Summaries of MOD Committee Activities, Tasks, Findings & Recommendations
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On this page, summaries are reported for the activities, tasks, findings, and recommendations of the Working Groups formed within the University of Utah Media On Demand Committee.
Contents |
[edit] Campus Network Environment: Delivery & Capacity
[edit] ...Working Group Members
- Working Group Facilitator
- Dave Packham, Office of Information Technology
[edit] ...Findings
Campus VOD Network Architecture Considerations
One of the biggest bottlenecks facing our campus network will be the connectivity from the distribution nodes to access layer switches. Almost half of the buildings on campus are still connected with 100mb networks and some of those buildings are still running older network technologies that will prevent them from benefiting from a faster 1gig link. (IE token ring, hub non switched networks, etc.) Most of the high bandwidth buildings are already 1gig and inside infrastructure to support that all the way to the classroom and office. But there are some exceptions, for example, EBC is not gig connected.
From our current campus Core nodes, one in park and one in EBC, to our EBC distribution node we have 4 gig's full duplex. Plans for 20 gig full duplex are in process awaiting several new power supplies and PDU's to be installed in the node rooms. The Campus data centers are today all 4 gig's connected, but there are no plans today on getting them to the 20 gig interface.
Any VOD Network infrastructure plans should make a case to be directly connect to the core networking equipment OR define that the data center networks be at the 20gig level before deployment to prevent network core/dist architecture from being a possible bottleneck. Also some protocol research should be done to define which and what protocols will be used to distribute content across campus.
For example on today's network connected to a high bandwidth building we could support about several 4meg streams without network latency. Into the building networks is where this network would start to have problems. Most campus building networks are running near the 40% Ethernet capacity for internal traffic.
Ken Couch, Director of Marketing for Broadband Access Nortel says “when designing the optimal Campus VOD network infrastructure, there are many aspects that need to be considered. Some of the key decision points include:
- How much storage will be needed based on amount, length, and types of content?
- What type of storage and streaming technology is best? Hard drive vs. DRAM?
- Is it better to deploy using a centralized or distributed Campus VOD architecture?
- How much bandwidth does my network need at various points in the network?
The general starting point is to build a model that forecasts the expected take rate and usage patterns of a Campus VOD service, including a determination of the peak Campus VOD usage rates. This information is then used to further build out the model to determine how much storage is needed for library content (asset storage), how often must the content be refreshed on a regular basis (asset ingest), and the expected peak bandwidth requirements to reliably deliver the service.
It is important to note that Campus VOD is unicast in nature, which means there is a dedicated content stream for each end-user session. Multicast has limited Campus VOD uses with the possible exception of multicasting content in a distributed architecture to cache servers. The unicast requirement places significant bandwidth demands on all parts of the supporting infrastructure.
Finally, it is important to determine the type of Campus VOD technology that is best optimized for the long term Campus VOD service. If Campus VOD continues to migrate from a traditional movie-on-demand service towards Television-on-Demand (ToD), or for that matter an everything-on-demand model, the implications are that content ingest rates will skyrocket. Video content will need to be refreshed and updated continuously to the point where it reaches a near real time ingest rate and then be broadcast to thousands of users simultaneously. From a subscriber perspective, this would be like having a PVR service, without the need for a PVR device in the home.
The implications of a dramatic increase in asset ingest rates is that there will have to be a corresponding response in Campus VOD server technology and network designs that are optimized to handle this shift. Today most Campus VOD platforms use some type of hard-drive technology to store and stream content. Hard drive technologies are low cost, and they do a great job of streaming content out to users, but the close coupling of the storage and streaming functions presents technical challenges as the library grows. The newer DRAM based platforms have the benefits of higher reliability, lower power, higher density, and the ability to handle the rigorous ingest / distribution demands of a Television-on-Demand environment. Their drawback is higher cost, particularly for low scale deployments.
It may be that the optimal Campus VOD architecture will be some combination of hard drives for whole-library storage and using DRAM to stream the high-usage content. DRAM has the potential advantage of being able to supporting many concurrent streams due to its ability to pump out content at very high bit rates. The optimal network configuration / design is obviously dependent on the individual requirements of each service provider and the scale of the network.
