Methods and program products for organizing virtual meetings

Abstract

A method for organizing a virtual meeting includes steps of creating a meeting file, the meeting file including at least a meeting date, a meeting start time, a meeting duration time, and a meeting code. The meeting file is stored on a memory accessible to the network, and at least one attendee is specified. A step of communicating a meeting invitation to the at least one attendee is also performed, with the invitation including at least the meeting date, meeting start time, meeting code, and a meeting entry portal. Methods and systems of the invention may be embodied in computers and computer program products.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for organizing a virtual meeting between a plurality of attendees on a computer network, the method comprising:
 selecting a meeting date, a meeting start time, meeting duration, and a meeting code, storing said meeting date, said meeting start time, said meeting duration, and said meeting code in a meeting file;   storing said meeting file in a memory accessible to the network;   communicating a meeting invitation to the plurality of attendees over the network, said invitation including at least said meeting date, said meeting start time, said meeting code, and a meeting entry portal;   receiving a request to join the meeting from one or more of the plurality of attendees;   allocating network resources for said meeting, said network resources including at least one IP address and at least one port for a network interface connected to the network for connecting the plurality of attendees for communication with one another during the meeting, said network resources sufficient to communicate a plurality of real time data streams over the network, said plurality of real time data streams including at least one real time video data stream and at least one real time audio data stream; and   directing one or more of the plurality of attendees to link to a lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said directing comprises:
 determining the total required bandwidth for the meeting;   determining the total available bandwidth of each of the plurality of attendees; and   directing any of the plurality of attendees that do not have sufficient available bandwidth to link to the lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting is an interface carrying a subset of said plurality of data streams being communicated during the meeting. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further including a step of storing said total required bandwidth for the meeting in said meeting file. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said directing directs one or more of the plurality of attendees to link to a lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting based on supported applications. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said directing directs one or more of the plurality of attendees to link to a lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting based on a number of said real time data streams being communicated. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said network resources are allocated after receiving a first request to join said meeting from a first of the plurality of attendees. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising creating a pass key for entry to said meeting and sending said pass key to said plurality of attendees, said passkey being communicated to the plurality of attendees in a communication separate from said meeting invitation communication. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said meeting file further includes an early join time before said meeting start time before which the plurality of attendees cannot join the meeting and a late join time after which said plurality of attendees cannot join the meeting;
 and wherein the method further comprises:   determining, for each received request to join, whether a time the request to join is received is between said early join time and said late join time; and   denying said request to join when said time the request to join is received is not between said early join time and said late join time   
     
     
         10 . A method for organizing a virtual meeting between a plurality of attendees on a computer network, the method comprising:
 selecting a meeting date, a meeting start time, meeting duration, and a meeting code, storing said meeting date, said meeting start time, said meeting duration, and said meeting code in a meeting file;   storing said meeting file in a memory accessible to the network;   communicating a meeting invitation to the plurality of attendees over the network, said invitation including at least said meeting date, said meeting start time, said meeting code, and a meeting entry portal;   receiving a request to join the meeting from one or more of the plurality of attendees;   allocating network resources for said meeting, said network resources including at least one IP address and at least one port for a network interface connected to the network for connecting the plurality of attendees for communication with one another during the meeting, said network resources sufficient to communicate a plurality of real time data streams over the network, said plurality of real time data streams including at least one real time video data stream and at least one real time audio data stream; and   directing one or more of the plurality of attendees to a network interface providing a subset of the overall data streams communicated during the meeting.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein each of said plurality of meeting attendees will be streaming a plurality of real time data streams to the meeting, and wherein the method further includes the step of determining the bandwidth required for each of said plurality of real time data streams. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising determining the total available bandwidth of each of the plurality of attendees, and wherein said directing directs any of the plurality of attendees that do not have sufficient available bandwidth to link to the network interface providing a subset of the overall data streams. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said directing comprises:
 determining an application used by each of said plurality of attendees; and   directing one or more of the plurality of attendees to a network interface providing a subset of the overall data streams on the basis of the application used.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 storing, for each of the plurality of meeting attendees, identification information associated with the attendee in said memory;   in response to receiving the request to join, comparing identification information of the request to join with said identification information stored in said memory; and   denying the request to join if the identification information of the request to join does not match identification information stored in said memory.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said network resources are allocated after receiving a first request to join said meeting from a first of the plurality of attendees. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said allocating further includes allocating a meeting address, the meeting address being distinct from the meeting entry portal, and wherein the plurality of attendees are linked to the meeting address in response to receiving the one or more requests to join. 
     
     
         17 . A method for determining the bandwidth resources for attendees of a virtual meeting conducted over a computer network, the method comprising:
 determining what attendees will attend at least a first meeting and a second meeting, wherein said first meeting and said second meeting are different from one another and occur at least partially concurrently;   determining what linkages each of said attendees of each of said at least a first meeting and a second meeting is connected to the network with; and   determining whether any of said linkages are shared linkages that are shared by both attendees of said first meeting and attendees of said second meeting, and if they are shared linkages determining what bandwidth is available over said shared linkage for each of said attendees.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising determining the total required bandwidth for the meeting, and directing any of the attendees using a shared linkage that does not have sufficient available bandwidth to link to the lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting is an interface carrying a subset of said plurality of data streams being communicated during the meeting. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising denying entry to the meeting for any attendee using a shared linkage that does not have sufficient available bandwidth to link to the lower bandwidth linkage to the meeting.