introduction to ucif

©2010 UCI Forum. All rights reserved.

Introducing the Unified Introducing the Unified Communications Communications

Interoperability Forum Interoperability Forum (UCIF) (UCIF)


Agenda

• UCIF Overview• Progress report• UCIF Work, Task & Study Groups• UCIF-SIP Forum Liaison• UCIF Structure & Operations


What is the UCIF?• A non-profit alliance of UC hardware and software

vendors, service providers and network operators dedicated to enhancing interoperability in Unified Communications– Interoperability and investment protection for customers is the ultimate

goal

• The UCIF operating principles– UCIF is open to everyone– UCIF is not a standards body– UCIF leverages existing standards bodies and industry forums– UCIF is platform and protocol agnostic– UCIF leverages Unified Communications in its own work– UCIF believes in testing: we will define test plans, advance testing

protocols and facilitate verification testing for member solutions– A certification mark will be developed for use by member vendors


Who Belongs to UCIF?

• 36 members– Board level

• Hewlett Packard, Logitech/LifeSize, Microsoft, Polycom

– Contributors• Broadcom, ClearOne, Ericsson AB, GN Netcom/Jabra, Juniper

Networks, Network Equipment Technologies, Plantronics, Radvision, Siemens Enterprise Communications, Teliris, Vidyo

– Adopters• Alcatel Lucent, AMD, Avistar Communication Corporation,

Acme Packet, Aspect, AudioCodes, Broadsoft, Brocade, Crestron, Dialogic, Edgewater Networks, Glowpoint, Immedia Semiconductor, Intel Corporation, News Corporation, Quanta Computer, Sonus Networks, Sunplusit, Texas Instruments, Voss Solutions, Vxi


Member Meetings• Virtual Meetings

• Initial virtual member meeting: August 19, 2010

• Face-to-face meetings– IT Expo West, Los Angeles, October 4-6, 2010– Annual member meeting: Date TBD– Video Interop Workshop: Date TBD (with SIP Forum)

• Where are meetings announced? – UCIF website– UCIF_members mailing list – Member emails and newsletters – Listed WG members are automatically subscribed

• Send email to [email protected] to get on or off the list


UCIF Progress Report• UCIF incorporated on April 5, 2010, announced on May 19,

2010• Approved FY 2011 Budget and inaugurated financial

reporting system• Brought online Website, mailing lists, basic IT services• Chartered initial Work Groups, Task Groups and Study

Groups• Began work to define the UCIF test and certification

program• Held first adhoc interop test on August 17, 2010• Filed UCIF trademark registrations worldwide• Established liaison with SIP Forum

©2010 UCI Forum. All rights reserved.7

UCIF Liaisons


UCIF & SIP Forum Cooperation

• UCIF-SIP Forum Liaison established– SIP Forum liaisons to UCIF: Richard Shockey & Marc Robins– UCIF liaison to SIP Forum: Jeffrey Rodman

• Proposed Liaison Activities– Provisioning

• UCIF Provisioning Study Group & SIP Forum UA-Config Task Group: Passing the token to determine appropriate data model, possibly leveraging TR69 or OMA work.

– Voice• UCIF Voice Study Group & SIP Forum SIPConnect Task Group:

Next steps for SIP interoperability, testing and certification

– Video• UCIF & SIP Forum to co-sponsor a workshop on Video

Interoperability. ETA: Spring, 2011


Work, Task and Study Work, Task and Study GroupsGroups


UCIF Work Groups


Work Group Chairs

• Test and Certification– Vice-Chair: Joe Reventas, Polycom [email protected]

• Technical– Chair: Casey King, LifeSize [email protected]– Vice-Chair: Mary Barnes, [email protected]

• Marketing– Chair: Robin Raulf-Sager, Polycom [email protected]– Vice-Chair: Katya White, Polycom [email protected]

– Full Bios – http://www.ucif.org/AboutUs/GroupLeadership.aspx


Test & Certification Work Group• Membership

– Michael Aglietti, Mary Barnes, Michael Ely, Joe Harsch, GT Hsiao, Andrew Hutton, Kevin Isacks, Daryle Lamoureux, Janice Lin, Paul McMillan, Jesper Petersen, Ed Reuss, Annette Roder, Tsung-Han Wu

