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March 21, 2000

Note This document is based on the original spoken WebCast transcript. It has been edited for clarity.

Heidi Moeller: Hello, and welcome to the Microsoft^® Support WebCast program. We would like to thank all of you for joining us today. Our topic will be "Microsoft NetMeeting^®: How it Can Work for You," and our presenter will be Lara Thurman. I am Heidi Moeller, and I will be your host for today's session.

We will start this session with Lara's presentation, and follow that up with a question and answer period when the presentation is finished. We are estimating that the presentation portion of this session is going to be about 45 minutes today.

I would like to take just a brief moment now to introduce Lara. Lara Thurman supports Microsoft Windows^® platform and Internet Explorer for both the Premier and Professional customer segments and is an MCSE. Lara is currently the NetMeeting Data Support Lead, and works with the NetMeeting Development team. Thank you so much for joining us today, Lara.

Lara Thurman: Thank you, Heidi. Well I have a lot to cover today, so I will go ahead and jump right in. The first version of NetMeeting was released in 1996. Currently, NetMeeting is up to Version 3.0. This was first released in June of 1999. What we are going to cover during the course of this presentation is basic understanding of what NetMeeting is, and how to use it.

If you have a Windows-based computer, you most likely have some version of NetMeeting installed. NetMeeting is probably one of the most widely installed applications that has not been used for the reason that people do not know what the application provides. This presentation should familiarize you with how to set up and use NetMeeting. It will cover the requirements, setup, use, and tools available.

On the next slide: we shall cover what NetMeeting is. NetMeeting provides a conferencing solution for the Internet and local intranet users. You can communicate with both audio and video, and collaborate on virtually any Windows-based application. You can exchange graphics on an electronic light board, transfer files, use the text-based chat program, and much more.

NetMeeting's mission is to provide customers with an application that leads the industry in real-time communication and collaboration. It also provides a great Internet conferencing platform. With just a Windows-based PC, a connection to the Internet, and NetMeeting, you can communicate to anybody on the Internet regardless of their global location. Equally important is NetMeeting's commitment with supporting and evangelizing communication standards. By supporting the industry standards, we also provide for cross-platform compatibility.

Finally, NetMeeting has also created economic opportunities for many leading companies that create products or offer services that enhance the use of NetMeeting.

The next slide covers different locations to actually install NetMeeting. NetMeeting is included with many of our products. NetMeeting 3.0 is included in Windows^® 98 Second Edition, Windows^® 2000, and Internet Explorer 5.1 and above. You can also download NetMeeting by itself from the Windows Update site and from the Microsoft NetMeeting site, the location of which, I included on the fourth slide here.

Currently, the latest version of NetMeeting is version 3.01; this is build number 4.4.3388. You'd find this information out by going to the Help About screen in NetMeeting. This version has been released since Windows^® 98 Second Edition. So, to upgrade to the latest version, simply download NetMeeting from our Web site or install it with Internet Explorer 5.1. Just to note, this build does not install on Windows^® 2000; the latest version of NetMeeting 3.01 for Windows 2000 is already included on the Windows 2000 operating system.

The next slide actually covers the system requirements to run NetMeeting. As this slide outlines, NetMeeting 3.0 is compatible with Windows 9x platform, Windows^® NT with a minimum of Service Pack 3 installed, as well as Windows 2000. This version of NetMeeting does require Internet Explorer 4.01 or later, as it is dependent on some of the features of the browser such as secure calls and certificates. The 32 MB of RAM and the 56K-modem requirements are assuming that you will be transmitting audio and video during your call. If you are not going to be using audio and video, you won't need the sound card or the video camera, and you can go ahead and use a 28.8 modem and 24 MB of RAM. Performance does increase as the CPU bandwidth and RAM is increased.

The next section of the presentation covers the Startup Wizard that runs the first time you start NetMeeting. The Startup Wizard requires information about the user and the directory server connection. It will take you through the Audio Tuning Wizard as well. If you cancel the Setup Wizard, you can run it at a later time; however, you will not be able to use NetMeeting until you complete the Wizard.

The first screen of the Wizard briefly reviews some of the NetMeeting features but does not require any input. Clicking Next brings us to the next screen, which is displayed on the slide here. On this screen, you are required to enter a first and last name as well as an e-mail address. These are required fields, so the Next button will be grayed out until these fields have been populated. The location and comment fields are optional, though. They are only displayed as information when logging on to an ILS server.

