Nefsis Distributed Cloud Technology Includes Built-In Network Diagnostics to Optimize Video Conferencing Performance
Benefits include easy network assessments, verification of purchased Internet bandwidth, and much faster IP connection troubleshooting
San Diego, California(25 May 2011)
Online services innovator Nefsis® announced today it has added a set of diagnostic tools as a standard feature of its global, cloud-based HD video conferencing <http://www.nefsis.com/> service and Nefsis free trials. These built-in diagnostic tools can be very useful for network assessments, optimizing video conferencing performance, and troubleshooting.
The Nefsis video conferencing cloud provides all the resources necessary for multipoint HD video mixing, firewall and proxy traversal for desktops, live collaboration tools, and now network diagnostics. To get the same capabilities prior to cloud computing required heavy investment in infrastructure equipment including video routers, multichannel units, and gateway servers.
"You can meet the challenge of multipoint HD video conferencing to desktops and rooms with a major investment in infrastructure hardware, but still end up without diagnostics to the endpoints, leaving IT staffs to fend for themselves," said Allen Drennan, Nefsis Chief Technology Officer. "One of the many advantages of the Nefsis global cloud is its built-in diagnostic tools. You get everything you need in a free trial, including test utilities, plus all the scalability needed for easy expansion."
The Nefsis built-in diagnostics include three tests: bandwidth, latency and routing. The bandwidth test reports uplink and downlink bandwidth between each endpoint and your Nefsis virtual conference room. The latency test reports response times—the lower the latency, the better the video conference experience will be. The comprehensive routing test displays the IP route between an organization and the conference. It takes a snapshot of response times at various hops to help identify where delays occur.
Benefits of the diagnostics include:
Easy network assessments: IT staff can use these tests to get actual data on bandwidth availability. This data can then be used to check the readiness of networks for desktop video conferencing. Nefsis also provides related administrative features, including the ability to limit video resolution as appropriate or allow Nefsis dynamic video encoding – also called "variable bitrate" and "scalable video coding"– and automated bandwidth throttling to make automatic adjustments.
Verification of purchased Internet access bandwidth: Nefsis diagnostics are often used to verify purchased bandwidth between a Nefsis customer and its ISP. A common occurrence is learning that actual bandwidth provided is far below that purchased. The diagnostic output can be presented to the ISP, eliminating the ability of the ISP to try to blame the customer network.
Faster problem resolution: Even with dynamic encoding and automatic bandwidth throttling, problems with IP connections can occur. Built-in diagnostics benefit IT staff by making these problems much easier to find and resolve. This includes identifying IP connection issues on company networks and external participants' networks. For example, an extreme delay at a specific network router or proxy server is readily identified.
"In the DOD, military and government markets, network bandwidth and performance is not only important, it is critical. With Nefsis, the exclusive built-in bandwidth and real-time network test utilities assist with easy network diagnostics and administration," said Mr. Dennis Butts, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Military Comm Networks, Inc. "Whether it's connecting wounded warriors and their families or working on a solution for a major project for the military, this feature is amazing to have available in the platform."
Built-in diagnostics are automatically available to all Nefsis Professional subscribers and trial users. For a free 14-day trial of Nefsis Professional, visit Nefsis.com
About Nefsis
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Nefsis is a technology specialist in video conferencing software and cloud computing online services. The Company's global cloud provides multipoint HD video and advanced collaboration tools to business, government and educational customers in more than 45 countries worldwide. As compared to previous generations of infrastructure hardware solutions such as video routers, MCUs and gateways, the Nefsis cloud-based offering is less expensive, automatically maintained, and easier to expand.
For more information, please visit http://www.nefsis.com <http://www.nefsis.com/> or call +1 (858) 715-0970 in the Americas or +44 (0) 870 224 0415 in the UK and Europe.