Polycom MGC Manager User Manual

MGC Manager

User’s Guide Vol. I

Version 7.5

Catalog No. DOC2064F Version 7.5

Proprietary and Confidential

The information contained herein is the sole intellectual property of Polycom, Inc. No distribution, reproduction or unauthorized use of these materials is permitted without the expressed written consent of Polycom, Inc. Information contained herein is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment of any type on the part of Polycom, Inc. Polycom and Accord are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc.

Notice

While reasonable effort was made to ensure that the information in this document was complete and accurate at the time of printing, Polycom, Inc., cannot assume responsibility for any errors. Changes and/or corrections to the information contained in this document may be incorporated into future issues.

Regulatory Notices

United States Federal Communication

Commission (FCC)

Part 15: Class A Statement. This equipment has

been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Test limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio-frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manuals, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his or her own expense.

Part 68: Network Registration Number. This equipment is registered with the FCC in accordance with Part 68 of the FCC Rules. This equipment is identified by the FCC registration number.

If requested, the FCC registration Number and REN must be provided to the telephone company.

Any repairs to this equipment must be carried out by Polycom Inc., or our designated agent. This stipulation is required by the FCC and applies during and after the warranty period.

Canadian Department of Communications (EC)

Polycom Inc., declares that the MGC-50 and MGC-100 with NET-2/4/8 cards are in conformity with the following relevant harmonized standards:

EN 60950: 1992 Including Amendments 1,2,3 & 4 EN 55022: 1994 EN 50082: 1997 Following the provisions of the Council Directive

1999/EC on radio and telecommunication terminal equipment and the recognition of its conformity.

Notice: The Industry Canada label identifies certified equipment. This certification means that the equipment meets telecommunication network protective, operational and safety requirements as prescribed in the appropriate Terminal Equipment Technical Requirements document(s). The Department does not guarantee the equipment will operate to the user's satisfaction.

Before installing this equipment, users should ensure that it is permissible to be connected to the facilities of the local telecommunications company. The equipment must also be installed using an acceptable method of connection. The customer should be aware that compliance with the above conditions may not prevent degradation of service in some situations. Repairs to certified equipment malfunctions, may give the telecommunications company causes to request the user to disconnect the equipment.

Users should ensure for their own protection that the electrical ground connections of the power utility, telephone lines and internal metallic water pipe system, if present, are connected together. This precaution may be particularly important in rural areas.

Caution: Users should not attempt to make such connections themselves, but should contact the appropriate electric inspection authority, or electrician, as appropriate.

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

System Requirements ...........................................................................1-1

Prerequisites ......................................................................................... 1-1

About the MGC Manager User’s Guides .............................................1-2

Conventions .........................................................................................1-6

MGC Manager Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

MCU Management ....................................................... ........................2-2

MGC System Main Features ................................................................2-3

Universal Transcoding .................................................................2-3

Dynamic Continuous Presence .....................................................2-4

Multiple Switching Modes ........................................................... 2-6

IVR-Enabled Conferencing .................. .... .... ................................2-6

Entry Queue ............................................................................. .... .2-8

Video+ Features ...........................................................................2-9

Encryption ....................................................................................2-9

Conferencing Capabilities and Options .............................................2-10

Conference Reservations Features .............................................2-10

Conference Setup Features .........................................................2-10

Conference Management and Monitoring Features ...................2-11

MGC Unit Advantages ......................................................................2-12

Connectivity ...............................................................................2-12

Scalable Architecture .................................................................2-12

Reliability ...................................................................................2-12

Maintenance ...............................................................................2-13

MGC Manager Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Starting the MGC Manager Application ..............................................3-1

The MGC Manager Main Window ......................................................3-2

Additional Windows .....................................................................3-4

Participants Queue Window ..................................................3-6

MGC Manager Window View Modes ................................ .................3-7

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Table of Contents

Selecting the View Mode ............................................................. 3-7

Showing and Hiding the Toolbars ............................................... 3-9

Showing and Hiding the Status Bar ........................................... 3-10

Showing and Hiding the Memory Indicators .............................3-10

Resizing the Window Panes ...................................................... 3-11

Multiple Window Display ......................................................... 3-12

The MGC Manager Main Menu ........................................................3-13

The MGC Manager Toolbars ............................................................3-14

Main Toolbar .............................................................................3-14

Conference Toolbar ...................................................................3-15

Participant Toolbar .................................... .... .... ........................ 3-16

Participants Queue Toolbar ....................................................... 3-18

