Quick Start Guide

• Basic Steps for a Point-to-Point Videoconference
  If you are going to videoconference with only one other site, then it is a point-to-point videoconference.
• Basic Steps for a Multi-Point Videoconference
  If you will have a total of three or more sites connected to your videoconference, then it is a multi-point videoconference.

Basic Steps for a Point-to-Point Videoconference

Secure access to equipment/room

You will need to already have a H.323 videoconferencing client (end point) like a Polycom or LifeSize set top box or software such as Polycom PVX for your Windows computer with a camera, microphone, and speaker (or headset) or have access to equipment in either one of Northwestern's public videoconferencing rooms or one of your school's rooms that has H.323 videoconferencing equipment already installed.

Determine the date and time of the videoconference

You will have to determine the date, time, and duration of your videoconference and let the other participants know. If you plan to hold a test before the actual event, then you should also determine the date and time of the test. It is highly recommended that you do a test before the actual event in order to ensure that the equipment at both sites is compatible.

Make sure that your equipment and the equipment that the other participants plan to use has good Internet connectivity

To hold a successful videoconference, all of the H.323 systems must have good internet connectivity. That means that they should be connected to networks that will support at least 384 Kbps of bandwidth between the two sites. While it is possible to have this level of connectivity from residential sites, it is usually not the case. Here again a test will ensure that sufficient connectivity exists.

Collect Gatekeeper Registration information from the participating sites

Your local site should be configured so that it will register with the Northwestern Gatekeeper (GK.Northwestern.edu). Our public rooms and most school rooms are already configured to do this. Ensure that the other participating site are also connected to a Gatekeeper and find out if it is the Northwestern Gatekeeper or one from their organization. While it is possible to connect to a point-to-point videoconference using IP dialing, it is not recommended. Consult the document "Understanding Addressing Issues" for more information on gatekeepers and addressing.

Determine dialing information

First determine who is going to dial who. Then determine the H.323 extension (video address or dialing number) of the person that is to be dialed. When the time for the event is reached, the person at the dialing station dials the address of the dialee. If both sites are registered with the Northwestern Gatekeeper, the simple H.323 extension of that end point can be dialed. As an example, if the dial number is 176885, then that number should be dialed and the videoconference should be initiated. If one of the stations is registered to a non-Northwestern Gatekeeper, then inter-zone dialing is required. The zone number for Northwestern is 0011169. So the dial number would be 0011169176885. For a more detailed description of H.323 addressing at Northwestern, please refer to the document "Understanding Addressing Issues".

Determine if you plan to use data sharing in the videoconference

Data sharing in the context means the sharing of computer-based documents such as PowerPoint between the two sites. There are several ways to do this:

• You can post them on a web site and have both sites use browsers to follow along during the conference
• You can use a program called VNC that is loaded on a computer at both sites to send/receive the data, or
• You can use a videoconferencing protocol called H.239 that some videoconferencing units support

Please refer to the document H.323 Videoconferencing Basics for a more detailed description of these options for sharing data during a videoconference.

Basic Steps for a Multi-Point Videoconference

Secure access to equipment/room

You will need to already have a H.323 videoconferencing client (end point) like a Polycom or LifeSize set top box or software such as Polycom PVX for your Windows computer with a camera, microphone, and speaker (or headset) or have access to equipment in either one of Northwestern's public videoconferencing rooms or one of you school's rooms that has H.323 videoconferencing equipment already installed.

Determine the date and time of the videoconference

You will have to determine the date, time, and duration of your videoconference and let the other participants know. If you plan to hold a test before the actual event, then you should also determine the date and time of the test. A test will ensure that the equipment at all sites is compatible and is highly recommended.

Make sure that your equipment and the equipment that the other participants plan to use has good Internet connectivity

To hold a successful videoconference, all of the H.323 systems must have good internet connectivity. That means that they should be connected to networks that will support at least 384 Kbps of bandwidth between the sites and the Northwestern campus in both directions. While it is possible to have this level of connectivity from residential sites, it is usually not the case. Here again a test would ensure that sufficient bandwidth for the conference exists.

Collect Gatekeeper Registration information from the participating sites

Your local site should be configured so that it will register with the Northwestern Gatekeeper (GK.Northwestern.edu). Our public rooms and most school rooms are already configured to do this. Ensure that the other participating sites are also connected to a Gatekeeper and find out if it is the Northwestern Gatekeeper or one from their organization. While it is possible to connect to a point-to-point videoconference using IP dialing, it is not recommended and will not work for a multi-point videoconference. Consult the document "Understanding Addressing Issues" on this web site for more information on gatekeepers and addressing.

Schedule the videoconference on the Northwestern MCU

Since your videoconference will have three or more sites participating, you will have to schedule a session on the MCU. Go to the "My Conferences" page, and fill in the requested information. You will need to know the time, date, and duration of the videoconference (plus that of any test sessions you plan). You will have to have a valid Northwestern NetID/Password to do the scheduling. You will be asked to supply other information such as a name and type of conference, the number of sites participating, the email addresses of any participant to which you want to have conference information emailed, and any contact information you have for remote sites. You will also be asked if you want to have the conference streamed. Once the scheduling forms have been completed and submitted, the system will send you email containing all of the relevant session information.

Inform other participants of the time and date of the conference and of the dialing information

Remote participants need to be informed about the logistics for the conference. This can either be done by including their email addresses when the session is scheduled or by the session chairman sending email to the remote participants. When the time for the event arrives, the session will become active on the MCU and participants can dial into the videoconference. If remote sites are registered with the Northwestern Gatekeeper, then they need only dial the six digit session number that was created during the registration process (e.g. 512345). If the remote sites are registered to a different gatekeeper, then they will have to dial the Northwestern zone number in front of the six digit dial number (e.g. 0011169512345).

Determine if you plan to use data sharing in your videoconference

Data sharing in this context means the sharing of computer-based documents such as PowerPoint between the participating sites. There are several ways to do this:

• You can post them on a web site, and have all sites use browsers to follow along during the conference
• You can use a program called VNC that is loaded on computers at all sites to send/receive the data,
• You can use VNC on the presenter's computer to connect to a VNC server running on the Northwestern Codian MCU to allow the data to be shared through a video stream of the MCU session which can be viewed by the remote participants, or
• You can use a videoconferencing protocol called H.239 that some videoconferencing units support

Please refer to the document "Understanding Data Sharing" for a more detailed description of the options for sharing data in a videoconference.