RTP Media Conference Server Routing Engine for High Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current RTP media conferencing systems face challenges in increasing data throughput, reducing server CPU and memory loading, minimizing delay in real-time media delivery, ensuring media compatibility, and supporting various formats, while also requiring significant infrastructure and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
The integration of an RTP Media Conference Server Routing Engine into a standards-based RTP Media Server, which manages conferences through a routing database, employs a Conference Session Routing Filter and Routing Logic Processor for dynamic routing and in-band signaling, supports all standard media formats, and optimizes resource usage by distributing payload processing to endpoint devices, using Encrypted Key Transport (EKT) to avoid decrypting and re-encrypting SRTP packets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If media mixing MCU architecture is used to route RTP packets above the network layer, then media compatibility and format support are improved, but data throughput decreases and server CPU/memory loading increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the conferencing system into distributed endpoint devices that each perform local media processing and mixing functions, rather than consolidating all processing in a central MCU server. This segmentation allows endpoints to handle media compatibility locally while the server focuses on routing, thereby maintaining adaptability while improving throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary routing layer that operates at the network layer rather than the application layer. This intermediary routes RTP packets based on network-level information without requiring deep inspection or processing of media payloads, thus improving data throughput while still supporting multiple media formats through endpoint-based compatibility handling.
2Adaptability or versatility
If media mixing MCU architecture is used to ensure media compatibility, then all standard media formats are supported, but server resource loading increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables endpoint devices to perform self-service media processing, including local media format conversion and compatibility handling. Each endpoint independently manages its own media streams and performs necessary format translations, eliminating the need for high server resource allocation for media processing while maintaining support for all standard media formats.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts media processing functions from the central server and relocates them to distributed endpoint devices. By taking out the computationally intensive media mixing and format conversion tasks from the server, the system maintains media compatibility while significantly reducing server CPU and memory loading.
3Ease of operation
If centralized MCU-based conferencing system is deployed, then routing control is simplified, but infrastructure cost and maintenance cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes endpoint devices universal by enabling them to perform multiple functions: media processing, format conversion, local mixing, and routing decision-making. This multi-functionality at the endpoint level reduces the need for specialized centralized infrastructure, thereby lowering deployment and maintenance costs while maintaining routing control through distributed intelligence.
4Reliability
If SRTP decryption and re-encryption is performed at the server for secured RTP conferences, then security is maintained, but data throughput decreases by thousands of percent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing security credentials and encryption keys at the endpoint devices before media processing occurs. Endpoints perform decryption and re-encryption of SRTP packets locally before transmission, eliminating the need for server-based cryptographic operations. This preliminary security handling at endpoints maintains security while avoiding the throughput penalty of server-based decryption/re-encryption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary routing layer that operates on encrypted SRTP packets without requiring decryption. The routing decisions are made based on network-layer information in the RTP headers, which remain accessible even when payloads are encrypted. This intermediary approach maintains security while preserving data throughput by avoiding server-based cryptographic processing.
Data Source
AI summary
The RTP Media Conference Server Routing Engine (“MCSRE”) integrates into a standards based RTP Media Server to improve server data throughput of RTP conference routing by factors of tens to hundreds while simultaneously decreasing real-time media delivery delays and significantly decreasing server resource requirements. The RTP MCSRE maintains a conference routing database used to manage a large number of conferences with a list of associated RTP sessions and conference participants. The routing engine also includes a Conference Session Routing Filter (“CSRF”) and a Routing Logic Processor (“RLP”) that selectively route received media streams to each participant in a given RTP conference. The behavior of both the CSRF and the RLP can be modified by executable scripts. The RTP MCSRE imposes floor control rules and packet filtering with regard to both network bandwidth and hardware resources specific to conference participant endpoint devices.