Participant Queue Filter Toolbar ............................................... 3-18

Q&A Toolbar ............................................................................. 3-19

Connecting to an MCU ..................................................................... 3-21

Using Default Templates to Start a Conference ................................ 3-25

Reservation Templates ...............................................................3-25

Default Reservation Templates .................................................. 3-25

Viewing Conference Lists ................................................................. 3-28

Disconnecting an MCU ..................................................................... 3-30

Automating the Login Process ..........................................................3-31

Templates Database ........................................................... ................ 3-33

Loading the User Defined Default Set to the MGC

Manager Application ...... .... .... ........................................................... 3-36

Commands Shortcut Keys ................................................................. 3-38

Setting Up Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

About Conferences .............................................................................. 4-2

Conference Scheduling Methods ......................................................... 4-3

Scheduled Conferences ................................................................4-3

On Going Conferences .......................................................... 4-3

Reservations .......................................................................... 4-3

On-Demand (Reservation-less) Conferencing ............................. 4-4

Ad Hoc Conferencing ............................................................ 4-4

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Meeting Rooms ......................................................................4-4

Conference Types ................................................................................4-6

Entry Queue .........................................................................................4-7

Participant Connection to Conference .................................................4-8

Participant Roles ...........................................................................4-8

Participant Connection Types ......................................................4-9

Conference Access for Dial-in Participants ...............................4-10

Entry Queue Access .............................................................4-11

Conference IVR Access ............. .... .... .... .... ..........................4-14

Direct Dialing and Access ...................................................4-15

Conference Access for Dial-Out Participants ............................4-16

Attended and Unattended Conferences ......................................4-17

Operator Attended Conference ............................................ 4-17

Unattended Conference ........................................................4-19

Conference Media Types ...................................................................4-20

Audio Only Conferences ............................................................4-20

Video Conferences .....................................................................4-21

Video Session Types ............................................................4-21

Video Conference Parameters ..............................................4-23

Highest Common Mechanism .............................................4-24

Additional Video Conference Types ...................................4-25

Conference Types by Media ................................................4-30

Conference Media Type According to MCU Configuration ......4-31

Configuration Guidelines ..................................................... 4-33

Defining On Going Conferences .......................................................4-34

Preparatory Tasks .......................................................................4-34

Defining a New Audio Only Conference ...................................4-34

Defining a New Video Conference ............................................4-35

Conference General Parameters ...........................................4-37

Conference Settings .............................................................4-44

Defining Advanced Conference Settings .............................4-53

Defining Advanced Media Settings ..................................... 4-57

Participants ........................................................................... 4-65

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Table of Contents

Video Sources ..................................................... .... ............ 4-71

Resource Force .................................................................... 4-82

Meet Me Per Conference .................................................... .4-84

Recording ............................................................................ 4-84

Completing the Conference Definition ............................... 4-86

Resolving Scheduling Conflicts ......................................... .4-86

Connecting to an On Going Conference ........................................... 4-89

Defined ISDN Participants Dial-in ............................................ 4-89

Defined H.323 Participants Dial-in ........................................... 4-90

Simple Dial-In Settings (No Gatekeeper) ........................... 4-90

Simple Dial-In Settings (With Gatekeeper) ........................ 4-91

Advanced Dial-In ................................................................4-92

SIP Connections ......................................................................... 4-94

Dial-in Scenario—SIP Environment ................................... 4-94

Direct Dial-in Scenario—SIP Environment ........................ 4-96

Dial-out Scenario—SIP Environment ................................. 4-96

Mixed Environments Conference Scenario ......................... 4-97

Starting an On Going Conference from a Reservation Template ..... 4-98

Defining Participant Properties .......................................................4-101

ISDN/ATM/MPI/T1-CAS Participant Definition ................... 4-102

IP (H.323 and SIP) Participant Definition ...............................4-114

Quality of Service for IP Participants ............................... 4-125

Monitoring Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

General Monitoring ............................................................................. 5-2

Using the Main Window Panes for Monitoring ..........................5-3

Listing Conference Properties ............................................... 5-4

Viewing On Going Conference Status ..................................5-4

Listing On Going Conference Participants in the Status Pane .... 5-7

Listing On Going Conference Participants in the Monitoring

Pane .............................................................................................. 5-8

MGC Manager Icons ................................................................. 5-10

Additional Participant Statuses ........................................... 5-19

Participant’s Audio Status ................................................... 5-20

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Participant’s Video Status ....................................................5-22

