Automatic orchestration of dynamic multiple party, multiple media communications

• US 8,041,800 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2005
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gilfix, Michael A., Ulerich, Rhys D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer; Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAMBERS, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US11/269,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,170 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/223, 370/260, 370/352, 370/389, 455/74.1, 455/26.1, 379/88.13
• US Class Current: 709/223
• 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 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/147 Signalling methods or messages providing extensions to protocols defined by standardisation

Abstract

A communication orchestration service automatically orchestrates dynamic multiple party, multiple media communications. A customer expresses his or her communications needs in the form of a high-level goal or goals. A goal-based search finds a combination of building block predicates that can be used to satisfy the customer'"'"'s needs. In conjunction with the search process, the mechanism uses the SIP OPTIONS request or presence information to actively query device status and capabilities during the search. This enables the search to actively explore the communications environment at runtime. Once a solution is found, the necessary parties can be contacted, resources can be provisioned, and the multiple media, multiple user collaboration/conference can be initiated.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of automatic orchestration of a dynamic multiple party, multiple media communications session in a communications network, the computer implemented method comprising:

creating a library of telephony tasks in a communication orchestration service of telephony tasks that specify transitions in a network, wherein the transitions comprise state changes in sets of data;

establishing, in the communication orchestration service, a set of predicates that correspond to each transition in the library of telephony tasks, wherein predicates within the set of predicates comprise discrete Session Initiated Protocol communications paradigms;

receiving, by the communication orchestration service from a user using a first computer system, a high-level goal that states a problem of a communications session, wherein the communication orchestration service exists entirely outside of the first computer system;

identifying, by the communication orchestration service, involved users for the communications session based on the goal, wherein the involved users use a plurality of additional computer systems, and wherein the communication orchestration service exists entirely outside of the plurality of additional computer systems;

identifying, by the communication orchestration service, potential resources for the communications session based on the goal;

wherein identifying potential resources includes;

looking up a plurality of devices for involved users, wherein the plurality of devices are session initiated protocol registered devices;

determining capabilities of the plurality of devices including determining which at least one of a plurality of media types is used by each one of the devices, wherein at least two of the plurality of devices use different ones of the plurality of media types simultaneously, and wherein the user using the first computer system uses only text communication and a user using one of the plurality of additional computer systems uses only voice communication; and

determining available media conversion services in the communications network for converting text communications into voice communications and voice communications into text communications, wherein the user using the first computer system communicates with a second user using only text and the second user communicates with the user using the first computer system using only speech; and

searching, by the communication orchestration service based on the goal, the set of predicates, the capabilities of the session initiation protocol registered devices, and available media conversion services, for one or more solutions that satisfy the goal.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying involved users comprises identifying a session initiation protocol address of record for each involved user.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the searching comprises:

searching the set of predicates to identify a combination of predicates that satisfies the goal; and

mapping the combination of predicates to the library of telephony tasks, wherein the library comprises sets of session initiation protocol application framework transitions.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, wherein the library further comprises preconditions that are examined to determine whether they are satisfied.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the existing solutions in a queue in an order based on one of complexity and cost.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5 further comprising:

determining whether resources are available for an existing solution; and

responsive to resources not being available, considering another existing solution from the queue.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining whether resources are available for an existing solution in parallel with determining whether a previously unavailable resource is currently available.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

responsive to a needed resource that is available for an existing solution becoming unavailable, waiting for the needed resource to become available; and

responsive to the needed resource becoming available, executing the existing solution to continue the communications session.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to finding the one or more solutions, initiating the communications session using a selected solution.

