1. Collaborative Bandwidth on Demand (CollaBOD)
Operational System for Bandwidth on Demand Advance Scheduling
Collaborative Network Technologies Inc.
March 2004

2. The Problem
Providing multi-user control of bandwidth on demand facilities dispersed in a rural environment

3. The Challenge Users book and operate their own services
Users are scattered across wide geography in several time zones
The shared network infrastructure must not become over-committed
The network is comprised of locations connected with limited capacity gateways
Terrestrial dedicated and dialup
Bandwidth on demand and dedicated satellite
Wired, wireless and hybrid local networks

4. The Considerations Ease of operation Ease of maintenance
Users must not interfere with concurrent programming
Existing programs may need to be overridden in case of disaster
Utilization reports are required for capacity planning and billing

5. The Solution
CollaBoD was designed to manage bandwidth on demand in a distributed user environment.
CollaBoD is deployed within Telesat Canada’s infrastructure supporting the SmartLabrador initiative

6. Network Architecture
Users access CollaBoD engine with the web and a java application
Engine accessible from internet via firewall
Engine holds JDBC database which logs session detail
Engine controls circuits in real time thru SNMP
CollaBOD model can be extended to other BOD satellite technologies

7. Stakeholder Organizations
Application service provider
End-user groups
Community facilities supplier
Integration and technical services
Supplier of third party central services (for example video bridge)
Satellite communications supplier
Terrestrial communications supplier

8. Human Roles in the Organizations
Central operation
Advance booking
Program operation
Reporting

9. Central Operations
The satellite provider’s network operations center can monitor existing and requested program bookings
Central operations can override programming to resolve conflicts over shared resources in real time
Central operations interact with program operators and technical support personnel

10. Advance Booking
The booking coordinator handles requests for scheduled services
The booking coordinator is the primary liasion with the end user group prior to the scheduled event
The CollaBoD engine is configured with a summary of the network infrastructure
The CollaBoD engine compares booking requests against scheduled programming and available capacity before confirming

11. Advance Booking

12. Program Operators
Program operators interact with end users or community facilitators
Program operators perform real time monitoring of sessions
Operators can override for disaster recovery or emergency
Operators record the success and failure of sessions with annotation

13. Program Operators

14. Reporting Billing and Utilization Capacity Assessment
Customer Management

15. Sample Reports

16. Case Study: Smart Labrador
Area over square kilometers
40 video conferencing rooms
25 communities in 3 time zones
Always-on Internet
BoD and dedicated gateways with capacity for one video conference
Each gateway services several H.323 capable video rooms
Multipoint video conferencing hub

17. SmartLabrador Stakeholder Groups
Application coordinator (SmartLabrador)
Satellite provider (Telesat)
Telecommunications provider (Aliant)
Video bridge provider (TETRA)
End consumers of shared facilities
Health Labrador
Grenfell Regional Health Services
K12 and post-secondary distance education
Community development groups
Government agencies
Municipal Councils

18. In Conclusion
SmartLabrador and Telesat both derive value from the CollaBoD
On demand circuits are brought up and down without real time human intervention
Event coordination is simplified because conflicts are detected and rectified early

19. Contact Les Cuff, Product Manager
Collaborative Network Technologies Inc.
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Canada, A1C-5V3
Phone:
Fax:
Web: