Configure Multimedia

 

 

Configuring multimedia (Video and Audio) is similar to configuring a SIP to SIP transcoding call. When configuring the IMG 2020 to process a multimedia call, the SIP stack, SIP channel groups, SIP Video Profiles, and IP facilities all need to be configured. The difference between configuring a SIP to SIP audio call and a SIP to SIP multimedia call is the when configuring the IP Profiles. When configuring a SIP to SIP audio call, there are a set of audio codecs to choose from under the IP profiles object. When configuring a SIP to SIP multimedia call there are video and audio codecs to choose from. Follow the procedure below to configure the IMG 2020 to accept an incoming multimedia call using the H.264 video codec and G.711 ulaw audio codec and transcoding the video to MPEG_4 video and G.729 audio codec to send out the outgoing leg.

Before proceeding, verify that the Basic Configurations topic has been completed. The Basic Configurations topic sets up objects such as VoIP Interfaces and IP Bearer ports needed prior to starting the Configuring SIP procedure. When creating the Physical  Node object, configure the Media Mode for either 25% or 100% Transcoding. Transcoding from H.264 to MPEG-4 is described in this procedure.

 

Procedure

For the IMG 2020 to be able to make a video call, the IP resources for multimedia must be allocated. The number of IP resources available and the number of resources to allocate is dependent on the following:

  • What is the Media Mode that was configured in the Physical Node object.

  • How many DSP modules are installed.

  • How many IP resources are licensed.

  • Is Transcoding being utilized.

  • Two resources are needed for each call being processed. One for incoming and one for outgoing.

All these factors will affect the number of resources available. Refer to the Physical Node - Direct Connect topic for tables displaying the number of resources available for the scenarios above. Once the number of resources has been calculated, the procedure below can be started.

Initial Configuration

Before proceeding, verify that the functionality in the Basic Configurations topic has been completed. The Basic Configurations topic configures objects such as VoIP Interfaces and IP Bearer ports needed prior to starting the Configure Multimedia topic.

Create the Audio Codecs

To be able to receive and transmit a multimedia call, the incoming and outgoing legs need to have a list of codecs to negotiate with during the codec negotiation. This requires creating an IP Profile that will include both audio and video codecs. The configured codecs will negotiate with any received codecs during the Offer/Answer SDP negotiation. The section below along with the Create a Video Profile section will describe how to configure the codecs used during the negotiation process.

  • Right click on the IP Profile object and select New Vocoder Profile. Select G.711 ulaw from the drop down menu of the Payload Type field. Refer to the Vocoder Profile topic for more information on configuring the Vocoder Profile object.

  • Right click on the IP Profile object again and select New Vocoder Profile. Select G.729 ulaw from the drop down menu of the Payload Type field. Refer to the Vocoder Profile topic for more information on configuring the Vocoder Profile object.

Create a Video Profile

  • Right click on the IP Profile object and select New Video Profile. In the ID field, either accept the default ID or select one of the other ID's from the drop down menu in this field. Refer to the Video Profile topic for more information on this topic.

  • In the Codec Type field select from the drop down menu one of the supported codecs. In this procedure H264 was selected.

  • Right click on the Video Profile object and selectNew H264 Codec. This is the object where the individual supported parameters for that particular codec are configured. Refer to the H.264 Codec topic for more information on configuring the individual fields in this object.

  • Right click on the IP Profile object again and select New Video Profile. In the ID field accept the default or select one of the other ID's from the drop down menu again.

  • In the Codec Type field select MPEG_4 since the procedure is transcoding H.264 to MPEG_4.

  • Right click on the MPEG_4 Video Profile just created and select New MPEG_4 Codec. Again, this is the object where the individual supported parameters for that particular codec are configured. Refer to the MPEG_4 Codec topic for more information on this object.

  • Click back on the Profiles object. The Profiles object will have a yellow exclamation point for the icon indicating the configuration has not yet been sent to the IMG 2020. Click on the Download Profiles button in the object and the configuration will be sent to the IMG 2020.

Configure SIP Profile (SGP)

When communicating with an external gateway there are various attributes/features that need to be associated with that particular gateway. Within the SIP Profile object the attributes/features can be configured and then linked to the External SIP Gateways object, and the External ENUM Server Sets object. The SIP Profiles configured can be chosen from a drop down menu in each of the objects described above.

  • Right click on the Profiles object and select New SIP Profiles. The SIP Profiles object is a container object and no configuration is needed here. Refer to the SIP Profiles topic for more information on this object.

