Conferencing applications have become critical productivity tools for organizations. Cisco® provides multiple conferencing offerings that are part of the Cisco Unified Communications System.
Q. What is Cisco Unified MeetingPlace® conferencing?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing is a complete rich-media conferencing solution for midsize to large organizations that makes remote meetings as natural and effective as face-to-face meetings. The solution integrates enterprise-class voice, video, and Web conferencing with industry-leading setup and control capabilities to meet the needs of organizations looking for a single solution and user environment for all their conferencing needs. The solution is deployed on-network, behind the firewall and integrated directly into an organization's private voice and data networks and enterprise applications, to provide significant cost savings, security, and a superior user experience. As a component of the Cisco Unified Communications System, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing delivers productivity that goes beyond traditional conferencing solutions by enabling incorporation of rich-media conferencing into a broad range of communication scenarios.
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express is an integrated voice, video, and Web conferencing solution that makes it easy for midsize organizations to realize the cost savings and productivity benefits of deploying conferencing over their internal networks. The solution supports industry-standard protocols (H.323 and Session Initiation Protocol [SIP]) to help ensure connectivity with a range of telephony and video systems. Simple and powerful conferencing functions, including integrated meeting management and control, enable users to conduct highly productive virtual meetings.
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT provides impromptu (nonscheduled) voice, video, and Web conferencing for Cisco Unified Communications Manager. The solution is designed for organizations looking to add simple, low-cost multipoint conferencing to their Cisco Unified Communications Manager video telephony environment. The new deployment option supports impromptu conferences initiated from Skinny Call Control Protocol (SCCP) endpoints, such as Cisco Unified Video Advantage, and from Cisco Unified Personal Communicator.
Q. What is the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing 3500 portfolio of products?
A. Cisco Unified Videoconferencing solutions provide a reliable, versatile, and easy-to-manage network infrastructure for video conferencing. The solutions support multiple protocols (H.323, H.320, SIP, and SCCP) to enable connectivity with a broad range of room and desktop video systems and communications environments, including Cisco Unified Communications Manager video telephony, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing, and Cisco TelePresence. Cisco Unified Videoconferencing products provide high-performance, flexible, and scalable video conferencing for small to large organizations. The solutions incorporate advanced conference setup and attendance functions, a range of dynamic layouts, numerous in-conference controls, and the ability to manage and monitor all video conferencing network elements for an optimal visual communications experience.
Q. What are the Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch and Cisco Unified Conferencing for TelePresence?
A. The Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch and Cisco Unified Conferencing for TelePresence are separate solutions that connect three or more Cisco TelePresence systems in a meeting. Both solutions are designed to preserve the exceptional Cisco TelePresence experience by allowing all participants to be seen in life-size, high-definition (1080p) images and heard in CD-quality spatial audio. To display participants in multiple locations, both solutions offer voice-activated switching on a site-by-site basis as well as by individual table segment.
The Cisco TelePresence Multipoint Switch is an easy-to-install appliance that was designed and built solely to provide multilocation Cisco TelePresence capabilities. Cisco Unified Conferencing for TelePresence is designed to extend meeting access beyond the Cisco TelePresence meeting room by integrating other voice, Web (future), and traditional video (future) solutions. Cisco Unified Conferencing for TelePresence is based on Cisco Unified Videoconferencing and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace technology.
A. Cisco Conference Connection is a basic audio-only conferencing solution. Cisco has announced the end-of-sale and end-of life dates for this product, and the last day to order it was August 28, 2006. Details are available at: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps7046/ps752/prod_end-of-life_notice0900aecd804104fa.html. Customers are encouraged to migrate to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express or the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution.
Q. How do I know what conferencing solution is right for my organization?
A. You should consider how many users and how much conferencing use you anticipate as well as the functions (for example, integrated video or passing control of a shared application) you will need to support your conferencing applications and desired deployment model. For example, if you anticipate conducting more than 250,000 minutes of conferencing a month, the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution is probably a better solution for your conferencing needs.
