Master and Slave Codec Architecture

On multiscreen systems such as the CTS-3000 and CTS-3200, the Cisco TelePresence codec uses a distributed architecture with multiple physical codecs participating together as a single, logical unit.

The codecs are rack-mounted to the assembly frame underneath each of the three displays:

• One under the center display (referred to as the primary codec)
• One under the left display (referred to as the secondary codec)
• One under the right display (referred to as the secondary codec)

The primary codec controls the entire system and is the sole interface to the network. The left and right secondary codecs are controlled by the primary codec.

Codec and Component Connectivity

The left and right (secondary) codecs attach to the center (primary) codec through 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet jumper cables, and the center (primary) codec attaches to the network through a 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet jumper cable.

Displays

The displays connect to their respective codecs through High Density Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cables. As mentioned previously, these are not off-the-shelf displays. They are custom designed by Cisco and engineered specifically for use in Cisco TelePresence systems. Features that are commonly found on off-the-shelf displays, such as multiple user-selectable video input ports, an infrared receiver port and associated remote control, and speakers are not present on these displays. They simply have a power receptacle jack, an on/off switch, and an HDMI port. The codec uses certain pins within the HDMI cable for control signaling messages that control the power state (on, standby, off) of the display, its color temperature (3500 k, 4100 k, 5000 k), and to upload new display firmware code.

Cameras

The cameras connect to their respective codecs through two different cables:

• A 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet jumper cable: Provides IEEE 802.af Power over Ethernet to the camera and is also used for control signaling messages, such as setting the gain and color settings, and to upload new camera firmware code.
• A Digital Video Interface to High Density Multimedia Interface (DVI-HDMI) cable: The DVI-HDMI cable is used for the video connection between the camera and the codec.

These cameras are custom designed by Cisco and engineered specifically for use in its TelePresence systems.

Microphones and Speakers

The microphones and speakers attach to the center (primary) codec only. The primary codec contains an audio processing board with DSP resources on it. The secondary codecs do not process any audio. The microphones are custom-designed boundary microphones with an excellent acoustic frequency range and are electronically shielded against cellular interface. They connect to the codec using 6-pin mini-XLR cables. The speakers are off-the-shelf speakers chosen for their excellent sound reproduction qualities and durability and connect to the codec using TRS cables. The speakers are nonamplified. (They do not require a power connection.) The codec contains an amplifier and outputs amplified, speaker-level audio signals to the speakers.

IP Phone

The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975 Series provides the user interface to the system, allowing the user to make and receive TelePresence calls using a familiar telephony paradigm. The IP Phone attaches to the center (primary) codec using a 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet jumper cable. The primary codec provides IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet to the IP Phone and communicates using eXtensible Markup Language (XML) over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or Java over Transport Control Protocol (TCP) to create the user interface that displays on the IP Phone’s touch-sensitive screen.

Auxiliary Components

Auxiliary components include PCs, document cameras, and auxiliary displays for viewing the associated video from these devices. The PC is provided by the user and is attached to the center (primary) codec through a Video Graphics Adapter to Digital Video Interface (VGA-DVI) cable and a 3.5mm mini-stereo audio cable. The document camera is an optional third-party component that can be purchased and installed by the customer and is attached to the center (primary) codec through a DVI-HDMI cable and through a 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet cable. The Gigabit Ethernet cable controls the document camera, such as power on/off, zoom in/out, and so on.

The video from the PC and the document camera can be displayed on the TelePresence system in one of three ways:

• Multiscreen systems such as the CTS-3000 and CTS-3200 come bundled with an off-the-shelf third-party projector, which is mounted underneath the center of the table and projects onto a white surface below the center display. This projector connects to the center (primary) codec through an HDMI cable.
• Single screen systems such as the CTS-1000 and CTS-500 do not include a projector but can display the auxiliary video as a Presentation-in-Picture (PIP) image within the primary display. In this case, the PIP video is passed over the same HDMI cable that the primary display is attached to.
• Optionally, on any model system, the customer can choose to purchase auxiliary displays, mounted either above the center display or off to the left or right sides of the system. In this case, the customer can use the Cisco TelePresence Auxiliary Expansion Box, which acts as a 1:3 HDMI splitter, with one HDMI connection from the center (primary) codec and three HDMI outputs to the projector and auxiliary displays.

