U.S. patent application number 15/885696 was filed with the patent office on 2019-08-01 for systems and methods for optimizing simulcast streams in group video calls.
The applicant listed for this patent is Facebook, Inc.. Invention is credited to Arthur Cavalcanti Alem, Chi Wang Ho, Bret Lorimore, Shyam Sadhwani.
Application Number | 20190238600 15/885696 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 67393863 |
Filed Date | 2019-08-01 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190238600 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cavalcanti Alem; Arthur ; et
al. |
August 1, 2019 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMIZING SIMULCAST STREAMS IN GROUP VIDEO
CALLS
Abstract
Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can
identify a set of participants in a group video call, wherein each
participant is associated with an uplink capacity and a downlink
capacity, and the set of participants includes a set of sender
participants and a set of subscriber participants. For a first
sender participant of the set of sender participants, one or more
video stream layers to be uploaded by the first sender participant
are determined based on downlink capacities of one or more
subscriber participants of the set of subscriber participants. Each
subscriber participant of the one or more subscriber participants
is assigned to receive one video stream layer of the one or more
video stream layers to be uploaded by the first sender
participant.
Inventors: |
Cavalcanti Alem; Arthur;
(Redwood City, CA) ; Lorimore; Bret; (Seattle,
WA) ; Sadhwani; Shyam; (Bellevue, WA) ; Ho;
Chi Wang; (Redmond, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Facebook, Inc. |
Menlo Park |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
67393863 |
Appl. No.: |
15/885696 |
Filed: |
January 31, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 65/602 20130101;
H04N 7/147 20130101; H04L 65/1083 20130101; H04L 65/403 20130101;
H04L 65/60 20130101; H04L 65/80 20130101; H04N 7/152 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; H04N 7/14 20060101 H04N007/14 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: identifying, by a
computing system, a set of participants in a group video call,
wherein each participant is associated with an uplink capacity and
a downlink capacity, and the set of participants includes a set of
sender participants and a set of subscriber participants;
iteratively determining, by the computing system, for each sender
participant of the set of sender participants, one or more video
stream layers to be uploaded by the sender participant based on
downlink capacities of one or more subscriber participants of the
set of subscriber participants, wherein the iteratively
determining, for each sender participant of the set of sender
participants, one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the
sender participant comprises iteratively processing each sender
participant in an order based on a ranking; and for each subscriber
participant of the one or more subscriber participants, assigning,
by the computing system, the subscriber participant to receive at
least one video stream layer to be uploaded by at least one sender
participant of the set of sender participants.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or
more video stream layers to be uploaded by the each sender
participant of the set of sender participants are determined based
on downlink capacities of subscriber participants subscribed to the
sender participant.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each
subscriber participant is subscribed to at least one sender
participant.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each video
stream layer to be uploaded by a sender participant of the set of
sender participants is associated with a bitrate.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising
determining a bitrate for each video stream layer to be uploaded by
each sender participant based on downlink capacities of subscriber
participants subscribed to the sender participant and the uplink
capacity associated with the sender participant.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of
sender participants are ranked based on uplink capacity.
7. (canceled)
8. (canceled)
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
iteratively processing each sender participant comprises a
plurality of iterations, with each iteration being associated with
a particular sender participant of the set of sender participants,
and each iteration comprises iteratively processing each subscriber
participant subscribed to the particular sender participant
associated with the iteration.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the
iteratively processing each subscriber participant subscribed to
the particular sender participant comprises determining, for each
subscriber participant, whether to create a new layer to be
uploaded by the particular sender participant or assigning the
subscriber participant to a previously created layer associated
with the particular sender participant.
11. A system comprising: at least one processor; and a memory
storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one
processor, cause the system to perform a method comprising:
identifying a set of participants in a group video call, wherein
each participant is associated with an uplink capacity and a
downlink capacity, and the set of participants includes a set of
sender participants and a set of subscriber participants;
iteratively determining, for each sender participant of the set of
sender participants, one or more video stream layers to be uploaded
by the sender participant based on downlink capacities of one or
more subscriber participants of the set of subscriber participants,
wherein the iteratively determining, for each sender participant of
the set of sender participants, one or more video stream layers to
be uploaded by the sender participant comprises iteratively
processing each sender participant in an order based on a ranking;
and for each subscriber participant of the one or more subscriber
participants, assigning the subscriber participant to receive at
least one video stream layer to be uploaded by at least one sender
participant of the set of sender participants.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more video stream
layers to be uploaded by each sender participant of the set of
sender participants are determined based on downlink capacities of
subscriber participants subscribed to the sender participant.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein each subscriber participant is
subscribed to at least one sender participant.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein each video stream layer to be
uploaded by a sender participant of the set of sender participants
is associated with a bitrate.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed
by the at least one processor, further cause the system to perform:
determining a bitrate for each video stream layer to be uploaded by
each sender participant of the set of sender participants based on
downlink capacities of subscriber participants subscribed to the
sender participant and the uplink capacity associated with the
sender participant.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including
instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a
computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method
comprising: identifying a set of participants in a group video
call, wherein each participant is associated with an uplink
capacity and a downlink capacity, and the set of participants
includes a set of sender participants and a set of subscriber
participants; iteratively determining, for each sender participant
of the set of sender participants, one or more video stream layers
to be uploaded by the sender participant based on downlink
capacities of one or more subscriber participants of the set of
subscriber participants, wherein the iteratively determining, for
each sender participant of the set of sender participants, one or
more video stream layers to be uploaded by the sender participant
comprises iteratively processing each sender participant in an
order based on a ranking; and for each subscriber participant of
the one or more subscriber participants, assigning the subscriber
participant to receive at least one video stream layer to be
uploaded by at least one sender participant of the set of sender
participants.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
16, wherein the one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by
each sender participant of the set of sender participants are
determined based on downlink capacities of subscriber participants
subscribed to the sender participant.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
16, wherein each subscriber participant is subscribed to at least
one sender participant.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
16, wherein each video stream layer to be uploaded by a sender
participant of the set of sender participants is associated with a
bitrate.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
19, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one
processor of a computing system, further cause the computing system
to perform: determining a bitrate for each video stream layer to be
uploaded by each sender participant of the set of sender
participants based on downlink capacities of subscriber
participants subscribed to the sender participant and the uplink
capacity associated with the sender participant.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present technology relates to the field of digital
communications. More particularly, the present technology relates
to techniques for optimizing simulcast streams in group video
calls.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Today, people often utilize computing devices for a wide
variety of purposes. Users can use their computing devices, for
example, to communicate with other users. Such communications are
increasingly popular over a social networking system. Digital
communications, such as those on a social networking system, may
involve various types of communication. Some types of digital
communication allow a user to engage in focused exchanges. For
example, the user may target a particular user or users through the
use of a messaging system or an email system supported by a social
networking system. As another example, the user can enter into
audio communications or video communications with other users.
[0003] In many instances, video communications can be preferred by
users because video communications can allow the users to most
effectively convey information and simulate real life
communications. In some instances, two participants in different
locations can engage in video communications. It also can be
desirable to allow a group of users in multiple locations to use
video communications to facilitate communications among the
group.
SUMMARY
[0004] Various embodiments of the present disclosure can include
systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media
configured to identify a set of participants in a group video call,
wherein each participant is associated with an uplink capacity and
a downlink capacity, and the set of participants includes a set of
sender participants and a set of subscriber participants. For a
first sender participant of the set of sender participants, one or
more video stream layers to be uploaded by the first sender
participant are determined based on downlink capacities of one or
more subscriber participants of the set of subscriber participants.
Each subscriber participant of the one or more subscriber
participants is assigned to receive one video stream layer of the
one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the first sender
participant.
[0005] In an embodiment, the one or more video stream layers to be
uploaded by the first sender participant are determined based on
downlink capacities of subscriber participants subscribed to the
first sender participant.
[0006] In an embodiment, each subscriber participant is subscribed
to at least one sender participant.
[0007] In an embodiment, each video stream layer to be uploaded by
the first sender participant is associated with a bitrate.
[0008] In an embodiment, a bitrate is determined for each video
stream to be uploaded by the first sender participant based on
downlink capacities of subscriber participants subscribed to the
first sender participant and the uplink capacity associated with
the first sender participant.
[0009] In an embodiment, the set of sender participants are ranked
based on uplink capacity.
[0010] In an embodiment, the determining for a first sender
participant of the set of sender participants one or more video
stream layers to be uploaded by the first sender participant
further comprises determining, for each sender participant of the
set of sender participants, one or more video stream layers to be
uploaded by the sender participants based on downlink capacities of
subscriber participants subscribed to the sender participant.
[0011] In an embodiment, the determining, for each sender
participant of the set of participants, one or more video stream
layers to be uploaded by the sender participant comprises
iteratively processing each sender participant in an order based on
the ranking.
[0012] In an embodiment, the iteratively processing each sender
participant comprises a plurality of iterations, with each
iteration being associated with a particular sender participant of
the set of sender participants, and each iteration comprises
iteratively processing each subscriber participant subscribed to
the particular sender participant associated with the
iteration.
[0013] In an embodiment, the iteratively processing each subscriber
participant subscribed to the particular sender participant
comprises determining, for each subscriber participant, whether to
create a new layer to be uploaded by the particular sender
participant or assigning the subscriber participant to a previously
created layer associated with the particular sender
participant.
[0014] It should be appreciated that many other features,
applications, embodiments, and/or variations of the disclosed
technology will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from
the following detailed description. Additional and/or alternative
implementations of the structures, systems, non-transitory computer
readable media, and methods described herein can be employed
without departing from the principles of the disclosed
technology.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system including a group video
call module, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates example pseudocode associated with
automated bandwidth allocation, according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates example pseudocode associated with
automated downlink capacity reservation, according to an embodiment
of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIGS. 4A-4Q illustrate an example scenario associated with
group video call simulcast optimization, according to an embodiment
of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates an example method associated with group
video call simulcast optimization, according to an embodiment of
the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system
including an example social networking system that can be utilized
in various scenarios, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer system or
computing device that can be utilized in various scenarios,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] The figures depict various embodiments of the disclosed
technology for purposes of illustration only, wherein the figures
use like reference numerals to identify like elements. One skilled
in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion
that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods
illustrated in the figures can be employed without departing from
the principles of the disclosed technology described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Optimizing Size of Simulcast Streams in Group Video Calls
[0023] As mentioned, people often utilize computing devices for a
wide variety of purposes. Users can use their computing devices,
for example, to communicate with other users. Such communications
are increasingly popular over a social networking system. Digital
communications, such as those on a social networking system, may
involve various types of communication. Some types of digital
communication allow a user to engage in focused exchanges. For
example, the user may target a particular user or users through the
use of a messaging system or an email system supported by a social
networking system. As another example, the user can enter into
audio communications or video communications with other users.
[0024] In many instances, video communications can be preferred by
users because video communications can allow the users to most
effectively convey information and simulate real life
communications. In some instances, two participants in different
locations can engage in video communications. It also can be
desirable to allow a group of users in multiple locations to use
video communications to facilitate communications among the
group.