The third screen, which is also displayed on this slide, explains briefly what a directory server is and asks if you would like to log on to a directory server every time NetMeeting starts. It also asks what you would like your default directory server to be, and if you would like the information listed on the directory server when you log on. This is similar to having an unlisted number in a telephone book if you choose not to have your information listed. If you do not know the name of your preferred directory server, this is not a problem; this information can be changed later.

Depending on your network connection, you may get a screen that is not covered on the slide here. It's going to ask you about your network connection, and what type you use. You want to choose the one that is closest to the connection that you are using. This will determine optimal compression and codex for your connection. The fourth screen lets you choose where you would like shortcuts for NetMeeting to be placed. You may choose to have a shortcut added to your desktop, to the quick launch bar, or remain with only the shortcut under the Start Programs menu.

The rest of the Setup Wizard is actually continued on the next slide, slide number 7. If a sound card is installed on the computer, NetMeeting starts the Audio Tuning Wizard. Follow the instructions to finish the Startup Wizard. This section of the Wizard allows you to test your sound card to make sure it is detected and running properly in NetMeeting. If NetMeeting can't find a microphone attached to the computer, this screen will appear notifying you that the microphone may not be plugged in.

If the computer has more than one sound card, select which sound card to use for recording and playback. You can actually use one sound card for recording and a different one for playback. You can also use the Audio Tuning Wizard to configure a voice modem, which allows the user to talk and transmit data at that same time.

If a sound card is not installed on the computer, the Audio Tuning Wizard does not run. To run the Audio Tuning Wizard after completing the Setup Wizard, it is located on the NetMeeting's Tools menu. So simply click Audio Tuning Wizard on the Tools menu, which will rerun this. We are now done with the Startup Wizard.

The next section of the presentation covers the different options available within NetMeeting. To get a majority of the options available in NetMeeting, simply start the program, and on the Tools menu, click Options. Most of the information that was chosen while running the Startup Wizard can be changed here. Glancing at the list of options outlined on the slide, there may be some that are not familiar with you. Don't worry. These settings will be explained later in the presentation.

The following section provides a general overview of each of the tabs in the Options dialog box. So the next slide will cover the General tab of the Options dialog box. The General tab contains the information that you set using the Startup Wizard, as well as additional advanced calling options. You can change the user information, select directory servers, select connection speed, and configure gateways and gatekeepers here.

The first section is the same as the information that you entered in the second screen of the Startup Wizard. The first and last names will be displayed as your name when participating in a call. The initials of the first two words between these fields will be used as your initials when using the application sharing tool.

Under Directory Settings, you can select the default directory server that you want to log on to. You can select to have your name listed in the directory, and you can also choose to have yourself log on when the NetMeeting program starts.

Simultaneous server connections are not inherently permitted in NetMeeting. So if you change servers during a session, you will be disconnected from the current server, and then reconnected to the new server. NetMeeting itself does not have to be restarted to change servers, however.

Also available on the General tab are the options to run NetMeeting in the background when Windows starts and to show the NetMeeting icon on the task bar. The first option loads NetMeeting every time you restart your computer, and the second option displays an icon of a globe in the task bar when the application is running. Click Bandwidth Settings, and you can select your connection speed or connection type. This will determine the optimal compression and codex to use during your call. The Advanced Calling options box actually allows you to select gatekeeper and gateway settings. We will cover what gatekeepers and gateways are towards the end of the presentation.

The next slide, slide number 9, covers the Security tab on the Options dialog box. Security is actually a new feature of NetMeeting 3.0. You can secure incoming and outgoing calls using the options in the Security tab. A secure NetMeeting call can encrypt data, authenticate meeting participants using authentication certificates, and use password protection. On the Security tab, you can determine individually whether your incoming or outgoing calls are encrypted.

On the next slide, if you select I prefer to receive secure incoming calls. Accept only secure calls when I'm not in a meeting, all incoming calls must be encrypted or you will be unable to accept them. If you select I prefer to make secure outgoing calls, NetMeeting only allows secure outgoing calls. Credentials are not required, but they are used if available.

Just to note, if you do choose to make your calls secure, you will not be available to use audio or video capabilities. NetMeeting 3.0 does not encrypt audio/video transmissions. Only the data portion of the call can be encrypted. NetMeeting uses the same security interface used by Internet Explorer 4.0 and later for the authentication certificate. NetMeeting reads from the same certificate store that Internet Explorer uses when viewing user authentication certificates as well.