  • Right click on the SIP Profiles object and select New SIP Profile. The first SIP Profile created is the default SIP Profile and all the fields will be shaded green. In the Default SIP Profile, the fields cannot be modified. Disregard this profile.

  • Right click on the SIP Profiles object again and select New SIP Profile again. In the SIP Profile object that appears, either enter a name that identifies this SIP Profile or accept the default name already entered. In this example the name entered was SIP_Profile_Multi since this will be for a multimedia call. Refer to the SIP Profile - SGP topic for more information on this object.

  • OPTIONAL: Right click on the SIP Profile object just created and select New SIP Advanced Settings. Within this object select from the list of advanced options. This will be added to the SIP Profile being configured. For more information on the SIP Advanced Settings object, refer to the SIP Profile - Advanced Settings topic.

  • OPTIONAL: Right click on the SIP Profile object again and select any of the Advanced SIP features from the drop down list. Any options added will be part of the SIP Profile being created. For more information on the individual SIP feature options in the list, they can be accessed  through the Configure SIP Profile Options topic.

Configure SIP Signaling Stack

Configure a SIP Signaling stack on the IMG 2020. One SIP stack must be created for each Physical node. The SIP Signaling Stack can be configured in Single IP or Multiple IP mode

  • Right click on the Physical Node object and select New Signaling. The Signaling object that appears is a parent or container object. No configuration is needed within this object. Refer to the Signaling topic for more information on this topic.

  • Right click on the Signaling object and select New SIP. A SIP signaling stack object gets created. Go to the IP Operation Mode field and select Multiple IP from the drop down menu. Refer to the IMG 1010 - SIP Signaling Object topic for more information on configuring the remaining fields in this object.

The Single IP selection puts the SIP Signaling stack into Single IP mode. In this mode, one external network can communicate with the SIP stack through one of the interfaces on the rear of the IMG 2020. This mode is used for backwards compatibility with existing configurations and for a few features that require a single IP address configured to communicate with the SIP stack.

The Multiple IP selection puts the SIP Signaling stack into Multiple IP mode. In this mode, up to 20 IP addresses can be configured to communicate with the SIP stack. Each of the interfaces can be configured with a different network IP address so the SIP stack on the IMG 2020 can communicate with multiple external networks.

  • Right click on the SIP Signaling object and select New SIP IP Address. The SIP IP Address object assigns the communication parameters that will be given to the IP Address/Interface selected in the IP Address field. The drop down menu of the IP Address field will be populated with the IP Addresses that were previously configured as Service IP Addresses in the IP Address object. Refer to the SIP Signaling - IP Address topic for more information on configuring the remaining fields in this object.

Configure External Gateway

Configure the External Gateway object. This object configures the functionality needed to communicate with the external gateways both on the A and B legs.

  • Right click on the Dialogic object and select New External Network Elements. The External Network Elements object is a container object and no configuration is needed here. For more information on this object refer to the External Network Elements topic.

  • Right click on External Network Elements and select New External Gateways. The External Gateways object is a container object and no configuration is needed here. For more information on this object refer to the External Gateways topic.

  • Right click on External Gateways object and select New External Gateway. Enter a name that identifies this gateway.

  • Select SIP from drop down menu in the Protocol field.

  • Select either Gateway IP Address or Gateway Host name from the Address Type field. In this procedure the IP Address will be how the IMG 2020 will communicate with external gateway.

  • Enter the IP address of the external gateway in the IP Address field.

  • Select the SIP Profile created earlier from the drop down menu of the SIP Profile field . For more information on configuring the External Gateway object, refer to the External Gateway topic.

  • Repeat Steps 3-7 for the External Gateway on the B-Leg.

  • OPTIONAL: If the gateways being configured in this next section will require being registered, the SIP Network Element object will need to be created. Right click on the Signaling >SIP object and select New SIP Network Element. In the object that appears select one of the gateways configured above.

  • Enter an Authentication User Name and Password. Refer to the topic for more information on this object.

  • Repeat the process if required for the second gateway configured above.

Configure Channel Group and External Network Element

Configure a SIP Channel Group for both the A-Leg and B-Leg. The SIP channel group will communicate with the external SIP gateways created above. After configuring the channel group, configure the external network element that the channel group will communicate with.

  • Right click on the Dialogic object and select New Routing Configuration. The Routing Configuration object is a container object and no configuration is needed here. For more information on this object refer to the Routing Configuration topic.

