MCUs – Configuration and Troubleshooting

1. MCUs – Configuration and Troubleshooting Liane Tarouco Leandro Bertholdo

2. Cascading servers • Consists of using computational resources of more than a MCU to increase the total of terminals of a conference • Reasons for cascade • Limit of depleted terminals • Computational resources depleted (processing, memory) • Local bandwidth limitation • Local of administration needs

3. Cascade – without managing • This example totalizes 42 possible connections • As balancing does not exist, is not possible, for example, more than 10 terminals connected to MCU 1

4. Cascade – without managing • Only one flow between MCUs • Increased capacity of each room • Connections to any room can be made in any MCU.

5. Cascade – with managing • All the terminals connect in MC • MC provides a load balancing • MC manage all the terminals and conferences

6. Cascade – with managing • Only one flow of traffic between MC and MP • In this example, there are 45 connections in total.

7. Cascading • Multipoint Controller (MC): • it is responsible for control functions in a multipoint conference. • it is responsible for setting of capacities with each terminal that it desires to participate of the conference. • it determines the selected ways of operation for the conference, that can be common for each participant of the conference or alternatively different for some terminals

8. Cascading • Multipoint Processor (MP): • receive signals from audio, video and data from the participants of a centered or hybrid conference and makes a mixing or switching for each signal, returning the signal processed to the terminals. • To the data signals, a MP will have to be able to act as a MCS not leaf or as a main MCS

9. Zone • The collection of all terminals, gateways, and multipoint control units managed by a single H.323 gatekeeper. • Gatekeeper provides control service of calls for the all H.323 terminals in the zone

10. Zona • Comparatively, a H.323 zone is similar to an autonomous system in the Internet: a single or a group of networks that is controlled by a common network administrator. • Inside the same Autonomous System, diverse H.323 zones can coexist, each one managed by gatekeeper different. • A H.323 net can be formed by several zones and and its gatekeepers

11. Zona • Register in the zone can be made of dynamic or manual form • IP addresses can be banished (blocked) of a zone

12. Zone –Registration in gatekeeper(Cisco 3510)

13. Zone – registration in gatekeeper (Cisco 3510) < GK: 0001:33:31 Gatekeeper Request from ip 200.132.0.118:32829 [562602] > < GK: 0001:33:31 New message sent ->Gatekeeper Confirm to endpoint: [562603] > < GK: 0001:33:31 clearing registration number 19 [562603] > < GK: 0001:33:31 Registration Request from ip 200.132.0.118:32829 [562606] > < GK: 0001:33:31 New message sent -> Registration Confirm [562608] > < GK: 0001:33:31 No.|Type |RAS Add. |Call Signalling Add.|Phone |Terminal ID. [562608] > < GK: 0001:33:31 19 |terminal|200.132.0.118:32829 |200.132.0.118:1720 | |Fabricio Tamus [562608] > < GK: 0001:33:31 | |Trans. Name |Party Num. |EMail |URL [562608] > < GK: 0001:33:31 | | | | | [562608] > < GK: 0001:34:23 Unregistration Request from ip 200.132.0.118:32829 [567894] > < GK: 0001:34:23 New message sent -> Unregistration Confirm [567894] > < GK: 0001:34:24 clearing registration number 19 [567895] >

14. MCUs – MeetingPoint Configuration

15. MeetingPoint (Features) • Vídeo support: • H.261 • H.263 • Audio support • G.711u • G.711a • G.723 • Suporte a formatos de vídeo • CIF • QCIF

16. Authentication • MeetingPoint supports several authentication methods: • Authentication using IP source address • Password for each room: using local configuration files. • Radius: each user has a password • LDAP: using radius as gateway • Easy integration with any enterprise authentication system

17. Rooms Configuration • There are two manners to configure rooms in MeetingPoint • Editing a file name mpcs.cfg • Using java applets resources via Web.

18. Rooms Configuration • Conference ID • Identification of the room to be created • Must be unique for each conference • Conference Name • Room name • Conference Greeting • Welcome message (banner) shown when a user get in the room.

19. Rooms Configuration • Conference Attributes • You can choose a room with any combination of video, audio and T.120 protocol. • You can choose all attributes, but the video requires an additional license. • Conference Mode: Choice of the type of transmission, it can be: • normal (appears who speaks), • broadcast (appears only one speaking) or • broadcast with possibility of intervention of the auditorium (based in a human mediator).

20. Rooms Configuration • Maximum Participants • Maximum number of participants of the room. • It cannot be modified during an active conference in the room. • Message • Message that appears when the limit of connected users have been reached.

21. Rooms Configuration • Template • It allows that this configuration turns a model for create new configurations. • Password • Room password, only users that have this on can ingress in a selected room. • It can be blank in the case of an identification by source IP address or by user password.

22. Rooms Configuration • Invalid Password Message • Message that appears when the user provides a wrong password • Scheduling • schedules the initial and final dates for each videoconference. • It can also choose the conference as permanently open or closed.

23. Rooms Configuration • Bandwidth • Limit the bandwidth used for the videoconference • This option consider only the H.323 protocol necessities, ignoring the T.120 bandwidth requirements. • Frames per Second • Total of frames to be shown by second • In low speed conferences, you must take care of always have a low frame per second sampling, to prevent image distortions.