Network Connectivity

For the system to be standards-compliant with current networking methodologies and protocols, Cisco needed to design a way to make this entire system, with its multiple codecs and attached components, to appear as a single IP address on the network. To achieve this, the system leverages private, nonroutable RFC 1918 IP addresses between the primary and secondary codecs, between the codecs and their cameras, between the primary codec and the document camera, and so on. The primary codec, in turn, attaches to the upstream Ethernet LAN through a 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet cable and can obtain an IP address dynamically through Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or use a statically assigned IP address. Therefore, the entire system uses a single Gigabit Ethernet port with a single Media Access Control (MAC) address and a single IP address. 

Codec Physical Design

The Cisco TelePresence codec is a purpose-built, ultra-high performance encoding and decoding appliance. It runs the Linux operating system on an embedded Compact Flash module and contains an array of Digital Signal Processors (DSP) that perform all the encoding and decoding of the audio and video.

The Cisco TelePresence codec was designed to operate in a hands-off environment where physical access to the device would be rare. It is rack-mounted to the assembly frame of the TelePresence system and then surrounded by the structural assembly and furniture of the system. All the cameras, displays, microphones, speakers, IP Phone, and other auxiliary components plug into it, and it, in turn, attaches to the network through a single 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet interface. There are no keyboard, monitor, or console ports on the system. It is managed entirely over IP through its network interface using protocols such as Secure Shell (SSH), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Figures 1 and 2 show the front and back views of the Cisco TelePresence codec.

 

Figure 1: Cisco TelePresence codec – front view

 

Figure 2: Cisco TelePresence codec – back view

TelePresence Audio and Video Technologies

Codec Design Requirements

When Cisco began its quest to design and build a true-to-life telepresence experience, it had a rather large obstacle to overcome. No other vendor at that time had anything that could deliver the level of video and audio quality and integrated systems approach that Cisco wanted to create. So Cisco decided to build the codec from the ground up, purpose-built to meet the following requirements:

• First, it had to deliver multiple channels of 1080p resolution video, at a consistent 30 frames per second, at extremely low encoding and decoding times and at a bandwidth utilization rate the average large enterprise customer could afford to deploy.
• Second, it had to provide multiple, full-duplex channels of wideband audio. Furthermore, those channels could not be mixed together, nor stereo (left/right), but had to be discrete, independent channels to preserve the spatiality and directionality of the audio.
• Third, to meet its ease-of-use and reliability ideals, it had to provide a fully integrated system that could be completely managed by a single interface. Therefore, it could not utilize off-the-shelf components, such as cameras and displays, but needed integrated components that were managed and controlled by the system.
• Fourth, it had to provide integrated, easy-to-use data collaboration and audio conferencing so that participants could easily share documents and presentations with each other and allow audio-only participants to join the meeting.
• Finally, it had to do all these things in a completely standards-based way, leveraging the existing converged IP network and Unified Communications platforms Cisco was famous for.

As luck would have it, the time was right for the development of such a product:

• Digital Signal Processor (DSP) technology was just beginning to be capable of 1080p resolution video at the latency targets required.
• Camera lens and sensor technology was getting small enough to deliver a 1080p camera that was small enough to be discretely mounted over the bezel of the display.
• Display technology in the size (65-inch) and resolution (1080p) required was becoming affordable.
• The networking technologies required to make a system like this manageable and deployable on a converged IP network were finally mature—IP Telephony being one of the driving forces in the decade prior to Cisco TelePresence to allow technologies such as quality of service (QoS), Power over Ethernet (PoE), high availability, and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to become mature, allowing the same techniques to be leveraged by Cisco TelePresence.

