High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 1 High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics Erik Gottschalk (Fermilab) On behalf of Joao Fernandes (CERN) Knut Bjorkli (CERN) Guenter Eckerlin (DESY) Reinhard Eisberg (DESY) Lucas Taylor (Northeastern Univ.) Sheila Cisko (Fermilab)

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 2 Overview What is High Definition (HD) Videoconferencing?  Definition  Equipment in CMS Centres  HD videoconferencing for CMS operations HD videoconferencing for media events  Dedication (Oct. 22, 2007)  LHC First Beam Day media event (Sept. 10, 2008) …as experienced at Fermilab…

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 3 What is HD Videoconferencing? Videoconferencing technology is evolving rapidly, and terminology is evolving rapidly as well. A simple definition is that High Definition (HD) videoconferencing has higher resolution than Standard Definition (SD) videoconferencing. Definition of HD videoconferencing “today”:  Display resolution: at least 720p (1280 x 720 progressive scan)  Frames per second: at least 25 or 30 frames per second (fps)  Bitrate: at least 1 Mbps CMS uses HD videoconferencing to link the major CMS Centres (CERN, DESY, FNAL) to each other and to the CMS Control Room in Cessy, France. The HD videoconferencing equipment is “permanently” connected to encourage spontaneous and informal communication.

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 4 CMS Centres Sao Rio de Fermilab DESY See Lucas Taylor’s talk in this CHEP 2009 session: “CMS Centres Worldwide: A New Collaborative Infrastructure”

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 5 CMS Centres Sao Rio de Fermilab DESY See Lucas Taylor’s talk in this CHEP 2009 session: “CMS Centres Worldwide: A New Collaborative Infrastructure”

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 6 CMS Experiment Control Room Remote Operations Centre at Fermilab CMS Centre at CERN: monitoring, computing operations, analysis Lucas Taylor CMS Centres Worldwide

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 7 CMS Experiment Control Room Remote Operations Centre at Fermilab CMS Centre at CERN: monitoring, computing operations, analysis Permanently running video links to operations centres Lucas Taylor CMS Centres Worldwide

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 8 HD Equipment in CMS Centres CMS Control Room at Point 5 (Cessy, France)  Tandberg Edge 95 MXP with 1 year maintenance: $8152 (May 28, 2008)  Natural Presenter for content sharing (H.239): $1409 CMS Centre at CERN  Tandberg Edge 95 MXP with Natural Presenter  50” SONY LCD TV CMS Centre at DESY  Tandberg Edge 95 MXP with Natural Presenter  42” Sharp LCD TV CMS Centre at FNAL  Polycom HDX8004 with MCU and 3 year maintenance: $11896 (Jan. 9, 2008)  Content sharing (H.239): $1350  47” Toshiba LCD TV: $1830  Auxiliary camera: $4205 Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) - a device used to connect video systems  We started with HD-capable MCU provided by the Deutsches Forschungsnetz (DFN)  For LHC First Beam Day, and thereafter, we use an HD-capable MCU at CERN  Esnet (Department of Energy) plans to acquire an HD-capable MCU

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 9 Why HD Videoconferencing for Operations? The main reason for using HD videoconferencing for CMS operations is that it improves communication by encouraging spontaneous and informal interactions between the CMS control room and the major CMS Centres at CERN, DESY, and Fermilab. Audio & Video quality  HD provides quality described as being almost as good as “meeting face-to-face.”  The ability to see people in high resolution encourages communication between team members in the same way that team members who are in the same physical location will have more interactions with each other.  Audio quality is excellent with built-in acoustic echo and noise cancellation.  For operations, video communication is much better than telephone, , IM, etc. Control capabilities  Videoconferencing “endpoints” can be restarted periodically by scripts or by administrators.  Far-end camera control is often used to get a closer look at equipment or computer screens, or to see who is in the room.  Layouts for video sessions can be moderated by an administrator (useful for media events).

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 10 Why HD Videoconferencing for Operations? Reliability & maintenance  Reliability of HD equipment is very good. Disconnects occur infrequently and are usually attributed to network problems. Occasionally the equipment needs to be rebooted.  HD equipment requires minimal maintenance, especially when compared to the PCs in an operations center. PCs require periodic maintenance for software and operating system upgrades. Ease of use  With “permanent” 24/7 video connections CMS Centres are always in contact with each other, making it easier for people on shift to communicate with each other.  We mute microphones until someone needs to communicate. By pushing an unmute button a person can easily talk to people at other CMS Centres. Privacy & security  Videoconferencing is preferred over webcams, since the communication is bidirectional.  Webcams are viewed as a security risk in operations centers. See Dave Mason’s talk “Remote Operation of CMS Data and Workflows” in the Distributed Processing and Analysis Session (Thursday, March 26, 14:40).

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 11 HD Videoconferencing for Media Events HD videoconferencing has improved communications capabilities (audio and video) so that remote participation in large-scale media events is now possible. At Fermilab we have been involved in several events, including the LHC Grid Fest and live interviews for the Press. Dedication (Oct. 22, 2007)  Carefully planned event for the dedication of the Remote Operations Center  Speakers at Fermilab: Dr. Ray Orbach (Under Secretary for Science, DOE), Dr. Joseph Dehmer (Director of the Division of Physics, NSF), Dr. Pier Oddone (Fermilab Director)  Speakers at CERN: Dr. Robert Aymar (CERN Director General ), Dr. Lyn Evans (LHC Project Manager ), Dr. Jim Virdee (Spokesman for CMS ), Dr. Joel Butler (US-CMS Program Manager)  This event served as a precursor for using HD videoconferencing for the LHC First Beam Day LHC First Beam Day media event (Sept. 10, 2008) - as experienced at Fermilab…  More than 400 people participated in the Fermilab Pajama Party, which began at 1:00 am  members of the Press (e.g. The New York Times) came to Fermilab for this event  Live HD video interview with Dr. Rolf Heuer at DESY  HD video interviews of people from ATLAS and CMS (interviews conducted in control rooms)  Fermilab Director congratulated CERN (contributed to 15 minutes of international TV coverage) Conclusion: Without the audio and video quality (and reliability) provided by HD video equipment, we would not have attempted to link the CERN Globe, Fermilab, DESY, LHC and experiment control rooms to provide a video feed for international television coverage.

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 12 Lucas Taylor Joao Fernandes Knut Bjorkli

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 13

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 14

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 15 Location and Layout CMS Centre

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 16 Equipment for Media Events

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 17

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 18

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 19

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 20

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 21 Television Broadcast from FNAL (video/audio feed using HD videoconferencing equipment)

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 22

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 23

High Definition Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics, Erik Gottschalk 24 Conclusions CMS is using HD videoconferencing for experiment operations as a communications link between the CMS control room and major CMS Centres (CERN, DESY, FNAL). This is a “permanent” communications link to encourage spontaneous and informal interactions. The HD equipment that we have installed at CERN, DESY and FNAL is reliable and requires minimal maintenance. Audio and video quality is good enough for remote participation in large-scale media events, such as the LHC First Beam Day event. Without the audio and video quality we would not have attempted to link control rooms at CERN to the CERN Globe, DESY and Fermilab to provide a high quality video feed for international television coverage.