Host Facility Selection for Conferencing Session Quality
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unified Communication (UC) systems face challenges in maintaining communication quality due to the use of multiple independently managed networks, requiring dynamic management of communication traffic across different connection scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A system for selecting a host facility for conferencing sessions based on estimated quality, considering attributes of available host facilities and endpoint devices, to optimize session quality and dynamically reassign hosts as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple independently managed networks are used to route communications in a UC system, then communication flexibility and service integration are improved, but communication quality and reliability deteriorate due to lack of centralized control
Solution Approach 1:
An intermediary system is introduced to act as a mediator between multiple independently managed networks. This intermediary collects quality metrics from various networks, evaluates host facility performance, and makes intelligent routing decisions to maintain communication quality while preserving the flexibility of multiple network providers.
Solution Approach 2:
A feedback mechanism is implemented where quality metrics are continuously collected from communications routed through different networks. This feedback is used to dynamically adjust routing decisions and host facility selections, ensuring that communication quality is maintained despite the use of multiple independent networks.
2Adaptability or versatility
If UC software is loaded on mobile devices to accommodate changing connection scenarios, then adaptability to different connection environments is improved, but system complexity and difficulty of managing communication traffic increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex traffic management logic is extracted from mobile devices and relocated to a centralized system. The mobile devices only need to connect to the network, while the centralized system handles the complex decisions about host facility selection and routing based on quality metrics, thereby reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic host facility selection that automatically adapts to changing connection scenarios. Instead of requiring complex static configurations on mobile devices, the system dynamically adjusts routing decisions based on real-time quality metrics and network conditions.
3Reliability
If host facility selection is made dynamically based on quality metrics, then session quality is improved, but computational overhead and decision-making complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary evaluation of host facilities by collecting and analyzing quality metrics before communications are routed. Host facility performance is pre-assessed and ranked based on quality metrics, so that when a communication needs to be routed, the decision can be made quickly based on pre-computed information rather than real-time complex analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The host facility selection process is segmented into separate functional components: quality metric collection, performance evaluation, and routing decision-making. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall decision-making complexity by breaking it down into manageable stages.
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques for host facility assignment for a conferencing session are described. Generally, a conferencing session refers to an exchange of communication media between communication endpoints. Accordingly to various embodiments, multiple different host facilities are available for hosting a conferencing session. Further to techniques described herein, a host facility from the different available host facilities is selected to perform hosting duties for the conferencing session. In at least some implementations, a host facility that is estimated to provide a highest session quality for the conferencing session is selected to host the conferencing session.