The word codec is used in two different ways:

• It is used as the name of the physical device containing a CPU, memory, an operating system, Digital Signal Processors (DSP), and audio, video, and network interfaces: the Cisco TelePresence codec.
• It is widely used throughout the industry to refer to various audio and video encoding and decoding algorithms, such as the H.264 and AAC-LD codecs.

Related TelePresence Services

Before the public release of Cisco TelePresence, Cisco had already deployed ~20 systems internally and early field trials at multiple customers. During that time it was evident that a process needed to be put in place to ensure the success of every TelePresence deployment. From its early days in IP telephony, Cisco learned that deployment of new mission-critical applications could prove painful if not done correctly. For this reason, a set of processes were put in place to help ensure the success of every Cisco TelePresence deployment.

The last thing Cisco wanted was to ship TelePresence to customers and have the systems deployed in rooms with poor environmentals or on networks not capable of meeting the required Service-Level Agreements (SLA). This would guarantee poor satisfaction among new customers, ultimately following in the footsteps of past video conferencing solutions. A process outlining Planning, Design, and Implementation (PDI) was crafted, covering all aspects of room enviromentals and network readiness. This process starts before TelePresence units ship and is completed after the TelePresence rooms have been installed. To date, this process has proved invaluable, yielding some of the highest customer satisfaction levels for a new product ever seen at Cisco. With this satisfaction has come tremendous customer adoption, making Cisco TelePresence one of the fastest growing solutions in company history.

Along with the PDI process, Cisco introduced two TelePresence service offerings—Cisco TelePresence Essential Operate Service and Cisco TelePresence Select Operate and TelePresence Remote Assistance Service. These offerings provide customers with confidence that their TelePresence networks will provide the highest availability possible.

Cisco TelePresence Planning, Design, and Implementation

The PDI process provides a consistent method of deploying Cisco TelePresence that gets guaranteed results. Some view this process as rigid and unnecessary, but the results speak for themselves. As previously described, replicating a face-to-face meeting requires the proper room environment and a network designed to provide the appropriate service levels to ensure video and audio integrity. The PDI process consists of the following five steps:

Step 1	Prequalification
Step 2	Assessment
Step 3	Product Shipment
Step 4	Installation
Step 5	Certification

Note

The PDI process is designed for larger TelePresence systems, CTS-3200 and CTS-3000, but still is applied in part to CTS-1000 and CTS-500 systems. The CTS-1000 and CTS-500 are designed for shared conference room and office space, therefore, relaxing the overall room requirements. However, network requirements assessments remain the same for the CTS-1000 and CTS-500.

Step 1: Prequalification

Prequalification is required for all components of a Cisco TelePresence deployment, including the CTS-1000 and CTS-500. The Prequalification consists of a high-level checklist for the room, environment, and network. This process is often completed by interviewing the customer and helping identify any obvious issues with room size, location, or network deficiencies. One challenge that is often encountered is securing a dedicated room for a CTS-3000 or CTS-3200 with the proper size and or design. The prequalification helps ensure that the room is a good candidate before sending someone out to the location to perform a Room Readiness Assessment (RRA).

Step 2: Assessment

The Assessment phase is critical, providing customers the assurance that they are ready for a TelePresence deployment. Any TelePresence system is a substantial investment. Deploying a TelePresence system without evaluating environmental and network readiness is a recipe for failure.

The assessment phase provides detailed information about room and network readiness for a Cisco TelePresence deployment. The first step in the assessment phase is to perform RRAs for each CTS-3000 and CTS-3200 room. The RRA provides details regarding existing size, lighting and acoustics for each room, and recommended remediation the rooms might require.

