View Larger Image	Scott Firestone, Thiya Ramalingam, Steve Fry Cisco Press, Paperback, Published March 2007, 408 pages, ISBN 1587052687
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• Networking/Communications : VoIP
• Networking/Communications : Telecommunications
• Networking/Communications : Networking
• * Series - Int/Adv Users : Fundamentals Series

• Cisco Press

Design, develop, select, deploy, and support advanced IP-based audio and video conferencing systems

As audio and video conferencing move rapidly into the mainstream, customers and end users are demanding unprecedented performance, reliability, scalability, and security. In Voice and Video Conferencing Fundamentals, three leading experts systematically introduce the principles, technologies, and protocols underlying today's state-of-the-art conferencing systems. Discover how to use these concepts and techniques to deliver unified, presence-enabled services that integrate voice, video, telephony, networks, and the Internet -- and enable breakthrough business collaboration.

The authors begin with a clear, concise overview of current voice and video conferencing, including system components, operational modes, endpoints, features, and user interactivity. Next, they illuminate conferencing architectures, offering practical insights for designing today's complex IP-based conferencing and collaboration systems.

Topics covered in this book include video codecs, media control, SIP and H.323 protocols and applications, lip synchronization in video conferencing, security, and much more. Throughout the book, the authors draw on their extensive experience as Cisco technical leaders, showing how to avoid the most common pitfalls that arise in planning, deployment, and administration.

Voice and Video Conferencing Fundamentals is for every professional involved with audio or video conferencing: network and system administrators, engineers, technology managers, and Cisco solution partners alike. Whether you're involved with design, development, selection, implementation, management, or support, you'll find the in-depth knowledge you need to succeed.

• Thoroughly understand the fundamentals of audio and video conferencing over IP networks
• Architect networks for optimal performance and reliability in conferencing applications
• Leverage new advances in video architecture, from emerging codecs to distributed implementations
• Understand how SIP and H.323 compare, and when to use each
• Optimize synchronization between audio and video
• Secure conferencing traffic without compromising performance or connectivity
• Learn how to evaluate vendors and make better buying decisions

This book is part of the Cisco Press Fundamentals Series. Books in this series introduce networking professionals to new networking technologies, covering network topologies, sample deployment concepts, protocols, and management techniques.

Table of Contents

Foreword xviii

Introduction xix

Chapter 1 Overview of Conferencing Services 3

Conference Types 3

Voice and Video Conferencing Components 9

Video Conferencing Modes 11

Types of Endpoints 16

Video Controls: Far-End Camera Control 17

Text Overlay 18

Summary 18

Chapter 2 Conferencing System Design and Architecture 21

Components of a Conferencing System 21

Conferencing Architectures 37

Advanced Conferencing Scenarios 41

Summary 43

References 43

Chapter 3 Fundamentals of Video Compression 45

Evaluating Video Quality, Bit Rate, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio 45

Video Source Formats 47

Basics of Video Coding 52

Hybrid Coding 72

Scalable Layered Codecs 91

Switching Frames 99

Video Codecs 100

Summary 102

References 103

Chapter 4 Media Control and Transport 105

Overview of RTP 105

Overview of RTCP 113

RTP Devices in Conference Systems 120

Video Stream RTP Formats 126

Detecting Stream Loss 141

Summary 142

References 143

Chapter 5 Signaling Protocols: Conferencing Using SIP 145

SIP Overview 145

SIP Transactions and Dialogs 148

SIP Messages 149

SIP Record Routing 153

Event Subscription and Notification 154

Session Description Protocol 155

SIP Conferencing Models 157

Ad Hoc Audio Conferencing 160

Ad Hoc Video Conferencing 162

    Escalation and De-escalation 169

    Media Control Support 172

Scheduled Conferences 173

RSVP/QoS Support in Conferencing Flows 180

Summary 182

References 183

Chapter 6 Signaling Protocols: Conferencing Using H.323 185

H.323 Overview 185

H.323 Endpoint Aliasing 187

H.225 Call Signaling 188

    H.225 Message Format 188

    Common H.225 Message Types Used in H.323 Signaling 189

H.245 Control Protocol 191

Using the Empty Capability Set 207

H.323 Device Types 208

H.323 Gatekeeper Services 209

Using Service Prefixes with MCUs 219

Summary 220

References 220

Chapter 7 Lip Synchronization in Video Conferencing 223

Understanding Lip Sync Skew 223

Lip Sync Approaches 229

    Poor Man's Lip Sync 230

Understanding the Sender Side 232

Understanding the Receive Side 241

    Audio Receiver Path 241

    Receiver Video Path 243

    Types of Playout Devices 244

RTP 244

Correlating Timebases Using RTCP 250

Summary 255

References 255

Chapter 8 Security Design in Conferencing 257

Security Fundamentals 257

Threats 258

    Confidentiality Attacks 258

    Denial-of-Service Attacks 259

    Authentication and Identity Attacks 262

    Network Infrastructure Attacks 263

    Endpoint Infrastructure Attacks 266

    Server Attacks 267

Configuring Basic Security 269

Port Usage 270

NAT and PAT 276

Encryption Basics 299

IPsec and TLS for Secure Signaling 310

Media Encryption 312

H.323 Encryption: H.235 313

SIP Encryption 321

Summary 324

References 325

Appendix A Video Codec Standards 327

About the Authors

Scott Firestone holds a master's degree in computer science from MIT and has designed video conferencing and voice products since 1992, resulting in five patents.

Thiya Ramalingam is an engineering manager for the Cisco Unified Communications organization. Thiya holds a master's degree in computer engineering and an MBA degree from San Jose State University.

Steve Fry, a technical leader in the Cisco Unified Communication organization, has spent the last several years designing and developing telephony and conferencing products.

Apr 26, 2007     Gerald Richard (gerald_richard99@yahoo.com) from Boston
Very useful, covering the basics of the conferencing technology
I'm a Network administrator for a local school district. We are in the process of evaluting voip conferencing technology for the district wide deployment. I bought this book to understand the technologies behind the conferencing systems. The book starts with the introduction to conferencing system design and other chapters goes into the details of the audio and video codecs, RTP, SIP/H.323 protocols etc., The book is more focused on the video conferencing technology than audio. I particularly like contents in chapter 3, 4, 7 and 8. Chapter 3 explains the basics of the conferencing video codecs. Chapter 7 is extremely useful and this is the only book I could find that discusses and explains the basics of the lip synchronization in video system, how the camera works in conjunction with codecs etc., Chapter 8 covers the security design and explains the basics of NAT/firewall traversal etc. I think the authors tried to write this as a general technology book but I think some of the concepts are more specific to some Cisco products. Also, many of the concepts are general to any voip deployments. Overall, a good read. I did not give 5 stars because I feel that the chapters are somewhat not tied together to create a good flow. Hope this will be improved in the next edition.

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