Sametime Meetings server - FAQ

What are the system requirements?

Docker on Linux is the supported and recommended platform. Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server have all been tested. Although its unsupported, you can install the meeting server on Windows or Mac OS if you want to try it out. Be aware, there are limitations around recording on non-Linux platforms. For more information on system requirements, see HCL Sametime 11.0 FP2 and HCL Sametime Meetings Pre-Release 11.5 System Requirements.

Should I use Docker commands or Kubernetes to install and manage containers. Is one better than the other?

Docker and Kubernetes have different goals and outcomes the decision should depend on your end goal. Docker is about containerization, Kubernetes is about container orchestration. The Docker containers are the building blocks. A small deployment has the bare minimum number of containers to produce a solution that allows users to collaborate, but without scalability, load balancing, etc. If you are deploying for a small group and do not require scalability, Docker is a simple solution. Kubernetes builds on the base containers and allows them to load balance across multiple physical or virtual hosts, even bringing up and tearing down new hosts to deal with load variance. Kubernetes is recommended if you are deploying Sametime meetings for your entire organization.

How many servers do I need to deploy Sametime 11.5 meetings?

Sametime meetings require the Sametime 11.0 FP2 Community server. Aside from Community services, a minimum of one server is required if you are implementing a Docker/Docker-compose deployment. The resources (CPU, Memory) of the machine will dictate how many active meetings can be hosted.

With a Kubernetes deployment, a minimum of two physical or virtual machines are needed. Kubernetes requires what is known as a master node and atleast one worker node. While it is possible in a lab or development environment for a single node to be both master and worker, it is not recommended due to special constraints that the master requires in order to perform ongoing housekeeping. If the work-load impacts this housekeeping, then access to and orchestration of the application will likely fail.

For Sametime 11.5 meetings, a Kubernetes deployment can consist of specialized node types for the video bridge and the meeting recorder. The meeting recorder(s) can be small VMs, dynamically added to the cluster, as needed for recording. A dedicated recorder is required for a given meeting recording session. Kubernetes can be deployed in such a way as to minimize a set of idle recorders in case someone in a meeting of a lightly loaded system decides to start recording. When deployed in this way, a "horizontal pod autoscaler" will monitor the availability of idle recorders and add new ones to the cluster in order to maintain a desired level of availability (up to a configured maximum). Similarly, video bridges can scale out based on a target CPU utilization, with more and larger meetings requiring higher CPU, the horizontal pod autoscaler will cause new nodes to be added to the cluster in order to try to meet that CPU target. Once a meeting is active on a given video node, it will not move, but new meetings started will be distributed to newly available nodes in an effort to balance the load. For the v11.5 release, there is no additional load or region balancing above that of the video bridge. The web front end is a single entry point. With a higher level load balancer, it is possible to distribute load among multiple Kubernetes deployments, but this capability is not inherently in the product at the time of writing.

Is the Media Server separate from Sametime 11.5 Meetings?

No, the video bridge is part of the meeting server. For a single node deployment, it is on the same machine. For a multi-node Kubernetes deployment, you can target specific nodes for video work-load and scale those nodes as needed.

Do Sametime 11.5 Meetings support high availability?

High availability is supported for the front end web traffic to the Kubernetes cluster. For more information, see Sametime Meetings.

How many concurrent users does the Sametime 11.5 meeting server support?

This depends on the size of the deployment. HCL will be publishing more information soon.

Can I use the Sametime meeting plug-in embedded in the Notes Client to connect to a Sametime 11.5 Pre-release Meeting Server ?

The meeting plugin was deprecated in Notes version 11 with the introduction of the External Meeting Provider feature in the Sametime embedded and stand-alone clients.

Does the meeting server support anonymous users?

Users are allowed to join as guests if the server is configured to allow it. A guest user must provide a display name.

Which authentication methods are supported?

All authentication requests are handled by the Sametime Community server, thus any supported authentication model that is configured on the Community server works for the Meeting server.

Is LDAP required or can I use the Domino directory?

Any directory configuration supported by Sametime Community server is supported.

Can I upgrade from an earlier version of Sametime Meetings?

No, Sametime 11.5 meetings are installed new and there is no data to migrate from the older server version.

Can I migrate my Sametime 9.0.1 meeting data to the Sametime 11.5 meeting server?

No. There is no slide share or file share tool in the new meeting server. There is no data that needs to be migrated.

Will my old Sametime meeting URLs work on the new server?

Legacy meeting URLs are expected to work. The migration to the new server can be handled by a DNS change from the old host name to the new host name. After the DNS change, users can continue to use the original meeting URLs in calender entries to join meetings. The new server does not support the legacy meeting client plug-in in the Sametime client, so users must join by URL.

Can I pass moderator to another user?

Within most meetings, the moderator role is available to any authenticated user who has the meetingsEnabled policy enabled. There is the concept of a personal meeting which is provisioned for each user by the Sametime Proxy as a function of the user logging in to Sametime Chat. This personal meeting is owned by only one person and only that person has the moderator role within that meeting. There is currently no way to pass moderator control with that personal meeting. Any other meeting allows moderator control to any authenticated user with the meetingsEnabled policy.

Can I disable the audio and video options?

No.

Does the Sametime 11.5 meeting server have the same features as the 9.0.1 meeting server?

No.

Can I integrate my telephony system with the Sametime 11.5 meeting server?

Yes.

Is there Community presence/awareness in Sametime 11.5 meetings?

No, but the Sametime Community chat is an integral part of the solution.

Can I install Sametime 11.5 Meetings on the Community Server?

If you have docker on the same host, then you can run meetings on it. You know your own load expectations and as long as you are comfortable with the performance of the system, there is no reason to physically separate the applications. It is the same with the Sametime Proxy.

Is there a Sametime Meetings app or client?

There is a mobile client for both iOS and Android. At this time, we don't yet have a desktop client. The meeting join experience on a desktop is browser only.

Which ports are used by the Sametime 11.5 Meeting server?

Users connect to the meeting server on port 443, Kubernetes deployments use UDP 30000 and Docker deployments use UDP 10000. These ports must be open bidirectionally on any firewalls separating the users from the server.