• Charter• The Test & Certification Working Group is responsible for defining and

managing the compliance framework of the UCIF– Development of programs for test and certification– Development of test tools to automate compliance and interop testing– Management of third party test vendors who will conduct the testing– The award of UCIF certifications– Produce and manage interoperability test eventss

• Milestones– M1 - Test lab RFP distributed– M2 - Test lab RFP process closed– M3 - Certification marks task group makes recommendation to Board


CWG Initiatives• Test and Certification Framework / RFP Task Group

– Identify third party test labs

– Create RFP draft / evaluation criteria

– Evaluate vendor responses

– UCIF list of approved test labs

• Define the certification marks program for UCIF– Certification recognition framework

– Recommendation for a certification mark

– Graphic design

– Registered trademarks of UCIF certification


Test and Certification Process• Stages in development of a test program

– Member poll: who has implementations ready and when?

– Interop events

– Test suite development

– Formal certification program

• How far a program goes depends on:– Level of member interest

– Relationship with liaison groups and stakeholders• Potential for joint development and cost sharing

– Financial viability of a test and certification program• Test tool development costs• Forecasted certification demand


Adhoc Interop Testing

• Initial test: August 17, 2010• XMPP coverage

• Instant Messaging & Presence

• Service Discovery

• Multi-User Chat

• Internationalization

• Jingle Audio/Video

• Web Conferencing• Browser and mobile handset compatibility

• Future tests• Suggestions welcome!


Technical Work Group• Membership

– 34 TWG Members representing 14 companies

– TWG vs TG/SG Membership (goal is 100% company participation)

• Charter– Gather, define and prioritize requirements

– Review and approve output of TGs– Monitor progress towards goals– The umbrella over the TGs and SGs

• Priorities shaped by member input• Milestones

– 4 TGs & 2 SGs have been formed and are operating (more detail later)

• Progress Report– 3 TWG Meetings & Numerous TG/SG meetings and goals


Technical Programs Under Discussion

• Audio (liaison with SIPForum)– SIP trunking– PSTN Gateways – Provisioning/UA configuration

• Devices– USB audio devices– USB H.264 webcam

• Video– H.264 profiling– Single-stream video– Multi-stream telepresence

• Instant Messaging & Presence– XMPP server-to-server– XMPP/SIP interop– Multi-User Chat (MUC)

• SIP Security– Media and signaling security– Identity and authentication– E.164 to Domain translation

• Conferencing & Collaboration– Conference control– Data collaboration


Task Group Creation Process

• Members solicit interest in a new Study Group (SG)– BoD posts a “Call for Interest” to the UCIF_members list

• A Study Group (SG) is formed to develop a Task Group charter– IT resources are allocated (mailing list, conferencing facility, etc.)

– Pro-tem Chair is appointed

– The Study Group creates a Proposed Task Group Charter

• BoD sends out a request for review of the proposed TG Charter– Review requests sent to the UCIF_Discuss list

– Members can send review comments to the list

• BoD reviews and votes on the Proposed Charter. If approved:– Task Group is formed

– Solicitation for membership goes out

– Task Group members elect the Task Group Chair


Task Group Charter Elements• Problem Statement

– Why the work group should be formed

• General Proposal– What the work group will produce (spec, requirements, test)

• Scope– What is in scope and equally important, what is not

• Deliverables– Specifications, test tools, certification program– Interaction with other internal and external groups (ex. Certification WG)

• Participants– UCIF Member companies likely to participate

• Liaisons• Liaisons with other standard organizations and industry groups

• Milestones• Resource Request• Exit Strategy

– Work Products, Derivative WG Activity, Success Metrics


Technical Task Groups& Study Groups


USB WebCam Task Group• Pro-Tem Chair: Remy Zimmermann (Logitech)• Problem Statement

– Extend current USB Interface to support real time encoding control.

• General Proposal– Define an interface for H.264 (AVC & SVC) encoding video streaming devices connected over USB.