Monitor Filter .............................................................................5-23

Monitoring All Conferences .......................................................5-25

Secure Conference Mode ...........................................................5-26

Secure Conference Icons ......................................................5-27

Dynamic Highest Common Mechanism (in Video Switchi ng) ..5-28

Audio Tones ...............................................................................5-29

Noisy Line Detection and Automatic Muting ............................5-30

Viewing the Participants Queue .................................................5-31

Viewing Site Names in Video ....................................................5-33

Conference Level Monitoring ............................................................5-34

Participant Level Monitoring .............................................................5-39

Displaying Participant Properties ..................... .... .... ..................5-39

Monitoring ISDN/ATM/MPI/T1_CAS Participants ..................5-40

Connecting Auto-Detect Participants ..................................5-56

Monitoring IP Participants .........................................................5-57

Monitoring Gateway Sessions ...........................................................5-79

Operations Performed During On Going Conferences . . . . 6-1

Overview ..............................................................................................6-2

Participant Level Operations ................................................................6-5

Making Dial-Out Connections .....................................................6-5

Changing the Participant Connection Type (Dial-In/Dial-Out) ...6-6

Changing the Participant's Line Rate Before Connection ............6-7

Disconnecting and Reconnecting Participants ...........................6-10

Changing the Properties of a Disconnected Participant .............6-12

Downspeeding ............................................................................ 6-13

Naming Undefined Dial-in Participants .....................................6-13

Moving Participants Between Conferences ...............................6-15

Designating an Exclusive Speaker .............................................6-18

Changing a Participant’s Status to Conference Chairperson ......6-19

Designating a VIP Participant ....................................................6-21

Modifying a Participant’s User Defined Properties ...................6-22

Table of Contents

Adjusting the Broadcasting and Listening Volume ................... 6-24

Muting/Unmuting Participant’s Audio or Video .......................6-25

Blocking/Unblocking Audio ...................................................... 6-29

Enabling/Disabling Auto Gain Control (AGC) ......................... 6-31

Video Management Operations ......................................................... 6-33

Controlling Video Layout .......................................................... 6-33

Changing Video Layout for the Participant ........................ 6-33

Changing the Video Layout for a Continuous Presence

Session ................................................................................. 6-36

Setting the Auto Video Layout ............................................6-37

Modifying Video Layouts in Lecture Mode Settings .......... 6-38

Video Forcing ............................................................................ 6-38

Video Forcing on the Conference Level ............................. 6-39

Video Forcing on the Participant Level .............................. 6-42

Conference Level Operations ............................................................ 6-44

Adding New Participants to a Conference .................................6-44

Muting Dial-In Participants Upon Connection .......................... 6-54

Muting Audio for a Conference ................................................. 6-56

Locking/Unlocking a Conference .............................................. 6-58

Changing the Conference and Chairperson Password ............... 6-63

Changing the Conference Duration ........................................... 6-64

Extending a Conference Manually ...................................... 6-64

Terminating a Conference Manually ................................... 6-66

Enabling the End of Conference Reminder ............................... 6-67

Changing the Conference Billing Code ..................................... 6-68

Changing the Conference User Defined Parameters .................6-69

Adding Remarks During an On Going Conference ................... 6-70

Broadcasting Annex D Still Video Image (Slide) .....................6-72

Printing Conference Data ................................................. ......... 6-75

Managing Question-and-Answer Sessions ................................ 6-81

Controlling Q&A Queues with the Toolbar ........................6-81

Adding Questioners to Q&A Queues ..................................6-82

Changing a Participant’s Position in the Q&A Queue ........6-83

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Allowing Participant Questions ...........................................6-84

Ending Participant Questions ...............................................6-86

Removing Participants from the Q&A Queue .....................6-87

Clearing Q&A Queues .........................................................6-87

Managing Voting Sessions .........................................................6-88

Conducting a Voting Session ...............................................6-88

Using DTMF Codes During a Conference ........................................6-95

Changing the Conference or Chairperson Password ................6-100

Managing Secure Mode Conferences .......................................6-101

Operations Performed During On Going Gateway Sessions ...........6-103

Meet Me per Conferences and Meeting Rooms . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Defining a Meet Me Conference ..........................................................7-2

Defining Conference Dial In Numbers ..................................7-6

Connecting to a Meet Me Conference ........................................7-10

Dialing Into the Conference in the H.323 Environment ......7-11

Monitoring Meet Me Conferences .............................................7-12

Meeting Rooms ..................................................................................7-14

