Mohammad Reza Kazemzadeh

D.Khaleghi
Research Methodology and Presentation(RMP)
January 4, 2016

Conference Management System

ABSTRACT
A conference management system (CMS) is becoming most powerful
event manager for handling the international conferences. Several web
based conference management systems have been developed in the
paradigm
of
open
source,
which are used by most of the universities and colleges. All the conference
management systems were built on webservers. The organizing process
consists of very time consuming and full of paper work for event handling
such as Call for papers, submission of papers by authors, review process,
registration process of author and general participants. So an easy to use
framework of conference management system is needed to cater the
need
of
the
non-technical
people.
The
developed model is easy to handle and automates the process of the
events one after the other without intervention of the editor, reviewer and
author for developing ready to publish research papers for any
organization.
In this paper in addition of the introduction of the types of conference
management system and comparison of different types of conference
management system, the Best one will be introduced and Finally, its
usage in synchrotron also be mentioned.

Keywords
Conference Management System, Synchrotron, Indico, Framework, Desy,
APS, Cern

Definition
A conference management system (COMS) is web-based software "
that supports the organization of conferences especially scientific
conferences. It helps the program chair(s), the conference organizers, the
.authors and the reviewers in their respective activities

A conference management system can be regarded as a domain-specific

content management system. Similar systems are used today by editors
1
".of scientific journals

overview of the functionalities of the system

Delegate registration, billing and handling of payments

"The conference registration module supports comprehensive

registration form/s, automatic invoicing, the collection of
online payments by credit card, bookkeeping, related email
communications and data exports.

Auxiliary items such as conference dinner, excursions,

workshops, etc. can be booked together with the event
registration or later. Quotas can be applied.

Separate early bird/regular/last minute pricing is possible;

discount codes are supported. The upload of supporting
documents (student cards, membership cards, etc.) is
supported.

Although the system keeps track of all transactions, payments

are collected directly into the organizer's merchant account COMS has no access to the funds or bank details of the
delegates.

COMS interfaces 'out of the box' with some of the most

common online payment systems such as PayPal, TransFirst,
CM-CIC, Nets Netaxept, Paybox, PayGate, Mercanet,
Webaffaires. Other systems are integrated on demand."2

Usage and conditions

Usage and payment for the system is on a per-conference basis.

An installation can be set up on short notice and will be immediately

ready to configure and use.
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An installation can be set up well in advance at no extra cost, to

allow ample time for familiarization, careful configuration and
planning; it can stay online for up to a year after the event.

Returning customers can ask to have the configuration and the useraccounts of a previous event restored.

Support is offered by email and phone during normal office hours

(Austrian time).

Where necessary, custom modification to the system can be made

at very competitive prices.

Overview of Conference Management System's Features

Can Be Deployed
Features for any system user

"register with the system, create a user account

retrieve lost passwords

change the interface language (if COMS is configured in multilingual

mode)

review and maintain personal data

book items (conference registration, workshops, accommodation, etc.)

view the status of booked items

pay conference fees online or offline

view the payment status

view and print an invoice, bill or receipt of payment

submit a conference paper and thereby become an author

conduct duties as assigned by the Chair (Administrator, Editor,

Reviewer)"3

Features for the Chair and the Administrators

"configure all system features

enable one or several of the interface languages (monolingual or

multilingual mode)

set time windows for registration, paper submission, peer reviewing,

etc.

nominate assistants (Administrator, Editor, Reviewer)

configure the welcome page, post current news

configure templates for automatic confirmation emails

communicate by bulk email with pre-determined groups of users

view the log-file of all sent bulk email

view and edit the details of all participants

create new user accounts

delete existing user accounts

view and change the booked items of any participant

view and change the payment status of any participant

view, edit or delete any submitted abstract

download the files of submitted papers by FTP

create and view administrative notes for any participant that are not
visible to participants

assign tasks to editors manually or automatically

view the results of the reviewers' bidding for papers

assign tasks to reviewers manually or automatically (optionally based

on a bidding process)

view statistics about participants and paper submissions

track progress of the assigned edit and review tasks

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select or reject papers manually or automatically, based on the results

of peer reviews

assign presentation types (oral, poster, etc.) to accepted papers

distribute accepted papers over conference sessions

create a draft of the book of abstracts automatically

export database contents in different formats for use with other

applications"3

Features for Reviewers

"view all submitted papers

bid for papers (state preferences which papers one would like/not like
to work on)

view details of authors (unless blind reviewing is in force)

view list of assignments, filter and sort by several criterions

conduct reviews

view who else is assigned to review a given paper

view the appraisals by other reviewers

receive reminders and other bulk email messages from the Chair that
are specifically targeted at Reviewers"3