• Scope– IN: UVC H.264 AVC/SVC interface and API. Leverage SVC Profile. Camera proto and spec

validation.– OUT: SVC encoder quality requirements

• Deliverables– UVC H.264 AVC/SVC Interface & Verification Specifications. H.264 Stream Compliance Specification.– Interaction with Test and Certification Group on UVC H.264 AVC/SVC Compliance Test Tool

• Participants– UCIF Members: Logitech, Microsoft, Vidyo. – Benefits: TI, Broadcom

• Liaisons– USB-IF

• Exit Strategy– Deliver spec. Work with certification WG. Market spec. Engage with vendors. Adaptation!


USB WebCam Progress Report

• Milestones– Beta: Oct 2010. –Release Candidate: Jan 2011. –Final Release: March 2011.

• Progress against milestones– v0.47 Specification currently circulating

• Call to Action– Weekly Meeting: Thursdays at 9 AM PDT– Participating Members: 27– List: [email protected]– To Join: Send request to [email protected]


USB Audio Task Group• Pro-Tem Chair: Jyoti Black (Microsoft)

• Problem Statement– Enable certified UC USB audio devices to ensure plug and play experience with VoIP soft clients.

Ensure audio quality, reduced echo and distortion, interact intelligently with soft client.

• General Proposal– Consolidate UC USB Audio device requirements and certification programs.

• Scope– IN: Define audio quality requirements

– Long-term: Define USB device HID command interaction with UC client

• Deliverables– Specification defining audio Tx/Rx quality, USB HID commands and USB/soft client interaction

flow

– Interaction with Test and Certification Group on certification tools and program

• Participants– UCIF Members: Plantronics, GN, ClearOne, Polycom, HP, Microsoft, Logitech, Vidyo

• Liaisons– USB-IF

• Exit Strategy– Deliver spec. Work with certification WG. Market spec. Engage with vendors. Adoption!


USB Audio Progress Report

• Milestones– Consolidate audio quality requirements–Test-house on-boarding

• Progress against milestones– Ongoing collaboration

• Call to Action– Attend USB Audio Task Group meetings!– Participating Members: 42– List: [email protected]– To Join: Send request to [email protected]


H.264 Profile Task Group• Pro-Tem Chair: Jingyu Qiu (Microsoft)• Problem Statement

– H.264 AVC/SVC is complicated and provides many options. Not all AVC/SVC modes or tools are relevant.

• General Proposal– Define H.264 AVC/SVC UCConfig Modes for wide range of UC scenarios from mobile, DT, webcam to TP.

• Scope– IN: encoding modes, tools, SVC layers and subset of Baseline Profile– OUT: SDP cap negotiation, RTP layering, protection, switching, rate matching, error recovery, ...

• Deliverables– Specification defining H.264 AVC/SVC UCConfig Modes (temporal, snr, spatial, rates, method, etc.)– H.264 UCConfig Modes compliance test plan and video test streams– Interaction with Test and Certification Group with certification tools and program

• Participants– UCIF Members: Polycom, Radvision, Microsoft, Logitech (LifeSize), TI, Broadcom, Vidyo, HP, Teliris

• Liaisons– ITU, ISO

• Milestones– M1: Spec Dev. M2: Spec Feedback/Review. M3: Publish Spec. M4: Publish test plan/streams [6-12 month]

• Exit Strategy– Deliver spec. Work with certification WG. Market spec. Engage with vendors. >2 HW SVC adopters. 80% UCIF.


H.264 Profile Progress Report

• Progress against milestones– In M1 phase. Proposals being discussed.

• Call to Action– Weekly Meeting: Friday at 9:30 AM PDT– Participating Members: 50– List: [email protected]– To Join: Send request to [email protected]


Provisioning Task Group• Pro-Tem Chair: Gregory Lebovitz (Juniper)• Problem Statement

– Validate interoperability of endpoint provisioning (both initial provisioning and re-provisioning/updating)

• General Proposal– Drive creation of test and certification program for UC endpoint provisioning interoperability.

