Patent Publication Number: US-2021194940-A1

Title: System and method for identifying idle resources in communication endpoints

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/040,456 filed on Jul. 19, 2018, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING IDLE RESOURCES IN COMMUNICATION ENDPOINTS”, which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Communication endpoints (e.g., hardwired telephones) in many communication systems typically lie idle most of the time. For example, in a corporate environment, communication endpoints in the main and in branch locations are usually idle because the communication endpoints are only being used when a voice call occurs. Additionally, branch locations may have to deploy a media server that can be very expensive in spite of having so many processing resources in the communication endpoints that are not being utilized. 
     SUMMARY 
     These and other needs are addressed by the various embodiments and configurations of the present disclosure. A request to establish a communication session between a first communication endpoint to a second communication endpoint is received. A determination is made that the request to establish the communication session requires an application to be inserted into the communication session between the first communication endpoint and the second communication endpoint. For example, the application may be a call recording application. A first processing resource in a first idle communication endpoint is selected based on an idleness factor of the first processing resource. The application is sent to the first idle communication endpoint. The application in the first idle communication endpoint is then inserted into the communication session between the first communication endpoint and the second communication endpoint. 
     The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, “or”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C”, “A, B, and/or C”, and “A, B, or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 
     The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
     The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation, which is typically continuous or semi-continuous, done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material”. 
     Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. 
     A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     The terms “determine”, “calculate” and “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique. 
     The term “Session Initiation Protocol” (SIP) as used herein refers to an IETF-defined signaling protocol, widely used for controlling multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol (IP). The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party (unicast) or multiparty (multicast) sessions consisting of one or several media streams. The modification can involve changing addresses or ports, inviting more participants, and adding or deleting media streams. Other feasible application examples include video conferencing, streaming multimedia distribution, instant messaging, presence information, file transfer and online games. SIP is as described in RFC 3261, available from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Network Working Group, November 2000; likewise, SIP RFC 7897 entitled “DTLS-SRTP Handling in SIP Back-to-Back User Agents,” May 2016 describes how to sequence applications (Back-to-Back User Agents) into a communication session; these documents, and all other SIP RFCs describing SIP are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all that they teach. 
     The term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112(f) and/or Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the summary, brief description of the drawings, detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves. 
     The preceding is a simplified summary to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various embodiments. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other embodiments of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below. Also, while the disclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a first illustrative system for identifying idle communication endpoints in order to better utilize processing resources of the idle communication endpoints. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a second illustrative system for identifying idle communication endpoints in order to better utilize processing resources of the idle communication endpoints in a distributed computer network. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying and utilizing idle communication endpoints by inserting an application in an idle communication endpoint into a communication session. 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying and utilizing idle communication endpoints by inserting multiple applications in multiple idle communication endpoints into a communication session. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying an idle communication endpoint based on idleness, processing capacity, and/or location. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram of a process for switching an application in a communication session between idle communication endpoints when an off-hook is detected. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying and utilizing idle communication endpoints by inserting an application in an idle communication endpoint into a communication session. 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying idle communication endpoints in a peer-to-peer environment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a first illustrative system  100  for identifying idle communication endpoints  101  in order to better utilize processing resources  102  of the idle communication endpoints  101 . The first illustrative system  100  comprises communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN, communication endpoints  101 B 1 - 101 BN, networks  110 A- 110 B, a communication system  120 , a firewall  130 , and a media server  140 . 
     The communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN/ 101 B 1 - 101 BN can be or may include any communication endpoint device that can communicate on the networks  110 A/ 110 B, such as a Personal Computer (PC), a telephone (e.g., a hard wired desktop telephone), an audio conferencing system, a video phone (e.g., a hardwired video phone), a video conferencing system, a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet device, a notebook device, a smart phone, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the communication endpoint devices  101 A 1 - 101 AN are limited to hardwired telephones. 
     The communication endpoints  101 A- 101 N/ 101 B 1 - 101 BN are devices where a communication session terminates. The communication endpoints  101 A- 101 N are not network elements that facilitate and/or relay a communication session in the networks  110 A/ 110 B, such as a communication manager  122 , a router, a media server  140 , a firewall  130 , and/or the like. 
     The communication endpoint  101 A 1  is shown to include a processing resource  102 A 1 . Although not shown for simplicity, the communication endpoints  101 A 2 - 101 AN/ 101 B 1 - 101 BN will also comprise processing resources  102 A 2 - 102 AN/ 102 B 1 - 102 BN. The processing resource  102  may comprise elements such as, a microprocessor, a Digital Signaling Processor (DSP), a multi-core processor, a microcontroller, an application specific processor, and/or the like. The processing resource  102  may also include other types of processing resources  102 , such as, a memory, disk space, a memory controller, and/or other hardware/software elements that are part of the processing resource  102  of the communication endpoint  101 . 