Features for Editors

"view list of assignments, filter and sort by several criterions

view and edit details of authors

view and edit details of submissions

receive reminders and other bulk email messages from the Chair that
are specifically targeted at Editors"3

Features for Authors

"submit conference contributions

view submissions and edit them online

withdraw submissions

upload files of formatted papers

replace uploaded files by updated versions

submit keywords with each paper

propose a type of presentation (oral, poster, etc.)

propose the conference session for a presentation

view the results of peer reviewing

receive reminders and other bulk email messages from the Chair that
are specifically targeted at Authors"3

COMS performance features

"runs on dedicated servers

handles 1000+ paper submissions

all lists that can potentially be long can be filtered, sorted and
displayed in small chunks

multilingual user interface: English, German, French" 3

Further Details About the System

A hosted system
"The software runs on COMS' servers (located in Germany) and is
fully administrated by COMS staff. Delegates and organizers only
need Internet access and a web browser in order to use COMS.
Organizers do not need IT support or IT skills of their own."4

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Simplicity of use
"COMS is designed to be as non-invasive as possible: it runs equally
well on all major browsers, avoids the use of cookies, Flash and
other features that may require users to adjust their browser
settings."4

Large conferences
"COMS has been designed to handle large events with thousands of
delegates and submissions."4

Multilanguage support
"COMS installations are ready to use in English, German and French.
Any combination of these languages can be used for an event. If
more than one language is selected, the system remembers the
user's preferred language. It is possible to add another language,
including non-European languages, provided a translation is
supplied by the organizers."4

Role based access control (RBAC)

"Access to all features of the system is controlled by a set of
permissions which are allocated on the basis of a user's roles at the
conference: authors and delegates have no access to the
administrative side of the system; conference organizers have
access to all administrative tasks and data; reviewers, editors and
accountants have access to the tasks and data that are relevant to
their role. On request, these permissions can be modified to fit the
specific needs of an event, by extending or restricting access to
specific tasks."4

Editing of any text

"All the texts displayed on a COMS installation can be edited by
organizers, allowing them to adapt or rephrase any of the headings,
explanations and instruction texts."4

System Reliability
"COMS servers are located at a professional data center in Germany
with 24/7 technical support. In all past years the server uptime was
over 99.5% per year."4

Backups
"Backups are made automatically to a dedicated backup server. On
request, backups can be made available on the FTP server for
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download by organizers who wish to keep their own archival

copies."4

An Architecture of the conference management system

Architecture of the conference management system5

Proposed Framework
"The old fashioned ways in organizing a conference will cost and consume
a lot of precious time and effort. For this reason, technical support tools
and components are integrated to cope with the problems."6
"Basically, the system developed consists of three layers, Conference
Management Dashboard, Conference Management Platform (operation),
and the database layer. There are five stakeholders for the system,
namely the system administrator, conference administrator, participant,
presenter and reviewer. The Conference Management Dashboard is
managed by System Administrator to monitor the performance/status of
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International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887) Volume 34 No.3, page-54 5
,November 2011

