Pool Properties: Media

Use the Media tab to specify media settings for all servers in this pool.

Security Settings

Specifies the level of media encryption supported by servers in this pool.

Encryption level

Specify the type of encryption that is applied to inbound and outbound audio and video connections (that is, RTP/RTCP streams) on all A/V Conferencing Servers in this pool. There are three choices:

• Require encryption

  Inbound and outbound audio and video connections to the A/V Conferencing Servers in this pool must be encrypted using Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP). If you require encryption, a participant whose computer is not capable of SRTP encryption will be unable to join any audio/video conferences that are hosted by the A/V Conferencing Servers in this pool. (Office Communicator 2007 R2 and Communicator 2007 clients support SRTP encryption. Clients from earlier releases, such as Office Communicator 2005, support 3DES encryption.)

• Support encryption

  Inbound and outbound audio and video connections to the A/V Conferencing Servers in this pool can be encrypted using SRTP for clients that support it.

• Do not support encryption

  Inbound and outbound audio and video connections to the A/V Conferencing Servers in this pool are not encrypted.

A/V Authentication Service

A/V Edge Server that your internal servers running Office Communications Server 2007 R2 trust for A/V conferencing between internal and external users. Your internal servers running Office Communications Server 2007 R2 only send outbound A/V traffic to Edge Servers on this list. All A/V traffic must be authenticated by the A/V Edge Server.

Port Range Settings

Specifies the port range for media exchange.

Media port range

The port range for Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) media exchange can be between 49152 and 65535, but we recommend that you use a media port range between 60000 to 64000. The low port can be any number from 49152 to 65535. The high port can also be any number from 49152 to 65535, but must be greater than the low port number by 23.

Note: When you change the media port range for servers in this pool, you must restart Conferencing Attendant and Conferencing Announcement Service so that the applications use the new port range settings.

Learn More Online

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The A/V Conferencing Server enables users to conduct audio and video conferences by using Office Communications Server 2007 R2. The A/V Conferencing Server settings that you apply at the pool level affect all the A/V Conferencing Servers that are in that pool.

The Office Communications Server A/V Authentication Service authenticates users participating in A/V conferencing. To do this, a specific port (that is, on a specific internal interface) must be configured for the service.

If you require encryption, a participant whose computer is not capable of encryption will be unable to join any audio/video conferences that are hosted by the A/V Conferencing Servers in this pool. Office Communicator 2007 R2 and Communicator 2007 clients support SRTP encryption. Clients from earlier releases, such as Office Communicator 2005, support 3DES encryption.

When you install Office Communications Server 2007 R2, the default port range for media exchange is set between 49152 and 65535, but we recommend that you use a media port range between 60000 to 64000. We recommend this because high-bandwidth traffic such as voice and video tends to stress poorly provisioned networks, and reducing the port range greatly reduces server capacity. Also, limiting media traffic to a known range of ports can help you troubleshoot media bandwidth issues.

For details, see the Operations section of the Office Communications Server Technical Library.