Day 16: Top 10 Basic Audio and Video Troubleshooting Tips for Video Conferencing

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

Remember that there are four parts to a technically successful video conference: sending video, receiving video, sending audio, and receiving audio. Most of the common problems related to one of these four parts.

1. I See Black / I See Blue/ I Can’t See You

  • Check the TV/monitor/projector. Is it on and is it connected correctly?
  • Check the monitor. Is it on the right channel? Make a note on which channel it should be used.
  • Seeing blue? Check to see if your document camera is selected. If it is not turned on, you will see blue.
  • If you were able to see the dialing screen/menu before you connect, then it’s not your TV/monitor/projector. A blue or black screen is often a firewall problem on either end of the call. Try one of these test numbers to make sure you can connect outside your district on your own. Have the other site try connecting somewhere else too. If you can both connect to other places but not to each other, it’s probably a firewall problem. If you have access to someone with a bridge/MCU, ask them for help (usually at your educational service agency).
  • Once in a while flat screen TVs won’t cooperate. If so, unplug the power, wait for the electrons to drain, plug it in and try again.

2. Audio: I Can’t Hear

  • Check your TV/monitor volume. Check your videoconference system’s volume too. Both should be about in the middle (if your system uses both).
  • Have the other side check their microphone. If you see a Far End Mute icon, you know their microphone is muted. (This only shows up in point-to-point calls). Ask them to unmute. Tell them you can’t hear. Have them nod their head or wave if they can hear you. Use paper notes if necessary. Pick up the phone & call them even!

3. Audio: They Can’t Hear Me

  • Check your microphone. Are you muted? Check your screen – usually you’ll see an icon if it is muted. olycom microphones are muted when the light on the mic is red. Unmute so the far site can hear you.
  • Their TV volume might be turned down. You may have to write them notes on a sign to hold up in front of the camera or write on paper under the document camera. (Or call them on the phone.)

4. They Can’t See Me

  • Have them check their monitor/projector/TV. Is it on & on the right channel?
  • It may be a firewall problem on their end. See “I Can’t See” above. Have them try connecting to the one of these test numbers. They should determine if they get a picture and then call you back again and report. If they can’t see a picture on your system or the test site, they should talk to their tech person. If you can both connect to other places but not to each other, it’s probably a firewall problem. If you have access to someone with a bridge/MCU, ask them for help (usually at your educational service agency).

5. Call Rejected or Busy Signal or Call Rings & Rings

  • If you call and get a “call rejected” error, usually the other person is already in a call.
  • If the call rings & rings, usually something in the network between you & the other site is not allowing the call to negotiate. Both sides should try a test site. If your test call just rings & rings, then it’s not connecting through firewalls. If you have access to someone with a bridge/MCU, ask them for help (usually at your educational service agency).

6. Far Site Isn’t Registered to the Gatekeeper

  • You might get this error if your gatekeeper is set up only to dial out to other units that are registered to the gatekeeper. (Hopefully this isn’t the case, because you want to be able to call content providers and other schools!)
  • You might also get this error if your endpoint can’t interpret the dial string. You may have to have the other site call you.

7. Far Site is Unreachable

  • The other site may have their system off.
  • Your endpoint may not be able to interpret the dial string you entered. Try having the other site call you.
  • You or the other site may not have actual Internet connectivity. Try dialing out to a test site to see if either of you have a connectivity issue.

8. Alerts: What Do They Mean?

  • IP Network: If this is down, then you don’t have a live Internet connection. Try another Ethernet jack in the room. Using a spot where a computer was connected and working usually guarantees a good connection.

9. When All Else Fails, Reboot or Redial

  • If you have a lot of connection problems, sometimes redialing will help clear it up.
  • If nothing is working, reboot the camera. Turn the camera off (reach up!!), wait, turn it back on.

10. Polycom Specific: “Flippy-Do-Button”

  • Many of our schools have Polycom endpoints, and another common problem is when you accidentally get yourself in the big screen and the far site in the picture-in-picture. How do you switch it back?
  • This happens with the button that I call the “flippy-do-button”. I’m sure there’s a more technical term! :) On a VSX7000, if you press the Camera button while you are in a call, you’ll see an icon with two arrows pointing around. If you select it, you’ll swap the far and near pictures. It’s easy to change it accidentally by pressing the camera button and then 1 or the enter key. To get it back, just press Camera, 1. Whew!

