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Minutes of April 15th, 2010 ITAC-NI Meeting: |
Link to ACTION ITEMS from meeting AGENDA: CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was unusual in that it was held a week later and at a different venue. This was scheduled in Communicore C3-10 at 1:30 pm on Thursday, April 15th and was made available via videoconference with live-streaming. Recording for future playback was overlooked. Prior announcement was made via the Net-Managers-L list, so our broader audience should have been aware of the meeting. The meeting was called to order by ITAC-NI chairman, Dan Miller, Network Coordinator of CNS Network Services. ATTENDEES: Seventeen people attended this meeting locally. There were two attendees via Cisco videoconferencing as a demo and two others via Polycom videoconference and no records of how many may have listened into the stream via a web browser using the web interface. Eight members were present: Charles Benjamin, Dan Cromer, Margaret Fields, Tim Fitzpatrick, Steve Lasley, Tom Livoti, Dan Miller, and Handsford (Ty) Tyler. Six members were absent: Ron Cigna, Clint Collins, Erik Deumens, Craig Gorme, Shawn Lander, and Chris Leopold. Thirteen visitors participated as well: Avi, Baumstein (Cisco client), Dennis Brown (via Polycom), Jeff Capehart, Jason DeLeon, Randy Graff, Fabian Perez, Jaime Ilundain, Todd Hester, Stephen Kostewicz, John Madey, Mark McCallister, and Shawn Merdinger. The thirteenth guest was not identified but he participated via Polycom. Viewing the recording Unfortunately, there was no recording made on the bridge, likely due to the meeting date change. Audio archive An archive of audio from the meeting is available. This recording begins about 10 minutes after the meeting started due to the late arrival of the ITAC-NI Secretary. 1) Approve prior minutesNo corrections or additions were offered and the minutes were consequently approved. 2) Demonstration of host based video conferencing from HealthNet and Cisco systems2-1) System walkthroughJason DeLeon was on-hand to provide a demo of this new system being readied for use at the Health Science Center. On Jason's end this demo involved using a Windows laptop equipped with camera and microphone on which the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (CUPC) client was installed. CUPC offers a unified interface with access to instant messaging (instant chat), voice, video, web conferencing (collaboration), as well as voicemail. On the backend this system utilizes Cisco Unified Presence which provides the CUPC client real-time information about contact status, whether they are currently available, and how they prefer to be contacted (collectively known as "presence"). Cisco's unified approach incorporates seamless integration to both the Communications Manager phone and Unity Connection voicemail systems. 2-1-1) Earlier portions of demo were missed The first few minutes of Jason's demo are not included in these minutes due to Steve's late arrival. 2-1-2) Voicemail player As Steve arrived, Jason was demonstrating how one may listen to a voicemail recording. The "presence" of individuals are displayed and one can begin a chat session, an audio call, or a video call right from that interface. 2-1-3) Managing contacts Jason demonstrated populating the contact list via a directory search. Contacts may be organized into groups, but all members of a group cannot be contacted at once currently. 2-1-4) Instant messaging A chat session can be easily initiated from the client interface by double-clicking on the contact. That is the default action, but the double-click can just as easily be set to initiate an audio call, a video call or an e-mail message. Charles Benjamin asked if the system logs these messages, and if so where. Jason responded that they currently do not have logging set, but that feature is available and the logs would reside on the server. Jason pointed out that a chat session can provide alternate real-time communication should the contact be on the phone. 2-1-5) Voice and video calling Point-to-point connection using CallManager Jason initiated a voice call to Randy Graff at another location which they then escalated to a video call. This was a point-to-point video call which was handled within HSC's Communication Manager phone system and did not tie up any videoconference resources. Multipoint connections using the Cisco MCU Jason then put Randy on hold temporarily while he initiated a video call with Avi Baumstein who was using the Macintosh version of the client software. From there Jason bridged Randy back into the call. Bridging in this fashion utilizes their Cisco Multipoint Control Unit (MCU), which is an IPVC-3515-MCU12 supporting up to 24 simultaneous endpoints. H.323 endpoints integrate as well Next, Jason connected a Polycom unit sitting in Al Murray's office as well. The Polycom is a standard H.323 device which had been integrated