     The processing resource  102  in the communication endpoints  101  may be mostly idle, partially idle, or not idle. For example, a desktop telephone (or videophone) is typically mostly idle until a user picks up the telephone, which causes the telephone to go off-hook and become non-idle. Alternatively, a desktop computer may be partially idle. For example, one or more cores of a multicore processor may be mostly idle and available for use while other cores may be fully utilized. Alternatively, each core may be partially idle and a total idleness score for the communication endpoint  101  may be based on an overall percentage of idleness of the multiple cores or for each individual core. Depending on the idleness of each core, multiple applications  124  may executed by each core. 
     Idleness of a processing resource  102  can be based on a percentage of CPU/memory usage compared a total CPU/memory usage. Idleness may be based on memory that is internal (e.g., a cache in a microprocessor) and/or external (e.g. Random Access Memory/Flash Memory). For example, a desktop telephone may have a CPU/memory usage of 10% (considered idle) when not in use and a CPU/memory usage of 95% when in use (not available). 
     The networks  110 A- 110 B can be or may include any collection of communication equipment that can send and receive electronic communications, such as, the Internet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Voice over IP Network (VoIP), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a packet switched network, a circuit switched network, a cellular network, a combination of these, and the like. The networks  110 A- 110 B can use a variety of electronic protocols, such as Ethernet, Internet Protocol (IP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and the like. Thus, the networks  110 A- 110 B are an electronic communication networks configured to carry messages via packets and/or circuit switched communications. 
     In  FIG. 1 , the network  110 A is typically associated with a group or organization. For example, the network  110 A may be a corporate network. The network  110 B is typically a public network such as the Internet/PSTN that can be used to establish communication sessions (e.g., voice or video communication sessions) between the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN and the communication endpoints  101 B 1 - 101 BN via the communication system  120 . 
     The communication system  120  can be or may include any hardware coupled with software that can manage communication sessions between the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN/ 101 B 1 - 101 BN, such as a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), a session manager, a communication manager  122 , an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), a central office switch, a router and/or the like. The communication system  120  further comprise a microprocessor  121 , a communication manager  122 , an idle resource manager  123 , and application(s)  124 . 
     The microprocessor  121  can be any known microprocessor  121 , such as, a multi-core processor, a microcontroller, an application specific processor, an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip, a collection of IC chips, a DSP and/or the like. The processor  121  may include, but is not limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family of processors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™ family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel® Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nm Ivy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300, and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments® Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments® OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors, ARM® Cortex-A and ARIV1926EJS™ processors, other industry-equivalent processors, and may perform computational functions using any known or future-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture. 
     The communication manager  122  can be or may include any hardware coupled with software that can manage communication sessions in the communication system  120 , such as a PBX, a session manager, an ACD, a router, and/or the like. The communication manager  122  can manage various types of communications sessions, such as voice communication sessions, video communication sessions, Instant Messaging (IM) communication sessions, email communication sessions, text messaging communication sessions, social media communication sessions, virtual reality communication sessions, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the communication manager  122  may only manage voice and/or video communication sessions. 
     The idle resource manager  123  can be any software that can determine if a processing resource  102  in a communication endpoint  101  is idle. For example, an idle communication endpoint  101  may be a communication endpoint  101  that is below a processing threshold. The idle resource manager  123  can determine if a processing resource  102  in a communication endpoint  101  is going to be idle using various mechanisms. 
     The idle resource manager  123  can determine other relevant factors to determine a best idle communication endpoint  101 , such as a processing capacity of a communication endpoint  101 , a location of an idle communication endpoint  101  relative to other communication endpoints  101  involved in a communication session, and/or the like. 
     The application(s)  124  can be or may include any software module that can be inserted into a communication session, such as call recording application, a call disconnection application, a call transfer application, a call forking application, a billing application, a protocol adaption application, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) application, a ring tone generation application, a call progress application, a SIP Back-to-Back User Agent (B2BUA), and/or the like. 
     The firewall  130  can be or may include any hardware coupled with software that can provide firewall services, such as a network address translator, a packet filtering firewall, a circuit level gateway, a state inspection firewall, an application gateway, a session border controller, a deep packet inspection firewall, and/or the like. The firewall  130  provides protection services for the network  110 A. In one embodiment, the firewall  130  is not included. 
     The media server  140  can be or may include any hardware coupled with software that can insert one or more applications  124  into a communication session. The media server  140  is an optional element in  FIG. 1 . In one embodiment, the system of detecting idle communication endpoints  101  is based on the media server  140  failing. The media server  140  further comprises the applications  124 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a second illustrative system  200  for identifying idle communication endpoints  101  in order to better utilize processing resources  102  of the idle communication endpoints  101  in a distributed computer network  110 . The second illustrative system  200  comprises the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN, the communication endpoints  101 B 1 - 101 BN, communication endpoints  101 C 1 - 101 CN, networks  110 A- 110 C, communication systems  120 A- 120 B, firewalls  130 A- 130 B, and branch networks  210 A- 210 B. 
     The branch locations  210 A- 210 B are computer networks for branches locations of an organization, such as, branch locations  210 A- 210 N of a corporation. The branch location  210 A comprises the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN, the network  110 A, and the communication system  120 A. The branch location  210 B comprise the communication endpoints  101 C 1 - 101 CN, the network  110 C, and the communication system  120 B. Because the branch locations  210 A- 210 B are networks  110 A/ 110 C for the same entity, the communication systems  120 A- 120 B may communicate information between each other, such as, information on whether the communication devices  101 A 1 - 101 AN/ 101 C 1 / 101 CN are idle. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying and utilizing idle communication endpoints  101  by inserting an application  124  in an idle communication endpoint  101  into a communication session. Illustratively, the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN,  101 B 1 - 101 BN, and  101 C 1 - 101 CN, the processing resources  102 , the communication systems  120 A- 120 B, the communication manager  122 , the idle resource manager  123 , the application(s)  124 , the firewalls  130 A- 130 B, and the media server  140  are stored-program-controlled entities, such as a computer or microprocessor  121 , which performs the method of  FIGS. 3-8  and the processes described herein by executing program instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as a memory (i.e., a computer memory, a hard disk, and/or the like). Although the methods described in  FIGS. 3-8  are shown in a specific order, one of skill in the art would recognize that the steps in  FIGS. 3-8  may be implemented in different orders and/or be implemented in a multi-threaded environment. Moreover, various steps may be omitted or added based on implementation. 
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary example that uses SIP to establish the communication session. However, one of skill in the art would recognize that other protocols (e.g., Web Real-Time Communication (Web RTC) protocol, H.323, video protocols, etc.) may be used. The process of  FIG. 3  is where there is not a media server  140  or where the media server  140  has failed. 
     The communication endpoint  101 B 1  sends a SIP INVITE message (a request) to establish a communication session with the communication endpoint  101 A 1 , in step  300 . The communication manger  122  receives the SIP INVITE message of step  300 . The idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  302 , if the request to establish the communication session (the SIP INVITE message of step  300 ) requires an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session between the communication endpoint  101 A 1  and the communication endpoint  101 B 1 . In step  302 , the determination may that there is always an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session. If there is not an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session or if an idle processing resource  102  is not available, the communication session is established by sending the SIP INVITE message of step  300  directly to the communication endpoint  101 A 1  (not shown). 
     The application(s)  124  may be inserted into a communication session in various ways, such as, based on a user profile, based on an administered profile, based on a type of the communication session, based on an event (e.g., the user wants to record a call), and/or the like. The application(s)  124  may be inserted into a signaling channel and/or a media channel of the communication session. Although  FIGS. 3 and 4  show the application(s)  124  being inserted into the communication session at the beginning of the communication session, the application(s)  124  may be inserted into the communication session at any time during the duration of the communication session. 
     The application(s)  124  may be inserted into the communication dynamically based on different factors. For example, if the communication session is a voice or video communication session, the application  124  (e.g., a ring tone generation application  124 ) is inserted into the communication session. On the other hand, if the communication session is an Instant Messaging (IM) communication session, the ring tone generation application  124  is not inserted into the communication session. 
     Based on the determination that the application(s)  124  needs to be inserted into the communication session, the idle resource manager  123  selects, in step  304 , a processing resource  102  in an idle communication endpoint  101  based on an idleness factor. The idle resource manager  123  may determine the idleness factor of a processing resource  102  in a communication endpoint  101  in various ways. For example, the idle resource manager  123  may query each of the communication endpoints  101 A 2 - 101 AN (not communication endpoint  101 A 1  because it will be involved in the communication session) to determine a percentage of idleness of each of the communication endpoints  101 A 2 - 101 AN. The idle resource manager  123  can be informed by the communication manager  122  of which communication endpoints  101  (e.g., telephones) are involved in communication sessions. Alternatively, the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN may periodically sends their idleness status or send their idleness status based on an event. For example, a telephone may send a message that indicates the telephone just went off-hook and is not idle. The telephone can then send a message that it is idle when the user hangs up. 
