Web Ex Communications, Inc.

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Webex Communicatons, Inc.

Bin Zhao

Min Zhu

Shi Yan

Jian Shen

Zheng Yuan

Guanghong Yang

Steven Li

A distributed collaborative computer system is provided that comprises a plurality of server computers interconnected via a high-speed link. Client computers can connect to any available server computer and start or join a conference hosted on either the server computer to which the client computer is connected or any other server in the system. As a result, the system and method of the present invention is easily scalable to support an arbitrary number of participants to a conference by merely adding the appropriate number of server computers to the system. In addition, by replicating the conference information on more than one server computer, the single point of failure limitation is eliminated. In fact, if a server hosting or participating in a conference malfunctions, the failure is detected by other server computers and the client computer is able to reconnect to the conference through a new server computer.

Distributed network system architecture for collaborative computing

Fault-tolerant server for collaborative computing

A system is provided for peer-to-peer messaging. The system includes a first client machine which may transmit a sequence of messages related to a subject. The transmission of each message can be in the form of multicast delivery or reliable unicast delivery. At least one second client machine communicates with the first client machine. Each such second client machine may receive at least a portion of the sequence of messages transmitted in the multicast form of delivery from the first client machine, and determines if there is an interest in the subject of the sequence of messages. The second client machine may determine if any messages in the sequence have not been received if there is an interest, and can transmit a request for re-transmission to the first client machine. The request identifies any messages of the sequence that were not received so that such messages can be re-transmitted by the first client machine to the at least one second client machine in the form of reliable unicast delivery.

Peer-to-peer messaging system

A fault-tolerant distributed collaborative computer system is provided that comprises a plurality of server computers interconnected via a high-speed link. By replicating the conference information on more than one server computer, the single point of failure limitation is eliminated. In fact, if a server hosting or participating in a conference malfunctions, the failure is detected by other server computers and the client computer is able to reconnect to the conference through a new server computer. In addition, the state of processes executed by the server computers is periodically replicated, so that when failure of a process is detected a new processes can be spawned and the replicated state information loaded onto the new process, allowing the on-line conference to continue.

Fault-tolerant distributed system for collaborative computing

Fault tolerant server architecture for collaborative computing

Quality of service maintenance for distributed collaborative computing

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Bin Zhao