Selectively joining clients to meeting servers

• US 8,131,828 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2008
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lin, Jian, Yuan, Zheng, Xia, Weixin, Xiao, Sihai, Kasan, Ilan, Wang, Yongya
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): RUBIN, BLAKE J
• Application Number:
  US12/245,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20100088414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,250 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220
• US Class Current: 709/220
• 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 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

In an embodiment, a hosted-on-premises meeting exchange server operates seamlessly with web meeting servers. For example, one computer-implemented method comprises receiving a request from a client computer to join a web meeting; determining whether the client computer is coupled to a local network which includes an on-premises-meeting exchange server; in response to determining that the client computer is coupled to the local network, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server when the on-premises-meeting exchange server has sufficient capacity, and otherwise joining the client computer to the web meeting at an off-premises-meeting exchange server; and in response to determining that the client computer is not coupled to the local network, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a request from a client computer to join a web meeting;

determining whether the client computer is within a local network which includes an on-premises-meeting exchange server;

wherein the on-premises-meeting exchange server is configured to manage the web meeting which is accessible to clients at the on-premises-meeting exchange server and at an off-premises-meeting exchange server;

in response to determining that the client computer is within the local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server when the on-premises-meeting exchange server has sufficient capacity; and

in response to determining that the client computer is not within the local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server;

wherein the off-premises-meeting exchange server is in a remote network, and the local network and the remote network represent different domains that are logically separated by one or more public internetworks;

wherein the method is performed by one or more processors.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server comprises:

determining whether the on-premises-meeting exchange server has reached a software and hardware capacity to serve a maximum number of attendees;

in response to determining that the on-premises-meeting exchange server has not reached the software and hardware capacity to serve the maximum number of attendees, applying meeting policies to the client request to determine whether the client request to join the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server can be granted;

in response to determining that the on-premises-meeting exchange server has reached the maximum number of attendees, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server comprises:

determining whether the off-premises-meeting exchange server has reached a maximum number of attendees; and

in response to determining that the off-premises-meeting exchange server has not reached the maximum number of attendees, applying meeting policies to the client request to determine whether to join the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining whether the web meeting is hosted at the on-premises-meeting exchange server; and

in response to determining that the web meeting is hosted at the on-premises-meeting exchange server, facilitating a connection between the on-premises-meeting exchange server and the off-premises-meeting exchange server using a secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the client computer is determined to be within the local network that also includes the hosted on-premises-meeting exchange server when an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the client computer is within a same subnet as an IP address of the hosted on-premises-meeting exchange server.

6. A computer-readable non-transitory volatile or non-volatile medium storing encoded thereon one or more sequences of instructions which when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform:

receiving a request from a client computer to join a web meeting;

determining whether the client computer is within a local network which includes an on-premises-meeting exchange server;

wherein the on-premises-meeting exchange server is configured to manage the web meeting which is accessible to clients at the on-premises-meeting exchange server and at an off-premises-meeting exchange server;

in response to determining that the client computer is within the local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server when the on-premises-meeting exchange server has sufficient capacity; and

in response to determining that the client computer is not within the local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server;

wherein the off-premises-meeting exchange server is in a remote network, and the local network and the remote network represent different domains that are logically separated by one or more public internetworks.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions which when executed cause joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server comprise instructions which when executed cause:

determining whether the on-premises-meeting exchange server has reached a software and hardware capacity to serve a maximum number of attendees;

in response to determining that the on-premises-meeting exchange server has not reached the software and hardware capacity to serve the maximum number of attendees, applying meeting policies to the client request to determine whether the client request to join the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server can be granted;

in response to determining that the on-premises-meeting exchange server has reached the maximum number of attendees, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions which when executed cause joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server comprise instructions which when executed cause:

determining whether the off-premises-meeting exchange server has reached a maximum number of attendees; and

in response to determining that the off-premises-meeting exchange server has not reached the maximum number of attendees, applying meeting policies to the client request to determine whether to join the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions which when executed cause:

determining whether the web meeting is hosted at the on-premises-meeting exchange server; and

in response to determining that the web meeting is hosted at the on-premises-meeting exchange server, facilitating a connection between the on-premises-meeting exchange server and the off-premises-meeting exchange server using a secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein instructions cause determining that the client computer is within the local network that also includes the hosted on-premises-meeting exchange server when an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the client computer is within a same subnet as an IP address of the hosted on-premises-meeting exchange server.

11. A data processing apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors;

an on-premises-meeting exchange server coupled to the one or more processors;

hosting logic coupled to the one or more processors and when executed operable to perform;

receiving a request from a client computer to join a web meeting;

determining whether the client computer is within a local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server;

wherein the on-premises-meeting exchange server is configured to manage the web meeting which is accessible to clients at the on-premises-meeting exchange server and at an off-premises-meeting exchange server;

responsive to determining that the client computer is within the local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server when the on-premises-meeting exchange server has sufficient capacity; and

responsive to determining that the client computer is not within the local network which includes the on-premises-meeting exchange server, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server;

wherein the off-premises-meeting exchange server is in a remote network, and the local network and the remote network represent different domains that are logically separated by one or more public internetworks.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the logic operable to cause joining the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server comprises logic which when executed is operable to perform:

determining whether the on-premises-meeting exchange server has reached a software and hardware capacity to serve a maximum number of attendees;

in response to determining that the on-premises-meeting exchange server has not reached the software and hardware capacity to serve the maximum number of attendees, applying meeting policies to the client request to determine whether the client request to join the client computer to the web meeting at the on-premises-meeting exchange server can be granted;

in response to determining that the on-premises-meeting exchange server has reached the maximum number of attendees, joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the logic operable to cause joining the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server comprises logic which when executed is operable to perform:

determining whether the off-premises-meeting exchange server has reached a maximum number of attendees; and

in response to determining that the off-premises-meeting exchange server has not reached the maximum number of attendees,

applying meeting policies to the client request to determine whether to join the client computer to the web meeting at the off-premises-meeting exchange server.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising logic which when executed is operable to perform:

determining whether the web meeting is hosted at the on-premises-meeting exchange server; and

in response to determining that the web meeting is hosted at the on-premises-meeting exchange server, facilitating a connection between the on-premises-meeting exchange server and the off-premises-meeting exchange server using a secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the client computer is determined to be within the local network that also includes the hosted on-premises-meeting exchange server when an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the client computer is within a same subnet as an IP address of the hosted on-premises-meeting exchange server.