Defining a New Meeting Room .................................................7-15

Managing Meeting Rooms .................................................................7-22

Listing Meeting Rooms ..............................................................7-22

Meeting Room Icons ..................................................................7-23

Meeting Room Right-Click Functions .................................7-24

Entry Queues, Operator Conferences, and Attended

Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

Entry Queue Access .............................................................................8-3

Dialing in to the Entry Queue .......................................................8-4

Routing from the Entry Queue to the Conference ........................8-4

Conference Numeric ID Routing ...........................................8-5

Password Routing ..................................................................8-5

Conference Entry ..........................................................................8-6

Defining a New Entry Queue ...............................................................8-7

Listing Entry Queues ........ ..........................................................8-17

Connecting to the Entry Queue ..................................................8-19

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Table of Contents

ISDN Participants ................................................................8-19

H.323 Participant .................................................................8-19

SIP Participants ................................................................... 8-21

Enabling Entry Queue Access for Conferences ................................ 8-22

Using an Existing Entry Queue to Define a Target Conference ....... 8-24

Operator Conferences ........................................................................8-28

Operator Functions Requiring an Active Operator Conference 8-28

Defining an On Going Operator Conference ............................. 8-30

Defining an Operator Reservation ............................................. 8-35

Starting an Operator Conference from a Reservation Template 8-36

Attended Conferencing ...................................................................... 8-38

The Participant’s Queue Window .............................................. 8-39

Listing Participants in the Participants Queue Window ............ 8-40

Using Participants Queue Filters ......................................... 8-42

The Attended Participants Dialog Box ...................................... 8-47

Attended Participants Management ................................................... 8-59

Performing Operations using the Right-Click Menu ................ .8-61

Moving a Participant to the Operator Conference .............. 8-61

Moving a Participant to the Home Conference ................... 8-62

Placing a Participant On Hold ............................................. 8-65

Performing Operations using the Participants Queue Toolbar .. 8-66

Performing Operations using Shortcut Keys ............................. 8-67

Moving a Participant Interactively ............................................ 8-68

Moving a Participant to the Operator Conference by

Double-Clicking the Participant’s Icon ..................................... 8-68

Moving Multiple Participants to the Home Conference ............ 8-69

Conference Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Defining a New Reservation ............................................................... 9-3

Completing the Reservation Definition ................................. 9-7

Listing the Current Reservations ......................................................... 9-8

Reservations Icons ....................................................................... 9-8

Deleting a Reservation ...................................................................... 9-10

Rescheduling Reservations ............................................................... 9-11

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MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Scheduling a Conference Reservation from a Reservation Template

(Database) ..........................................................................................9-13

Recurrent Reservations ......................................................................9-17

Defining the Reservation Recurrence Properties .......................9-17

Deleting Recurring Reservations from the Reservations List ....9-22

Lecture and Presentation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1

Lecture Mode .....................................................................................10-1

Lecture Mode Definition ............................................................10-2

Lecture Mode Monitoring ..........................................................10-5

Presentation Mode .............................................................................10-9

Setting the Presentation Mode for a Conference ......................10-10

Presentation Mode Monitoring .................................................10-12

Enabling the Presentation Mode during an On Going

Conference ................................................................................ 10-13

Lecture Show ...................................................................................10-14

Lecture Show Definition ..........................................................10-14

Lecture Show Monitoring ........................................................10-16

Click&View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1

Enabling the Click&View Application .............................................. 11-2

Enabling the Click&View Application for a Conference ..........11-8

Using the Click&View Application ................................................ 11-11

Click&View Menu Options ............................................................. 11-13

Conference Layout (Chairperson Only) Options .....................11-15

Personal Layout Options ..........................................................11-18

Returning to the Conference Layout ........................................11-22

Getting Help .............................................................................11-23

Returning to the Previous Screen .............................................11-24

Requesting Operator Assistance ...............................................11-25

Appendix A: Disconnection Causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Appendix B: Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Table of Contents

Before You Begin

The MGC Manager application is designed to set up and monitor multipoint video conferences, and to perform system configuration activities for the MGC Multipoint Control Units (MCUs) t o which it connects. MGC Manager is consists of a user-provided PC workstation, equipped with a

Windows 98 system, and of the MGC Manager software. The PC can connect to the MGC unit via LAN, Internet, dial-up modem or RS-232 interface.

