Virtual Venue Client User Manual
Access Grid Toolkit Documentation
The Futures Laboratory
1.0 Introduction
Background
The
Access Grid is an Internet-based model
for video conferencing that focuses on group-to-group communication, using an
ensemble of resources including multimedia large-format displays, presentation
and interactive environments, and interfaces to Grid middleware and
visualization environments. For
instance, the Access Grid is used for large-scale distributed meetings,
collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures, tutorials, and training. Even though the Access Grid is concentrated
on group interactions, it also provides an access point for individual desktop
users, permitting one-to-many or one-to-one communication.
The
virtual meeting space, where people come together to collaborate in the Access
Grid, is called a Virtual Venue. If authorized, the Venue provides users with
all the necessary information needed to communicate with each other, including
audio and video streams, user capabilities, data, services, applications, and
connections to other venues.
Users
connect to a Virtual Venue from their particular environment, identified as a node, which contains collaborative
resources needed to provide high-quality user experiences. Access Grid users are given the ability to
configure nodes according to their own preference. Examples of node
configurations are a desktop using a Quick Camera or an entire room with
several microphones, cameras, and advanced display environments. Figure 1 shows one of several nodes available
at Argonne National Laboratory.
Figure 1 A Node at
Overview
The
Venue Client, in Figure 2, is used to connect and participate in an Access Grid
Virtual Venue. It displays the contents
of the Virtual Venue, connections to other venues, and an interface to
configure your node arrangement. The
description below explains the different components that represent the Venue
Client.
Figure 2 Venue Client
The
Address Bar is used to connect to a
venue. You are allowed to enter two different types of addresses in the address
bar, either the default venue on a venue server
(https://host:port/Venues/default) or the actual address of a specific venue
(https://host:port/Venues/unique id).
For instance, you can in Figure 2 see the Venue Client connected to
default venue on a venue server running on host “vv2.mcs.anl.gov” using port
9000. After writing the address in the
address bar, click the “Go” button to connect to the venue.
The
Title Bar includes the name of the
venue you are currently connected to.
The
Contents Panel displays participants of the venue, present data,
applications, and services available to share.
Users can join the venue either as a single participant or as a
node. A node is a group of people taking
part in the venue together in which all of the participants are sharing the
same collaborative capabilities, for example, watching the venue projected on a
white screen with cameras placed strategically around the room.
The
Exits Panel shows other venues linked to this venue, connected through
exits, enabling users to travel through the venue space. Next to the door icon you can see the name of
the connected venue. The venue description
is displayed as a tool tip that shows up if the mouse is held over the exit.
All
venue participants and nodes will receive the text available in the Text Field.
You
can write a short message in the Message
Field and display the text by clicking on the “Display”
button.
2.0 Actions
This
section describes how to use the Venue Client.
The discussion begins with basics such as setting up certificates and
gradually covers such complex issues as managing a node.
2.1 Start Venue Client
Set up Certificate
To
connect to a venue you have to have a valid grid identity certificate (for more
information about certificates, see Section 3.1). You
have to request and configure your certificate only once; the same
certificate can then be used for all future Access Grid interactions. Also, you are allowed to user the same
certificate on several machines; so if you already have a certificate, you can
simply export your certificate files over to the other machines.
- Start
Venue Client. The Venue Client
provides a mechanism for requesting certificates to use with the Access
Grid. When starting the Venue
Client, the Certificate Request Wizard will open automatically if you do
not have certificates already installed.
- Click Next > in the first page of the
wizard, see Figure 3.
Figure 3 Certificate Request Wizard; Step 1
- Enter
your Information. The
second wizard page, in Figure 4, will appear prompting you for necessary information
to create your certificate and the distinguished name you will be
associated with (for more information about distinguished names read
Section 3.3). Take care to remember
the password you select because you will be using this in the future. Also, certificate requests with
incorrect first and last names will not be approved.
Figure 4 Certificate Request Wizard; Step 2
- Review. Finally, review the information that will be
included in your certificate and click Finish to submit the request, see Figure 5. The certificate
will be approved manually. This may
take some time depending on how many requests are being processed at the
moment; please be patient. When
your request has been approved, you will receive an email containing
instructions on how to install your certificate. For further questions regarding
certificates, send an email to agdev-ca@mcs.anl.gov.
Figure 5 Certificate Request Wizard; Step 3
- Install
Certificate. To install the certificate, open the Venue
Client and go to Preferences –
Manage Certificates – Certificate Manager…. In the Certificate Requests tab, you will
see a list of requested certificates and their current status. Click the Check status button to get current status of your requests. If
status is Ready to Install,
select the certificate from the list and click the Install Certificate button.
The certificate is now installed and you are ready to use it with
your Venue Client.
Create Your Profile
If
this is the first time you are using the Venue Client, a profile dialog will
appear, and you should enter your information, which will be used to represent
you in venues (see Figure 6). You are
required at least to fill in your name, but it is helpful if you enter as much
information as possible. Keep in mind
that you can change the profile at any time (see “Changing your Profile,”
Section 2.4). When you are present in a
venue, your profile information will be made available for every participant in
that venue (read “View Profile,” Section 2.3)
Figure 6 Profile Dialog
Note:
Location: Your physical location, for instance, Argonne
National Laboratory.