Q. How does the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express solution differ from the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution?
A. They differ in supported media types, scalability, application integrations, features, and hardware requirements (refer to Table 1).
Table 1. Comparison of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Solutions
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT 2.0
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Conferencing 6.0
Media types
Media types include impromptu voice, video, and Web conferencing for Cisco Unified Communications Manager environments.
Media types include voice, video, and Web conferencing support for scheduled and reservationless meetings.
Media types include voice, video, and Web conferencing support for scheduled and reservationless meetings
Scalability
The system can handle 40 concurrent voice, video, and Web users.
The system can handle 200 concurrent voice users and 200 concurrent Web users. (Final scalability for video will be announced closer to first customer shipment [FCS] of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0.)
The system can handle 960 IP or 1152 time-division multiplexing (TDM) concurrent users, concurrent Web conferencing and 240 video conferencing users; video conferencing integration is made possible through integration with the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing Multipoint Control Unit (MCU).
Telephony integration
The solution registers with Cisco Unified Communications Manager as an SCCP conferencing resource and can support calls with SCCP, H.323, and SIP endpoints.
The solution offers native support for H.323 and SIP.
The solution offers native support for H.323, SIP, T1/E1, and Primary Rate Interface (PRI); Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing can support a mix of IP and TDM connections.
Video integration
SCCP, H.323, and SIP
H.323 and SIP natively and H.320 through a gateway
H.323 and SIP natively and H.320 through a gateway
Setting up conferences
The solution supports impromptu conferences, which can be initiated only from SCCP endpoints, such as Cisco Unified Video Advantage and Cisco IP phones, and from Cisco Unified Personal Communicator.
The solution supports conference setup from the Web, Cisco IP phones, Microsoft Outlook, a telephone user interface (TUI), or Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (Web conferencing).
The solution supports conference setup from the Web, Cisco IP phones, telephone user interface (TUI, Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes calendars, Jabber Messenger instant messaging client (IM), Microsoft Office Communicator, or Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (Web conferencing).
Attending conferences
Users attend by initiating calls as noted previously, or by being selected by the conference initiator and automatically joining the Web conference or accepting the request to join a voice or video conference.
The solution supports conference attendance from the Web, Cisco IP phones, video endpoints, e-mail, TUI, Microsoft Outlook, the Cisco Unity Connection speech access interface, or Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (Web conferencing).
The solution supports conference attendance from the Web, Cisco IP phones, TUI, Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes calendars, e-mail, Microsoft Office Communicator and Jabber Messenger IM clients, or Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (Web conferencing).
Other integrations
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The solution integrates with the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Directory, as well as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)-compliant directories, to automate user authentication and profile setup.
The solution integrates with LDAP-compliant directories, including Cisco Unified Communications Manager, to automate profile setup and also provide ongoing synchronization with the corporate directory (adds, changes, and deletions).
Features
The solution offers simple voice conferencing, video conferencing (voice-activated video switching), and Web conferencing (screen sharing; no ability to pass control).
• The solution offers many voice conferencing features, as well as video conferencing (voice-activated video switching).
• Simple Web conferencing features include screen sharing and chat.
• A detailed Web conferencing feature list appears later in this document
• Meeting management is performed from the Web and phone.
• The solution offers many features beyond those of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express, including: Web conferencing (for instance, sharing applications and pass control, polling, and voice and Web recording).
• A detailed Web conferencing feature list appears later in this document.
• Meeting management is performed from the Web and phone.
• Advanced features for specialized applications include crisis management and lecture-style meetings and integrated video conferencing.
Security
This solution is dedicated to a single customer, is deployed behind the firewall, and supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for Web conferencing.
• This solution is dedicated to a single customer and it is deployed behind the firewall.
• Users can see who is in the meeting through the Web and Cisco IP phone interfaces.
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express incorporates Cisco Security Agent for built-in protection against attacks. It also helps secure Web conferences using SSL encryption.
• The Internet lock-out controls feature isolates confidential Web meetings behind the firewall for the most secure data network transport while providing the flexibility to allow Internet access for other meetings.