• Scope– IN: single user voice/video endpoint (desktop, single unit conference room). Single UC connection.– OUT: Complex multi-device Telepresence rooms. Multipoint bridges.

• Deliverables– High-level requirements document, including interop test/certification.– Survey of pre-existing work in this area and recommendations to proceed.– Re-charter based on Survey & Recommendations document with specific test/certification document(s) in scope– Aug (Formation), Oct (Draft of survey doc out for review), Nov (req doc out for review), Jan (req doc to bod)

• Participants– UCIF Members: Juniper, Polycom, HP, LifeSize, VOSS, Siemens

• Liaisons– SIP Forum

• Exit Strategy– Done when either (1) TG publishes spec to UCIF Cert WG or (2) TG determines work is achieved outside


Provisioning Task Group Progress Report• Progress against milestones

– Task Group Charter approved– Group meeting held via phone last week to discuss SIP Forum interactions, identify document authors– Document authors & reviewers committed for Requirements document and Survey & Recommendations document

• Call to Action– Participating Members: 11– List: [email protected]– To Join: Send request to [email protected]


Voice Study Group• Pro-Tem Chair: Russell Bennett • Problem Statement

– The establishment of voice sessions is one of the most common scenarios in Unified Communications. However, interoperability issues still remain, both in basic and advanced usage scenarios.

– The goal of the Voice Study Group is to survey the current state of regulatory requirements, specifications and test and certification programs in order to identify gaps and to develop potential Task Group charters to fill those gaps.

• General Proposal– The Voice Study Group will attempt to identify:

• Functionality which is not covered under existing profiles or test and certification programs. • Equipment which cannot easily be tested or certified within existing programs. • Regulatory requirements which are not currently being addressed by existing programs.

• Scope– Areas of functionality which the Study Group will examine include (but are not limited to):

• Signaling and media security;• Emergency services functionality;• Accessibility for disabled or impaired individuals.

– Test and certification programs which will be considered include (but are not limited to):• SIP Trunking; • PSTN Gateways.

• Deliverables– A gap analysis document.– One or more Task Group charters.


Voice Study Group (contd.)• Participants

– Member companies wish to or are likely to participate include: HP, Juniper, Microsoft, Ericsson, NET, Siemens, Acme Packet, AudioCodes, Broadsoft, Dialogic, Edgewater Networks

– Non-UCIF companies who might be interested: PBX vendors, voice GW vendors, Network Service Providers, UC vendors.

• Liaisons– SIP Forum

• Milestones– M1 – Gap analysis– M2 – Task Group charter(s)

• Exit Strategy– Board of Directors sign-off on gap analysis. – Board of Directors sign-off on one or more of the recommended Task Group charter(s).

Progress to date:• Milestones:

– BoD approval of charter on 9/29/10

• Progress against milestones– First meeting, 10/6/10 (Wednesday) – 10am in this meeting room

• Call to Action– Sign up to participate.


Instant Messaging & Presence (IMP) Study Group

• Pro-Tem Chair: Bernard Aboba

• Problem Statement– Instant Messaging and Presence is one of the most popular features of Unified Communications,

with more than 500 million users of standardized protocols such as XMPP and SIMPLE. Yet significant interoperability problems still exist.

• General Proposal– The IMP Study Group will attempt to identify:

• Functionality which is not covered under existing profiles or test and certification programs.

• Regulatory requirements which are not currently being addressed by existing programs.

• Scope– IN

• Instant Messaging and Presence as provided by protocols such as XMPP and SIMPLE;

• Multi-User Chat (MUC) as provided by protocols such as XMPP MUC;

• Emergency Services support for Instant Messaging and possibly MUC.

– OUT

• Realtime Text (RTT)

• Deliverables– Analysis of existing profiles and test and certification programs.

– Development of an RFP for potential workshop partners.

– Reports from the sponsored workshops.

– One or more Task Group charters.