[edit] ...Recommendations
Distribution Network
Video on Demand (Campus VOD) requires predictability and continuity of traffic flow to ensure real-time flow of information. MPEG and MPEG-2 (as described above) require an effective BW of 1.5 - 4 Mbits/sec. Multiplying this "media stream" BW requirement by the number of clients will give a rough estimate of the effective distribution network's bandwidth. The Common Imagery Ground/Surface System (CIGSS) 1 Handbook suggests the following steps to size and specify the LAN technology use for Image dissemination systems:
- Approximate the system usage profile by estimating the amounts of image, video and text handling that will be required.
- Convert the amount of images, video and text to be processed into average effective data rates. Raw data transferred directly to an archive ( our video server) and near real- time processed imagery should be estimated separately. The bandwidth requirements can be combined later if needed.
- Adjust calculated rate for growth. The growth factor should be at least 50%.
- Add a fraction (about .3 to .4) of the peak capacity to the growth adjusted rate for
interprocessor communications.
Updating heritage networks to this new BW requirement can incur substantial costs. The cost of implementing a hi-speed network varies depending on the network architecture. Protocols
There are several transport protocols that can be implemented for audio-video applications; TCP, UDP, SONET, TCP/IP Resource Reservation Protocol (RCVP). Do to the effective data rate necessary to support Campus VOD, protocols that minimize client/server interaction are preferable, except in cases where an over-abundance of network bandwidth exists. In Ethernet nets supporting mostly non-Campus VOD applications retransmission of lost packets or corrupt packets will not be possible. For example, if packets are lost they uses pixel tiles from a previous frame. In a typical Campus VOD system , without error correction, QOS is directly proportional to network/LAN BER (Bit Error Rate). Campus VOD systems which provide error correction as part of network protocol have to be designed to allow for the latency created by their error correcting protocols. (DSS currently implements interleaving, Reed Soloman and viterbi decoding) QOS trade-offs can be quantified and analyzed.
[edit] Digital Asset Management--Delivery & Capacity
[edit] ...Working Group Members
- Working Group Facilitator
- Kenning Arlitsch, Marriott Library
- Members
- Carol Jean Hanson, Marriott Library
- Nancy Lombardo, Eccles Health Sciences Library
- Cory Stokes, Utah Education Network
- John Wardle, UTV
- Paul E. Burrows, Media Solutions/OIT
[edit] ...Tasks
The Digital Asset Management Working Group was charged with two principal tasks, the second of which is summarized in the Working Group section below named Content Acquisition--Use & Re-purposing.
The first task of this group was to--
- Recommend a digital asset management system for campus use
- Survey the University of Utah campus to explore the potential of Digital Asset Management Systems and their impact on cataloging and distributing many types of media files across the University, including, but not limited to, digital video (downloadable and streaming) and Media On Demand services.
- Recommend a campus-wide DAM Solution
The Campus Survey and DAM Solution recommendations are reported below.
[edit] ...Findings--Campus IT Survey
A web-based survey of 531 individuals across the University of Utah campus, representing Web Managers, IT Managers, PC Managers, Mac Managers, LINUX Managers, and UNIX Managers was conducted May 10-20, 2005. The survey specifically explored the potential of Digital Asset Management Systems and their impact on cataloging and distributing many types of media files across the University, including, but not limited to, digital video (downloadable and streaming) and Media On Demand services. Questions were divided into four sections:
- Who you are...
- Information about respondent locations, responsibilities, and the constituents served.
- DAM systems...
- Queries about the existence of DAM systems within the University and how they are being used.
- DAM services--what if...
- Comments and preferences for "centralized" versus "distributed" environments for digital asset management services within the University.
- Conclusions...
- Additional thoughts and comments about Digital Asset Management systems and their use on the University of Utah campus.
A report was generated regarding the survey results:
The actual survey questions can be reviewed in a PDF of Survey #2: Digital Asset Management at the University of Utah
[edit] ...Findings
From the Digital Asset Management Subcommittee Summary Memo to the Media On Demand Committee, the following was submitted...
