Collaboration Session Continuity via Point-to-Point Rerouting
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-user collaboration sessions, server failures can lead to disruptions and loss of ongoing conversations, hindering productivity, as participants may get disconnected, especially when only a few speakers are actively engaged.
Innovation Solution
A method that identifies the most active participants in a collaboration session and converts the session to a point-to-point connection between them upon detecting a server failure, allowing communication to continue without requiring additional infrastructure, by determining the frequency of conversation among participants and rerouting the session based on active user pairs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a multi-user collaboration session is maintained through a common computing device (server), then multiple participants can communicate remotely, but the session is vulnerable to server failures causing disconnection and loss of conversation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the collaboration session into multiple point-to-point connections between participants. When the common computing device fails, the session is divided into independent peer-to-peer connections that can continue autonomously, eliminating the single point of failure while maintaining communication functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the connection topology parameter from a centralized star topology (all participants connected through a common device) to a distributed mesh topology (direct peer-to-peer connections). This parameter change enables the system to adapt to server failures and maintain session continuity without additional infrastructure.
2Productivity
If the collaboration session is converted to point-to-point connections upon server failure, then active participants can continue communicating, but the conversion requires real-time detection and routing changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where participants continuously monitor the health and availability of the common computing device. When failure is detected through lack of response or error signals, the system automatically triggers the conversion to point-to-point connections, ensuring minimal disruption to communication continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes preliminary routing information and connection parameters before server failure occurs. Participants pre-configured with alternative connection paths can immediately switch to point-to-point mode when failure is detected, eliminating the need for complex real-time routing calculations during the critical failure transition period.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, computer program product, and computer system for identifying a plurality of participants in a multi-user collaboration session connected via at least one common computing device. It may be determined that a first client device in the collaboration session is more active with a second client device in the collaboration session than with a third client device in the collaboration session. A failure may be detected of the at least one common computing device connecting the multi-user collaboration session. The multi-user collaboration session may be converted to a point to point connection between the first client device and the second client device based upon, at least in part, determining that the first client device in the collaboration session is more active with the second client device in the collaboration session than with the third client device in the collaboration session.