Configuration and Maintenance Guide for MeetingPlace 7.1 - Troubleshooting Video Issues [Cisco Unified MeetingPlace]

Table Of Contents

Troubleshooting Video Issues for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace

What to Try First When Troubleshooting Video

Checking the System Status, Alarms, and Logs

Checking that Video Blades are Associated with Audio Blades in the Media Server

Checking Video Licenses

How to Resolve Problems with Video Connections

Video Does Not Work

Poor Video Quality

How to Resolve Problems with Video Endpoints

Video Endpoint Gets One-Way Video or No Video

Call is Dropped When Entering a Meeting, Entering a Breakout Session, or Entering #31 to Dial Out

Jumpy Video

Additional References for Troubleshooting Video Issues

Troubleshooting Video Issues for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace

Release 7.1

Revised: April 3, 2011 8:31 pm

•What to Try First When Troubleshooting Video

•How to Resolve Problems with Video Connections

•How to Resolve Problems with Video Endpoints

•Additional References for Troubleshooting Video Issues

What to Try First When Troubleshooting Video

•Checking the System Status, Alarms, and Logs

•Checking that Video Blades are Associated with Audio Blades in the Media Server

•Checking Video Licenses

Checking the System Status, Alarms, and Logs

Procedure

Step 1 Log in to the Administration Center.

Step 2 Check the system status:

a. Click Services > System Status.

b. Click View Status.

c. Verify that the following text appears in the output:
System mode: Up
Media control: Up
d. Verify that none of the modules show DOWN status.

e. If the system status details indicate an unexpected DOWN state, check the Alarm Table or the Exception Log to see why the module or system is down, and resolve the issue.

Step 3 Check the Alarm Table:

a. Click Services > Alarms.

b. If the alarm table displays a relevant alarm entry, then check the Exception Log for actual relevance to and details for the failed call.

Checking the Exception Log is recommended because the Alarm Table combines multiple alarm occurrences into a single table entry.

Step 4 Check the system logs:

a. Click Services > Logs > View System Logs.

b. Set the parameters according to your needs.

For example, you may want to first limit the displayed output to major log entries for the day when the issues occurred.

c. Click View Logs.

d. Repeat Step 4 as needed.

For example, if the output does not include any relevant issues, then expand the output to include lower severity levels.

If you see relevant log entries for specific Module Numbers, then you can narrow the log output to issues for a specific module.

Related Topics

•Using Alarms and Logs on Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

Checking that Video Blades are Associated with Audio Blades in the Media Server

Procedure

Step 1 Log in to the Administration Center.

Step 2 Click Media Server Administration.

Step 3 Log in to the Media Server Administration.

Step 4 Click Resource Management > MCU in the sidebar.

Step 5 Click the name of an audio blade (MCU) entry.

Step 6 Click Go TO MCU...

The Media Server Administrator (MSA) appears in a new browser window.

Step 7 If prompted, log in to the MSA.

Step 8 Click MCU in the sidebar.

Step 9 Click the Media Processing tab.

Step 10 Verify that the correct video blades (EMPs) are listed with the audio blade (MCU).

If a video blade is unexpectedly associated (or not associated) with the audio blade, then correct the configuration of the audio and video blades.

Step 11 Return to the Media Server Administration, which is in a different browser window from the Media Server Administrator (MSA).

Step 12 Click Resource Management > MCU in the sidebar.

Step 13 Repeat Step 5 through Step 12 for each audio blade (MCU) in the Media Server.

Checking Video Licenses

Procedure

Step 1 Log in to the Administration Center.

Step 2 Click Maintenance > Licenses > Licenses Summary.

Step 3 Verify that the correct video licenses are installed and enabled on your system.

If necessary, reinstall licenses.

Related Topics

•Planning the Capacity of your Cisco Unified MeetingPlace System module in the Planning Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace

•Installing and Managing Licenses for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

How to Resolve Problems with Video Connections

•Video Does Not Work

•Poor Video Quality

Video Does Not Work

Problem   Video does not work, but audio does.

Solution   Try pressing the hold button and then the resume button on the phone. This can sometimes clear up transient problems related to video.

Possible Cause    The meeting scheduler cannot host video meetings, so video is not enabled for the meeting.
Solution   Check the Video usage setting in the user profile of the meeting scheduler.

Possible Cause    In Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the DTMF Signaling Method for the SIP trunk to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace is configured to use RFC 2833.
Solution   Set the DTMF Signaling Method field to No Preference.

Problem   Your MCU blade is offline.

Solution   Open your Media Server administration page. Select Resource Management > MCU. The status of the blade should be "online" and "connected." If it is not, select the desired MCU link. Ensure the radio button Online has been selected.

Possible Cause    The prefixes from the MCU to the Media Server are not synchronized.
Solution   Synchronize the prefixes from MCU to Media Server.

Possible Cause    Your call was set up using an audio-only prefix.
Solution   Ensure that the call is set up using a video prefix.

