[gu-l] (12/17/01) Use of Tachyon satellite for audio and video conferencings
Tak Utsumi
utsumi@columbia.edu
Mon, 17 Dec 2001 19:48:51 +0000 (GMT)
<<December 17, 2001>>
Archived distributions can be retrieved by clicking "Correspondence" in our
home page at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/>.
For those after 2/27/01, see or bookmark:
<http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/> and click on "Date," for
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Robert A. Freling <rfreling@self.org>
R. Daniel Hague, BSEE, FE <dhague@umich.edu>
Robert S. Dixon, Ph D, PE <dixon.8@osu.edu>
Dear Bob and Daniel:
====================
(1) Many thanks for your msgs (ATTACHMENT I and II) in response to my last
list distribution "(12/16/01) Possible help and cooperation of
Hewlette Packard (HP)" which is now retrievable at
http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/2001q4/000073.html
Dear Bob:
=========
(2) Your project sounds very interesting. The 40 hour boat trip in Amazon
should be arduous, but very interesting!!
Dear E-Colleagues:
==================
1. Pls find "[Arthur C.] Clark Day events on 2/7th" which is
dated 2/28/01 at
http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/2001q1/000002.html
and look for a brief synopsis of his project "Millennium
Village" in ATTACHMENT III.
2. Pls also see ATTACHMENT II (which is a copy of an article
appeared in the New York Times of 9/9/01) in
"(9/9/01)Nigeria operation with LEO satellite and wireless
approach" at
http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/2001q3/000050.html
This is about Bob's activity in Africa.
Yes, I will be here this week -- pls feel free to call me, except
12/19th, so that we can discuss exciting way to cooperate for our
Amazon projects.
Dear Daniel:
============
(3) Your info along with the use of Tachyon is very useful. Thank you
very much.
However, my concern is the use of Tachyon for many locations in Amazon
-- especially for audio conference. This is because, one hop linkage
with satellite at geosynchronous orbit takes about 0.3 second, thus,
two hops would become more than 0.5 second. This would make audio
conversation like a walky-talky type asynchronous. The web site of
Tachyon once mentioned that they can resolve this latency trouble, but
I don't know how they can do it. According to statistics, almost 75%
of telephone calls are for local calls.
Therefore, I would prefer to have a major two-way broadband satellite
Internet linkage to the main campus of the affiliated universities of
our CampusNet in Amazon, and then fan-out to their branch campuses
with the use of microwave networks, as were done among Hawaiian
islands and branch campuses of Shinshu University in mountainous
region of Japan.
Best, Tak
****************************************
ATTACHMENT I
Subject: RE: [gu-l] (12/16/01) Possible help and cooperation of Hewlette
Packard (HP)
Date: Monday, December 17, 2001 12:36 PM
From: Robert Freling <rfreling@self.org>
Reply-To: <rfreling@self.org>
To: <utsumi@columbia.edu>
Tak,
I am leaving at the end of January for the Amazon, where the Solar Electric
Light Fund (SELF) will install a two-way highspeed VSAT internet connection
for a remote ecological reserve 40 hours by boat north of Manaus.
We are also planning to do tele-medicine and distance learning, among other
things. I think it would useful to talk. Are you available this week?
Please advise. I leave on Dec. 24 for India, and won't be back until Jan.
17.
All the best,
Bob
****************************************
ATTACHMENT II
Subject: [Fwd: H.323 Via Satellite Success]
Date: Monday, December 17, 2001 7:57 AM
From: R. Daniel Hague <dhague@umich.edu>
Reply-To: dhague@umich.edu
To: Tak Utsumi <utsumi@friends-partners.org>
Cc: rboston <rboston@tenet.edu>
Tak,
This came in the email and I thought you would be interested if you have
not already seen the release.
-Dan Hague
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: H.323 Via Satellite Success
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 12:07:15 -0500 (EST)
From: Bob Dixon <rdixon@stargate.uts.ohio-state.edu>
To: The Megaconference
<megacon@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>,<streaming@terena.nl>, Video
Development Initiative <vide@tns.utk.edu>,CIC Video Working Group
<cic-vwg@cic.net>,Internet 2 Video Conferencing Group <i2dv-vc@listserv.it.northwestern.edu>
On Nov 27-28, good quality H.323 video conferencing via low-cost earth
satellite was achieved for the first time. This occurred at the
ITEC-Ohio Windows on the Future conference held in Dublin, Ohio. We
have been working on this for some time, and at last success was
achieved just in time for the conference. This was done by a
cooperative team from OARNet, Tachyon corp, and Ohio State University.
