Patent ID: 7161939

Claim:
A method for noiselessly switching audio provided on an egress audio channel over a network, comprising: (a) generating a first audio stream of egress packets for the egress audio channel, wherein each egress packet includes a payload carrying audio and control header information; (b) switching in a packet switch said first audio stream of egress packets for delivery to a first network interface controller associated with the egress audio channel; (c) generating a second audio stream of egress packets, wherein each egress packet includes a payload carrying audio and control header information; (d) switching in said packet switch said second audio stream of egress packets for delivery to the first network interface controller associated with the egress audio channel; and (e) evaluating the relative priority of the first and second audio streams based on priority information in the control header information of the egress packets to determine which of the first and second audio streams is a higher priority audio stream to transmit on the egress audio channel over the network.