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Videoconference at CERN
Joao FernandesCERN-IT-UDS
Video Services
CERN
CERN– 2500 employees on 2 sites (CH-F)– More than 9000 users
Videoconference use cases:– 95% of meetings from 8h30 to 20h30 Geneva time:
• LHC experiments: collaborations of ~2000 people worldwide spread
– High-level communications between institutes worldwide• Permanent video links between Europe and US
– Special events • Conferences, Commemorations, Outreach activities…
– Job Interviews
Scale– 2000 VC meetings/month (CERN, 160+ Institutes in 37
countries)– 4500 VC connections/month (Desktops, Room systems and
Telephone)
CERN videoconference venues
35 equipped rooms (8 in project) All reequipped between 2007 and 2008 Global project along 3 main lines:
– Homogeneity of interfaces– System reliability– Remote Administration/Support
Various sizes and configurations– From 6 people (small meeting rooms) to 100 + people (amphitheatres)
All Equipped with H.323/SIP compliant equipment
CERN videoconference Services
EVO (provided by Caltech)– Widely used in the LHC (75% of sessions)– http://evo.caltech.edu– Access from
• Equipped meeting rooms (H.323-compatible)• Offices (desktops/laptops)
– JWS (Java Web start) application– Multiplatform (windows, Mac, Linux)
– Integrates• Recording system• Chat• Presence detection
– Scale• hundreds of participants (peak currently at 212 participants
in the same session)
CERN videoconference Services
H.323-based Videoconference– Industry Standard– Point to point (direct connection from one endpoint to the
other)– MCU (multipoint control units) – expensive hardware units on
which the H.323 endpoints can connect for meetings with more than 2 sites
• Embedded small MCUs in VC codecs (<5 sites)• MCU services
– CERN (in operation since 2009)– EsNet in the USA– RMS in France– DFN in Germany
– Scale:• Limited by the number of ports (usual average of 10 to 20
sites per meeting)
Use Case Examples
95% remote sessions– 8h00-21h00 (Geneva time) – LHC Experiments
• Working groups worldwide spread• Experiment Weekly Status update
• More than 300+ participants combined (videoconference and webcast)
Use Case Examples
Permanent Video Communications with “constant presence” between several centers
• Europe, US, Asia and Oceania– Remote Shifts– Monitoring– High Definition systems
• Quality of Presence is an important requirement
Chicago, US
Control Center CMS (DESY, Hamburg)CMS Control Center (CERN)
Use Case Examples
Outreach Activities– Masterclasses (students from several parts of the world join in
VC): • once per year, during 3 weeks
– 6 institutes per day (of a total of 90)
Stats of Usage
CERN + 160 Institutes in 37 countries
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2008
2009
2010
Stats of Usage
4500 unique connections (H.323 devices, Laptops/Desktops and phone
Jan Fev Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
2008
2009
2010
Remote Administration
Centralized H.323 endpoints manager: TMS (Tandberg Management Suite)– Usage statistics– Diagnostics and Alarms– Software update
Projectors with IP connections– Ex. at CERN: EPSON EMP-83, ProjectionDesign– Diagnostics– Remaining lamp hours– Remote management interface (mostly to switch off the device
at the end of the day, and switch it on when preparing a session)
CERN Management Framework (CMF) for automated PC management– SW updates, Central Configurations
Remote Support
At CERN the VC support has been outsourced– Provided by the computing helpdesk– Mostly done remotely
• Startup sessions• Monitoring• Debugging
– Only the 3rd line is done by CERN staff
Remote support done by– Phone– Videoconference (operators’ desk equipped for it)– Netcams in the rooms– VNC installed on room PCs