Instant Messaging & Presence (IMP) Study Group(cont’d)• Participants

– UCIF: Hewlett Packard, Lifesize, Siemens Enterprise, Microsoft

• Liaisons• Government agencies, XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF), IETF

• Milestones– M1 – Analysis of existing profiles and test and certification programs; – M2 – RFP for potential workshop partners; – M3 - Workshop; – M4 – Task Group charter(s)

• Exit Strategy– Board of Directors sign off on RFP.– Board of Directors signs off on RFP responses and cost estimate. – Board of Directors sign-off on gap analysis. – Board of Directors sign-off on one or more of the recommended Task Group charter(s).

Progress to date:• Milestones:

– BoD approval of charter on 9/29/10– An initial proposal for has been provided by the University of New Hampshire IOL.

• Progress against milestones– First meeting, 10/5/10 (Tuesday) – 12 noon in this meeting room

• Call to Action– Sign up to participate.


Marketing Work Group

• Charter– The marketing focus for 2011 includes driving new membership,

maintaining existing members, continuing the momentum we initiated at launch, and raising the visibility and credibility of the UCIF

• Strategies & Tactics– Upcoming UCIF presence at key industry events including IT EXPO

East, Enterprise Connect Orlando and Interop Las Vegas– Membership retention efforts, newsletter updates, social media

efforts– Program manager on-board to help maintain day-to-day tactics, first

planning session Jan. 12, 2011– Plan for first ever all-member annual meeting in Q211


MWG Progress Report

• Successful F2F meeting at IT EXPO East (October 2010) • Two newsletters issued in Q411• Next newsletter scheduled for this month• Social media efforts continue (bylaws adopted, TG

updates, update on today’s meeting, etc.)• UCIF has become a key focus within interoperability

coverage/dialog


Marketing Work Group

• Press Coverage Highlights


Call to Action

• Get enrolled– Obtain access to the UCIF Website– Enroll in Work Groups, Task Groups and Study Groups

• Volunteer– Join BoD Committees (IT is actively recruiting!)– Nominate yourself or others for Chair/Vice-Chair positions

• Help drive UCIF technical direction– Initiate or participate in discussions on potential new work– Lead or participate in adhoc interoperability events

• Provide feedback– Tell us what we’re doing well and not so well– Suggest how we can provide more value to you as a member


UCIF Structure & Operations


UCIF Structure


UCIF Board of Directors

• The UCIF Board of Directors is responsible for oversight of:– Board committees

• Includes Legal, Finance and IT committees.

– Contractors• Includes legal counsel, IT vendors, Test vendors, Executive Director and the Business Office.

– Liaisons• Relationships with standards bodies, industry forums and governmental organizations.

– Work Groups• Marketing, Technical and Test & Certification.


UCIF Board Officers

• Chairman: Bernard Aboba, Microsoft– Email: [email protected]

• Vice Chair: Mark Gorzynski, Hewlett Packard– Email: [email protected]

• Treasurer: Matt Collier, Lifesize– Email: [email protected]

• Secretary: Jeffrey Rodman, Polycom– Email: [email protected]


UCIF Board Committees


UCIF Board Committee Chairs

• Finance– Chair: Matt Collier, Lifesize, [email protected]– Vice-Chair: Bernard Aboba, [email protected]

• Legal– Chair: Stuart Smolen, Juniper [email protected]– Vice-Chair: Jonathan DeGooyer, Hewlett Packard

[email protected]

• IT– Chair: Matt Collier, Lifesize, [email protected]– Vice-Chair: Gregory Lebovitz, Juniper [email protected]


Finance Committee

• Charter–To manage UCIF finances including the budget, reporting systems, vendor contracts, and financial policies.

• Recent progress–Approved FY 2011 budget (January – December).

–Approved contract with legal counsel.

–Approved of Management Services contract and Statement of Work.

–Approved UCIF financial policies.

• Ongoing projects–Test & Certification Statement of Work


Legal Committee

• Charter–To make recommendations to the UCIF BoD relating to legal counsel and legal issues as appropriate.

• Recent progress–Selected UCIF Legal Counsel (Michele Herman, Davis Wright Tremaine).–Filed UCIF trademark registrations.

• Ongoing projects–UCIF bylaws revision: Last Call completed November 7, 2010.