     The idle resource manager  123  may use other idleness factors to determine a projected likelihood that a communication endpoint  101  will be idle. For example, the idle resource manager  123  may determine that the communication endpoint  101  may be idle based on a calendar event of a user of the communication endpoint  101 , a usage pattern of the communication endpoint  101  (e.g., never used on the weekend), by identifying that the user of the communication endpoint  101  is away from the communication endpoint  101 , by a scanned ID card, by a location of the user of the communion endpoint (e.g., based on a location of the user&#39;s cellular telephone), by a location of the communication endpoint  101  (e.g., a lab telephone), based on a login of the user, based on a biometric scan, based on a voice print, based on an activity of the user on another device, based on a usage rate, and/or the like. 
     Once the idle resource manager  123  has selected a best idle communication endpoint  101  (idle communication endpoint  101 AN is this example), the idle resource communication  123  manager sends, in step  306 , the application  124  to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN. The idle communication endpoint  101 AN acknowledges, in step  308 , the receipt of the application  124  sent in step  306 . 
     In one embodiment, the sending of the appellation  124  in step  306  may occur before receiving the SIP INVITE message of step  300 . For example, the idle resource manager  123  may send the application  124  to the most idle communication endpoints  101  in anticipation of receiving the SIP INVITE message of step  300 . This way, the application  124  is already installed in the idle communication endpoint  101 AN, which reduces the time necessary to insert the application  124  into the communication session. 
     The communication manager  122  sequences the application  124  into the communication session, in step  310 , by sending the SIP INVITE message to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN. The idle communication endpoint  101 AN sends the SIP INVITE message, in step  312 , to the communication endpoint  101 A 1 . The communication endpoint  101 A 1  acknowledges the SIP INVITE message received step  312  by sending a SIP 200 OK message, in step  314 , to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN. The idle communication endpoint  101 AN acknowledges the SIP INVITE message of step  310  by sending a SIP 200 OK message to the communication manager  122  in step  316 . The communication manager  122  sends the SIP 200 OK message, in step  318 , to the communication endpoint  101 B 1  to acknowledge the SIP INVITE message of step  300 . Although not shown, additional SIP ACK messages will typically be sent to acknowledge the SIP 200 OK messages of steps  314 - 318 . 
     Steps  300 - 318  allows the communication session to be setup (i.e., a signaling channel and a media channel (e.g., using Real-Time Communication Protocol) using standard SIP processes, in step  320 , between the communication endpoint  101 B 1 , the application  124  in the idle communication endpoint  101 AN, and communication endpoint  101 A 1 . For example, the communication session may be a voice communication session where the application  124  in the idle communication endpoint  101 AN is an IVR application  124  that allows the user to select different options (e.g., have the call go to voicemail or wait on hold because the user of the communication endpoint  101 A 1  is temporarily busy). 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying and utilizing idle communication endpoints  101  by inserting multiple applications  124  in multiple idle communication endpoints  101  into a communication session. The communication endpoint  101 B 1  sends a SIP INVITE message (a request) to establish a communication session with the communication endpoint  101 A 1 , in step  400 . The session manger  120  receives the SIP INVITE message of step  400 . The idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  402 , if the request to establish the communication session (the SIP INVITE message of step  400 ) requires applications  124  to be inserted into the communication session between the communication endpoint  101 A 1  and the communication endpoint  101 B 1 . If there is not an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session or if an idle processing resource  102  is not available, the communication session is established by sending the SIP INVITE message of step  400  to the communication endpoint  101 A 1  (not shown). 
     Based on the determination that the applications  124  (two applications  124  in this example, although there could be more than two applications  124  based on implementation) need to be inserted into the communication session, the idle resource manager  123  selects, in step  404 , processing resources  102  in the idle communication endpoints  101 AN/ 101 A 2  based on the idleness factor. The idle resource manager  123  may determine the idleness factor of a processing resource  102  in a similar manner as discussed in  FIG. 3 . 
     Once the idle resource manager  123  has selected the best idle communication endpoints  101  (idle communication endpoint  101 AN/ 101 A 2  is this example), the idle resource communication manager  122  sends, in step  406 / 408 , the application(s)  124  to the idle communication endpoints  101 AN/ 101 A 2 . The application  124  that is sent to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN may be the same application  124  or a different application  124 . For example, the idle resource manager  123  may send the same recording application  124  to the idle communication endpoints  101 AN/ 101 A 2 . This way, if one of the communication endpoints  101 AN/ 101 A 2  all of a sudden becomes non-idle (e.g., by going off hook and initiating a communication session) the other communication endpoint  101  will still be able to continue recording the communication session. 
     Alternatively, the applications  124  may be different. For example, the application  124  send to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN may be a ring tone generation application  124  and the application  124  sent to the idle communication endpoint  101 A 2  may be the call recording application  124 . 