System Requirements

The MGC Manager application can be installed in an environment that meets the following requirements:

• IBM PC compatible computer Pentium II, 400 MHz CPU or higher

• Minimum 64 MB RAM (recommended 64 MB)

• Windows 98

Windows XP

• Modem (optional)

• Network capabilities - TCP/IP

, Windows NT®, Windows 2 000® or Windows XP® operating

, Windows ME®, Windows NT®, Windows 2000® or

operating system

Prerequisites

This manual assumes the user has the following knowledge:

• Familiarity with Windows 98

• Basic knowledge of video conferencing concepts an d terminology

, Windows NT®, Windows 2000®, or

Windows XP operating systems and interface

1-1

Chapter 1 - Before You Begin

About the MGC Manager User ’s Guides

The MGC Manager User Guides documentation set includes the following volumes:

• MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

• MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume II

• MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

The content of these volumes is listed below. The VoicePlus Edition includes information required to use the MGC

VoicePlus (Audio Only) features. In addition to the User’s Guides, the MGC kit inc ludes:

MGC Administrator’s Guide, MGC Getting Started Guide, MGC-25 Getting Started Guide, MGC+ Getting Started Guide, MGC Hardware and Installation Manual and MGC+ Hardware and Installation Manual.

Listed below are chapters and topics included in the volumes of the current user guides.

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I Chapter 1 - Before You Begin

Provides a general description of MGC unit system requirements and prerequisites. Lists and briefly describes the chapters that comprise the MGC Manager User’s Guides.

Chapter 2 - MGC Manager Overview

Provides a general description of the MGC unit and its main features.

Chapter 3 - MGC Manager Basics

Contains introductory information about the MGC Manager application and describes the application's main window, menus, and toolbars. Includes stepby-step instructions for connecting to an MCU.

Chapter 4 - Setting up Conferences

Includes a general description of video conference types, functions and parameters. Describes participant roles and parameters. Prov ides step-by-step instructions for setting up and starting an On Going Conference, as well as instructions for defining new participants.

Chapter 5 - Monitoring Conferences

Describes options available during On Going Conferences for general monitoring, conference level monitoring and participant monitoring.

1-2

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Chapter 6 - Operations Performed During On Going Conferences

A description of operations that can be performed during an On Going Conference.

Chapter 7 - Meet Me per Conferences and Meeting Rooms

Describes the methods for reservation-less conferencing and how to define Meet Me conferences. Describes how to monitor On Going Meet Me conferences and how to set up and monitor Meeting Room conference s.

Chapter 8 - Entry Queues, Operator Conferences and Attended Conferencing

Describes Entry Queues and Operator conferences. Includes step-by-step instructions for setting up Entry Queues and Operator conferences. Lists all the Attended Conferencing options.

Chapter 9 - Conference Reservations

Describes how to define and schedule conference Reservations and recurr ing conferences.

Chapter 10 - Lecture Mode and Presentation Options

Describes and includes step-by-step instructions for setting up and monitoring Lecture Mode, Presentation Mode and Lecture Show conferences.

Chapter 11 - Click&View

Describes how to activate and use the Click&View application.

Appendix A - Disconnection Causes

Lists the various disconnection causes according to the Q.931 standard.

Appendix B - Glossary

Lists and describes terms frequently used in t he MGC Manager User’ s Guides and terms related to video conferencing.

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume II Chapter 1 - Advanced Conference Settings

Describes advanced video conferencing features. Includes step-by-step instructions for setting up large Video Switching conferences, auto detection of participant line rate, LSD – Far End Camera Control (FECC), simple and Star Cascading conferences, Dual Stream modes, encryption, automatic extension of conference duration and more.

Chapter 2 - IVR and Entry Queue Services

Describes how to define IVR Message Services and Entry Queue Serv ic es, how to download voice messages to the Audio+ card and how to check the status of messages in the MCU memory.

1-3

Chapter 1 - Before You Begin

Chapter 3 - Ad Hoc Conferencing and External Database Authentication

Describes Ad Hoc conferencing and external database authentication, including different scenarios and authentication proced ures. Incl udes instructions on how to define Profiles and set up Entry Queues for Ad Hoc conferencing.

Chapter 4 - AV Message Services and Greet and Guide Conferences

Describes the Greet and Guide mode and options. Includes step-by-step instructions for setting up AV Message Services and Greet and Guide conferences, and their monitoring and management.

Chapter 5 - H.243 Conferences

Includes step-by-step instructions for setting up and monitoring Cascading conferences according to H.243. In addition, this chapter describes how to set up and monitor the H.243 Chair Control (a part of the H.243 standard).