IT Committee• Charter

–To arrange for the IT services that members need to be productive

• Recent progress–Approved upgrade to UCIF Web Portal v2 (includes a Wiki)–Established new mailing lists and web portal areas.–Obtained web conferencing/audio bridge accounts.–Set up temporary Multi-User Chat (MUC) rooms.

• Ongoing projects–Additional facilities

– Issue Tracking, permanent MUC roomsThe UCIF IT Committee is led by Matt Collier, and is actively recruiting!


IT Tools: Website


IT Tools – Members Portal

• Tabs = Group Membership

• Group document repository, action tracker, calendar


IT Tools – Members Portal

• Group Landing Page (after authentication)


IT Services How-To• Want to join a group or have trouble authenticating?

– Send email to [email protected] to get credentials• Indicate what WG/TG/SG you wish to join and provide name & email

• Members Portal Training?– Send email to [email protected] indicating interest

• Need web conferencing or an audio bridge?– Contact Jingyu Qiu <[email protected]>

• Need a Multi-User Chat Room?– Contact Bernard Aboba <[email protected]>


UCIF Contractors


Contractors

• Legal Counsel –Michele Herman, Davis Wright Tremaine

• Executive Director–Steve Crumb, Inventures, [email protected]

• Business Operations–Lory Yeakle, Inventures, [email protected]

• IT: –Casey Kerr, Inventures, [email protected]

•Test–Certification and Test SoW sent out, bids received, contractor TBD.


Executive Director

• Who– Steve Crumb , Executive Director & Vice President, Inventures– Email: [email protected]– Skype: Steve.Crumb – Phone: +1 815.469.5322

• What– Provides recommendations on operational plans, Board

operations, member on-boarding, strategic planning, budgets, IT operations, policies and procedures

– Helps with vendor management– Handles escalation issues– Customizes “best practices” based on UCIF needs


• VBO organization is comprised of Membership, Financial and Certification teams.

– Membership Services team• Member enrollment and management of membership data• Logo management• Work Group, Task Group, Study Group and reflector management• Secure access to WG/TG/SG and member areas in portal• Member help desk inquiries – 48 hour SLA, 24 hour SLA – “Urgent”

– Financial Management team• Budget entry and cash flow analysis• Membership fee invoicing, processing and collections• Accounting – AP, AR, Month End close• Investment administration of excess cash (CDs)

– Certification Administration Services team• Process applications and payments• Track certification status and post completed certs on website• Manage and maintain all certification documentation

– Monthly Financial and Membership Reporting

Virtual Business Office (VBO) Services


Virtual Business Operations (VBO)

• UCIF Members submit requests to the UCIF Help Desk for all financial and membership support needs– 48 hour SLA, 24 hour SLA for support requests marked “URGENT”

UCIF Help Desk

Membership SMEs Finance SMEs

Lory Yeakle VP, Inventures Operations and Client Services

Member submits support request to [email protected]

Casey KerrHelp Desk Manager

Certification SMEs


Financial Policies

• Automated invoicing for non Board members, payment due upon receipt of invoice– Invoice generated upon receipt of member application– Past due notifications sent at 30 days, 60 days, 90 days to Primary and Billing contact– For renewals, invoice sent 90 days prior to anniversary date, and reminders sent 60

days and 30 days prior and on due date, followed by 30, 60, 90 day past due notifications

• Past due members may be terminated if payment is not received within 30 days from written notification from the ED/Board


Financial Policies

• Collections– Board is notified monthly of invoices past due >30 days – Collection calls are made to the Primary contact for all non board

members once accounts are 45 days past due• Two attempts are made to reach both the primary and billing contacts

by phone, followed by an email

• Collection status details tracked and reported to Board monthly, along with summary report


Membership Policies• Logo

– Upon receipt of member logo, it is displayed on UCIF website.

• Access to member area on the UCIF website– Access granted on receipt of membership application.

– Ability to request WG/TG/SG participation through UCIF Help Desk.

• Deactivation– If a member is terminated, all contacts become inactive and member

area access is denied

– Members are removed from all workgroups until membership is reactivated

• Member inquiries– All inquiries are to be sent to the UCIF Help Desk and will be answered

within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holiday

introduction to ucif

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