Videoconferencing highlights A. Flavell, Glasgow Univ. For HEPSYSMAN meeting Nov 2004

Overview Services JVCS Conference on Demand (ad hoc H.323) - Pilot in progress JVCS bookable service (as before) ESnet (ECS) services bundle (USA AUP) VRVS services bundle Kit and client software

* Conference on Demand (CoD) Pilot JVCS H.323 offering, positioned somewhat similar to ESnet ad-hoc with some differences Low-end clients can use the system Must be booked, but booking can be immediate Uses Global Dialling Scheme Registration either via campus gatekeeper (preferred?) or direct with the service Testimonial from Tony Doyle (PMB)

* CoD Registration CoD web page says register your existing E.164 GDS identity, or sign up for one of theirs Seems to me that longer-term, one will need a campus-based registration scheme anyway PMB members have registered directly... Our campus registration is a bit slow starting, but it's getting there There may be other situations where you need to use your campus GK; and reconfiguring H.323 clients is a chore.

* CoD contd... For all these reasons, I'd recommend taking advice on your own campus before signing up for CoD. Pilot registration strongly links a person with an end-point. They agree this is awkward for a group facility, and are aiming to decouple the parts PDF manual is online from the web page Voice-switched or "continuous presence" modes Various chair-control features are available Overall it looks impressive.

* Using CoD Users access the system by a web page and credentials The system calls the participants (not vice versa, cf. ESnet). Other participants can be added later, even while conference in progress Guest participants can be included by IP address or by GDS E.164 identity. Note the benefit of an E.164 identity for users who have a dynamic IP. User experience (Tony D and the PMB) is that the documentation is straightforward, and the service does what it says on the tin. Admitted - he was already familiar with his viavideo, and had used other MCUs. And didn't have to tangle with managed firewalls, which may be a problem for some.

Services: JVCS JVCS = JVCSS (ISDN) + JVCS-IP (H.323) mlhttp:// ml This bookable service for QA-ed endpoints continues as before Our Zydacron scraped through the QA test as usual, with some grumbling from the management centre.

ESnet ("ECS") ESnet AUP requires USA participation in principle Users of ECS services must in general register for use beforehand. Unregistered users cannot simply walk up and get service. Expanded H.323 "ad hoc" service Practically all users had migrated to the ad hoc service; the bookable service was scarcely used, very expensive to run, and has consequently been phased out A separate ECS service (MeetingPlace) offers data sharing plus voice-only phone conferencing

ESnet ECS Ad-hoc H.323 service: in general approves only hardware-based codecs, but GnomeMeeting now also permitted, and some users are reporting good results. Use the ALSA sound system! ESnet uses own H.323 addressing space: only very limited interworking with the Global scheme (GDS) Phone dial-in to ad-hoc meetings: and at the prompt, key the meeting-id followed by the # sign, e.g #

ESnet user experience Our CDF users were early adopters of the ECS ad- hoc H.323 facility, and use it frequently. This with our Zydacron, or with ViaVideo (usually now with software version 5.1.1). Also used from laptop on wireless LAN; from home on cable... The ad hoc MCU does NOT have rate matching, and requires G k for audio (awkward for 128k home cable access; fine from 256k cable). User calls the service, not vice versa (can be beneficial vis-a-vis firewalls)

ESnet user experience... Recent three-day workshop exploring user requirements: mostly a face to face workshop, with some remote participants Worked well aside from an embarrassing teething problem with Codian MCU software. Which, in fairness, was not meant to be in production yet. The Codian is very nice once the bugs are out, and unlike the Radvision MCU it can transcode and rate-adjust. ESnet intend to expand this as part of the ad hoc offering.

VRVS user experience Experience with the current VRVS version is good. Chief problems with VRVS are casual users with random PC hardware. Regular users typically get better results. VRVS intend to offer a bridge to the ESnet ad hoc MCU (for those entitled to use it), thus vic/rat clients could participate in events taking place on the ESnet ad hoc facility.

Kit purchase As was mentioned last time: offers an updated review of: products costing from zero (given a suitable equipped PC), up to £15K and more, for different kinds of requirement and reports of interoperability testing

Odds and ends Zydacron (for those who have this kit): OnWAN version supports H.263 video codec but by software, limited to 15fps capability at CIF. H.261 is still supported, and negotiates 30fps capability. –OnWAN standoff with Radvision set to 30fps H.263: the MCU turned video off entirely. ViaVideo software offers alternative profiles for Home/ Office/ Travel, which can be (mis)used by those who need to register with various MCUs for different purposes. Apparently Polycom will be charging for new software versions for the ViaVideo. Trial downloads available, but need a chargeable license key to use properly.

Conclusions Desktop videoconferencing is working for the community There are some glitches, complexity, and duplication of service offerings, but not of our making. For studio work we still look to our central campus service, or AG. Some other groups have own kit. AG good for big jamborees, less so for everyday I still feel that data-sharing is under-used, maybe because of the different service offerings and user perception of complexity, but I'd recommend promoting its use.

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