     In one embodiment, the sending of the appellation  124  in steps  406 / 408  may occur before receiving the SIP INVITE message of step  400 . For example, the idle resource manager  123  may send the application(s)  124  to the most idle communication endpoints  101  in anticipation of receiving the SIP INVITE of step  400 . This way, the application  124  is already installed in the idle communication endpoint  101 AN, which reduces the time necessary to insert the application  124  into the communication session. 
     The idle communication endpoint  101 AN acknowledges, in step  410 , the receipt of the application  124  sent in step  406 . The idle communication endpoint  101 A 2  acknowledges, in step  412 , the receipt of the application  124  sent in step  408 . 
     The communication manager  122  sequences the application  124  into the communication session, in step  414 , by sending the SIP INVITE message to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN. The idle communication endpoint  101 AN sends the SIP INVITE message, in step  416 , to the idle communication endpoint  101 A 2 . The idle communication endpoint  101 A 2  sends, in step  418 , the SIP INVITE message to the communication endpoint  101 A 1 . 
     The communication endpoint  101 A 1  acknowledges the SIP INVITE message received in step  418  by sending a SIP 200 OK message, in step  420 , to the idle communication endpoint  101 A 2 . The idle communication endpoint  101 A 2  acknowledges the SIP INVITE message of step  416  by sending a SIP 200 OK message to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN in step  422 . The idle communication endpoint  101 AN sends, in step  424 , the SIP 200 OK message to the communication manager  122  to acknowledge the SIP INVITE message of step  414 . The communication manager  122  sends, in step  426 , the SIP 200 OK message to the communication endpoint  101 B 1  to acknowledge the SIP INVITE message of step  400 . Although not shown, additional SIP ACK messages will typically be sent to acknowledge the SIP 200 OK messages of steps  420 - 426 . 
     Steps  400 - 426  allows the communication session to be setup (i.e., a communication channel and a media channel), in step  428 , between the communication endpoint  101 B 1 , the application(s)  124  in the idle communication endpoints  101 AN/ 101 A 2 , and the communication endpoint  101 A 1 . 
     In one embodiment, instead of the applications  124  in the communication endpoints  101  being inserted into the communication session in series as shown in  FIG. 4 , the applications  124  in the communication endpoints  101  are inserted into the communication session parallel. For example, the communication manager  122  can fork the SIP INVITE of step  414  message (along with the later established media stream) to both the idle communication endpoint  101 AN and the idle communication endpoint  101 A 2 . 
     The processes described in  FIGS. 3-4  may be used to setup additional communication sessions. For example, a new communication session (with different endpoints  101 ) may be established (e.g., at the same time) and use an application(s)  124  in other idle communication endpoint(s)  101 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying an idle communication endpoint  101  based on idleness, processing capacity, and/or location.  FIG. 5  is an exemplary embodiment of step  304 / 404  of  FIGS. 3-4 . After determining, in step  302  or  402 , that the request to establish the communication requires the application(s)  124  to be inserted into the communication session between the communication endpoint  101 A 1  and the communication endpoint  101 B 1 , the idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  500 , an idleness factor for the communication endpoint(s)  101  (for both idle and non-idle communication endpoints  101 ). For example, the idleness manager will determine the idleness factor based on the communication endpoints  101  in a branch location  210 . 
     The idleness factor (how likely a communication endpoint  101  may be idle) may be determined in a similar manner as discussed in step  304 , such as, based on a calendar event of a user of the communication endpoint  101 , a usage pattern of the communication endpoint  101 , by identifying that the user of the communication endpoint  101  is away from the communication endpoint  101 , by a scanned ID card, based on a login of the user, based on a biometric scan, based on a voice print, based on an activity of the user on another device, based on a usage rate, and/or the like. For example, if the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN comprise one hundred communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN, the idle resource manager  123  will determine idleness factors for the communication endpoints  101 A 1 - 101 AN that are not involved in the communication session (e.g.,  99  communication endpoints  101  in this example). If a communication endpoint  101  is a telephone and is currently active in a voice call (or off-hook), the communication endpoint  101  will be typically marked as non-idle. 
     The idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  502 , a processing capacity of the processing resource  102  for the idle communication endpoints  101 . The processing capacity of the processing resource  102  may be based on various factors, such as a number of instructions per second of a microprocessor  121 /Digital Signaling Processor (DSP), an amount of memory (e.g., to hold and execute the application  124 ), a number of processor cores, a type of processor (e.g., if the application  124  requires a specific type of processor (e.g., a DSP that uses a specific type of machine code)), and/or the like. 
     The idle resource manager  123  filters out, in step  504 , any idle communication endpoints  101  that do not have the necessary processing capacity for the application  124 . For example, if the application  124  requires thirty megabytes of memory, a DSP, and five hundred million instructions per second, all the idle communication endpoints  101  that do not meet this criteria will be filtered out, in step  504 , because those communication endpoints  101  are not be capable of executing the application  124 . 
