1. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 1 Multimedia conferencing standards  There are two standards associated with Multimedia Conferencing.  H.320 applies to connections across Wide Area Networks.  H.323 applies to connections across Local Area Networks. Beginning Help H.320 H.323 Standards Review Questions

2. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 2 H.320 conferences  H.320 is an umbrella standard linking into other standards where necessary. Many standards exist that are relevant to a multimedia conference.  The H.320 standard defines how a multimedia conference running over Wide Area (specifically ISDN) should operate. Many of the individual standards are common to both the WAN and LAN environments. The major difference is in the area of signaling and control. WAN environments are connection based; those in the LAN are connectionless. Previous Beginning Help What other standards are under the H.320 Umbrella?

3. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 3 H.320 conferences Previous Beginning Help Video H.261 H.263 Data T.120 Audio G.711 G.722 G.728 Multiplexing H.221 Control signaling H.242 H.243 Network Interfaces V.xx X.xx I.xx Line Protocols I.361 I.363 I.400 H.320 Click on the box to find out more about these standards

4. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 4 H.323 standards  H.323 acts as the umbrella standard linking into other standards where necessary.  Release 1 - 1996; Release 2 – 1998 ; Release 3 - 1999  Multimedia conferencing over IP LANs uses standards from many organisations, some within ISO and some not, the specific standard H.323 is predominantly used to identify those standards that are relevant. Those listed on the next page are not a complete set, but the ones most likely to be of immediate relevance in configuring and using the Encounter products. Previous Beginning Help What other standards are under the H.323 Umbrella?

5. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 5 H.323 standards Video H.261 H.263 Data T.120 Audio G.711 G.722 G.723 G.728 Control signaling H.225 H.244 H.450.x Network Interfaces 8802 V.xx X.xx I.xx Network Protocols TCP UDP IP H.323 Click on the box to find out more about these standards Security H.235 Previous Beginning Help

6. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 6 Video Standards  There are 2 standards for video encoding used for Multimedia Conferencing. The standards control such factors as how the signal is compressed and digitised for transmission, the quality of the picture and how frequently the screen will be refreshed. But remember, the higher the picture quality, and the more frequent the refresh rate, the higher the bandwidth requirement. Beginning Help H.261 H.263 Multimedia Standards

7. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 7 H.261  This is the older video encoding standard, but the most widely supported. The choice of refresh rates and image format allows choices to be made balancing bandwidth and picture quality. There are two defined image formats:   Common Intermediate Format (CIF),  which is 352 pixels by 288 lines  Quarter CIF (QCIF), which is 176 pixels by144 lines  H.261 supports the following refresh rates:  30, 15, 10 and 7.5 times per second   This standard is the default for all H.323 traffic and all endpoints must be able to support at least this video mode Previous Beginning Help

8. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 8 H.263  This is the newer video standard. It offers improved video coding and decoding, with higher quality options (4CIF has 4 times the picture element count of CIF), and greater refresh options. There are five defined image formats:  CIF and QCIF (as for H.261)  16CIF - 1408 pixels by 1152 lines  4CIF - 702 pixels by 576 lines  SQCIF - 128 pixels by 96 lines  H.263 supports the following refresh rates:  30, 15, 10, 7.5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 times per second  For some applications a high quality image with very slow refresh will be desirable, while others would prefer rapid refresh at the expense of quality.  H.263 is not directly compatible with H.261. Previous Beginning Help

9. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 9 Audio standards  There are more variations of audio standards than there are of video, but there is only limited flexibility within each standard. It is possible to inter-work these standards providing a device on the network translates the codes.  Each encoding standard relies on an analogue to digital technique called Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM), of which there are two standard methods of operating - A-law is used mainly in North America, and m-law is used mainly in Europe. Some encoding standards support both techniques, some only one.  Where both are supported within the standard, the endpoints must be compatible with the chosen technique. Multimedia Standards Beginning Help G.722 G.723 G.728 G.711

10. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 10 G.711  This is the most common audio standard used within both H.320 and H.323.  G.711 encodes 3.1 KHz audio range using pulse code modulation. G.711 audio is transmitted at 48kbps or 56kbps in H.320, and 64 kbps in H.323.  This is the default standard applied to H.323 endpoints, regardless of what other standards they can support, they must support G.711. Previous Beginning Help

11. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 11 G.722  G.722 encodes 7.0 KHz audio range based on sub-bands (it divides the total frequency band into higher and lower bands called sub-bands). It only transmits the change in an input signal, instead of the whole signal.   G.722 audio is transmitted at 48kbps or 56kbps in H.320, and 64 kbps in H.323. Previous Beginning Help

12. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 12 G.723  G723 is also known as IP Audio and is often used in H.323 networks. It provides audio quality like the Mobile Phone standard, and not normal telephone standard sound quality.  G.723 encodes 3.0 KHz audio range and is transmitted at 5.3kbps or 6.3kbps. Previous Beginning Help

13. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 13 G.728  G.728 is an audio coding algorithm that takes 128K pulse code modulated data and transmits it at 16kbps.  It is frequently used in low-speed conferences since it makes more of the transfer rate bandwidth available for video.  It is used widely within H.320 networks for this reason. Previous Beginning Help

14. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 14 Control standards  There are two significant control protocols used within H.323, H225 and H.245.  H.225 is used for control signalling during the initial call set up between Gatekeeper and endpoint.  H.245 is then used for control signalling during the conference itself.  Another set of standards were introduced with H.323 Release 2. These are the H.450 family of protocols which add a range of additional services to H.323. Previous Beginning Help H.225 H.245 H.450.x

15. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 15 H.225 RAS H.225  H.225 is the principle “language”of the Gatekeeper. A Gatekeeper has a range of special functions to fulfill, and so requires a special language of it’s own. H.225 also uses another standard protocol, Q.931. Previous Beginning Help H.225/Q.931/RAS H.225/Q.931 Q.931 Click here to find out more about these standards /

16. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 16 H.225 RAS  The three prime functions of H.225 are those of endpoint Registration, Admission and Status. Each of these functions is performed as a separate step within H.225. The Gatekeeper sends “keep alive” messages to endpoints while it is processing RAS requests. Previous Beginning Help Admission Status Registration

17. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 17 Q.931  Q.931 is one of the common call signaling protocols used in Wide Area Networks – it is used extensively in ISDN.  In H.323, Q.931 is used to establish a connection between an endpoint and the Gatekeeper, and between one endpoint and another. Previous Beginning Help

18. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 18 H.225 Registration  Any endpoint that wishes to take part in a conference must Register with a Gatekeeper. When an endpoint attached to a LAN is started it will automatically send a message looking for a Gatekeeper to register with. There can only be one Gatekeeper that is “allowed” to accept that registration. Once an endpoint is registered it will periodically send an update message to the Gatekeeper to maintain it’s registration. Previous Beginning Help What does the Gatekeeper do with the registration information?What does the Gatekeeper do with the registration information? “Hello, my name is ‘Mary’” Register ‘Mary’ as available for conferences

19. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 19 H.225 Registration  The Gatekeeper will use the information gained during registration to build a “translation” table. This will include learning the name allocated to each endpoint as well as it’s network (IP) address.  A Gatekeeper can be set to accept any address, or set to only accept specific addresses. An endpoint could be set to register with any Gatekeeper, or a specific Gatekeeper. To build a zone (in a multi-gatekeeper system), requires that one or other device is correctly configured. In a large network it will be easiest to configure the Gatekeepers. Previous Beginning Help

20. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 20 H.225 Admission  Before a conference can commence the Gatekeeper will have to give permission. The originating endpoint will request a connection by specifying with whom it wishes to communicate and the amount of bandwidth it requires.  The Gatekeeper will permit the connection providing  1. Security conditions are satisfied (e.g. valid user, valid destination, etc.).  2. Sufficient bandwidth exists.  If sufficient bandwidth does not exist, then the Gatekeeper can negotiate with the endpoint to attempt to agree a lower value providing the endpoint supports such an option. Previous Beginning Help How does admission happen?

21. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 21 H.225 Admission Previous Beginning Help I would like to talk to Mary @ 400kbps Is he allowed to? Is there enough capacity? Can we agree on capacity?

22. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 22 H.225 Status  The Gatekeeper will monitor the status of all registered endpoints and connections, by sending and receiving “Keep Alive” messages. The prime purpose of this is to ensure that registered endpoints remain available. An endpoint should de-register when finished, but may not. To allow for this the Gatekeeper regularly contacts each endpoint to see that they are still operational. An endpoint that fails to respond is removed from the registered list.  Similarly the endpoints are required to report periodically to the Gatekeeper for the duration of a call. If an endpoint fails to report for four consecutive times the call is assumed to have ended and the Gatekeeper will send Disconnect messages to both endpoints and release the network resources. Previous Beginning Help How does this happen?

23. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 23 H.225 Status Previous Beginning Help No reply from Harry, so I’ll de-register him. “Are you still there ‘Mary’” “Are you still there ‘Harry’” “I’m still here Gatekeeper” Mary’s still active, so she can stay registered

24. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 24 H.245  Connections need to be set-up for a specific conference, monitored to ensure they are functional, and then cleared at the end of the conference. This is the function of the H.245 standard. Previous Beginning Help H.245 Control Audio Video

25. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 25 Security standards  H.235 is a security protocol which was introduced into H.323 at release 2. It provides the following facilities to ensure that conferences can be more tightly controlled.  By authenticating users, it can control who can join the conference.  H.235 can enforce endpoint integrity which forces endpoints to be associated with Participants.  It can ensure data stream privacy by using a pseudo encryption technique.  Using a technique, known as non-repudiation, which checks that the caller is who they say they are, it can ensure that callers are billed correctly.  Many multimedia endpoints do not currently support H.235. Previous Beginning Help

26. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 26 H.450.x  Introduced into H.323 at release 2, H450.x protocols facilitate the use of several supplementary services in the H.323 environment.  H.450.1 is the signalling protocol which controls the operation of the other protocols.  H.450.2 provides call transfer facilities, which allow callers to be answered by one endpoint and then transferred to another.  H.450.3 allows calls to be diverted to other endpoints for answering.  H.450 is intended primarily for telephony applications (VoIP) and so not all multimedia endpoints support it. Previous Beginning Help

27. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 27  The H.323 standard is used over Wide Area Networks only.  True  False Multimedia Conferencing Standards - Review Question 1 Beginning Help Review that information again Multimedia Standards Move on to the next question

28. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 28  H.320 is the Multimedia conferencing standard for WANs. H.323 is used over any network that uses IP as it’s transport protocol. This could be a LAN or a WAN network. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

29. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 29 Correct Answer Well done H.323 is used over any network that uses IP as it’s transport protocol. This could be a LAN or a WAN network. Beginning Help Multimedia Standards Review that information again Move on to the next question

30. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 30  Which of the following standards are used for conference control, between endpoints,once they have registered with the Gatekeeper.  H.225  H.245  Q.931  RAS Multimedia Conferencing Standards - Review Question 2 Beginning Help Review that information again Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

31. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 31  H.225 is the protocol used by the Gatekeeper to communicate with endpoints. H.245 is used to control the conference traffic between endpoints. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

32. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 32  Q.931 is part of the H.225 protocol, used by the Gatekeeper to communicate with endpoints. H.245 is used to control the conference traffic between endpoints. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

33. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 33  RAS is part of the H.225 protocol, used by the Gatekeeper to communicate with endpoints. H.245 is used to control the conference traffic between endpoints. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

34. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 34 Correct Answer Review that information again Well done H.245 is used to control the conference traffic between endpoints. Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

35. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 35  As a minimum, an H.323 endpoint must support the H.263 video standard.  True  False Multimedia Conferencing Standards - Review Question 3 Beginning Help Review that information again Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

36. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 36  H.263 is the newer video standard, offering more efficient compression, or higher image quality. An H.323 endpoint must support H.261, as a minimum. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

37. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 37 Correct Answer Review that information again Well done An H.323 endpoint must support H.261, as a minimum. Beginning Help Move on to the next question Multimedia Standards

38. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 38  Which of the following audio standards are most widely used in H.323?  G.711 and G.722  G.711 and G.723  G.711 and G.728  G.723 and G.728 Multimedia Conferencing Standards - Review Question 4 Beginning Help Review that information again Multimedia Standards Move on to the next question

39. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 39  G.711 is the most commonly used audio standard in both H.320 and H.323.  G.722 is not widely used in H.323. G.711 and G.723 are the most commonly used audio standards in H.323. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Multimedia Standards Move on to the next question

40. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 40  G.711 and G.728 are the most commonly used audio standards in both H.320. G.711 and G.723 are the most commonly used audio standards in H.323. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Multimedia Standards Move on to the next question

41. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 41  G.723 is widely used in H.323.  G.728 is widely used in H.320. G.711 and G.723 are the most commonly used audio standards in H.323. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Multimedia Standards Move on to the next question

42. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 42 Correct Answer Review that information again Well done G.711 and G.723 are the most commonly used audio standards in H.323. Beginning Help Multimedia Standards Move on to the next question

43. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 43  Which of the following standards was introduced in Release 2 of the H.323 Standard?  H.225  H.235  H.245 Multimedia Conferencing Standards - Review Question 5 Beginning Help Review that information again Multimedia Standards

44. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 44  H.225 is the protocol used by the Gatekeeper, and has been part of H.323 since release 1 of the standard. H.235 was introduced to provide enhanced security in H.323, release 2. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Multimedia Standards

45. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 45  H.245 is the protocol used by endpoints for conference control, once they have registered with the Gatekeeper and has been part of H.323 since release 1 of the standard. H.235 was introduced to provide enhanced security in H.323, release 2. Wrong Answer Review that information again Beginning Help Multimedia Standards

46. © Copyright Ezenia Inc, 2000 46 Correct Answer Review that information again Well done H.235 was introduced to provide enhanced security in H.323, release 2. Beginning Help Multimedia Standards