[0025] Conventional approaches specifically arising in the realm of
computer technology include digital communications in which a
plurality of users participate in a group video call. Generally,
video streams from one or more participants in a group video call
are transmitted to the other participants in substantially
real-time. Participants in a group video call may be able to
request varying levels of video quality. For example, participants
can request a high quality stream, a standard quality stream, or a
low quality stream. However, it is possible that a participant may
request a video stream of a higher quality than their network
connection is optimally suited to provide. For example, a user may
request a high quality video stream even if the user's network
connection is not optimally suited to provide a high quality video
stream. In such scenarios, certain conventional approaches have
opted to limit video stream bitrates based on a participant with
the lowest available downlink capacity. For example, consider an
example scenario in which there are four participants in a group
video call. Three of the four participants may request a high
quality video stream from the fourth participant. However, a first
participant of the three participants has a downlink capacity of
100 kbps, while the second and third participants each have a much
greater downlink capacity of 5 Mbps. Under certain conventional
approaches, the bitrate and/or quality of the high quality video
stream uploaded by the fourth participant may be restricted to be
less than 100 kbps so as to accommodate the first participant with
the 100 kbps downlink capacity. All three participants requesting
the high quality video stream receive the limited high quality
video stream due to the first participant's low downlink capacity.
This leads to the undesirable outcome that other participants in a
group video call may be unnecessarily forced to receive a lower
quality video stream even if they are capable of receiving a higher
quality video stream and the uploading user is capable of uploading
a higher quality video stream. Such approaches could even lead to
scenarios in which a "high quality" stream has a lower quality than
a "low quality" stream depending on which users have requested
which stream. For example, in the above example scenario, if the
third participant, who has a 5 Mbps downlink capacity, had
requested a low quality video stream, it is possible that the low
quality video stream would be of a higher quality than the high
quality video stream because the first participant is limiting the
high quality video stream.
[0026] Other conventional approaches have divided each uploading
participant's uplink capacity into pre-determined ratios for video
streams of various qualities. For example, a participant's uplink
capacity may be divided such that 80% of the uplink capacity is
used for a high quality stream, 15% of the uplink capacity is
reserved for a medium quality stream, and 5% of the uplink capacity
is reserved for a low quality stream. However, this approach fails
to account for the particular characteristics of the users that are
participating in a group video call. Therefore, such approaches,
fail to optimize user experience based on the particular group of
participants participating in a group video call.
[0027] An improved approach rooted in computer technology overcomes
the foregoing and other disadvantages associated with conventional
approaches specifically arising in the realm of computer
technology. In general, a set of participants participating in a
group video call can be identified. For example, the set of
participants may be identified by a central server tasked with
managing the group video call. Each participant in the set of
participants can be associated with an uplink capacity and a
downlink capacity. One or more of the participants may be
identified as sender participants that will be uploading one or
more video streams to be received and viewed by other participants
in the group video call. One or more participants may be identified
as subscriber participants that will be receiving and viewing at
least one video stream uploaded by another participant. A given
participant in a group video call may be solely a sender
participant, solely a subscriber participant, or both a sender and
a subscriber participant. Each sender participant in the set of
participants can be instructed to upload one or more video stream
layers of varying qualities (e.g., bitrates). The number of video
stream layers to be uploaded by a sender participant and a bitrate
associated with each video stream layer may be determined based on
the uplink capacity of the sender participant and the downlink
capacities of other participants in the group video call. This
determination may be made, for example, by the central server. For
example, the central server may instruct a first participant to
upload a first video stream layer having a first quality (e.g., a
first bitrate) and a second video stream layer having a second
quality (e.g., a second bitrate). The first and second video stream
layers, and the first and second bitrates, may be determined based
on the first participant's uplink capacity and based on the
downlink capacities of other participants in the group video call.
Determination of video stream layers and bitrates may be performed
iteratively until each sender participant is assigned one or more
video stream layers to be uploaded by that sender participant. When
the iterations have completed, each sender participant is
associated with one or more video stream layers that he or she is
responsible for uploading, and each subscriber participant is
associated with one video stream layer from each of one or more
sender participants that the subscriber participant will receive.
In certain embodiments, each participant in a group video call can
be communicatively connected to a central server. The central
server can be configured to receive video stream layers from one or
more sender participants, and to transmit the video stream layers
to one or more subscriber participants based on their
subscriptions. More details relating to the disclosed technology
are provided below.
[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 including a group
video call module 102, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure. The group video call module 102 can be configured to
identify a set of participants participating in a group video call.
Each participant in the set of participants can be associated with
an uplink capacity and a downlink capacity. One or more of the
participants may be identified as sender participants. Sender
participants are those participants that will be uploading one or
more video streams to be received and viewed by other participants
in the group video call. One or more participants may be identified
as subscriber participants. Subscriber participants are those
participants that have will be receiving and viewing at least one
video stream uploaded by another participant. A given participant
in a group video call may be solely a sender participant, solely a
subscriber participant, or both a sender and a subscriber
participant. Subscriber participants can be associated with one or
more subscriptions. Each subscription can be associated with a
subscriber participant and a sender participant, and a subscription
can indicate that the subscriber participant has requested and/or
will be receiving a video stream (also referred to herein as a
"video stream layer") uploaded by the sender participant. Each
subscription may also be associated with a quality setting or
quality indicator, indicating a quality of a video stream requested
by a subscriber participant. For example, a subscription between a
subscriber participant and a sender participant can indicate
whether the subscriber participant has requested a high quality
video stream layer, a standard quality video stream layer, or a low
quality video stream layer from the sender participant.
[0029] For each sender participant in the set of participants, the
group video call module 102 can determine one or more video stream
layers to be uploaded by that sender participant based on the
uplink capacity of the sender participant and the downlink
capacities of other participants (e.g., subscriber participants) in
the group video call. Each video stream layer uploaded by a
particular sender participant may have and/or be associated with a
particular quality (e.g., a particular bitrate). For example, for a
first sender participant in the set of participants, the group
video call module 102 can review an uplink capacity of the first
sender participant and downlink capacities for each subscriber
participant that has subscribed to the first sender participant
(e.g., each subscriber participant that will be receiving a video
stream from the first sender participant as part of the group video
call). Based on these factors, the group video call module 102 can
instruct the first sender participant (i.e., a computing device
associated with the first sender participant) to upload a first
video stream layer having a first quality (e.g., a first bitrate),
a second video stream layer having a second quality (e.g., a second
bitrate), and so forth. In various embodiments, additional
considerations may be taken into account when determining how many
streams each sender participant will upload, and at what bitrates.
These additional considerations can include, for example,
capabilities of a sender participant, such as CPU speed, GPU
processing speed, other hardware performance metrics or
capabilities, and the like.
[0030] The group video call module 102 can iteratively cycle
through each sender participant in the group video call and
determine video stream layers to be uploaded by each sender
participant until such determination has been made for every sender
participant in the group video call. In various embodiments, when
the iterative processing by the group video call module 102 has
completed, each sender participant is associated with one or more
video stream layers that he or she is responsible for uploading.
Additionally, when the iterative processing has completed, each
subscriber participant is associated with one video stream layer
from each sender participant to which the subscriber participant is
subscribed. For example, consider an example scenario in which
there are three participants in a group video call, each
participant is a sender participant, and each participant is also
subscribed to every other participant. Each participant may be
instructed to upload one or more video stream layers, with each
video stream layer having a particular bitrate. A first participant
may be assigned to receive a particular video stream layer from a
second participant and a particular video stream layer from a third
participant, the second participant may be assigned to receive a
particular video stream layer from the first participant and a
particular video stream layer from the third participant, and the
third participant may be assigned to receive a particular video
stream layer from the first participant and a particular video
stream layer from the second participant. Assignment of a
subscriber participant to particular video stream layers uploaded
by sender participants may be determined based on the subscriber
participant's downlink capacity and the sender participants' uplink
capacities. The group video call module 102 can be configured to
receive video stream layers from each sender participant in a group
video call, and to transmit the video stream layers to subscriber
participants in the group video call based on assignments of
particular subscriber participants to particular video stream
layers. In various embodiments, one or more functions of the group
video call module 102 can be implemented in a central server. The
participants of a group video call can be connected to the central
server and can upload video stream layers to the central server and
receive from the central server video stream layers uploaded by
other participants. Although various embodiments of the present
disclosure will describe various concepts with reference to group
video calls, it should be understood that the present disclosure
may be applied to any exchange of data streams, such as audio data,
video data, other media, and the like.
[0031] As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the group video call
module 102 can include a participant information module 104, a
bandwidth allocation module 106, and a video call module 108. In
some instances, the example system 100 can include at least one
data store 110. The components (e.g., modules, elements, etc.)
shown in this figure and all figures herein are exemplary only, and
other implementations may include additional, fewer, integrated, or
different components. Some components may not be shown so as not to
obscure relevant details. In various embodiments, one or more of
the functionalities described in connection with the group video
call module 102 can be implemented in any suitable
combinations.
[0032] In some embodiments, the group video call module 102 can be
implemented, in part or in whole, as software, hardware, or any
combination thereof. In general, a module as discussed herein can
be associated with software, hardware, or any combination thereof.
In some implementations, one or more functions, tasks, and/or
operations of modules can be carried out or performed by software
routines, software processes, hardware, and/or any combination
thereof. In some cases, the group video call module 102 can be, in
part or in whole, implemented as software running on one or more
computing devices or systems, such as on a server system or a
client computing device. In some instances, the group video call
module 102 can be, in part or in whole, implemented within or
configured to operate in conjunction with or be integrated with a
social networking system (or service), such as a social networking
system 630 of FIG. 6. Likewise, in some instances, the group video
call module 102 can be, in part or in whole, implemented within or
configured to operate in conjunction with or be integrated with a
client computing device, such as the user device 610 of FIG. 6. For
example, the group video call module 102 can be implemented as or
within a dedicated application (e.g., app), a program, or an applet
running on a user computing device or client computing system. The
application incorporating or implementing instructions for
performing functionality of the group video call module 102 can be
created by a developer. The application can be provided to or
maintained in a repository. In some cases, the application can be
uploaded or otherwise transmitted over a network (e.g., Internet)
to the repository. For example, a computing system (e.g., server)
associated with or under control of the developer of the
application can provide or transmit the application to the
repository. The repository can include, for example, an "app" store
in which the application can be maintained for access or download
by a user. In response to a command by the user to download the
application, the application can be provided or otherwise
transmitted over a network from the repository to a computing
device associated with the user. For example, a computing system
(e.g., server) associated with or under control of an administrator
of the repository can cause or permit the application to be
transmitted to the computing device of the user so that the user
can install and run the application. The developer of the
application and the administrator of the repository can be
different entities in some cases, but can be the same entity in
other cases. It should be understood that many variations are
possible.
[0033] The group video call module 102 can be configured to
communicate and/or operate with the at least one data store 110, as
shown in the example system 100. The data store 110 can be
configured to store and maintain various types of data. In some
implementations, the data store 110 can store information
associated with the social networking system (e.g., the social
networking system 630 of FIG. 6). The information associated with
the social networking system can include data about users, user
identifiers, social connections, social interactions, profile
information, demographic information, locations, geo-fenced areas,
maps, places, events, pages, groups, posts, communications,
content, feeds, account settings, privacy settings, a social graph,
and various other types of data. In some embodiments, the data
store 110 can store information that is utilized by the group video
call module 102. For example, the data store 110 can store various
rules for video stream layer creation and/or bandwidth allocation
in group video calls, group video call subscription information,
user characteristics such as downlink capacity and uplink capacity,
and the like. It is contemplated that there can be many variations
or other possibilities.
[0034] The participant information module 104 can be configured to
identify a set of participants participating in a group video call.
Each participant can be associated with an uplink capacity and a
downlink capacity. The participant information module 104 can be
configured to determine the uplink and downlink capacities of each
participant or to receive this information from another source.
[0035] The participant information module 104 can also be
configured to receive subscription information for the participants
in a group video call. As discussed, one or more participants in a
group video call may be identified as sender participants that will
upload one or more video stream layers to be received and viewed by
other participants in the group video call. Furthermore, one or
more participants in a group video call may be identified as
subscriber participants that will receive and view one or more
video stream layers uploaded by other participants in the group
video call. A given participant may be both a sender participant
and a subscriber participant. For example, in a group video call in
which every participant is uploading a video stream, and is also
viewing video streams of all other participants in the group video
call, every participant is both a sender participant and a
subscriber participant.
[0036] Subscription information received by the participant
information module 104 may identify which subscriber participants
are subscribed to which sender participants in a group video call.
Subscription information may also include quality information
indicating a requested quality level for each subscription between
a subscriber participant and a sender participant. For example, the
quality information may indicate whether the subscriber participant
has requested a high quality video stream layer, a standard quality
video stream layer, or a low quality video stream layer from a
particular sender participant.
[0037] In certain embodiments, quality information for a
subscription may be input directly by a participant. For example, a
subscriber participant may select an option in a user interface
which specifies the quality level the subscriber participant would
like to receive. In certain embodiments, quality information for a
subscription may be inferred. In a particular instance of this
embodiment, quality information can be inferred based on a viewing
mode of a subscriber participant. For example, if a subscriber
participant has a first sender participant in a full-screen view
and all remaining sender participants in thumbnail views, it may be
inferred that the subscriber participant would like a high quality
video stream from the first sender participant, and low quality
video streams from the remaining sender participants. In another
example, if a subscriber participant has all sender participants in
a grid view such that the sender participants are displayed in
tiles of substantially equal sizes, it can be inferred that the
subscriber participant would like a medium quality video stream
from each sender participant. In another instance of this
embodiment, quality information can be inferred based on group
video call equipment being utilized by a subscriber participant
and/or a sender participant. Group video call equipment can include
hardware and/or software components. For example, if a subscriber
participant is connected to a group video call using high-end
dedicated video conferencing equipment, it can be assumed that the
subscriber participant would like to receive a highest quality
video stream layer available from each sender participant.
[0038] The bandwidth allocation module 106 can be configured to
determine, for each sender participant in a group video call, one
or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the sender
participant based on the sender participant's uplink capacity and
downlink capacities of other participants in the group video call.
The bandwidth allocation module 106 can also be configured to
determine a quality level (e.g., a bitrate) for each video stream
layer based on the sender participant's uplink capacity and
downlink capacities of other participants in the group video call.
In certain embodiments, the one or more video stream layers to be
uploaded by a sender participant and their respective bitrates may
be determined based on the downlink capacities of the subscriber
participants that are subscribed to the sender participant.
[0039] The bandwidth allocation module 106 can also be configured
to assign each subscriber participant in a group video call to
receive one video stream layer from each sender participant in the
group video call to which the subscriber participant is subscribed.
By assigning a subscriber participant to a particular video stream
layer uploaded by a sender participant, the bandwidth allocation
module 106 determines that the subscriber participant will receive
from the sender participant a video stream layer having a
particular bitrate.
[0040] In various embodiments, the bandwidth allocation module 106
can determine video stream layers to be uploaded by sender
participants in a group video call in an iterative fashion. For
example, a set of sender participants can be ordered and/or ranked
based on ranking criteria, and the bandwidth allocation module 106
can process each sender participant sequentially based on the
order. As each sender participant is being processed, the bandwidth
allocation module 106 can determine one or more video stream layers
to be uploaded by the sender participant as well as quality levels
(e.g., bitrates) for each video stream layer, and can assign each
subscriber participant that is subscribed to the sender participant
to receive a particular video stream layer of the one or more video
stream layers. In one embodiment, the bandwidth allocation module
106 can rank the set of sender participants based on uplink
capacity in ascending order from lowest uplink capacity to highest
uplink capacity. The bandwidth allocation module 106 can
sequentially process the sender participants based on the ranking.
For example, the bandwidth allocation module 106 can first process
a first sender participant having a lowest uplink capacity, and
determine one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the
first sender participant and bitrates for the one or more video
stream layers based on the first sender participant's uplink
capacity and downlink capacities of subscriber participants
subscribed to the first sender participant. The bandwidth
allocation module 106 can then process a second sender participant
having a second lowest uplink capacity, and determine one or more
video stream layers to be uploaded by the second sender participant
and bitrates for the video stream layers based on the second sender
participant's uplink capacity and downlink capacities of subscriber
participants subscribed to the second sender participant, and so
forth, until all sender participants have been processed. Once the
iterative processing of all sender participants has completed, each
sender participant is tasked with uploading one or more video
stream layers having specified bitrates, and each subscriber
participant is assigned to receive one video stream layer from each
sender participant to which the subscriber participant is
subscribed.
[0041] In various embodiments, the processing performed by the
bandwidth allocation module 106 can be repeated periodically and/or
intermittently. For example, in certain embodiments, the processing
performed by the bandwidth allocation module 106 can be performed
periodically at a regular time interval (e.g., every two seconds)
based on updated participant information (e.g., an updated set of
participants, updated uplink capacities, updated downlink
capacities, updated subscription information, etc.). In certain
embodiments, the processing performed by the bandwidth allocation
module 106 can be repeated and/or updated based on particular
events. For example, the processing performed by the bandwidth
allocation module 106 can be repeated based on updated participant
information each time a participant joins a group video call and/or
each time a participant leaves a group video call.
[0042] For clarity of understanding, various features of the
bandwidth allocation module 106 corresponding to various
embodiments of the bandwidth allocation module 106 will be
described in greater detail herein with reference to example sets
of pseudocode 200 and 300 depicted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3,
respectively.
[0043] The video call module 108 can be configured to manage a
group video call. As discussed, a group video call can have a
plurality of participants, including one or more sender
participants and one or more subscriber participants. The plurality
of participants can be subscribed to one another in various
combinations. As described above, for at least a subset of the
plurality of participants (i.e., a set of sender participants), the
bandwidth allocation module 106 can determine for each sender
participant one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the
sender participant and a bitrate for each video stream layer. The
video call module 108 can be configured to receive video stream
layers uploaded by the each sender participant in a group video
call. Furthermore, as described above, for at least a subset of the
plurality of participants (i.e., a set of subscriber participants),
the bandwidth allocation module 106 can assign each subscriber
participant to receive one video stream layer from each sender
participant to which the subscriber participant is subscribed. The
video call module 108 can transmit appropriate video streams (i.e.,
video stream layers) to each subscriber participant based on video
stream layer assignments as determined by the bandwidth allocation
module 106.
[0044] FIG. 2 illustrates example pseudocode 200 for implementing
various functions and features of the bandwidth allocation module
106, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It
should be understood that the pseudocode 200 implements a
particular embodiment, but the present disclosure is not limited to
this embodiment and many variations are possible. The pseudocode
200 takes as an input a list of participants in a group video call
(also referred to as "endpoints"), an uplink capacity for each
participant, and a downlink capacity for each participant. The
function can also receive as an input a set of "subscriptions"
between the various participants.
[0045] At line 204 of the pseudocode 200, the set of participants
are sorted in ascending order based on uplink capacity. In
different embodiments, the bandwidth allocation module 106 can be
configured to rank and/or order the set of participants based on
different ordering or ranking criteria.
[0046] Lines 205-237 implement a first iterative sequence in which
each participant that is identified as a sender participant is
processed sequentially based on the ranked order of the
participants. For example, in this example embodiment, the first
iteration will process a first sender participant with a lowest
uplink capacity, the second iteration will process a second sender
participant with a second lowest uplink capacity, and so forth,
until all sender participants have been processed. Each iteration
of the first iterative sequence will be described with reference to
a "sender participant" that is being processed in that iteration
and one or more "subscriber participants" that are subscribed to
that sender participant.
[0047] At lines 206-208, a set of subscriber participants that are
subscribed to the sender participant are identified. At lines
209-210, a "reserved downlink" is determined for each subscriber
participant in the set of subscriber participants. Each subscriber
participant's reserved downlink is determined using a function
"ComputeReservedDownlink." Determination of reserved downlinks for
each subscriber participant will be described in greater detail
with reference to FIG. 3. At this juncture, it is sufficient to say
that a subscriber participant's reserved downlink represents a
portion of the subscriber participant's available downlink capacity
that is temporarily reserved for the sender participant being
processed. At line 212, each subscriber participant that is
subscribed to the sender participant is ranked in ascending order
based on reserved downlink.
[0048] Lines 213 and 214 initialize two values "prev_layer_kbps"
and "current_layer_to_upload" to be used in a second iterative
sequence implemented in lines 215-231. The second iterative
sequence iteratively processes each subscriber participant
subscribed to the sender participant being processed in the current
iteration of the first iterative sequence. In this example
embodiment, each subscriber participant is processed sequentially
in order from lowest reserved downlink to highest reserved
downlink. The second iterative sequence will be described with
reference to a "current subscriber participant" being processed in
a particular iteration of the second iterative sequence, and a
"current sender participant" being processed in a particular
iteration of the broader, first iterative sequence. At line 216, a
value "current_layer_kbps" is set equal to the lesser of the
current subscriber participant's reserved downlink and the current
sender participant's remaining uplink capacity. The value
"current_layer_kbps" represents a size of a potential new video
stream layer that may be created for and/or assigned to the current
sender participant.
[0049] At lines 217-222, a determination is made as to whether or
not to create a new video stream layer for the current sender
participant based on a minimum difference threshold. At line 217, a
determination is made as to whether a size of a potential new video
stream layer (current_layer_kbps) satisfies a minimum difference
threshold with respect to a previous video stream layer. In this
particular embodiment, a determination is made as to whether the
size of the potential new video stream layer is at least two times
larger than the previous video stream layer (prev_layer_kbps). If
yes, the current_layer_to_upload counter is incremented (line 218),
and a new video stream layer is created for the sender participant
(line 219). The new video stream layer has a bitrate equal to
current_layer_kbps (line 219). At line 220, the new video stream
layer's bitrate is subtracted from the current sender participant's
available uplink capacity. At line 230, the current subscriber
participant is mapped to the newly created video stream layer. In
other words, the current subscriber participant will receive the
newly created video stream layer having a bitrate equal to
current_layer_kbps from the current sender participant.