     The idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  506 , the location of the idle communication endpoints  101  in relation to the communication endpoints  101  in the communication session. For example, if the communication session is between the communication endpoints  101 A 1  and  101 B 1 , the idle communication endpoints  101 A 2 - 101 AN would be closer to the communication endpoint  101 A 1  involved in the communication session versus other idle communication endpoints  101  that are at a different location (e.g., the idle communication endpoints  101 C 1 - 101 CN). The purpose of using location is to identify communication endpoints  101  that are close to the communication endpoints  101  involved in the communication session in order to not add additional latency to the communication session. In addition, by using idle communication endpoints  101  that are local, less overall bandwidth may be used. However, the location may only be part of the criteria to select an idle communication endpoint  101 . For example, a remote communication endpoint  101  may be given priority over a local communication endpoint  101  because the local communication endpoint is less idle. 
     Based on steps  500 - 506 , the idle resource manager  123  builds, in step  508 , a list of idle/non-idle communication endpoints  101  that are ranked based on the idleness factor, the processing capacity, and/or the location. For example, the list may be similar to Table 1 shown below for the communication session between the communication endpoints  101 A 1  and  101 B 1  where the communication endpoints  101 A- 101 N/ 101 C 1 - 101 CN are part of the branch networks  210 A- 210 B of a corporation. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Location 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Communication 
                 (local versus 
                 Idleness 
                 Processing 
               
               
                 Endpoint 
                 remote) 
                 Factor 
                 Capacity 
                 Rank 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 101AN 
                 Local 
                 .97 
                 Meets Criteria 
                 1 
               
               
                 101C1 
                 Not Local 
                 .99 
                 Meets Criteria 
                 2 
               
               
                 101A2 
                 Local 
                 .3 
                 Meets Criteria 
                 3 
               
               
                 101AD 
                 Local 
                 .99 
                 Does Not 
                 Not 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Meets Criteria 
                 Available 
               
               
                 101CN 
                 Not Local 
                 .00 (Not 
                 Meets Criteria 
                 Not 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Idle) 
                   
                 Available 
               
               
                 101A2 
                 Local 
                 .00 (Not 
                 Meets Criteria 
                 Not 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Idle) 
                   
                 Available 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In Table 1, the ranked order of the idle communication endpoints  101  is: 1) the communication endpoint  101 AN, 2) the idle communication endpoint  101 C 1 , and 3) the idle communication endpoint  101 A 2 . Although the idle communication endpoint  101 AD is idle and has the highest idleness factor (0.99), the idle communication endpoint  101 AD is not available because its processing resources  102  do not meet the necessary criteria (e.g., not enough memory or enough processing power to support the application  124 ). The communication endpoints  101   101 CN and  101 A 2  are also not available because they are in use (e.g., involved in a voice call). 
     The idle communication endpoint  101 AN is ranked the highest based on the idleness factor (0.97) and because it is local. Even though the idle communication endpoint  101 CN has a higher idleness factor (0.99), it is ranked lower because its location is not local to the communication endpoint  101 A 1  that is in the communication session. Although the idle communication endpoint  101 A 2  is local, it is ranked lower than the idle communication endpoint  101 C 1  because the communication endpoint  101 A 2  has a much lower idleness factor (0.3) than the communication endpoint  101 C 1  (0.99). 
     In one embodiment, the idle resource manager  123  may only use local idle communication endpoints  101 . For example, if the communication session is between the communication endpoints  101 A 1  and  101 C 1 , the idle resource manager  123  in the communication system  120 A may create a list based on the communication endpoints  101 A 2 - 101 AN and the idle resource manager  123  in the communication system  120 B may create a list with the communication endpoint  101 CN. In this embedment, each of the idle resource managers  123  in the communication systems  120 A- 120 B may insert one or more applications  124  into the communication session. 
       FIG. 6  is a flow diagram of a process for switching an application  124  in a communication session between idle communication endpoints  101  when an off-hook is detected (or other event that causes the communication endpoint  101  to no longer be idle). The process of  FIG. 6  starts in step  600  after an application(s)  124  in an idle communication endpoint(s)  101  has been inserted into a communication session. For example, as described in  FIGS. 3 / 4  where one or more applications  124  are inserted into a communication session. The idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  602 , if an off-hook message (or a message that indicates the idle communication endpoint  101  needs its processing resources  102  back) has been received from the idle communication endpoint  101  with the application  124  that has been inserted into the communication session. 