NetMeeting can use the following certificates with credentials. There is the NetMeeting default certificate, which is created during setup and installed into the personal certificate store. When security is enabled, this is the default setting. Other credentials can be selected, however. And then the other is a personal certificate that is created from the Windows NT logon information and is installed into the certificate store. The personal certificate is one explicitly obtained by the user from an external certifying authority, such as VeriSign, or from an Internet certificate server, such as Microsoft Certificate Server.

On this next slide, slide 11, we will go ahead and continue on to the Audio tab options.

You can determine the way sound is transmitted in NetMeeting by choosing from the following options in the Audio tab. You can enable full-duplex audio if it is supported by the sound card. This means that you can send audio at the same time that you receive it. If the sound card does not support full-duplex, you will need to use half-duplex. This means that sound can only be transmitted in one direction at a time. Meeting participants must take turns speaking. It is really similar to the way a walkie-talkie operates.

Although many sound cards provide full-duplex audio, only a few sound cards with Windows NT 4.0 drivers have this same capability. So you might want to contact a sound card manufacturer to find out if full-duplex drivers are available. Microsoft provides a list of supported sound cards and links to Web sites where you can download updated drivers. So for more information, see the NetMeeting Web site. We have that listed here on the slide.

The next option, Auto-Gain, is a feature of the sound card and driver that increases and decreases microphone volume, depending on how loudly or softly the person is speaking. With this option selected, the person does not need to adjust the microphone volume on the NetMeeting main window, because Auto-Gain chooses the amplification levels to optimize tuning. This option works best in an environment with very little background noise. Excessive background noise may cause the microphone volume to decrease, even though you may be talking at a constant volume.

Automatically adjust microphone volume while in a call is very similar Auto-Gain. It uses the auto-mixer provided by NetMeeting, automatically adjusting the microphone input level to compensate for changes in speaking volume and background noise. The auto-mixer control is similar to auto-gain control in that it is not supported by all sound cards. Both controls adjust the microphone volume levels so that it seems as though the user is speaking at a constant volume.

Another option is to Enable DirectSound for improved audio performance. This provides the ability to play multiple audio streams simultaneously. If your audio speakers have DirectSound, the delay time of sound playback is reduced. You can run the Audio Tuning Wizard from here as well, as you see. You can select the different sound cards and connection type and you can tune the audio volume through the Wizard.

If you want to skip the recording for audio volume, you press CTRL+Tab and then set the volume manually on the NetMeeting main window if audio devices are installed. You can manually configure compression settings by selecting your preferred codec for audio compression under the Advanced section of the Audio tab.

Silence detection is actually a new feature of NetMeeting 3.0. It pauses audio transmissions if the microphone does not detect any sound. If Adjust silence detection automatically is selected, NetMeeting pauses audio automatically. And if you choose Let me adjust silence detection myself, you can set the sound level to pause audio transmission.

The next slide covers the Video tab options in the dialog box. You can determine the way a video is transmitted in NetMeeting by choosing from the following options in the Video tab. You can choose to automatically send and receive video; this means that you will open a video transmission at the start of every call. Automatically send will send your image out to other people; and Automatically receive will show the other participants' image if they are sending you video. If you choose not to automatically send and receive, you will have to manually start them doing a call from the Tools menu.

You can determine the send image size and video quality; this only affects the video image that you are sending out. It does not alter the video image that you receive from the other participants. If you have multiple cameras, you can specify which video camera to use. If you do not have any camera installed, however, the entire video camera portion will be grayed out, so it will not be available.

Once you have chosen the camera that you want to use, you can adjust the brightness, hue, and saturation through the Source and Format dialog boxes. These are provided by the manufacturer of the device. If these options are grayed out, contact the device manufacturer of your camera for how to customize these settings.

You can choose to show the mirror image in the preview video window. This option specifies whether your preview image appears as though you were looking in the mirror with the right and left sides reversed. This option, however, does not affect how people view your image or how the images you receive appear.

The next slide is actually going to be on a new section. It is deployment. There are two methods for customizing NetMeeting for deployment. The NetMeeting Resource Kit is one, and Policies is the other. The NetMeeting Resource Kit is a comprehensive, easy alternative to using policies to predefine NetMeeting options for users. Through using the wizard, you can control user and computer access privileges by creating custom configurations of client settings and specific features that you have selected to restrict or allow. For example, you can control audio and video access. You can set data throughput limits and network speeds, and choose to display online support.

When you complete the wizard, you are prompted to name a distribution file. The distribution file is how you deploy the configuration to your user. When the users install this distribution file, their copy of NetMeeting reflects the custom configuration that you have created. The NetMeeting Resource Kit can also help you set up various configurations of NetMeeting for different types of users and different levels of security. It can also help you save network bandwidth by restricting specific features.

