Providing data updates in a network communications system based on connection or load parameters
First Claim
1. A conferencing system comprising:
- a conference server;
at least one presenter client, the at least one presenter client being characterized by the computational power of a hardware or software component at the at least one presenter client;
at least one attendee client, the at least one attendee client being characterized by the computational power of a hardware or software component at the at least one attendee client; and
network connections coupling the conference server, the at least one presenter client, and the at least one attendee client, wherein the conference server is configured to;
identify the computational power of the at least one presenter client and the at least one attendee client;
provide data updates from the at least one presenter client for delivery to the at least one attendee client via the network connections; and
deliver the data updates in an output data type based on network connection or load parameters and the computational power of the hardware or software component at the at least one presenter client and the at least one attendee client, wherein the delivery of the data updates results in increased network transmission throughput.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved networked computer communications system handles arbitrary streams of data, and transports at varying speeds those streams where intermediate updates can be dropped if they are obsoleted by later arriving data updates, optimizing the utilization of network and node resources. Complex buffering by system server software allows distributed, parallel, or redundant processing, transmission, and storage for performance, reliability, and robustness. Various parameters of the system can be monitored, and the system can be reconfigured automatically based on the observations. Varied techniques reduce the perceived end-to-end latency and take advantage of software and hardware capabilities that assets connected to the system may possess. One conferencing system allows conference participants to share all or a portion of the display seen on their computer screens. The conferees may be at sites removed from each other, or may view a recorded presentation or archived conference at different times. Conference participants are either “presenters” who can modify the display or “attendees” who cannot modify the display. A pointer icon, which can be labeled to identify the conferee, is displayed on the shared image area. Each conferee can modify the position of his or her own pointer, even when not presenting, so that every participant can see what each conferee is pointing to, should a conferee choose to point to an element of the display. These and other features apply to other data streams shared in the conference or in meetings where there is no shared-image data stream.
85 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A conferencing system comprising:
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a conference server; at least one presenter client, the at least one presenter client being characterized by the computational power of a hardware or software component at the at least one presenter client; at least one attendee client, the at least one attendee client being characterized by the computational power of a hardware or software component at the at least one attendee client; and network connections coupling the conference server, the at least one presenter client, and the at least one attendee client, wherein the conference server is configured to; identify the computational power of the at least one presenter client and the at least one attendee client; provide data updates from the at least one presenter client for delivery to the at least one attendee client via the network connections; and deliver the data updates in an output data type based on network connection or load parameters and the computational power of the hardware or software component at the at least one presenter client and the at least one attendee client, wherein the delivery of the data updates results in increased network transmission throughput. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 22)
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11. A method for conferencing in a conferencing system, the method comprising:
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establishing a network connection between a conference server, a presenter client, and an attendee client; identifying the computational power of a hardware or software component at the attendee client and the presenter client; and providing conferencing data from the conference server to the attendee client, the conferencing data having been provided to the conferencing server by the presenter client, the conferencing data provided to the attendee client in a format based on network connection or load parameters in the conferencing system and the computational power of the presenter client and the attendee client. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method for conferencing in a conferencing system, the method comprising:
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establishing a network connection between a conference server, a presenter client, and an attendee client; identifying the computational power of a hardware or software component at the attendee client and the presenter client; and providing conferencing data from the conference server to the attendee client, the conferencing data having been provided to the conferencing server by the presenter client, the conferencing data provided to the attendee client in a format based on network connection or load parameters in the conferencing system and the computational power of the presenter client and the attendee client.
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Specification