A collaboration overview: From TFVSS to GN2 SA6 Andrs Kovcs, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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A collaboration overview: From TFVSS to GN2 SA6 Andrs Kovcs, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dec 27, 2022 137 likes •387 views

Connect. Communicate. Collaborate A collaboration overview: From TFVSS to GN2 SA6 Andrs Kovcs, NIIF/HUNGARNET GN3 SA3#T4 educonf Workshop, Lisbon 19 October 2010 Introduction a bit of history Connect. Communicate. Collaborate

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A collaboration overview:

From TFVSS to GN2 SA6

András Kovács, NIIF/HUNGARNET GN3 SA3#T4 educonf Workshop, Lisbon 19 October 2010

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Introduction – a bit of history

  • National VC services:

– Endpoint deployment: end of 90s – Global Dialing Scheme (ViDeNet/Internet2)

  • Connecting NREN VC deployments
  • TERENA platform for VC / multimedia co#operation:

– TF#STREAM, TF#Netcast → TFMedia (streaming) – TF#VVC, TF#ECS, TF#VSS (VoIP/VC) – IP Telephony cookbook – NRENum.net service

  • Back in 2006:

– Lack of joint efforts – Lack of coordination between NREN service groups – GDS → low service quality – Strong need for European level service:

  • No idea about its content & scope!
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TFVSS study

  • TF#VSS: Videoconference Service Studies

– http://www.terena.org/activities/tf#vss/ – Mandate: Oct. 2006 – Sept. 2007 – Preceded by failed GN2 activity proposal (2006)

  • 1. Survey: 19 NRENs / 11 universities
  • Services currently offered
  • Deployed equipment capabilities:

– H.460 (fw/NAT), H.239 (content), H.264 – Resolutions: sub#SD/SD/HD

  • Service development plans

– ISDN, SIP

  • Future European service content
  • 2. Service requirements and specification
  • 3. Input to GN2 proposal in 2007
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TFVSS survey results

  • 95% would support an European level VC service
  • 80% for standard based VC (H.323/SIP), but:

– Not user friendly technology – Endpoint configuration is complex (desktop!) – FW/NAT traversal is painful (desktop!) – H.239 screen sharing needed – Central searchable directory

  • H.323 will remain for years (legacy endpoints)
  • GDS: important, would use anything better
  • MCU has primary importance
  • Common authentication framework (eduGAIN / Shib. AAI)
  • Other applications:

– VRVS, Access Grid, Mbone tools, Breeze (Adobe): 20#30% – Skype: 50#100% (!)

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TFVSS survey results

  • European service desired content:

– 80% user support, communication channels – 80% data/screen sharing – 75% conference scheduling – 65% multipoint conference – 65% free registrar / proxy – 60% conference recording / streaming – 60% common authentication – 60% localization – 50% ongoing conference control – 50% large conferences

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TFVSS: multipoint considerations

  • Shared MCU booking drawbacks:

– Diverse hw → quality (?), diverse features – Difficult monitoring & reporting – Support from multiple NRENs for multiple MCU hw – Cost of support multiplied – Cost sharing? – MCU APIs: security considerations – Distributed gateways? (e.g. PSTN) – No preference possible to local usage – Enormous resource needs for sw development

  • TF#VSS suggested to have a central resource:

– Cheaper, better service quality, stable – Lower required contributions from NRENs

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GN2 SA6 “educonf”

  • New SA in GN2 started 09/2007 (Y4 + 6 months)
  • SA6 partners:

CARNET, CESNET, GRNET, HEANET, HUNGARNET, NORDUnet, PSNC, REDIRIS, SWITCH, TERENA, UoM

  • Budgeted effort:

~ 54MM (Y4 + 6 months)

  • Service name:
  • SA6 activity structure:

– Work Item 1: Design, planning – Work Item 2: Implementation, service operations

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Activity objectives I.

  • 1. Address the lack of enduser trust in interNREN

videoconferencing services: – Co#ordination between NREN VoIP/VC groups – Slow problem identification and resolution – Negative end#user experience

  • 2. Improve the efficiency of interNREN problem

identification and resolution by: – Defined organizational structure – Common management tools and apps. – Source of information

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Activity objectives II.

  • 3. Help locating VC/VoIP service information and support
  • rganising videoconferences:

– Facility to locate service contact points, endpoints – Support seeking new partnerships – Support organisation of multi#party conferences

  • 4. Address the digital divide by multipoint VC resources

to support European projects and researchers: – MCU resources volunteered, without guarantees – No multipoint VC service in many countries – “Home for the homeless” concept

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Achievements covering

  • Obj. No. 12.
  • Improve co#ordination between NREN groups:

– Defined structure of communication

  • educonf#admins, #tickets mailing lists

– Public service website – Directory (see Obj. No. 3.) – source of information – Trouble Ticketing System – Interdomain VC/VoIP monitoring system – Knowledge base:

  • User documentation
  • Guidelines to use/join educonf service(s)
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Website

  • http://educonf.geant2.net (starting point)
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TTS

  • http://educonf.geant2.net/otrs/
  • OTRS (modification by SA5)
  • eduGAIN AAI access
  • Available for educonf

members, NREN admins

  • Defined procedures to

handle problems

  • Lessons:

– Not used at all – OTRS is a nightmare

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Monitoring system I.