  • Right click on the Routing Configuration object and select New Channel Groups. The Channel Groups object is a container object for multiple channel groups. No configuration is needed here. For more information refer to Channel Groups topic.

  • Right click on the Channel Groups object and select New Channel Group. In the Name field, either except the default name or enter a name that identifies the Channel Group being configured.

  • Select SIP from the drop down menu in the Signaling Type field.

  • Select the Incoming and Outgoing IP Profile from drop down menu. Select the IP Profile which has the Video Profiles created earlier in this procedure. For more information on configuring the remaining fields in this channel group, refer to the Channel Group topic.

  • Right click on the SIP Channel Group and select New IP Network Element. Select from drop down menu the gateway configured in the Configure External Gateway section above.

  • Repeat the above procedure and create a Channel Group and External Network Element for the B-Leg

Configure the Packet Facilities

  • Right click on the Packet Facilities object and select New Packet Facility. In the Name field, either accept the default Name displayed or enter a Name that describes this packet facility. In this procedure the Packet Facilities for video were labeled Packet_Fac1_Video.

  • Select from the drop down menu of the Media Endpoint field either Media 0 or Media 1. Selecting Media 0 or Media 1 will determine the IP Address that will be given to this group of IP resources labeled Packet_Fac1_Video.

  • In the Packet Facility Channel Type field select Packet Multimedia since the packet facility just configured will be used for video.

  • In the Starting RTP Port field, either accept the default port number or enter a new starting port number.  

  • In the Number of Channels field the default number displayed is the total number of ports available. Enter the number of resources that will be allocated for video calls. For more information on this object, refer to the Packet Facility topic.

  • Repeat the procedure above to create multiple packet facilities as required. In this procedure, two packet facilities for video were created. One facility for the A leg and the second for the B Leg.

  • In steps 6 and 7 of the Configure Channel Group and External Network Element section above, an IP Network Element was created for the channel groups on the A and B legs. Right click on the External Network Element created on the Channel Group on the A Leg and select New Node Association. In the Node field, select the physical node from the drop down menu.

  • In the Media Packet Facility field, select the packet facility that will be used to communicate with the External Gateway selected as an IP Network Element off Channel Group on the A-Leg.

  • Repeat step 7 and 8 for the IP Network Element off of Channel Group on the B-Leg.

  • Click on the Channel Groups object again. At this point, a yellow exclamation point will be displayed in the Icon indicating the configuration has not been sent to the IMG 2020. Click on the Download Resource Tables button and the Channel Group configuration will be sent to the IMG 2020.

Route call using Channel Group Routing

Route the call from the A-Leg to the B-Leg and from the B-Leg to the A-Leg. In this procedure, routing by channel groups will be used.

  • Right click on the Routing Configuration object and select New Routing Tables. The Routing Tables object is a container object and no configuration is needed here. Refer to the Routing Tables topic for more information on this object.

  • Right click on the Routing Tables object and select New Route Table. Enter a name in the Name field to identify this Route Table. In this procedure the Name entered was RouteTble_Aleg_Bleg.

  • In the Routing Criteria Order field, select the Channel Group entry and move it to the top of the list since in this procedure the call will be routed by Channel Groups. Refer to the Route Table topic for more information on configuring the Route Table object.

  • Right click on the Route Table created and select New Route Element. In the Route Criteria Type field select Channel Group.

  • In the In Channel Group field select the Channel Group created earlier on the A-Leg side. In the Outgoing Channel Group field select the Channel Group on the B-Leg side. This will cover call coming into the A-Leg and being routed to the B-Leg.

  • Right click on the Route Table created and select New Route Element. In the Route Criteria Type field select Channel Group.

  • In the In Channel Group field select the Channel Group created earlier on the B-Leg side. In the Outgoing Channel Group field select the Channel Group on the A-Leg side. This will cover call coming into the B-Leg and being routed to the A-Leg. Refer to the Route Table Element topic for more information on configuring the remaining fields in the Route Element object.

  • Click on the Route Table object. At this point there will be a yellow exclamation point displayed which indicates that the configuration needs to be sent to the IMG 2020. Click on the Download Routing Table button and the configuration will get sent to the IMG 2020.


At this point, the multimedia call has been configured and routed using channel groups. When a call is received on the A-Leg, the audio and video codecs are negotiated. First the audio and then the video. If the negotiation process is successful, the call is routed through the channel group on the A-Leg and out the channel group on the B side. If either the audio or video negotiation fails, the call will not be processed. The call could also be received on the B-Leg and transmitted out on the A-Leg.

 

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