PictureTel330 N ETC ONFERENCE M ULTIPOINT S ERVER. User s Guide

Transcription

1 PictureTel330 TM N ETC ONFERENCE M ULTIPOINT S ERVER User s Guide

2 Copyright 1999: PictureTel Corporation Printed in U.S.A. PictureTel Corporation, 100 Minuteman Road, Andover, MA PictureTel is a registered trademark of PictureTel Corporation. The PictureTel logo, PictureTel 330, LiveManager, LiveGateway, SwiftSite, Live100, and LiveLAN are trademarks of PictureTel Corporation. TeamStation and ProShare are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Internet Explorer and NetMeeting are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netscape is a registered trademark of Netscape Corporation. Navigator is a trademark of Netscape Corporation. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. PictureTel assumes no responsibility for technical or editorial errors or omissions that may appear in this document or for the use of this material. Nor does PictureTel make any commitment to update the information contained in this document. This document contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied or reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of PictureTel Corporation. Edition: /A Customer order number: DOC-NETC-USER Do you have any suggestions or comments on the documentation you received with NetConference? If so, please send them by to idesign@pictel.com.

3 Contents About This Guide... v Chapter 1 Introducing NetConference What Is NetConference? NetConference Concepts Rooms Public and Reserved Seats More Room Continuous Presence Mode NetConference Web Center Seeing What s Happening Hosting a Meeting NetConference Scheduler Directory Service Chapter 2 NetConference at Work Getting to the NetConference Web Center Selecting a NetConference Room and Holding the Meeting Selecting a Public Room iii

4 Selecting a Reserved Room Hosting a Meeting Naming the Meeting Locking and Unlocking a NetConference Room Adding a Participant to a Meeting Removing Participants Cascading Conference Rooms Selecting a Broadcast Option Participating in a NetConference Meeting Joining the Meeting Leaving the Meeting Appendix A Troubleshooting...A-1 Index...Index-1 iv

5 About This Guide The purpose of this guide is to provide information about PictureTel 330, the NetConference multipoint server. It explains how to use the NetConference Web Center to host meetings and how to participate in video, audio, or data conferences in a NetConference room. This guide assumes you are familiar with personal computers, Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows-based applications, and web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. For support or service, please contact your PictureTel service provider or call PictureTel Technical Support. You can find phone numbers for Technical Support in your area at the PictureTel web site, v

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7 Introducing NetConference

8 This chapter describes: What NetConference is NetConference concepts The NetConference Web Center The NetConference Scheduler What the directory service is

9 1 Introducing NetConference PictureTel NetConference is a new way of using videoconferencing in your organization. It offers an easy and flexible way to schedule, host, and participate in video meetings with groups of various sizes. It allows several groups to meet at the same time, giving each group its own meeting space. What Is NetConference? NetConference is an innovative system for managing multi-site video meetings. It s a server that connects to your network and manages the video, audio, and data sharing for each meeting. As many as 24 videoconferencing systems can connect at the same time to participate in one large meeting or several smaller meetings. 1-1

10 INTRODUCING NETCONFERENCE As needed, you can add more NetConference servers to your network. Each one you add accommodates another 8 or 24 videoconferencing endpoints, depending on the software license. Anyone on your organization s intranet or the Internet can use NetConference as long as they have a compatible desktop videoconferencing system, such as PictureTel LiveLAN, Intel TeamStation or ProShare, or Microsoft NetMeeting. These are called H.323 clients because of the technical standards they comply with. Someone with a compatible ISDN-based videoconferencing system such as PictureTel SwiftSite or Live100 can also use NetConference, if your network includes an appropriate gateway. Compatible systems are called H.320 clients, and they connect through an H.320-to-H.323 gateway. Your meetings aren t limited to video and audio. You can easily share computer applications, documents, and graphics to work collaboratively and to enhance your words with pictures. Any system compatible with the T.120 standard such as LiveLAN or NetMeeting can share data in this way. As you meet, NetConference manages the meeting for you, automatically showing the person who is speaking. It makes your multipoint meeting as straightforward as a point-to-point meeting. At the same time, it gives you control when you need it, to start and run the meeting in an orderly way. 1-2

