Ball State University video conferencing is implemented by using the Internet and the H.323 video protocol. Like most organizations involved with video conferencing, gatekeepers are used to assist with call setup, name resolution, bandwidth management, and firewall/NAT traversal.
Ball State has three gatekeepers for the following zones: on-campus, off-campus, and global partners. We require participants to register with one of our gatekeepers, either the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System (IHETS) or ViDeNet, or use IP + extension dialing (if supported by your codec).
Gatekeepers allow any location to interact with Ball State University using an E-164 dialing plan. This dialing plan maps an E-164 number to the conferencing device’s IP address. For example, an IP address, 125.220.4.6, could actually be dialed as 86062487891. Get detailed instructions for the physical connection to the gatekeeper. View a directory of all Ball State University video camera connections.
The Video Network Information Center (VNIC) also allows off-campus guests or on-campus sites to request a location for conferencing.
For a 384K video conference, the network must be able to sustain 423Kbps (384Kbps plus 10% for overhead) and lower to work. Also, QoS needs to be established on the line, and the following ports need to be open for video conferencing:
1719 - TCP/UDP (gatekeeper communications)
1720 - TCP/UDP (call setup)
1731 - TCP/UDP (audio call control)
3230 through 3253 TCP/UDP (polycom fixed ports)
The following are not required for an actual conference:
3603 - TCP (management port for Polycom PVX/ViaVideo)
80 - TCP (management port for Polycom Viewstation/VSX)