all registered conference in the portal. The operation of the Conference

Management System consists of several modules which are the
participant registration, paper management, paper review manager,
messaging module."6
1.1 Paper Submission Process
"For the paper submission process, apache common file upload
component is used to ease the process. This uploading tool allows the
presenters to submit their papers electronically with just a few mouse
clicks. Apart from that, the papers uploaded by presenter will be kept in a
file directory that facilitate the paper management and reduce the
possibility of paper lost. A search engine is built-in in order to reduce the
time taken in the searching paper or document process."6
1.2 Notification Process
"Conference Administrator uses the messaging module to notify the
presenters about the papers acceptance decision. Other than that, the
messaging module will be integrated with SMS to provide e-mail to short
messaging. This SMS function is to ensure that the participants and
reviewers are always updated with the conference information."6
1.3 Paper Assignment Process
"Paper assignment is proposed to assign the papers submitted to
reviewers."6
1.4 Paper Reviewing Process
"The system developed allows reviewers to download and grade the
papers assigned to them. Besides that, multiple files download function
also included to assist Conference Administrator in downloading all the
papers submitted."6
1.5 Conference Customization
"Content Management System (CMS) is integrated in order to assist the
conference organizer to customize the conference website. This CMS allow
the conference organizer to manage the creation, modification, and
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removal of content from a Web site without needing the expertise of a

Webmaster."6

conference management systems

EasyChair

"Easychair is a free conference management system that is flexible,

easy to use, and has many features to make it suitable for various
conference models, it is currently probably the most commonly used
conference management system."7

Benefits
EasyChair was designed to help conference organizers to cope with the "
complexity of the refereeing process. The current version supports
1. management and monitoring of the program committee;
2. sophisticated and flexible management of the access of PC
members and referees to papers and conflicts of interests;
3. automatic paper submission;
4. paper assignment based on the preferences of PC members;
5. list of the latest events;
6. submission of reviews;
7. sending email to PC members, referees and authors;
8. monitoring email;
9. online discussion of papers;
10.
the author response (aka rebuttal) phase, when the author
can respond to the reviews;
11.

preparation of conference proceedings

12.

generation and publishing of conference program

13.

generation of conference broshures with program

Computer and Information Science, "Framework for Conference ,2009 6
Management System", Vol.2 No.1, Page 91
10

14.

conference program and proceedings on flash drives"7

EasyChair has been used for :

1. evaluating project proposals
2. teaching students paper writing and peer reviewing
3. teaching HCI students
4. generating program Web pages for very large conferences

Supported Model
.Currently, EasyChair supports two models "
1. The standard model is intended for conferences having a single
program committee. The papers are distributed among PC
members, normally based on their preferences.
2. The multi-track version is for conferences having multiple tracks.
Each track has its own program committee and one of more track
chairs. This model requires a "superchair" to monitor or supervise
the work of the tracks." 7

Prices
Prices for all non-free licenses are based on the number of submissions
and are summarized in the following table. All prices are in Pounds sterling
(GBP).
submission
s

0-50

50100

101150

151200

201300

301400

401500

each 100
submission
s over 500

profession
al

75.00

115.0
0

150.0
0

190.0
0

265.0
0

340.0
0

400.0
0

60.00

executive

150.0
0

225.0
0

300.0
0

375.0
0

525.0
0

675.0
0

795.0
0

120.00

For More Information About Easychair's Licenses Go to the:

http://www.easychair.org/licenses.cgi
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OpenConf

"Peer-Review, Abstract and Conference Management. Known for its

ease of use and clean interface, OpenConf has powered thousands of
events in over 100 countries."8

Features

"create a conference Web site

compose and send a call for papers

electronically accept paper and abstract submissions

allow paper submitters to edit their work

post conference proceedings and papers in a searchable format

post, if you wish, the original data sets

register participants

integrate post-conference online discussions"8

Openconf License 's Prices

On own Server: "An OpenConf License permits you to install
and run one instance of the software for the licensed event/year.
During the support period only, you will be able to receive new
submissions and have access to technical support. Recurring (e.g.,
annual) events and multiple installations will each require a
separate license.

Plus

Professional

Standard License: US$250

Standard License:
US$700

Branding-Free License*:
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Branding-Free
License*: US$1000

US$450

*Submissions: unlimited

*Submissions: unlimited
Year of Support: included -1
Years of Support: +$150-2

Year of Support: -1
included
Years of Support: +-2
$400

On Company Server: The OpenConf Hosting Service lets you

focus on organizing the best event possible, while we administer the
software. This software-as-a-service solution provides you with the
OpenConf Professional Edition software hosted in a state-of-the-art
data center. You still manage the various OpenConf options, and we
handle installation, patches, and backups. A separate hosting
instance is required for each event/year."8

Professional
Base Price:
US$600 per year
includes 100 submissions, 10GB storage,
secure (SSL) connection, and support8

Open Conference Systems (OCS) s a free Web publishing tool that

will create a complete Web presence for your scholarly conference.