11 NetConference Concepts NetConference Concepts Rooms When you use NetConference, you can think about multipoint video meetings in the same way as you think about traditional meetings in conference rooms. You meet in a room that has a certain number of seats available. If you need extra seats for your meeting, NetConference automatically adds these seats if they are available. You can reserve a room so that you know it will be available for your meeting. After a meeting is under way, you can lock the room so that no one else can join. For an impromptu meeting, you can look for a vacant public room and use it without a reservation. You avoid the extra work of setting up a traditional multipoint videoconference, and multi-site meetings become just as easy as any point-to-point video call. You hold traditional meetings in rooms. With NetConference, you hold video meetings in rooms too virtual rooms that you enter when you want to join the meeting and leave when the meeting is over. Each room has its own name and an optional terminal ID number (like a telephone extension). You can also name your meeting for example, Bill s Status Meeting so that it is easily identified. This information is assigned either by your NetConference administrator using the administrator s console, or by any user with appropriate privileges using the NetConference Web Center. Public and Reserved Some meetings happen on the spur of the moment; others need to be scheduled in advance. So NetConference allows for both public and reserved rooms. A public room is available for your use without making a reservation. User s who have been given appropriate privileges or your NetConference administrator determine whether or not a public room can be locked. 1-3

12 INTRODUCING NETCONFERENCE A reserved room offers several privacy and control features that a public room lacks: You can use the NetConference Scheduler to book a reserved room for your exclusive use and to clear the room at the scheduled time if the previous meeting is running late. A reserved room has a password, which the room scheduler can change from meeting to meeting. The password lets you manage the meeting in the room and allows you to: See who is participating in the meeting Remove a participant from the room (in case someone calls in to a meeting by mistake, or a participant is called away but neglects to hang up) Your NetConference administrator, or a user with appropriate privileges, can set up a reserved room so that it locks automatically when a meeting is over. Seats A NetConference room has no walls, but it does have a seating capacity. The person who hosts the meeting chooses a room with the appropriate number of seats. To allow for extra participants beyond a room s normal capacity, you or your NetConference administrator may assign a few overflow seats, shown as extra seats in the NetConference Web Center like extra chairs sitting in the hallway. Then, if a room is full and someone else joins the meeting, NetConference automatically brings an extra seat into the room for the new participant. When someone leaves the room, the extra seat returns to the hallway and becomes available for another room to use. Note: You or your NetConference administrator could set up the rooms to have no seats and assign all seats as extra seats. As participants join the meeting, NetConference automatically adds the extra seats to the room. 1-4

13 NetConference Concepts A single NetConference server has a total capacity of either 8 or 24 seats. You or your NetConference administrator can set up rooms and seats in any combination. For example, here is one possible seating arrangement for a 24-seat server: More Room Two reserved rooms, one with four seats and one with eight Two public rooms, one with three seats and one with five Four extra seats If one NetConference server doesn t offer enough rooms and seats for your organization, your administrator can add more servers. Each one gives you 8 or 24 more seats and the rooms to go with them. However, you still can t put more than 24 seats in a single room. Large organizations with offices in several locations can distribute servers among their facilities to make the most of their network and to avoid bottlenecks. You or your administrator can even cascade conference rooms located on different servers to increase the number of available seats for a meeting. Cascading is covered on page 2-18 of this book. You may also refer to the NetConference Installation and Administration Guide or the NetConference Administrator s Console online help for more information about cascading conference rooms. 1-5

14 INTRODUCING NETCONFERENCE Continuous Presence Mode Some videoconferencing systems support Continuous Presence mode. When Continuous Presence mode is turned on, each site in the conference that can receive H.261 CIF video (and that is configured to accept Continuous Presence mode) displays four sites simultaneously on their video display area. The video display area is divided into four quadrants, as shown below. Site 1 Site 2 (Broadcaster) Site 3 Site 4 When a conference begins, the first four sites to enter the conference are displayed, one in each quadrant. Once the conference gets underway, the broadcaster (that is, the site that is or was most recently speaking) plus the three next most recent speakers are the four sites displayed at any given time. 1-6

15 NetConference Web Center For example, in a conference with eight sites, the first four sites that enter the conference are displayed first (so, sites 1 through 4). The first site to enter the conference (site 1) is designated as the broadcaster. If site number 7 is the next to speak, it replaces the site that has not been speaking the longest, so it replaces site 4. Site 1 Site 2 (Broadcaster) Site 3 Site 7 (replaces Site 4) Your NetConference administrator can enable Continuous Presence mode either through the NetConference Administrator s Console or through the NetConference Web Center. NetConference Web Center To participate in a NetConference meeting, you need nothing more than your compatible videoconferencing system. But to get information about a NetConference room or to host a meeting, you use a web page called the NetConference Web Center. 1-7

