Virtual conference center architecture

• US 8,234,336 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Slater, Chadlee R., Desai, Natasha, Vernon, Jay L., Smith, Jeremy B., Hagel, Kyle, George, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): NICKERSON, JEFFREY L
• Application Number:
  US11/067,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20060195519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,713 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709/218, 709/249, 709/204, 709/225, 726/8, 726/12
• US Class Current: 709/204
• 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 65/1101 Session protocols
• 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

Abstract

A method, system, and architecture for providing a virtual conference center that effectively increases the number of accounts supported by a conference center. The virtual conference center architecture provides a virtual conference center that interfaces with multiple conference centers that each support a certain number of accounts. The virtual conference center provides an interface through which users can access their accounts on the conference centers as if their accounts were created on a single conference center. The users access their accounts and join conferences through the virtual conference center.

Claims

1. A computing device that provides a virtual conference center, the virtual conference center providing an interface through which users can access their accounts on multiple conference centers as if their accounts were created on a single conference center, the computing device comprising:

a processor; and

one or more storage devices containing

a user store having entries, each entry identifying a user of the virtual conference center and a conference center on which the user has an account; and

computer-executable instructions implementing;

an add user component that receives a user identifier, selects a conference center from a plurality of conference centers, directs an account on the selected conference center to be created for the identified user, and adds an entry to the user store for the identified user indicating the conference center on which the account has been created; and

a login component that

receives a request for a user to log in to the virtual conference center, the request including a user identifier and a password;

retrieves from the user store the entry for the user identified by the user identifier;

directs that the user be logged in to the conference center on which the user has an account as indicated by the retrieved entry by sending to the conference center the user identifier and password received in the request; and

receives from the conference center an indication that the password is verified indicating that the user is logged into the conference center;

a synchronization component that identifies the users of the conference centers, and adds an entry to the user store for any identified user that does not already have an entry in the user store and removes entries from the user store when the user of the entry is not an identified user of the conference centers.

2. The computing device of claim 1 including:

a join conference component that receives a request for a user to join a conference, identifies a conference center that is hosting the conference, and directs that the user join the conference at the hosting conference center.

3. The computing device of claim 2 wherein the join conference component provides a display page for the user to provide the identification of the user and the conference.

4. The computing device of claim 3 wherein the join conference component directs the user'"'"'s computer to send a join conference request to the hosting conference center.

5. The computing device of claim 3 wherein the conference center that is hosting the conference is identified from the identification of the conference.

6. The computing device of claim 5 wherein the identification of the hosting conference center is part of the identification of the conference.

7. The computing device of claim 1 wherein the add user component identifies a conference center based on available capacity of conference centers.

8. A method performed by a computing device for aggregating multiple conference centers, the method comprising:

providing an interface for accessing multiple conference centers; and

providing a virtual conference center that is a front end to the multiple conference centers through which users can be added to the conference centers, log in to the conference centers, and join conferences and the conference centers can be synchronized with the virtual conference center

wherein adding a user to a conference center comprises;

receiving from the user a user identifier that identifies the user;

creating a virtual conference center account for the user;

selecting one of the multiple conference centers to which the user is to be added,

directing an account on the selected conference center to be created for the identified user using the received user identifier and a password; and

adding an entry to a user store for the identified user indicating the selected conference center on which the account for the identified user has been created and indicating the created virtual conference center account;

wherein logging in a user to a conference center comprises;

receiving from the user a request to log in to the virtual conference center, the request including the user identifier and a password; and

in response to receiving the request,

logging the user into the virtual conference center account of the user as indicated by the user store;

retrieving from the user store the entry for the user; and

directing that the user be logged in to the conference center on which the user has an account as indicated by the retrieved entry by sending a login request to the conference center, the login request including the user identifier and the password received from the user in the request to log in to the virtual conference center;

wherein joining of a user to a conference comprises;

receiving from the user a request to join a conference;

identifying a conference center that is hosting the conference; and

directing that the user join the conference at the hosting conference center wherein when the user joins the conference, the user interfaces directly with conference center of the conference; and

wherein synchronizing of the conference centers with the virtual conference center comprises;

identifying users with accounts at the conference centers;

for any identified user that does not already have an entry in the user store, creating a virtual conference center account for the identified user and adding an entry for the identified user to the user store; and

when the user of an entry in the user store is not an identified user with an account at any of the conference centers, removing the virtual conference center account for the user and removing the entry for the user from the user store.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein directing that the user join the conference includes directing a computer of the user to send a join conference request to the hosting conference center.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the virtual conference center sends to the user a display page for the user to provide their identification, the display page not being received from a conference center.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the directing that the user be logged in to the conference center includes directing a computer of the user to send a login request to the identified conference center.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein a conference center is identified based on available capacity of conference centers.

13. A computer-readable storage device containing computer-executable instructions for controlling a computing device to perform a method that provides a virtual conference center as a front end to a plurality of existing conference centers so that users log in to accounts of the conference centers and join conferences hosted by the conference centers, the method comprising:

adding a user to a conference center by;

receiving from the user a user identifier that identifies the user, selecting one of the multiple conference centers to which the user is to be added;

directing an account on the selected conference center to be created for the identified user using the received user identifier; and

adding an entry to a user store for the identified user indicating the selected conference center on which the account for the identified user has been created;

logging in a user to a conference center by;

receiving from the user a request to log in to the virtual conference center, the request including the user identifier and authentication information; and

in response to receiving the request,

retrieving from the user store the entry for the user identified by the user identifier; and

directing that the user be logged in to the conference center on which the user has an account as indicated by the retrieved entry by sending a login request to the conference center, the login request including the user identifier and the authentication received from the user in the request to log in to the virtual conference center;

joining of a user to a conference by;

receiving from the user a request to join a conference;

identifying a conference center that is hosting the conference; and

directing that the user join the conference at the hosting conference center; and

synchronizing the data store of the virtual conference center with the conference centers by;

identifying users with accounts at the conference centers;

adding an entry to the user store for any identified user that does not already have an entry in the user store; and

removing entries from the user store when the user of the entry is not an identified user with an account at any of the conference centers.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13 wherein the joining of a user to a conference further includes:

providing a web page through which the user can identify the conference that the user wants to join, can identify their conference name, and a conference password; and

after receiving the identification of the conference, performing the identifying of the hosting conference center;

after identifying the hosting conference center, requesting the hosting conference center to verify that the user is authorized to join the conference based on their conference name and the conference password; and

after verifying that the user is authorized to join the conference, directing the computer of the user to automatically join the conference at the hosting conference center so that the hosting conference center provides a user interface for the conference directly to the computer of the user.