Distributed interactive multimedia system architecture

US6304576A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Cisco Technology, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Robert David Corley · Plano, US
• Richard A. Dunlap · Euless, US
• Paul S. Hahn · Plano, US
• Michael H. McClung · Ruckersville, US
• Christopher E. Pearce · Dallas, US
• Richard B. Platt · Allen, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 30, 1998
• Grant date: Oct 16, 2001
• Expiry date: Sep 30, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04L2012/5663
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Various aspects of an interactive multimedia system and associated methods. In general, the multimedia system employs central and peripheral hubs that function to provide services to a plurality of clients of a call manager server, or manager subsystem. The hubs and subsystem cooperate to serve requests originating in the plurality of clients. The client-server-client architecture allows for distributed processing and resource management. Redundant connections between the various network subsystems and hubs provide survivability. Each subsystem or hub is provided with the ability to initialize or recover from systemic errors, thereby distributing initialization and recovery. Certain of the distributed resources are capable of being managed from other subsystems, thereby allowing sharing of the resources. An open numbering plan allows efficient call treatment of dialed numbers. Call processing is sharable between multiple manager subsystems. Finally, an iterative process is employed to ensure that calls routed through the network travel the shortest possible path.