- The committee members agreed that it is not feasible to recommend a single DAM for all campus (and potentially off-campus) entities. Recommendation of a single system risks rejection, and several groups are already heavily invested in systems such as CONTENTdm™ and North Plains Telescope™. Furthermore, some media clips may be subject to rights management concerns, making them transitory in nature and requiring routine removal from any DAM system. These issues require continued discussion and planning.
[edit] ...Recommendations
From the Digital Asset Management Subcommittee Summary Memo to the Media On Demand Committee, the following recommendations were submitted...
- However, we seek to ensure that digital collections constructed at the University of Utah adhere to nationally recognized imaging and metadata standards, and can be harvested into the existing aggregated index searchable at the Mountain West Digital Library (http://mwdl.org). Harvesting in the current MWDL model collects only metadata about the distributed collections, allowing local flexibility and control over distributed digital objects. The committee suggests a four-pronged approach to the DAM problem--
- Require that any DAM used on campus must be compliant with the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). This widely-accepted protocol establishes rules for data exposure to OAI harvesters. More information about OAI may be found at http://www.openarchives.org
- Require the Western States Dublin Core Metadata Best Practices as a minimum set of metadata fields. This will ensure initial resource discovery at the aggregated metadata level. WSDCMBP reinforces and further defines Dublin Core with minor modifications, and is OAI compliant. It was established in 2001 by nine western states and has since gained widespread adoption. It is used by all academic libraries in Utah as part of the MWDL, and by the multi-state Western Waters Digital Library and the Western Trails Project, among others. In local implementation the labels for WSDCMBP fields may vary provided the DAM offers mappings or crosswalks back to Dublin Core. Local implementation also allows as many additional metadata fields as desired.
- Offer CONTENTdm as a campus-wide DAM hosting solution for campus colleges and departments. CONTENTdm may not be the first choice for all groups, but the Marriott Library currently hosts nearly a dozen partners on campus and off, and is prepared to expand this role.
- Conduct a web-based survey of campus IT Managers to determine whether other DAM systems are in use across campus. We would like to be included in the next IT Managers meeting agenda to introduce this idea and gather information for creation of the survey (see the Campus IT Survey reported above).
[edit] Content Acquisition--Use & Re-purposing
[edit] ...Working Group Members
- Working Group Facilitator
- Kenning Arlitsch, Marriott Library
- Members
- Carol Jean Hanson, Marriott Library
- Nancy Lombardo, Eccles Health Sciences Library
- Cory Stokes, Utah Education Network
- John Wardle, UTV
- Paul E. Burrows, Media Solutions/OIT
[edit] ...Tasks
The Content Acquisition--Use & Re-purposing subcommittee was part of the Digital Asset Management Working Group. It was charged with two principal tasks, the first of which is summarized in the Working Group section above named Digital Asset Management--Delivery & Capacity.
The Content Acquisition group was charged to--
- Recommend commercial contacts for purchase of video clips, which would serve faculty and student needs in various disciplines.
[edit] ...Findings
From the Digital Asset Management Subcommittee Summary Memo to the Media On Demand Committee, the following was submitted...
- There are several vendors who could provide video clips for the University. An initial list might include: Teacher’s Domain; Discovery Education; TV Ontario; Annenberg/CPB; PBS Adult Learning Service. However, there are also numerous questions that must be answered by the vendors prior to selection.
[edit] ...Recommendations
From the Digital Asset Management Subcommittee Summary Memo to the Media On Demand Committee, the following recommendations were submitted...
- The committee recommends sending an RFI to several promising vendors requesting information about specific topics, including--
- Details about the content offered by the vendor.
- What kind of metadata does the vendor provide with the clips?
- Will the vendor allow repurposing of clips, including segmentation?
- Are broadcast rights included with purchase?
- Are the clips restricted to use by the University, and if so how are users authenticated?
- Are there other rights restrictions?
- The committee further recommends that the University consider negotiating with vendors from the strength of a state-wide initiative. This might fall under the purview of the Utah Academic Library Consortium, which has successfully negotiated state-wide purchase of numerous library databases.