16 INTRODUCING NETCONFERENCE Seeing What s Happening The NetConference Web Center lets you see: Hosting a Meeting Lists of public and reserved NetConference rooms, with their current meeting names, ID numbers, seating information, and server location Information about the participants in any public room Information about the participants in a reserved room, if you know the room s password If the room is configured for Voice Activated or Moderator Controlled broadcasting The NetConference Web Center also lets you do the things involved in hosting a meeting. It gives you just the measure of control you need to be an effective host to get the meeting going and keep it moving in an orderly way. For a meeting in a public room, you can: Name the meeting Join the meeting by clicking the Connect ME! button Add someone to the meeting by calling out to that person s videoconferencing system Lock the door so that no more participants can join, if the room is set up to be lockable Select a broadcaster For a meeting in a reserved room, if you know the password, you can: Name the meeting Join the meeting by clicking the Connect ME! button Add someone to the meeting by calling out to that person s videoconferencing system Lock the door so that no more participants can join Remove a participant from the room Clear the room of all participants Select a broadcast option (Voice Activated or Moderator Controlled) 1-8

17 NetConference Scheduler To use the NetConference Web Center, you need to know its location on your network. You also need a web browser with Java support enabled, such as a recent version of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. See your NetConference administrator, the NetConference Release Bulletin, or the NetConference Data Sheet for a list of supported browsers. NetConference Scheduler You could schedule a NetConference meeting in the traditional way, by phoning or ing everyone involved and making the arrangements for time and place and somehow making sure that no one else is planning to use the same room at the same time. Or, you can use the NetConference Scheduler through the Web Center to make your life easier by automating that process. It helps you avoid scheduling conflicts, assuring that the right room will be available when you need it. The Scheduler has built-in security features so that only authorized people can do the scheduling. The Scheduler also enhances your control over reserved rooms. For example, you can easily assign unique passwords to schedule individual meetings, and you can have the Scheduler notify meeting participants when their scheduled time is almost up. The Scheduler documentation explains all the details. Directory Service You can use Directory Service through the NetConference Web Center to display information about videoconferencing systems on your network. This service identifies online PictureTel LiveLAN and Microsoft NetMeeting systems, and shows their terminal names and aliases so that you can call them easily. Directory services can also extend to the Internet, making it easier to find and connect to other systems around the world. In addition, Microsoft NetMeeting users can use the directory service to establish point-to-point calls to other systems simply by selecting the system from the directory service. 1-9

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19 NetConference at Work

20 This chapter provides information on how to: Start the NetConference Web Center Select a NetConference room for a meeting Host a meeting Participate in a meeting

21 2 NetConference at Work To have a meeting in a NetConference room: Select a room for the meeting. If you are having an impromptu meeting, use the NetConference Web Center to find a public room. If you want to schedule a meeting for a specific time, use the NetConference Scheduler to select a reserved room or contact the person who can reserve one for you. Provide the meeting participants with room information for calling into the meeting. Join the meeting and have the other participants join the meeting by using videoconferencing clients or systems. Host the meeting, using the NetConference Web Center. Getting to the NetConference Web Center To use the NetConference Web Center, you need: A web browser with Java support enabled, such as a recent version of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. For a list of supported browsers and recommended preference settings, contact your NetConference administrator or refer to the online NetConference Release Notes available from the NetConference Web Center. The location (URL) of the NetConference Web Center at your site. You can get the location from your NetConference administrator. 2-1

22 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK To begin: Start your web browser and enter the URL for the NetConference Web Center. The main window of the NetConference Web Center appears. Note: Be sure to bookmark the URL for the NetConference Web Center in your web browser for future use. The menu on the left side of this window lets you access the following features: Overview shows information about NetConference. Public Rooms lists the public rooms on the available NetConference servers. From this window, you can select a room and then host the meeting. 2-2

23 Selecting a NetConference Room and Holding the Meeting Reserved Rooms lists the reserved rooms on the available NetConference servers. From this window, you can select a room and then host the meeting, provided that you have the room password. Administration allows people with NetConference administrator privileges to perform NetConference system tasks. For information on how to use this feature, refer to the NetConference Installation and Administration Guide. Schedule accesses the NetConference Scheduler tool for scheduling a reserved room for a specific time and date, and modifying its password. Directory Service lists the terminal names and aliases for H.323 clients, registered with a directory service such as Internet Locator Server (ILS), that are currently up and running on your LAN or intranet. Selecting a NetConference Room and Holding the Meeting The purpose of your meeting can determine which type of NetConference room is best to use. NetConference provides two types of rooms: A public room is open to anyone who wants to use it, at any time A reserved room requires a password to host a meeting from the NetConference Web Center and should be reserved by using the NetConference Scheduler. This room allows you to have a private meeting, preventing people from seeing who s in the room. Note: You or your NetConference administrator determine how many public or reserved rooms are available. 2-3

