Software bridge for multi-point multi-media teleconferencing and telecollaboration

• US 7,764,632 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2006
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Interwise Ltd. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Interwise Ltd. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gray, Joseph, Karniely, Haim
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryman; Daniel J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel; Jay P
• Application Number:
  US11/509,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20080112336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• Field of Search: 370260-261, 370/262
• US Class Current: 370/260
• 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 47/783 Distributed allocation of resources, e.g. bandwidth brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• 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: H04M 3/562 where the conference facilities are distributed
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

A multimedia bridge which enables enterprise-class voice, Web, and video teleconferencing. The multimedia bridge is a distributed media server architecture that efficiently routes, bridges, manages integrated voice, data and video streams across multiple sites in real-time. The multimedia bridge includes media services, session control, content distribution and any-device access layer.

Claims

1. A cooperative bridging method for cooperatively routing integrated data streams, in a teleconferencing system, during teleconferencing and telecollaboration events, comprising:

creating a teleconferencing event or a telecollaboration event at a communication center by a participant;

querying the communication center for new teleconferencing and telecollaboration events by a proxy remote controller;

notifying the proxy remote controller of new teleconferencing or telecollaboration events by the communication center;

assigning the new teleconferencing or telecollaboration events to the proxy remote controller by the communication center;

obtaining, from a server manager, a network site tree of available computing and communications platforms for the new teleconferencing or telecollaboration events, by the proxy remote controller;

selecting a computing and communications platform from each network site, by the proxy remote controller, using load balancing technology;

sending a load request to each of at least one proxy agent that each correspond to at least one of the available computing and communications platforms in the network site tree, by the proxy remote controller;

receiving an active process load request by a proxy agent implemented on a first communication server installed on a main computing and communications platform;

receiving a sleeping process load request by the at least one proxy agent implemented on at least one second communication server installed on the at least one of the available computing and communications platforms;

loading an active process of the first communication server on the main computing and communications platform by the proxy agent implemented on the first communication server;

connecting the active process to the proxy remote controller; and

sending a process ready command to the proxy remote controller and a multiplexer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

loading at least one of;

an event identifier, a proxy remote server internet protocol (IP) address, a proxy remote server port, and a proxy remote server version onto the first communication server installed on the main computing and communications platform;

receiving at least one event parameter, security information, or a maximum number of participants by the active process of the first communication server from the proxy remote controller; and

updating the at least one second communication server with the event identifier, a communication server IP address, or a ports list for the active process of the first communication server installed on the main computing and communications platform.