US Patent 7558823 System and method for managing virtual collaboration systems

A system includes a communication network, a plurality of nodes communicatively coupled to the communication network, a gateway subsystem communicatively coupled to the communication network, and a management subsystem communicatively coupled to the gateway subsystem. The gateway subsystem is configured to receive and translate signals from the plurality of nodes for use by the management subsystem. Further, the management subsystem is configured to dynamically manage the topology of a virtual collaborative event based on the node signals.