Bonus: Cause Codes on your MCU

  • Do you see a number reported on your MCU when a call doesn’t connect? Look up what it means here. These were used for ISDN, but many of them are still used for IP calls as well.

References

Your Turn

  • What tips do you have to share for troubleshooting your videoconference?
  • Any other common problems you’ve run into? Please share!

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 15: Dialing Tips for the Codian MCU

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

If you have a Codian bridge, or need to dial into a Codian bridge, you may find these tips helpful.

To dial into the Codian MCU

Cisco-TANDBERG-Codian bridges usually pose no problem for participants dialing in.

  • LifeSize and Polycom endpoints can dial in with IP##alias.
  • Tandberg endpoints can dial in with alias@IP.
  • Or any endpoints can dial the IP of the Codian, and use the far end camera control to enter their meeting room.
  • Or if the endpoint or MCU can’t dial in one of these ways, you can dial in to the IP address and the bridge operator can move you to the conference where you belong.

To dial an Extension from a Codian MCU

Codian MCU

Many have questions on how to dial an extension (E.164 alias) from a Codian bridge, and some even think it can’t be done! But it can. Here’s how:

  • Login to the Codian web interface
  • Find the Gateway option in the menu
  • Add a Gateway. This will be the IP address of the device that you will be connecting to. Be sure to name this Gateway.
  • Once this step is done, you will then create a endpoint.
  • Find the endpoint menu option.
  • Create a endpoint. Under this option you will name the endpoint. For the address you will input the E.164 alias or extension.
  • From the H.323 Gateway drop down menu, you will select the Gateway that you created and select it.

Normally you would dial an extension/alias in this form: x.x.x.x##alias
However, the Codian is using the Gateway as the IP address and the endpoint as the alias settings.
So the Codian sees the dial string like this: Gateway##Endpoint

References

Your Turn

  • What tips do you have to share for dialing with the Codian?
  • Any other issues or quirks you’ve run into? Please share!

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 14: Dialing Tips for the Polycom RMX

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

If you have a Polycom RMX, or need to dial into a Polycom RMX, you may find these tips helpful.

To dial out from the RMX

First, you need to create the participant to set how the dialing will occur.

If you have a participant who uses just the IP address to dial (no alias), use these steps:

  • Select Create new participant
  • Name the particiant
  • Select the dialing direction (Dial out or Dial in)
  • Set the Type to H.323
  • You will fill in the appropriate IP Address
  • Save the participant, at this point it is ready to be added to a conference.

Polycom RMX 2000

If you have a participant that has an alias or extension as part of their number, use these steps:

  • Select Create new participant
  • Name the participant
  • Select the dialing direction (Dial out or Dial in)
  • Set the Type to H.323
  • You will fill in the appropriate IP Address
  • Then you will input the alias number in the Alias Name/Type field and from the drop down select E.164
  • Save the participant, at this point it is ready to be added to a conference.

To dial into the RMX

There are a few methods to dial into the RMX:

If your RMX is installed without any gatekeepers or VBPs:

  • From a Polycom or LifeSize endpoint, you can dial RMX IP x.x.x.x##alias.
  • Meeting rooms can be setup on RMX so that you can have the same alias all the time. You would follow same dialing as previous step.
  • If you can’t get a site to dial in (i.e. a Tandberg endpoint), you can either dial out to them, or have them dial the IP address and rescue them from the entry queue.

If your RMX is installed with a gatekeeper or VBP:

  • Polycom and LifeSize endpoints can still dial IP##alias format.
  • Tandberg units can dial alias@IP.

References

Your Turn

  • What tips do you have to share for dialing with the RMX?
  • Any other issues or quirks you’ve run into? Please share!

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 13: How to Dial with a LifeSize Remote

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

The LifeSize remote has menu-driven functionality that neither the Polycom nor TANDBERG remotes do. The buttons on the remote are not static. The blue, green, yellow, and orange buttons each have multiple functions.

How to Dial

From the home screen, there are three ways to dial.

  1. Left arrow to the Video Call icon and press OK.
  2. Down arrow to a recent call which shows in the middle, select one, press OK.
  3. Press the yellow button to access the unit’s directory of address and select the one you are looking for there.

