Interactive Television (ITV) System Upgrade Project

of 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ACTION ITEM: Interactive Television (ITV) System Upgrade Project ISSUE: NAU seeks the Board s approval to upgrade its Interactive Television (ITV) System. Distance Learning Television Services has determined that it is time to replace the current Cisco/Radvision Video Conference bridge, gatekeeper and iview ITV class scheduling server with a Tandberg solution that includes their MPS Bridge, gatekeeper, and TMS video conference scheduling and monitoring software. Tandberg offers a more robust system that will scale up to meet the future expansion needs of the statewide ITV network. Estimated cost: $659,000 over a five-year period. BACKGROUND: There are a number of problems with the current ITV system components. The current Cisco/Radvision Bridge is difficult to configure and troubleshoot. The older architecture of the Radvision Bridge limits its ability to support increased call bit rates, advanced video algorithms, and higher video resolutions being supported by our Tandberg endpoints. This can result in degraded session performance which results in an average to poor user experience. We have experienced this with the larger conferences we conduct on the system. The current gatekeeper s router (Cisco 2600) has reached end of life and Cisco will no longer offer support for it. The gatekeeper (software image on the router) has operated sufficiently but due to issues either with the router in combination with the bridge or just with the router itself there have been many instances over the last four years where the gatekeeper loses all of the registered endpoints and the bridge will not release video conferences that have already occurred. The only way to resolve the problems is to restart the bridge and input all of the endpoints back into the gatekeeper. The iview ITV class scheduling server has had problems since the initial installation. Most of these problems had to do with limited scheduling functionality and a quirky, proprietary database backend. TV Services was able to incrementally improve this system over the last four years but only after many hours of working with Cisco/Radvision on the system. DISCUSSION: The Tandberg MPS Bridge, gatekeeper and TMS server offer significant improvements over the current Cisco/Radvision systems. The Tandberg MPS Bridge will support 60 endpoints and up to 15 concurrent sessions at 768Kbps. Our current Cisco/Radvision MCU can support 48 endpoints and 8 concurrent sessions at 768Kbps. We are currently at 46 endpoints so with the addition of the new NAU Phoenix North Valley facility we will be at 47 endpoints with little room for growth without moving into a larger Contact: Fred Estrella, Chief Information Technology Officer, 928-523-9998, fred.estrella@nau.edu

of 7 Cisco/Radvision MCU. Another advantage is that with this upgrade the entire ITV system will be Tandberg equipment resulting in a more reliable, robust system composed of components that are designed to work optimally with each other. The Tandberg MPS Bridge was designed with an architecture that has the capacity to support newer features and functionality as technology advances. An example of this is the High Definition (HD) feature. This Tandberg product set, from end-to end, was designed to be upgraded to support HD through software upgrades. The Tandberg MPS Bridge is managed by the Tandberg Management Suite (TMS). TMS is a management application that is used to schedule, monitor and manage sessions on the Tandberg MPS Bridge. TMS is considered the best video conference management application and is flexible enough to support devices from other manufactures. This is an important factor because it does not prohibit designers of video networks to supporting only Tandberg equipment in their networks. The five-year cost of this upgrade is $659K. RECOMENDATION: That the Board approve NAU s Interactive Television (ITV) System Upgrade Project.

University IT Project Justification SUMMARY SHEET Board of Regents Meeting Page 3 of 7 Institution Project Sponsor Name and Phone NAU Fred Hurst 928-523-6598 College or Unit Date Submitted Distance Learning Television Services 2007 Project Upgrade of the Interactive Television (ITV) Video Conference System Project Overview Introduction: Distance Learning Television Services has determined that it is time to replace the current Cisco/Radvision Video Conference bridge, gatekeeper and iview ITV class scheduling server with a Tandberg solution that includes their MPS Bridge, gatekeeper, and TMS video conference scheduling and monitoring software. Tandberg offers a more robust system that will scale up to meet the future expansion needs of the statewide Interactive Television (ITV) network. Problems with the current product: Functionality: The current Cisco/Radvision Bridge is difficult to configure and troubleshoot. The command line interface is not intuitive and is difficult to navigate and provision. The Cisco/Radvision bridge is incapable of supporting an environment that requires all bridge features on all ports and conferences (sessions) at all times. Its design is based on an older generation architecture which severely limits the product s upgradeability or migration path toward newer features, increased capacities, newer video algorithms, etc. The older architecture of the Radvision Bridge limits its ability to support increased call bit rates, advanced video algorithms, and higher video resolutions being supported by our Tandberg endpoints. This can result in degraded session performance which results in an average to poor user experience. We have experienced this with the larger conferences we conduct on the system. The current gatekeeper s router (Cisco 2600) has reached end of life and Cisco will no longer offer support for it. The gatekeeper (software image on the router) has operated sufficiently but due to issues either with the router in combination with the bridge or just with the router itself there have been many instances over the last four years where the gatekeeper loses all of the registered endpoints and the bridge will not release video conferences that have already occurred. The only way to resolve the problems is to restart the bridge and input all of the endpoints back into the gatekeeper. The iview ITV class scheduling server has had problems since the initial installation. Most of these problems had to do with limited scheduling functionality and a quirky, proprietary database backend. TVS was able to incrementally improve this system over

