Service Policies

The ITS Video Network Services (VNS) group has created these policies to provide QoS and manageability of the statewide IP video network and its connected sites.

Sites that wish to participate in the Video over IP service will purchase either an unlimited service or adhoc service.  Both offerings will adhere to the following policies mentioned in this document.

Monthly video subscription and hourly usage services include:

Scheduler access (VNS Scheduler)
Help desk support (Available only if the session is scheduled)
Quality of Service (QoS)
Multipoint conferencing unit access (ITS MCU)
Gatekeeper registration

Video endpoint systems that are connected to the Video over IP service will be assigned Quality of Service and will receive the highest priority across the state network.  QoS policy is based on simultaneous 384 Kbps sessions.  ITS will need to know exactly how many simultaneous video over IP connections will be needed in order to match the QoS policy to the circuit size.

Sites wishing to utilize QoS with the Video over IP service will need to order an ITS DS-1, 3mbps, or 6mbps circuit.   A new router will be provided and have two Ethernet ports.  One Ethernet port will be assigned for the site’s LAN data.  In order to utilize the existing IP addresses of a site, the site’s existing IP addresses and schemes will need to be communicated to ITS and built into the LAN Ethernet port.  The other Ethernet port will be assigned to support ITS certified video endpoints only.  The video segment will be assigned up to 5 IP addresses, enough to support 5 video endpoints.  IP addresses will be assigned to specific endpoints, as needed when ordering Video over IP service. 

ITS will manage the router configuration and the built in firewall for the video Ethernet port. If a firewall is needed on the other Ethernet port it must be ordered as a separate service or in most cases supplied by the site. 

ITS will assign PC based endpoints with unique IP addresses and specific access rules.  All PC based endpoints will need to be scheduled using the VNS scheduler and connect through the ITS MCU.  If a PC based endpoint needs to connect to non- ITS Video network site, the non- ITS Video network site will need to meet the PC based endpoint at the MCU.  Certification of the non- ITS video network site will be needed in advance.

If you are planning on using a video endpoint appliance (Tandberg, Polycom etc.), ITS will assign a unique IP address to the specific appliance.  An appliance based endpoint will be able to establish connectivity to any public site on or off the ITS Video network.  In order to utilize ITS help desk support and maintain QoS, the VNS scheduler and the ITS MCU must be used.  Dialing direct to non-PC based endpoints is possible but highly discouraged since help desk support and QOS will not be possible.

All sessions should be scheduled as dial-in whenever possible.  Sites will have a speed dial profile configured on their video endpoint that will dial the IP cards of the video bridge for connection to the scheduled conference.  If a session disconnects, the site is capable of reconnecting into the session.

Quality of Service will be available on a site-by-site basis as it is being implemented.  It is important to realize that sites that are not on the state’s QoS network or sites that have not implemented quality of service configurations cannot be guaranteed to connect with reliable quality.  Off network sites that have sufficient bandwidth without excessive data contention may exhibit good quality one time but not the next.

All sites purchasing ITS Video over IP services will be registered to the ITS gatekeeper.  A unique E.164 alias and IP address will be assigned to your video endpoint. The E.164 and IP address are non transferable and will not work if moved to other endpoints. Dialing will be accomplished by using the VNS scheduler. In order to achieve QoS, a session must use the VNS scheduler and the ITS MCU.

Each site that subscribes to the ITS Video over IP service will be certified for operation on the VNS video network.  Certification is needed to ensure that all network, video, firewall, and hardware are configured for optimal performance.  Connections to video endpoints, MCU, the gatekeeper, and gateways, are thoroughly tested prior to the first live event on the network.  Dial-in and dial-out testing is also performed to identify any limitations or problems that may affect your video conferencing sessions.  All information including serial numbers and passwords collected during certification of your endpoint are stored securely at ITS for future reference.

It is recommended that prior to scheduling a certification, your video endpoint is at a location that will not be changed.  Certification to use the video network is not only given to the video endpoint but the entire network connection including network switches, routers, firewalls, cabling, and circuits.  An endpoint is certified with a specific E.164 and it’s matching IP address.  Changing the E.164 and or IP address between different endpoints will not work.  Each endpoint is considered unique and certified with a specific configuration.  Access rules will be built in the router for the specific IP address.  PC based endpoints and appliance based endpoints will have different rules.

If any of the information above changes, re-certification will be needed to test ensure that future conferences are launched at an acceptable quality level.  A re-certification fee may be incurred if the site was responsible for the change that caused errors.