Fault-tolerant distributed system for collaborative computing

A computer system for fault-tolerant distributed collaborative computing, the system comprising:

• a plurality of server computers connected to a plurality of client computers via a global-area computer network;
• a high-speed direct connection link connecting the plurality of server computers;
• a plurality of server programs executable by the server computers configured to conduct a plurality of on-line conferences among an arbitrary number of client computers connected to an arbitrary number of the server computers via the global-area network and the high-speed direct connection link, wherein the plurality of server programs comprise:
• at least one meeting zone configured to connect one of the arbitrary number of client computers to one of the plurality of on-line conferences, each meeting zone comprising:
• a process manager configured to monitor the plurality of server programs and the plurality of server computers for software and hardware failures and to spawn a new server program in the event that an existing server program fails,
• a meeting database configured to store user information and state information for the plurality of on-line conferences,
• a zone manager configured to provide a communication channel between the plurality of server programs and configured to monitor the plurality of server programs,
• a plurality of meeting managers configured to monitor the plurality of server programs, wherein the plurality of meeting managers and the process manager mutually monitor each other for software failures, further wherein the plurality of meeting managers monitor a load on each of the plurality of server computers, and further wherein the plurality of meeting managers store state information for the plurality of on-line conferences in the meeting database,
• a collaborative server configured to host at least one of the plurality of on-line conferences,
• a ping server configured to receive and forward requests from a user to join an on-line conference,
• a log server configured to communicate with a plurality of meeting managers via the zone manager and configured to log users joining and leaving an on-line conference,
• a license manager configured to monitor users in an on-line conference to determine whether a user is authorized to participate in an on-line conference, and
• an application server configured to enabling users of an on-line conference to share desktops.