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The Anaesthesia Associates of Massachusetts has found value in transitioning to an IT-based AV operation


The Anaesthesia Associates of Massachusetts is one such example of an organization that has found value in transitioning to an IT-based AV operation with an AVaaS layer. Based in Westwood, Massachusetts, AAM built out new office space for its health care practice with a large 30-person conference and collaboration room. Along with presentation needs, a videoconferencing element was added to accommodate recurring meetings with AAM member doctors.

As a single-room system, there were plenty of reasons to consider a matrix-based AV solution that would support a specific number of inputs and outputs in foundation would give AAM the operational flexibility, standards-based reliability, and ability to scale across a WAN or VPN as other conference rooms are added. This was also important to ensure flexibility from the AVaaS side of the equation.

To realize those outcomes, we had to ensure that the AV technologies used were founded on IP standards, and would benefit from IT best practices, such as configuration management and infrastructure monitoring - Nick Melin, president of AV/IT consulting firm AudioLogic

While the initial layout is a fairly modest set of AV features and components, the end goal was to provide system scalability, high levels of uptime, and centralized management,” said Nick Melin, president of AV/IT consulting firm AudioLogic, which handled the meeting space design and installation. “To realize those outcomes, we had to ensure that the AV technologies used were founded on IP standards, and would benefit from IT best practices, such as configuration management and infrastructure monitoring. This meant it was important to reduce reliance on proprietary solutions.”

To achieve these goals, Melin and his team specified and integrated an All-IP Meeting Space solution with four core elements across video (Atlona’s OmniStream AV over IP platform), audio (Dante networking), digital signal processing (Symetrix’s Radius AEC) and control (Atlona’s Velocity). This not only provided AAM with the core benefits they sought (flexibility, uptime, scalability), but left Greenpages well-positioned to remotely manage, analyze and troubleshoot systems as needed. AAM Atlona AV IT 3

 

Designed to Adapt

The integration strategy wasn’t an IP-based design before Melin’s involvement. The original design called for tabletop connections from laptops to feed video through HDMI switchers to the displays, with soft codec video conferencing to enable connectivity. The AudioLogic and Greenpages teams knew that this original design would effectively hinder scalability and the AVaaS management strategy.

We anticipate that new rooms will be added, potentially across geographically separated AAM facilities,” said Melin. “When that happens, the ability to efficiently redeploy a modeled AV solution to new rooms is paramount to minimize the cost of integration and commissioning time. We also wanted to ensure that AAM could add features or adjust services across the organization, without incurring significant downtime. We shifted the system design to an IT-centric approach to establish the necessary foundation.” AAM Atlona AV IT 4

 

Traffic Management

The AudioLogic team developed a network segmentation plan to support separate VLANs. One subnet was created for OmniStream and Dante traffic, while VoIP traffic, including Skype, was assigned to a separate subnet. Both were separated from the main network carrying internet traffic and other data in the building. This was important for quality of service as well as security.

 

The AudioLogic team developed a network segmentation plan to support separate VLANs; one for OmniStream and Dante traffic and another one for VoIP traffic, both separated from the main network carrying internet traffic and other data to ensure quality of service and security.

 

The separate subnets ensure that the time domains for video and audio traffic are not impacted by PC traffic and WiFi devices,” said Melin. “Segmentation of the IP traffic also ensures that a video or audio stream cannot be received by a computer on the network that is not the intended end point. That is very important from a security perspective. We could have gotten away with less segmentation on a network this small, but following best practices is both safer and more efficient in the long term.”

A dedicated Cisco SG-300 switch accommodates all video, audio, voice and related VLANs in the space, with a straightforward backbone of Cat6 network cabling to move signals to and from the switch. “The OmniStream AT-OMNI-232 networked audio interfaces convert analog signals into Dante streams, which simplified the prewire requirements,” said Melin. “Since everything routes through a switch, we installed additional network drops behind the displays and underneath the table. We utilized some of those drops to accommodate Dante inputs for additional microphones.” AAM Atlona AV IT 5

 

Audio Isn’t Overlooked

Audio for the room also utilizes the IP backbone, and incorporates a digital signal processor. Dante-based audio components work with OmniStream to provide a seamless audio integration. Shure MX396 microphones are connected to the AT-OMNI-232 audio interfaces and routed over IP to a Symetrix Radius AEC audio DSP.

The Radius AEC optimizes audio quality for the room through echo cancellation, EQ, dynamics processing, and other features. Melin also added Dante Virtual Soundcard software on the dedicated PC to process Skype audio without requiring analog connections and adapters.

 

Networked Control

The All-IP Meeting Space is tied together with Atlona’s Velocity networked control platform. The architecture uses a Velocity AT-VGW-250 Gateway control processor to manage all Atlona and third-party components in the ecosystem, with iPads used for the control interface. Melin credits Velocity’s web-based configuration process for simplifying what could have been a challenging deployment process for his team.

The OmniStream, Dante, and Symetrix components, which live on the same subnet, were able to discover each other. That quickly gave us a strong starting point. We then imported the audio controls into the Velocity platform via a Symetrix system file. Velocity’s menu-based configuration allowed us to quickly provide simple controls on the iPad UI.” AAM Atlona AV IT 6

 

Managed Services

Velocity will also be used on the AVaaS layer for monitoring purposes, according to Joshua Dinneen, president of digital transformation, Greenpages. “We’re tapping in at moments to make corrections specific to the device that is reporting trouble,”said Dinneen. “We can fix most issues remotely, though we’ll open a ticket with the manufacturer if there is a known bug or an operational issue that prevents us from creating a workaround. Once we have a remediation plan from the manufacturer, we add it to the knowledge base and can repeat those fixes as necessary.”

Along with the new opportunities that come with migrating AV systems to the network, organizations also have an easy way to outsource operation and maintenance elements to a service provider. AAM’s decision to outsource to Greenpages removes the responsibility of systems management and troubleshooting from internal staff.

To generate real business value from the AV/IT convergence, solution providers should pay close attention to the recent history of the IT industry. We think that the AAM project offers a strong blueprint to build from as the AV industry heads further in this direction - Nick Melin, president of AV/IT consulting firm AudioLogic  

Melin adds that the AAM project ideally represents where the industry is headed, and the value that a combined integration and managed service strategy can bring to the end user environment.

The professional concluded: “To generate real business value from the AV/IT convergence, solution providers should pay close attention to the recent history of the IT industry, where open standards, automated deployments, and continuous improvement are now table stakes for the leading organizations. We think that the AAM project offers a strong blueprint to build from as the AV industry heads further in this direction.”

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