COMS s a Technical Conference management system. It provides a

web interface for managing a conference. Some of the brief facilities
include submission of papers by authors, reviewing those paper by
reviewers and conference supervision by the chair.

Conference Information System Stuttgart (ConfISS) is a conference

management system to host conferences. It helps conference
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chairmen to administrate their conferences, reviewers to write their

reviews and authors to easily submit their papers.

E-Conference is a simple web based management system for

student conferences. Used only for learning, the project is a
Multilanguage system that offers an online office for the people
involved in the conference.

YACOMAS (Yet another conference management system).

Conference management system written in PHP and MySQL.

Appearance
"This project started because the organization of the Festival
GNU/Linux y Software Libre needed a conference management
system, simple, and ease to install and use. It is licensed under the
GNU GPL v2.0
YaCOMAS is capable of managing the flow of information that a
conference needs to function. Starting with registration of speakers,
registration of proposals of speeches and workshops. Evaluation of
these proposals by the admins. Registration of participants, modify
and delete the dates, and places to do workshops or conferences
inside of the conference. Registration and control of proposals with
status of Accepted in specific places and dates. Registration and
control of the participants to the conference, registrations made by
each person to participate in specific workshops."9

Requirements
PHP 4.1.x/5.x http://php.net
MySQL 3.x/4.x/5.x http://mysql.com
Mail PEAR http://pear.php.net9

WCMT is a PHP-MySQL based tool for the management of scientific

conferences and congresses. It allows the convener to manage the
review process of a medium to big sized conference.

"This project aims at the development of a PHP-MySQL based tool for the
management of scientific conferences and congresses. The organizers of
the conference (represented by the convenor) sets up a number of
sessions, where different scientific topics are discussed. The responsibility
of each session is delegated to a session organizer. Reviewers must
ensure the quality of the papers submitted to the conference.
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The Web Conference Management Tool (WCMT) is a groupware tool which

allows conference participants to register and to log in to submit their
papers. Papers uploaded on the website and they are then assigned to the
different sessions, according to their relevance. The session organizer
assigns reviewers to each paper. The reviewers fill in their reviews, thanks
to the WCMT, and the final evaluation is left to the session organizer. In
the meantime, the papers' authors can verify the state of advancement of
the review. When the review is ready, they can read the anonymous
comments and revise the paper as requested.
Finally, a module for the payment of the conference registration is being
prepared.
The software is already being used in two international conferences (iEMSs
2002 http://www.iemss.org/iemss2002 and Modsim2003
http://mssanz.cres.anu.edu.au/modsim2003)
and it can be viewed at:
http://www.iemss.org/wcmt.
The software is written using PHP 4.0 and it relies on MySQL 3.23. It uses
an apache webserver."10

ConfTool Commercial Conference Management Software, but free

version available on request.

"ConfTool is a Web-based event management system developed to

support the organization of academic conferences, workshops, congresses
and seminars.
Two Versions for Different Requirements
VSIS ConfTool

The standard version VSIS ConfTool was designed for smaller events
with up to 150 participants. It is an open/shared-source system available
under different licenses. VSIS ConfTool is geared towards academic
organizers of small, non-commercial events. The system features
only basic functions and is offered without support and for local
.installation only
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ConfTool Pro

The professional version ConfTool Pro has substantially more features,

is more flexible and also suitable for events with many participants,
several contribution types and/or sub-events. ConfTool Pro is offered as a
hosted service with full technical support. The fee depends on the
11
".requirements and the size of your event

Features

"Easy to use

Runs on our servers

Graphical adaptations to the main conference website

Multilingual interface

Compatible with all graphical browsers

Extensive security features

Access management based on user roles

Data import and export functions

Technical support provided

Secure access via https

Automatic regular backups"12

"CMT (Microsofts Academic Conference Management Service, free

for academia)."13
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The Conference Management Toolkit (CMT) is a

management service sponsored by Microsoft Research.