24 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK Selecting a Public Room To select a public room: 1. Start your web browser and enter the location (URL) of the NetConference Web Center. The main window of the NetConference Web Center appears. 2. Click Public Rooms from the NetConference Web Center menu. The NetConference Public Rooms window appears, listing all public rooms. 3. Click Seats to determine which rooms are available. NetConference sorts the rooms. The empty rooms, in which none of the seats are in use, appear at the top of the list (a room shown as 0 of 5 has five seats and none of them are occupied). 2-4

25 Selecting a NetConference Room and Holding the Meeting 4. Find an empty room that has enough seats for your participants. For example, if you and three other participants (sites) will be calling into the meeting, choose a room with four seats. When there are more participants than seats in a room, click on the room and see if there are any extra seats displayed in the information field below the participants box. When all of the seats in a room are occupied but there is an extra seat, NetConference will automatically give the seat to the next participant joining the meeting. 5. If you have several rooms to choose from, find one at a location that s near you. To see if there is a room available on a server located close to you and the other participants, check the Location column. 2-5

26 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK 6. Click on the room to select it. The room is highlighted, and additional menu options become available. 7. Contact the participants and give them the room s name or terminal ID, and have them call into the meeting using their conferencing application. You must provide NetMeeting users with the server name and room name. Participants can use either the name of the room or its terminal ID to call into the meeting. A participant using an H.320 system must call the number to the gateway, and then enter the terminal ID for the room. T I P Instead of having participants call into the meeting, you can add the participants yourself (see Adding a Participant to a Meeting on page 2-14). As the participants call into the meeting, the participants box lists them, the types of conferencing tools they support (audio is always required, but video and data sharing are optional), and their current status. T I P NetConference automatically updates the room information in this window. To update this information immediately yourself, click Update Display from the NetConference Web Center menu. Do not use the web browser s Reload button to update the Web Center. 2-6

27 Selecting a NetConference Room and Holding the Meeting 8. If you re attending the meeting, start your videoconferencing software and call into the meeting (see page 2-20) or add yourself as a participant to the meeting (see page 2-14). The NetConference Web Center can remain on your computer s desktop as you participate in the meeting. To host the meeting, see Hosting a Meeting on page Selecting a Reserved Room If you need to have a meeting at a specific day and time, select a reserved room. To select a reserved room: 1. Determine how many people will be attending the meeting, and the day and times they are available. 2. Do one of the following: If you have access to the NetConference Scheduler tool, use it to reserve a room. If you do not have access to the NetConference Scheduler tool, contact the person in your organization who reserves rooms. Either way, to select the appropriate room, determine: How many participants (sites) will attend the meeting When you want to have the meeting and its duration The room password you want to use, if you want to define your own room password to host the meeting The name of the meeting (optional) For information on using the NetConference Scheduler, refer to the NetConference Scheduler User s Guide. 3. Contact the participants who will attend the meeting. Call them or them with the following information: The room s name, terminal ID, and its server name, or IP address 2-7

28 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK The time of the meeting (include your time zone for participants in other zones) T I P The NetConference Scheduler provides this information to you when it notifies you of your room reservation by . You can forward this to your participants. You won t need to do anything else until it s almost time for the meeting. 4. At the time of the meeting, start your web browser and enter the URL for the NetConference Web Center. The main window of the NetConference Web Center appears. 5. Just after the scheduled time of the meeting, click on Reserved Rooms from the NetConference Web Center menu. The NetConference Reserved Rooms window appears, listing all of the reserved rooms. 2-8

29 Selecting a NetConference Room and Holding the Meeting Note: If you reserved the room through the NetConference Scheduler, you cannot access the room until the scheduled start time. 6. Click on your room to select it. The dialog box for the room password appears. 7. Type the password for the room and click OK. The participants box appears and additional menu options become available. 2-9

30 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK As the participants call into the meeting, the participants box lists them, the types of conferencing tools they support (audio is always required, but video and data sharing are optional), and their current status. T I P NetConference automatically updates the room information in this window. To update this information yourself, click Update Display from the NetConference Web Center menu. Do not use the web browser s Reload button to update the Web Center. 8. Start your videoconferencing software and call into the meeting (see page 2-20) or add yourself as a participant to the meeting (see page 2-14). The NetConference Web Center can stay on your computer s desktop as you participate in the meeting. Now you re ready to host the meeting, as described in the next section. Hosting a Meeting When you host a meeting, you can use the NetConference Web Center to: Name the meeting Lock and unlock the room Add participants to the meeting Remove participants from the meeting (for a reserved room only) Cascade conference rooms Select a broadcast option 2-10