     If the off-hook message has not been received in step  602 , the idle resource manager  123  determines if the communication session has ended in step  604 . If the communication session has ended in step  604 , the process ends in step  606 . Otherwise, if the communication session has not ended in step  604 , the process goes back to step  602 . 
     If the off-hook message is received in step  602 , the idle resource manager  123  gets, in step  608 , the context of the application  124  (if the application  124  has a context) in the idle communication endpoint  101 . For example, if the application  124  is an IVR application  124  that is currently playing a message in the communication session, the context (the context may be sent in the off-hook message of step  602 ) may indicate at what point the message is being played when the off-hook occurs. If the application  124  is a recording application  124 , the context can include the recorded communication session up to the time of the off-hook message of step  602 . 
     The idle resource manager  123  sends, in step  610 , the application  124  and the context (e.g., the point of the message in the IVR application  124 ) to a second idle communication endpoint  101 . Alternatively, the application  124  may have already been sent previously (e.g., as part of step  306 ) to the second idle communication endpoint  101 . In this embodiment, only the context (if there is any) is sent in step  610 . The application  124  in the second idle communication endpoint  101  is then inserted into the communication session in step  612 . The first application  124  in the first idle communication endpoint  101  (which is no longer idle) is removed from the communication session in step  614  and the process goes to step  602 . 
     For example, if the application is a recording application  124 , the recording application in the second idle communication endpoint can continue the recording of the communication session. Since the idle resource manager  123  has both sections (or has access to both sections) of the recorded communication session, the idle resource manager  123  can provide the whole recorded communication session to a user. 
       FIG. 7  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying and utilizing idle communication endpoints  101  by inserting an application in an idle communication endpoint  101  into a communication session.  FIG. 7  is an exemplary example that uses SIP to establish the communication session. However, one of skill in the art would recognize that other protocols (e.g., Web Real-Time Communication (Web RTC) protocol, H.323, video protocols, etc.) may be used. The process of  FIG. 7  is where there is not a media server  140  or where the media server  140  has failed. 
     The communication endpoint  101 B 1  sends a SIP INVITE message (a request) to establish a communication session with the communication endpoint  101 A 1 , in step  700 . The communication manger  122  receives the SIP INVITE message of step  700 . The idle resource manager  123  determines, in step  702 , if the request to establish the communication session (the SIP INVITE message of step  700 ) requires an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session between the communication endpoint  101 A 1  and the communication endpoint  101 B 1 . In step  702 , the determination may that there is always an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session. If there is not an application  124  to be inserted into the communication session or if an idle processing resource  102  is not available, the communication session is established by sending the SIP INVITE message of step  700  directly to the communication endpoint  101 A 1  (not shown). 
     The application(s)  124  may be inserted into a communication session in various ways, such as, based on a user profile, based on an administered profile, based on a type of the communication session, based on an event (e.g., the user wants to record a call), and/or the like. The application(s)  124  may be inserted into a signaling channel and/or a media channel of the communication session (e.g., the voice stream of a call). Although  FIG. 7  shows the application(s)  124  being inserted into the communication session at the beginning of the communication session, the application(s)  124  may be inserted into the communication session at any time during the duration of the communication session. 
     The application(s)  124  may be inserted into the communication dynamically based on different factors. For example, if the communication session is a voice or video communication session, the application  124  (e.g., a ring tone generation application  124 ) is inserted into the communication session. On the other hand, if the communication session is an Instant Messaging (IM) communication session, the ring tone generation application  124  is not inserted into the communication session. 
     Based on the determination that the application(s)  124  needs to be inserted into the communication session, the idle resource manager  123  selects, in step  704 , a processing resource  102  in an idle communication endpoint  101  based on an idleness factor. The idle resource manager  123  may determine the idleness factor of a processing resource  102  in a communication endpoint  101  in various ways (e.g., like those described in  FIG. 3 ). 
     Once the idle resource manager  123  has selected a best idle communication endpoint  101  (idle communication endpoint  101 AN is this example), the idle resource communication  123  manager sends, in step  706 , the application  124  to the idle communication endpoint  101 AN. The idle communication endpoint  101 AN acknowledges, in step  708 , the receipt of the application  124  sent in step  706 . 
     In one embodiment, the sending of the appellation  124  in step  706  may occur before receiving the SIP INVITE message of step  700 . For example, the idle resource manager  123  may send the application  124  to the most idle communication endpoints  101  in anticipation of receiving the SIP INVITE message of step  700 . This way, the application  124  is already installed in the idle communication endpoint  101 AN, which reduces the time necessary to insert the application  124  into the communication session. 