Tachyon operates a satellite-based Internet connectivity service,
which provides guaranteed bandwidth (unlike the home subscriber
services) that is optimized for IP traffic. A Tachyon dish was
installed on the hotel rooftop for the conference. This is a 2x3 foot
elliptical dish that is easy to transport and install. It typically
costs about $4K including installation, and then there are monthly
charges which vary by the speed desired. The downlink speed is 1.5 Mb,
and the maximum uplink speed is now 256Kb. This costs about $1100/mo.
The uplink speed limited the speed of the video conference to 256Kb,
and we tried various slower and faster speeds and found that 256Kb is
optimum. The video and audio quality seen at the conference was very
good, since that is limited only by the 1.5 Mb downlink speed. The
quality at other locations was less. Fortunately this speed asymmetry
is in the right direction for distance learning applications, since
the class sees the best video and audio and the instructor can
probably accept the poorer video and audio.
The actual conference was arranged like this. A Polycom viewstation at
the hotel connected to the ethernet provided by the satellite station.
The rooftop dish communicated with a synchronous satellite located
over the equator, which covers North America. The satellite
communicates with the Tachyon ground station in San Diego, Calif.
(They also have another one in Amsterdam, for European users.)
Tachyon connects to Internet 1 in San Diego, via Cox Communications,
and that carried the signal to the OARNet Accord MCU in Columbus, OH
and thence via a local link to a RADVision 9-port MCU, which connected
via Internet2 to many participants across North America. People talked
with the conference from North Dakota, Louisiana, Colorado and other
places. In fact there were so many wanting to participate, that the
small MCU became fully loaded and we could not at first connect from
the hotel ourselves (hence the Accord MCU was brought in to organize
and control things better.) It worked amazingly well, considering the
I1 link from San Diego to Columbus, and the fact that this had never
been done before.
The performance will soon be even better, because Tachyon will soon
connect to I2 via the San Diego Supercomputer Center gigapop, and
because Tachyon is increasing the speed of the uplink to 512Kb by the
end of January. With the assistance of SKC Communications, we have
loaned Polycom Viewstations and a small RADVision MCU to Tachyon for
installation at their San Diego facility. It may prove beneficial to
have an MCU directly attached to their network center there.
This is part of a larger effort by the American Distance Education
Consortium (ADEC) to provide internet-based distance learning to
rural colleges. They now have about 30 satellite dishes in operation
at Indian tribal and historically black colleges around the country,
and that will increase to about 80 within a year. They are now being
used for things like web-based instruction, and we hope to make H.323
video conferencing available as well. The NOC for the ADEC project
is operated by OARNet. The satellite data transmission
system was not originally designed for such demanding applications as
video and audio, so it has been a challenge to make this all work
for H.323.
Future plans call for mounting Tachyon dishes on small trailers, so
they can be used for special events and emergencies, and for
travelling distance learning applications. Work is also under way
with other projects to use Tachyon dishes in Appalachian poor areas,
and eventually in Africa.
Bob
Robert S. Dixon, Ph D, PE
Chief Research Engineer
Ohio State University, Office of the CIO
and
Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARNet).
Office of the CIO | Voice 614-292-1638
Ohio State University | Lab 614-292-7425
1971 Neil Ave, room 451 | Email dixon.8@osu.edu
Columbus, OH 43210 | Fax 614-292-7081
****************************************
Distribution List
Robert A. Freling
Executive Director
Solar Electric Light Fund
Photovoltaic Rural Electrification
1775 K Street, N.W., Suite 595
Washington, D.C. 20006
202-234-7265
Fax: 202-328-9512
rfreling@self.org
R. Daniel Hague, BSEE, FE
Director of Video Services
Information Technology Division
The University of Michigan Health System
4251 Plymouth Road #2235
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105-2785
734-763-0698
Fax: 734 615-1727
Video: 2x64 734.615.2756/57
dhague@umich.edu
dhague@netscape.net
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dhague
http://www.ns.itd.umich.edu/groups/Engin/Digital_Video/digvid.html
Robert S. Dixon, Ph D, PE
Chief Research Engineer
Ohio State University, Office of the CIO
and
Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARNet).
Office of the CIO
Ohio State University
1971 Neil Ave, room 451
Columbus, OH 43210
Voice 614-292-1638
Lab 614-292-7425
Fax 614-292-7081
dixon.8@osu.edu
**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education *
* Founder of CAADE *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education) *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of *
* Global University System (GUS) *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
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