[0050] However, if the potential new video stream layer
(current_layer_kbps) does not satisfy the minimum difference
threshold, i.e., is not at least two times larger than the previous
video stream layer, then no new layer is created, and the current
subscriber participant is mapped to a previous video stream layer
(lines 221, 222, and 230).
[0051] As discussed, lines 215-230 of pseudocode 200 iteratively
process each subscriber participant subscribed to a current sender
participant. For each subscriber participant, the bitrate
allocation module 106 determines a size of a potential new video
stream layer that could be created (current_layer_kbps). The size
of the potential new video stream layer is either equal to a
current subscriber participant's reserved downlink or, if the
current sender participant does not have sufficient remaining
uplink to satisfy the current subscriber participant's reserved
downlink, the size of the potential new video stream layer is equal
to the current sender participant's remaining uplink capacity (line
216). The bitrate allocation module 106 determines whether the
potential new video stream layer warrants creation of a new video
stream layer to be uploaded by the sender participant, or whether
the current subscriber participant should be assigned to a
previously created video stream layer. This determination may be
made based on a difference threshold between the size of the
potential new video stream layer and a bitrate of a previously
created video stream layer. In the example pseudocode 200, this
difference threshold is defined such that the potential new video
stream layer must be at least twice as large as a previous video
stream layer (line 217). In other embodiments, different difference
thresholds may be used. For example, the difference threshold may
be any multiple or an absolute difference (e.g., 100 kbps greater
than a previous video stream layer), or a combination thereof. In
certain embodiments, multiple difference thresholds may be defined,
for example, for different ranges of bitrates. If the potential new
video stream layer satisfies the difference threshold, then a new
video stream layer is created with a bitrate equal to the size of
the potential new video stream layer (line 219), and the current
subscriber participant is assigned to the new video stream layer
(line 230). The current sender participant's remaining uplink
capacity is also updated by subtracting the size of the new video
stream layer (line 220). If the potential new video stream layer
does not satisfy the difference threshold, the current subscriber
participant is assigned to a previous video stream layer (i.e., a
video stream layer that has already been created and assigned to
the current sender participant) (lines 221, 222, and 230).
[0052] Once the second iterative sequence implemented in lines
215-231 completes processing of a set of subscriber participants
subscribed to a current sender participant, the current sender
participant has been assigned one or more video stream layers to be
uploaded by the sender participant, with each video stream layer
having a particular bitrate. For example, a sender participant may
be assigned with uploading a first video stream layer having a
bitrate of 100 kbps, a second video stream layer having a bitrate
of 500 kbps, and a third video stream layer having a bitrate of 1
Mbps. Additionally, each subscriber participant in the set of
subscriber participants has been assigned to a particular one of
the one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the current
sender participant. A subscriber participant being assigned to a
particular video stream layer indicates that the subscriber
participant will receive that video stream layer having a
particular bitrate from the current sender participant. For
example, a first subscriber participant may be assigned to receive
the 100 kbps video stream layer, a second subscriber participant
may be assigned to receive the 500 kbps video stream layer, a third
subscriber participant may be assigned to receive the 1 Mbps video
stream layer, and a fourth subscriber may also be assigned to
receive the 1 Mbps video stream layer. At lines 232-236, each
subscriber participant's downlink capacity is updated by
subtracting the bitrate of the video stream layer to which the
subscriber participant has been assigned.
[0053] Each iteration of the first iterative sequence of lines
205-237 runs the second iterative sequence of lines 215-231 for a
particular sender participant. It can be seen that once the second
iterative sequence of lines 215-231 has been run for each sender
participant, each sender participant will be assigned one or more
video stream layers of varying qualities that the sender
participant is responsible for uploading, and each subscriber
participant will be assigned to a particular video stream layer
from each sender participant to which the subscriber participant is
subscribed.
[0054] Lines 223-229 implement an alternative embodiment which
allows for potential further optimization of sender participant
uplink capacity usage. At line 224, a determination is made as to
whether a current sender participant's remaining uplink capacity is
greater than or equal to a previous video stream layer's bitrate,
and whether a current subscriber participant's reserved downlink is
greater than or equal to twice the current sender participant's
remaining uplink capacity. If both of these conditions are
satisfied, the previous video stream layer's bitrate is added back
into the current sender participant's remaining uplink capacity
(line 225). The previous video stream layer's bitrate is modified
so that the previous video stream layer's bitrate is equal to 1/4
of the sender participant's remaining uplink capacity (line 226),
and a new video stream layer is created having a bitrate equal to
3/4 of the sender participant's remaining uplink capacity (lines
227-228). Essentially, these additional lines address a specific
situation in which it may be desirable to decrease a previous video
stream layer's bitrate so as to be able to accommodate a second
video stream layer that is sufficiently distinct from the previous
video stream layer.
[0055] FIG. 3 illustrates example pseudocode 300 for implementing
various functions of the bandwidth allocation module 106, according
to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, the
pseudocode 300 depicts one embodiment by which the bandwidth
allocation module 106 can determine a reserved downlink for a
subscriber participant with respect to a particular sender
participant. A subscriber participant's reserved downlink can be
determined based on the subscriber participant's remaining downlink
capacity. As described, a subscriber participant's remaining
downlink capacity is updated with each iteration of the iterative
sequence implemented in lines 205-237 of pseudocode 200 of FIG. 2.
In a first iteration, the subscriber participant's remaining
downlink capacity is equal to their total downlink capacity.
However, after the first iteration, a certain portion of the
downlink capacity may be assigned to receive a video stream layer
from a first sender participant, and after a second iteration, a
certain portion of the downlink capacity may be assigned to receive
a video stream layer from a second sender participant, and so
forth, such that a particular subscriber participant's remaining
downlink capacity will potentially decrease with each iteration. In
various embodiments, a subscriber participant's reserved downlink
can be determined based on the subscriber participant's remaining
downlink capacity at the time of the determination.
[0056] A subscriber participant's reserved downlink can also be
determined based on a quality level of the subscriber participant's
subscription to a particular sender participant. As described, a
subscriber participant's subscription to a particular sender
participant can be associated with a particular quality level of a
plurality of quality levels. For example, in one embodiment, there
may be a low quality level, a medium quality level, and a high
quality level. In one embodiment, a subscriber participant may
specify which quality level they would like to receive from a
particular sender participant. In another embodiment, a quality
level may be inferred, for example, based on a viewing mode
selected by the subscriber participant.
[0057] In the example pseudocode 300, four quality levels are
defined. A quality level of 4 indicates a highest quality level,
while a quality level of 1 indicates a lowest quality level. If a
subscriber participant has requested a subscription having a
quality level of 2 from a sender participant, the subscriber
participant's reserved downlink is calculated as the subscriber
participant's remaining downlink capacity divided by a number of
sender participants yet to be processed for the subscriber
participant (lines 305-306). For example, consider an example
scenario in which the subscriber participant is subscribed to four
different sender participants. Furthermore, the iterative sequence
of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2 has gone through one iteration, such
that one of the sender participants have been processed and the
subscriber participant has been assigned to a particular video
stream layer for that sender participant, but the remaining three
sender participants have not yet been processed and the subscriber
participant is not yet assigned to video stream layers for those
sender participants. The subscriber participant's remaining
downlink capacity has been updated to reflect the one video stream
layer to which the subscriber participant has been subscribed, and
the number of sender participants yet to be processed for the
subscriber participant is equal to three. As such, in this example
scenario, the subscriber participant's reserved downlink would be
equal to his or her remaining downlink capacity divided by
three.
[0058] If a subscriber participant has requested a level 3 or a
level 4 subscription from a sender participant (i.e., a high
quality subscription), the subscriber participant's reserved
downlink is calculated as the subscriber participant's remaining
downlink capacity multiplied by a high definition ratio (HD_RATIO).
In the example pseudocode 300, the high definition ratio is set to
0.5 (line 304), such that the reserved downlink is calculated as
half of the subscriber participant's remaining downlink capacity.
In various embodiments, the HD_RATIO may be a different value, and,
as shown in the comment to line 304, can vary based on, for
example, the subscriber participant's remaining subscriptions left
to be processed.
[0059] If a subscriber participant has requested a level 1
subscription from a sender participant, the subscriber
participant's reserved downlink may depend on the subscriber
participant's remaining subscriptions. In the example pseudocode
300, if the subscriber participant has a pending, unprocessed
higher definition layer subscription (e.g., level 3 or level 4),
the reserved downlink is calculated as the subscriber participant's
remaining downlink capacity multiplied by one minus the HD_RATIO,
and the product is divided by the subscriber participant's
remaining subscriptions minus one (lines 311-312). In essence, this
calculation reserves a portion of the subscriber participant's
remaining downlink capacity for the pending higher definition layer
subscription by calculating the product of the remaining downlink
capacity and one minus the HD_RATIO, and then divides the left over
downlink capacity by the number of pending subscriptions minus one.
However, if the subscriber participant does not have a pending,
unprocessed high definition layer subscription, the reserved
downlink is calculated in the same way as the level 2/medium
definition subscription (lines 313-315).
[0060] Additional clarity and explanation will now be provided with
reference to an example scenario.
[0061] FIG. 4A-4Q illustrate an example scenario 400 associated
with group video call simulcast optimization, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. The example scenario 400
demonstrates various functions of the group video call module 102,
according to various embodiments. As can be seen in FIG. 4A, the
example scenario 400 includes four users 402, 404, 406, and 408
that are participating in a group video call. Each user is
subscribed to every other user. Furthermore, the example scenario
400 includes three subscription quality levels, level 1 or "low
definition" (LD), level 2 or "standard definition" (SD), and level
3 or "high definition" (HD).
[0062] User 402 has an uplink capacity of 200 kbps and a downlink
capacity of 200 kbps. User 402 has requested a standard definition
video stream from every other user. This may be an instance, for
example, in which the user 402 has selected a "grid view" of the
group video call such that the other participants are all displayed
in individual windows of substantially equal size.
[0063] User 404 has an uplink capacity of 300 kbps and a downlink
capacity of 200 kbps. User 404 has requested a low definition video
stream from users 406 and 408, and a high definition video stream
from user 402. This may be an instance, for example, in which the
user 404 has the user 402 on a full-screen view, and has users 406
and 408 displayed in thumbnail views.
[0064] User 406 has an uplink capacity of 350 kbps and a downlink
capacity of 600 kbps. Like user 402, user 406 has requested
standard definition video streams from every other user.
[0065] User 408 has an uplink capacity of 800 kbps and a downlink
capacity of 1000 kbps. Similar to user 404, user 408 has requested
a low definition video stream from users 404 and 406, and a high
definition video stream from user 402.
[0066] As discussed above, in one embodiment, the set of users 402,
404, 406, 408 can be ranked in ascending order based on uplink
capacity, and then iteratively processed in sequence based on the
ranking. In the example scenario 400, the group video call is
processed according to the embodiment implemented in pseudocode 200
of FIG. 2, with lines 223-229 of pseudocode 200 being included.
