Managing network bandwidth

An apparatus for managing bandwidth in a distributed telephony system, comprising:

• a settings manager configured to:
• receive an offer message from a first endpoint to connect a call between the first endpoint and a second endpoint, the offer message including a first media settings list for the first endpoint, the first media settings list identifying one or more media types requested by the first endpoint for the call;
• determine a filtered media preferences list based on the first media settings list for the first endpoint and a second media settings list for the apparatus, the filtered media preferences list identifying one or more media types requested for the call;
• send an invite message from the apparatus to a destination, the invite message including the filtered media preferences list;
• and
• receive an answer message from the destination, the answer message including a call settings list that includes actual media settings that will be used to connect the call;
• a bandwidth manager communicatively coupled to the settings manager, the bandwidth manager configured to:
• allocate bandwidth to media pools based on the first filtered media preferences list, each of the media pools associated with a different type of media, wherein allocating bandwidth includes determining that there is insufficient bandwidth for a higher priority media pool and allocating bandwidth from a lower priority media pool to the higher priority media pool.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer program code for managing bandwidth in a distributed telephony system, comprising:

• code for receiving at a source an offer message from a first endpoint to connect a call between the first endpoint and a second endpoint, the offer message including a first media settings list for the first endpoint, the first media settings list identifying one or more media types requested by the first endpoint for the call;
• code for determining a filtered media preferences list based on the first media settings list for the first endpoint and a second media settings list for a source, the filtered media preferences list identifying one or more media types requested for the call;
• code for allocating bandwidth to media pools based on the first filtered media preferences list, each of the media pools associated with a different type of media, wherein allocating bandwidth includes determining that there is insufficient bandwidth for a higher priority media pool and allocating bandwidth from a lower priority media pool to the higher priority media pool;
• code for sending an invite message from the source to a destination, the invite message including the filtered media preferences list;
• and
• code for receiving an answer message from the destination, the answer message including a call settings list that includes actual media settings that will be used to connect the call.