CeBIT Expo

Visit to the CeBIT trade show in Sydney.

The TSU Media Officer and Manager, IT & Media Services travelled to Sydney on 8 May 2003 to visit the CeBIT IT Trade Show in the Darling Harbour Exhibition halls. The main task was looking into the Videoconferencing options available, but also took the opportunity to look at wireless networking products, video streaming, flat panel displays and generally at what is available.

Videoconferencing

Polycom is the dominant supplier in the H.320 and H.323 Videoconferencing market. Polycom bought out its main rival, PictureTel, about a year ago and has subsumed PictureTel's products into its own lines. The only other serious supplier in the market seems to be Sony, although its products aren't due for release for another few months.

H.320 is the (proprietary) standard for sharing video, audio and data over ISDN (digital telephone lines) for videoconferencing. H.323 is another (again proprietary) standard for videoconferencing using the Internet rather than ISDN. The University has two PictureTel systems that can be used with either standard, as can most commercially available "appliance" (as opposed to computer-based) videoconferencing systems.

Executive will be involved in a demonstration videoconference using the facilities of the University during the next Executive meeting. More precise pricing details from the two major suppliers by that time.

From discussion so far it appears that videoconferencing with China will be better done using the H.323 IP standard rather than ISDN, since the IP infrastructure in China appears to be better than ISDN. IP is cheaper than ISDN, but quality can suffer. We will be doing some testing to check the reality of using the two standards.

Wireless Networking

With the release by Intel of Centrino (its technology to integrate wireless networking with portable computers), there is growing interest in wireless. As always with new systems there are differing standards and competing systems, but there is some consensus emerging to support the 802.11b and 802.11g standards. These two standards differ only in the speed of the connection: b limits the connection to 11MBits/sec, g to 54MBits/sec. By comparison, most network ports to the desktops in the University operate theoretically at 100MBits/sec. In practice, network speed is determined by a number of factors like the amount of traffic on the network and the number of intersections (hubs, routers, switches) between the desktop and the source or destination of the data. 802.11b and 802.11g are interoperable, which means computers with 802.11b connectivity can connect to 802.11g access points, and vice versa.

TSU is currently trialling 802.11b for 9C26, and will be trialling 802.11g soon. The trial network is now available reliably in 9C26, and is also accessible from 9A2, 9C25, and the offices along the eastern corridor of Building 9. From initial testing it should be possible to cover the entire building with four wireless access points, at a cost of around $1,600.

People must register their wireless access card with the TSU before they can join the network. The network is "hidden", in the sense that users must know the name of the network before they can log on. There is a (common) password needed as well, and the wireless signal is encrypted so that the signal can't easily be intercepted.

Wireless networking is on the agenda for the next Network & IT Services Co-ordination Committee (NITSCC), and on the agenda for the next ICT Productivity group meeting.

Flat Panel Displays

These displays are coming down in price, up in size, and more popular that the older-style CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors. Most electronics manufacturers are offering flat panel displays, with Samsung being the standout supplier at the show in terms of quality of the image.
Flat panel displays have no flicker, use only 40% or less of the power used by CRTs, emit no radiation, take up far less desk space than CRTs for the same screen size, are brighter, and are technically simpler which in theory means less can go wrong with them. The downside is that flat panel displays are not quite so capable as CRTs in displaying the full range of colours, making then less attractive for high-end graphics work. They are also more expensive to buy than CRTs, but the advantages outweigh the price difference.

Video streaming

Another part of the system required to stream directly from the Television Studio to the Internet will be put in place as a result of seeing the solution demonstrated at CeBIT by TechMedia, the distributors of the GlobeCaster system in place in the Television Control Room. We should then be able to feed the signal to Client Services Division for streaming in Windows Media Player format alongside the Lecture Recording Service, and also through our servers in QuickTime format.

Other items

Apart from the coffee-table plasma display (a flat panel video screen about a metre long and half a metre wide, lying on its back with a piece of thick glass over it), the coolest thing at the show was a small video camera that can be used with a single computer for videoconferencing that followed you about as you moved, panning and tilting to keep your face framed properly. Great possibility for Category A spaces where there is video of the lecturer streaming along with the audio, but no operator to keep the lecturer in frame.

TV Production Lighting Kits

The lighting kits used in media production subjects are now deemed safe for use under OH&S guidelines.

