Compiled
by Pete Woodworth, CTS @ Cal
Poly, SLO (805)756-7197
©2005, 2009 Links to this page are OK, but
please do not cut-and-paste.
January 2009 note: The screens below are not up-to-date but the concepts are mostly correct.
The purpose of these pages is to assist CSU campus technicians in configuring video conferencing endpoints for use with their campus' CENIC/CVS Gatekeepers.
Additionally, there are steps below which describe the minor, recommended changes needed to allow CENIC-registered endpoints access from Internet2 sites worldwide.
The Setup screens shown below are from desktop clients or Web interfaces for Polycom Viewstation-FX, Tandberg 880. I have left off any screens which were not directly germane to the Gatekeeper. I recommend the use of the Polycom and Tandberg Web interfaces for speedier configuration, operation and call stats. Additionally, I highly recommend that folks keep their system software up-to-date; there have been a lot of significant enhancements added to both the Polycom and Tandberg operating systems in the last couple of years and there should be for other brands as well. Do read the latest firmware Release Notes at the Polycom and Tandberg websites to see what you may have been missing.
Here's how the gatekeeper system works: There are several ID's required by the Gatekeeper to identify any particular video conferencing endpoint. One ID is the current IP address of the endpoint which is subject to change, such as with DHCP. The other two permanent and unique ID(s) are named differently depending on brand and model of equipment, as seen below. Generally, they are an alphanumeric Alias, and an E.164 ID number. Some endpoints such as Polycom room systems also use the endpoint ISDN number as a 4th ID as well. For CSU campuses, the E.164 number is the CENIC dialling string based upon this document (.pdf). This "CVS" dialing scheme is unique to the CENIC system. For example, at Cal Poly our CENIC address is 215000xxxx, where xxxx is a number selected by the campus representative (me) to be unique to a particular endpoint. Every campus is required to have its own "H.323 Champion" to dole out the unique Aliases and E.164 numbers. The Username/Alias should be some unique address not found anywhere else in the world, such as an email address or your office phone number. However, unfortunately, some endpoints do not allow the @ symbol in the Alias field. When the E.164 number and unique Username/Alias are successfully registered with your campus gatekeeper, folks anywhere on the CENIC or I2 WANs can usually just dial your Alias or E.164 number to reach you. That's why "Bob" is a lousy alias; it's pretty likely someone already has that Username registered within your zone. More about this below. ! ! ! Perhaps you have not realised that endpoints registered with the CENIC gatekeeper(s) do NOT need to make a reservation through CENIC for POINT-TO-POINT calls; only for multipoint calls or the ISDN gateway. Just dial the endpoint's E.164 number! To find a site's address, just go to the old Reservation form, hover your mouse over the site's name and the E.164 address will pop up as if by magic. It is also WAY cool that you can now make international calls via Internet2. Once your IP endpoint is up and running via CENIC, try dialing these test I2 GDS addresses at any speed: If you want other I2 endpoints to be able to dial you, you need to do a trick with your endpoint's CENIC address (it needs to end in '00') Contact me for more information. |
| Note: If, after completing your gatekeeper setup, you are unable to place gatekeeper alias calls, but are able to place IP calls, this indicates that there is a breakdown in some port(s) between your endpoint, your gatekeeper, and the regional gatekeeper. Contact CENIC for assistance, 'cause they are all over this. The NOC can poke your campus' gatekeeper to observe correct endpoint registration. |
This page is subject to revision. The field entries shown below are examples only; some addresses are obscured for security purposes. Your mileage may vary. Call me for assistance regarding the information below.
Polycom ViaVideo
11/05: If you use a newer computer, I recommend Polycom's PVX client software along with a good USB camera. The setup is pretty much the same as below. Keep your old ViaVideo around for installations on older computers.
The General screen configures the User Name and Email address. On larger systems as below, the User Name is also the 'System Name' or 'Host Name' which is displayed on the far-end's monitor.
