Linux Based Access Grid Presented by PRAGMA 4, Melbourne (06 ...
- 1. Linux Based Access Grid Presented by PRAGMA 4, Melbourne (06/06/2003) Rajesh Chhabra Grid Technologies Programmer QPSF-(QUT), APAC Andrew Howard Network Engineer AARNET
- 2. Topics Overview Comparison between Video Conferencing and Access Grid Important hardware for AG Important software for AG Important network for AG Value added software Lessons Learned Observations
- 3. Overview The Access Grid (AG) is an ensemble of resources All open source software – Collection of MBone ( M ulticast Back bone ) videoconferencing tools. Tools like traditional Vic ( Vi deo C onferencing Tool), RAT ( R obust A udio T ool) & the tools are increasing day by day Targeted for group-to-group interactions large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures, tutorials, and training. Pure IP based conferencing True multi-point, multi-site conferencing capabilities
- 4. Video Conferencing (polycom) vs Access Grid First and most significant –Price Polycom still popularly use ISDN lines. Polycom software is proprietary. Bridging which is done by hardware unit is still expensive. Some very fancy collaboration tools available from Polycom at some significant pricing. Compatibility Most of the Polycom software is only windows compatible. Compatibility among different MCU’s still comes up as an issue, its been happening with present VTC
- 5. Important Hardware Components for Standard AG Setup 2 PC PentiumIV (1 Display Machine, 1 Video Capture Machine) 1 GB RAM (preferred) Sound Blaster Live Audio Card Matrox G550 dual output (PCI or AGP) display card. OR 1 IVC 200G (ICP Electronics Corporation http://www.ieiworld.com ) 1 Echo Canceller Getner XAP400 Infocus DLP or Sony LCD Projectors (any) Sony Cameras (motorized-Sony EVD 100) Other audio stuff like amplifier, boundary microphones etc A list of hardware and other stuff required can be found at http://www1.qpsf.edu.au/gu/accessgrid.html
- 6. Important Software for Standard AG Setup Linux OS Multicast Capable Kernel (To check whether your Linux version support IP multicast go to /usr/src/linux-2.4X , type “make xconfig”, click “networking options” make sure “IP multicasting” option is selected! VIC (video conferencing tool) current version -2.8ucl1.14 RAT (robust audio tool) use version 4.2.22 or higher
- 7. Important Network Considerations for Access Grid Multicast Enabled Network – Access Grid works on multicast (broadcast) principles Bridging – It is possible to bridge on multicast network through a piece of software, so if you don’t have multicast network don’t panic! Security - Some security issues have been in considerations, coming versions of AG will have security considerations.
- 8. Value added software Virtual venue deamon (VVD) – Easier web based startup of AG (virtual venues) Tkmoo – Chat client -very useful to communicate between AG operators while a session is going on. DPPT (distributed power point) & RPPT (remote power point) – extremely useful tool for presentations broadcasting. NTE (network text editor) – edit text documents at the same time. Wb (whiteboard) – shared whiteboard Multicast Bridge- Members with unicast network can connect to this bridge to participate
- 9. Lessons Learned AG is still far from a matured kit- Just like other grid tools, this is still not a matured kit and can give hiccups often, but its relatively simple to troubleshoot. Bandwidth - More the merrier but around 100MB link gives good results Firewalls (proxy server) – Grid workers don’t like firewalls do we? Simple network traffic reasons here. Audio - ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) drivers commonly used for the full duplex capability of audio cards but tested OSS (Open Source Sound) drivers with right combination of RAT and it WORKED
- 10. Observations Effective group-to-group communication – Our management use AG more often than researchers-huge savings! Effective teaching among different campuses- Access Grid in James Cook University, Queensland operating classes between Townsville and Cairns campuses. Myths- Access Grid will eliminate travel — wrong- it will increase communication with less travel! Access Grid is complex to run - few web clicks or typing IP address is all that you require to run, once all setup! Application areas- If you need communication you can bring in AG
- 11. Current Challenges in Access Grid AG version 2 –The vision is to make this work like user interface to the Grid. (With Globus) This will allow sharing files along with normal AG. 3D Access Grid - Sharing 3D data along with normal AG. Security in Access Grid - Some work going on security issues of AG(ANL). Security on multicast is hard!