into their system and had a phone number assigned to it; thus it could be contacted via phone number rather than IP address. Jason reported having had up to six people concurrently connected in this fashion in several tests without any degradation. The CUPC multipoint call interface The CUPC interface highlights the individual who is talking in order to make following a multi-point conversation easier. Margaret noticed that each video window identified the remote participants by name, but the local host window did not. This was a design decision by the software developers whereby the monitor window for local video displays differently. Had we been looking at Avi's client we would have seen that Jason was identified on his screen, but Avi's own local video window would not be annotated. The client does list the call roster on the right, however, where all callers are listed, including the local caller. Avi pointed out that, because he was talking via the CUPC client, his VoIP phone was indicating that his line was in use. The two systems are completely integrated in that respect. Protocols used Charles asked what protocols were being utilized. Jason responded that it uses G.711μ-law for audio companding but can also negotiate/scale up to G.729 if the end points are also capable. For video, it will utilize H.263 and H.264. The MCU adjusts the codecs used to match the capabilities of the various endpoints being connected. Contact information management Jason explained that the names listed are pulled directly from Communications Manager (CallManager). Everyone is set up within Communications Manager and the CUPC client is set up as a SIP endpoint. If a name hadn't been registered then the client would show the phone number instead. Tim pointed out that this is the same system the Cisco VoIP phones use to display the caller's name. Charles asked whether the information could be pulled from Active Directory if CallManager was tied into that. Jason explained that there is an ldap connection that syncs CallManager and Active Directory daily. 2-1-6) Web conference On-premises "WebEx" Next Jason demonstrated the web conferencing application which utilizes a MeetingPlace Express server. Jason explained that this collaboration tool provides what is essentially a locally hosted on-premises WebEx experience. Desktop sharing and remote control Once Jason and Randy were connected, Randy shared his desktop so Jason could view a PowerPoint presentation he had been working on. Jason then requested control and was able to manipulate Randy's machine. Scheduling web conferences Besides this ad hoc sort of conferencing, MeetingPlace can also be used to schedule conferencing via a web interface. Shawn Merdinger asked if this web interface allowed private chat among participants and Jason responded that it did indeed. It was also asked whether or not this system would allow collaboration outside our system. Jason responded that anyone could join a conference via an e-mailed invitation which would provide a link for access; this system does not require that a participate reside within our directory. Jason noted that Cisco is working to integrate WebEx with MeetingPlace, a feature which will be available in a later release. This would allow utilizing the "cloud" to relieve local resources. Ty pointed out, however, that there are major security concerns with using outside services in the healthcare setting. Details of where information goes, how it gets stored, and who has access to it are things that would have to be investigated very thoroughly before the HSC could think of utilizing cloud services. Outlook integration Jason then demoed a Meeting Place Express plug-in for Outlook which allows conference scheduling directly from the Outlook client. This adds a tab to Outlook's interface which provides direct access to MeetingPlace and begins a message which initiates the meeting request. Jason used a reservationless-ID (his phone number) and invited Jaime Ilundain who had a laptop available at the meeting for receiving the e-mailed invite. Each invited party receives an e-mail link for joining the conference. Jason used the link and logged on so that he had administrative access; alternatively he could have logged on as a guest to join the conference. Currently such logins are not tied to Active Directory but rather utilize a local account system. Jason noted that there is a phone number assigned to the conference, but he can also have it call a phone--which he demonstrated by calling a local VoIP handset. Jaime joined from his cell phone by calling the conference number as well. The MeetingPlace interface Jason explained that there are various tools built into the MeetingPlace interface. For example, a participant can change their status to indicate that they have a question or to provide other input to the conference ("speak faster" or "thumbs up" as examples). A participant can take notes and there is a global chat capability as well. The ability to record the conference is yet another available feature. 