[0067] In FIG. 4B, a first iteration of the iterative sequence
implemented in lines 205-237 of FIG. 2 processes user 402, who has
the lowest uplink capacity. In this first iteration, user 402 is
the sender participant, and users 404, 406, and 408 are each
subscriber participants that are subscribed to user 402. In the
example scenario 400, reserved downlinks are determined for each
subscriber participant with respect to the sender participant
according to the embodiment implemented in pseudocode 300 of FIG.
3. As described, each subscriber participant's reserved downlink is
determined based on the subscriber participant's remaining downlink
capacity and a quality level associated with the subscriber
participant's subscription to the sender participant. User 404 has
requested a high definition video stream from the sender
participant, i.e., user 402. As such, user 404's reserved downlink
is calculated as user 404's remaining downlink capacity (200 kbps)
divided by 2 (as specified in the HD_RATIO in line 304 of
pseudocode 300). Therefore, user 404's reserved downlink is 100
kbps. User 406 has requested a standard definition video stream
from user 402. As such, user 406's reserved downlink is calculated
as user 406's remaining downlink capacity (600 kbps) divided by the
number of user 406's subscriptions remaining to be processed. In
this first iteration, none of the sender participants have been
processed, meaning user 406 still has three subscriptions remaining
to be processed. As such, user 406's reserved downlink is 600
kbps/3=200 kbps. User 408 has requested a high definition video
stream from user 402. As such, user 408's reserved downlink is
calculated as user 408's remaining downlink capacity (1000 kbps)
divided by 2, which is 500 kbps.
[0068] FIG. 4C illustrates further processing of the subscriber
participants. Per line 212 of FIG. 2, each subscriber participant
is ranked in ascending order based on reserved downlink. Per the
second iterative sequence implemented in lines 215-236 of FIG. 2,
each subscriber participant is processed sequentially based on the
ranking. A first iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 404, who has the lowest reserved downlink. A first
video stream layer having a size equal to user 404's reserved
downlink (100 kbps) is created, and user 404 is assigned to the
first video stream layer. Creation of the first video stream layer
having a bitrate of 100 kbps indicates that the sender participant,
user 402, will upload a first video stream layer having a bitrate
of 100 kbps. As such, user 402 has 100 kbps of his or her uplink
capacity dedicated to the first video stream layer, and 100 kbps of
uplink capacity remaining. Assignment of the subscriber
participant, user 404, to this first video stream layer indicates
that user 404 will receive a 100 kbps video stream layer from user
402. As described previously, while the present disclosure may
state that a subscriber participant receives a video stream layer
"from" a sender participant, it should be understood that, in
various embodiments, this receipt is not a direct transmission of a
video stream layer from one participant to another. Rather, in
various embodiments, a subscriber participant receives a video
stream layer "from" a sender participant by virtue of the sender
participant uploading the video stream layer to a central server,
and the central server transmitting the video stream layer to the
subscriber participant based on the subscriber participant being
assigned to receive that video stream layer.
[0069] A second iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 406, who has the second lowest reserved downlink.
Based on line 217 of FIG. 2, a determination is made that there is
insufficient remaining uplink capacity to create a new layer, since
user 402's remaining uplink capacity (100 kbps) is not two times
greater than the previously created video stream layer (100 kbps).
However, based on line 224 of FIG. 2, a determination is made that
user 402's remaining uplink capacity is greater than or equal to
the previously created video stream layer, and user 406's reserved
downlink is greater than or equal to twice user 402's remaining
uplink. In such a scenario, based on lines 224-229 of FIG. 2, the
previous video stream layer's bitrate is added back into user 402's
remaining uplink capacity (line 225), the previous video stream
layer is redefined to have a bitrate equal to 1/4 of the remaining
uplink capacity (line 226), and a new video stream layer is created
with a bitrate equal to 3/4 of the remaining uplink capacity (line
228). As such, the first video stream layer is redefined to have a
bitrate of 50 kbps rather than 100 kbps, and a new, second video
stream layer is created having a bitrate of 150 kbps. User 404
remains assigned to the first video stream layer, which is now a 50
kbps video stream, and user 406 is assigned to the newly created
second video stream layer, which is a 150 kbps video stream. User
402 is now assigned to upload a 50 kbps video stream layer and a
150 kbps video stream layer, which completely utilizes user 402's
uplink capacity.
[0070] A third iteration of the second iterative sequence processes
user 408, who has the third lowest reserved downlink. There is
insufficient uplink capacity remaining for user 402 to create a new
video stream layer. As such, user 408 is assigned to the previous
video stream layer, i.e., the 150 kbps video stream layer.
[0071] FIG. 4D summarizes the results of the first iteration of the
iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. User 402 has been
assigned to upload two video stream layers, a first video stream
layer having a bitrate of 50 kbps and a second video stream layer
having a bitrate of 150 kbps. User 402's uplink capacity is updated
by subtracting the bitrates of the two video stream layers that
user 402 will upload, resulting in a remaining uplink capacity of 0
kbps.
[0072] User 404 is assigned to receive the first video stream layer
from user 402, and users 406 and 408 are both assigned to receive
the second video stream layer from user 402. User 404's downlink
capacity is updated by subtracting 50 kbps, user 406's downlink
capacity is updated by subtracting 150 kbps, and user 408's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 150 kbps. FIG. 4E
presents the status of the participants after the first iteration
of the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2.
[0073] FIG. 4F illustrates the start of a second iteration of the
iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. In this second
iteration, user 404 is selected as the sender participant being
processed, as user 404 has the second lowest uplink capacity of the
four users, and users 402, 406, and 408 are each subscriber
participants that are subscribed to user 404. Once again, reserved
downlinks are determined for each subscriber participant with
respect to the sender participant, according to the embodiment
implemented in pseudocode 300 of FIG. 3. User 402 has requested a
standard definition video stream from the sender participant, i.e.,
user 404. As such, user 402's reserved downlink is calculated as
user 402's remaining downlink capacity (200 kbps) divided by the
number of user 402's subscriptions remaining to be processed. User
402 still has three subscriptions remaining to be processed (users
404, 406, and 408), so user 402's reserved downlink is 200
kbps/3=66 kbps. User 406 has also requested a standard definition
video stream from user 404. As such, user 406's reserved downlink
is calculated as user 406's remaining downlink capacity (450 kbps)
divided by the number of user 406's subscriptions remaining to be
processed. One of user 406's subscriptions has already been
processed (user 402), so user 406 has only two subscriptions
remaining to be processed (users 404 and 408). As such, user 406's
reserved downlink is 450 kbps/2=225 kbps. User 408 has requested a
low definition video stream from user 402 (as addressed by lines
309-315 of FIG. 3). User 408 does not have a high definition
subscription remaining to be processed. Therefore, user 408's
reserved downlink is equal to user 408's remaining downlink
capacity divided by the number of user 408's subscriptions
remaining to be processed. User 408 has two subscriptions remaining
to be processed (users 404 and 406). Therefore, user 408's reserved
downlink is 850 kbps/2=425 kbps.
[0074] FIG. 4G illustrates further processing of the subscriber
participants. Per line 212 of FIG. 2, each subscriber participant
is ranked in ascending order based on reserved downlink. Per the
second iterative sequence implemented in lines 215-236 of FIG. 2,
each subscriber participant is processed sequentially based on the
ranking. A first iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 402, who has the lowest reserved downlink. A first
video stream layer having a size equal to user 402's reserved
downlink (66 kbps) is created, and user 402 is assigned to the
first video stream layer. Creation of the first video stream layer
having a bitrate of 66 kbps indicates that the sender participant,
user 404, will upload a first video stream layer having a bitrate
of 66 kbps. As such, user 404 has 66 kbps of his or her uplink
capacity dedicated to the first video stream layer, and 234 kbps of
uplink capacity remaining.
[0075] A second iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 406, who has the second lowest reserved downlink. A
determination is made that user 406's reserved downlink (which is
less than user 404's remaining uplink capacity) is at least twice
the previously created video stream layer. As such, a new second
video stream layer having a size equal to user 406's reserved
downlink (225 kbps) is created. User 404 is now tasked with
uploading two video streams, a first that is 66 kbps and a second
that is 225 kbps, which means that user 404 has 9 kbps of uplink
capacity remaining. User 406 is assigned to the second video stream
layer.
[0076] A third iteration of the second iterative sequence processes
user 408, who has the third lowest reserved downlink. There is
insufficient uplink capacity remaining for user 404 to create a new
video stream layer. As such, user 408 is assigned to the previous
video stream layer, i.e., the 225 kbps video stream layer.
[0077] FIG. 4H summarizes the results of the second iteration of
the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. User 404 has
been assigned to upload two video stream layers, a first video
stream layer having a bitrate of 66 kbps and a second video stream
layer having a bitrate of 225 kbps. User 404's uplink capacity is
updated by subtracting the bitrates of the two video stream layers
that user 404 will upload, resulting in a remaining uplink capacity
of 9 kbps. User 402 is assigned to receive the first video stream
layer from user 404, and users 406 and 408 are both assigned to
receive the second video stream layer from user 404. User 402's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 66 kbps, user 406's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 225 kbps, and user
408's downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 225 kbps. FIG. 4I
presents the status of the participants after the second iteration
of the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2.
[0078] FIG. 4J illustrates the start of a third iteration of the
iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. In this third
iteration, user 406 is selected as the sender participant being
processed, as user 406 has the third lowest uplink capacity of the
four users, and users 402, 404, and 408 are each subscriber
participants that are subscribed to user 406. Once again, reserved
downlinks are determined for each subscriber participant with
respect to the sender participant, which is user 406 in this
iteration, according to the embodiment implemented in pseudocode
300 of FIG. 3. User 402 has requested a standard definition video
stream from the sender participant, i.e., user 406. As such, user
402's reserved downlink is calculated as user 402's remaining
downlink capacity (134 kbps) divided by the number of user 402's
subscriptions remaining to be processed. User 402 now has two
subscriptions remaining to be processed (users 406 and 408), so
user 402's reserved downlink is 134 kbps/2=67 kbps. User 404 has
requested a low definition video stream from user 406. User 404
does not have any high definition subscriptions remaining to be
processed. As such, user 404's reserved downlink is calculated as
user 404's remaining downlink capacity (150 kbps) divided by the
number of user 404's subscriptions remaining to be processed. User
404 has two subscriptions remaining to be processed (users 406 and
408). As such, user 404's reserved downlink is 150 kbps/2=75 kbps.
User 408 has requested a low definition video stream from user 406.
User 408 does not have a high definition subscription remaining to
be processed. Therefore, user 408's reserved downlink is equal to
user 408's remaining downlink capacity divided by the number of
user 408's subscriptions remaining to be processed. User 408 has
only one subscription remaining to be processed (user 406).
Therefore, user 408's reserved downlink is 625 kbps/1=625 kbps.