The second step is a Network Path Assessment (NPA), which provides an end-to-end view of the network between Cisco TelePresence devices. During the process, service levels are gathered between each location, network QoS policy is evaluated, and network hardware is evaluated. This data allows recommendations regarding overall network and QoS policies to be made during the process.

Step 3: Product Shipment

When the assessment phase is complete and the customer agrees to any remediations required to meet room or network requirements, product is released for shipment. At this point, project planners work with customers to firm up dates for system installation and final deployment details.

Step 4: Installation

At the time of installation, it is recommended that all room and network remediation be complete. Cisco TelePresence installations are performed by a trained AuthorizedTechnology Partner (ATP), ensuring quality installation. CTS-3200 and CTS-3000 rooms require usually three days to four days to install, whereas a CTS-1000 or CTS-500 can be installed in less than one day.

Note

At the time of the writting of this book, the CTS-500 is the only Cisco TelePresence system that can be installed by the customer. Larger systems must be installed by an ATP.

Step 5: Certification

The last step in the PDI process is the Cisco TelePresence certification (CTX) for CTS-3000 and CTS-3200 rooms. A CTX is not performed on CTS-1000 or CTS-500 systems because specific room requirements do not exist for these systems. Instead, each CTS-1000 and CTS-500 is tested after installation to validate that the system is functional, cameras are properly tuned, and the SLAs for packet loss, jitter, and latency are met.

The CTX performed on a CTS-3200 or CTS-3000 room can be done locally or from a remote TelePresence system. The CTX process verifies all aspects of the room and system evaluating the workmanship of the system installation, room illumination, room acoustics, camera tuning, and network SLAs for packet loss, jitter, and latency.

When the CTX is complete, the PDI process is complete, and the system is ready to use. Again, this process has proved to be invaluable and continues to provide one happy customer after another.

Cisco TelePresence Essential Operate Service

The Cisco TelePresence Essential Operate Service was introduced to help maintain a reliable, high-quality Cisco TelePresence meeting experience and get the most from the technology investment. This service is provided by Cisco or a set of ATP partners with the expertise to support Cisco TelePresence networks, providing customers 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year access to a highly trained support staff. This service provides all the required features to maintain a high-quality Cisco TelePresence deployment including minor software updates the next business day or within four hours on the same business day hardware replacement.

Cisco TelePresence Select Operate and TelePresence Remote Assistance Service

The Cisco TelePresence Select Operate Service and TelePresence Remote Assistance Service provides customers with the option of having their Cisco TelePresence deployment managed by Cisco. This allows customers to deploy Cisco TelePresence and provide the highest level of support to its customers without burdening IT groups with day-to-day management of the system. This service provides real-time monitoring and troubleshooting of all Cisco TelePresence devices and remote user assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at the touch of a button. Along with monitoring and support, the service also provides Change Management and utilization and performance reporting for the Cisco TelePresence deployments.

Operation, Administration, and Monitoring | Cisco TelePresence Solution

Providing management and operational support for TelePresence deployments is a prime concern for every TelePresence customer. In most cases, CXO-level executives frequent TelePresence rooms, bringing a high-visibility level to the solution. As we know, executives at this level have high expectations and expect things to work. A number of tools are available for customers looking to manage a TelePresence deployment.

As discussed previously, Cisco TelePresence is composed of numerous components and layers, including endpoints, servers, network infrastructure, scheduling for rooms and how users interact with the scheduling tools. Inherent management capabilities are built into the products, and also a number of Cisco network management applications. Cisco network analysis modules and appliances can provide additional capabilities for monitoring and troubleshooting the overall network and the TelePresence solution.

