Patent ID: 7366780
Filing Date: 2008-04-29
Classification: H04L,Y02E

Abstract:
1. In a communications system having a plurality of endpoints each comprising a logical entity and its physical counterpart, a system for controlling and managing sessions between at least two of the endpoints, comprising: a registration manager for maintaining an association between each logical entity in the communications system and its physical counterpart to enable application layer routing to each said logical entity; an application layer router for directing control and information messages to a target logical entity as a function of the associations maintained by the registration manager; a session controller for determining the state of a requested session between at least two endpoints as a function of communication system resources and resources of said at least two endpoints, and for determining a set of corresponding session parameters upon acceptance of said requested session; a group database manager communicatively coupled to said application layer router for maintaining a group list including at least one group, and for each group included on said group list tracking each endpoint affiliated with that group; and at least one group entity correlating to each group in the group list, each said group entity being communicatively coupled to said registration manager, said group data base manager and to said session controller and named and addressable at the application layer for receiving messages directed from said application layer router, each said group entity further configured for receiving a first message via application layer routing requesting a group directed session between an initiating endpoint and said group entity's correlating group, communicating said requested group directed session to said session controller, communicating to said initiating endpoint via application layer routing the state of said requested group directed session and for an accepted group directed session a set of corresponding session parameters, and communicating to each other endpoint affiliated with said correlating group the accepted group directed session and the set of corresponding session parameters.