[0079] FIG. 4K illustrates further processing of the subscriber
participants. Per line 212 of FIG. 2, each subscriber participant
is ranked in ascending order based on reserved downlink. Per the
second iterative sequence implemented in lines 215-236 of FIG. 2,
each subscriber participant is processed sequentially based on the
ranking. A first iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 402, who has the lowest reserved downlink. A first
video stream layer having a size equal to user 402's reserved
downlink (67 kbps) is created, and user 402 is assigned to the
first video stream layer. This indicates that the sender
participant, user 406, will upload a first video stream layer
having a bitrate of 67 kbps. As such, user 406 has 67 kbps of his
or her uplink capacity dedicated to the first video stream layer,
and 283 kbps of uplink capacity remaining.
[0080] A second iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 404, who has the second lowest reserved downlink. A
determination is made that user 404's reserved downlink does not
satisfy the difference threshold with respect to the previous video
stream layer, i.e., is not at least twice the bitrate of the
previous video stream layer. As such, user 404 is assigned to the
previously created first video stream layer having a bitrate of 67
kbps.
[0081] A third iteration of the second iterative sequence processes
user 408, who has the third lowest reserved downlink. User 406's
remaining uplink capacity is less than user 408's reserved
downlink. As such, the size of a potential new layer is set equal
to user 406's remaining uplink capacity, i.e., 283 kbps. The size
of the potential new layer satisfies the difference threshold,
i.e., is at least twice the bitrate of the previous video stream
layer. Therefore, a new, second video stream layer is created
having a bitrate of 283 kbps. User 408 is assigned to the second
video stream layer.
[0082] FIG. 4L summarizes the results of the third iteration of the
iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. User 406 has been
assigned to upload two video stream layers, a first video stream
layer having a bitrate of 67 kbps and a second video stream layer
having a bitrate of 283 kbps. User 406's uplink capacity is updated
by subtracting the bitrates of the two video stream layers that
user 406 will upload, resulting in a remaining uplink capacity of 0
kbps. Users 402 and 404 are both assigned to receive the first
video stream layer from user 406, and user 408 is assigned to
receive the second video stream layer from user 406. User 402's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 67 kbps, user 404's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 67 kbps, and user 408's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 283 kbps. FIG. 4M
presents the status of the participants after the third iteration
of the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2.
[0083] FIG. 4N illustrates the start of a fourth and final
iteration of the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. In
this fourth iteration, user 408 is selected as the sender
participant being processed, and users 402, 404, and 406 are each
subscriber participants that are subscribed to user 408. Once
again, reserved downlinks are determined for each subscriber
participant with respect to the sender participant according to the
embodiment implemented in pseudocode 300 of FIG. 3. User 402 has
requested a standard definition video stream from the sender
participant, i.e., user 408. As such, user 402's reserved downlink
is calculated as user 402's remaining downlink capacity (67 kbps)
divided by the number of user 402's subscriptions remaining to be
processed. User 402 now has only one subscription remaining to be
processed (user 408), so user 402's reserved downlink is 67
kbps/1=67 kbps. User 404 has requested a low definition video
stream from user 408. User 404 does not have any high definition
subscriptions remaining to be processed. As such, user 404's
reserved downlink is calculated as user 404's remaining downlink
capacity (83 kbps) divided by the number of user 404's
subscriptions remaining to be processed. User 404 has only one
subscription remaining to be processed (user 408). As such, user
404's reserved downlink is 83 kbps/1=83 kbps. User 406 has
requested a standard definition video stream from user 408.
Therefore, user 406's reserved downlink is equal to user 406's
remaining downlink capacity divided by the number of user 406's
subscriptions remaining to be processed. User 406 has only one
subscription remaining to be processed (user 408). Therefore, user
406's reserved downlink is 225 kbps/1=225 kbps.
[0084] FIG. 40 illustrates further processing of the subscriber
participants. Per line 212 of FIG. 2, each subscriber participant
is ranked in ascending order based on reserved downlink. Per the
second iterative sequence implemented in lines 215-236 of FIG. 2,
each subscriber participant is processed sequentially based on the
ranking. A first iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 402, who has the lowest reserved downlink. A first
video stream layer having a size equal to user 402's reserved
downlink (67 kbps) is created, and user 402 is assigned to the
first video stream layer. User 408 has 67 kbps of his or her uplink
capacity dedicated to the first video stream layer, and 733 kbps of
uplink capacity remaining.
[0085] A second iteration of the second iterative sequence
processes user 404, who has the second lowest reserved downlink. A
determination is made that user 404's reserved downlink does not
satisfy the difference threshold with respect to the previous video
stream layer, i.e., is not at least twice the bitrate of the
previous video stream layer. As such, user 404 is assigned to the
previously created first video stream layer of 67 kbps.
[0086] A third iteration of the second iterative sequence processes
user 406, who has the third lowest reserved downlink. User 406's
reserved downlink (225 kbps) is less than user 408's remaining
uplink capacity (733 kbps). As such, the size of a potential new
layer is set equal to user 406's reserved downlink, i.e., 225 kbps.
The size of the potential new layer satisfies the difference
threshold, i.e., is at least twice the bitrate of the previous
video stream layer. Therefore, a new second video stream layer is
created having a bitrate of 225 kbps. User 406 is assigned to the
second video stream layer.
[0087] FIG. 4P summarizes the results of the fourth iteration of
the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. User 408 has
been assigned to upload two video stream layers, a first video
stream layer having a bitrate of 67 kbps and a second video stream
layer having a bitrate of 225 kbps. User 408's uplink capacity is
updated by subtracting the bitrates of the two video stream layers
that user 408 will upload, resulting in a remaining uplink capacity
of 508 kbps. Users 402 and 404 are both assigned to receive the
first video stream layer from user 408, and user 406 is assigned to
receive the second video stream layer from user 408. User 402's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 67 kbps, user 404's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 67 kbps, and user 406's
downlink capacity is updated by subtracting 225 kbps. FIG. 4Q
presents the status of the participants after the fourth and final
iteration of the iterative sequence of lines 205-237 of FIG. 2. As
can be seen, each sender participant (in this case, each
participant) has been assigned one or more video stream layers that
the participant will upload, and each subscriber participant (in
this case, each participant) has been assigned to receive one video
stream having a particular bitrate from each sender participant
that the subscriber participant is subscribed to.
[0088] While the example scenario described above describes an
example scenario in which every participant in the group video call
is both a sender participant and a subscriber participant, it
should be appreciated that the present disclosure is capable of
processing and managing group video calls having differing
characteristics. For example, a subset of participants may be
sender participants, such that only some participants are uploading
video streams, and/or a subset of participants may be subscriber
participants, such that only some participants are receiving video
streams from other participants. Similarly, while the example
scenario described above described an example scenario in which
every participant receives a video stream from every other
participant, it should be appreciated that the present disclosure
can address differing scenarios. For example, certain subscriber
participants may only be subscribed to receive video feeds from a
subset of sender participants. Many variations are possible.
[0089] The example embodiments described above have generally
attempted to utilize as much of a sender participant's uplink
capacity and as much of a subscriber participant's downlink
capacity as possible. However, in certain scenarios, it may be
desirable to impose limits or caps on bitrates even if additional
uplink capacity and/or downlink capacity is available. For example,
if a subscriber participant has requested a low definition video
stream from a sender participant, it may be desirable to cap the
bitrate of the low definition video stream even if the subscriber
participant has sufficient downlink capacity and the sender
participant has sufficient uplink capacity to accommodate a very
high bitrate video stream. As such, in various embodiments,
subscriptions of particular quality levels may be capped at a
maximum bitrate. For example, a low quality subscription may be
capped at a first maximum bitrate, while a standard or medium
quality subscription may be capped at a second maximum bitrate that
is greater than the first maximum bitrate, while a high quality
subscription may be capped at a third maximum bitrate that is
greater than the second maximum bitrate, or, in various
embodiments, may not be capped at all.
[0090] FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 associated with
optimizing group video call simulcast streams, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that
there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in
similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of
the various embodiments discussed herein unless otherwise
stated.
[0091] At block 502, the example method 500 can identify a set of
participants in a group video call, wherein each participant is
associated with an uplink capacity and a downlink capacity, and the
set of participants includes a set of sender participants and a set
of subscriber participants. At block 504, the example method 500
can, for each sender participant of the set of sender participants,
determine one or more video stream layers to be uploaded by the
sender participant based on downlink capacities of subscriber
participants subscribed to the sender participant. At block 506,
the example method 500 can, for each subscriber participant of the
set of subscriber participants, assign the subscriber participant
to receive one video stream layer of the one or more video stream
layers to be uploaded by each sender participant to which the
subscriber participant is subscribed.
[0092] It is contemplated that there can be many other uses,
applications, and/or variations associated with the various
embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in some cases,
user can choose whether or not to opt-in to utilize the disclosed
technology. The disclosed technology can also ensure that various
privacy settings and preferences are maintained and can prevent
private information from being divulged. In another example,
various embodiments of the present disclosure can learn, improve,
and/or be refined over time.
Social Networking System--Example Implementation
[0093] FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system
600 that can be utilized in various scenarios, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 600 includes one
or more user devices 610, one or more external systems 620, a
social networking system (or service) 630, and a network 650. In an
embodiment, the social networking service, provider, and/or system
discussed in connection with the embodiments described above may be
implemented as the social networking system 630. For purposes of
illustration, the embodiment of the system 600, shown by FIG. 6,
includes a single external system 620 and a single user device 610.
However, in other embodiments, the system 600 may include more user
devices 610 and/or more external systems 620. In certain
embodiments, the social networking system 630 is operated by a
social network provider, whereas the external systems 620 are
separate from the social networking system 630 in that they may be
operated by different entities. In various embodiments, however,
the social networking system 630 and the external systems 620
operate in conjunction to provide social networking services to
users (or members) of the social networking system 630. In this
sense, the social networking system 630 provides a platform or
backbone, which other systems, such as external systems 620, may
use to provide social networking services and functionalities to
users across the Internet.
[0094] The user device 610 comprises one or more computing devices
that can receive input from a user and transmit and receive data
via the network 650. In one embodiment, the user device 610 is a
conventional computer system executing, for example, a Microsoft
Windows compatible operating system (OS), Apple OS X, and/or a
Linux distribution. In another embodiment, the user device 610 can
be a device having computer functionality, such as a smart-phone, a
tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone,
etc. The user device 610 is configured to communicate via the
network 650. The user device 610 can execute an application, for
example, a browser application that allows a user of the user
device 610 to interact with the social networking system 630. In
another embodiment, the user device 610 interacts with the social
networking system 630 through an application programming interface
(API) provided by the native operating system of the user device
610, such as iOS and ANDROID. The user device 610 is configured to
communicate with the external system 620 and the social networking
system 630 via the network 650, which may comprise any combination
of local area and/or wide area networks, using wired and/or
wireless communication systems.
[0095] In one embodiment, the network 650 uses standard
communications technologies and protocols. Thus, the network 650
can include links using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11,
worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G,
CDMA, GSM, LTE, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Similarly, the
networking protocols used on the network 650 can include
multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP),
hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol
(SMTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and the like. The data
exchanged over the network 650 can be represented using
technologies and/or formats including hypertext markup language
(HTML) and extensible markup language (XML). In addition, all or
some links can be encrypted using conventional encryption
technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer
security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security (IPsec).