free

conference

"CMT is capable of handling the complex workflow of an academic

conference including:

Multiple roles such as Program Chair, Reviewer, Meta Reviewers

(commonly referred to as area chairs) Author, Proceedings Editor

Customizable paper submission, reviewer, meta reviewer and author

feedback forms

Abstract and paper submission, supplementary material

Invitations to and management of reviewers (program committee)

Management of conflicts of interest

Reviewer bidding and preferences

Suggestion of candidates for reviewing by area chairs

Automatic and manual assignment of papers to reviewers

Review submission

Threaded discussions and online Program Committee meeting

Author notification

Camera-ready paper submission

Integration with IEEE eCF service to manage electronic copyrights

for IEEE conferences for accepted papers

Creation of sessions for accepted papers

Uploading slide decks for paper presentation

Interoperation with archival systems (Arxiv)"14

"CMT provides rich support to the Program Committee chairs for

managing the conference workflow including customization of conference
properties e.g., multiple tracks, deadlines, author submission and reviewer
forms, double-blind reviewing, allowing authors to mark conflicts of
17

interest with reviewers, use of external reviewers and meta reviewers.

CMT also provides filtering, sorting and aggregation functionality as well
as emailing capability to authors and reviewers that makes it easy to
handle conferences with a large number of reviewers and submissions.
CMT's extensive auditing capabilities allow Program Committee Chairs to
track accesses to conference data. CMT enables the Program Committee
chairs to easily bulk-import data as well as bulk-export conference data
and reports in popular formats such as XML and Excel.
CMT is a free and hosted service, and its functionalities are fully
accessible through web based interfaces. CMT is built using Microsoft
technologies including Windows Server, ASP.Net, Internet Information
Server (IIS) and SQL Server. The interfaces support a wide range of
browsers on multiple platforms. "14

Chairman

Confiou
s

CyberCha
ir

ConfMa
n

Function

Participant

n of
ng
rence

Registratio
n
Y

Paper
Submission

Paper

nt
m

Assignmen
t
Y

Comp
ariso
existi
Confe
Mana
geme
Syste

Bidding
Process
Y

Paper
Downloadi
ng

Y
Y

Y
Y
Conference
Management
Dashboard
Y

Paper
Reviewing

Notification
Process

Y
Finance System
Program Sched
Attendance System
Paper
Manag
Publish
uler
ement
ing
Integra
tedReview
Messa
ging
Paper
Particip
ant Regist
Manage
r Custom
ration
ization and
Y
Y
System

Online PC
meeting
Setup
Phase

Portal Registration,

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Centralized Database

System Framework

Conference Management System in Synchrotron

A few of the most important synchrotrons around the

world
CERN
"CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the
worlds largest and most respected centers for scientific research. Its area
of research is fundamental physics to discover the fundamental building
blocks of the Universe and what forces act upon them. At CERN, the
worlds largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study
the basic constituents of matter the fundamental particles. By studying
what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn more about
the laws of Nature.
Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the FrancoSwiss
border near Geneva. It was one of Europes first joint ventures and now
has 20 Member States. Currently, CERN employs around 2500 people, but
some 8000 visiting scientists, half of the worlds particle physicists, come

19

to CERN for their research. They represent 580 universities and 85

nationalities."15

DESY
"The Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (English German Electron
Synchrotron) commonly referred to by the abbreviation DESY, is a
national research center in Germany that operates particle accelerators
used to investigate the structure of matter. It conducts a broad spectrum
of inter-disciplinary scientific research in three main areas: particle and
high energy physics; photon science; and the development, construction
and operation of particle accelerators. Its name refers to its first project,
an electron synchrotron. DESY is publicly financed by the Federal Republic
of Germany, the States of Germany, and the German Research Foundation
(DFG).
DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association and operates at sites in
16
".Hamburg and Zeuthen

