H.323 Testing Instructions

• Test Endpoint Connections
• Evaluate MCUs

Test Endpoint Connections

You must be qualified as a Site Coordinator in order to use this testing service.

1. Register with a Gatekeeper

First, follow these steps for gatekeeper registration. If your endpoint is already registered with a ViDeNet or GDS gatekeeper, skip to step 2.

1. In your videoconferencing endpoint unit, navigate to the H.323 settings menu.
2. Enter your email address as your endpoint’s H.323 Name. This gives the gatekeeper administrators some idea of who is registering and from where.
3. Assign a GDS (Global Dialing Scheme, also called E.164) number in the following manor: 001189 + your 10 digit phone number.

   If, for example, your phone number is (111) 555-0000, your GDS number would be 0011891115550000.

4. Your endpoint's system may need to be rebooted.
5. Once it's running again, navigate back to the H.323 setting and select the gatekeeper menu.
6. Enter the following IP address: 192.148.244.115
7. Again, your endpoint may need to be rebooted.
8. Congratulations. You should now be registered with the Internet2 Commons Gatekeeper. We encourage all participants to register their own gatekeeper with ViDeNet.

2. Select a GDS Number

1. Select the GDS number for the type of service you want to test. Make sure your endpoint is set to connect at the chosen speed.
2. When the call goes through, you should see one of two things: another testing site, or your own video reflected back to you. Speak up and test your audio, too.

Please note: Do not enter spaces when dialing these numbers. The spaces below are only for readability.

VS = Video Switching Conference
CP = Continuous Presence Conference (also referred to as hollywood squares)

Note: Use of this testing service is limited to Internet2 Commons registered participants.

Evaluate MCUs

The Commons is a unique collection of MCUs from two main vendors. There are three flavors of MCU available upon request:

1. Radvision OnLAN MCU-323 
   Each OnLAN supports up to 9 simultaneous users at 384K, they can operate in a video switching mode or a quad-split screen continuous presence mode. In addition, collaboration via T.120 can be enabled with the addition of a Radvision DCS.
2. Radvision viaIP MCU 
   This is Radvision's enterprise edition MCU. It has the same basic feature set as the OnLAN but can support up to 50 users at 384K. In addition, it can be administered through a web interface and has some advance feature for administration.
3. Polycom (formerly Accord) MGC-100
   This is Polycom's enterprise edition MCU. Its feature set includes multiple window configurations for continuous presence conferences, rate matching for dial in at multiple data rates, and a web interface for basic management of conferences. This MCU can support up to 60 sites at any speed, in two conferences of 30 participants each.  Using the advanced features (rate matching, etc) can reduce that number.

If you would like to setup an evaluation conference please send email to: commons-techsupport@internet2.edu, and a Commons video engineer will work with you.

Note: Requests for this service will only be accepted from designated Site Coordinators.