Patent ID: 8380859

Claim:
A method for endpoint handoff in a hybrid peer-to-peer networking environment comprising: logging into a peer-to-peer network by a first endpoint; sending, by the first endpoint, a query message directly to a second endpoint to determine whether the second endpoint is involved in any active communication sessions, wherein the query message is sent after receiving presence information about the second endpoint in response to logging into the peer-to-peer network; receiving, at the first endpoint, session parameters associated with an active communication session directly from the second endpoint, wherein the session parameters indicate that the communication session exists between the second endpoint and a third endpoint, and wherein the session parameters indicate that the communication session includes two-way audio information sent between the second and third endpoints; sending, by the first endpoint, audio information directly to the third endpoint after receiving the session parameters; sending, by the first endpoint, an instruction directly to the second endpoint to stop sending audio from the second endpoint to the third endpoint; determining, by the first endpoint, that audio is not being received from the third endpoint; communicating, by the first endpoint, directly with the third endpoint using out-of-band signaling to re-establish the communication session; closing, by the first endpoint, the communication session with the third endpoint without sending a termination signal to the third endpoint; obtaining, by the first endpoint, a new Internet Protocol (IP) address and port; restarting, by the first endpoint, the audio session; sending, by the first endpoint, the new IP address and port directly to the third endpoint; and receiving, by the first endpoint, audio information associated with the communication session directly from the third endpoint.