Watch the screen as you enter the IP address. The LifeSize unit emits beeps when a number is entered. This is different from the Polycom units that speak the number when it is entered.

Also, on the LifeSize, the dot button also includes the * – : , which can be accessed by repeatedly pressing the “*.” (dot/asterisk) button on the lower left.

How to Dial an Alias

LifeSize units can dial the IP##alias format. Enter the IP address and then ## and the alias. If someone gives you the alias@IP format, switch it around and dial it as IP##alias and the call will connect.

Other LifeSize Information

The original LifeSize remote was the silver edition. It was completely menu-driven. There is no Home Button or Display button, so you will have to be very attentive to the menus as you navigate this unit.

The black remote seems to be a great mix of single use buttons and menu-driven ones.

If you are using a LifeSize Express or above product to record, the blue button becomes the record button. Currently, the Passport is the only unit that you cannot record from.

Resources

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 12: How to Dial with a Cisco-TANDBERG Remote

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing, particularly the section on dialing.

Most parts of dialing are straight forward. Enter the numbers and connect. However there are some unique features or issues with each remote that we want to share.

Special thank you to Lori Colwill for her assistance with this post.

How to Dial

  • Press each number and be sure to enter the “*.” button after each octet. This may add a * instead of a . in between each set until after you get the third set of numbers entered. Then it will automatically switch the *’s to the dots. Remember the language of an IP address, though. The address is still correctly referred to with “dots” in between the numbers, not “star” or “asterisk”.
  • Access the directory, if it is set up, and dial directly from there without entering any numbers.
  • If you dial an IP address and arrive at a screen and if there is audio, listen to what it is saying to you. Codian bridges are “talky” bridges and will present you with an entry queue or auto-attendant. You can navigate this screen by using the far end camera control on your remote and the the up and down arrow keys. When you arrive at the conference where you should be, press enter.

How to Dial an Alias

First of all, you may be given the number as either of these formats: alias@IP (1234@123.123.123.123) or IP##alias (123.123.123.123##1234).

Polycom users may give you an IP## alias number to dial. The TANDBERG remote cannot dial IP##alias. You may be able to turn it around and dial with the alias@IP format, depending on how the other site is set up.

  • Newer TANDBERG remotes (TRC5) have an @ sign on the 1 button, so it’s easy to enter by pressing again.
  • Older TANDBERG remotes (TRC3 and TRC4) don’t have an @ sign. But there are two ways to get around this.
    • Web interface: If you have access to the web interface for the TANDBERG system, enter it there. Even better, put it in the address book so you can get to it again.
    • Via the remote: To get the @ sign, follow these steps: Hold down the # sign (note that in the entry box it switches from 123 to abc). Then press the 1 twice (that enters the @ sign).  Then hold down the # sign again to go back to numbers. However using this procedure negates the use of the *. button. You will have to use this same method to switch back to alphanumeric mode to get the dots entered in between each octect.

Pay Attention to the Location of the Infrared Receiver

  • If you have a newer TANDBERG where the camera and the codec/box are separate, make sure you point the remote at the infrared receiver on the box.
  • If the remote doesn’t seem to be working well, check the batteries and the direction you’re pointing. Make sure you are pointing towards the infrared receiver.

Remote Control for the iPhone / iTouch / iPad

Vyopta makes a vControl remote that mimics the TANDBERG remote and can be used to control your TANDBERG videoconference system as well as the Codian bridge.

  • It costs $99; which seems a little steep for K12-education. But compare that to $400 for replacing a remote. At least it’s an option to consider.
  • Read reviews and comments of this tool from VTC-Talk.com.

Resources

Team-written by Lori Colwill, Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 11: How To Dial with a Polycom Remote

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing.

We have covered the larger issues of setting up and optimizing the network, using gatekeepers, and how to tell people to connect with you via a firewall traversal unit. This week, we are shifting our focus on when you pick up the remote to your endpoint and dial to another site.

Most parts of dialing are straight forward. Enter the numbers and connect. Sometimes, there is a hidden button or a function that changes and it isn’t explained on the official equipment documentation. We are going to share some things that we have learned over the years.

