Patent ID: 8493892

Claim:
A method for resolving resource conflicts between conference bridges in a distributed conferencing system, the method comprising: determining that a resource conflict exists between a first conference bridge and a second conference bridge in the distributed conferencing system by receiving a status data packet at the first conference bridge and determining that a meeting resource for a first meeting is being provided by the second conference bridge based on data in the status data packet, the resource conflict arising from the first conference bridge and the second conference bridge independently providing the meeting resource for the first meeting that is to be provided by a single conference bridge in the distributed conferencing system; determining independently at the first conference bridge and at the second conference bridge that the meeting resource for the first meeting is to be provided by the first conference bridge, wherein in determining that the meeting resource is to be provided by the first conference bridge there is a probability of determining that the meeting resource is to be provided by the second conference bridge, and wherein the first conference bridge and the second conference bridge utilize a same process in determining which conference bridge is to provide the meeting resource for the first meeting; at the first conference bridge, providing the meeting resource for the first meeting; and at the second conference bridge, stopping providing the meeting resource for the first meeting.