The following TelePresence components provide management for the Cisco TelePresence Solution:

• Cisco TelePresence System Administration: Each Cisco TelePresence component provides an administrative interface that allows configuration, troubleshooting, and management.
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager: Provides endpoint configuration and firmware management along with dial plan and call routing management.
• Cisco TelePresence Manager: Allows monitoring and status of all CTS endpoints and a view of all past, present, and future scheduled TelePresence meetings.CTS-Manager also provides a centralized view of all CTMS devices and global resource management of multipoint resources.
• Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch: Provides CTMS configuration, CTMS troubleshooting, and real-time statistics for multipoint meetings.
• Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange/IBM Domino: Manages accounts, mailboxes, and permissions for CTS-Manager and the rooms in which the CTS endpoints reside.
• Microsoft Outlook/Lotus Notes: Where both users and administrators view the availability of the rooms and schedule meetings.

As you have seen throughout this chapter, different components of the Cisco TelePresence solution provide different levels of management for the overall system. The core management components for the solution are the CTS-Manager and CUCM.

CTS-Manager is the core management tool providing centralized management for all TelePresence components and scheduled meetings. The CTS-Manager provides management through CLI or web-based administration. Administrators use the web-based interface for viewing status of all CTS devices, CTMS devices, calendaring integration, and scheduled meetings. This centralized view enables administrators to quickly identify issues with any component of the Cisco TelePresence system. Utilizing the CTS-Manager administrators or concierges can manage all aspects of scheduled meetings, such as editing meeting options, monitoring the status of a scheduled meeting, or gathering call detail records (CDR) for billing purposes. CTS-Manager also supports Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), allowing traps to be sent to a management system and providing alerts for system administrators.

The Cisco TelePresence systems also provide a command-line interface (CLI) or web-based management interface that enables you to connect directly or link from the CTS-Manager, providing detailed information for the CTS device. As mentioned in previous chapters, the CTS management interface provides status for all system components including the codec, system displays, cameras, projector, speakers, and microphones. This enables administrators to quickly access system health and gather call statistics for troubleshooting potential network issues. SNMP is also supported, allowing traps to be sent to a management system providing system administrators with alerts regarding potential system or network issues.

The CTMS also provides a CLI and web-based administration that is similar to both the CTS-Manager and CTS. As with the CTS, the CTMS management page can be accessed directly or linked to from the CTS-Manager. The CTMS management interface provides administrators with the ability to manage all aspects of multipoint meetings. Meeting administrators have the ability launch and monitor multipoint meetings, providing in-meeting support for TelePresence users requesting changes during a multipoint meeting.

CUCM provides another level of management for the TelePresence components and CTS devices in particular. All configuration and firmware management for CTS devices is managed using CUCM. CTS devices are managed through CUCM using the same methodologies currently used for Cisco telephony devices. CUCM also provides CDRs for all calls placed to and from CTS endpoints.

Looking at the different components, you can see that each component provides a different level of management. However, a hierarchical management structure is in place for managing and troubleshooting TelePresence components using the CTS-Manager.

Cisco TelePresence Inter-Company

Providing a true in-person virtual meeting experience within the enterprise enables customers to reduce travel and improve productivity. However, extending the virtual meeting experience beyond a local enterprise provides businesses additional benefits, enabling them to meet with partners and customers. For any collaboration tool to reach its full potential, it must extend beyond the boundaries of a single enterprise. However, there are always challenges providing collaboration tools that extend from one company’s network to another. With today’s focus on security, and the different security policies implemented by companies, the challenges continue to grow.

The Cisco TelePresence Inter-Company architecture provides a secure intercompany solution for Cisco TelePresence. Following this architecture, service providers are building outand offering Cisco TelePresence solutions. These solutions also provide customers with options for different deployment scenarios depending on which provider is used. Some providers offer customers the option to connect their existing Cisco TelePresence deployment into their Cisco TelePresence Inter-Company network, whereas other carriers provide managed or hosted Cisco TelePresence deployments as well. Advanced services are available with these intercompany offerings providing concierge services, multipoint services for intercompany meetings, and scheduling for intercompany meetings, providing the simplicity of One-Button-to-Push dialing for end users.