• This solution offers the security capabilities described for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express and others, including automated account management; through integration with corporate directories, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing can automatically remove profiles of employees who leave the company.
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace incorporates Cisco Security Agent for built-in protection against attacks. It also helps secure Web conferences using SSL and public key infrastructure (PKI) encryption.
Deployment options
With Cisco or a Cisco partner's support, the solution is managed on premises, by the customer.
With Cisco or a Cisco partner's support, the solution is managed on premises, by the customer.
With Cisco or a Cisco partner's support, the solution is managed on premises, either by the customer or fully outsourced
Hardware requirements
Voice, video, and Web conferencing are all deployed on Cisco media convergence servers (MCSs).
Voice, video, and Web conferencing are deployed on Cisco MCSs.
• Voice conferencing is installed on Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 8100 Series platforms.
• Web conferencing and integrations are installed on Cisco MCSs.
• Video conferencing requires Cisco Unified Videoconferencing servers.
Configuration options
The entire system is deployed on a single server.
The entire system can be deployed on a single server.
Enterprise deployment options include, for instance, single sign-on and multiserver configurations.
Q. How does Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 Web conferencing differ from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 Web conferencing?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 Web conferencing provides a comprehensive Web conferencing experience suitable for day-to-day collaborative meetings, internal and external presentations, and large-scale Web seminars. Table 2 lists the main feature differences between Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express.
Table 2. Differences Between Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express Web Conferencing
Capabilities
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0
Application sharing
Yes (screen sharing)
Yes
Whiteboard and annotations
Yes (annotate shared content)
Yes
Integrated audio controls (for example, mute and unmute)
Yes
Yes
Show who is speaking and sharing
Yes
Yes
Chat
Yes
Yes
Notes pod
Yes
Yes
Initiate recording
Yes (voice only)
Yes
Send e-mail invitation to add participants
Yes
Yes
Out-dial to add new participants
Yes
Yes
Full-screen mode
Yes
Yes
Automatic resizing of shared window
Yes
Yes
Annotations
Yes
Yes
Multiserver-internal and external-deployment model
Yes
Yes
SSL support
Yes
Yes
Upload presentations
No
Yes
Support for Adobe Flash content (swf) and Flash movie (flv) uploads
No
Yes
Remote control of shared applications
No (planned for maintenance release in H2 CY 2007)
Yes
File-sharing tool
No
Yes
Meeting templates: collaborative, presentations, and training
No
Yes
Customizable layouts
No
Yes
Polling
No
Yes
Presenter-only area
No
Yes
Web-links tool
No
Yes
Moderated Q&A
No
Yes
Move participants to an audio breakout session
No
Yes
Integrated voice and Web recording
No
Yes
Mute all
No
Yes
Modify meeting entry and exit announcements
No (available in Phone View)
Yes
Dial out to video terminals (room-based and desktop)
Yes
Yes
Modify video layouts
No
Yes
Pause video image
Yes (outcome of mute)
Yes
Modify other participants' speaking ability
No
Yes
Invite participants by permission level
No
Yes
Web server clustering for large meetings
No
Yes
Automatic failover of Web conferences
No
Yes
Edge server for WAN bandwidth optimization
No
Yes
Q. How do Cisco conferencing solutions promote cost-effective conferencing?
A. Cisco conferencing solutions are deployed on-network and integrated with an organization's private voice and data networks so organizations can use their IP network infrastructures to significantly reduce conferencing transport costs. Often, conferencing can account for 50 percent or more of a company's overall voice traffic, so maintaining traffic on internal networks can result in significant cost savings. Because organizations typically own their Cisco conferencing solution, they can also eliminate recurring fees paid to service providers.
Q. How do Cisco conferencing solutions make conferencing easy and effective for users?
A. The solutions integrate voice, video, and Web conferencing with convenient desktop applications. Intuitive interfaces make setting up, attending, and managing meetings easy. Immediate or future voice, video, and Web conferences can be set up and attended from a variety of interfaces. Meeting participants can control their voice, video, and Web conferences from a single browser interface. This simple-to-use model eliminates the traditional barriers of rich-media conferencing, making it easy to learn and easy to use.