Support Information: Information on how to contact the responsible
person for this node. For
example, support@mcs.anl.gov.
Home Venue: This address will show up in the Address Bar when you start the Venue
Client.
Profile Type: A user is a single participant maybe connected via laptop. A node represents a group of people using the
same collaborative environment
2.2 Connecting to a Venue
Specify Venue Address
Enter
the venue address in the Address Bar,
and then click Go to enter the
venue. Apart from venue addresses (https://<host>:<port>/<unique id>) you can
enter the address of the default venue on a venue server
(https://<host>:<port>/Venues/default), as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 Using the Address Bar to
connect to a venue
Create Grid Proxy Certificate
In
order to successfully connect to the venue server, you have to have a valid
grid proxy certificate (for more information, read Section 3.1). If such a certificate is missing, the dialog
in Figure 8 will enable you to create a proxy.
Fill in the password you chose when you initially requested your
certificate in the Pass phrase
field. You can set details of this grid
proxy by clicking the Proxy Details…
button. The “Proxy lifetime (hours)”
field indicates how long this proxy certificate will be valid; the default
value is 8 hours, but you may change this number. When the proxy life time expires, you will be
prompted for your password again. After
specifying the validity of the proxy, click “Ok.”
Figure 8 Creating
a grid proxy
2.3 Viewing a Profile
Right
click on the participant or node you want to see profile information about, and
select View Profile…, as shown in
Figure 9.
Figure 9 View Profile
2.4 Changing Your Profile
From
the menu, choose Preferences - Edit
Profile… as shown in Figure 10. When
the Profile Dialog appears, edit the appropriate fields, and then click Ok.
Figure 10 Edit
your profile from the menu
2.5 Writing Text Message
Enter
text in the Message Field, and click
Display. The text will show up in
the Text Field for all participants
in the venue; see Figure 11.
Figure 11 Text chat
2.6 Saving Text Messages
To save text that has been
posted in the Text Field go to the Venue menu and select Save Text. In the dialog, enter the file location where
you want to save the text and click OK.
2.7 My Venues
The
My Venues menu option helps you to
save and get easy access to Venues you are visiting often. You can set and go to your home venue and you
can also add a list of venue names that, when clicked on, connects to
associated venue. This functionality is
available to avoid you having to remember and type long addresses for venues
you are visiting frequently, much like the “bookmark” feature in most Web
browsers.
2.7.1 Setting Home Venue
The
address to your home venue will always appear in the Address Bar when you first start the Venue Client. You can change this setting by selecting Set as Home Venue from the My Venues menu, the venue you are
currently connected to will then be your home venue. You can also change your home venue from your
profile; see Changing your Profile in section 2.4.
2.7.2 Go to Home Venue
To connect to your home venue,
select Go to Home Venue from the My Venues menu.
2.7.3 Adding Venue
First,
go to the menu and click on My Venues -
Add Current Venue. The dialog in
Figure 12 opens with the current venue’s name filled in automatically. You can change the name to whatever you want
and then click Ok. The name will be added to the list found
under the My Venues menu
option. When you select a name in the
list the Venue Client will try to connect to the associated venue.
Figure 12 Associate a venue address with a name
2.7.4 Removing Venue
Go to My Venues - Edit in the menu bar, and right click the venue you
want to delete. Select Remove Venue and then Ok.
2.7.5
Rename Venue
Go
to My Venues - Edit in the menu bar,
and right click the venue you want to rename.
Select Rename, fill in the
new name, and then press Ok.
2.8 Navigating
To
the left side of the Venue Client is the Exits Panel, containing a list of
names of other venues. If you place the mouse
over one of the exits, the description of the venue shows up as a tool
tip. You can see the description of the
Test Room in Figure 13. If you click the
left mouse button on one of the exits, you will leave the venue you are
currently connected to and enter the other venue.
Figure 13 Navigating
2.9 Sharing Data
The
Venue Client allows you to share data among users of the venue. Files can either belong to the venue or be
user specific. The user may carry around
personal data when walking between venues.
Files belonging to a participant or node will therefore stay in the
venue for as long as its owner is present.
Venue data, however, always stays in the venue until deleted. Personal
user data is placed under the participant or node that owns the file, while
venue data is found under the “Data” heading in the Contents Panel. VenueClient.py,
in Figure 14, is one example of a personal file belonging to Ivan’s Office, and hallo.txt is owned by the venue.
Figure 14 Venue and personal data as displayed in the Venue Client
2.9.1 Adding Venue Data
Right
click on the Data heading, and
choose Add…. Or, from the menu, go
to Venue-Add Data…. A file browse
dialog will show up from which you can pick the file you wish to add to the
venue. Then press the Ok button.
2.9.2 Adding Personal Data
Right
click on your profile under the Participant
heading, and choose the option Add
Personal Data. A file browse dialog
will show up from which you can pick the file you wish to add to your personal
files. Click the Ok button. Observe that
personal data will be shown under your profile and not under the Data heading, illustrated in Figure
14.
