Livespaces
Hardware Installation Manual
The hardware installation manual provides a guide on what hardware is required to build a LiveSpace, and describes how to install/assemble this hardware.
The initial stages of the hardware installation process (Requirements Specification and Hardware Requisition) will require use of the Hardware Specification spreadsheet, so save a local copy of the spreadsheet to work on.
Requirements Specification
Use the Form worksheet of the Hardware Specification spreadsheet to specify the requirements of the LiveSpace. This involves specifying the following parameters:
- Number of group displays - group displays can used by all participants in the room for shared documents, workspaces etc.
- Number of user workstations - depends on the number participants the room is designed for as each participant should have a workstation for personal documents, information etc.
- Number (if any) of ambient displays - ambient displays (usually 21inch LCDs) for information that provides general awareness but doesn't need to be on the large shared displays. Could include content such as remote VTC participants, news feeds, status of room etc.
- Video-Teleconference (VTC) capability - Software VTC provides VTC via IP (connection to remote participants via internet/intranet is required), hardware option provides VTC via IP or ISDN.
- Capture devices - Graphics camera for displaying paper-based documents. Whiteboard capture devices (i.e. eBeam or Mimio) for capturing content (diagrams, sketches etc) from whiteboards.
- Furniture - Chairs and tables. Equipment frame for mounting various devices, routing cabling etc.
Hardware Requisition
Following the requirements specification a list of all the required hardware components will be formulated on the Specification worksheet of the Hardware Specification spreadsheet. This list details what devices, components, cabling etc. is required to construct a LiveSpace instance to fulfill the specified requirements. Recommended Australian suppliers have also been included however these may not be appropriate, especially for overseas installations.
Installation/Assembly
The installation and assembly of a LiveSpace will be fairly dependant on the particular requirements, and the room in which the LiveSpace is to be situated.
The placement of furniture, displays, whiteboards etc. within the room will be specific to the layout of the room itself so some thought and planning will need to go into this for each individual LiveSpace instance. Some examples of possible layouts are shown below.
Particular issues to consider when deciding on a layout include:
- where the group displays will be situated (so that they can be easily viewed and interacted with if they are going to be interactive)
- how the furniture will be positioned to promote ease of collaboration and discussion between participants
- lighting (especially for workstations, whiteboards etc)
- adequate space for movement around room (especially to group displays, whiteboards etc)
When wiring the hardware devices in the LiveSpace the supplied wiring diagrams should provide a general guide as to how to connect the various devices. Due to the generality of these diagrams some alterations may be required due to specific requirements of each LiveSpace (i.e. some components may not be included in all LiveSpace instances). Also, the quantity of devices/components (i.e. projectors) shown on the diagrams may differ in which case any additional devices should be set up in a corresponding fashion to those shown.
A recommended layout of components within the server rack is shown in the server rack diagram. This is just a suggested layout and can be changed to suit particular requirements, especially in the case where other devices may be added to the rack. If altering the server rack layout then the following advice may be helpful.
- Place components with many attached cables (especially VGA cables which are fairly thick, heavy, and not flexible) towards the bottom.
- Place components that are highly connected close to each other. For instance all the display servers (and video splitters) should be close to the audio/video matrix switch.
- Place heavier components as close as possible towards the bottom of the rack.
- Position the KVM at a comfortable height for working on (i.e. typing). This height will depend if the KVM will be used predominantly standing or sitting.