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)

• lt GK 00013331 Gatekeeper Request from ip
  200.132.0.11832829 562602 gt
• lt GK 00013331 New message sent -gtGatekeeper
  Confirm to endpoint 562603 gt
• lt GK 00013331 clearing registration number 19
  562603 gt
• lt GK 00013331 Registration Request from ip
  200.132.0.11832829 562606 gt
• lt GK 00013331 New message sent -gt
  Registration Confirm 562608 gt
• lt GK 00013331 No.Type RAS Add.
  Call Signalling Add.Phone Terminal ID.
  562608 gt
• lt GK 00013331 19 terminal200.132.0.11832829
  200.132.0.1181720 Fabricio Tamus 562608
  gt
• lt GK 00013331 Trans. Name
  Party Num. EMail URL
  562608 gt
• lt GK 00013331
  
  562608 gt
• lt GK 00013423 Unregistration Request from ip
  200.132.0.11832829 567894 gt
• lt GK 00013423 New message sent -gt
  Unregistration Confirm 567894 gt
• lt GK 00013424 clearing registration number 19
  567895 gt

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 enterprise single 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//ltserver-namegt/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//ltserver-namegt/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//ltserver-namegt/mpcs/mpcs.html

34
Monitoring

• Deny User
• Add a users 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//ltmcu-ip-addrgt
• 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

51
Conference Monitoring

• Invite
• Invites a participant to a conference
• You have to know your IP address
• Terminate Conference
• It Finish a videoconference
• All participant will be disconnected

52
Troubleshooting
53
Troubleshooting

• It is not possible to establish connection. The
  other part refused the call.
• MeetingPoint
• Take care with proxy
• Remember there are transparent proxies
• Take care with firewall
• Ad-hoc connections
• The other part must have your client enable
• The other part must be apt to receive calls
• The other part can not be in a call
• Firewalls are a frequent problem.

54
Troubleshooting

• You are connected but does not receive any audio
  or video.
• Your room have audio/video support?
• Sound and video drivers are correctly configured
  ?
• Someone in your room are sending or sharing
  something ?
• Firewall ?

55
Troubleshooting

• You cannot send any audio or video.
• Firewall ?
• Drivers are installed and working on ?
• Its microphone is on?
• Are other devices using the same drivers?

56
Troubleshooting

• You can not share files, use chat or whiteboard.
• MeetingPoint
• Your room supports T.120 ?
• Firewall filtering T.120 ports
• Ad-Hoc
• Does it the client support T.120 ?
• Has the other part negotiated T.120?
• Firewall

57
Troubleshooting

• You can receive video on RealOne.
• Do you have the right CODEC installed?
• Right plug-in ?
• Does have the RealOne support for this protocol?
• Firewall ?

58
Troubleshooting

• Problems with multicast transmission
• Are you network multicast ready?

59
Firewall
60
Firewall configuration

• 389
• TCP
• Internet Location Server
• 522
• TCP
• User Location Server
• 1503
• TCP
• T.120

61
Firewall configuration

• 1720
• TCP
• H.323 Call Setup
• 1731
• TCP
• Áudio Call Control
• 40000-45000
• UDP
• RealTime Transport Protocol

62
Firewall configuration

• 7642
• TCP
• Web-based GUI
• 7648
• TCP
• CUSeeMe Connections
• 7648
• UDP
• CUSeeMe Data Streams

63
Firewall configuration

• 24032
• UDP
• RTP áudio and vídeo for CUSeeme 3
• 1718
• TCP
• Gatekeeper Discovery
• 1719
• TCP
• Gatekeeper RAS