Chapter 6 - Using a Database

Describes the database file which must be registered in the ODBC of the operator’s workstation during the installation procedure. Includ es a description of the registration procedure for both Acce ss and SQL datab ase s; how to log into the Database Manager application; how to defin e and mo di fy databases and participant and general system defaults; how to set up permissions and users.

Chapter 7 - Database Templates

Describes how to use the database tables and how to define conference and participant templates.

Chapter 8 - Templates Handling

Describes the operations that can be performed using conference and participant templates.

Chapter 9 - Call Detail Records (CDR) Utility

Includes the information required to view conference details. Describes how to retrieve and archive the conference records, and how to export the records to an external billing program.

Appendix A - CDR File Fields

Lists and briefly describes the CDR utility information fields.

1-4

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition Chapter 1 - Overview

Provides a general description of the MGC unit’s main audio features, system requirements and prerequisites.

Chapter 2 - Defining Standard Audio Only Conferences and Reservations

Includes step-by-step instructions for setting up On Going Audio Only Conferences and Reservations, and for defining Audio Only participants.

Chapter 3 - Monitoring Audio Only Conferences

Describes the information provided by the MGC Manager when monitoring an On Going Audio Only conference.

Chapter 4 - Operations Performed During On Going Conferences

Describes the operations that can be performed during an On Going Audio Only conference.

Chapter 5 - Meeting Rooms and Entry Queues

Includes step-by-step instructions for setting up Audio Only Meeting Roo m s and Entry Queues.

Chapter 6 - IVR and Entry Queue Services

Provides a general description of IVR and Entry Queue Service usage. Includes step-by-step instructions for defining new IVR and Entry Queue Services, downloading the voice message files to the Audio+ card and printing the DTMF codes defined in the IVR Message Service.

Chapter 7 - Attended Conferencing

Describes Operator conferences and Attended Participant Management.

Chapter 8 - Recording

Describes how to record using the ReadiRecorder and the Prairie Systems utility.

1-5

Chapter 1 - Before You Begin

Conventions

When learning the MGC Manager application, it is important for you to correctly interpret the terms and conventions used in this Guide:

• “Choose” or “Double-click” is used when you need to activate a menu

• “Select” or “Click” is used to highlight a part of the window, dialog box

• “Right-click” is used when you press and release the right mouse button

• “Choose OK” means that you can either click the OK button with the

• Keyboard keys appear in capital letters, between these two symbols < >.

• The plus sign (+) between two key names indicates that you must press

• Bold type appearing in the text or in a procedure indicates the word or

• Italic type appearing in the text or in a procedure indicates the name of

• Tips and notes are ind icated by an icon and appea r in a specia l format on

command or a command button in the dialog box.

or menu that you want to be changed with your next action.

to open a pop-up menu.

mouse, or press the <Enter> key on the keyboard.

For example, the Shift key appears as <Shift>.

and hold down one key while pressing down the second key. For example, “press <Alt>+<P>” means that you press and hold down the Alt key while you press the P key.

the character that you should type into a text box. Bold type is also used to indicate the name of a menu item or command that you should select.

an icon, a menu, a dialog box or a field from which an option should be selected or into which parameters should be entered.

a gray background. For example:

1-6

This is an example of the type of note that you encounter in this User Guide.

MGC Manager Overview

In multipoint video conferencing, several audio and video endpoints can simultaneously participate in a conference, havi ng established communications by connecting to the Multipoint Control Unit (MCU). The MGC unit serial connections (MPI), allowing participants from any deployed network to participate in a conference, without the need for external gateways and other equipment.

Figure 2-1 shows a basic multipoint conferencing scheme and connection types.

can connect the endpoints via ISDN, T1-CAS, IP, ATM and

Figure 2-1: Multipoint Video Conferencing using MGC

2-1

Chapter 2 - MGC Manager Overview

MCU Management

The MGC unit is controlled by the MGC Manager application installed on a customer-provided computer or server. The application works with the

following operating systems: Windows 98 / ME / NT / The operator’s workstation connects to the MGC unit using:

• Ethernet LAN (other than the LAN used for conferencing)

• TCP/IP Internet

• RS-232

• Dial-up modem

Up to 30 local or remote MGC Manager workstations can connect to a single MGC unit simultaneously. A single operator can control multiple MGC units and conferences. The MGC unit can also be controlled through a Web browser via the MGC WebCommander application. Using the MGC Personal Scheduler add-on, conferences can be scheduled from the MCU in Microsoft’s Outlook.