31 Hosting a Meeting Note: To host a meeting in a reserved room, you need to get the room password from the Scheduler. If your organization isn t using the Scheduler tool, contact the NetConference administrator. Naming the Meeting You don t have to name your meeting, but naming it helps participants attending the meeting identify it and it also helps indicate to others that the room is occupied. Note: You can name a meeting in a reserved room through the NetConference Scheduler. At the end of a meeting: In a public room or unscheduled reserved room, you must manually clear the meeting name. NetConference won t automatically clear the names in these rooms. In a scheduled reserved room, the NetConference Scheduler automatically clears the meeting name. To name your meeting: 1. Select the room in the Public Rooms or Reserved Rooms window. If it s a reserved room, enter the room password. 2. Click Change Meeting Name from the NetConference Web Center menu. 2-11

32 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK The dialog box for the meeting name appears. 3. Type the name for the meeting in the Meeting Name field and click OK. T I P It takes about ten seconds for the new name to appear. You can wait, or click Update Display to see the change immediately. The meeting name now appears next to the room s terminal ID. 2-12

33 Hosting a Meeting Locking and Unlocking a NetConference Room You can lock a NetConference room so that no one can call into the room during the meeting. T I P Be aware that a locked public room still allows NetConference Web Center users to view the list of participants in the room. A reserved room s password only gives you the ability to host (control or manage) a meeting in the room by giving you access to certain password-protected features. A reserved room s password doesn t allow you to call into the room when it s locked. To lock a room: 1. Select the room in the Public Rooms or Reserved Rooms window. For a reserved room, the dialog box for the room password appears. Type the password and click OK. 2. Click Lock Conference Room on the NetConference Web Center menu to lock the room. A locked icon appears to the left of the room name, indicating that the room is locked. T I P If you try to lock a public room and the lock icon does not appear next to the room name, the NetConference administrator has configured the room so that it can t be locked. 2-13

34 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK If the room is locked and you want to allow a participant to join the meeting, you can add the participant without unlocking the room or you can unlock the room. To unlock the room: Click Lock Conference Room on the NetConference Web Center menu to unlock the room. The lock icon next to the room name disappears. T I P Remember to relock the room after the participant joins the meeting. Adding a Participant to a Meeting You can use the NetConference Web Center to add a participant to the meeting, whether or not the room is locked. To use the NetConference Web Center to add a participant: 1. Make sure that a seat is available in the room or on the NetConference server. Select the room in the Public Rooms or Reserved Rooms window and note the number of seats in use. If all seats are occupied, check to see if there are any extra seats in the information field below the participants box. 2-14

35 Hosting a Meeting 2. Click Add Participant on the NetConference Web Center menu. The Add Participant dialog box appears. 3. Do the following: If the participant is using... LiveLAN or NetMeeting on the LAN or intranet An H.320 videoconferencing system, such as SwiftSite or Live100 Select this Connection Type... LAN (H.323) (The Address field becomes active.) ISDN (H.320) (The Phone Number fields become active.) Enter... One of the following: The target system s terminal ID The alias registered with the target system s gatekeeper or ILS server The target system s IP address The ISDN phone number for the conferencing system. If there is only one phone number for the system, enter the number in both fields. The transfer rate of the target system. 2-15

36 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK If the participant is using... LiveLAN via an ISDN gateway Select this Connection Type... LAN via ISDN Gateway (The Terminal ID and Phone Number fields become active.) Enter... The target system s terminal ID and the ISDN phone number for the target system s gateway. If there is only one phone number for the gateway, enter the number in both phone number fields. The transfer rate of the target system. Note: To view the H.323 clients currently up and running on the LAN or intranet, click the Directory Service button in the main window of the NetConference Web Center. If the directory service is available and the clients are registered, you ll see a list of terminal names and aliases for these clients. 4. When you re done, click OK. The NetConference server calls the participant s system and connects it to the meeting. When the site is connected, you ll see the participant appear in the participants box. If you have trouble adding participants, try having them call into the meeting. Removing Participants If your meeting is in a reserved room, you may wish to remove one or all participants if, for example: During the meeting, you notice that an unwanted visitor is among your room s list of participants. The meeting is over and some participants haven t left. 2-16