Another area of growth is public Cisco TelePresence suites that provide added benefit to customers with intercompany connectivity. Public Cisco TelePresence suites allow customers to conduct TelePresence meetings with employees on the road, customers or partners without Cisco TelePresence deployments, or interviews with potential employees. These public suites are available to anyone and are usually rented by the hour, allowing connectivity to any TelePresence system on the Inter-Company network.

Cisco TelePresence Inter-Company will continue to expand offering new services and features, dramatically expanding the reach of TelePresence. The Cisco TelePresence offering continues to add features for providers, allowing them to expand their secure TelePresence Inter-Company network while continuing to offer additional advance services.

Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch

Today, multipoint capability is a required component for any collaborative application. More than 40 percent of today’s meetings consist of individuals from three or more sites. The Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch provides this functionality, allowing TelePresence meetings to expand beyond two TelePresence systems. However, it is important that multipoint devices don’t compromise the overall experience by adding excessive delay resulting in unnatural user interaction. Cisco developed the CTMS from the ground up to specifically address user experience while maintaining the overall ease of use. The CTMS is also a key component in providing interoperability with non-TelePresence video systems allowing non-TelePresence systems to participate in TelePresence meetings.

The Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch is a server-based platform with capacity for up to 48 segments in a single meeting or spread across multiple meetings. Unlike with traditional Multipoint Control Units (MCU), features such as transcoding have been avoided to minimize delay. With its software switching architecture, the CTMS introduces very little delay, ~10ms, into each TelePresence multipoint meeting helping maintain the natural experience found in point-to-point meetings. Voice-activated switching determines which site, or segment, displays on CTS systems in a multipoint meeting. Traditional video conferencing MCUs provide two display options for multipoint meetings; voice-activated switching, which displays the active site on all systems in a meeting; and continuous presence, which provides a continuous view of multiple sites on each system. To maintain the in-person experience, the CTMS does not provide a continuous presence option for multipoint meetings. However, with the addition of three-screen systems, two switching modes are available:

• Room-based switching, which displays the entire room on all remote systems
• Speaker switching, which allows each segment to be switched independently

Figure 1 shows a basic example of the two switching modes.

 

Figure 1: CTMS switching modes

Figure 1 provides a basic illustration of what is displayed in a CTS-3000 or CTS-3200 for both switching modes in a three-site multipoint call. As shown in the room switching example, participants always see a single room on their displays, while in speaker switching, it is possible for participants to see a segment from each site or any combination based on the active segments. 

The CTMS is an integrated component of the overall Cisco TelePresence solution designed to provide multipoint telepresence meetings while maintaining a consistent user experience. Integration with the overall telepresence system enables users to book multipoint meetings, choose meeting preferences, and control meeting options during a call using the 7975 Series IP Phone in the telepresence room. This integration also allows the CTMS to communicate directly with the CTS system, providing end of meeting notifications and other relevant information to users during the meeting. The CTMS also communicates directly with CTS-Manager, providing its available resources, receiving scheduled meeting information, and providing system status.

As mentioned above, the CTMS is an integral part of the interoperability solution provided by Cisco TelePresence. Interoperability with existing video conferencing systems is an important feature allowing video conferencing systems to participate in Cisco TelePresence meetings. At press time, interoperability between telepresence vendors is limited because of the implementation of video standards and complexities with multiscreen Telepresence systems. The goal for Cisco TelePresence interoperability is to provide a solution that plugs into video conferencing deployments with as little change to the existing environment as possible while interoperating with >90 percent of the existing video systems on the market. For this reason, a simple solution providing a cascade link between the CTMS and the Cisco Unified Video Conferencing (CUVC) MCU is used. This model enables telepresence meetings to be scheduled using Outlook or Notes and initiated using One-Button-to-Push, whereas non-telepresence video systems use their current method of dialing to access the meeting. Figure 2 illustrates a view of interoperability.

 

Figure 2: CTMS interoperability