24. Rooms Configuration • Continuous Presence • Allows that four people appear at the same time, sharing the screen • Require additional license • Audio Codec • G.711 or G.711a to high bandwidth • G.723 for low speed connections.

25. Rooms Configuration • Video Codec • H.261 for high speed connections • H.263 for low speed connections • Resolution • CIF or QCIF.

26. Rooms Configuration • Time Limit • How much time a user have to stay disconnected after your participation in a conference. • Zero (0) disable this option. • User Authentication • Type of user authentication. Values can be: • Without authentication • IP authentication • Radius authentication • In this case it is possible use radius to forward to another authentication system, like LDAP or SQL database, using a enterprisesingle sign on schema.

27. Rooms Configuration • Audio Latency • Minimum audio latency to permit a user get in room (LAN, WAN or modem) • GateKeeper • To create an entrance to use in set with gatekeeper.

28. Rooms Configuration • Streaming • Allows to send the conference audio and the video to another computer as a streaming, to be distributed by another way (as RealVideo, for example) • Require an additional license

29. Inviting someone to ingress in a conference • This feature is very useful to permit equipments that does not have a web client to connect in a room (like IP phone) • Used to invite someone to ingress in a meeting • The conference manager only have to access http://<server-name>/mpcs/callout.html

30. Choosing who will appear • In a meeting you can desire show only one speaker • You can choose who using an java applet http://<server-name>/mpcs/h323.html • Does not work with broadcast conference (Zone)

31. Monitoring a videoconference • Reasons to monitor • In broadcast conferences you need to know what another people are seeing. • Some participant can use inadequate equipment an generate an audio echo. • Helps on audio and video problems resolution. • Helps a lot in authentication problems

32. Moderator • Get a real-time snapshot of client participation in a conference • Get real-time bandwidth consumption and participation statistics for a particular conference • Get information on H.323/H.320 endpoints that are currently registered • Dynamically control client participation in an active conference or in all conferences

33. Moderator • This guy is responsible for all conference monitoring • They do your work generally using a web applet • http://<server-name>/mpcs/mpcs.html

34. Monitoring • Deny User • Add a user’s IP address to deny list • This disconnects the user and prevents the user from reconnecting • Disconnect User • Temporarily disconnect a user from a conference • Allowed to reconnect after a time configured for that room

35. Monitoring • Grant Floor • Permit that a participant video, audio, and chat can be seen by other members of the conference even if this is not otherwise permitted in the conference . • Revogue Floor • Removes the time of speaks to the user. • In the case of new Grant Floor, automatically Revogue Floor in the old user who had the video/audio.

36. Radius Authentication • Can be used a Radius in another server • Only one server can be used to authentication an billing purposes • Each user has your own password • Each room can be configured to use or not a radius group

37. LDAP Authentication • It is possible using LDAP + Radius integration • MCU ask to Radius then ask to LDAP • Most used solutions uses: • FreeRadius • OpenLdap

38. MCUs – Cisco IPTV

39. Cisco IP/TV 3510 • Audio protocol • G.711 • Video Protocols • H.261 • H.263 • Video Formats • CIF • QCIF

40. CISCO IP/TV 3510 • Have your own gatekeeper that work independent • Can be cascade with another MCUs • Can be a MP (Multipoint Processor) or a MC (Multipoint controller)

41. Room Configuration • Use a proprietary cisco software client to configure the server • The client configuration software uses SNMPv1 to configure the server • A new service need to be configured before, then that associated to a gatekeeper.

42. How to configure a service • Description • Service Description • Ever has to start with “#” • Prefix • Service Identification • Must be numbers, “#”, “*” or “,” (comma). • Video Format • Must be choose a video protocol to be used (H.261 or H.263)

43. Service Configuration • Number of Parties • Maximum number of participants in the room • It depends on the transmission speed of the video • Allow Dynamic Expansion • If marked, it allows dynamic increase of the number of participants  • Video Bit Rate (Kbps) • Speed of transmission of the video.

44. Service Configuration • T.120 enable • If selected, permit T.120 point to point connection between participants using a web interface. • Frame Rate • Tax of pictures by second to be shown in the videoconference. • How much bigger the tax, minor the quality, depending on the room.

45. Service Configuration • Picture Format • It chooses the size of the video to be sent(CIF ou QCIF) • Only enable if not continuous presence • Continuous Presence • If used, enable continuous presence resource: until for people sharing the same transmition screen at the same time (see it in next picture)

46. Continuous Presence

47. Gatekeeper Configuration • One entry to each service must be associated in gatekeeper • The name of the service must the same be of the room

48. Conference monitoring • Completely made by web • In your browser, inform • http://<mcu-ip-addr> • Room to be administrated

49. Conference Monitoring • Disconnect Participant • Detaches the participant from the conference • Lock/Unlock Video • Display only the current video (do not change between participants) • Useful for broadcast

50. Conference Monitoring • Mute/Unmute Audio • Close the audio channel to one participant • Useful for echo • Data Share • Initiates a T.120 connection with the participant from the computer • Only works if the T.120 option services is enable