Web Conferencing for Cisco MeetingPlace Voice and Video Conferences
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Cisco® MeetingPlace®-part of the Cisco IP Communications system-is a complete rich-media conferencing solution that seamlessly integrates voice, video, and Web conferencing capabilities to make remote meetings as natural and effective as face-to-face meetings for unmatched productivity gains. Cisco MeetingPlace is deployed "on network", behind the firewall and integrated directly into an organization's private voice and data networks and enterprise applications, to provide significant cost savings, the utmost in security, and a superior user experience.
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 is a core component of the Cisco MeetingPlace solution that allows users to share content and collaborate with colleagues, and integrates easy setup, attendance and management of rich-media conferences (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Manage voice, video, and Web conferences from a single browser window that displays shared content for viewing and collaboration.
Leading enterprises and government organizations use Cisco MeetingPlace to expand their market reach, improve operational effectiveness, and speed decision making. Common applications include everyday business meetings, sales demonstrations, product development, support, training, and presentations.
Cisco® MeetingPlace can be deployed in a variety of ways-on premises or hosted in off-site facilities, customer managed or outsourced. Outsourcing can provide system administration and end-user help desk functions for on-premises or hosted systems-combining all the benefits of dedicated on-network conferencing with the convenience of outsourced services.
KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS
As part of the Cisco MeetingPlace rich-media conferencing solution, Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 allows users to setup and conduct effective, productive virtual meetings involving voice, video, and Web conferencing.
Tightly Integrated Rich-media Conference Scheduling and Attendance
For easy setup and attendance of integrated voice, video, and Web conferences, Cisco MeetingPlace offers a Web browser interface and advanced, proven integrations with Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes calendars. Meeting invitees automatically receive notification by e-mail or calendar invitation and can attend rich-media conferences with a single click. Cisco MeetingPlace also allows users to initiate rich-media conferences, including video, from common instant messaging clients like America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger, Lotus Sametime, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger.
Advanced Rich-media Conference Control
Cisco MeetingPlace tightly integrates voice, video, and Web conferencing for advanced in-meeting control (Figure 2). Without wasting time disrupting a meeting, users know who has attended, how they have attended (voice, video, or Web), who is speaking, and who is sharing. Users with the appropriate privileges can control a broad range of meeting characteristics, including Web conferencing permissions, speaking permissions (mute, listen only), recording, and meeting security. Users can control their personal meeting environments, including video layout on their end points, play/pause of video, and private discussions. When a user selects to leave or is ejected from the meeting, all media types-voice, video, and Web-are disconnected simultaneously.
Figure 2. See who is speaking, who is sharing, who is participating in the voice conference, who is participating in the video conference, and who is participating in the Web conference. Simply click a menu option to mute/unmute, play/pause video, change video layout, or disconnect video connection.
Powerful Web Conferencing
From a firewall-friendly browser console, users can share any application, document, Website, whiteboard, or presentation for participants to view, annotate, and discuss in real time. For highly interactive meetings, participants can pass control of the shared application securely. Users can co-browse and simultaneously access streaming media and Flash movies. Chat and polling capabilities enable private communication and group feedback.
Rich-media Conference Recordings
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing securely captures and stores meeting recordings. From either the phone or Web interface, users can initiate recording of their meetings and can play back synchronized Web and voice meeting recordings using common Web browsers-no separate hardware or software is required.
Secure Web Conferencing
Security-conscious organizations use Cisco MeetingPlace for conferencing. Cisco MeetingPlace combines on-net conferencing with advanced architectural and application security. Unlike Internet-based conferencing service providers, Cisco MeetingPlace allows users to isolate internal meetings behind the firewall, while making meetings with partners, customers, and suppliers Internet-accessible. Meetings can be encrypted, access can be limited to specific users, and a variety of in-meeting security settings can keep out unwanted participants.
Proven Deployment and Self-Help Tools
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 includes extensive deployment and self-help tools that leading enterprises have used to rapidly drive Cisco MeetingPlace adoption among their users. The MeetingPlace Reference Center, a Web-based self-help portal included with all Cisco MeetingPlace systems, includes quick start tools, reference cards, self-paced learning modules, meeting tips, and application examples. Customers readily can configure the MeetingPlace Reference Center and customize the self-help tools to reflect their preferences and company-specific information.
PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE
Rich-media Conferencing
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 is software that runs on one or more Cisco Media Convergence Servers (MCS) as part of a Cisco MeetingPlace system. The software communicates using the IP network with a Cisco MeetingPlace 8100 series voice conferencing server and integrates with Cisco MeetingPlace for Microsoft Outlook, Cisco MeetingPlace for Lotus Notes, Cisco MeetingPlace Video Integration, Cisco MeetingPlace SMTP E-mail Gateway Software, and Cisco MeetingPlace Instant Messaging. See the respective datasheets for more information on these integrations.