  • Monitor unstable H.323 GDS connecting NREN services
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Monitoring system II.

  • Interdomain distributed H.323 (GDS) monitoring
  • Based on Nagios+NagVis and OpalVoip library test tool
  • Own developed Nagios plugin
  • Public connectivity matrix
  • Identified hidden problems
  • Lessons:

– Very useful, must to have! – Shows false negatives

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Knowledge Base wiki

  • http://educonf.geant2.net/wiki/ + eduGAIN AAI
  • Wiki content:

– Admin guide to join educonf directory – Admin guide to establish an educonf monitoring node – Troubleshooting procedures – Glossary (technology) – Using educonf services (directory, monitoring) – Dialing schemes and how to use them (calling)? – Other admin and end#user help

  • Community wiki for NREN/organizational admins
  • Lessons learned: no material added by partners
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Procedures – operational roles

  • Service infrastructure admins:

– System admins (server, OS, web server, etc.) – Directory admins (directory components) – Monitoring admins (monitoring components)

  • Expert#on#Duty (EoD):

– Coordinating international problem resolution – Rely on helpdesk tools

  • All roles on round robin basis by NRENs
  • Lessons learned:

– Round robin maintenance by NRENs DOES NOT work – Cannot implement EoD (no contribs) – Inefficient

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  • Obj. No. 3. Directory
  • Distributed directory service:

– Based on XML data provided by data maintainers (HTTPS) – Complex schema, many optional elements – Regular data harvesting – Storing in and retrieval from central XML DB – Search by: web forms and geographical location

  • Joined: all SA6 partners, some GN2 partners (BE, DE, NL, SI)
  • Lessons learned:

– Complex data schema is daunting (80% is optional) – Useful for service admins (contact points)

  • No endpoint info is supplied by members
  • Partly useful for endusers:

– Central directory delivered to endpoints

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  • Scope of information:

– Basic organizational info

  • Your contact points (general, service admins)

– Prefixes of your organization and their reachability (routing) – Test numbers to test connectivity – Your gatekeepers and SIP proxies – Your MCUs and their use policies – VC endpoint deployment info, geographical view

  • Obj. No. 3. Directory
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  • URL: http://educonf.geant2.net/gmap/
  • Visual search through map interface

– Organization data – Contact points – Endpoints – Prefixes of organizations

  • Directory XML DB used
  • Google Maps based visualization
  • Obj. No. 3. – Directory

Geographical visualization

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  • Obj. No. 4. Multipoint
  • A GN2 provided multipoint VC service:

– Shared booking is not an option! (resource)

  • Concerns:

– Any end#user service on European level:

  • Competing with NREN servicesQ
  • Full NREN consensus required (not in GN2 SA6)

– End#user support scalability problem:

  • Whole EU? ~30M users???

– Decision taken not to implement – Some technology tests done

  • Lessons:

– Can we avoid competitiveness to NRENs’ services? – Concept is against current service models

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GN2 SA6 evaluation

  • Was no NREN consensus for an end#user service:

– Needs collective decision and strategy – Unclear strategy and commitment – Service model change?

  • SA6 created supporting services for VC admins
  • Jammed between H.323/SIP devicesQ

– Qand easy#to#use desktop needs – Federated concept – Connect “now” with any device:

  • PSTN, VoIP, Videoconference
  • Desktop focus required

– Enormously complex task

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BoF on Collaboration @ TNC2010 (3/06/2010) The “dream collaboration tool”

  • Equipment: heterogeneous

– Meeting room + desktop integration – Multiplatform (Win / Mac / Linux)

  • Multipoint
  • AAI auth required
  • Must be inter#organization solution:

– Many questions around VO integration – Firewall/NAT traversal

  • Searchable directory (web/client): discovery of endpoints & users
  • Meeting organization support (invitation):

– Scheduling + invitation – Support for “virtual groups”

  • Content: screen/application sharing, shared working space
  • Recording + streaming
  • Buddy list + presence
  • General: low cost & high quality, ease of use (“one button” concept)
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PossibilitiesH

  • Real unified communication:

– Full VoIP + video integration (closed vs. open network) – Real E.164 to all?

  • NREN VoIP deployments:

– No peerings, legal obstacles (?)

  • GDS out phase: needs joint effort

– Migrate to ENUM / NRENum.net (?)

  • Invest heavily in an open source tool: EVO??

– Qor start a new dev. project? – Buy something from market?

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Thank you!