AV project guidelines for the UCB campus network environment

IST does not install or support Audio/Visual (AV) equipment in conference rooms.  Departments on campus are responsible for installation and support of AV equipment. If you are planning to install AV equipment (including Zoom Room or Zoom Room Connectors) with the help of a third party vendor or your own department’s tech support team, please review the requirements below before proceeding.

 

Due to its scope and design, the UC Berkeley network may not operate the way many AV system installers and contractors are familiar with. It is common for them to make assumptions that are incorrect. The following pointers are offered to avoid potential issues when designing an AV solution which will integrate with the UC Berkeley Campus Network. This list is not extensive, and if departments or their vendors require any clarification or have questions we encourage them to reach out to us early in the process so that we can discuss any potential design concerns.

 

It is important to note that installation of cabling and activation for data networking to support AV installation can take many weeks due to available staff and queued work requests. Please work with the campus Network team prior to scheduling an AV install which may require our support.

 

Items to be aware of when designing an AV installation for UCB:

• If installing a Zoom room:
  • Keep in mind that the process of setting up Zoom Rooms may differ in the amount of time it takes to set up based on the equipment you choose and how your network is configured at your location. It could take a few hours to several weeks based on our experience.
  • To begin the process of requesting a Zoom Room License, follow the instructions in Telecom Zoom Room Creation Process
  • One of the things to do first is calendar integration.  See KB and instructions below on how to set up calendar integration. 
    • Zoom Room bCal Integration
    • How to create a calendar resource in bCal

• The UC Berkeley network does not support IP Multicast. This means that audio protocols such as Dante may not work, and should be avoided.  In situations where these protocols are required, the AV installer and department should plan on implementing a local, isolated network to carry this traffic (i.e. installing their own network switch - this solution is not recommended by the UC Berkeley Network team because it can not be supported by us).
• The UC Berkeley Wi-Fi network does not support the connection of devices which are acting as a “server” to allow direct connection from other devices. Systems and devices which support connection from users (e.g. for screen sharing) should have a wired ethernet port installed, connected to the campus network. 
• Quality of Service (QoS) is not supported on the campus network.  
• Even within a building, AV equipment will likely be on separate subnets across a given location. All protocols utilized should be fully routable.  AV equipment should be implemented on it’s own subnet, separate from the user and administrative networks for the location.  The UC Berkeley Network team will assist in determining the appropriate network implementation and configuration parameters upon request.  
• AV Equipment installed must comply with all appropriate University IT security policies, especially the Minimum Security Standards for Networked Devices (MSSND).  An extensive list of these policies is available at https://security.berkeley.edu/policy/policy-catalog. In particular, someone must be responsible for ensuring that devices continue to receive appropriate software updates and act as a security contact for the installation.
• AV subnets should be protected by a Departmental Firewall or the Campus Shared Firewall Service.  The UC Berkeley Network team can provide further information about these services.   
• Implementing systems which create or broadcast their own Wi-Fi network is not supported on campus.  Such systems may be disabled/disconnected from the campus network at the UC Berkeley Network team’s discretion as they can interfere with the campus Wi-Fi service which is a critical resource for our community.