Figure 2-2 illustrates the MGC Manager system components.

R R R R R

2000 / XP .

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Figure 2-2: MGC Manager - MCU Connection

MGC System Main Features

This section briefly describes the main features of the MGC system.

Universal Transcoding

For each endpoint connected to a conference, the MGC's Universal Transcoding gateway automatically resolves: audio compression, video protocol, video resolution, frame rate, bandwidth, and T.120 transfer rate. The gateway then performs any necessary translations “on the fly”. This capability makes the connection fast and seamless for multipoint calls, and ensures that each endpoint operates at their optimal capability.

Figure 2-3 shows an example of a transcoding scheme.

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Figure 2-3: Transcoding performed by the MGC unit

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Dynamic Continuous Presence

The dynamic Continuous Presence capability of the MGC system enables user friendly viewing flexibility and conference interaction. This type of video session offers multiple viewing options and window layouts for video conferencing.

Continuous Presence for video conferencing is available in three modes:

• Classic

• Quad Views

• Software

The Continuous Presence Classic mode offe rs 21 layo uts to accommodate different numbers of participants and conference settings. Figure 2-4 shows these layouts.

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Figure 2-4: Continuous Presence Classic Mode - Video Layouts

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

The Continuous Presence Quad Views mode offers three additional window layouts for larger conferences with more than 10 participants, for example: 4x4, 2+8, 1+12. Figure 2-5 shows these layouts.

Figure 2-5: Continuous Presence Quad Views - Additional Video Layouts

For conferences with more participants than display windows, the MGC's dynamic video mix capability allows the sit e mix (which sites ca n be seen) to be modified throughout the conference. The video layout can be defined during conference definition (reservation stage) or changed during an On Going Conference, allowing participants to view different screen layouts of other conference participants. These layout option s provide greater flexibili ty when displaying a large number of participants and help maximize the effectiveness of the video conference.

When Continuous Presence Classic or Quad Views conferences are set to Auto Layout, the MGC system automatically selects the conference layout based on the number of currently connected participants in the conference. In addition, when video participants are connected or disconnected, the conference video layout automati cally adjusts to reflect the changed number of participants. The selected video layout is not affected by the Audio Onl y participants, when they connect or disconnect to or from the conference.

The Continuous Presence - Software (Software CP) is a software solution for IP only conferences that resembles Continuous Presence but saves video card resources. In Software CP, only two types of video layouts are available: 2x1 and 2x2, and the Lecture Mode options are disabled.

For system requirements and a detailed description of this featu re, refer to the

MGC Manager User’s Guide Volume II, Chapter 1, “Advanced Conference Settings”.

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Multiple Switching Modes

Switching between video participants can be performed using these features:

• Voice activation

• Operator-force via the MGC Manager to and/or the MGC

WebCommander

• Selecting certain participant display windows as fixed and others as

voice-activated

• Lecture Mode and Lecture Show - The lecturer is viewed in full screen

by all conference participants, while the audience is “scanned” for the speaker’s view.

• Presentation Mode - available in Continuous Presence conferences.

When the speaker’s presentation extends beyond a predefined time, that speaker becomes the lecturer and the conference switches to Lecture Mode.

You can select multiple switching options at the reservation stage or during the On Going Conference.

IVR-Enabled Conferencing

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a software module that automates the connection process and lets participants and c hairpersons perfor m various operations during the On Going Conference. By combining the input of the caller with the menu-driven scripts (DTMF codes), participants can call the conference dial-in number and use a touch-tone telephone or the endpoint’s remote control to interact with the conferencing system.

The Entry Queue Service is a subset of the IVR Service, and it can be used in conjunction with IVR for routing dial-in participants. An Entry Queue Service must be used in Ad Hoc (reservation-less) conferencing. This allows callers to initiate an On Going Conference without prior scheduling, based on conference parameters taken from a Profile that was assigned to the Entry Queue. This service also enables the system to verify the participant’s right to start an Ad Hoc conference or to join an On Going Conference. Using a set of voice prompts, the system routes the callers from the Entry Queue to the appropriate conference.

