streams.

16. The communication network of claim 9, wherein the multicast media streaming comprises multicast media streaming transmitted to the unicast telephony device when the unicast telephony device is placed on hold.

17. A communication network, comprising:

a first unicast telephony device;

a second unicast telephony device;

a plurality of multicast telephony devices operable to receive multicast media streaming transmitted to a multicast group address;

a call manager operable to;

receive a call initiation request indicating a desire to create a communication link between a multicast telephony device and a unicast telephony device;

determine that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming;

a first virtual multicast intermediary operable to;

receive multicast media streaming sent to the multicast group address from the plurality of multicast telephony devices;

sort the multicast media streaming transmitted to the multicast group address into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicate the sorted media streaming to the first unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in the multicast communication with the multicast telephony devices; and

indicate to the first unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different telephony devices; and

a second virtual multicast intermediary operable to;

receive multicast media streaming sent to the multicast group address from the plurality of multicast telephony devices;

sort the multicast media streaming transmitted to the multicast group address into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicate the sorted media streaming to the second unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in the multicast communication with the multicast telephony devices; and

indicate to the second unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different multicast telephony devices; and

wherein the first and second virtual multicast intermediaries are generated in response to a determination that the first and second unicast telephony devices are incapable of receiving multicast media streaming.

18. The communication network of claim 17, wherein:

the first multicast intermediary is further operable to receive unicast media streaming from the first unicast telephony device and to communicate the media streaming to the multicast group address; and

the second multicast intermediary is further operable to receive unicast media streaming from the second unicast telephony device and to communicate the media streaming to the multicast group address.

19. The communication network of claim 17, wherein the first and second multicast intermediaries each comprise a logical device implemented using software executed on one or more devices coupled to the communication network.

20. The communication network of claim 17, wherein the first and second unicast telephony devices and the multicast telephony devices comprise Internet Protocol (IP) telephony devices.

22. The communication network of claim 17, wherein the multicast media streaming comprises media transmitted in a conference call between the first and second unicast telephony devices and the plurality of multicast telephony devices.

23. The communication network of claim 17, wherein the first and second virtual multicast intermediaries are each further operable to indicate a different logical port of the first and second multicast intermediaries as the source address of packets comprising each of the individual media streams.

24. The communication network of claim 17, wherein the multicast media streaming comprises multicast media streaming transmitted to at least one of the first and second unicast telephony devices when at least one of the first and second unicast telephony devices is placed on hold.

21. The communication network of 17, wherein the multicast media streaming comprises Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) media streaming.

25. Virtual multicast intermediary software embodied in a computer-readable medium and operable to perform the following steps:

receiving a call initiation request indicating a desire to create a communication link between a multicast telephony device and a unicast telephony device;

determining that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming;

receiving multicast media streaming sent to a multicast group address from a plurality of multicast telephony devices; and

sort the multicast media streaming transmitted to the multicast group address into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicating the sorted media streaming to a unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in a multicast telecommunication session; and

indicate to the unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different multicast telephony devices;

the virtual multicast intermediary software executable in response to a determination that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming.

26. The multicast intermediary software of claim 25, further operable to perform the following steps:

receiving unicast media streaming from the unicast telephony device; and

communicating the media streaming to the multicast group address.

27. The multicast intermediary software of claim 25, further operable to perform the following steps:

associating a first logical port with the unicast telephony device;

receiving multicast media streaming from the multicast group address at the first logical port;

modifying source address information in the received multicast media streaming to specify a second logical port associated with the multicast group address; and

communicating the media streaming with the modified source address information to the unicast telephony device.

28. The multicast intermediary software of claim 27, wherein associating a first logical port with the unicast telephony device comprises associating a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) logical port to enable the streaming of Internet Protocol (IP) packets.

29. The multicast intermediary software of claim 28, wherein modifying source address information in the received media streaming comprises modifying a source IP address and port information in a header of an IP packet.

30. The multicast intermediary software of claim 25, wherein receiving multicast media streaming sent to a multicast group address comprises receiving multicast media streaming from one or more multicast telephony devices participating in a conference call with the unicast device.

31. The multicast intermediary software of claim 25, wherein receiving multicast media streaming sent to a multicast group address comprises receiving multicast media directed to the unicast telephony device when the unicast telephony device is placed on hold.

32. The virtual multicast intermediary software of claim 25, wherein the software is further operable to perform the step of indicating a different logical port of the multicast intermediary as the source address of packets comprising each of the individual media streams.

33. A communication network, comprising:

a plurality of multicast telephony devices operable to receive multicast media streaming transmitted to a multicast group address;

a call manager operable to;

receive a call initiation request indicating a desire to create a communication link between a multicast telephony device and a unicast telephony device;

determine that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming; and

establish a communication session with one or more of the multicast telephony devices; and

a virtual multicast intermediary operable to;

receive multicast media streaming transmitted to the multicast group address from the plurality of multicast telephony devices;

sort the multicast media streaming transmitted to the multicast group address into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicate the sorted media streaming to a unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in a multicast communication with the multicast telephony devices; and

indicate to the unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different multicast telephony devices;

wherein the virtual multicast intermediary is generated in response to a determination that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming.

34. The communication network of claim 33, wherein the call manager is further operable to establish a communication session between the multicast telephony devices, such that each multicast telephony device receives and sums multicast media streaming from the other multicast telephony devices.

35. The communication network of claim 33, wherein the call manager is further operable to transmit multicast media streaming to a multicast telephony device when the multicast telephony device is placed on hold.

36. A virtual multicast intermediary comprising a communication module operable to:

receive multicast media streaming from a multicast group address from a plurality of multicast telephony devices;

sort the multicast media streaming into individual streams based on the telephony devices that originated each stream;

communicate the sorted media streaming to a unicast telephony device to enable the unicast telephony device to participate in the multicast communication with multicast telephony devices; and

indicate to the unicast telephony device that the individual media streams of the sorted media streaming originated from different multicast telephony devices;

wherein the virtual multicast intermediary is generated in response to a determination that the unicast telephony device is incapable of receiving multicast media streaming.

37. The multicast intermediary of claim 36, further comprising:

a first logical port associated with the unicast telephony device;

a second logical port associated with the multicast group address; and

an address translation module operable to receive multicast media streaming from the multicast group address at the first logical port, and further operable to modify source address information in the received multicast media streaming to specify the second logical port associated with the multicast group address.

38. The multicast intermediary of claim 37, wherein the communication module is operable to communicate the media streaming with the modified source address information to the unicast telephony device.

39. The multicast intermediary of claim 37, wherein the first and second logical ports are User Datagram Protocol (UDP) logical ports.

40. The multicast intermediary of claim 37, wherein the address translation module is further operable to modify a source IP address and port information in a header of an IP packet.

41. The virtual multicast intermediary of claim 36, wherein the communication module is further operable to indicate a different logical port of the multicast intermediary as the source address of packets comprising each of the individual media streams.