Conference Management System Used in Synchrotron

InDiCo @ Desy
?What is InDiCo
Integrated Digital Conference - is a web browser based tool to manage "
conferences, meetings and lectures. With Indico conference webpages can
be quickly configured in the web browser and right after the setup, they
are available as web presence for the participants. According to
requirements participants can enrol, load up and down abstracts and
much more. With a little practice a conference is created in about 30-60
.minutes
Indico has been developed in the scope of an EU supported project at the
International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA/ISAS). The main
adoption of Indico at the moment is at CERN in Geneva."17

Conference management with Indico at DESY

Also at DESY it exists a large interest in a tool to organize and manage "
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conferences, meetings and lectures. Within the scope of ILC-activities CDS

Agenda is used. It will not be developed and supported anymore from
CERN for the benefit of Indico; therefor at present Indico is the only
.useable aspirant for managing conferences
After six months of testing Indico by the organization of more than 20
events in this pilot phase, Indico now is a productive system at DESY since
June 2006 and available over Indico.desy.de ."17

Features
"Indico provides features for the management of the entire conference
lifecycle, as well as for meetings and single lectures:

Tree-like structure, organized into categories. Each category may

either contain other categories, or contain simple events.

Automatic web page creation for the events.

Event evaluation surveys.

Automatic notifications (i.e., automatically remembering all the

participants in a meeting that it will take place today);

For Conferences:
o Registration form customization.
o On-line payment support.
o Abstract submission and reviewing.
o Paper submission and reviewing.

Besides these basic features, Indico provides as well:

o An integrated room booking system, extensible, and currently
in use at CERN (replacing the old CERN Room Booking
System).
o Integrated support for videoconferencing software (i.e.
VRVS11).
o Exportation of information in different formats: RSS feeds, iCal
and MARCXML, for instance.
21

o Multilingual interface (internationalization).

o Support for different time zones.
o Accessible and usable interface."17

Technical Details

main development platform: Python

runs on an Apache web application server using the Python module

(mod_python)

Uses the Zope Object Database (ZODB) for storing conferences

metadata
Object Oriented database implemented in Python

The submitted files and archives are directly stored on the servers
file system

HTML 4.0
XML + XSLt for timetable generation

Interfaces:
Web, OAI (Open Archive Initiative) protocol for metadata
harvesting
Tested on Windows, linux

InDiCo is distributed under the GNU General Public License

and is fully open source

Requirements
In order to implement the Indico solution, a server must be
purchased to run the software. A support structure should exist for
the server hardware and operating system. There should also be a
general support structure for the Indico software and its parts.

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Design
The server will be configured with Windows 2003 Standard SP1 and
the latest MS patches. Antivirus software and SMS agent will also be
installed. The Indico server will talk to the central Antivirus server to
obtain definition updates.
The Indico software and components are installed according to the
documentation created by Cern. Install questions will be forwarded
to the Cern Indico tech support mailing list for resolution.

Hardware
:PC"

minimum: PIV 1.6GHz with 1GB ram and 128MB Video Memory

recommended: Core 2 Duo 2GHz; 2Gb RAM; 40 Mb free space

on HDD
:Mac

minimum: Mac with Intel Processor; Mac OS X Leopard 10.5

or higher; 2GB RAM; 30MB hard drive space
latest Firefox/Safari and Apple software updates

:Mobile

minimum Android v3.0 OR iOS v4.x ARM Cortex A9 1Ghz dualcore Processor 512 MB RAM; Recommended devices: iPAD2,
Motorola Xoom, Motorola Atrix and iPhone4

:Server
A Dell server (2650) is required for implementation of the
Indico product.

Bandwidth Requirements

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The minimal bandwidth needed to use the service from the Video
client is 128 kbps upstream/downstream"18

Software
Indico is a software package developed by Cern. It is available free of
charge. In order for Indico to run it requires some back end open source
programs, ZODB, Python, Mod Python, Report Lab and Apache. ZODB
handles the database for Indico and Apache is the web server.