You can also use the NetMeeting Resource Kit Wizard to change registry settings for all NetMeeting users and implement such changes globally.

To download and learn more about the resource kit, connect to the Web site included on the slide here. The resource kit includes a comprehensive guide of NetMeeting and it goes into much more depth than I will be covering in this presentation. It is a great resource for more information.

We have now covered the installation setup and options of NetMeeting.

In the next section, I would like to actually focus more on using the application itself. The main NetMeeting window is much more compact in version 3.0 than it has been in the previous versions. This allows more of the desktop to be available for various tools that NetMeeting uses. You can use audio and video in a call with the first two people, if both are equipped to do so. This means that both parties have cameras, sound cards, and microphones. Other people on the call are able to use the data features with NetMeeting. The data portion of NetMeeting is using the T.120 standards and the audio/video is set using the H.323 standards.

I would actually like to go over a little bit on what the different buttons in the main NetMeeting window are. The black square with the NetMeeting logo is where the video image is displayed while in a call. The black line above that is one place where you can type in the information to call somebody. The functions of the buttons to the right of these windows are as follows from top to bottom: the first one initiates the call; the second hangs up the call; and the third opens up the Find Someone window.

Beneath the video window is a button to pause and play the image. Then the next is to display the picture in picture, allowing you to see an image of yourself in the corner of the main video window. And the third is the volume control for sound and microphone. Under these buttons in the white area is where all the participants in the call are listed. The name listed here is the name that was entered in as your user information in the setup and under the Options tab.

Beneath this area are the buttons for the tools that are available during a call. The first one is Share Program, Chat, Whiteboard, and finally Transfer File. We will cover each of these tools more in depth later on in the presentation.

There are many ways to actually initiate calls. I will be covering the three most common techniques in the following slides. The first method is calling directly. To make a call to someone, all participants must already be connected to the Internet and must have the NetMeeting program running.

There are two areas in which you can enter the information to call a person in NetMeeting. The first is the black field directly under the menu bar. The second one you arrive at by clicking the button with the yellow phone on the right side of the main window. This opens up the Place A Call window, which is on the slide to the left of the main NetMeeting window.

To call a person directly, you must use their IP address. Type their IP address into one of these two fields. If you choose to enter the IP address into the field on the main NetMeeting window, simply click the yellow phone icon to start calling. To use the Place A Call window, click on OK after entering the IP address.

As most people on the Internet currently use dial-up connections, it is common that the IP address changes for the person each time they connect. So to display your IP address from NetMeeting, click on Help, About, and the IP address is listed here. Do realize that, if you have more than one network device installed on your system, the incorrect IP address may be displayed here.

If you are on a network that resolves the computer's friendly name to its IP address, you may actually use the computer's friendly name to initiate the call. To find out the computer's friendly name, go to Network in the Control Panel. Click on the Identification tab, and the computer name is displayed here.

To place a secure call, if you do not have the Automatically Place Secure Call options enabled, you must use the Place A Call window. Place a check in the box that says Require security for this call (data only). Remember that secure calls are data only. They are unable to include audio/video transmissions.

The Windows Address Book contains entries created by you and entries that have been imported to your computer from another address book for saving NetMeeting contacts. You can access the Windows Address Book in Outlook^® or Outlook Express. Another way to find people's names is in the history. Each time a person calls you, the caller information is stored in the history list. So to call that person later, select the name from the drop-down list on the main NetMeeting window. Then just initiate the call.

Another way to find people and initiate calls is covered on the next slide, slide 16. The Microsoft Internet Directory is a Web site provided and maintained by Microsoft to locate people to call on the Internet. Microsoft has recently upgraded to the Microsoft Internet Directory from an ILS server-based directory, to the MSN^™ Messenger Service-based directory. This is the recommended and preferred method of initiating a NetMeeting conference.

MSN Messenger Service is an instant messaging program that enables you to create a customized contact list of people that you would like to call. When you set up the Microsoft Internet Directory, MSN Messenger Service shows your contact list and indicates whether these people are on line. Then you can instantly communicate with them using either NetMeeting or MSN Messenger Service.

To start the Microsoft Internet Directory, you click the Find Someone in a Directory button, and select the Microsoft Internet Directory. To initiate a call with somebody from the Microsoft Internet Directory, you simply click on their name.

