|
In a climate rife with so much merging -- data and voice, collaboration
and video, gateways and routers -- corporations are seeking an efficient way
to administer and manage their entire IP network. For VoIP management,
gatekeepers allow H.323 calls from one endpoint to be registered and passed
though to another endpoint, as long as the gateways, IP phones, etc., are
compatible with that particular gateway.
Administrative, management, and monitoring features are usually available
with gatekeepers. However, most often, these gatekeepers are equipped only
to handle VoIP audio calls, thus not allowing for the full potential of
interactive and centrally networked communications. VCON's Media Xchange
Manager (MXM) is a software solution that acts as a centrally managed video
conferencing H.323 gatekeeper. It supports a wide range of equipment,
including Multipoint Control Units (MCU), gateways, and video endpoints,
such as VCON's ViGO personal conferencing appliance. Furthermore, an
administrative GUI can be installed onto any PC on the network so that
management and monitoring functions can be achieved remotely.
INSTALLATION
For TMC Labs to test the MXM properly, VCON sent us two ViGO video
conferencing systems so that we could see all of the functionality that the
MXM software had to offer (there is extra functionality that works
exclusively with the ViGO system). We first installed the MXM software onto
NT Server 4.0 by following a few simple procedures. We then set up the ViGO
systems on two Windows 98 PCs. With all the connections in place, with the
exception of the camera connected to the PC's USB port, we installed ViGO's
software (MeetingPoint 4.5) without a problem. The equipment for the ViGO
and camera detected right after we plugged the USB connection and turned on
the ViGO, and the drivers were installed. We then registered with the MXM. A
dialog box appeared upon opening the software. We entered the NT Server's IP
address and the appropriate password and were successfully logged in and
registered. All in all, the installation for the MXM and ViGO took less than
a half an hour to accomplish.
There was an instance where we had an issue, and MeetingPoint would not
open. We attempted to reboot the Windows 98 PC, but the same issue occurred.
When shutting down the ViGO and waiting a few seconds before turning it on,
we saw our PC reinitialize the USB camera. Afterwards, we were able to open
MeetingPoint. When questioning a VCON representative about this, he
reassured us that this issue was a rare occurrence. Of course, we tend to
find these occurrences for some reason. Fortunately, the issue did not
happen again.
To install a new version of MeetingPoint, the old version must be
uninstalled from your PC. There is no upgrade functionality for MeetingPoint
currently available.
DOCUMENTATION
To say that VCON's printed and online documentation is impressive is an
understatement. We had trouble finding anything wrong with it at all. The
printed material consisted of MXM installation notes, an administrator's
guide, and an endpoints guide. The guides have a well-organized table of
contents, an abundant amount of readable screenshots, and well-detailed
information. The administrator's guide also includes an index.
Frankly speaking, the help files for both the MXM and the ViGO are among
the best we have seen. We did not receive the ViGO printed documentation,
but the help files were so good that we did not miss the printed material.
The help files give detailed information on just about any MXM or ViGO topic
and are contact sensitive to the point of going right to the topic needed. A
user could find the information they need almost instantaneously. (Now, if
only we saw this type of excellent documentation for all products...)
FEATURES
While we may mention some of the features of the ViGO personal conferencing
appliance in this review, it is the MXM that is the focus. The following is
a list of the major features of the MXM:
- Centralized Administration -- remote endpoint configuration and
identification of equipment, dial plans, and remote GUI with secure,
mobile access to support multiple consoles and servers; perform
configuration, management, and administrative functions.
- Centralized Management -- conversation status monitoring, event
logging, H.323 V2 compliant gatekeeper with registration and admission
control and address translation capabilities.
- Directory Services -- LDAP interface to Novell NDS and Microsoft
Exchange Server, Active Directory, and ILS directories.
- Gateway Dialing -- delimiter to signify gateway calls and gateway hunt
groups.
- Reporting -- history log of all conversations, exportable call detail
reports, customizable history period for each severity level.
- Quality of Service (QoS) -- bandwidth limits, IP Precedence and
DiffServ settings, maximum packet size settings, and RTP port range
configuration.
- Telephony Services with Video -- ACD functionality, call forward, call
transfer, call pickup, and hunt groups.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
After installing the MXM server software onto NT Server 4.0, the MXM
Administrator is all that remains; this can be run from a Windows 98/NT/2000
PC. This GUI is extremely user friendly, using most Windows conventions,
which is extremely important for a product such as this one. The main
portion of the administrator interface is done in a hierarchal manner with
number/IP address and the connection status on the right side of the screen.