Supported Clients by InDiCo

VideoDesktop Client
Windows

Mac OS X
Linux

Mobile Clients

Android-based devices

iOS devices (iPhones and iPads)

H.323/SIP terminals (Tandberg, Polycom, Radvision, Linphone)

Phones

Cost
The hardware required for Indico is a Dell 2650 server with
redundant disk and power supplies. 3 years of hardware
maintenance is included in price.
There is no cost for the Indico software. Since Indico and its
components are open source, support basically consists of several
mailing lists.

http://information-technology.web.cern.ch/services/fe/vidyo 1/2/2016 12:30:06 18

AM
24

Hardware

Cost

Quantity

Dell 2650 Server

5000

Installation guide
For More Information about Installation of Indico go to this Link:
http://indico.readthedocs.org/en/latest/installation/

Software architecture
Video Conferencing Services at APS

25

"The Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energys

Argonne National Laboratory provides ultra-bright, high-energy storage
ring-generated x-ray beams for research in almost all scientific disciplines.

These x-rays allow scientists to pursue new knowledge about the structure
and function of materials in the center of the Earth, in outer space, and all
points in between. The knowledge gained from this research is impacting
the evolution of combustion engines and microcircuits, aiding in the
development of new pharmaceuticals, and pioneering nanotechnologies
whose scale is measured in billionths of a meter, to name just a few
examples. These studies promise to have far-reaching impact on our
technology, economy, health, and our fundamental knowledge of the
materials that make up our world.
The APS electron accelerator and storage system are the first critical steps
in producing the high-energy x-rays that are used for frontier research."19
The mission of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) is to deliver world-class
science and technology by operating an outstanding synchrotron radiation
research facility accessible to a broad spectrum of researchers.

Conference Management Service at APS:

"There are two primary video conferencing services available at APS:
BlueJeans and Polycom. The Polycom systems are generally dedicated for
conference room to conference room communication - essentially, one
Polycom system will connect to another. Bluejeans, on the other hand,
provided the ability for individual users to remotely connect in to a video
https://www1.aps.anl.gov/About/Overview 1/5/2016 12:00:59 PM 19
26

conference with no special equipment beyond a computer and headset

microphone. The drawback is that BlueJeans does not have dedicated
calibrated equipment. Fortunately, BlueJeans does have the ability to
bridge to a Polycom system."20
Features
Video Conferencing
Audio Conferencing
H.323
Screen Projection

Codec

# Monitors

Seating Capacity

Portable
System

401 Facilities
2100
Yes
Yes
Yes

3100B
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes

Yes

Polycom
Realpresence
Group 500

Polycom
VSX7000

5100B
Yes
Yes
Yes
SmartBoard
+Video Projector

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Polycom HDX

Polycom
VSX7000

20

10

20

15

APS Video Conference Facilities21

Polycom Video Conferencing at APS
Overview
Polycom is a multinational corporation that develops video, voice and
content collaboration and communication technology. The firm employs
approximately 3,800 employees and had annual revenues of
approximately $1.4 billion in 2013. It is the

"largest pure-play collaboration company in its industry. The company also

licenses: H.264 video codecs, Siren codecs, session initiation protocol,
native 1080p high-definition cameras and displays, native 720p and
https://www1.aps.anl.gov/Information-Technology/Communications/Video- 20
Conference 1/2/2016 8:48:48 PM
https://www1.aps.anl.gov/Information-Technology/Communications/Video- 21
Conference 1/2/2016 9:51:22 PM
27

1080p high-definition encoding/decoding, low-latency architecture and low

bandwidth utilization, wideband advanced audio coding with low delay
(AAC-LD), multichannel spatial audio with echo cancellation and
interference filters to

eliminate feedback from mobile devices, and inter-operation with legacy

video conferencing."22
"APS has three fixed location Polycom video conferencing systems located
in Building 401, room B2100, Room 3100B and B5100A and one portable
system which can be used anywhere there is an APS network jack
connected to the videoconferencing subnet 164.54.57. Any jack can be
connected to this subnet by IT.
Room 2100 is a Polycom Real presence Group 500 system
(apsvc4.aps.anl.gov 164.54.57.73)
Room 5100 is a Polycom HDX system (apsvc1.aps.anl.gov 164.54.57.70)
Room 3100B is a Polycom VSX7000 (apsvc2.aps.anl.gov 164.54.57.71)
The portable system is a Polycom VSX7000 (apsvc3.aps.anl.gov
164.54.57.72)"23