[0096] In one embodiment, the user device 610 may display content
from the external system 620 and/or from the social networking
system 630 by processing a markup language document 614 received
from the external system 620 and from the social networking system
630 using a browser application 612. The markup language document
614 identifies content and one or more instructions describing
formatting or presentation of the content. By executing the
instructions included in the markup language document 614, the
browser application 612 displays the identified content using the
format or presentation described by the markup language document
614. For example, the markup language document 614 includes
instructions for generating and displaying a web page having
multiple frames that include text and/or image data retrieved from
the external system 620 and the social networking system 630. In
various embodiments, the markup language document 614 comprises a
data file including extensible markup language (XML) data,
extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML) data, or other markup
language data. Additionally, the markup language document 614 may
include JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data, JSON with padding
(JSONP), and JavaScript data to facilitate data-interchange between
the external system 620 and the user device 610. The browser
application 612 on the user device 610 may use a JavaScript
compiler to decode the markup language document 614.
[0097] The markup language document 614 may also include, or link
to, applications or application frameworks such as FLASH.TM. or
Unity.TM. applications, the SilverLight.TM. application framework,
etc.
[0098] In one embodiment, the user device 610 also includes one or
more cookies 616 including data indicating whether a user of the
user device 610 is logged into the social networking system 630,
which may enable modification of the data communicated from the
social networking system 630 to the user device 610.
[0099] The external system 620 includes one or more web servers
that include one or more web pages 622a, 622b, which are
communicated to the user device 610 using the network 650. The
external system 620 is separate from the social networking system
630. For example, the external system 620 is associated with a
first domain, while the social networking system 630 is associated
with a separate social networking domain. Web pages 622a, 622b,
included in the external system 620, comprise markup language
documents 614 identifying content and including instructions
specifying formatting or presentation of the identified
content.
[0100] The social networking system 630 includes one or more
computing devices for a social network, including a plurality of
users, and providing users of the social network with the ability
to communicate and interact with other users of the social network.
In some instances, the social network can be represented by a
graph, i.e., a data structure including edges and nodes. Other data
structures can also be used to represent the social network,
including but not limited to databases, objects, classes, meta
elements, files, or any other data structure. The social networking
system 630 may be administered, managed, or controlled by an
operator. The operator of the social networking system 630 may be a
human being, an automated application, or a series of applications
for managing content, regulating policies, and collecting usage
metrics within the social networking system 630. Any type of
operator may be used.
[0101] Users may join the social networking system 630 and then add
connections to any number of other users of the social networking
system 630 to whom they desire to be connected. As used herein, the
term "friend" refers to any other user of the social networking
system 630 to whom a user has formed a connection, association, or
relationship via the social networking system 630. For example, in
an embodiment, if users in the social networking system 630 are
represented as nodes in the social graph, the term "friend" can
refer to an edge formed between and directly connecting two user
nodes.
[0102] Connections may be added explicitly by a user or may be
automatically created by the social networking system 630 based on
common characteristics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of
the same educational institution). For example, a first user
specifically selects a particular other user to be a friend.
Connections in the social networking system 630 are usually in both
directions, but need not be, so the terms "user" and "friend"
depend on the frame of reference. Connections between users of the
social networking system 630 are usually bilateral ("two-way"), or
"mutual," but connections may also be unilateral, or "one-way." For
example, if Bob and Joe are both users of the social networking
system 630 and connected to each other, Bob and Joe are each
other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob wishes to connect
to Joe to view data communicated to the social networking system
630 by Joe, but Joe does not wish to form a mutual connection, a
unilateral connection may be established. The connection between
users may be a direct connection; however, some embodiments of the
social networking system 630 allow the connection to be indirect
via one or more levels of connections or degrees of separation.
[0103] In addition to establishing and maintaining connections
between users and allowing interactions between users, the social
networking system 630 provides users with the ability to take
actions on various types of items supported by the social
networking system 630. These items may include groups or networks
(i.e., social networks of people, entities, and concepts) to which
users of the social networking system 630 may belong, events or
calendar entries in which a user might be interested,
computer-based applications that a user may use via the social
networking system 630, transactions that allow users to buy or sell
items via services provided by or through the social networking
system 630, and interactions with advertisements that a user may
perform on or off the social networking system 630. These are just
a few examples of the items upon which a user may act on the social
networking system 630, and many others are possible. A user may
interact with anything that is capable of being represented in the
social networking system 630 or in the external system 620,
separate from the social networking system 630, or coupled to the
social networking system 630 via the network 650.
[0104] The social networking system 630 is also capable of linking
a variety of entities. For example, the social networking system
630 enables users to interact with each other as well as external
systems 620 or other entities through an API, a web service, or
other communication channels. The social networking system 630
generates and maintains the "social graph" comprising a plurality
of nodes interconnected by a plurality of edges. Each node in the
social graph may represent an entity that can act on another node
and/or that can be acted on by another node. The social graph may
include various types of nodes. Examples of types of nodes include
users, non-person entities, content items, web pages, groups,
activities, messages, concepts, and any other things that can be
represented by an object in the social networking system 630. An
edge between two nodes in the social graph may represent a
particular kind of connection, or association, between the two
nodes, which may result from node relationships or from an action
that was performed by one of the nodes on the other node. In some
cases, the edges between nodes can be weighted. The weight of an
edge can represent an attribute associated with the edge, such as a
strength of the connection or association between nodes. Different
types of edges can be provided with different weights. For example,
an edge created when one user "likes" another user may be given one
weight, while an edge created when a user befriends another user
may be given a different weight.
[0105] As an example, when a first user identifies a second user as
a friend, an edge in the social graph is generated connecting a
node representing the first user and a second node representing the
second user. As various nodes relate or interact with each other,
the social networking system 630 modifies edges connecting the
various nodes to reflect the relationships and interactions.
[0106] The social networking system 630 also includes
user-generated content, which enhances a user's interactions with
the social networking system 630. User-generated content may
include anything a user can add, upload, send, or "post" to the
social networking system 630. For example, a user communicates
posts to the social networking system 630 from a user device 610.
Posts may include data such as status updates or other textual
data, location information, images such as photos, videos, links,
music or other similar data and/or media. Content may also be added
to the social networking system 630 by a third party. Content
"items" are represented as objects in the social networking system
630. In this way, users of the social networking system 630 are
encouraged to communicate with each other by posting text and
content items of various types of media through various
communication channels. Such communication increases the
interaction of users with each other and increases the frequency
with which users interact with the social networking system
630.
[0107] The social networking system 630 includes a web server 632,
an API request server 634, a user profile store 636, a connection
store 638, an action logger 640, an activity log 642, and an
authorization server 644. In an embodiment of the invention, the
social networking system 630 may include additional, fewer, or
different components for various applications. Other components,
such as network interfaces, security mechanisms, load balancers,
failover servers, management and network operations consoles, and
the like are not shown so as to not obscure the details of the
system.
[0108] The user profile store 636 maintains information about user
accounts, including biographic, demographic, and other types of
descriptive information, such as work experience, educational
history, hobbies or preferences, location, and the like that has
been declared by users or inferred by the social networking system
630. This information is stored in the user profile store 636 such
that each user is uniquely identified. The social networking system
630 also stores data describing one or more connections between
different users in the connection store 638. The connection
information may indicate users who have similar or common work
experience, group memberships, hobbies, or educational history.
Additionally, the social networking system 630 includes
user-defined connections between different users, allowing users to
specify their relationships with other users. For example,
user-defined connections allow users to generate relationships with
other users that parallel the users' real-life relationships, such
as friends, co-workers, partners, and so forth. Users may select
from predefined types of connections, or define their own
connection types as needed. Connections with other nodes in the
social networking system 630, such as non-person entities, buckets,
cluster centers, images, interests, pages, external systems,
concepts, and the like are also stored in the connection store
638.
[0109] The social networking system 630 maintains data about
objects with which a user may interact. To maintain this data, the
user profile store 636 and the connection store 638 store instances
of the corresponding type of objects maintained by the social
networking system 630. Each object type has information fields that
are suitable for storing information appropriate to the type of
object. For example, the user profile store 636 contains data
structures with fields suitable for describing a user's account and
information related to a user's account. When a new object of a
particular type is created, the social networking system 630
initializes a new data structure of the corresponding type, assigns
a unique object identifier to it, and begins to add data to the
object as needed. This might occur, for example, when a user
becomes a user of the social networking system 630, the social
networking system 630 generates a new instance of a user profile in
the user profile store 636, assigns a unique identifier to the user
account, and begins to populate the fields of the user account with
information provided by the user.
[0110] The connection store 638 includes data structures suitable
for describing a user's connections to other users, connections to
external systems 620 or connections to other entities. The
connection store 638 may also associate a connection type with a
user's connections, which may be used in conjunction with the
user's privacy setting to regulate access to information about the
user. In an embodiment of the invention, the user profile store 636
and the connection store 638 may be implemented as a federated
database.
[0111] Data stored in the connection store 638, the user profile
store 636, and the activity log 642 enables the social networking
system 630 to generate the social graph that uses nodes to identify
various objects and edges connecting nodes to identify
relationships between different objects. For example, if a first
user establishes a connection with a second user in the social
networking system 630, user accounts of the first user and the
second user from the user profile store 636 may act as nodes in the
social graph. The connection between the first user and the second
user stored by the connection store 638 is an edge between the
nodes associated with the first user and the second user.
Continuing this example, the second user may then send the first
user a message within the social networking system 630. The action
of sending the message, which may be stored, is another edge
between the two nodes in the social graph representing the first
user and the second user. Additionally, the message itself may be
identified and included in the social graph as another node
connected to the nodes representing the first user and the second
user.
[0112] In another example, a first user may tag a second user in an
image that is maintained by the social networking system 630 (or,
alternatively, in an image maintained by another system outside of
the social networking system 630). The image may itself be
represented as a node in the social networking system 630. This
tagging action may create edges between the first user and the
second user as well as create an edge between each of the users and
the image, which is also a node in the social graph. In yet another
example, if a user confirms attending an event, the user and the
event are nodes obtained from the user profile store 636, where the
attendance of the event is an edge between the nodes that may be
retrieved from the activity log 642. By generating and maintaining
the social graph, the social networking system 630 includes data
describing many different types of objects and the interactions and
connections among those objects, providing a rich source of
socially relevant information.
[0113] The web server 632 links the social networking system 630 to
one or more user devices 610 and/or one or more external systems
620 via the network 650. The web server 632 serves web pages, as
well as other web-related content, such as Java, JavaScript, Flash,
XML, and so forth. The web server 632 may include a mail server or
other messaging functionality for receiving and routing messages
between the social networking system 630 and one or more user
devices 610. The messages can be instant messages, queued messages
(e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or any other suitable
messaging format.
[0114] The API request server 634 allows one or more external
systems 620 and user devices 610 to call access information from
the social networking system 630 by calling one or more API
functions. The API request server 634 may also allow external
systems 620 to send information to the social networking system 630
by calling APIs. The external system 620, in one embodiment, sends
an API request to the social networking system 630 via the network
650, and the API request server 634 receives the API request. The
API request server 634 processes the request by calling an API
associated with the API request to generate an appropriate
response, which the API request server 634 communicates to the
external system 620 via the network 650. For example, responsive to
an API request, the API request server 634 collects data associated
with a user, such as the user's connections that have logged into
the external system 620, and communicates the collected data to the
external system 620. In another embodiment, the user device 610
communicates with the social networking system 630 via APIs in the
same manner as external systems 620.