If you want to invite somebody from the MSN Messenger Service itself, you select the contact, choose Invite, NetMeeting. One advantage to using the MSN Messenger Service and Microsoft Internet Directory is that the person on the other side does not need to have NetMeeting open to be invited into a call. This is different than any of the other calling methods.

Once the contact accepts the call, NetMeeting opens itself up for both the caller and callee.

The MSN Messenger Service is available for download from Microsoft's Web site and from the Windows Update site. The contacts that are listed are the people that you have added. This makes it really easy and convenient to contact friends and family.

The next slide actually covers the third method of initiating calls. Most people on the Internet are on dial-up lines. This generally means that they are not connected all the time. Each time they connect, their IP address is changed. In order for potential calling computers to connect to you, they must have two pieces of information. They must know that you are online or connected, and they must know your current IP address.

The Internet Locator Service, or ILS, supplies the function of providing this information. When you log on to an ILS server, you are telling the ILS server that you, identified by the supplied e-mail address that we configured in the options, are connected to the Internet and that you are at a certain IP address. It also lets the person know that you are running NetMeeting and able to field calls. Now potential callers need only know the ILS server that you're logged on to or would be logged on to if you were online. And they supply the e-mail address that you entered. The ILS server you choose does not need to bear any relationship geographically to where you are. All that is necessary is that your potential callers know which ILS you will be logging on to to find you.

The ILS server knows whether or not you are online, and what your current IP address is. So you can log into an ILS server without appearing in the viewable directory. This way only associates that know you and know what server you are on can find you. Besides allowing other people to contact you, the ILS server has a completely separate but parallel function to let you know when other people are online, and it let's you browse and contact them. These users may not be on the same ILS as you, if you are even logged on to one at all. You can determine if they are online. It can also tell some characteristics about their system, such as whether or not they have sound or video sending capability, the information they supplied about their location, and their comments. You can find and chat with strangers who may have common interests this way. Once a call has been initiated to users, the ILS server is actually no longer involved. All the communication is between the participating computers.

Now that we know how to connect to a call, the next section of the presentation actually covers the tools available while in a call. Participants in a conference can use Chat to communicate in the absence of audio support. Chat can also be used to type text messages to share common ideas or topics with other conference participants, or record meeting notes as part of a collaborative process. Also, the Whisper feature let's the participant have a separate private conversation with one other person during a group chat session.

The Chat window is actually displayed here in the top right corner of slide 18. To open Chat during your call, simply click the Chat button in the main NetMeeting window.

Using the NetMeeting Whiteboard, multiple users can simultaneously review, create, and update graphic information. The Whiteboard is object oriented, not pixel oriented. This allows the participants to manipulate the contents by clicking and dragging with a mouse.

In addition, you can use a remote pointer or a highlighting tool to point out specific contents or sections of shared pages. It can also paste pictures into the Whiteboard to edit or comment on during the call. The NetMeeting Whiteboard is T.126 compliant, so it is interoperable with other T.126 compatible white boards. This tool is available simply by clicking the Whiteboard button in the NetMeeting window.

NetMeeting has the ability to transfer files as well. With the file transfer capability you can send a file to one or all of the conference participants. This file transfer capability is fully compliant with the T.127 standard. The File Transfer window is shown in the bottom left corner of the slide. And as with Whiteboard and Chat, File Transfer is easily accessible by clicking the File Transfer button on the main NetMeeting window. In File Transfer, you can even change what folder you would like all of your transferred files to save to.

The next slide will cover a couple of other available tools. The participants can share any programs running on their computer with other participants in the conference. Participants can watch as the person sharing the program works, or the person sharing the program can allow program control to other meeting participants. Only the person sharing the program needs to have the application installed on their computer. This means that you can share a Word document with everybody in the meeting. They can even edit the document if given control, and not even have Word installed on their own system. Individuals receiving the shared program can minimize the Shared Program window to work on other things.

In addition, if you have more than one program shared, they are layered on top of one another. You can navigate between programs using the buttons on the NetMeeting Shared Program window task bar. The window displayed on the slide is what the Sharing-Programs Window looks like. As you can see, all the programs that are currently open on this system are listed. The Excel document has been selected.

Towards the bottom of the window, there is the option to permit control. You can even allow people to take control automatically or you can keep it as a default, which requires you to accept their request for control. When somebody in a conference has control of a program, their initials are displayed along side the cursor. This way you know who is currently making the changes.