About the only minor aspect of the GUI that we might improve is to allow the
resizing of the Properties dialog box. Otherwise, the GUI is nearly
flawless.
When we registered our endpoints with the gatekeeper and logged on as an
administrator, we immediately saw a listing for them with the ViGO systems
listed separately from the rest of the H.323 endpoints. When clicking on MXM's
Properties settings we saw that the ViGO interface included more features
than that of the H.323 end points. The other H.323 equipment allowed for the
general MXM properties such as call forwarding, numbers and network
addresses, bandwidth control, pickup permissions, LDAP preferences, and the
viewing of the event log.
Additional ViGO properties that can be adjusted via the MXM Administrator
consist of conversation, calls, user data, communication, hardware, and
advanced preferences. Through these properties, settings including video,
data, audio, camera, ringing, interactive multicast calls, LAN, and QoS
options could be altered to ensure better call quality and video while still
managing the network. Features that can be applied here include application
sharing, a choice between using MeetingPoint and NetMeeting, auto-answering
calls, audio through the speakers or headphones, and controlling the
bandwidth use of calls being made offline.
With these settings in place, we attempted some VoIP calls through the
MXM, which was acting as a gatekeeper. We first placed simple calls between
the ViGO systems. With MeetingPoint, we dialed through the MXM across our
LAN. We were able to hold a conversation and see both the local and remote
video. On some calls, the video was slow but the quality was usually quite
good. Sometimes, due to network congestion, the bandwidth had to be lowered
in order to continue a clear conversation. While there was some echo and
latency, the audio quality was acceptable. Performing transfers and
interactive multicast conferencing are features of the ViGO systems using
the H.450 protocol and can be monitored by the MXM, but we did not have a
third ViGO to test these features. However, we are pretty confident that
possessing a third ViGO system on our network would have allowed us to
establish and manage a three-way video conference call. Since the MXM
supports MCUs, video conferencing can also be established by this method.
We then added NetMeeting into the equation and connected a call to a ViGO
through the MXM gatekeeper. These calls also functioned well. We contrasted
the older camera's video with the newer ViGO's camera, and the difference
was striking. The picture from the newer camera was far superior. The ViGO
also had noticeably less audio delay than that of the NetMeeting client.
While we proved that these calls were interoperable, we could not transfer
or conference a call using NetMeeting as the third party. The call
transferred or conferenced our NetMeeting client but could not complete the
audio connection. This happened because NetMeeting does not support the
H.450 protocol.
For more interoperability testing, we registered Watney/Sun Forum 3.2
software that was running on a Solaris server and used it as an endpoint. We
had no problem registering this endpoint with the MXM, but we could not
complete a call with either a ViGO or with NetMeeting. The calls connected
and video was obtained on both ends, but we could not receive audio. There
were times when we could hear the other end for a brief second but then the
call disconnected. At other times, we could see the remote video on our end
but still retained no audio. We also tried this same call using a generic
gatekeeper from UniData and successfully performed video, audio, and
collaboration functions. This proved that our problem was a compatibility
issue between the MXM or ViGO and the Sun Forum software, but in what
capacity we were not sure. We figured that the problem was most likely due
to the incompatibility of the audio compression codec being used (G.723).
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Virtually all of our suggestions to improve the MXM have to do with
interoperability, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest issues facing the
Internet telephony industry. The MXM is great when it comes to registering
H.323 products and excels when other VCON products are used with it.
However, there is not nearly as much management functionality when it comes
to other H.323 endpoints and the VoIP calls made from or to these endpoints
may have trouble completing. Improving their H.323 endpoint compatibility as
well as adding the G.729 audio compression codec would help the audio
aspects, which was of the most primary concern during our tests. We would
also love to see the ability for the MXM to be interoperable with other
gatekeepers. This would bring the art of management to a whole new level. In
addition, we would also like to see the Maximum Xchange Manager work on
Windows 2000. While the MXM Administrator works with any Windows operating
system, the main server manager software only works with Windows NT 4.0
Server.
CONCLUSION
For their first version of the product, VCON got most things right with the
Media Xchange Manager. With its quick installation, user-friendly
administrator, and excellent management capabilities, the MXM is certainly a
product worthy of consideration with any company using video conferencing
and VoIP equipment and needing to effectively manage their network. And with
their dedication to interoperability efforts to match, subsequent versions
of the MXM product should prove even more agreeable. For these reasons and
for the innovations inherent within, we honor the MXM with our Editor's
Choice Award.
[ Return
To The June 2001 Table Of Contents ]
|
SUBSCRIPTIONS
TMCnet LOGIN
WEBINARS
