Successful collaboration means bringing all the appropriate people into the conversation at once. In the past, this ability has been limited to institutions with the means to invest in expensive bridging infrastructure. Today, the Internet2 Commons is pleased to bring this ability to the research and education community as a cloud service. No capital investment required.

The Internet2 Commons offers multipoint bridging services at resolutions ranging from standard definition up to 1080p HD, and accommodating interoperable video communication protocols including H.323, SIP, and Cisco TelePresence. These services are operated on a series of Multipoint Control Units (MCUs) including a Cisco 4220, a Polycom RMX 2000, and a Cisco 8710 TelePresence Server. This combination of infrastructure elements enables the Commons to accommodate a wide variety of protocols and codecs in a robust way.

The Internet2 Commons also offers recording and streaming on a scheduled basis. Streaming allows easy access to real-time collaborations to anyone with an Internet connection, even at slower commodity speeds. Recording enables the archiving of content for later viewing by audiences of choice. Both of these functions are accomplished using a Cisco Codian IPVCR.