Q. How do Cisco conferencing solutions enable a secure conferencing environment?
A. Because the solution is deployed on the network, security can be controlled and ensured. The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution allows enterprises to isolate their confidential meetings and content behind the firewall for secure data network transport while providing the flexibility to meet with external parties. It also provides extensive capabilities to ensure the most secure conferencing environment:
• Built-in defense against attacks: Cisco Security Agent is built in to the MCSs at the kernel level to allow only application-specific activities and to defend against attacks.
• Encryption: The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution supports encrypted Webpages and Web conferencing traffic using HTTPS and SSL protocols. In addition, PKI certificates are supported between Web servers and clients.
• Internal and external Web conferencing deployment: Users can isolate confidential meetings and content behind the firewall for secure data network transport and still have flexibly to set up Internet-accessible meetings with external parties.
• Attendee authentication: Meeting organizers can require that participants have system profiles to attend a meeting.
• Automated account management: The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution integrates automatically with corporate directories to remove profiles of employees who leave the company.
• Hacker defenses: After multiple failed login attempts, users are automatically blocked and a system administrator is paged.
• In-session meeting controls: The meeting organizer can specify whether entries and departures are announced, require passwords, lock the meeting, and eject unwanted attendees.
• Dedicated server: Each customer has a dedicated Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system.
Q. Do the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express solutions support "reservationless" conferencing?
A. Yes. The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express solutions simultaneously support reservationless conferencing and the ability to schedule (or reserve) conferencing resources.
Q. Do the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express solutions have incremental capabilities when deployed in a Cisco Unified Communications Manager environment?
A. Yes. In a Cisco Communications Manager environment:
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express functions can be extended to Cisco IP phones. From the display interface on Cisco IP phones, users can initiate, join, and manage their meetings. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express also integrates with the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Directory to simplify profile management by automating user authentication and profile setup.
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT, which can be deployed only in a Cisco telephony environment, provides impromptu (nonscheduled) voice, video, and Web conferencing. The solution is designed for organizations looking to add simple, voice, video, and Web conferencing to their Cisco video telephony environment. The new deployment option supports impromptu conferences initiated from SCCP endpoints, such as Cisco Unified Video Advantage, and from Cisco Unified Personal Communicator.
• Cisco Unified MeetingPlace functions also can be extended to Cisco IP phones. From the display interface on Cisco IP phones, users can initiate and join meetings. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing also integrates with the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Directory to simplify profile management and Cisco Unified Communications Manager video telephony capabilities and Cisco Unified Video Advantage desktop video to facilitate attending video conferences.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0
Q. What new capabilities will be delivered with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0, and when will this release be available?
A. The major additions being introduced with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 include a new Flash-based Web conferencing solution, integration with Cisco Unified Personal Communicator and Microsoft Office Communicator, support for Cisco Security Agent, and a software development kit (SDK). Availability is planned for May 2007.
New Web Conferencing
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 integrates Adobe Flash-based Web conferencing capabilities that deliver an enhanced user experience and broader application support:
• Exceptional experience: The new Web conferencing is built using Adobe Flash technology, which helps ensure rapid and reliable meeting entry. Shared content scales to any screen resolution so that the content being shared always fits in your meeting-room window. The full-screen mode lets you maximize your view of the content. Whether on a Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Solaris platform, users can easily participate in Web conferences and experience a consistent interface.
• Broad application support: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 Web conferencing supports a wide variety of conferencing applications and user needs with the following features:
– Meeting templates for different meeting types (collaboration, presentation, or Web seminar) and user roles (moderator, presenter, or attendee)
– Animations in presentations
– User status icons for providing verbal feedback to presenters
– Scalability for large Web meetings
– Additional interactivity functions: chat, moderated Q&A, and polling
New Integrations
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 is integrated with Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, enabling users to initiate impromptu Web conferences directly from the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator interface.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for Microsoft Office Communicator is a new integration option that helps organizations improve collaboration and speed business processes by using presence and instant messaging for fast and easy impromptu conferencing. Availability is planned for April 2007.