How to Dial

  • Press each number and be sure to enter the “.” after each octet. Dialing a video conference unit is different than dialing a phone, in that you don’t add any “punctuation” in a phone number, but you must on a video conference system.
  • Access the directory, if it is set up, and dial directly from there without entering any numbers.
  • To Dial an Alias: Dial the main IP address, add ## and then the number of the extension, alias, or room number.
  • If you dial an IP address and arrive at a screen and if there is audio, listen to what it is saying to you. Codian bridges are “talky” bridges and will present you with an entry queue or auto-attendant. You can navigate this screen by using the far end camera control on your remote and the the up and down arrow keys. When you arrive at the conference where you should be, press enter.

Polycom ViewStation: Quirk

Remember, when you enter the IP address into the dialing menu, you must enter the “.” between each octet.

  • Older ViewStation remotes had no dot button. You press the red, right arrow key while in the address box. That makes the dot.
  • The call/hangup button is green and does both functions.

Polycom VSX 7000: True Love

This could possibly be our favorite video conference remote of all time.

  • Separate call/end call buttons.
  • Dot button.
  • Separate near and far camera control buttons.
  • Color-coded buttons separating the camera and call functions. (This went away in the HDX remotes.)

Polycom HDX Systems: Tip

Polycom HDX systems came with an entirely new remote design. This design was not made with classroom functionality in mind. It was created to appear attractive in a conference room environment. It takes a bit of getting used to the different shaped buttons and some of the design takes precedence over functionality, in our experience. And it takes more batteries!

If you are accustomed to the Viewstation or the VSX line, those remotes will also work with the HDX line. The color coded buttons on the old remote design were user-friendly and easy to train users on.

Resources

Your Turn

Anything we missed? Can you remember when you first began dialing? What was hard to remember?

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 10: How To Manage Numerous Units Without Losing Your Mind

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing.

This post is written specifically for those in K12 education who have many videoconference endpoints to support. These are some of the strategies we use to keep our sanity when supporting multiple schools with videoconferencing.

Web Access to Endpoints

If at all possible, have your the districts open up web access to the endpoints (preferably securely to only your IP address/range). With this access you can:

  • upgrade the firmware
  • remotely mute or move the camera
  • remotely place or receive a call
  • update the directory
  • check the status of the unit or the stats on the call

Management Software

All of the major vendors provide management software that can be used to oversee many units. This software usually includes the ability to:

  • Check the status of the unit – is it on etc.? (if SNMP is enabled on the endpoint)
  • Upgrade the firmware
  • Manage phone books on the endpoints
  • Report any problems with the endpoints (remote batteries are low, setting problems, network issues, etc.)

Scheduling Software

While the industry is moving away from a scheduled videoconference environment (to an ad-hoc environment), scheduled calls are still fairly common within K12 education: particularly for shared classes. Depending on the support you provide for your schools, you may find yourself scheduling calls with content providers and partner schools for your teachers. If so, software that schedules and monitors conferences is helpful. All of the major vendors, plus a few others such as Renovo, provide software for scheduling videoconferences.

Database of Contacts

You’ll also want to have an organizational system to keep track of the contact information for people involved in videoconferencing at each of your schools. In Berrien RESA’s schools, the support team includes the main VC coordinator, the principal, the tech coordinator, and sometimes additional staff such as the secretary or media paraprofessional. Keep up to date contact information for everyone:

  • School phone
  • Cell phone numbers
  • Emails
  • Each person’s role

If you have an issue with a school, you want to see at a glance who to contact.

It’s also a good idea to keep up regular communication with your contacts, sharing with them:

  • News and progress about the implementation of videoconferencing
  • Success stories
  • Tips and strategies for promotion
  • Reminders like turning off and securing the equipment for the summer
  • Lists of potential videoconferences to share with teachers

If you don’t have a videoconference contact in each school, you should work on it soon! Here’s what we use to encourage our schools to assign a contact:

Your Turn

  • What have you found helpful and essential in managing a lot of videoconference units? Please share in the comments!

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 9: Gatekeepers: The Good, The Bad, and The Necessary

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing.

Today we examine the role of gatekeepers in an H.323 video conference environment. Some people view gatekeepers as an essential part of video conferencing; others view them as an annoyance and hindrance. Here’s our collective view of how they work in the K12 curriculum videoconferencing environment.