The electrical testing and installation of RCD (Residual Current Device) plugs to the leads of each of the lights in location kits lent out to television production students has been completed. The kits are deemed safe for use under the guidelines. The lights used in the TV Studio have yet to be done. OH&S duty of care and electrical standards are to be adhered to, as per the current policy.

Locked rooms

What to do about rooms that are locked when required for teaching or labs.

With the new regime in place with Security locking unbooked Category A spaces, there has been a marked increase in requests to TSU staff to open rooms. TSU is reluctant to take this responsibility if the request comes from someone unknown to the staff, and usually direct the request to Security.

In the past labs in Building 9 have been unlocked by TSU staff on legitimate request between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday. With retirements and other staff on leave it has not been possible to cover all these hours, and staff have been unavailable to open labs before 9am. Security has declined to answer requests for the labs to be opened before 9am due to their staff commitments at that time, so the service has been unavailable. We expect normal service to resume next week with the return of the Help Desk Manager from leave.

Connection of private computers to the University Network

Things to consider before connecting a private computer to the University network.

TSU is often approached to aid in the connection of non-University computers to the University network. Since TSU has no control over the setup of the private computers, this can cause us some problems. As the University explores ways of getting students to supply their own computers, this issue will obviously become more of concern, as it is already with visitors to the University who bring their own computers.

Some of the issues that need to be addressed with the connection of private computers to the University network include:

1. Knowledge and expertise required to configure the computer to conform to the technical requirements of the University;
2. Connecting to printers, email servers and the World Wide Web; and
3. Introduction of virus and other malicious code to the network.

The TSU already support around 500 computers on staff desks, in computer labs and resources centres, and computer bought from consultancy and other funds held off-campus in staff homes.

We do not have the resources available to manage the integration of unknown computers in addition to the University owned systems. What we can do is provide some generic advice via the Web for people wanting to connect their own computers to the University network, but it is their responsibility to configure the machines correctly. Any computer disrupting the network or being used contrary to the Network Access and Usage policy [http://www.canberra.edu.au/uc/policies/it/nap.html] will be removed from the network. Under the policy, the following applies:

By connecting a private machine to the University's network a user has acknowledged that they will be bound by the University's conditions of use of information technology services, including this statement. By so doing the user acknowledges that the network traffic generated by the private machine is generated in pursuit of University business only. While that traffic is traversing the University's network, it is subject to the same right of inspection as traffic originating from University-owned machines and servers.

The authority to inspect the machines, servers and files resides with the Executive Director, Pro Vice-Chancellor or other manager who is responsible for the network. Disclosure to an external organisation will only be considered on production of a legal authority.

SPAM

Filtering email is not as simple as it may appear.

A number of staff have approached the Help Desk to help them reduce the amount of unsolicited email (spam) they receive. Some of the material being received is apparently quite offensive and is of concern to staff. Recently the National Office of the Information Economy (NOIE) submitted a report to the Commonwealth Government on spam and what measures can be taken to reduce it. NOIE's spam page is at http://www.noie.gov.au/projects/confidence/Improving/spam.htm.

[UPDATE June 2006: The NOIE pages have been removed. The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts now maintains a spam page at http://www.dcita.gov.au/ie/spam_home with some useful material and links.]

Filtering email is fraught with difficulties: if email filters are put in place there is no guarantee that legitimate email will be blocked, or that some spam will still get through. Filters can be installed on the email servers, at a cost of up to $45 per person depending on the solution chosen. Staff can set up filters on their own clients (with varying degrees of success depending on their email client and the settings they put in place), but spammers are constantly changing their techniques to get through any filters that may be put in place: whether the filters are on the servers or in the email clients themselves.

In relation to offensive material, the Vice Chancellor wrote to all staff on 11 June 2002 [Staff Notice 02/07: http://www.canberra.edu.au/uc/staffnotes/staffnotice_02-07.html] saying in part:

"... I require all staff to comply with the following directives in respect of the use of University facilities, services and systems:

1. If you receive an email or other message from any external or internal source, that contains or attaches offensive material, you should retain that message and attachments and report the matter to your supervisor immediately.
2. Supervisors must report any such incident immediately to the Director, Human Resources, who will arrange for a full and proper investigation of the matter. Normally, where appropriate, we will handle such matters at an institution-to-institution level."

Whether this is intended to cover offensive unsolicited email from spammers is unclear.

TSU will continue to monitor the situation and report back to Executive as there are further developments, including in the Commonwealth Government's approach to spam.