Virtual Internet2 Member Meeting
Behind-the-Scenes
Virtual Member Meeting
• In-person meeting planned for
September 30-October 4 in Austin, TX.
• Concerns about travel safety following
Sept. 11 tragedies.
• Decision was made to replace
in-person meeting with a Virtual Meeting.
An Opportunity
A virtual meeting created an opportunity to:
• Use and experiment with video
technologies.
• Showcase the capabilities of highperformance networking.
• Work together with our member
community to make it all happen.
Planning
Once the decision to go with a Virtual
Meeting was made, we had 12 days to
make it happen.
12 Days!!!!!
The Format
• Virtual meeting would occur in same
timeframe as the Member Meeting
planned for Austin, October 2-5.
• One day of plenary sessions, Oct. 2.
• Three days of concurrent track
sessions, including Megaconference,
Oct. 3-5.
Multiple Viewing Options: Plenaries
• Real Streams at 128K, 256K, 512K
• IP/TV
• H.323 Multipoint Control Units (MCUs)
• VRVS
• Access Grid
• Research Channel (cable, satellite and
Windows Media stream)
• Genesys audio-only conference call
Multiple Viewing Options:
Track Sessions
• H.323 Multipoint Control Units (MCUs)
• Real streams
• Genesys audio-only conference call
• VRVS and Access Grid (for some
sessions)
Set-up: Saturday, September 29
A conference
room at the
Internet2
office in Ann
Arbor was
transformed
into a TV
studio.
Set-up: Network
An OC-3
network was
set-up to allow
the plenary
sessions to be
netcast.
Set-up: Access Grid
Internet2’s Portable
Access Grid node
provided Plenary
streams to the Access
Grid community.
http://apps.internet2.edu/html/portable-ag.html
Set-up: Codecs
The Real Streamer, the Stream Genie, and the IP/TV server.
Set-up: Satellite Feed
A satellite truck
parked outside
fed output to the
ResearchChannel
for their cable and
satellite viewers.
Testing and Rehearsal: Monday,
October 1
Speakers
practiced
presenting in
the TV
studio.
Testing and Rehearsal: Cont.
All outgoing
streams were
tested.
VIMM audience
members were
encouraged to
download players
in advance.
VIMM Participation—Web page
Plenary Sessions Web page
Track Sessions Web page
VIMM Participation—Remote Sites
• Participants could view the VIMM from
over 40 participation sites:
http://www.internet2.edu/activities/html/vimm-sites.html
• Or from their homes or offices.
VIMM Interactions
• Participants could send questions to
speakers via e-mail.
•Chat rooms and “video lounges” (for
H.323 participants) were available for
informal interactions.
• Chat rooms also provided a vehicle for
trouble-shooting during the VIMM.
VIMM Statistics
• Over 90 individuals presented during the VIMM.
• Out of 36 planned track sessions for Austin, 22
were presented virtually.
• Some VIMM sessions had higher attendance
than similar sessions at our in-person meetings.
• We received 7,494 Unique Visitors to the VIMM
website.
• 105 respondents to our survey, normally we get
around 30.
VIMM Feedback – The Good
“Being able to attend without leaving my office.”
“People who weren’t planning to travel to Austin
were able to participate.”
“Being able to hop between sessions or view multiple
sessions simultaneously.”
“Having archived streams so I can see the sessions
I missed.”
“The VIMM demonstrated that using videoconferencing technologies to share critical
information can be done.”
VIMM Feedback – The Bad
“No way to have a virtual glass of scotch
with colleagues.”
“Interruptions/distractions resulting from
normal office demands.”
“Please don’t do this again. Anyone who
expects that users will sit and watch TV for
multiple days as a replacement for a real
conference is out of their minds.”
Where do we go from here?
• Use the VIMM as a model for other events.
• Monthly virtual meetings will continue on
various topics (initially, Middleware).
• Alternate virtual and in-person meetings.
• The Commons will offer a suite of services
that will allow Internet2 community to host
their own virtual meetings.
• Best practices and VIMM Cookbook will be
published.
A LOT of Help from our Friends!
• Bob Dixon of Ohio State University, Tyler Johnson of University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Doug Pearson of Indiana University, for MCU and
streaming support.
• Alan Crosswell of Columbia University for help with testing the IP/TV stream.
• Greg Goddard of University of Florida for running our Access Grid node.
• Philippe Galvez of CERN for providing VRVS support.
• Charlie Marks of University of Michigan for providing Real Stream support.
• Michael Wellings of University of Washington for being the floor director
during the VIMM plenary.
• Kathleen McMonigal of University of Washington for providing MediaPlayer
and Real Streams from the ResearchChannel, and for rebroadcasting the
plenary after the live transmission had concluded.
We’d Also Like to Thank…
Texas A&M University
Ohio State University
Indiana University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
UC San Diego Supercomputer Center
University of Kansas
Northwestern University
Dartmouth College
Columbia University
University of Washington
University of Alaska
University of Maryland
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
University of Delaware
University of Pennsylvania
Boston University
University of Edinburgh
University of Missouri-Columbia
Ford Motor Company
IBM Corporation
Cisco
Akamai
Amnis Systems
Polycom Network Systems Division -Accord Product Line
Radvision
SKC Communications, a Polycom/Accord
Distributor
Livewave
OSHEAN
National Library of Medicine
More Info ...
www.internet2.edu/activities/html/vimm.html
www.internet2.edu/html/commons.html
[email protected]
Your Name and Internet2 Address
Internet2
3025 Boardwalk Suite 100
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(734) 352-7007
www.internet2.edu