of 7 the last four years but only after many hours of working with Cisco/Radvision on the system. Advantages of Tandberg MPS Bridge, Gatekeeper and TMS Server The Tandberg MPS Bridge, gatekeeper and TMS server offer significant improvements over the current Cisco/Radvision systems. The Tandberg MPS Bridge will support 60 endpoints and up to 15 concurrent sessions at 768Kbps. Our current Cisco/Radvision MCU can support 48 endpoints and 8 concurrent sessions at 768Kbps. We are currently at 46 endpoints so with the addition of the new NAU Phoenix North Valley facility we will be at 47 endpoints with little room for growth without moving into a larger Cisco/Radvision MCU. Another advantage is that with this upgrade the entire ITV system will be Tandberg equipment resulting in a more reliable, robust system composed of components that are designed to work optimally with each other. The Tandberg MPS Bridge was designed with an architecture that has the capacity to support newer features and functionality as technology advances. An example of this is the High Definition (HD) feature. This Tandberg product set, from end-to end, was designed to be upgraded to support HD through software upgrades. The Tandberg product set is nowhere near its capacity in terms of its ability to support newer features and functionality through software upgrades. The Tandberg MPS Bridge is managed by the Tandberg Management Suite (TMS). TMS is a management application that is used to schedule, monitor and manage sessions on the Tandberg MPS Bridge. TMS provides call detail records, return on investment calculations, usage statistics, creates phone books, opens, tracks and closes trouble tickets, etc. In addition, TMS is used to maintain the MPS Bridge and video endpoints via software upgrades. TMS is considered the best video conference management application and is flexible enough to support devices from other manufactures. This is an important factor because it does not prohibit designers of video networks to supporting only Tandberg equipment in their networks. Scope of work: Currently between 50-70 classes are taught over the system each semester. In addition, an average of 28 meetings per month are conducted on the system. On the mountain campus there are 5 ITV classrooms and 3 ITV conference rooms. There are 28 ITV classrooms located throughout the state. This upgrade will involve replacing the current Cisco/Radvision bridge, gatekeeper and iview server with the Tandberg MPS Bridge, gatekeeper, and TMS server. This will require installation and configuration of the hardware and software and integration into the existing ITV system.

of 7 Deliverables Upgrading the ITV video conference system will deliver current, state of the art video conference hardware and software. This will result in increasing the reliability and quality of the ITV classes and interactive meetings that are held on the system. Implementation Phase Installation: The vendor, Wire One, along with the TVS Engineering staff, and the NAU Information Technology Services network staff will install and configure the MPS and gateway hardware into existing rack space located in the Television Services Master Control room located in the Communications building. Distance Learning server and database administrators will install and configure the TMS scheduling server. Integration: The Tandberg MPS Bridge and gatekeeper will be integrated into the existing statewide network (NAUNet) and ITV classroom Tandberg endpoints. The TMS server database backend will be integrated into the DL database load balanced servers. The TMS scheduling application will be installed in a clustered server environment. Training: The vendor, Wire One, will provide training to designated DL/TVS staff. Sustainability Phase Ongoing Maintenance: After the installation, configuration and initial training, the new systems will enter into an ongoing maintenance phase. The vendor, Wire One, will provide ongoing maintenance agreements with TVS. These agreements provide for hardware replacements due to failure, software updates/upgrades, and general technical support. Staffing: No additional staffing will be required. Service and Economic Benefits The existing bridge, gatekeeper, and scheduling server are being replaced as it is recognized as being incapable of fulfilling the needs of the overall ITV system. The new replacement hardware and software will allow for better integration between the Tandberg MPS bridge and endpoints; the new gatekeeper will provide greater reliability with endpoint connectivity; and the TMS scheduling server will facilitate scheduling for ITV classes and interactive meetings as well as provide a variety of other utilities for managing the entire set of components that make up the ITV system. Project Roles and Responsibilities Sponsors: The Vice President for Extended Programs and Dean of Distance Learning and the Associate Vice President responsible for Distance Learning Services and Television Services are responsible for securing NAU funding for the project/upgrade.

of 7 TVS Project Manager: The Associate Director for Technology for Distance Learning and DL/TVS technical staff are responsible for the implementation and configuration of MPS Bridge, gatekeeper and TMS Scheduling server. Project Management Timelines April 2007 May 2007 Project Planning, Analysis, Equipment Acquisition June 2007 Installation of the MPS bridge August 2007 Installation of the gatekeeper and TMS Server. Configuration of the MPS Bridge, gatekeeper and TMS server Summary of Proposed Costs (All Funds) Five Year Total ($000) Description FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 Total Implementation Cost $260 $27 $287 Operating Cost $93 $93 $93 $93 $372 Total Cost $260 $120 $93 $93 $93 $659 Opportunities for Collaboration The NAU ITV/Video Conference system interconnects with ASU and UA video conference systems on a regular basis for both academic instruction and meetings conducted by administrators, faculty and staff. Recommendation ABOR approve the partial upgrade of the NAU ITV Video Conference System

of 7 Implementation Costs and Marginal Operating Costs in Thousands Costs in thousands ($000) Development / Operating Description FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 Total Personnel Number of TVS FTE 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 6 Personnel Cost IT FTE Salary Cost (includes ERE) $68 $68 $68 $68 $272 Hardware Cost $251 $0 $0 $0 $0 $251 Software Cost $9 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9 Communications Cost $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Facilities Cost $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Licensing and Maintenance Fees $0 $25 $25 $25 $25 $100 Other Costs Installation $0 $27 $0 $0 $0 $27 TOTAL $260 $120 $93 $93 $93 $659