37 Hosting a Meeting The list of participants appears in the participants box below the list of rooms. Removing One Participant from a Room To remove one participant from a reserved room: 1. From the Reserved Rooms window, select the participant you want to remove. 2. Click Remove Participant from the NetConference Web Center menu. 3. When the confirmation dialog box appears, click Yes. NetConference removes the participant from the room. The participant no longer appears in the participants box. Removing All Participants from a Room To remove all participants from a reserved room: 1. From the Reserved Rooms window, select the room. 2. Click Clear Room from the NetConference Web Center menu. 3. When the confirmation dialog box appears, click Yes. NetConference removes all participants from the room. The participants no longer appear in the participants box. 2-17

38 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK Cascading Conference Rooms You can increase the number of seats available for a meeting by connecting (or cascading ) two conference rooms located on different servers. Each conference room in a cascaded meeting is considered a participant in the other room, and each room can have as many other participants as its configuration allows. You can invite any other room to join your conference, as long as it uses the same audio and video settings. The other room can be either occupied (a meeting is already in progress there) or it can be empty. Participants can call in to either room and participants in either room can invite others to join, as long as there are seats available for them. For example, suppose conference room Arctic@Boston (configured for six available seats) is in a cascaded meeting with conference room Atlantic@Seattle (configured for eight available seats). Arctic is a participant in Atlantic's meeting, and Atlantic is a participant in Arctic's meeting. Therefore, the meeting can include a total of 12 participants in addition to the cascaded conference rooms. Just like a connection from a participant to a room, a cascaded connection between rooms exists only as long as the meeting continues. When the meeting ends, the rooms are no longer cascaded. 2-18

39 Hosting a Meeting To cascade (connect) two rooms: 1. From the NetConference Web Center, click the conference room that you want to be cascaded. 2. Click Add Participant. 3. In the New Participant dialog box, choose Alias as the Address Type and enter the name of the conference room you want to call. 4. Click OK. T I P Here are some important things to note for cascaded rooms: If the conference room being called is already hosting a meeting and participants are sharing data, that data is lost when the rooms become cascaded. Data sharing in the room making the call is not affected. Anyone in a cascaded conference can invite others to join the conference, up to the maximum number of available seats on each server. Both rooms must use the same audio and video settings. Because the individual servers may determine who is the current speaker differently, participants connected to one server may not always see the same person as those connected to the other server. Selecting a Broadcast Option NetConference meetings begin in a broadcast mode called voice activated mode. In this mode, any site that speaks is displayed. If two sites speak at the same time, the loudest site is displayed. Voice activated mode is useful when you want all meeting participants to see who is speaking at any time. If you want to choose a particular site to be the broadcaster (the site that is seen by everyone), instead of using voice activated mode, then you should choose Moderator Controlled mode. 2-19

40 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK Once you choose Moderator Controlled mode, you can select the site you want to be broadcaster. As long as you have Moderator Controlled enabled, you are the only participant that can select a broadcaster. When you turn off (release) Moderator Controlled mode, then other participants in the meeting can choose Moderator Controlled mode and thereby select a broadcaster. Only one participant at a time can have moderator control. To select a broadcaster using Moderator Controlled mode: 1. From the NetConference Web Center menu, select the desired conference room. 2. Under Broadcast Options, click Moderator Control. Now the Set Broadcaster button becomes active. 3. Select the participant you want to be the broadcaster. The desired participant is highlighted. 4. Click Set Broadcaster from the NetConference Web Center menu. You see Broadcasting displayed next to the participant you just made the broadcaster. F F.Y.I. Y I Moderator control is not available for Continuous Presence conferences. Participating in a NetConference Meeting When you re invited to a NetConference meeting as a participant, call into the meeting by using your H.323 client or H.320 videoconferencing system. During the meeting, use your conferencing tools as you normally would. When the meeting ends, hang up your call. Joining the Meeting To participate in a NetConference meeting, call into the NetConference room by using your H.323 client or H.320 videoconferencing system. To make the call, you will need the 2-20

41 Participating in a NetConference Meeting NetConference server and room information supplied by your meeting host. F F.Y.I. Y I You cannot join a meeting in a room if the room is locked. If it is, contact the host to unlock the room or ask the host to add you to the meeting. Using an H.323 Client on the LAN or Intranet If you use LiveLAN, enter the NetConference room s name or terminal ID. If you use NetMeeting, enter the server name or IP address for the NetConference server and then select the room. T I P Use the NetConference Web Center to see which room has the meeting name of the meeting you wish to attend. Using an H.320 System To join a NetConference meeting when you re using an H.320 system, such as SwiftSite or Live100: 1. Click the Connect ME! button on the NetConference Web Center menu. 2. Enter the gateway s ISDN number. 3. At the voice prompt for the extension, enter the terminal ID for the room on the NetConference server. 2-21

42 NETCONFERENCE AT WORK Using an H.323 Client Through a Gateway If you re using the LAN-to-LAN ISDN option through LiveLAN: 1. Click the Connect ME! button on the NetConference Web Center menu. 2. Enter the terminal ID for the NetConference room. 3. Enter the telephone number for the NetConference server. If you have only one number, enter this number twice. Leaving the Meeting To leave the meeting, end your call as you normally do. 2-22

43 A Troubleshooting This appendix contains information to help you solve problems you may encounter when you use the NetConference Web Center or participate in a meeting. The following tables list possible problems and steps you can take to try to solve them: Problems using the NetConference Web Center Problems during a meeting A-1

44 TROUBLESHOOTING Problems Using the NetConference Web Center Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action You can t access the NetConference Web Center on the web. You can t add a participant. Wrong location (URL) for the NetConference Web Center. Server name (alias) and IP address has not been registered with the organization DNS service (Domain Name Server). The NetConference Web Center isn t running. The corporate firewall doesn t allow http traffic to the web server. No extra seats. Wrong network address for the participant. Wrong alias name for the participant. The participant isn t registered with the gatekeeper. The participant is out of the gatekeeper zone. Contact your NetConference administrator for the correct location. Contact your NetConference administrator who can register the server name and IP address with the appropriate organization. Contact your NetConference administrator. Contact your NetConference administrator. You may also check to see if the generic NT web server is running. Wait until a seat is available before adding a participant. Check the number of extra seats from the NetConference Web Center. Contact the participant to verify the address. Contact the participant to verify the name. If you know the participant s IP address, use this address when adding the participant. If you know the participant s IP address, use this address when adding the participant. A-2

45 Problems Using the NetConference Web Center (Continued) Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action You can t add a participant. (continued) You can t lock a public room. The participant can t support the audio mode configured for the conference room. The NetConference administrator has defined the room as a public room that can t be locked. Do one of the following: Select or reserve a room that supports all of the audio modes used by the participants. Ask the participant to reconfigure the client s preferences to the audio mode of the conference room. If you know the audio mode, ask the NetConference administrator to set up a conference room that supports this mode. No corrective action. A-3

46 TROUBLESHOOTING Problems During a Meeting Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action You can t call into the meeting. The room may be locked. Your audio mode is not supported by the conference room. (Scheduled meeting only.) You may be too early and the meeting hasn t started. No more seats are available. You may have the wrong room name or the wrong NetConference server name for the meeting. If you are using LiveLAN, NetConference may not be registered with LiveManager, or the LiveLAN and NetConference are registered to different LiveManagers that are not linked to each other. Contact your host to unlock the room or add you to the meeting. Check the audio mode of your client, then do one of the following: Reconfigure your client s preferences to the audio mode of the conference room. Ask the host to select or reserve a room that supports all of the audio modes used by the participants. Wait until the scheduled start time to call into the meeting. Contact your host. Contact your host to verify the names. Contact your NetConference administrator. A-4

47 Problems During a Meeting (Continued) Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action You can t send or receive video. You can t receive video but you can send it. You can t send video but you can receive it. Others can t see your video when you speak. Your client may not be able to support the room s video mode. Your receive video is paused or turned off. You aren t the current active speaker in the meeting. If you can t view yourself in your client s preview window, your camera may be turned off. Your transmit video is paused or turned off. Since NetConference displays the video of the speaker, you may not have any transmit audio. Contact your NetConference administrator. Enable your receive video. Ask the other participants to mute their audio. Then, talk into your microphone. Turn on your camera or check its connections. Enable your transmit video. Unmute or connect your microphone. A-5

48 TROUBLESHOOTING Problems During a Meeting (Continued) Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action Poor video and/or audio quality. You can t receive audio but you can transmit it. You can t transmit audio but you can receive it. There may be a problem with the network. The meeting may be set to reduced video or audio quality to accommodate all participants. You may be in a mixed client meeting; that is, a meeting that includes both LiveLAN and NetMeeting clients. The quality of the video generated by NetMeeting clients is not as good as that generated by LiveLAN clients. Because the quality of the video you see is determined by the client that sends it, not by your own client, you may see poor quality video in this type of meeting. Your speakers may be turned down or disconnected. The person speaking may have the microphone muted. Your microphone may be muted or disconnected. Contact your NetConference administrator. Ask your NetConference administrator or host to select a conference room with better quality video and audio settings, if possible. No corrective action. Check your volume controls and speaker settings. Ask the speaker to check whether the client is muted. Unmute or connect your microphone. A-6

