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

Cisco TelePresence Manager

Cisco TelePresence Manager (CTS-Manager) is the heart of the TelePresence solution, providing integration for all Cisco TelePresence components. CTS-Manager is a server-based platform with a web user interface providing the same look and feel as other TelePresence components. The CTS-Manager ties all TelePresence components together, providing the ease of use, scheduling, and management services that drive the entire solution. The CTS-Manager is not a mandatory component of Cisco TelePresence, but as you can see, deploying a TelePresence network without it provides substantial challenges. CTS-Manager provides the following features to the Cisco TelePresence Solution:

• Calendaring integration and management
• One-Button-to-Push meeting access
• Resource and location management for Cisco TelePresence Multipoint switch
• CTS system management and reporting
• Concierge services

Calendaring Integration and Management

CTS-Manager integrates with Microsoft Exchange and IBM Domino, providing scheduling for Cisco TelePresence systems. A simple scheduling interface is always a challenge for any shared resource. Cisco TelePresence addresses this issue by providing users with a familiar Outlook or Notes scheduling interface. TelePresence rooms are listed as resources and scheduled exactly the same as standard conference rooms, eliminating the learning curve for scheduling Cisco TelePresence rooms.

One-Button-to-Push Meeting Access

When the initial research was conducted for Cisco TelePresence, the biggest complaint with existing video systems was ease of use. Users complained about remote controls, complicated custom touchpad dialing interfaces, and the lack of consistency from system to system. Some customers employ large video scheduling groups to manage systems and automatically launch video calls to avoid any user confusion. Some customers even go as far as providing a meeting coordinator in the room just in case something goes wrong during the call setup. At that time it was decided that initiating a call from a Cisco TelePresence system would be easier than dialing a phone. Figure 1 show the 7975 Series IP Phone screen with One-Button-to-Push entries.

 

Figure 1: 7975 Series IP Phone One-Button-to-Push

What’s simpler than providing users with a touchscreen phone that allows them to touch the meeting instance on the phone screen to initiate their calls? This feature is referred to as One-Button-to-Push dialing. Users have the option to manually dial using the phone for last-minute ad-hoc meetings; however, prescheduled meetings present users with One-Button-to-Push dialing. This feature alone has allowed Cisco to deploy more than 350 TelePresence systems internally, providing more than 4000 meetings a week, with a scheduling support staff of only seven people. Figure 2 illustrates the process of scheduling a meeting that provides One-Button-to-Push dialing.

 

Figure 2: Scheduling example for One-Button-to-Push

Resource and Location Management for Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch

As described previously, CTS-Manager provides the scheduling integration for a Cisco TelePresence deployment. Scheduled multipoint meetings require knowledge of available resources and the location of those resources. CTS-Manager maintains CTMS resource information in its internal database, enabling it to schedule multipoint meetings accurately. Each CTMS is configured to report its location and number of schedulable segments to the CTS-Manager, enabling it to schedule multipoint resources based on available segments and location. When the CTS-Manager receives a request for a scheduled meeting with more than two CTS systems, it first checks the location of each CTS system and determines the most appropriate CTMS. After a CTMS has been chosen, the CTS-Manager checks for available CTMS resources for the requested date and time; if there are resources available, CTS-Manager schedules the meeting and pushes the meeting information to the CTMS. If there are no available resources on the first CTMS, the CTS-Manger works its way through the list of CTMSs until it finds available resources for the meeting.

The CTS-Manager also provides administrators with the ability to centrally view the status of all deployed CTMSs through its web-based interface. You can also use the web interface to manage all scheduled multipoint meetings and move all scheduled meetings from a failed CTMS to a backup if a CTMS failure occurs.

CTS System Management and Reporting

CTS-Manager provides a central view of all CTS systems and CTMS devices. Administrators can quickly view the status of all CTS endpoints from a single web page and determine if a problem is on a CTS system itself or its communication with another solution component. The CTS-Manager provides a number of categories and error states that display for each CTS system. The categories are as follows:

• Connectivity: Provides CTS and phone registration status with CUCM and CTS-Manager to CTS communication
• Cisco TelePresence System: Provides CTS error status
• Cisco Unified Communication Manager: Verification of room profile and email address configuration in CUCM
• Microsoft Exchange: Verification of CTS-Manager mailbox subscription and calendar synchronization for each room

CTS-Manager also provides administrators a view of all scheduled meetings and the ability to export scheduled meeting data to a .tsv file that can be used for billing and usage reports.

Concierge Services

Concierge services are available with the Cisco TelePresence solution, allowing users to quickly connect, at any time, through audio or video, to a live person that can help with any question or issues the users might have. Providing one-button access to live assistance helps maintain system reliability by providing answers to users’ questions and quickly addresses any system or network issue. Using the CTS-Manager web interface, concierges can be defined and assigned to each CTS system. The concierge configuration is then pushed to the CTS system providing a soft key on the 7975 Series IP Phone for direct concierge connection.

Concierge services are supported using video-only or audio-only connections. If video concierge is implemented, users can always connect to the concierge using video, even if a video call is in progress. For example, if a user is in a TelePresence call and experiences issues or has a question, he or she simply pushes the concierge softkey, the original TelePresence call is placed on hold, and a second TelePresence call is placed to the concierge. After the question has been answered, the call to the concierge is ended, and the original call is resumed.

If concierge services support audio-only and a user selects the concierge softkey during a video call, the video call is placed on hold while the concierge is connected. If the CTS dialing the concierge does not have an audio add-in connected to the active meeting, the user has the option to add the concierge into the meeting.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) is the foundation of the Cisco TelePresence solution, providing centralized configuration, management, and call routing for all CTS endpoints. Cisco TelePresence is an integrated component of the Cisco Unified Communications portfolio that continues to offer new and exciting communications applications. CUCM runs some of the largest IP telephony deployments in the world, supporting 99.999 percent availability and providing a stable and feature-rich platform to work from.

Configuration and management of CTS endpoints is made simple, leveraging existing methodologies and technologies used to deploy Cisco IP Telephony today. As far as CUCM is concerned, a CTS endpoint is just another SIP device. CTS endpoints are configured and upgraded no differently than a Cisco IP Phone, providing a consistent interface across Cisco communication devices. Using CUCM for Cisco TelePresence enables current Cisco IP Telephony customers to integrate Cisco TelePresence into their existing CUCM infrastructure while applying existing knowledge to a new technology.

CUCM also provides advanced call routing and Call Admission Control (CAC) for Cisco TelePresence. Unlike other telepresence systems that rely on gatekeepers for these features, Cisco TelePresence leverages a true IP PBX. This allows PBX features to be applied to TelePresence endpoints, providing advanced call processing features. Leveraging CUCM also allows Cisco TelePresence to use additional applications that are integrated with CUCM, such as Unity for busy/no answer call handling and Cisco Unified Contact Center. A good example of this integration is the Cisco Expert on Demand solution, which provides customers access to virtual experts through TelePresence systems. Users walk up to a CTS-1000 or CTS-500, use the 7975 Series IP Phone touch screen to dial, and CUCM routes the call to the Cisco Unified Contact Center that provides call center features for the TelePresence solution. This is the first of many solutions and features that will be implemented for Cisco TelePresence using the Cisco suite of integrated collaboration applications.

Using CUCM as the platform for Cisco TelePresence also provides a highly reliable platform. As mentioned previously, CUCM provides five 9s reliability and is currently running some of the largest IP telephony networks in the world. In fact, the base code for CUCM (Cisco Voice Operating System) is used for both the Cisco TelePresence Manager and Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch.