Patent ID: 7617280

Claim:
A method of entering a host into a new conference call, the method comprising at least the following: receiving a call and receiving at least a conference code from a given caller at a VRU; forwarding the conference code to a proxy server via a provisioning database, wherein the provisioning database responds to the VRU with a signal indicating a validity or an invalidity of the conference code submitted by the VRU to the provisioning database; sending a request to the proxy server to enter the given caller into a conference call and determining, by the proxy server, that the request from the VRU relates to conferencing services; maintaining a list, by the proxy server, of each of a plurality of interface servers, wherein each of the plurality of interface servers function at least in part to support the queues that contain requests to be acted upon by a conferencing request, the proxy server further maintaining running counts of message requests pending or awaiting on each of the plurality of interface servers and performing load balancing across each of the plurality of interface servers; forwarding, by the proxy server, the request to a conference management system, which comprises at least a data store and at least a plurality of interface servers receiving the request; determining that the given caller is a conference host; determining that at least one participant has called in previously to the given caller and has provided a conference code that is at least related to the conference code entered by the given caller; requesting that a new conference be created that corresponds to the conference code entered by the given caller; assigning the new conference to one of a plurality of mixers, wherein the conference management system requests that the proxy server select one of the plurality of mixers to host the new conference call, which will be associated with a unique identifier generated for the new conference; corresponding a unique mixer identifier to the selected mixer stored with the conference code and the conference identifier thereby associating the conference with the mixer; providing the unique identifier to the one mixer and the VRU, wherein the mixer identifier uniquely identifies the one mixer to the VRU; loading the data store with at least the conference code, the unique identifier for the new conference, and the mixer identifier; and placing the VRU and the one mixer in audio communication.