Scalable web real-time communications (WebRTC) media engines, and related methods, systems, and computer-readable media

• US 9,065,969 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2013
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Johnston, Alan B., Yoakum, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US13/931,968
• Publication Number:
  US 20150002619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 723 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/328, 379/93.01, 379/121.01, 379/265.09, 709/228, 709/202, 709/206, 709/219, 709/226, 715/744, 726/4, 348/14.12, 360/55, 713/171
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1108 Web based protocols, e.g. webRTC
• 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 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

Scalable Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) media engines, and related methods, systems, and computer-readable media, are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for providing a scalable WebRTC media engine comprises instantiating one or more virtual WebRTC agents, each corresponding to one or more of a plurality of WebRTC clients. The method further comprises establishing a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, each connecting one of the one or more virtual WebRTC agents with the corresponding one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients. The method also comprises receiving contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows as input from the one or more virtual WebRTC agents, and synthesizing the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows. The method additionally comprises directing the synthesized contents as output to one of more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows via the corresponding one or more virtual WebRTC agents.

Claims

1. A method for providing a scalable Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) media engine, comprising:

instantiating, by a WebRTC media engine executing on a computing device, one or more virtual WebRTC agents, each corresponding to one or more of a plurality of WebRTC clients;

establishing a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, each connecting one of the one or more virtual WebRTC agents with the corresponding one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients;

receiving contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows as input from the one or more virtual WebRTC agents;

synthesizing the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows; and

directing the synthesized contents as output to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows via the one or more virtual WebRTC agents.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein synthesizing the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows comprises applying an N loudest algorithm, a loudest and longest algorithm, or an N−

1 algorithm, or combinations thereof, to an audio content of one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein synthesizing the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows comprises selecting a video content of one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, combining video contents of two or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, modifying a video content of one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a client type or a client version, or a combination thereof, of the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, of the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients is based on a WebRTC offer/answer exchange, a query/response exchange between the WebRTC media engine and the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients, or a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein instantiating the one or more virtual WebRTC agents comprises:

determining, based on the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, that a first WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients is compatible with a second WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients; and

instantiating a virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the first WebRTC client and the second WebRTC client.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein instantiating the one or more virtual WebRTC agents comprises:

determining, based on the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, that a first WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients is not compatible with a second WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients;

instantiating a first virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the first WebRTC client; and

instantiating a second virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the second WebRTC client.

8. A system for providing a scalable Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) media engine, comprising:

at least one communications interface; and

a WebRTC server associated with the at least one communications interface and comprising a WebRTC media engine configured to;

instantiate one or more virtual WebRTC agents, each corresponding to one or more of a plurality of WebRTC clients;

establish a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, each connecting one of the one or more virtual WebRTC agents with the corresponding one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients;

receive contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows as input from the one or more virtual WebRTC agents;

synthesize the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows; and

direct the synthesized contents as output to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows via the one or more virtual WebRTC agents.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the WebRTC media engine is configured to synthesize the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows by applying an N loudest algorithm, a loudest and longest algorithm, or an N−

1 algorithm, or combinations thereof, to an audio content of one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the WebRTC media engine is further configured to determine a client type or a client version, or a combination thereof, of the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the WebRTC media engine is configured to determine the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, of the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients based on a WebRTC offer/answer exchange, a query/response exchange between the WebRTC media engine and the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients, or a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the WebRTC media engine is configured to instantiate the one or more virtual WebRTC agents by:

determining, based on the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, that a first WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients is compatible with a second WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients; and

instantiating a virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the first WebRTC client and the second WebRTC client.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the WebRTC media engine is configured to instantiate the one or more virtual WebRTC agents by:

determining, based on the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, that a first WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients is not compatible with a second WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients;

instantiating a first virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the first WebRTC client; and

instantiating a second virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the second WebRTC client.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement a method, comprising:

instantiating one or more virtual Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) agents, each corresponding to one or more of a plurality of WebRTC clients;

establishing a plurality of WebRTC interactive flows, each connecting one of the one or more virtual WebRTC agents with the corresponding one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients;

receiving contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows as input from the one or more virtual WebRTC agents;

synthesizing the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows; and

directing the synthesized contents as output to one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows via the one or more virtual WebRTC agents.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein synthesizing the contents of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows comprises applying an N loudest algorithm, a loudest and longest algorithm, or an N−

1 algorithm, or combinations thereof, to an audio content of one or more of the plurality of WebRTC interactive flows.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, further comprising determining a client type or a client version, or a combination thereof, of the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein determining the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, of the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients is based on a WebRTC offer/answer exchange, a query/response exchange between the WebRTC media engine and the one or more of the plurality of WebRTC clients, or a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) header, or a combination thereof.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein instantiating the one or more virtual WebRTC agents comprises:

determining, based on the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, that a first WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients is compatible with a second WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients; and

instantiating a virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the first WebRTC client and the second WebRTC client.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein instantiating the one or more virtual WebRTC agents comprises:

determining, based on the client type or the client version, or the combination thereof, that a first WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients is not compatible with a second WebRTC client of the plurality of WebRTC clients;

instantiating a first virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the first WebRTC client; and

instantiating a second virtual WebRTC agent compatible with the second WebRTC client.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 having stored thereon the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to implement the method, wherein the one or more virtual WebRTC agents comprises web browser applications executing within a virtualization environment.