Patent ID: 7969916

Claim:
A method for interconnecting real-time communication links, the method comprising: receiving a first status associated with a first communication link between a first endpoint and a first bridge in a network, wherein the first status indicates that the first communication link is established; receiving a second status associated with a second communication link between a second endpoint and a second bridge in the network, wherein the second status indicates that the second communication link is established; selecting one of the first bridge and the second bridge to operate as a host bridge, the selecting based at least in part on the first status and the second status; and after receiving both the first status and the second status, automatically causing a third communication link to be established between the selected host bridge and the non-selected one of the first bridge and the second bridge, wherein the third communication link is usable by the host bridge to interconnect a multi-party communication between at least the first endpoint and the second endpoint through the first bridge and the second bridge.