[edit] Video/Audio Architectures & Compression: Delivery, Choices & Recommendations
[edit] ...Working Group Members
- Working Group Facilitator
- Paul E. Burrows, Media Solutions/OIT
- Members
- David Adams, TAC Center
- Richard Glaser, Marriott Library
- Nancy Lombardo, Eccles Health Sciences Library
- Jimmy Miklavcic, Center for High Performance Computing
- Dave Packham, Office of Information Technology
- Tyler Smith, Instructional Media Services
[edit] ...Tasks
A specific group of Tasks was defined for the Working Group that included:
- conducting a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of Media on Demand at the University of Utah
- conducting Environmental Scans (internal and external) of existing video/audio media architectures and codecs in use across the University campus and in the new media industries
- analyzing the applicability of the MPEG-4/H.264 digital media architecture as a University standard, and
- determining the desire for and scope of assistance and professional development options for MOD/VOD content contributors and end users
An activities Report of the Working Group for Video/Audio Architectures & Compression: a New Media Ecosystem (2005-08-02) is available from the University of Utah's IT website.
[edit] ...Findings--Campus IT Survey
A web-based survey of 531 individuals across the University of Utah campus, representing Web Managers, IT Managers, PC Managers, Mac Managers, LINUX Managers, and UNIX Managers was conducted May 10-20, 2005. The survey sought opinions and identification of current activities in digital video and audio acquisition, compression, and distribution. Questions were divided into six sections:
- Who you are...
- Information about respondent locations, responsibilities, and the constituents served.
- The need for digital video & audio...
- Queries about respondents’ involvement in distributing digital video and audio media, and for what purposes.
- Issues related to digital video & audio collections...
- A lightning round asking Likert Scale-based opinions on key issues related to digital video and audio collections delivered over networks and via web servers within the University of Utah.
- Current activities and tools...
- Questions related to the acquisition, preparation, and delivery methods for digital video and audio media.
- What if...
- Ratings on how beneficial certain projects or plans may be relative to the acquisition, preparation, and delivery of digital video and audio media.
- Conclusions...
- Additional thoughts and comments about the creation, encoding, and distribution of digital video and audio content across the University.
Two separate reports were generated regarding the survey results:
- Report of the Working Group for Video/Audio Architectures & Compression: A New Media Ecosystem (2005-08-02) pp. 21-41
- Digital Video Survey Report Presentation at the IT Managers November 2005 Meeting
The actual survey questions can be reviewed in a PDF of Survey #1: Digital Video & Audio Distribution for the University of Utah
[edit] ...Findings--Internal Environmental Scan
- Emergence of a MOD New Media Ecosystem
- The current state of affairs in the digital distribution of video and audio media may be conceptualized as a vibrant and evolving ecosystem of the preparation, distribution and maintenance of content that is delivered through broadcast transmissions, satellite, cable, fiber, the Internet, computer networks, wireless networks, game consoles, web conferencing and collaboration, cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants. Media is created once, but consumed through different types of devices.
- Autonomy vs Resource Efficiency
- Currently, the creation, storage, and distribution of digital video and audio assets on campus are primarily conducted (with some exceptions) by individual, autonomous departments. The redundancies in service may be considered a fiscal and resource management weakness. At the same time, with localized control, services are more quickly responsive to change and adjustments in requirements.
- Too Many Formats
- The variety of digital media architectures and file formats that are currently in distribution is a detriment, not only for the producers who are digitizing and compressing multiple files for multiple players and different bandwidth connectivity to the Internet, but also for the end-user who must install and maintain a variety of media players.
- Centralized Storage
- As demand for digital assets increases, the need for greater capacity to store these assets (on-line, near-line, & off-line) likewise expands. Centralized storage is considered acceptable, but groups with high levels of expertise and resources prefer to manage their own assets.
- Centralized Back-up & Archiving
- The 365/24/7 support and maintenance offered by centralized services for file back-up and archiving is a mission critical consideration.
- Centralized Distribution Servers
- Increasing demands for viewing and perusing digital assets puts a heavy load on networks and Internet connections. Load balancing, efficiencies, and guaranteed Quality of Service can be achieved through centralized distribution services, servers, and even the build out of parallel Content Distribution Networks to carry the load of digital media.
- Localized Media Creation
- Although most would embrace a standardized storage and distribution system across the University for digital media assets, there is a strong indication that individual departments and groups prefer to manage their own acquisition, authoring, and compression of media files.
