Patent ID: 8359354

Claim:
A method for providing a status to a plurality of conference bridges in a distributed system, the status comprising a list of meetings hosted by one or more of the plurality of conference bridges, the method comprising: at a second conference bridge: receiving a status data packet at the second conference bridge, the status data packet sent from a first conference bridge to the second conference bridge and including a status of the first conference bridge, an ID of the first conference bridge, and a list of the plurality of conference bridges in the distributed system, the list being associated with a sequence for circulating the status data packet between the plurality of conference bridges; saving the status of the first conference bridge to a memory of the second conference bridge; updating the status data packet with a status of the second conference bridge and a time associated with receiving the status data packet at the second conference bridge; sending the updated status data packet including the status of the first conference bridge and the status of the second conference bridge from the second conference bridge to a next conference bridge in the sequence; waiting a period of time; determining that an acknowledgement of receipt of the updated status data packet is not received from the next conference bridge during the period of time; and sending the updated status data packet to a following conference bridge in the sequence, the following conference bridge being after the next conference bridge in the sequence.