| |
H.323 VIDEOCONFERENCING
|
In any
enterprise involving participants who are not in the same
room, communication and coordination become problematic. These
difficulties increase dramatically with the distance between
the participants and with the number of sites involved. We
have addressed this issue by adopting Internet2-based H.323
videoconferencing technology from the VCON
Corporation. Each investigator will have a desktop VCON
VIGO (7 MB) which plugs into the USB port of any Windows
98 or Windows 2000 computer with internet access and uses
the VCON MeetingPoint (10 MB)
videoconferencing software..The ViGo will give the same videoconference
quality to the desktop user that is usually found only in
the traditional $15000 room systems. As this equipment is
completely H.323 compliant, it communicates effectively with
any other brand of H.323 IP videoconferencing equipment, such
as Polycom, Intel, or even NetMeeting.
|
 |
|
The 35+ endpoints of the Cell Migration Consortium are managed
by the new VCON MXM gatekeeper and integration tool, allowing
the user to have an unprecedented ease of use, approximating
PBX functionality. At the same time, the MXM will prevent unauthorized
users from intruding into or disrupting the activities of our
network. The MXM system involves Administrator
(2.6 MB) utilities and Endpoint
(766 KB) capability. For meetings involving more than two endpoints,
we use the Cisco 3540 MCU (Multipoint Control Unit) which will
act as a virtual meeting room. This will permit the ad hoc
or scheduled formation of multiple, simultaneous, multi-site
videoconferences. In addition to voice and video, the network
will be fully T.120 capable. This means that data sharing and
collaboration can be taking place among all participants at
the same time the videoconference is proceeding. |
PHONE BOOK
Calling will be made easier by the use of a central, automatically
updated, "phonebook". Any user will be able to see
what other users are registered to the MXM system and will
also be able to see whether or not that person is on and ready
to receive videoconference calls.
|
|
Record keeping will be facilitated by the automatic
creation of a call detail record. This will give us a complete
listing of who called whom, from where, for how long, at what
bandwidth and using what videoconferencing protocols. This will
enable us to demonstrate to site visitors how we are communicating
and will also show us when we are approaching critical capacity
in our network so that we may proactively head off potential
problems. Here is a Powerpoint presentation showing the installation
of a ViGo videoconferencing system: VCON
ViGo Installation on the Cell Migration Consortium MXM network
(1 MB).
|
|
The complete MeetingPoint manual (mp45.pdf) is
on your computer when you install the MeetingPoint software.
You can also download it here: mp45.pdf
(10 MB)
|
The official VCON VIGO installation manual (ViGO_Install_Guide.pdf)
is also on your computer when you install MeetingPoint for the
VIGO. You may also download it here ViGO_Install_Guide.pdf
(7.5 MB)
|
Quality of connection will be monitored using
the QCHECK
software from NETIQ. This intiates a process on the endpoint
computer which can be contacted by the CMC Network Administrator.
Point to point latency and streaming throughput can then be
measured. This will be of great help in diagnosing videoconferencing
problems and finding appropriate solutions. Please download
the endpoint software (Performance
Endpoint for Windows) ...noticing where it gets downloaded
to...and my installation instructions (QINSTALL.PPT).
Read the instructions, please, and install the software. It
will run as an invisible service on that computer, but will
not write anything to the harddisk or alter computer function
in any deleterious way. Please let Hal Noakes
know when you have done this so that he can verify
you connection.
A very useful read for those new to Internet based videoconferencing
is the Videoconferencing Cookbook.
A very good source of information on the state of the industry is:
Wainhouse Research
|
For more information about how IP videoconferencing technology
will be implemented in the Cell Migration Consortium, email:
hln@virginia.edu.
For answers to Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ
|
|
|
|