Along with the applications that are currently open on the system, the desktop itself is listed as an available selection for sharing. To share the desktop, you need to have no other programs shared. Then simply select Desktop, and click on Share. This will give everybody in the meeting the ability to see your entire desktop. If you give control of the desktop to the callers, they can use this system remotely as though they were sitting in front of it. This is very helpful in situations such as help desk. This way your technician can fix your computer remotely while you watch.

Our third sharing option is remote desktop sharing. This means that you can call your system from a remote location, and use the computer as though you were sitting in front of it. This is especially useful in commuting type situation. Perhaps you are away from your home, but you need a document on your home system. You can call your system, browse for the file, and then file transfer it to your current location.

To use desktop sharing you must first enable the remote desktop sharing. To do this you would click on Tools, and select Remote Desktop Sharing, which is on the main NetMeeting window. This will start the Remote Desktop Sharing Wizard. You will be prompted to enter a password on the Windows 95 and 98 systems, and on NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 your log on password is used. When making a Remote Desktop Sharing call, the call must be a secure call. Once you contact a remote system you will be required to enter in your credentials before being able to access the system.

Now that we have covered the main tools available in NetMeeting, I would like to finish up by focusing on a few of the different service solutions available for NetMeeting. The first one we will cover here is an MCU. This is otherwise known as a Multipoint Control Unit. These are conferencing servers or bridges that host multipoint data conferences. They can also be held in conjunction with audio or video conferencing. The MCU has the necessary components to handle multiple nodes for multiple computers in a single conference. This means that you can have multipoint audio and video capability during a call.

You recall, NetMeeting as a client only supports audio and video between the first two people in the call. Using the MCU, you can actually have many people sharing their audio and video in the same call. Microsoft MCU Solution is the Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server. This is an add-on to the upcoming Exchange 2000 product line. The Conferencing Server enables workers to collaborate with colleagues via the Internet and internal intranets using data, video, and voice conferencing.

In addition, the Conferencing Server includes a set of tools that allow network administrators to allocate a specific amount of bandwidth for each conference, thereby limiting the number of participants and preventing one meeting from taking up too much of the company's resources. The product uses IP multitasking to further reduce the amount of bandwidth used by streaming audio and video, and large file downloads. The release of this product is projected to be some time in the summer of 2000.

Next is the Internet Locator Service, ILS, that we mentioned is a method of initiating calls. It is an optional component of the Microsoft Site Server that creates a dynamic directory of NetMeeting users. From this directory, participants can locate each other on the Internet or corporate intranets for real-time conferencing collaboration. ILS offers a standards-based dynamic directory solution for finding users on the Internet, and it provides an organization with a directory server for NetMeeting users and provides a memory resonant database for storing dynamic directory information. For example, users can find dynamic information such as the IP address for people currently logged on to the Internet service or site. The ILS database maintains the entries which clients refresh periodically, and then this the process ensures the clients can always access the most current information about each user's Internet location.

Conferencing gateways make terminals on a LAN available to terminals on a wide area network, or another gateway. Gateways are the translation mechanism for call signaling, data transmission, and audio and video transcoding. Gateways satisfy part of the interoperability vision of H.32x products to have the ability to connect to each other.

Gateways can serve the following purposes: they can bridge an H.323 call to another type of call, such as the telephone; they can bridge H.323 calls to H.320, which is audio and video transmission over an integrated services digital network (ISDN); they can be used to bridge H.323 calls to H.324, which is audio and video transmission over standard telephone lines; and they can be used to bridge different networks. An organization can put a bridge on a firewall to connect an internal corporate network to an external network to accept incoming calls. Typically, the gateway is a translation mechanism in a point-to-point connection where only one end point is an H.323 device.

Gatekeepers provide network services to H.323 terminals, MCUs, and gateways. The H.323 device is registered with Gatekeeper to send and receive calls. Gatekeepers give permission to make or accept calls based on a variety of factors.

Gatekeepers can provide the following network services: they can control the number and type of connections allowed across a network; they can help route a call to the correct destination; and they can determine and maintain a network address for incoming calls. If your organization uses a gatekeeper or gateway, that means it can also use this address both to find people and place calls.

The next slide here, slide 21, has a few links for additional information. This goes into more depth than the presentation has today. Otherwise, this concludes our presentation and we can continue on to the Q&A session.

Heidi: Excellent. Thank you so much, Lara. What a great presentation. It is time to move on to the Q&A portion of this session.