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The IVR service enables the following operations that let operators facilitate and manage conferencing:

• Personally guide individual participants to the conference

• Monitor all participants who are currently waiting in the Entry Queue

and IVR Queue regardless of their conference association

• Assist participants in the Entry Queue, IVR queue, or during the

conference

• Conduct Voting sessions

• Control Question and Answer sessions

Using IVR and DTMF codes, participants and chairpersons can perform various management operations during a conference, for example:

• Request personal assistance

• Request assistance for conference (Chairperson)

• Lock or unlock conferences to dial- in participants (Chairperson)

• Adjust the participant’s broadcasting and listening audio volume (All)

• Mute or unmute the participant’s audio channel (All)

• Mute all participants except the requesting participant (Chairperson)

• Cancel the Exclusive Speaker mode (Chairperson)

• Mute “Meet Me” dial-in participants upon their connection to the

conference (Chairperson)

• Change the conference password (Chairperson)

• Place the conference on-hold (Chairperson)

• Reinstate an on-hold conference (Chairperson)

• Manage a Question-and-Answer session (Chairperson)

• Conduct a Voting session (Chairperson)

• Play the Help menu

• Enable or disable the Roll Call feature (Chairperson)

• Request a Roll Call and stop the Roll Call names review (Chairperson)

• End (manually terminate) the Conference (Chairperson)

The IVR software module requires the installation of the Audio+ card in the MCU. For a detailed description of the IVR module, refer to the MGC Manager User’s Guide Volume II, Chapter 2.

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Entry Queue

An Entry Queue is a special routing lobby to which one or several dial-in numbers are assigned. When callers dial this number, they access this Entry Queue where they wait to be routed and connected to the conference. The following Entry Queue options are available:

Unattended Entry Queue

Both video and audio participants (including IP phones) connect to the Entry Queue and, using voice prompts, are routed to their conference according to the conference numeric ID or password (depending on the MCU configuration) they submit. This process is automatic, unless the participant requires help. Depending on the Entry Queue service configuration, operator assistance may be available to all participants during the connection process.

Attended Entry Queue

Dial-in participants are personally greeted by an operator (in an Operator conference) who accompanies them to their conference.

Ad Hoc-enabled Entry Queue

An On Going Conference is initiated from an Entry Queue that is configured to support Ad Hoc (reservation-less) conferencing. The conference is created according to the Profile assigned to the Ad Hoc-enabled Entry Queue.

For a detailed description of this feature, refer to the MGC Manager User’s

Guide Volume II, Chapter 3, “Ad-Hoc Conferencing and External Database Authentication”.

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Video+ Features

The Video+ board supports the following features and enhancements:

• Ability to run conferences across Video+ cards without fragmentation

• H.264, H.263 and H.261 video protocol for high quality transmission

• Conference On Port (COP) mode - Continuous Presence video layouts

• Click&View application - an endpoint application that lets participants

• Continuous Presence video layouts for la rge conferences (10 or more

• Improved image quality in Continuous Presence conferences

• Improved latency in large Continuous Presence conferences

• Choice of a personal video layout for participant

• Visua l effects for video display (background color, windo w borde r co lo r

• Enhanced video quality through the use of 4CIF video resolution

• Full size window for speaker view in asymmetrical Continuous Presence

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may be viewed by all participants while using only one vi deo port, increasing the number of pa rticipants in a video conference

select their personal video layo ut from their endpoints via DTMF codes

participants)

and speaker indication color)

layouts

Encryption

Encryption is available at the MCU conference and participant level, based on AES 128 Media Encryption and DH 1024 Key Exchange standards. Encryption is supported in all types of audio and video conferences with ISDN and IP participants. ISDN and IP encrypted participants require more resources than non-encrypted participants. Whether the participant’s connection to a conference is encrypted or non-encrypted depends on the encryption setting of the conference or the Entry Queue as well as on the participant’s own encryption setting.

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Conferencing Capabilities and Options

Conference Reservations Features

MGC Manager provides the following options:

• Conferences can be reserved and scheduled ahead of time (Reservations)

or set up to start immediately (On Goi ng Conferences)

• Conference resources are defined and reserved during conference setup

• Recurrent conferences can be scheduled in advance (a reservation can

include recurrent conferences)

• The central reservations database is easily accessed

• MGC Manager displays all the defined reservations for multiple MCUs

• Reservation-less features: Ad Hoc conferencing and Meeting Rooms

Conference Setup Features

The following options are available when setting up conferences:

• Dial-in for undefined participants

• Dial-in with automatic line rate detection for defined participants

• Meet Me per Conference

• Meeting Rooms

• Dial-out (manual or automatic)

• Automatic line rate detection for undefined dial-o ut participants

• On-demand conferencing

• Entry Queue access (using one dial-in number for all conferences)

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) software module for moderated

conference access

• Greet and Guide with manual or automatic guidance to conferences

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