Why Gatekeepers Are a Pain

For those used to the “old school” method of dialing a straight IP address to VC with another school, gatekeepers can be challenging and frustrating. Here are some of the ways that gatekeepers can cause problems:

  • Older gatekeepers can strip off the extension you’re trying to dial. If you are trying to dial out to someone with one of the firewall traversal systems – an alias and an IP address, sometimes the gatekeeper doesn’t know what to do with the extension. So it strips it off and your call doesn’t work. This seems to happen more often with older gatekeepers.
  • Even if your gatekeeper supports the extension dialing, you can still have problems dialing other schools that are using a gatekeeper. It may not work, or you may not be aware of the method required to call through that other type of gatekeeper.
  • The vendors will tell you to neighbor your gatekeeper with the other school’s gatekeeper, but that is problematic as well. What if you’re participating in Read Around the Planet and have 20 other schools to connect to? What a pain to neighbor to all of their gatekeepers! In addition, the process to neighbor your gatekeeper to another gatekeeper is not easy or intuitive. You’ll probably have to open a trouble ticket with your vendor just to figure out how!

Why Gatekeepers are Awesome

That said, there are some very good reasons to use a gatekeeper!

  • If your network has many videoconference units that connect to the Internet via DHCP, the gatekeeper can assist with dialing. It keeps track of which units are registered to the gatekeeper by serial number, and assigns the same alias to it, no matter where it is on the network. This makes dialing within your network very easy. Even with dialing from outside the network, the alias is consistent which makes it easy for the other site to dial no matter where the unit is inside the network.
  • If you have a limited number of public IP addresses and cannot assign one to each videoconference system, the gatekeeper can provide the public IP address, while the rest of the systems are using an alias registered with the gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers and the Global Dialing Scheme

If your school is on Internet2, you may have support to get your videoconference systems on the Global Dialing Scheme (GDS). Basically, this means your gatekeeper is neighbored into a gatekeeper tree structure used around the world for dialing within the education community. For Berrien RESA, the advantage is the ease with which we can call schools in the UK who are on the JANET network. We have also used this for dialing some schools in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately GDS is used more in higher education than K12. If we were able to adopt it more broadly, it would solve many of the dialing problems we keep addressing in this series.

If you want to get on GDS, here’s what you need to do:

  • First check with the Internet2 contacts in your state/area. It’s likely that you will neighbor your gatekeeper to a state gatekeeper.
  • If there isn’t a strong K12 support for Internet2 in your state, you may need to neighbor your gatekeeper to the Internet2 Commons gatekeeper.
  • If you need help neighboring your gatekeeper, you’ll need the IP address of the gatekeeper you’re neighboring with. Then call your VC tech support and they should be able to help you.

Your Turn

  • Which side do you take for gatekeepers? Essential or a hindrance? Why? Please share!
  • Did we miss anything important in the discussion of gatekeepers? Please add any additional points that shed light on these issues.

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser with input from Lori Colwill. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 8: The Secret of Optimizing the Network for Video Conferencing

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing.

It is important to understand how H.323 traffic impacts the network and then plan for it. Organizations that do not properly go through this process are often disappointed in the quality of their connections and blame the video conference endpoint, when it is really the network. In today’s post, we’ll examine some other tips to make sure that your network is optimized for video conferencing.

Label the ports in the classroom

One easy system that will make life easier for everyone is to label the ports (Internet jacks) in the classroom so that the teacher knows which one to plug the videoconferencing system into. Schools sometimes have jacks that aren’t live, or one of them is specific for the VLAN, or one of them has the special configurations for videoconferencing.

Label the one that teachers or videoconference coordinator should use. This will reduce support calls and keep everyone happier!

Use a wired connection

A wired connection is more stable and secure than wireless. You’ll get a better quality videoconference if you use a hard-wired connection to the Internet vs. wireless. Videoconferencing is more sensitive than regular data traffic. So give the best you have so that the end users will find the quality acceptable!

If you use wireless, then configure it right!

  • If your wireless connection is configured to be used solely for videoconferencing, then lock it down to the MAC addresses of the videoconference units.
  • If your wireless connection is also used for data, secure it as tight as you can. Avoid scenarios where the other traffic can interfere with the videoconference.
  • Make sure your access points on down through to your switches are configured with the correct variables, i.e. duplexing, line speed, bandwidth restrictions or allows, etc.