Before we start, I want to give you a couple of tips on where you can get some additional information from us. If the PowerPoint^® slides were difficult to view within your browser, you are able to download those from the Web site. You will just need to go to the Support WebCast information on Support Online, select Past Sessions, and you will see those available to you. We also make the streaming media file with the PowerPoint slides available for on-demand viewing within about eight hours of the live session. So if you joined the broadcast late or want to review the streaming media again, you do have that option. And finally, within about three weeks of the live session, we do make a full transcript of this session available at the same location as the PowerPoint slides and streaming media archives.

The Q&A of the Support WebCast is intended to encourage further discussion of the Support WebCast topic. However, one-on-one product support issues are unfortunately outside of the scope of the Support WebCast. If you do need technical assistance, please either submit an incident on the Web or call Microsoft Product Support Services to speak with a Support Professional. We have received several questions at this point. So we will go ahead and get started. The first question is about slide six, and a reference to an ILS server, simply requesting a little bit more information from a client perspective on what an ILS server is?

Lara: Basically, an ILS server is a list of everybody who is logged on. So if you were interested in finding somebody with a similar interest, you would log on to this ILS server and it gives people a place to go to find and contact you. So it is really good for just meeting new people.

Heidi: Terrific. Okay, the next question is actually a question about the slides. Lara, I think it might be a little bit of a typo on slide number four. Slide number four indicates the need for IE 5.1. Then slide number five indicates 4.01. Can you clarify that for our customers who have been looking at the slides?

Lara: Sure. On four, where it says Internet Explorer 5.1 and up, what that is actually referring to is that NetMeeting 3.01, the latest version, is available included with the Internet Explorer 5.1 installation. The requirement is actually that you just have 4.01 or higher. So if you just wanted to install only NetMeeting and not upgrade to 5.0, you would be able to do that as long as you had the 4.01 installed.

Heidi: The next question is: What is the best process to use to connect multiple parties to a single NetMeeting conference? For example, daisy chaining 10 or 15 parties.

Lara: It will depend on what type of network configuration you are in. The best way would probably be for either the main person of the meeting to call down to all of the different people who they would like in the conference, or to have all of those people call the one top provider. There is sometimes a limitation on how many people can call one person. So you make a tree with your topology. You would have the top person perhaps call five people and each of those five people call an additional five people. That can actually extend how many people you can have in a conference at one time.

Heidi: Excellent. The next question is with regards to the server solutions slide. And it is asking about the MCU server solution. This individual said: "If I understand correctly, you said that it needs the next version of Exchange Server. So does that mean that that solution, the MCU solution for multiple users, is not available yet?"

Lara: Basically the MCU solution is not available through NetMeeting products at this time. That is going to be released this summer. However, there are some third-party companies out there that do provide MCU servers. If you go to the NetMeeting Web site, the Microsoft site, we actually do have a Partners section there that should be able to list some different companies that do provide MCUs at this time.

Heidi: Moving right along to the next question: Will NetMeeting work with all cable modems and DSL connections? Or does it depend on your high-speed provider?

Lara: It does work; however, it does depend upon the configuration that the provider has made. A couple of things that are required are, if you want to be able to do audio and video across the provider, they do have to have H.323 support for the protocol. Otherwise, the data would still be able to go through. So you would want to make sure that your provider does support H.323 if you can't get your audio and video to go through. If you are on the inside of a NAT or a proxy and your IP is being masked — that means that the Internet can not actually see your IP address, but is going to see the IP address of the server — then the server translates it to you. This will mean that nobody can actually call you because they cannot get your direct IP address, but you will be able to call people outside.

Heidi: I am not sure if we are actually going to be able to answer the next question, but I am going to go ahead and pose it anyway: Will future upgrades of versions of NetMeeting show the actual IP address within the ILS directory window. For example, add another column that shows the IP address next to the e-mail address. I am going to go ahead and follow up with that because we did get another message from that customer basically stating: "We currently use an internal ILS in our corporation, and we would like to see the IP number included next to their e-mail name."

Lara: Honestly, the development of the next versions of NetMeeting is in the very early stages, so there is not a set amount of features that have been set in stone yet. However, we are tending away from the ILS servers, pushing more towards Exchange solutions and the Instant Messaging solutions. So I would tend to say that that would not occur. There are not any intended updates on ILS.

Heidi: But we want to be perfectly clear here, that that is a future release. We cannot give specific information on any future releases, as they are not created yet. So please, keep that in perspective.

The next question is: Can I start NetMeeting on a remote computer without anyone being there to answer the call?

Lara: It depends on what you would like to do. If what you would like to do is the Remote Desktop Sharing that I covered, that is exactly what it is made for. It is intended to be able to call the system without anybody at the remote location. And to be able to do that, you would have to have the password or user credentials to actually log on to the computer itself. Then you would be able to control the computer. It is very similar to terminal service where you have the whole computer at your disposal through your connection.

