Dynamic Port Allocation for Contact Center Hold Emulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In communication systems, resources for interactive sessions often go unutilized during periods of inactivity, leading to higher costs for equipment, software licensing, and bandwidth due to the need for peak demand provisioning, especially in contact centers where users are placed on hold awaiting an available agent.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that dynamically allocate ports and bandwidth by establishing a data channel between a server and an endpoint device, allowing the device to emulate an active on-hold experience using locally stored content, such as music and announcements, without maintaining a persistent interactive communication session until the resource becomes available.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a persistent interactive communication session is maintained during hold periods, then the user experience remains seamless and real-time, but network bandwidth and port resources are wasted during inactive periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a data channel and downloading emulation content (music, announcements, IVR) to the endpoint device before the actual communication session begins. This allows the endpoint to locally emulate the hold experience without requiring continuous real-time resource allocation, thus preserving user experience while reducing bandwidth consumption during inactive periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a local copy of the hold experience by downloading audio content, IVR menus, and announcement files to the endpoint device. The endpoint then plays these local copies during hold periods, replicating the effect of a persistent real-time session without actually maintaining continuous media streams, thereby conserving network resources while maintaining user perception of seamless service.
2Reliability
If bandwidth is provisioned for peak demand, then sufficient resources are available during high-traffic periods, but costs increase due to underutilization during low-traffic periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic resource allocation where the communication session state transitions between active and emulated modes. During active sessions, full bandwidth resources are allocated; during hold periods, the system switches to a lightweight data channel mode with minimal bandwidth consumption. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain peak demand capacity when needed while reducing bandwidth allocation during low-traffic periods, optimizing resource utilization and reducing costs.
3Speed
If WebRTC ports and connections are established in advance, then session setup is rapid and seamless, but resources remain allocated even when no agent is available
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the communication session establishment process into distinct phases: initial data channel setup (lightweight), content download phase, emulated hold phase, and active session phase. By separating the connection establishment from the media stream allocation, the system can rapidly set up data channels for immediate user interaction while deferring heavy resource allocation (audio/video ports, bandwidth reservations) until an agent is actually available, thus improving both session establishment speed and resource utilization efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for efficiently allocating ports and bandwidth in a communication system configured to establish interactive, real time communication sessions between endpoints are described. Requests are received at a server, from a requester endpoint device, to initiate an interactive, real time communication voice and/or video session requiring access to an interactive session resource. In an embodiment, the communication system is a contact center and the interactive session resource is an available contact center agent. Pending availability of the interactive session resource, a requester is assigned a place in a queue or otherwise scheduled to receive access to the interactive session resource. In the meantime, a data channel is established between the server and the requester's endpoint device. Resources, which can include an executable program and/or information operative to enable the endpoint device to emulate an active on-hold voice connection period, are downloaded to the endpoint device.