2.9.3 Deleting Data
Right
click on the data item, personal or venue specific, and choose Delete. A dialog will ask whether you
really want to remove the selected data.
Click Ok to confirm.
2.9.4 Opening Data
Right
click on the data item and choose Open…. If the file type is associated with an
application, the data will be opened directly using that program. Otherwise you will be prompted for a program
to associate with and handle the file.
2.9.5 Viewing Data Properties
Right
click on the data item, and choose Properties….
A dialog will be opened showing the file name, the distinguished name of its
owner, and file size.
2.10 Sharing Applications
A
very useful feature in the Access Grid is the possibility to share applications
among several participants. The software includes several applications that get
installed along with the toolkit, such as the Shared Browser for viewing the
Web together and the Shared Presentation for power point presentations. However, the Access Grid is not limited to
pre-installed applications. Developers may create and plug in custom applications
that can be made available for venue participants.
2.10.1
Starting Session
Installed
applications for your Venue Client are listed under Start Application Session in the Venue menu, see Figure 15.
To start a session, select an application from the list. Give the session a name and a short
description before adding it to the Venue.
The newly created session is listed under the Application Sessions heading in the Venue Client.
Figure 15 Shared Application Sessions.
2.10.2 Joining Session
To
join an application session, right click the correct name under the Application Sessions heading and select
Open, as shown in Figure 16. The
appropriate application will then launch and display current session status.
Figure 16 the Application Session Menu
2.10.3 Stopping Session
To
stop an application session, right click the correct name under the Application Sessions heading, and
select Delete, as shown in Figure
16. A dialog will appear to check that
you really want to delete the session.
Click Ok to confirm.
2.10.4
Authorization
Right
click on the session you wish to authorize and select Manage Roles… A frame will display current authorization setting
for this application session. The
session has a set of Roles that
identifies different authorization privileges for groups of participants. The authorization privileges are identified
as Actions. When selecting a role
from the left panel, you can see which actions are enabled for that role in the
right action panel. When expanding a
role, participants that are included in this role are shown. A participant may
be added to several roles and are allowed to perform all actions for that set
of roles. You may add/remove roles, add/remove participants to different roles,
and add/remove actions to roles.
2.10.5
Opening Monitor
If you want to view who are
currently participating in an application session, you may right click the
application session and select Open
Application Monitor…. In addition
to participants, the monitor displays events occurring in the session and data
being exchanged among participants as shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17 Application Monitor
2.10.6
Viewing Properties
To
view session properties, right click on the application session and choose Properties…. A dialog will be opened showing the name, URL
address, MIME type, and the description associate with the selected session.
2.11 Sharing Services
2.11.1 Adding Service
Before
adding a service to the venue, you need to know the address where the service
is located and what MIME type to associate with the service. The MIME type helps the Venue Client to
identify what type of service is being added and how to handle it. When you have gathered this information,
right click on the Service heading
and click Add…, or from the main
menu choose Venue-Add Service…. In
the dialog, enter name, URL address, MIME type, and the description you want to
associate with the service. Then click Ok. Figure 18 shows you an example of how to add a
service that points to a Web Site.
Figure 18 Add Service Dialog
2.11.2 Opening Service
To
open a service, right click on the service you wish to use, and select Open.
2.11.3 Deleting Service
To
delete a service, right click on the service you wish to remove, and select Delete.
A dialog will appear to check that you really want to delete the service. Click “Ok” to confirm.
2.11.4 Viewing Service Properties
To
view service properties, right click on the service item and choose Properties…. A dialog will be opened showing the name, URL
address, MIME type, and the description associate with the selected service.
2.12 Managing Certificates
Every
user and service connected to the Access Grid is required to have a valid
certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority. Certificates are a form
of electronic identification that is superior to the well-known and widely used
password strategy. This form of
authentication aims to reduce the many problems seen with passwords, such as
poorly chosen, forgotten, or insecurely stored passwords, in order to enable a
reliable environment for collaboration.
The certificate authority is responsible for giving you a certificate;
thus make sure you really are who you say you are.
The
most common certificate is the Identity
Certificate. It is used to verify that a person is who they say they are
when connected to the Access Grid.
However, if you are going to run a venue server, or any kind of service,
you should use a Service Certificate. The
service certificate does not require a pass phrase and allows the server to
stay up and running for longer periods of time.
2.12.1 Viewing Certificates
If
you want to know which certificates you have installed, select Preferences - Manage Certificates –
Certificate Manager… from the
main menu. The Certificates tab in Figure 19 shows all your certificates. If you want to see more details about a
certificate, for instance validity, select it from the list and click the View certificate button to the right.
Figure 19 Certificate Manager - Certificates
2.12.2 Importing Certificate
If
you have a certificate you want to use with the Venue Client, you can import it
from Preferences – Manage Certificates –
Certificate Manager… menu. In the Certificates tab in Figure 19, click
the Import button to the right. The
file browse dialog that opens will let you specify location of the certificate
file (usercert.pem) and the certificate key file (userkey.pem).