Find expert assistance

Work with someone who knows about the technical aspects of videoconferencing. Your usual network support personnel may not be familiar with the intricacies of video. Get the advice of a video conference professional as well!

References

Your Turn

  • Do you agree or disagree with our tips?
  • Do you have any additional tips to share?

We invite your comments and input!

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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Day 7: Working with Your Firewall Traversal Unit

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Janine Lim

This post continues our 20 Day Challenge to understand the technical aspects of videoconferencing.

Last week we discussed the two main ways to make videoconferencing work on your network. In today’s post, we look a little closer at the firewall traversal solutions.

Firewall Traversal

As a reminder, a firewall traversal box sits on the edge of the network, usually beside the firewall. Video traffic goes through the traversal box, and regular traffic goes through the firewall.

Some choices for this product include:

Benefits

The main reason to acquire a firewall traversal system is to securely pass video traffic through the firewall without reconfiguring your network.

Challenges

The main challenge of firewall traversal units is the problems it causes for receiving calls from other schools and content providers who aren’t on your network.

Working Around the Dialing Challenges

So, let’s say that your network has a firewall traversal unit and you can’t set up your videoconferencing any other way. Here are some tips for managing the dialing problems that will arise in regular use of curriculum videoconferencing. These dialing challenges are due to the necessity of receiving calls from off your network. Unfortunately some vendors and resellers continue to be stuck in the mode of thinking of a closed network, and provide advice to schools that doesn’t apply when they need to receive calls from other schools around the world.

Dial Out
First, realize that in most cases, you may need to dial out to the other site you want to connect to. Generally this isn’t a problem for connecting to content providers, most of whom are set up to receive a call to a direct IP address. However, as more schools use this method to set up videoconferencing, you may find schools you want to connect to who are also set up as dial out only; which means you may not be able to connect to them without using a bridge for you both to dial into.

Dialing Philosophies
Second, realize that Polycom and LifeSize prefer the IP##alias format; and Cisco-TANDBERG prefers the alias@IP or name@domain format. Because the standard isn’t well enough defined here, it leaves room for different implementations.

Polycom
If you have the Polycom Video Border Proxy (previously called V2IU), here are some tips:

  • Make sure it has the setting to translate the @ sign to a # sign. This will make it easier for Tandberg systems to call you.
  • If a newer Polycom system is calling you, they usually can dial the IP##alias format.
  • If a Tandberg system is calling you, have them dial the alias@IP format. (However, older Tandberg remotes do not have the @ sign easily accessible. If they are unable to use their web interface or address book for dialing, you may still have to dial out only to Tandberg sites.)
  • If a LifeSize system is calling you, they can do the IP##alias format.

If none of these work, you’ll have to call the other site or connect through a bridge.

Cisco-TANDBERG
If you have the Cisco-Tandberg Border Controller, here are some tips:

  • Polycom systems can dial the IP##alias format.
  • If a Tandberg system is calling you, have them dial the alias@IP format. (However, older Tandberg remotes do not have the @ sign easily accessible. If they are unable to use their web interface or address book for dialing, you may still have to dial out only to Tandberg sites.)
  • If a LifeSize system is calling you, they can do the IP##alias format.

If none of these work, you’ll have to call the other site or meet on a bridge.

LifeSize
If you have a LifeSize unit behind the LifeSize Transit, here are some tips:

  • Polycom systems can dial in using the IP##alias format.
  • Tandberg systems can dial in using the alias@IP format.
  • LifeSize can dial in using the IP##alias format.

If none of these work, you’ll have to call the other site or meet on a bridge.

References

Your Turn

  • These notes are based on our experiences connecting to schools around the country. If you have further insight to add, please comment!

Team-written by Janine Lim, Shane Howard, and Roxanne Glaser with input from Lori Colwill. The opinions expressed in these posts are based on our collective video conference experience connecting classes across multiple networks to connect them to zoos, museums, experts and other classes during the past 10 years. This series of posts reflects our usage and understanding, not that of any vendor or manufacturer. No one is paying us to write these. We are just sharing what we have learned.

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