- University-wide Standards
- Given training and resources, many groups were positive about the establishment of University-wide guidelines and standards for digital media compression. If such standards were crafted and provided to the University community, individual, autonomously managed departments and groups would likely embrace the specifications.
- Training and Help Desks
- It could be considered a mandate for the University to provide professional development opportunities and training to content providers on campus. A Media on Demand Forum with periodic meetings and professional development agendas is recommended. For end-users, it is a necessity to provide Help Desk assistance as they are asked to download and view digital media as part of their academic and research undertakings.
[edit] ...Findings--External Environmental Scan
- MPEG-4 Digital Media Architecture
- The University’s various departments each subscribe to different technologies, depending on their needs and their support and maintenance resources. Because we are witnessing the emergence and wide adoption of the MPEG-4 standardized, non-proprietary media architecture across multiple profiles and consumption points of the New Media Ecosystem, there is an opportunity for the University to promote common methods of content preparation and distribution. The tools and best practices for exploiting the MPEG-4 architecture are either already in place or emerging quickly.
- Need for Consistency & Interoperability
- The threat to the University, if some consistency is not promoted throughout the delivery of digital media through networks and the Internet, will be a proliferation of files and formats which cannot be played, cannot be shared, and (where appropriate) cannot be re-purposed. None of these conditions are acceptable within an academic institution (except where information must be protected for financial, privacy, patent, copyright, unpublished research, security or other similar circumstances).
[edit] ...Recommendations
Based on the opinions and information gleaned from the internal and external environmental scans conducted by the Working Group for Digital Video/Audio Architectures & Compression, “next step” recommendations can be offered. If implemented, each should be aggressively supported and maintained in order to provide long-term consistency and adherence to established guidelines and accessibility to centralized services.
- Create a website incorporating best practices into guidelines and parameters that the University recommends.
- Create a MODwiki to facilitate a collaborative writing environment for working group members and other invited experts. The wiki would contain explanations and information of a volatile nature that need updating to keep pace with changes in the Media on Demand and Video on Demand industries.
- Create a list of existing services on campus that could help or create VOD deliverables.
- Add FAQs about digital media delivery and playback to campus Help Desk's repertoire.
- Create and deliver training and professional development opportunities. Capitalize on the IT Managers Group, Webmaster Forums, and Marriott Library Media Streaming Services tutorial modules currently in development.
- Post these and other VOD committee findings, recommendations and training aids on the web, available from the OIT web site.
[edit] Keep Informed... Media On Demand Forum/LIFT
The discussion topics, issues, opportunities, and IT infrastructures associated with the creation, publication, distribution, and maintenance of Media On Demand reources are broad and deep. The technology, services, and applications associated with Media On Demand change rapidly and frequently. Consequently, there is a need to provide a forum for the demonstration of new technologies and ideas, with provision for Q&A about implementations, costs, and availabilities.
The University of Utah already has numerous established forums and committees that meet regularly. A listing of such groups if available through the University of Utah Office of IT website under Committees & Groups. The URL link is http://www.it.utah.edu/leadership/committees/index.html. There you will find additional links for these groups...
- Information Technology Council (ITC)
- Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC)
- IT Managers Forum
- Mac Managers
- Webmasters
- U Web Advisory Committee
- Network Research Forum
- Wireless Committee
Other entities across the campus also host information technology updates and sessions.
The Media On Demand Committee, rather than create an additional set of meetings to address MOD issues and opportunities, has opted to partner with the Library and Information Technology Forum--LIFT in order to keep the University community updated.
The purpose of the Library and Information Technology Forum is to inform the University of Utah community about electronic information resources, and current trends in the use of computers and online technologies for accessing these resources. The Forum is generally held the second Wednesday of each month between September and May, in the Health Sciences Education Building, Room 2680.
If you would like to suggest a Forum topic or Media On Demand demonstration or discussion, or if you need more information please contact Jeanne Le Ber, Forum Coordinator; phone 801-585-6744 or e-mail jeannele@lib.med.utah.edu.
The website for the LIFT and MOD Forums is available at this URL--
Past presentations are available on-demand as PowerPoints, PDFs, and RealMedia video streams via this URL link--
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