On Fri, 24 Aug 2007, Keith Bierman wrote: > > On Aug 23, 2007, at 12:26 PM, Kaiwai Gardiner wrote: > >> >> Not to sound too stupid, but what is the purpose for the phone line in >> relation to the conference? > > Assuming that there is something other than a free for all in the > meeting room(s), people who can't make the conference in person may > be able to get something out of the discussion (listen only/webcast) > or possibly even contribute (conference call). > > As long as there is sufficient cell strength or networking > capability, attaching to conventional conference call services is an > option (assuming adequate funding ;>) that can handle either use > case. No doubt pure networking solutions and other creative > approaches are possible. > > Of course, if the entire point is to get people into the same room, > then the technology is irrelevant ;> >
Agreed. But if its a "real" hi-tech conference, then the organizers should drag in a temporary T3 (yes 45mBits) or, at a minimum, a dedicated 10Mb wireless link from a local WISP for the conf and setup Asterisk for VOIP and a couple of dedicated wireless routers for the conf attendees. Don't leave connectivity to chance - college campuses are notorious for lousey and vastly overloaded internet connectivity. Is it likely that there will be *any* attendees present without a laptop and expectations of decent internet connectivity? (rhetorical question) Preliminary spec for conf connectivity: 1) 45Mb T3 (landline) or 10Mb WISP connection 2) two 100Mb (minimum) wired dedicated LAN ports per seat 3) 100% switched LAN topology 4) 2 or 3 wireless routers with firewalling by MAC address 5) four 120V A/C outlets per seat 6) dedicated firewall (OpenSolaris based ?) 7) dedicated conf server (Web, NFS etc)(could also provide the firewall functionality). Gigabit connectivy (4 ports), and 500Gb+ of (ZFS) based storage. 8) VOIP asterisk server to allow for inbound conf calls 9) temp VOIP conf call provider 10) 5 or more VOIP phones for use by conf attendees 11) "box of" CAT5 cables and power strips 12) box with 2 or 3 DVD burners and copies of latest/greatest Sun/OpenSolaris and 3rd party distributions (on the NFS server). blank DVDs. 13) 5+ Sun Rays for use by conf attendees who don't have laptops Note: Gaming event organizers do this routinely [0] and provide power & cooling, connectivity and firewalling for hundreds of physco [1] gamers for short duration gaming events. It does not have to look pretty - it just has to work well! [0] http://www.quakecon.org/images/news/wendigo_byoc_04_panorama.jpg [1] term of endearment - but also indicates a demanding and potentially agressive/abusive user of internet bandwidth. PS: Often, event organizers ask other companies to sponsor the equipment and raffle off the hardware at the conclusion of the conf. [attendees must be present on both days of the conf to be eligible for the raffle] Regards, Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007 http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/ _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list [email protected]
