This page addressed some of the most frequently asked questions about the KAREN video conferencing bridge.

KAREN video conferencing bridge frequently asked questions

Why is a video conferencing Bridge a useful tool for KAREN members?
How did members use the Bridge during the service trial?
What are the benefits of the KAREN Video Conferencing Bridge service?
What features and functions will the permanent service deliver?
How are members using the KAREN Bridge service to save money?
Does the service include meeting scheduling?
Can the free desktop client be used as a stand alone desktop client or does it always require the Bridge?
How will the Bridge support working with non-KAREN members?
What types of statistics will the new Bridge be able to provide about my use of the Bridge?
How long will the Bridge record a conference? Where are the recorded conferences stored?

Why is a video conferencing Bridge a useful tool for KAREN members?

Video conferencing (VC) has become a key collaboration tool for research and teaching in the KAREN community.

As use of VC grows, so does the need to connect with many parties at the same time – often across many different organisations and using many different video conferencing technologies and connecting via IP, ISDN or the commodity internet.  People want to be able to connect from the desktop, from a meeting room, from a lecture theatre.  They want to be able to control who can participate and who can watch.  They want to record the meeting / event for replay or podcasting.

A modern VC Bridge provides all this capability.

How did members use the Bridge during the service trial?

During the trial period of the KAREN VC Bridge service, members used the Bridge to:

• Connect across various internal locations with differing connectivity quality and end-point technologies to provide a smoother experience with higher quality sound and picture and fewer drop outs
• Host and record special events that were made available for participation or passive streaming viewing across the community
• Collaborate with people who were not on KAREN or equivalent networks via the service’s commodity internet connection without incurring any external traffic charges
• Provide expert seminars and outreach to schools, and other institutions

What are the benefits of a permanent KAREN Video Conferencing Bridge service?

The planned VC Bridge allows high and standard definition and desktop video conferencing units to communicate with each other while maintaining the highest quality of your connection.  Our anticipated solution will provide the additional bonus of a free desktop client. (See later for features and functions).

Users have access to online resources from the Advanced Video Collaboration Centre (AVCC) website. This includes online tutorials, an endpoint directory list, an event calendar and QA processes to make it as easy as possible for regular researchers and educators to use the facility.

By acting as one, the KAREN community can invest in a shared facility on a highly efficient basis.  The nature of video bridging between organisations naturally drives this shared solution approach, i.e. there is one natural point for bridging to be most effective.

A shared Bridge allows investment in capacity greater than any one user would be able to support.  This allows big events such as conferences, lectures, client workshops etc with up to 60 HD endpoints and 100+ streaming viewers connected simultaneously.

A shared Bridge also offers some potential technical advantages.  As the service grows there may be an ability to place multiple physical Bridges at different PoPs across KAREN and have them remain part of the same single logical service.

For organisations with strict security policies in place, the firewall need only be opened to the Bridge so that the organisation’s security is not compromised.  Any destination can take part in a video conference with the member via the known IP of the Bridge.

What features and functions will the permanent service deliver?

During the trial, REANNZ implemented a 12-port Bridge (a port approximates to a single connection) with basic booking, streamlining and low-quality recording functionality.  This service rapidly became highly used by members and was repeatedly maximised during the later months of the trial.

The planned service will provide:

• Simple online booking, scheduling and conference management tools
• Up to 60 concurrent high definition video participants (Up to 120 by 2011)
• Latest high definition capability (up to 1080p 30fps)
• Maximum interoperability with other video conferencing endpoints in standard and   high definition
• Many high quality real-time streamers
• Content sharing, such as presentations or animation, during a conference
• Free desktop video conferencing and interactive software client
• Supports ISDN and IP based video conferencing end-points
• Inbound and outbound connection with the commodity Internet
• Recording capability for up to 3 concurrent HD video conferences
• Online tutorials and best practices from the Advanced Video Collaboration Centre (AVCC) website

How are members using the KAREN Bridge service to save money?

Members have reported a number of ways they are saving money through video conferencing.  These include:

• Reducing travel time and costs by reducing number of face-to-face meetings
  
• Phasing out old SD Bridges that are tied to expensive support contracts
• Removing the need for dedicated ISDN links at member organisations
• Lowering helpdesk costs when connecting with other member endpoints as the KAREN Bridge is highly interoperable and seamlessly connects with many different endpoints and connection types

Does the service include meeting scheduling?

The new Bridge will come with a management interface which provides scheduling and other conference management functionality.  All users will be able to create bookings.

University operators will have administration rights which enable them to control meetings, run reports, etc.  This is similar to the how we allocated privileges for the CMP 1,2,3 Booking Service that we used for the trial.

Can the free desktop client be used as a stand alone desktop client or does it always require the Bridge?

No, the free desktop client must always be used with the Bridge.  This client has similar functionality to the Mirial desktop conferencing client, but users must always join conferences via the Bridge.

How will the Bridge support working with non-KAREN members?

The service includes internet and ISDN connectivity to the Bridge to allow the member to communicate with organisations not connected to KAREN or overseas.

Non-members can connect via the service’s commodity internet connection without incurring any external traffic charges. However, any R&E organisation that needs to join conferences on the Bridge on a regular basis are encouraged to purchase the KAREN Bridge service even if they are not KAREN members so that they are fairly contributing to the costs of providing the service.

What types of statistics will the new Bridge be able to provide about my use of the Bridge?

The KAREN Bridge service will provide an extensive range of visual reports that will allow you to monitor video conferencing usage in your organisation.  These reports include:

• Usage (multipoint, point-to-point and Gateway-ISDN or Internet)
• Utilisation (MCU port utilisation, endpoint utilisation, etc)
• Trends such as usage growth
• Statistics (scheduled vs. ad hoc meetings; audio vs. video; meeting size & duration)

How long will the Bridge record a conference? Where are the recorded conferences stored?

The VC recorder can be set to record video conferences of any length as long as there is enough storage space available.  REANNZ will provide some short-term storage for recorded conferences as part of the solution.

Updated 6 October 2009