     The communication manager  122  sends the SIP INVITE message of step  700  to the communication endpoint  101 A 1  in step  710 . The communication endpoint  101 A 1  sends, in step  712 , a SIP RINGING message to the communication manager  122 . The communication manager  122  sends, in step  714 , a SIP INVITE message that includes Session Description Protocol (SDP) information (e.g., a codec) for the communication endpoint  101 B 1  to the communication endpoint  101 AN. The communication endpoint  101 AN sends, in step  716 , a SIP 200 OK message that includes SDP information (e.g., a codec) for the communication endpoint  101 AN. 
     The communication manager  122  sends, a SIP 180 RINGING message, in step  718 , to the communication endpoint  101 B 1  with the SDP information of the communication endpoint  101 AN. This allows a Real-Time Protocol (RTP) ring-back message to be played to the communication endpoint  101 B 1 . 
     The communication manager  122  sends, in step  720  a SIP INVITE message with the SDP information from the communication endpoint  101 A 1  to the communication endpoint  101 AN. The communication endpoint  101 AN sends, in step  722 , a SIP 200 OK message. The communication endpoint  101 A 1  sends, in step  724 , a SIP 200 OK for the original SIP INVITE of step  710  (e.g., when a user answers). The communication manager  122  sends, in step  726 , a SIP ACK message to the communication endpoint  101 A 1 . This allows a communication session (e.g., a media session (e.g., a voice call)) to be established in step  728  between the communication endpoints  101 A 1 ,  101 B 1 , and  101 AN. 
     In a peer-to-peer environment, the communication system  120 /communication manager may not be used. In this example, the communication endpoint  101 B 1  would determine which communication endpoints  101  are idle by sending out a broadcast message. The communication session would be established directly with the communication endpoint  101 A 1 . In addition, a communication session would be established between the communication endpoint  101 B 1  and  101 AN. 
       FIG. 8  is a flow diagram of a process for identifying idle communication endpoints in a peer-to-peer environment. The process starts in step  800 . The communication endpoint  101 A 1  determines, in step  802 , if there is an attempt to initiate a communication with a second communication endpoint (e.g., communication endpoint  101 B 1 ). If there is not an attempt to initiate a communication session in step  802 , the process of step  802  repeats. 
     If there is a request to initiate a communication session in step  802 , the communication endpoint  101 A sends, in step  804 , a broadcast message to other communication endpoints  101  to determine an idleness factor. The broadcast message of step  804  is only sent if an application  124  is needed. If there is not an application  124  to be used, the process just establishes the communication session in standard fashion. The communication endpoint  101 A 1  receives the idleness factors from the other communication endpoints  101  in step  806 . The communication endpoint  101  with the best idleness factor is identified in step  808  and the application  124  is sent to the identified communication endpoint  101  in step  808 . 
     The communication endpoint  101 A 1  establishes the communication session with the second communication endpoint  101 B 1  in step  810 . The communication endpoint  101 A 1  also establishes a communication session with the communication the communication endpoint  101  with the best idleness factor in step  812 . For example, an audio stream may be sent to the communication endpoint  101  with the best idleness factor to record the audio stream of the communication session between the communication endpoint  101 A 1  and  101 B 1 . The process then goes back to step  802 . 
     In one embodiment, a communication session may be established in a similar manner as discussed in  FIG. 7  where the best idle communication endpoint is inserted into the communication session. 
     Any of the steps, functions, and operations discussed herein can be performed continuously and automatically. 
     However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structures and devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scope of the claimed disclosure. Specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It should however be appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein. 
     Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein show the various components of the system collocated, certain components of the system can be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributed network  110 , such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of the system can be combined in to one or more devices or collocated on a particular node of a distributed network  110 , such as an analog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switch network, or a circuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that the components of the system can be arranged at any location within a distributed network of components without affecting the operation of the system. For example, the various components can be located in a switch such as a PBX and media server  140 , gateway, in one or more communications devices, at one or more users&#39; premises, or some combination thereof. Similarly, one or more functional portions of the system could be distributed between a telecommunications device(s) and an associated computing device. 
     Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connecting the elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable of supplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may be capable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media used as links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electrical signals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. 
     Also, while the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting the operation of the disclosure. 
     A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used. It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosure without providing others. 
     In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor  121  or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array such as PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means, or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the various aspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for the present disclosure includes computers, handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors  121 ), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein. 
     In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in conjunction with software using object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the particular function, and the particular software or hardware systems or microprocessor  121  or microcomputer systems being utilized. 
     In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor  121 , or the like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as an applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or computer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The system can also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/or hardware system. 
     Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are in existence and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are periodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the systems and methods disclosed herein after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various embodiments, configurations, or aspects hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost of implementation. 
     The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the embodiments, configurations, or aspects of the disclosure may be combined in alternate embodiments, configurations, or aspects other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment, configuration, or aspect. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Moreover, though the description of the disclosure has included description of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.