Directly from Microsoft Office Communicator, users can do the following:
• Use presence to determine other users' availability to meet
• Initiate impromptu voice conferences on Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0
• Invite users and connect (out-dial) to the voice conference
• Control the voice conference (for example, mute, eject, lock, or end the conference)
Q. Will existing Cisco Unified MeetingPlace customers be able to upgrade their Web conferencing to the new Web conferencing solution?
A. Customers with Cisco Unified Software Subscription or Software Application Support plus Upgrades (SASU) contracts can upgrade to the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 Web conferencing at no additional charge. Those without an upgrade subscription can purchase the software upgrade.
Q. What is the maximum port capacity of a single Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system?
A. A single Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system can scale from 48 to 1152 concurrent audio ports for public switched telephone network (PSTN)-based systems. When the system is configured for IP-based integration, a single Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system can scale from 30 to 960 ports. Web conferencing scales from 20 to 500 concurrent sessions per Cisco MCS 7845 Media Convergence Server with a maximum of 100 meetings per server. The servers can be clustered to scale to concurrent Web sessions for enterprise deployments.
Q. Can multiple Cisco Unified MeetingPlace systems be clustered to achieve higher port capacity?
A. Yes. Multiple Cisco Unified MeetingPlace audio systems can be logically integrated from a scheduling and attendance perspective. Systems that are integrated in this way are not integrated from an administrative perspective.
Q. What is the maximum port capacity of a clustered Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system?
A. Cisco recommends no more than three Cisco Unified MeetingPlace audio servers be logically clustered to achieve optimal voice quality for all meetings.
Q. What is the difference between the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 8106 platform and the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 8112 platform?
A. The primary difference between platforms is the number of slots (capacity) of the systems. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 8106 provides a 6-slot chassis in a 4-rack-unit (RU) form factor, and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 8112 provides a 12-slot chassis in a 12-RU form factor. The voice and Web conferencing features are identical for both systems, and both systems support common integration applications.
Q. What additional components are required to enable video conferencing on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Video Integration provides the software integration between the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution and the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing solution. This video integration requires its own Cisco MCS 7835 or MCS 7845 Media Convergence Server independent of other Cisco Unified MeetingPlace components. Customers must also purchase a Cisco Unified Videoconferencing MCU for video conferencing, and appropriate gateways and other options, depending on specific deployment requirements. Customers must provide H.323, SIP, or SCCP video endpoints and desktop cameras as part of the video conferencing deployment.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express Conferencing
Q. What new capabilities will be delivered with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0, and when will this release be available?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 integrates video with scheduled and reservationless voice and Web conferencing and also adds new capabilities that provide enhanced security and improved usability. Availability is planned for May 2007. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 offers the following features:
• Integrated video: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 delivers enhanced collaboration and interactivity with scheduled and reservationless voice, video, and Web conferencing. The multiparty video function provides video switching that allows video participants to see the person who is speaking or the person who last spoke. The solution supports common industry protocols-H.323, and SIP-to provide connectivity with a range of video endpoints. Release 2.0 also optimizes audio bandwidth with the addition of G.729a support.
• Enhanced security: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 provides flexible and secure Web conferencing with a multiserver deployment solution that allows users to isolate internal Web meetings behind the firewall, while making Web meetings with partners, customers, and suppliers Internet-accessible. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT 2.0 also add support for Cisco Security Agent.
• Improved usability: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 provides tighter integration with other Cisco Unified Communications solutions, such as automatic login when dialing in from a recognized telephone number and automated meeting search and attendance from the Cisco Unity® Connection speech access interface.
• Additional languages: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2. 0 and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT 2.0 add support for Chinese (China and Taiwan), Spanish (Latin America and Spain), Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Danish, and Portuguese (Brazil). Support for these languages will be available in a maintenance release following the FCS of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0.
