Re: [GnomeMeeting-list] gnomemeeting, netmeeting, lan and NAT

[Chris Searle <gnomemeeting chrissearle org>]

Damien Sandras <dsandras seconix com> writes:

> Hello,
>
> I will only answer for the GnomeMeeting -> Netmeeting part, I don't care
> about the Netmeeting -> Netmeeting case.

Nor will I once GnomeMeeting->Netmeeting is working :-)

>> Machine 1 to Machine 2 - I get a connection - but on the netmeeting
>> machine the gnomemeeting user shows up with no detected audio or
>> video. Then if I disconnect the conversation from the gnomemeeting
>> machine netmeeting hangs the win 2k box.
>
> You have probably an Netmeeting bug there, if it crashes the Win2k
> machine, but reading the FAQ would help. You do not give any useful hint
> to debug the problem: telling "GnomeMeeting can't call Netmeeting, it
> doesn't work" doesn't help much.
> You should read this part of the FAQ and tell us what test cases you
> passed and what happens relatively to the following question:
> http://www.gnomemeeting.org/index.php?rub=3&pos=0#AEN314

> I guess that you didn't read it. In that case, I would advise you to do
> it if possible. My guess is that the cryptic Netmeeting message simply
> means that you deactivated G.711 (or Netmeeting did it), but there is no
> common codec. Solution: Install MS-GSM. I guess that in that case, you
> will get a communication, but perhaps not 2-ways sound. If it is the
> case, then it means that your sound driver is not full-duplex, install a
> modern full-duplex driver in that case.

Did spot it earlier - but got so wrapped up in the NAT
possibilitie/problems that I forgot it :-( And yes - no shared
codec. However - I'm getting more and more convinced that this machine
(machine 2 from the original list) is in a poor state - so I'm going
to re-install it from scratch. Connecting to it was mainly to prove
that gnome-meeting was working before further trying connections over
NAT.

> How can you be sure that your soundcard driver for Linux is able to
> record and play at the same time? Did you test this, how and with what
> program? Having xmms (for example) working doesn't mean that your
> soundcard works, it simply means that your soundcard is able to play a
> sound, but GnomeMeeting requires far more than that.

Tested by having an audio stream playing (a net asf stream thru
mplayer) while recording with rec -t wav test.wav. It recorded OK.

> Other tips:
> - the h323_masq_module are buggy : they do not respect the H.323
> protocol, they only react well with Netmeeting because they were coded
> with Netmeeting in mind, and not with H.323 in mind. It means that they
> will work with Netmeeting, but not with H.323 programs. What you have to
> do for the GnomeMeeting (LAN) -> Netmeeting (Internet) case is to read :
> http://www.gnomemeeting.org/index.php?rub=3&pos=0#AEN192

OK - I'll have a shot at doing this with just redirection - just have
to convert it all to ipchains first. The floppyfw machine is a 486 and
does not support 2.4.x kernels. However - since all it does is route -
I can live with ipchains.

> - it is also probable that if you are using h323_masq_module, it
> prevents to work the IP translation technic described in the FAQ and
> supported by GnomeMeeting only.

Now - I'm a little unclear here. FAQ 6.3.1 gives a list of iptables
that can be used. If I insert that lot on the floppyfw machine (think
of it as a router) - do I need the ip translation stuff in FAQ 6.3?

> - the logitech quickcam express Linux driver had several bugs that could
> easily crash the machine when working in YUV420P, QCIF (formats required
> by GnomeMeeting).

Fun. Yes - I've noticed that it's not fantastic - but that's the cam I
have - and the debian end seems to be the stable one.


-- 
Chris Searle