Systems and methods for echo management in conferencing over a network using multiplexed multicast

A method of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) conferencing comprising:

• receiving, by a master node of the VoIP conferencing, a plurality of digital voice streams from a plurality of participant nodes of the VoIP conferencing over a plurality of unicast sessions, wherein the master node includes a multiplexer, wherein each of the plurality of participant nodes includes a de-multiplexer and a mixer;
• multiplexing, by the multiplexer at the master node, the plurality of digital voice streams and an ingress digital voice stream of the master node to obtain a multiplexed digital voice stream;
• and
• transmitting, by the master node, the multiplexed digital voice stream to the plurality of participant nodes over a multicast session, causing each participant node to:
• provide, to the de-multiplexer at that participant node, the multiplexed digital voice stream received from the master node;
• de-multiplex, by the de-multiplexer at that participant node, the multiplexed digital voice stream to obtain the plurality of digital voice streams of participants of the VoIP conferencing including the master node and the plurality of participant nodes, wherein the de-multiplexer outputs one digital voice stream for each one of the participants of the VoIP conferencing;
• generate, by the mixer at that participant node, a mixed digital voice stream that includes the plurality of digital voice streams of the participants of the VoIP conferencing except for a digital voice stream of that participant node;
• and
• wherein generating the mixed digital voice stream comprises mixing, by the mixer at that participant node, all of the plurality of digital voice streams outputted by the de-multiplexer at that participant node except for the digital voice stream of that participant node.

A participant node for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) conferencing, comprising:

• a transceiver;
• a de-multiplexer;
• and
• a mixer,
• wherein the transceiver is configured to:
• transmit, by the participant node of the VoIP conferencing, an ingress digital voice stream of the participant node to a master node of the VoIP conferencing over a unicast session, wherein the master node includes a multiplexer;
• receive, by the participant node, a multiplexed digital voice stream from the master node over a multicast session, wherein the multiplexed digital voice stream is generated by the multiplexer at the master node, wherein the multiplexed digital voice stream includes a plurality of digital voice streams of participants of the VoIP conferencing including the ingress digital voice stream of the participant node;
• and
• provide, to the de-multiplexer at the participant node, the multiplexed digital voice stream received from the master node,
• wherein the de-multiplexer is configured to:
• de-multiplex, by the participant node, the multiplexed digital voice stream to obtain the plurality of digital voice streams of the participants of the VoIP conferencing including the ingress digital voice stream of the participant node, wherein the de-multiplexer of the participant node outputs one digital voice stream associated with each one of the participants of the VoIP conferencing;
• and
• wherein the mixer is configured to generate, by the participant node, a mixed digital voice stream that includes the plurality of digital voice streams of the participants of the VoIP conferencing except for the ingress digital voice stream of the participant node,
• wherein the mixer is further configured to generate the mixed digital voice stream by mixing all of the plurality of digital voice streams outputted by the de-multiplexer at the participant node except for the ingress digital voice stream of the participant node.

A master node for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) conferencing, comprising:

• a transceiver configured to receive, by the master node of the VoIP conferencing, a plurality of digital voice streams from a plurality of participant nodes of the VoIP conferencing over a plurality of unicast sessions, wherein each of the plurality of participant nodes includes a de-multiplexer and a mixer;
• a multiplexer configured to multiplex, by the master node, the plurality of digital voice streams and an ingress digital voice stream of the master node to obtain a multiplexed digital voice stream;
• and
• wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit, by the master node, the multiplexed digital voice stream to the plurality of participant nodes over a multicast session, causing each participant node to:
• provide, to the de-multiplexer at that participant node, the multiplexed digital voice stream received from the master node;
• de-multiplex, by the de-multiplexer at that participant node, the multiplexed digital voice stream to obtain the plurality of digital voice streams of participants of the VoIP conferencing including the master node and the plurality of participant nodes, wherein the de-multiplexer outputs one digital voice stream for each one of the participants of the VoIP conferencing;
• generate, by the mixer at that participant node, a mixed digital voice stream that includes the plurality of digital voice streams of the participants of the VoIP conferencing except for a digital voice stream of that participant node;
• and
• wherein generating the mixed digital voice stream comprises mixing, by the mixer at that participant node, all of the plurality of digital voice streams outputted by the de-multiplexer at that participant node except for the digital voice stream of that participant node.