Heidi: The next question is: When NetMeeting is running, I am unable to change my screen resolution or color depth. Why is this?

Lara: NetMeeting will actually freeze the resolution and color depth on your computer. The reason this is done is so that the information can be stored about how your screen needs to be rendered on somebody else's screen. So if you were to share a program or share your desktop, the remote systems would know how to view your screen.

Heidi: It looks like we just have a couple of questions left at this point. Moving right along, the next question is: Does ICS Microsoft NAT support full outgoing H.323 calls with audio/video both ways?

Lara: As I have been told, yes, they do. I know that some people have had trouble, so I have been informed that there may be something that you need to enable on the Windows 2000 ICS version to be able to have H.323. But I don't know that off-hand.

Heidi: Maybe we can go ahead and research that and if we can get some more information, we can send the individual who asked the question an e-mail with that answer as long as you included your e-mail address when you logged in. For anybody else who is interested in that answer, if we can come up with some more information on that, we will post it in the transcript from this session.

{Editor's note: This information is a result of our follow-up research and was not part of the live broadcast. Windows 2000 Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) and Network Address Translation (NAT) both have a built in H.323 proxy. The H.323/LDAP proxy allows clients to make Netmeeting/H.323 conference calls from behind a ICS/NAT machine and register their client information in an ILS server usingLDAP. Therefore H.323 calls in NetMeeting are fully supported.}

The next question is: Does the remote PC home desktop need to be always on and connected to the Internet in order to accept my NetMeeting call from the office or hotel?

Lara: Yes, it will. NetMeeting is not able to do a modem-to-modem connection. So it will need to have an available connection to the Internet.

Heidi: We still only have a couple of questions left. The next question is: I just bought a new camera. How can I get NetMeeting to use it?

Lara: Basically, you are going to want to install the camera. It is going to need a video for Windows support with a driver. If NetMeeting detects it automatically, you will be able to know this by going to the Video tab and you'll see that you can select different options there. Some cameras are not detected automatically be NetMeeting, though. So what you need to do in that case is rerun the setup for NetMeeting, and then it should be able to find your camera.

Heidi: We have one question left at the moment. So I am going to give last call for any questions that you have. I would encourage you if you do have some to get them in quickly. Once again, during the live Support WebCast is the only time we answer the Support WebCast questions. So please go ahead and submit any question you have.

For now, the last question is: I tried to use Remote Desktop Sharing but I forgot the password. How do I reset it?

Lara: The way to reset the password is actually going to be to rerun setup for NetMeeting. And that will clear up the password for remote desktop sharing. You can reinitialize it.

Heidi: We did get another question in. It looks like it has something to do with Outlook as well. So let's see if you have the Outlook background for this one: I understand that using MSN Messenger, you have to have a Hotmail^® e-mail address, as individual contacts in the Outlook 2000 address book have different IPS providers and e-mail addresses. Can these be incorporated into NetMeeting, for example, using ILS to see if they are online, and if so, how would you do this?

Lara: I am not sure that I understand the question very well. What it sounds like is that you would like to look for different ways of using the Messenger Service without using Hotmail; perhaps, being able to use a different e-mail program. That is not available at this time, but I do believe it is an area that they are looking into, especially with the Exchange Client. However, with the ILS server you can log into any ILS server at this time, and you would already be able to connect to a call. It wouldn't require having any type of e-mail account specifically. You can enter in any e-mail account for an ILS server.

Heidi: The last question at the moment now is: Will NetMeeting work with Intel Live Video?

Lara: I don't know the answer to that question. It does sound like one of our partners, though. So what I would do is go to the NetMeeting Web site and go ahead and look in our Partners section and see about any information for their product.

Heidi: With that question answered, we have addressed all of the questions that were submitted during today's Support WebCast. So we are going to go ahead and wrap up. I do want to thank all of you for participating in today's session, and I hope the information was useful for you.

I also want to encourage all of you to send us your feedback. Right after the session, you can submit your feedback using the Message Center, and at any other time you can send us your feedback to the alias feedback@microsoft.com. If you send feedback to that alias, be sure to include "Support WebCast" in the subject line. We are very interested in hearing your feedback regarding this session, other sessions you have seen in the past, general comments on the program, and any topic suggestions that you have for the future.

Once again, thank you so much for joining us today. We do hope that you join us in the near future. Have a wonderful day, and bye-bye.