Secure Web Conferencing
Unlike shared conferencing services that can be accessed by anyone on the Internet, Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 can be deployed inside the corporate firewall and in a "demilitarized zone" (DMZ) so that organizations can secure their confidential meetings behind their firewall and have the flexibility to meet with partners and customers using the same familiar system.
High Availability
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 servers can be clustered for system scaling, load balancing, and failover. In a load-balanced deployment, meetings automatically are started on the least-loaded server, and if there is a server failure meetings automatically resume on alternate servers.
SYSTEM CAPACITY
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 can support up to 1152 concurrent Web conferencing users with a cluster of Cisco Media Convergence Servers. Each server in a cluster can support up to 200 concurrent Web conferencing users, and the maximum meeting size is 150 for presentation sharing meetings and 100 for application sharing meetings (see Web Conferencing below).
FEATURES
Rich-media Conferencing
• Integrated Voice Conferencing-Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 integrates with the Cisco 8100 series voice conferencing platform to provide an integrated voice and Web conferencing solution.
• Integrated Video Conferencing-Using Cisco MeetingPlace Video Integration, Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 integrates with Cisco IPVC video conferencing to provide an integrated voice, video, and Web conferencing solution.
• Integrated Instant Messaging-Using Cisco MeetingPlace Instant Messaging, Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing 5.3 integrates with Lotus Sametime, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger so that users easily can escalate instant messaging sessions into integrated voice, video, and Web conferences.
Meeting Management
• Meeting Console-Cisco MeetingPlace provides a browser-based interface to manage the voice, video, and Web elements of meetings, as well as to share content (see Web Conferencing below).
• Personal Controls-Meeting participants can call out to their phone or video endpoints, mute/unmute themselves, pause/play their videos, change their video layout from active speaker to multiple videos (continuous presence), disconnect their videos, move to breakouts (phone), and leave the meeting, which disconnects their voice, video, and Web sessions.
• Meeting Controls-The meeting organizer can change voice and Web conferencing permissions, mute/unmute others, pause/play video from others, rename users, record the meeting, change voice conference announcements, lock the meeting, eject users, and end the meeting.
• Real-time Identification of Speaker and Sharer-Users view a list of who is speaking and sharing at any given moment.
• Participant List-Lists all voice, video, and Web conference participants with associated annotation color and permission icons.
• Chat-Users can send public and private text messages within open forum meetings (see Open Forum and Lecture-Style Meetings below). In lecture-style meetings, presenters can chat to anyone and audience members can chat only to presenters.
Web Conferencing
• Presentations-Users can share or view PowerPoint presentations using only a Web browser on Windows, Mac, or UNIX.
• Annotations/Whiteboard-Users can annotate on shared applications, presentations, and whiteboards.
• Application/Desktop Sharing-Users can share any document, application, or their desktop from Windows (browser or T.120), Mac (Safari browser), or UNIX (T.120).
• Remote Control-When allowed, users can take control remotely of a shared application, presentation, document, Web site, or desktop to collaborate or provide remote assistance.
• Polling-Polling allows users to gather feedback and make decisions quickly. Create polls, surveys, and brainstorming sessions before a meeting or on-the-fly during a meeting. Presenters can administer polls and manage the display of results, whether in bar chart, pie chart, or as a list of anonymous or named responses. Results are available during and after the meeting.
• Customizable View-In the same window, attendees see all shared content and controls or they can hide participant info and/or chat to maximize their view of shared content.
• Recording-Automatically record and playback synchronized Web and voice meeting content without the need for additional hardware or software at the desktop. Voice recordings can be exposed in Waveform Audio (WAV), MPEG Layer 3 (MP3), or Windows Media.
Meeting Setup and Attendance
• Reservationless Meetings-Always-available voice, video, and Web conferences can be provided with a personalized meeting ID for each designated user.
• One-Step Scheduling and Rescheduling-Users quickly and easily can schedule and reschedule integrated voice, video, and Web conferences in a single step from browsers, phones, or Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes calendars.
• Open Forum and Lecture-Style Meetings-Cisco MeetingPlace allows users to set up open forum meetings for smaller peer-oriented meetings like project and staff meetings, and lecture-style meetings for larger controlled meetings like presentations and trainings. In lecture-style meetings only designated individuals can speak and present, whereas in open forum meetings all users by default have speaking and presenting permissions. In both meeting types the meeting organizer can change user permissions as needed.
• Invitation-Calendar or e-mail invitations automatically are distributed to invited participants with the information needed to attend the integrated rich-media conference.