On a ViaVideo the User Name is the "H.323 Name" (alias) so must be unique to this endpoint. (see below) Remember that if you want folks to be able to dial you by your User Name alias, you may want to make it easy to remember, such as an email name or your phone number. Do not use "Administrator." Unfortunately, most punctuation here will be rejected by the Gatekeeper.
Enter your Gatekeeper's IP address and select Specify. As soon as the Gatekeeper chats up the ViaVideo, the display echos "Registration was successful" and adds the port:1719 designation.
As mentioned above, the User Name becomes the 'H.323 Name' (alias). This is handled differently on the Viewstation and the Tandberg products.
If your endpoint is refused by the Gatekeeper, be sure you don't have punctuation marks in the username field.
One last item: On the Directory page, there is a check box for "Dial Using H.323 Extension when Connected to a Gatekeeper."
Most firewalls will not allow your endpoint to register with the Polycom GAB as shown here. UNcheck the Register box if you receive an error. I have not found a way around this.
Polycom Viewstation-FX
Viewstation General Setup screen. These screen shots are from the Web interface.
The Viewstation-FX allows for differing System Name, Host Name, and H.323 Name (alias). On these screens I have made them all slightly different for demonstration purposes, but in practice I think you would make them all the same, don't you?
The Viewstation System Name is set from this screen. I don't yet know why they make a distinction between the System Name and Host Name. If for nothing else, the System Name appears at the top of each screen...
H.323 Setup page. The cASe-seNSItive H.323 Name (alias) shown here is different than the System Name (above) and Host Name seen below.
The H.323 Extension is the E.164 ID number unique to a particular endpoint. Within the CENIC dialling plan SLO's dialling prefix is 215000xxxx, where xxxx is a number selected by the campus (me) to be unique to a particular endpoint. In the endpoint shown here, I have chosen '1063.' Therefore, the CENIC dialling string for this endpoint is 2150001063. (subject to change)
Therefore, far-end sites should be able to dial either sloroom25b or 2150001063 to establish a call to this endpoint. This alias is resolved by the Gatekeeper to the current IP address of the endpoint.
On the Viewstations, the Host Name is the name which will be displayed on the far-end site's monitor(s) to identify your site, as well as the name added to address books.
The Viewstation Host Name is not the dialing Alias. That's what the H.323 Name is for (below).
Again, either the H.323 Name or the H.323 Extension could be used to dial this system.
Remember, the H.323 Name is case sensitive when used for dialling, so to make it easier on folks should we use all lower case? I may not, just to be ornery...
The other items are used to configure an IP>ISDN Gateway.
PLEASE
DO NOT test dial this system
without checking with me first!
Tandberg 880
Revised 12 April 2004.
Note:
On Tandberg systems the System Name is not the H.323 Alias.
H.323 Alias required by the Gatekeeper must be
configured via Telnet session.
Screen shots from the Web interface.
Config > Settings > Utilities screen.
System Name here, as with the Viewstation, is only the name displayed on the far-end's monitor(s).
You must also configure an H.323 Alias via Telnet session (see below).
Config > Networks > H.323 Settings screen.
Note: 'E.164 Alias' on the Tandberg is equivalent to the 'H.323 Extension' on the Viewstation. This is where your CENIC numeric address goes.
The term 'Alias' is poor usage here, as the Tandberg will not allow an alphabetic alias name in this field. (Ops version E2.2. I believe this has been changed in later versions)
H.323 Prefix is a Tandberg address book config not related to Gatekeeper setup.
The Tandberg Web client and hand held remote allows for entry of the 10-digit CENIC dialling address as shown above, but not the required H.323 Alias. The H.323 Alias must be configured from a Telnet session as shown for this room system. In this case, the *P prompt is feedback from my CODEC, showing me my existing configurations for both.
The simple command to set this
Alias was:
h323alias id CalPoly124
In this example, I have entered a space between Cal and Poly for the System Name, configured on the Utilities page, to differentiate it from the ID/Alias.
Call me if you need assistance. (805)756-7197