Central Server Selection for Low-Latency Group Calls

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Solution Overview

Problem

In group call scenarios, existing technologies struggle to efficiently select the central server, leading to inconsistent quality and excessive delays in data communication among session members due to uncertain group member distribution and joining times, especially in group calls.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus for selecting a central server that considers the geographical regions of session members and their communication delays with directly connected servers, determining a central server based on average delay periods and weight values to optimize data communication quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a central server is selected based on simple criteria, then the selection process is fast and simple, but the communication quality and consistency across geographically distributed session members deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveserver selection processVSAvoidcommunication quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the selection parameters from simple criteria to comprehensive metrics including average delay periods, weight values based on member distribution, and communication quality indicators. This allows the system to select optimal central servers that balance geographical distribution and communication efficiency, resolving the contradiction between simple selection processes and reliable communication quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring communication delays and member distribution patterns. Based on this feedback, the server selection process dynamically adjusts choices to maintain optimal communication quality, ensuring that the central server selection adapts to changing network conditions and member locations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If the system considers geographical regions and communication delays for server selection, then the communication quality improves, but the complexity of the server selection process increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata communication qualityVSAvoidserver selection process
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing average delay periods for different server-region combinations, and pre-determining weight values based on expected member distributions. When server selection is needed, these pre-computed values are quickly retrieved and combined, avoiding complex real-time calculations and reducing the apparent complexity of the selection process while maintaining high communication quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the server selection process into distinct modules: one for calculating average delay periods, another for determining weight values based on member distribution, and a final module for synthesizing these factors into server selection decisions. This segmentation makes the complex process more manageable and implementable while achieving reliable communication quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Stability of the object's composition

If the central server selection optimizes for all session members regardless of location, then communication consistency improves, but the selection criteria and computation become more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication consistencyVSAvoidselection criteria
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by assigning different weight values to different geographical regions based on their specific characteristics and member distributions. Each region's contribution to the overall communication consistency is evaluated separately using locally-relevant parameters, allowing the system to optimize for global communication consistency while using simplified local criteria that reduce overall complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4290825B1Server selection method and apparatus, and device and medium
Publication Date: 2025.12.31 BIGO TECH PTE LTD
  • EP4290825B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4290825B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4290825B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

Disclosed in the present application are a server selection method and apparatus, and a device and a medium. The method comprises: after a first group call request sent by a calling party of a target group is received, acquiring information of each target area, which is carried in the first group call request; for the information of each target area, according to a first delay duration of a user equipment in the target area performing data communication with a directly connected server, respectively determining a first server corresponding to the target area; then, for each acquired first server, acquiring an average delay duration of the server respectively performing data communication with the user equipment in each target area; and finally, according to the average delay duration corresponding to each acquired first server, determining a central server used by the target group to perform a group call. An area where each session member participating in a group call in a target group is located is taken into full consideration, thereby improving the accuracy of a determined central server, and facilitating the improvement of the quality of the group call.