A Distributed Architecture for Multimedia Conference Control

This work provides a discussion of MMCC's peer-to-peer model of communication and an overview of its connection control protocol, and future directions for research in multimedia conference control are presented.

Abstract

MMCC, the multimedia conference control program, is a window-based tool for conference management. It serves as an application interface to the ISI/BBN teleconferencing system, where it is used not only to orchestrate multisite conferences, but also to provide local and remote audio and video control, and to interact with other conference-oriented tools that support shared workspaces. The motivation for this paper is to document the design, operation and continued evolution of MMCC. After presenting the context for this work, we provide a discussion of MMCC's peer-to-peer model of communication and an overview of its connection control protocol. Issues are also raised about heterogeneity, robust services, scalability and the impact of conferencing over the Internet. A description of the system's regular use offers insights into the feasibility of the architecture. Finally, future directions for research in multimedia conference control are presented.