[0115] The action logger 640 is capable of receiving communications
from the web server 632 about user actions on and/or off the social
networking system 630. The action logger 640 populates the activity
log 642 with information about user actions, enabling the social
networking system 630 to discover various actions taken by its
users within the social networking system 630 and outside of the
social networking system 630. Any action that a particular user
takes with respect to another node on the social networking system
630 may be associated with each user's account, through information
maintained in the activity log 642 or in a similar database or
other data repository. Examples of actions taken by a user within
the social networking system 630 that are identified and stored may
include, for example, adding a connection to another user, sending
a message to another user, reading a message from another user,
viewing content associated with another user, attending an event
posted by another user, posting an image, attempting to post an
image, or other actions interacting with another user or another
object. When a user takes an action within the social networking
system 630, the action is recorded in the activity log 642. In one
embodiment, the social networking system 630 maintains the activity
log 642 as a database of entries. When an action is taken within
the social networking system 630, an entry for the action is added
to the activity log 642. The activity log 642 may be referred to as
an action log.
[0116] Additionally, user actions may be associated with concepts
and actions that occur within an entity outside of the social
networking system 630, such as an external system 620 that is
separate from the social networking system 630. For example, the
action logger 640 may receive data describing a user's interaction
with an external system 620 from the web server 632. In this
example, the external system 620 reports a user's interaction
according to structured actions and objects in the social
graph.
[0117] Other examples of actions where a user interacts with an
external system 620 include a user expressing an interest in an
external system 620 or another entity, a user posting a comment to
the social networking system 630 that discusses an external system
620 or a web page 622a within the external system 620, a user
posting to the social networking system 630 a Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) or other identifier associated with an external
system 620, a user attending an event associated with an external
system 620, or any other action by a user that is related to an
external system 620. Thus, the activity log 642 may include actions
describing interactions between a user of the social networking
system 630 and an external system 620 that is separate from the
social networking system 630.
[0118] The authorization server 644 enforces one or more privacy
settings of the users of the social networking system 630. A
privacy setting of a user determines how particular information
associated with a user can be shared. The privacy setting comprises
the specification of particular information associated with a user
and the specification of the entity or entities with whom the
information can be shared. Examples of entities with which
information can be shared may include other users, applications,
external systems 620, or any entity that can potentially access the
information. The information that can be shared by a user comprises
user account information, such as profile photos, phone numbers
associated with the user, user's connections, actions taken by the
user such as adding a connection, changing user profile
information, and the like.
[0119] The privacy setting specification may be provided at
different levels of granularity. For example, the privacy setting
may identify specific information to be shared with other users;
the privacy setting identifies a work phone number or a specific
set of related information, such as, personal information including
profile photo, home phone number, and status. Alternatively, the
privacy setting may apply to all the information associated with
the user. The specification of the set of entities that can access
particular information can also be specified at various levels of
granularity. Various sets of entities with which information can be
shared may include, for example, all friends of the user, all
friends of friends, all applications, or all external systems 620.
One embodiment allows the specification of the set of entities to
comprise an enumeration of entities. For example, the user may
provide a list of external systems 620 that are allowed to access
certain information. Another embodiment allows the specification to
comprise a set of entities along with exceptions that are not
allowed to access the information. For example, a user may allow
all external systems 620 to access the user's work information, but
specify a list of external systems 620 that are not allowed to
access the work information. Certain embodiments call the list of
exceptions that are not allowed to access certain information a
"block list". External systems 620 belonging to a block list
specified by a user are blocked from accessing the information
specified in the privacy setting. Various combinations of
granularity of specification of information, and granularity of
specification of entities, with which information is shared are
possible. For example, all personal information may be shared with
friends whereas all work information may be shared with friends of
friends.
[0120] The authorization server 644 contains logic to determine if
certain information associated with a user can be accessed by a
user's friends, external systems 620, and/or other applications and
entities. The external system 620 may need authorization from the
authorization server 644 to access the user's more private and
sensitive information, such as the user's work phone number. Based
on the user's privacy settings, the authorization server 644
determines if another user, the external system 620, an
application, or another entity is allowed to access information
associated with the user, including information about actions taken
by the user.
[0121] In some embodiments, the social networking system 630 can
include a group video call module 646. The group video call module
646 can, for example, be implemented as the group video call module
102, as discussed in more detail herein. As discussed previously,
it should be appreciated that there can be many variations or other
possibilities. For example, in some embodiments, one or more
functionalities of the group video call module 646 can be
implemented in the user device 610. As discussed previously, it
should be appreciated that there can be many variations or other
possibilities.
Hardware Implementation
[0122] The foregoing processes and features can be implemented by a
wide variety of machine and computer system architectures and in a
wide variety of network and computing environments. FIG. 7
illustrates an example of a computer system 700 that may be used to
implement one or more of the embodiments described herein according
to an embodiment of the invention. The computer system 700 includes
sets of instructions for causing the computer system 700 to perform
the processes and features discussed herein. The computer system
700 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a
networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in the
capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a client-server
network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or
distributed) network environment. In an embodiment of the
invention, the computer system 700 may be the social networking
system 630, the user device 610, and the external system 620, or a
component thereof. In an embodiment of the invention, the computer
system 700 may be one server among many that constitutes all or
part of the social networking system 630.
[0123] The computer system 700 includes a processor 702, a cache
704, and one or more executable modules and drivers, stored on a
computer-readable medium, directed to the processes and features
described herein. Additionally, the computer system 700 includes a
high performance input/output (I/O) bus 706 and a standard I/O bus
708. A host bridge 710 couples processor 702 to high performance
I/O bus 706, whereas I/O bus bridge 712 couples the two buses 706
and 708 to each other. A system memory 714 and one or more network
interfaces 716 couple to high performance I/O bus 706. The computer
system 700 may further include video memory and a display device
coupled to the video memory (not shown). Mass storage 718 and I/O
ports 720 couple to the standard I/O bus 708. The computer system
700 may optionally include a keyboard and pointing device, a
display device, or other input/output devices (not shown) coupled
to the standard I/O bus 708. Collectively, these elements are
intended to represent a broad category of computer hardware
systems, including but not limited to computer systems based on the
x86-compatible processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of
Santa Clara, Calif., and the x86-compatible processors manufactured
by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., as
well as any other suitable processor.
[0124] An operating system manages and controls the operation of
the computer system 700, including the input and output of data to
and from software applications (not shown). The operating system
provides an interface between the software applications being
executed on the system and the hardware components of the system.
Any suitable operating system may be used, such as the LINUX
Operating System, the Apple Macintosh Operating System, available
from Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., UNIX operating
systems, Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. operating systems, BSD
operating systems, and the like. Other implementations are
possible.
[0125] The elements of the computer system 700 are described in
greater detail below. In particular, the network interface 716
provides communication between the computer system 700 and any of a
wide range of networks, such as an Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3)
network, a backplane, etc. The mass storage 718 provides permanent
storage for the data and programming instructions to perform the
above-described processes and features implemented by the
respective computing systems identified above, whereas the system
memory 714 (e.g., DRAM) provides temporary storage for the data and
programming instructions when executed by the processor 702. The
I/O ports 720 may be one or more serial and/or parallel
communication ports that provide communication between additional
peripheral devices, which may be coupled to the computer system
700.
[0126] The computer system 700 may include a variety of system
architectures, and various components of the computer system 700
may be rearranged. For example, the cache 704 may be on-chip with
processor 702. Alternatively, the cache 704 and the processor 702
may be packed together as a "processor module", with processor 702
being referred to as the "processor core". Furthermore, certain
embodiments of the invention may neither require nor include all of
the above components. For example, peripheral devices coupled to
the standard I/O bus 708 may couple to the high performance I/O bus
706. In addition, in some embodiments, only a single bus may exist,
with the components of the computer system 700 being coupled to the
single bus. Moreover, the computer system 700 may include
additional components, such as additional processors, storage
devices, or memories.
[0127] In general, the processes and features described herein may
be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific
application, component, program, object, module, or series of
instructions referred to as "programs". For example, one or more
programs may be used to execute specific processes described
herein. The programs typically comprise one or more instructions in
various memory and storage devices in the computer system 700 that,
when read and executed by one or more processors, cause the
computer system 700 to perform operations to execute the processes
and features described herein. The processes and features described
herein may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware (e.g., an
application specific integrated circuit), or any combination
thereof.
[0128] In one implementation, the processes and features described
herein are implemented as a series of executable modules run by the
computer system 700, individually or collectively in a distributed
computing environment. The foregoing modules may be realized by
hardware, executable modules stored on a computer-readable medium
(or machine-readable medium), or a combination of both. For
example, the modules may comprise a plurality or series of
instructions to be executed by a processor in a hardware system,
such as the processor 702. Initially, the series of instructions
may be stored on a storage device, such as the mass storage 718.
However, the series of instructions can be stored on any suitable
computer readable storage medium. Furthermore, the series of
instructions need not be stored locally, and could be received from
a remote storage device, such as a server on a network, via the
network interface 716. The instructions are copied from the storage
device, such as the mass storage 718, into the system memory 714
and then accessed and executed by the processor 702. In various
implementations, a module or modules can be executed by a processor
or multiple processors in one or multiple locations, such as
multiple servers in a parallel processing environment.
[0129] Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not
limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile
memory devices; solid state memories; floppy and other removable
disks; hard disk drives; magnetic media; optical disks (e.g.,
Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks
(DVDs)); other similar non-transitory (or transitory), tangible (or
non-tangible) storage medium; or any type of medium suitable for
storing, encoding, or carrying a series of instructions for
execution by the computer system 700 to perform any one or more of
the processes and features described herein.
[0130] For purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
description. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the
art that embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced without
these specific details. In some instances, modules, structures,
processes, features, and devices are shown in block diagram form in
order to avoid obscuring the description. In other instances,
functional block diagrams and flow diagrams are shown to represent
data and logic flows. The components of block diagrams and flow
diagrams (e.g., modules, blocks, structures, devices, features,
etc.) may be variously combined, separated, removed, reordered, and
replaced in a manner other than as expressly described and depicted
herein.
[0131] Reference in this specification to "one embodiment", "an
embodiment", "other embodiments", "one series of embodiments",
"some embodiments", "various embodiments", or the like means that a
particular feature, design, structure, or characteristic described
in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one
embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of, for example, the
phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places
in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually
exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, whether or not there is
express reference to an "embodiment" or the like, various features
are described, which may be variously combined and included in some
embodiments, but also variously omitted in other embodiments.
Similarly, various features are described that may be preferences
or requirements for some embodiments, but not other
embodiments.
[0132] The language used herein has been principally selected for
readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been
selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.
It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited
not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that
issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure
of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative,
but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth
in the following claims.
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