Cisco Technology, Inc.

Michael P O'Brien

Shmuel Shaffer

James C Frauenthal

Larry Raymond Metzger

Michael Anthony Ramalho

Steven L Christenson

Aamer Saeed Akhter

Gary Skrabutenas

Salman Asadullah

Eric Yu

David C White, Jr

Plamen Nedeltchev

Balachander Chandrasekaran

Christopher Shaun Roberts

Muhilan Natarajan

Gordon Rex Earl

Consumption-based licensing of network features based on blockchained transactions includes receiving, at a server having connectivity to a network including a plurality of network devices, a request from a particular network device of the plurality of network devices for a feature that is licensed in the network on a per-use basis. Feature-specific key blockchain elements and a feature-specific template are generated for the feature and at least one message that includes the feature-specific key blockchain elements and the feature-specific template is sent to the particular network device. The message enables the plurality of network devices to generate one or more blockchain transactions related to consumption of the feature when a usage interval associated with the feature expires.

Consumption-based licensing of network features based on blockchain transactions

In one implementation, performance statistics for a provider network are compiled and delivered outside of the provider network. The provider network includes a media trace proxy server that receives a media trace query for a media stream of a customer edge network device. The media trace proxy server initiates a route discovery process on the provider network in response to the request or in response to at least one network device in the provider network being nonresponsive to similar types of media trace queries. The media trace proxy server collects performance statistics from the at least one network device and forwards the performance statistics of the at least one network device to the customer edge network device. The performance statistics may include only those statistics authorized by a subscription level or administrative region of the customer edge network device.

Media flow tracing in third party devices

Techniques are presented herein for enabling performance monitoring of flows within a management and provisioning tunnel used for communicating packets between a wireless controller and wireless access point devices. A wireless controller that is configured to communicate with at least one wireless access point obtains a packet to be sent to the wireless access point for wireless transmission in a wireless network by the wireless access point. The wireless controller identifies, based on the packet, traffic session flow information associated with the packet. The wireless controller encapsulates the packet with a tunneling header that comprises the traffic session flow information and sends the encapsulated packet to the wireless access point. The tunneling header may also comprise an application identifier (ID) associated with the packet.

Wireless network flow monitoring

In an example embodiment, an example method is provided for echo mitigation in a conference call. In this method, a test audio signal is transmitted to a conference endpoint and as a result, an echo associated with the transmittal of the test audio signal is received. One or more parameters of the echo are then identified and an echo mitigation process is selected from multiple echo mitigation processes based on the identified parameters. The selected echo mitigation process is then applied.

Echo mitigation in a conference call

In one embodiment, a method for ensuring quality of a media message is provided. The method includes receiving information for a media message. At least a portion of the media is analyzed to determine a media quality for the media message. The method then determines if the media quality is acceptable. If the media quality is not acceptable, then an alert may be sent regarding the media quality of the media message. For example, a caller may be prompted to re-record a media message.

Voicemail system with quality assurance

A method of and system for adjusting audio volume in a conference call environment are disclosed. The method comprises associating respective gain factors with each source of a plurality of incoming audio streams. The method further comprises automatically adjusting the volume of each incoming audio stream in accordance with the associated gain factor. In accordance with example embodiments, the method may be performed either at a telephony endpoint such as a VoIP telephone or at a conference bridge.

Adjusting audio volume in a conference call environment

In one embodiment, techniques for optimizing voice quality for a media stream provided to participants in a conference are provided. A first path is provided that provides an unmixed path of media from a first user to participants in the conference. A second path includes a mixed path of media from multiple users. The mixed path may include media from a first user and a second user that is mixed. The mixed path may include a transcoding from a first compression to a second compression, and back to the first compression (or another compression). A floor control module may switch between the first path and the second path to optimize voice quality.

Floor control based mixing and switching of media

An apparatus and method of buffering a media stream is provided. The method may comprise receiving a plurality of IP packets of the media stream, each packet providing a fragment of a portion of the media stream. Thereafter, the portion of media stream may be buffered in a jitter buffer using the fragments provided by the received packets. Further, the portion of the media stream may be buffered in a replay buffer using the fragments provided by the received packets. The replay buffer may be larger than the jitter buffer and a first received fragment and a second received fragment may be combined. The second received fragment may have been discarded by the jitter buffer. A media stream may then be played back using media from the replay and/or jitter buffer.

Buffering a media stream

In one embodiment, a method for providing voice quality assurance is provided. The method determines voice information for an end point in a voice communication system. The voice information may be from an ingress microphone. The method determines if the voice quality is considered degraded based on an analysis of the voice information. For example, the voice information may indicate that it is distorted, too loud, too soft, is subject to an external noise, etc. Feedback information is determined if the voice quality is considered degraded where the feedback information designed to improve voice quality at an ingress point for a user speaking. The feedback information is then outputted at the end point to the user using the end point.

Automated near-end distortion detection for voice communication systems

Methods and apparatus for reducing the effect of surrounding noise in a push-to-talk (PTT) system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes obtaining a first media stream using a microphone when a PTT functionality of a PTT communications system is in a first state, and identifying a first set of characteristics associated with noise in the first media stream. The method also includes obtaining a second media stream using the microphone that includes the noise and a first sound when the PTT functionality is in a second state. A second set of characteristics associated with the first sound in the second media stream is identified, and parameters associated with a filtering arrangement are determined using the first and second sets of characteristics. Finally, the method includes applying the filtering arrangement to the second media stream to filter out the noise such that a communications stream is created.

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Manasquan, NJ, United States of America

Michael P O'Brien