49 Problems During a Meeting (Continued) Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action Audio echo. You can t share data. A participant using a LiveLAN client may have selected Headset mode with the speakers connected. A participant using a NetMeeting client may need to retune the audio or set the audio to half-duplex mode. A participant s volume may be set too loud or speakers may be too close to the microphone. Data conferencing may not be enabled for this meeting. This problem may have occurred when you connected to the meeting. Ask all participants using LiveLAN to check this setting. Have each NetMeeting participant in turn mute the microphone until the audio echo goes away. Ask the appropriate participant to retune or reconfigure the audio. Do one of the following: Have each NetMeeting participant in turn mute the microphone until the audio echo goes away. Ask the appropriate participant to retune or reconfigure the audio. Participants using NetMeeting clients might need to set their audio to half-duplex mode. If all else fails, ask the participants to mute their microphones when they aren t speaking. Contact your NetConference administrator. Hang up and call again. A-7

50 TROUBLESHOOTING Problems During a Meeting (Continued) Problem Possible Cause Corrective Action You unexpectedly disconnect from the meeting. There may be a problem with the network. The host or NetConference administrator has removed you from the meeting. The scheduled time of the meeting is over. Call again. Contact your host or NetConference administrator. No corrective action. A-8

51 Index A adding a participant 2-14 B broadcast mode description of 2-19 selecting 2-19 broadcast option description of 2-19 selecting 1-8, 2-19 broadcaster description of 1-6 selecting 1-8, 2-10, 2-19, 2-20 browsers preference settings 2-1 supported 1-8, 2-1 C calling into a meeting 2-20 cascading cascading two rooms 2-19 description of 1-5 Connect ME! button 1-8, 2-21 Continuous Presence mode broadcast options available with 2-20 description of 1-6 setting 1-7 D desktop videoconferencing system 1-2 Directory Service contents of window 2-3 description of 1-9 E Explorer 2-1 extra seats checking 2-5, 2-14 description of 1-4 G gateway 1-2 H H.261 CIF video 1-6 H.320 clients 1-2 Index-1

52 H.320-to-H.323 gateway 1-2 H.323 clients 1-2 hosting a meeting 1-8, 2-10 I Intel 1-2 Internet Locator Server (ILS) 2-3 ISDN-based videoconferencing system 1-2 J Java 1-8 L leaving a meeting 2-22 LiveLAN 1-2 with directory service 1-9 location (URL) of the NetConference Web Center 2-1 locking or unlocking a reserved room 2-13 M meeting adding a participant 2-14 calling into 2-20 cascading rooms 2-18 holding 2-3 hosting 2-10 joining 2-20 leaving 2-22 naming 2-11 participating in 2-20 removing a participant 2-16 scheduling 1-9 Moderator Controlled mode 2-19 N naming a meeting 2-11 NetConference 2--1 concepts 1-3 description of 1-1 NetConference Release Notes 2-1 NetConference Scheduler 1-9 NetConference Web Center description of 1-7, 2-2 starting 2-1 NetMeeting 1-2, 2-6 with directory service 1-9 Netscape Navigator 2-1 P participants adding 2-14 removing 2-16 participating in a meeting 2-20 problems during a meeting A-4 while using the NetConference Web Center A-2 ProShare 1-2 public rooms description of 1-3 selecting 2-4 Index-2

53 R removing participants 2-16 reserved rooms description of 1-3 locking or unlocking 2-13 selecting 2-7 rooms cascading 2-18 description of 1-3 locking 2-13 selecting 2-3 unlocking 2-14 updating information for 2-6, 2-10 S scheduling a meeting 1-9 seats adding more 1-5 checking 2-5 checking extra 2-14 description of extra 1-4 selecting public room 2-4 reserved room 2-7 servers, adding 1-5 starting the NetConference Web Center 2-1 SwiftSite 1-2 U unlocking a room 2-14 Update Display button 2-6, 2-10 updating room information 2-6, 2-10 V videoconferencing systems, compatible 1-2 voice activated mode, description of 2-19 W web browsers for 2-1 viewing NetConference Web Center on 1-7, 2-2 Web Center. See NetConference Web Center T T.120 standard 1-2 TeamStation 1-2 troubleshooting A-1 Index-3

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