2-1-7) Outlook integration Jason next demoed connecting point-to-point from Outlook. While viewing an e-mail from Jaime, Jason directly initiated a call to Jaime's phone. If Jaime had a CUPC client running it would ring there as well. Visual voice mail can also be integrated into Outlook; those are sent to the recipients as e-mail attachments. Someone asked if transcription was available. Jason said that it was, but the quality is not quite good enough to be very useful currently. Audio recognition is a long-term trend in the industry, however. Jason showed how one could search for voice mail within Outlook as well as mark a messages as unread. The CUPC client directly manipulates the message waiting indicator (MWI) on the corresponding VoIP phone as well. Finally, Jason showed an example of integrated messaging into Outlook via an IMAP connection. 2-1-8) Mobility Cisco was supposed to have launched a new iPhone client the day of this meeting, though Jason had looked and not seen it available yet. Currently there is Cisco Unified Mobility Advantage, which requires a server. The new iPhone client, which Jason believes is called "Tin Can", does not require a separate server but will work with CallManager. It will allow for Wi-Fi calling so HSC can leverage their current Wi-Fi infrastructure. Jaime noted that the HSC does not currently have Cisco Unified Mobility Advantage, but it supports a number of platforms including iPhone, Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry among others. 2-2) Discussion2-2-1) Options abound and change is rapidly coming Ty pointed out that this system pushes out your communication device to your office phone number. It can be set up so that when someone dials your office phone, the call rings on whatever device you define. This is not a forward, because when you pick up the call on that device the other end sees it as your office phone. This allows your mobile device to be both your office and your personal phone at once and allows you to utilize a cell phone as a business phone, for example, without giving out that cell number. The iPhone application is a SIP client that connects with Communications Manager. Tom pointed that you can even hand a call off, for example, from your mobile to your desk phone and pick it up there. Jason mentioned that version 8 will support many new features, including file transfer. 2-2-2) Server-side this implementation progressed relatively easily Jaime pointed out that the server-side portion of this was really quite easy to implement. He found the front-facing portions--dealing with various client OS hosts, etc.--was the most challenging aspect. A question was asked about how our current VoIP configuration does not include the ability to receive voicemail sent via a WAV file e-mail attachment. Jason explained that this is a separate issue. The phones are tied to Communications Manager. On the voicemail side they are using unified messaging with Cisco Unity Connection; this is what offers the visual voicemail and sends out notifications. 2-2-3) CNS is just a little behind the HSC John Madey commented that everything we have seen here are things which CNS plans to offer eventually on campus. CNS just finished a migration to CallManager 7 during Spring Break which will enable all these capabilities. Version 8 will be a dual-standard dual-protocol system utilizing XMPP as well as the Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE) for both "presence" and instant messaging. Google Talk, AOL, Yahoo and other IM clients with thus interact as well. Jabber is native and is owned now by Cisco; Jabber created the XMPP protocol. 2-2-4) Cisco vs. Microsoft Tim summarized that this connectivity would be available to those people who are part of the VoIP service provided by HealthNet or by CNS and that those clusters can be linked to interoperate. Tim believed that only those with Exchange accounts would be able to talk to each other via the Office Communications client, but Dan Cromer corrected him by saying that all employees within UFAD could do so and at no additional expense. Ty mentioned that there is a plug-in available for use with Microsoft Office Communicator which would allow interaction between those two systems. Jason responded that he did not have this available to demo here today but it is called Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Office Communicator (CUCI-MOC). There is some integration required, but Jason did get it to work within an afternoon. They were able to connect and place voice calls. Click to dial wasn't working but they were able to start a video session as well. There is middleware required to make this work. 2-2-5) Extension mobility Jeff Capehart asked about how this system might work, for example, with a Help Desk where multiple individuals share phones and desks. Extension mobility would likely be the solution here where each individual has a phone number assigned them and they can associate that number which whichever phone they are sitting at by logging in. That presents their phone to them on whichever phone they are using. 