PIC-SER Campus Trials

A project of the Internet2 Presence and Integrated Communications (PIC) Working Group.

Participants

Columbia University
Florida State University
i2CAT/Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Pennsylvania
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Documentation

Call for Participation (CFP)

Responses due by May 31, 2005

The Internet2 Presence and Integrated Communications (PIC) Working Group is pleased to announce an opportunity for Internet2 university / affiliate members to engage in a set of supported campus trials of open standards-based (SIP/SIMPLE) integrated communications. Participating campuses will receive PIC-SER—a software package consisting of an open source, standards-based server (iptel.org's SIP Express Router), a presence agent module for the SIP Express Router, server installation and configuration scripts, documentation, and trial use of several commercial integrated communications clients for both PC and Mac platforms.

The goal of the PIC-SER package is to simplify the deployment of presence-enabled communications at Internet2 member campuses and to collect feedback from campus field trials that will inform the future direction of the PIC working group's research and development. These trials will build upon a set of trials conducted at Internet2 member meetings.

The PIC Working Group can support only a limited number of campus trials. Responses to this CFP should be emailed to Candace Holman <Candace_Holman@harvard.edu> by May 31, 2005.

Responses to this CFP should include:

Name and contact information for a full-time employee who will assume primary responsibility for the trial;
Commitment to provide Unix systems administration support over 4 months to support the trial;
A project timeline of 60 days or less to install, configure, and deploy the service;
A note of support from your organization's CIO or department head;
Equipment commitment, including a server running a modern Linux distribution and desktop or laptop machines for trial participants, running Windows 2K/XP or Mac OS X, each with headset and microphone capability;
Indication of willingness to share experiences with the Internet2 community.

In return, the PIC Working Group will provide to each participating campus:

Packaged PIC-SER server application with installation/configuration script;
Configuration worksheet and Wiki reference;
Email-based support via pic-ser@internet2.edu;
Trial use of one of three pre-tested commercial integrated communications clients;
Administrator and user manuals for server and software user agent configuration and troubleshooting;
Periodic releases of updated SER/PA beta modules;
Suggestions for how to integrate PIC-SER with other campus IT assets, including: directories, calendaring systems, and portals, as well as emerging technologies like location services.

Presentations

PIC-SER for Campus Trials, May 2005 [PDF] [PPT]

Mailing List

To Subscribe

Send an e-mail to the address: sympa@internet2.edu
In the subject header OR in the body of the email put:
sub pic-ser FirstName LastName
e.g. (sub pic-ser Alex Bell)
Note: Subscriptions will be moderated and limited to participants in the supported PIC-SER Campus Trials

To Unsubscribe

Send an e-mail to the address: sympa@internet2.edu
In the subject header OR in the body of the email put:
unsub pic-ser FirstName LastName
e.g. (unsub pic-ser Alex Bell)

To View the Archive

Subscribers may browse the PIC-SER list archives at https://mail.internet2.edu/wws/arc/pic-ser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once the trial is complete, will you pull the plug on us?: No! At the conclusion of the four-month PIC-SER trial, the PIC-SER working group will request feedback (i.e. a report or talk) and may reduce or cease to provide technical support and consultation. However, participants are more than welcome to continue using the server-side of the PIC-SER package, which is open-source software. Free trial licenses of commercial SIP clients and other commercial software may be included in the PIC-SER package. The licensing terms for this software are still being determined; usage is likely, however, to be time-limited.
We are looking to build production infrastructure for instant messaging and presence. Is the PIC-SER trial right for us?: If you are looking to build standards-based infrastructure for instant messaging and presence, as well as voice, video, and real-time media types, then the PIC-SER trial is absolutely right.
Does the PIC-SER package do voicemail, conferencing, or video?: These are not the emphasis of the PIC-SER trial. However, at least one of the clients that we intend to distribute supports P2P multi-party audio and video conferencing. Basic voicemail is easily added to the PIC-SER distribution, but again is not in-scope for the trial.
In what formats will the package be available?: RPM and a tarball.
What are the time requirements and typical duties of the system administrator for PIC-SER?: Although time requirements will vary by participant skill levels and staff experience, we suggest an initial commitment of 8-12 hours for equipment, software, and user setup, and an ongoing commitment of about 4 hours per week for administration. Typical duties include downloading and installing initial modules and upgrade modules, editing configuration files, adding and maintaining user records, troubleshooting firewall/access issues via ethereal logs, and collecting information for feedback on the package.
How can I learn more?: For questions about a particular PIC-SER proposal, send email to Candace Holman (candace_holman@harvard.edu). For non-proposal-specific questions, see the PIC working group list.

Sponsorship

The PIC working group's PIS-SER trials are supported by generous contributions from Hewlett-Packard, Wave Three Software, and Xten Networks.