Q. Will existing Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express customers be able to add support for scheduled and reservationless video to their systems?
A. Customers with Cisco Unified Software Subscription or SASU contracts will be able to upgrade to the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 software at no additional charge. Those without an upgrade subscription will be able to purchase the software upgrade. To support video beyond any capacity included in the base Release 2.0 offering, customers will need to purchase additional licenses, and depending on the model and capacity of their existing system, they may need to upgrade to a different server configuration. Capacity specifications will be available by the FCS of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0.
Q. How does Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express differ from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express provides integrated voice and Web conferencing and the ability to schedule meetings from a variety of interfaces and to conduct reservationless meetings that are initiated from phones, Web browsers, and Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (Web conferences only). Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express supports industry-standard protocols-H.323 and SIP-to ensure connectivity with a range of telephony systems, including Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (video support not available). Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT provides voice, video, and Web conferencing for Cisco Unified Communications Manager environments only. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT does not provide the ability to schedule meetings or to initiate reservationless conferences. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT supports only impromptu conferences that are initiated from SCCP endpoints, such as Cisco Unified Video Advantage, and from Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (voice, video, and Web conferencing).
Q. How do the videoconferencing capabilities differ between Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT, and Cisco Unified Videoconferencing?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0 provides simple voice-activated video switching using a single codec and a single bit rate per meeting that allows video participants to see the person who is speaking or the person who last spoke. The solution supports common industry protocols-SCCP, (VT only) H.323, and SIP-to allow connectivity with a range of video endpoints. Cisco Unified Videoconferencing is a hardware-based solution for midsize to large organizations with more advanced video conferencing needs. It can be used to provide multipoint videoconferencing in Cisco Unified Communications Manager video telephony environments, as part of a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution, or as a standalone video conferencing solution. Cisco Unified Videoconferencing provides advanced capabilities such as transcoding, transrating, and continuous presence with support for multiple layouts.
Q. How does Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express differ from Cisco Conference Connection?
A. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express adds Web and video conferencing, reservationless meeting setup, more extensive voice conferencing features (for instance, breakout sessions and lock meeting), and in-session meeting control from the Web and Cisco IP phone interfaces.
Q. Does Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express replace Cisco Conference Connection?
A. Cisco has announced the end-of-sale and end-of life dates for Cisco Conference Connection. The last day to order this product was August 28, 2006. Customers are encouraged to migrate to Cisco MeetingPlace Express or to the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution.
Cisco Unified Personal Communicator and Web Conferencing
Q. How does Web conferencing work with Cisco Unified Personal Communicator?
A. Cisco Unified Personal Communicator provides Web conferencing capabilities through integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express, and Cisco MeetingPlace Express VT. When integrated with any of these solutions, a user in a conversation or IM session can launch a "Web meeting room" by clicking the Start Web Conferencing button. If both people have the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator client running, the Web meeting room launches automatically, and other users can easily be sent a link to join the Web meeting.
Q. Which versions of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferencing and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express does Cisco Unified Personal Communicator support?
A. It supports Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express 1.1.2 and later.
Adobe Flash-Based Web Conferencing and Cisco's Relationship with Adobe
Q. What is the relationship between Adobe and Cisco?
A. Adobe and Cisco have partnered together around the area of unified communications. Adobe has licensed Acrobat Connect Professional™, Adobe Connect Server Web conferencing technology, and Adobe Connect Edge Server to Cisco. Cisco will integrate and sell these products as a part of the Cisco portfolio of unified communications solutions.
Q. What Cisco products integrate Adobe Connect Pro?
A. Adobe Connect Pro is integrated into Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 6.0 and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express. Both solutions extend the Connect Pro capabilities by providing unique Cisco capabilities such as integrated voice and video conference management and setup and attend capabilities from multiple interfaces. Both solutions are also integrated with other Cisco Unified Communications offerings, such as Cisco Unified Personal Communicator and Cisco Unified Communications Manager.