10. An apparatus that automatically orchestrates dynamic multiple party, multiple media communications in a communications network, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions including;

creating a library of telephony tasks in a communication orchestration service of telephony tasks that specify transitions in a network, wherein the transitions comprise state changes in sets of data;

establishing, in the communication orchestration service, a set of predicates that correspond to each transition in the library of telephony tasks, wherein predicates within the set of predicates comprise discrete Session Initiated Protocol communications paradigms;

receiving, by the communication orchestration service from a user using a first computer system, a high-level goal that states a problem of a communications session, wherein the communication orchestration service exists entirely outside of the first computer system;

identifying, by the communication orchestration service, involved users for the communications session based on the goal, wherein the involved users use a plurality of additional computer systems, and wherein the communication orchestration service exists entirely outside of the plurality of additional computer systems;

identifying, by the communication orchestration service, potential resources for the communications session based on the goal;

wherein identifying potential resources includes;

looking up a plurality of devices for involved users, wherein the plurality of devices are session initiated protocol registered devices;

determining capabilities of the plurality of devices including determining which at least one of a plurality of media types is used by each one of the devices, wherein at least two of the plurality of devices use different ones of the plurality of media types simultaneously, and wherein the user using the first computer system uses only text communication and a user using one of the plurality of additional computer systems uses only voice communication; and

determining available media conversion services in the communications network for converting text communications into voice communications and voice communications into text communications, wherein the user using the first computer system communicates with a second user using only text and the second user communicates with the user using the first computer system using only speech; and

searching, by the communication orchestration service based on the goal, the set of predicates, the capabilities of the session initiation protocol registered devices, and available media conversion services, for one or more solutions that satisfy the goal.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the memory stores instructions comprising:

responsive to finding the one or more solutions, initiating the communications session using a selected solution.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therein, which when executed by a processor, automatically orchestrates dynamic multiple party, multiple media communications in a communication network, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code configured to create a library of telephony tasks in a communication orchestration service of telephony tasks that specify transitions in a network, wherein the transitions comprise state changes in sets of data;

computer usable program code configured to establish, in the communication orchestration service, a set of predicates that correspond to each transition in the library of telephony tasks, wherein predicates within the set of predicates comprise discrete Session Initiated Protocol communications paradigms;

computer usable program code configured to receive, by the communication orchestration service from a user using a first computer system, a high-level goal that states a problem of a communications session, wherein the communication orchestration service exists entirely outside of the first computer system;

computer usable program code configured to identify, by the communication orchestration service, involved users for the communications session based on the goal, wherein the involved users use a plurality of additional computer systems, and wherein the communication orchestration service exists entirely outside of the plurality of additional computer systems;

computer usable program code configured to identify, by the communication orchestration service, potential resources for the communications session based on the goal;

wherein the computer usable program code configured to identify potential resources includes;

computer usable program code configured to look up a plurality of devices for involved users, wherein the plurality of devices are session initiated protocol registered devices;

computer usable program code configured to determine capabilities of the plurality of devices including determining which at least one of a plurality of media types is used by each one of the devices, wherein at least two of the plurality of devices use different ones of the plurality of media types simultaneously, and wherein the user using the first computer system uses only text communication and a user using one of the plurality of additional computer systems uses only voice communication; and

computer usable program code configured to determine available media conversion services in the communications network for converting text communications into voice communications and voice communications into text communications, wherein the user using the first computer system communicates with a second user using only text and the second user communicates with the user using the first computer system using only speech; and

computer usable program code configured to search, by the communication orchestration service based on the goal, the set of predicates, the capabilities of the session initiation protocol registered devices, and available media conversion services, for one or more solutions that satisfy the goal.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 further comprising:

responsive to finding the one or more solutions, computer usable program code configured to initiate the communications session using a selected solution.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code configured to identify involved users comprises computer usable program code configured to identify a session initiation protocol address of record for each involved user.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code configured to search comprises:

computer usable program code configured to search the set of predicates to identify a combination of predicates that satisfies the goal; and

computer usable program code configured to map the combination of predicates to the library of telephony tasks, wherein the library comprises sets of session initiation protocol application framework transitions.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the library further comprises preconditions that are examined to determine whether they are satisfied.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to store the existing solutions in a queue in an order based on one of complexity and cost.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to determine whether resources are available for an existing solution; and

responsive to resources not being available, computer usable program code configured to consider another existing solution from the queue.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to determine whether resources are available for an existing solution in parallel with determining whether a previously unavailable resource is currently available.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising:

responsive to a needed resource that is available for an existing solution becoming unavailable, computer usable program code configured to wait for the needed resource to become available; and

responsive to the needed resource becoming available, computer usable program code configured to execute the existing solution to continue the communications session.