Granted Patent B2

US 10,097,693 · App. 14/335,249 · Granted Oct 9, 2018

Abstract

Claims (51)

1. A method comprising:

establishing, using a multiple-phase commit process, a communication session between a first network device and a plurality of network devices;

sending, from the first network device, an outgoing data stream to each of the plurality of network devices participating in the communication session;

receiving, at the first network device, a data stream from each network device of the plurality of network devices participating in the communication session;

combining, at the first network device, the data streams received from each network device of the plurality of network devices participating in the communication session with the outgoing data stream into a combined single data stream; and

providing the combined single data stream to a user associated with the first network device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the communication session is established via support by a datacenter, and wherein the datacenter withdraws the support to the first network device and the plurality of network devices upon establishing the communication session.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, at the first network device, a request from the user associated with the first network device to participate in the communication session with a plurality of users associated with the plurality of network devices; and

identifying addresses associated with the plurality of network devices in response to the user request.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein identifying addresses associated with the plurality of network devices further comprises receiving the addresses associated with the plurality of network devices from a datacenter.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending the outgoing data stream further comprises sending the outgoing data stream to a duplicator that sends a copy of the outgoing data stream to each of the plurality of network devices.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multiple-phase commit process comprises a prepare phase and a commit phase.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sharing a security element corresponding to the communication session between the first network device and the plurality of network devices; and

storing the shared security element at the first network device.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising detecting that a second network device of the plurality of network devices is no longer participating in the communication session.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving a request from the second network device to rejoin the communication session.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising authorizing the second network device to rejoin the communication session based on the second network device providing the shared security element.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein authorizing the second network device to rejoin the communication session further comprises determining that the request to rejoin the communication session is received before a dismissal timer expires, the dismissal timer starting upon detecting that the second network device is no longer participating in the communication session.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising sharing a new security element corresponding to the communication session between the first network device and a third network device of the plurality of network devices.

13. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving an indication to add a fourth network device to the communication session;

sharing a new security element corresponding to the communication session between the first network device, the fourth network device, and the plurality of network devices; and

adding, upon sharing the new security element, the fourth network device to the communication session.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing a communication session further comprises employing a two-phase commit process between the first network device and the plurality of network devices.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing state information associated with the plurality of network devices in the communication session at the first network device.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

detecting a fault at the first network device that causes the first network device to disconnect from the communication session; and

rejoining the communication session using the stored state information associated with the plurality of network devices in the communication session.

17. A method comprising:

negotiating a shared security element between a first network device and a plurality of network devices;

establishing a conference call in a network environment between the first network device and the plurality of network devices;

combining, at the first network device, data streams received from the plurality of network devices with an outgoing data stream into a combined single data stream;

providing the combined single data stream to a user associated with the first network device;

detecting a disconnection of a second network device of the plurality of network devices from the conference call;

receiving a request from the second network device to rejoin the conference call, the request including the shared security element;

authorizing the request from the second network device based on the shared security element; and

rejoining the second network device to the conference call.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein authorizing the request from the second network device further comprises verifying that the shared security element has not expired.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

starting a timer upon detecting the disconnection of the second network device from the conference call; and

verifying that the timer has not expired before authorizing the second network device to rejoin the conference call.

20. A network device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to:

establish, using a multiple-phase commit process, a communication session between a first network device and a plurality of network devices;

send an outgoing data stream to each of the plurality of network devices participating in the communication session;

receive a data stream from each network device of the plurality of network devices participating in the communication session;

combine the data streams received from each network device of the plurality of network devices participating in the communication session with the outgoing data stream into a combined single data stream; and

provide the combined single data stream to a user associated with the first network device.

Assignments (15)