Cisco Cisco TelePresence MCU 4510 Maintenance Manual
Reservation of MCU media ports
Cisco TelePresence MCU Version 4.2 Printable online help
Page 57 of 252
Reservation of MCU media ports
The MCU is able, if required, to allocate its available media ports in advance to specific conferences.
This means that it is able to guarantee that a certain number of participants will be able to join that
conference, irrespective of how many other people are using the MCU for other conferences at the
same time.
This means that it is able to guarantee that a certain number of participants will be able to join that
conference, irrespective of how many other people are using the MCU for other conferences at the
same time.
Media port types
There are three types of media ports available on the MCU, video ports, audio-only ports, and
streaming and content channel ports.
streaming and content channel ports.
For information about the number and type of ports provided by each MCU model, refer to
The term video port refers to a port that can be used by a video-conferencing endpoint for a call. Thus,
a video port includes both video and audio streams (bidirectionally) and so the number of video ports
available represents the number of "normal" video calls that the MCU is able to maintain
simultaneously.
a video port includes both video and audio streams (bidirectionally) and so the number of video ports
available represents the number of "normal" video calls that the MCU is able to maintain
simultaneously.
Participant port usage
In general, each endpoint in a conference is able to use either a video port or an audio-only port,
though normally the MCU will assign video ports to video-capable devices and audio-only ports to
audio-only devices.
though normally the MCU will assign video ports to video-capable devices and audio-only ports to
audio-only devices.
If a video-capable device joins a conference which has just audio-only ports available, the MCU will
assign it an audio-only port – that participant will be able to listen to other people and contribute their
own audio to the conference but the MCU will not transmit video to it (and will not use any video
received from it). If an audio-only device such as a simple telephone joins a conference which has just
video ports available, the MCU will assign it a video port, which includes audio capability. The video
capability of that allocation will not be used, but the audio device will be able to participate as normal
in the conference. The exception to this is VNC - because this is a video-only protocol, the MCU does
not permit VNC connections to use audio-only ports.
assign it an audio-only port – that participant will be able to listen to other people and contribute their
own audio to the conference but the MCU will not transmit video to it (and will not use any video
received from it). If an audio-only device such as a simple telephone joins a conference which has just
video ports available, the MCU will assign it a video port, which includes audio capability. The video
capability of that allocation will not be used, but the audio device will be able to participate as normal
in the conference. The exception to this is VNC - because this is a video-only protocol, the MCU does
not permit VNC connections to use audio-only ports.
Streaming
Streaming a conference requires use of a video port or a streaming and content channel port.
Where streaming and content channel ports are provided, streaming viewers and conferences' content
channel (H.239 or BFCP) video allocations will use the streaming and content channel ports rather
than the available video ports; where streaming and content channel ports are not provided, streaming
viewers and content channel allocations will use available video ports.
Where streaming and content channel ports are provided, streaming viewers and conferences' content
channel (H.239 or BFCP) video allocations will use the streaming and content channel ports rather
than the available video ports; where streaming and content channel ports are not provided, streaming
viewers and content channel allocations will use available video ports.
If a streaming and content channel port or a video port is unavailable (or not allocated in advance
when the MCU is in Reserved mode), it will not be possible to stream that conference. If a video port
has been allocated for streaming a conference, any number of streaming viewers will be able to view
that conference via streaming, at any combination of available bit rates.
when the MCU is in Reserved mode), it will not be possible to stream that conference. If a video port
has been allocated for streaming a conference, any number of streaming viewers will be able to view
that conference via streaming, at any combination of available bit rates.
MCU media capacity
The total number of media ports available depends on the MCU model; refer to the product datasheets
available on the web site, or to
available on the web site, or to
Configuring the MCU
How MCU media ports are allocated, and which options and settings are available, is controlled by the
Media port reservation setting on the
Media port reservation setting on the
Settings > Conferences
page. On the MCU 4500 Series and