• Point-and-Click Attendance-Users attend voice, video, and Web conferences directly from their calendar, e-mail, URL link, IM, or browser.
Security
• Dedicated On-Net System-Each customer is provided a dedicated Cisco MeetingPlace system integrated with the private network.
• Internet Lock-Out Controls-Meetings can be set up as internal-only meetings held entirely behind the corporate firewall, or as external meetings accessible to Internet participants. Administrators and meeting organizers have complete control.
• Access Authentication-Meeting organizers can require that participants authenticate themselves using individual logins to attend a meeting or to access the documents and recordings for a meeting. Further, Cisco MeetingPlace automatically can block out users after multiple failed login attempts.
• Automated Account Management-Cisco MeetingPlace integrates with corporate directories, automatically removing accounts of employees who leave the company. For more details, see the Cisco MeetingPlace Directory Integration datasheet.
• Encryption-Cisco MeetingPlace supports encrypted Web pages and Web conferencing traffic using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
• In-Session Meeting Controls-Meeting organizers can change voice and Web conferencing permissions, specify announced entry and departure, require passwords, lock the meeting, and eject unwanted attendees.
Enhanced Access
• Common Interface-Cisco MeetingPlace is accessible from standard Java-enabled Web browsers (Windows, Mac, UNIX), telephones (public switched telephone network [PSTN], private branch exchange [PBX], IP, and wireless), and standards-based video endpoints (H.323, H.320, and Skinny Client Control Protocol [SCCP]).
• "Java-Less" Mode-To maximize the number of users that can participate in Web conferences, Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing provides presentation support for users with browsers lacking Java.
• Firewall Friendly-HTTP/HTTPS tunneling technology allows users behind firewalls to participate in Web conferences.
• Connection Speed Detection-Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing automatically detects user connection speed and optimizes the Web conference performance to available bandwidth.
Additional Features
• Configurable User Interface-System administrators easily can show or hide fields and change English text and field labels.
• Language Support-Cisco Meeting Place Web supports English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish (Americas), and Portuguese (Brazil).
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Table 1 lists the system requirements for Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing.
Table 1. System Requirements
Hardware
Voice Conferencing Platform
Cisco MeetingPlace 8100 Series
Video Conferencing Platform
Cisco IP/VC (optional)
Web Conferencing Platform
Cisco Media Convergence Servers
• MCS-7835H-3.0-IPC1 or MCS-7835I-3.0-IPC1
– Supports up to 50 Web conferencing licenses per server
• MCS-7845H-3.0-IPC1
– Supports up to 200 Web conferencing licenses per server
Software-Server
Included with Cisco MeetingPlace Web Software
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Customer Provided Third-Party Software
Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 (required for MP-WEBCONFSW-5.3)
XingMP3 Encoder (Optional-to provide MP3 voice recordings using the Web interface)
Windows ME, Windows 2000 Pro/SE/AS SP2, Windows XP, or Windows 2003
Internet Explorer 5.5 or later, Netscape 7.0* or later
Microsoft JVM 3309 or later (Internet Explorer 5.5), Microsoft JVM 3802 or later (Internet Explorer 6.0), Sun JRE 1.4.2 or later
Mac
Mac OS 9 or later***
Netscape 7.0** or later, Safari 1.2* or later
Sun JRE 1.4.2 or later
UNIX
Solaris 7 or later
Netscape 7.0** or later
Sun JRE 1.4.2 or later
*Users can present, view, annotate, whiteboard, collaborate, and share (applications, Websites, desktops and presentations), as well as chat.
**Users can present, view, annotate, whiteboard, and collaborate (applications, Websites, desktops and presentations), as well as chat.
***Mac OS 10.3 or later is required to share an application from Mac.
ORDERING INFORMATION
Table 2 lists the ordering information for Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing. To place an order, visit the Cisco Ordering Home Page.
Table 2. Ordering Information
Product Name
Part Number
Cisco MeetingPlace Conference User Interface Version 5.3 (included in Cisco MeetingPlace system bundles; includes five concurrent Web conferencing user licenses)
MP-CONF-UI-5.3
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing Version 5.3 (includes 20 concurrent Web conferencing user licenses)
MP-WEBCONFSW-5.3
Cisco MeetingPlace Web Conferencing User License Bundle, 20 user licenses
MP-WEB-UL-20
Cisco MeetingPlace Web-Voice Recording System License
MP-RM-RECORDING
SERVICE AND SUPPORT
Cisco offers a wide range of services programs to accelerate customer success. These innovative services programs are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners, resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco services help you to protect your network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare the network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of your business. For more information about Cisco Services, see Cisco Technical Support Services or Cisco Advanced Services.