Possible Cause    The video rate is not set properly.
Solution   Make sure the video rate in the administration global settings is set properly. Sign in to the Administration Center. Select System Configuration > Meeting Configuration > Global Settings > Global Video Mode. Set the standard rate to 384 kbps maximum. Set the high rate to 2 Mbps maximum.

Possible Cause    MTP is enabled on the trunk from the CUCM to the Cisco MeetingPlace application server.
Solution   Make sure you disable MTP on the trunk from CUCM to the Cisco MeetingPlace application server.

Problem   A video conference call drops after 20 seconds. There is no video or audio on during that time. The SIP B2BUA log from the infocap shows that Cisco Unified Communications Manager send TIAS with a negative value, [.INFO] [..MESSAGE] b=TIAS:-1000. This is because the "Video Call Bandwidth" field was set to "None" in the Region setting.

Solution   Set the correct value for the "Video Call Bandwidth" field.

Related Topics

•in the Configuring User Profiles and User Groups for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

•Configuring Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.x or a Later Release: SIP Trunk to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace in the Configuring Call Control for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

Poor Video Quality

Problem   The video has a pixelated image or poor quality.

Possible Cause    Network issues are causing packet loss between the endpoint and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
Solution   Check the network for and correct any packet loss or excessive bandwidth utilization along the path between the video endpoint and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.

Possible Cause    (CSCso95109) The input stream is from the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7985. This potentially affects all video calls with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace when the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Global video mode is set to "standard rate" (384kb).
Solution   In the Administration Center, set the Global video mode field to High rate.

Solution   For full compatibility with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace, upgrade the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7985 to application load 4.1(7) or later.

Related Topics

•See the "Network Management" chapter and the "Call Admission Control, QoS, and Bandwidth" section in the "Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Integration" chapter of the Cisco Unified Communications Solution Reference Network Design (SRND) that applies to your version of Cisco Unified Communications Manager at http://www.cisco.com/go/designzone.

•Planning the Capacity of your Cisco Unified MeetingPlace System module in the Planning Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace

How to Resolve Problems with Video Endpoints

Note Make sure that the video endpoints are supported by your release of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.

•Video Endpoint Gets One-Way Video or No Video

•Call is Dropped When Entering a Meeting, Entering a Breakout Session, or Entering #31 to Dial Out

•Jumpy Video

Video Endpoint Gets One-Way Video or No Video

Problem   A video endpoint gets no video or gets only one-way video.

Possible Cause    The video endpoint does not support escalation to video via H.323 Empty Terminal Capabilities Set (ECS) or SIP re-INVITE after the voice call is established. This can result in either partial or complete lack of video reception after connecting to a meeting.
Solution   Check with the endpoint vendor for a firmware update.

Solution   Use the video terminal in Direct-to-Meeting Mode for Invited Terminals.

Related Topics

•How to Configure Video Terminal Profiles in the Configuring Endpoints for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

Call is Dropped When Entering a Meeting, Entering a Breakout Session, or Entering #31 to Dial Out

Problem   A call is dropped when:

•Video endpoint is about to enter a meeting.

•Video endpoint is about to enter a breakout session.

•Video endpoint user enters #31 in the TUI to initiate a dial-out call.

Possible Cause    The video endpoint does not support media transfer via H.323 Empty Capabilities Set (ECS) or SIP re-INVITE.
Solution   Check with the endpoint vendor for a firmware update.

Solution   Use the video terminal in Direct-to-Meeting Mode for Invited Terminals. See "How to Configure Video Terminal Profiles" in the Configuring Endpoints for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module. Also:

•Do not attempt to move the video terminal into a breakout session.

•Do not initiate dial-out calls from the video endpoint by entering #31.

Jumpy Video

Problem   The video display appears to be unstable.

Possible Cause    When the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Global video mode is set to standard rate, and and video terminals are using the H.264 codec, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace negotiates the video connection at 15 frames per second, which is consistent with the H.264 Level 1.2 specification. However, many video terminals ignore the frame rate limitation for H.264 Level 1.2 and send frames at a higher rate. This overloads the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace video blade and results in corrupted video output. Note that the effect may be observed on terminals other than the one causing the problem.
Solution   Identify suspect terminals and check with the endpoint vendor for a firmware update.

Solution   Set the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Global video mode to high rate, or configure the video terminals to use H.263 instead of H.264.

Additional References for Troubleshooting Video Issues

Topic

Documentation

Video endpoint support

Troubleshooting call connections

Troubleshooting Telephone Issues for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

Troubleshooting end-user issues

User Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/ps5664/ps5669/products_user_guide_list.html

Media Server installation and configuration

Basic video conferencing configuration

Quick Start Configuration: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Basic Voice and Video Conferencing module

Call control configuration

Configuring Call Control for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module

QoS, network management, and overall network design for Cisco Unified Communications

Cisco Unified Communications Solution Reference Network Design (SRND) at