Elastic Media Forking Infrastructure for Cloud Contact Centers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current media forking infrastructure in cloud-based contact centers is not scalable and incurs high costs due to limited capabilities of source IP devices, leading to inefficient use of resources and potential media stream quality issues, as existing architectures activate media forking even when not necessary.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an elastic media forking infrastructure that dynamically switches between direct media streaming and media forking modes based on client requests, activating or deactivating media forking services as needed to optimize resource usage and maintain media stream quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If media forking infrastructure is activated to support multiple cloud distributed real-time applications, then the system can provide multiple services simultaneously, but computing resources and network bandwidth are wasted when forking is not actually needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic activation and deactivation of media forking services based on real-time monitoring of media client connections. The system transitions from a static always-on forking infrastructure to a dynamic system that adapts its operational state, activating forking only when multiple clients are present and deactivating when a single client remains, thereby eliminating resource waste while maintaining service capability when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors and responds to changes in the number of active media clients, using this parameter to control the operational state of the media forking service. When the client count transitions from one to multiple, the service activates; when it drops back to a single client, the service deactivates. This parameter-driven control optimizes resource utilization based on actual service requirements
2Adaptability or versatility
If media forking is implemented using source IP devices, then media streams can be forked to multiple applications, but the cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the media forking functionality from the source IP devices and relocates it to a separate media forking service in the cloud infrastructure. This separation allows source IP devices to maintain their existing capabilities while the forking function is provided by a dedicated service that can handle multiple streams efficiently, reducing device complexity and cost
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a media forking service as an intermediary component between source IP devices and cloud distributed real-time applications. This intermediary handles the complexity of media stream forking, authentication, and client management, allowing source IP devices to remain simple media sources while enabling sophisticated forking capabilities through the intermediary service
3Reliability
If media forking infrastructure is always active, then service availability is maintained, but network bandwidth is wasted during direct media streaming when forking is not needed
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic monitoring of media client connections and periodic activation/deactivation of the media forking service based on the monitored state. Rather than running continuously, the service is activated periodically when needed (when multiple clients are detected) and deactivated when not needed (single client scenario), maintaining reliability while reducing network bandwidth consumption during direct streaming periods
Data Source
AI summary
A computerized-method for providing an elastic media forking infrastructure to cloud distributed real-time applications, is provided herein. In a network having a direct media streaming between a first media-client and a source device, in a direct media streaming mode, upon receiving a request from a second media-client, via a signaling protocol, to receive media from the source device, switching from the direct media streaming mode to a media forking mode by starting a media forking service on a media forking infrastructure. Upon receiving a request from the second media-client to terminate media reception from the source device, switching from media forking mode to direct streaming mode, by ending the media forking service, and operating the direct media streaming between the first media-client and the source device.