2-2-6) Licensing issues will be challenging Tim asked about the relationship between CUPC and the Cisco IP SoftPhones some are currently using. CUPC is essentially a SoftPhone with presence added. This brought up a discussion of the complications of Cisco licensing. It has to do with "Device License Units" (DLUs) and how many are assigned to various services. It also has to do with what version of the licensing you have. If you are on the Cisco Workstation Licensing Program at the Enterprise level then everyone gets everything by default. If you try to do licensing à la carte, saying you need 100 of these and 200 of those, etc. then it gets real expensive very quickly. Enterprise licensing in the big picture is pretty low on a per person basis. Tim said that this was the aspect that CNS and HSC need to figure out. With mobility, a mobile phone could be a person's office phone. That in combination with a CUPC client on your computer may lead to the eventual phasing out of many of the VoIP phones currently being used. Tim stated that he would be encouraged if the cost of some of this could be in lieu of existing costs rather than simply additional cost. 2-2-7) Standards support interoperability Tom stated that we need to assure that whatever systems we go with are standards based in order to assure interoperability. There are many options and this is a fast changing area of technology. Sticking with standards based solutions should be our best road toward whatever the future may bring. Tim pointed out that one of the key components of the Microsoft Office Communications Server project was its integration with videoconferencing. He noted that this Cisco system would appear to have similar capabilities. Ty said that there is pretty seamless standards based integration to any videoconferencing system; not just Polycom but Tandberg and whatever else is out there. Someone asked if this system could call out to a straight SIP client. Jason responded that this has not yet been enabled. Currently the system is using SCCP (Skinny) between CallManager and the phones. Jason did note, however, that the CUPC client is a SIP endpoint. Jason believes that version 8 will have more flexibility in terms of having both SCCP and SIP endpoints. 2-2-8) Coordination between CNS and the HSC Getting to where we can develop service offerings Tim mentioned that CNS is about a month or more behind HSC in prototyping these systems and parallel with regards to conversations with Cisco. He asked Ty for a "guesstimate" of when licensing and prices might be worked out well enough for them to begin to build service offerings. Ty suggested that CNS and HSC get together with Cisco at the same time. Potential licensing options Cisco is doing a pilot of a new licensing scheme with some other universities where they give you an open license to add as many clients for whatever services you want. Then they periodically come in and query Communications Manager to see how many licenses were added; then they charge an incremental price for those. That means you pay for exactly what you are using rather than needing to maintain a pool of licenses which you may or may not fully utilize. Ty thinks we should talk to them about that. Ty felt we also need to talk to Cisco about what it would take to transition from our current à la carte licensing to their CUWL Enterprise licensing system. Ty understands that there are some changes coming to that. Prior it has been an all or nothing deal; you either had to have the à la carte system or you had to buy CUWL licenses to enable all of these capabilities on all of your endpoints. Word has it that they are transitioning to where you can specify up to a particular number of simultaneous connections for each of various services. We need to look into paying for only the capabilities we need; under current schemes it would be very easy to pay lots of money for capabilities we won't even use. Suggestions regarding any upcoming CNS demo Ty mentioned that when CNS gets ready to demo their own service it would be nice if the CNS and HSC systems could be trunked together so we could see each others' presence. It would be good also to establish a SIP trunk between the CallManager clusters so we can take a look at keeping all university traffic on net so calls from campus wouldn't have to go out one PRI and in another. Tom mentioned that the next version of Communications Manager, 8.1, will handle this automatically. 3) Other topicsJust before adjourning, Dan Miller mentioned that we will probably talk a little about NAC at our next meeting in response to the request from Charles Benjamin. Action Items
Next MeetingMay 13, 2010 |
last edited 20 April 2010 by Steve Lasley