LAN Configuration
On local area networks (your campus or building network), Category-5 (or better) horizontal network wiring or fiber optic vertical wiring is necessary. If wiring does not meet the minimum specification, it will be necessary to upgrade it.
ITS Video Network Services recommends a switched 100 Mbps Ethernet connection to all video conferencing end-points. Switched Ethernet provides a more reliable connection for your data traffic than data hubs.
ITS Video Network Services does not recommend the use of hubs for IP video applications. The most common connection from a campus desktop to the network in the past has been through a device called a hub, which provides a shared Ethernet connection. Unfortunately, shared Ethernet is a "party line" communications system in which every packet sent to or received from any computer plugged in to the hub is echoed to every connected device. When one computer is sending or receiving data, it is given sole access to the network and the other devices are blocked temporarily. This system works well enough if there are only a small number of devices sharing the hub, and if the data being transferred varies in size and is not time sensitive. Since videoconferencing involves a continuing, bi-directional stream of traffic that is time-sensitive, use of a hub tends to degrade performance.
IP video service rates are defined with 384 Kbps as a default speed for all videoconferences. The VNS Web Scheduler and MCU can also support different speed rates such as 128 Kbps and 256 Kbps. If there is a mixture of sites with different speed capabilities, the MCU uses transcoding to bridge the different rates together.
The IP connection must provide enough bandwidth to support IP video applications. For a 384 Kbps videoconference you will need roughly 460 Kbps of bandwidth, full duplex through your network. All videoconferencing must be done over full duplex 100 Mbps LAN connections when possible.
Duplex mismatch is the number one cause of packet loss and video freezing. The switch port that an end-point is connected to match the end-point Ethernet card setting. When possible, both the end point port and the switch port must be hard-coded to match duplex and speed capabilities. ITS Video Network Services will assist the client to make certain that duplex settings match switch settings. ITS Video Network Services recommends locking down switch ports either to 100 full duplex or to 10 half duplex.
This illustration is a guideline for configuring your video endpoint on your local area network. In most cases, higher quality switches have ports that can be hard-coded. Lower cost consumer grade switches have auto detect ports in most cases. Consumer grade switches must be avoided.
On local area networks (your campus or building network), Category-5 (or better) horizontal network wiring or fiber optic vertical wiring is necessary. If wiring does not meet the minimum specification, it will be necessary to upgrade it.
ITS Video Network Services recommends a switched 100 Mbps Ethernet connection to all video conferencing end-points. Switched Ethernet provides a more reliable connection for your data traffic than data hubs.
ITS Video Network Services does not recommend the use of hubs for IP video applications. The most common connection from a campus desktop to the network in the past has been through a device called a hub, which provides a shared Ethernet connection. Unfortunately, shared Ethernet is a "party line" communications system in which every packet sent to or received from any computer plugged in to the hub is echoed to every connected device. When one computer is sending or receiving data, it is given sole access to the network and the other devices are blocked temporarily. This system works well enough if there are only a small number of devices sharing the hub, and if the data being transferred varies in size and is not time sensitive. Since videoconferencing involves a continuing, bi-directional stream of traffic that is time-sensitive, use of a hub tends to degrade performance.
IP video service rates are defined with 384 Kbps as a default speed for all videoconferences. The VNS Web Scheduler and MCU can also support different speed rates such as 128 Kbps and 256 Kbps. If there is a mixture of sites with different speed capabilities, the MCU uses transcoding to bridge the different rates together.
The IP connection must provide enough bandwidth to support IP video applications. For a 384 Kbps videoconference you will need roughly 460 Kbps of bandwidth, full duplex through your network. All videoconferencing must be done over full duplex 100 Mbps LAN connections when possible.
Duplex mismatch is the number one cause of packet loss and video freezing. The switch port that an end-point is connected to match the end-point Ethernet card setting. When possible, both the end point port and the switch port must be hard-coded to match duplex and speed capabilities. ITS Video Network Services will assist the client to make certain that duplex settings match switch settings. ITS Video Network Services recommends locking down switch ports either to 100 full duplex or to 10 half duplex.
This illustration is a guideline for configuring your video endpoint on your local area network. In most cases, higher quality switches have ports that can be hard-coded. Lower cost consumer grade switches have auto detect ports in most cases. Consumer grade switches must be avoided.