MultiPoint Videoconferencing Service

APS systems belong to the ESnet Collaboration Scheduling Service for
Video and Audio Conferences. ESnet'sServiceprovides multi-site video
conferencing via TCP/IP with Web-based scheduling and resource
.management
/See: http://www.ecs.es.net

Equipment and Technology

Video
The 401 systems have two large video monitors and usually display the
local audience as well as the remote audience. The portable system has
one large video monitor. Each of the cameras is a high-quality model with
remote control pan and zoom features. All systems have an automated
tracking camera which is able to track the presenter's movement
intelligently and permits eye-to-eye conversations throughout the
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycom 1/2/2016 10:14:37 PM 22
https://www1.aps.anl.gov/Information-Technology/Communications/Video- 23
Conference 1/2/2016 10:06:46 PM
28

videoconferencing.

Audio
The systems come with a microphone designed to work best with a small
group of people.

SmartBoard
There is a SMART Board available in B2100 This is an interactive whiteboard
which can save your notes to a computer and control your PC applications
directly from the Board's large, touch sensitive surface.
See: http://www.smarttech.com/

For Polycom Prices Go to these Links:

http://www.videoconferencingsupply.com/Polycom-HDX-6000-s/660.htm
http://www.exertisgoconnect.nl/products/images/files/pricelist_polycom.pdf

Blue Jeans Videoconferencing Service

"Blue Jeans Network (BJN) provides a cloud-based audio/video/content
sharing conferencing service. The service is vendor-agnostic and allows up
to 100 endpoints to connect for a meeting. An endpoint can be a room
telepresence system, laptop, tablet, smartphone or standard telephone
(audio-only connection). It supports high-resolution videoconferencing
(720p); high-resolution content sharing (up to 1080p); and real time video
sharing. Live chat is available during meetings and meetings can be
recorded. End-to-end encrypted meetings are available."24

Product Details

Starting Price
$199.00/month/user

Deployment
Web Based

Support
24/7 (Live Rep)

29

Features
"Self-service scheduling, collaboration and conference moderation provide
flexibility, while conferencing support by Blue Jeans ensures that the
meeting runs smoothly. Attendees can join your high-definition event
using almost any business or consumer video room system or application.
Blue Jeans audio/video conferencing supports the following:

Join meetings from standards based (SIP and H.323) room systems
including Cisco, Polycom and LifeSize

Join meetings from browser, iPhone and Android based mobile

device

Up to 100 internal or external video meeting participants

Video conference recording capability with unlimited cloud-based

storage

Blue Jeans video conferencing features include:

Advanced screen layout controls

HD video up to 720p (camera-dependent)

Screen sharing for presentations and collaboration"24

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Management of authors, reviewers and general participants is a very
difficult task because of the participation of the authors / general
participant from Anywhere as well as from abroad. The developed system
helps the organizer to manage resources for all these participants and
also reduces the paper work, time. Further it provides the facility of
archiving the data for future use.
Saving of time and paper work in terms of by putting conference
registration online saves time of organizer. Saving of paper work by noting
down information of each user like their name, city, place etc. With the
help of conference management system organizer can get the prints of
data of registered author cum participant, reviewers, and general
https://uit.stanford.edu/service/videoconference/bluejeans 1/2/2016 10:32:58 24
PM
30

participants from database. Organizer or admin can add information

related to upcoming conferences of universities it helps the organizer to
arrange conference in short time, and user by entering address into
address bar can see the schedule of conference. Conference Management
System provides facility like Upload paper, Inform about acceptance of
paper, Book guest room, Registration Cancellation. Authors can upload
paper online and also receives reviews from experts; conference
management system not only save time of organizer and also saves time
of registered users, users can upload paper online thereby no need to
send paper through courier or post. Admin can see the paper by signing in
to the system and inform the different user about acceptance of the
papers.
The conference management system is designed to manage conferences
and its software allows authors to upload research papers or any other
publishing material on server and its software provides the functionality to
the reviewers to add reviews for correction in the papers by the author.
The role of editor is reduced to the extent that editor selects the reviewer
from the list of experts according to expert area and subject area of paper,
and then editor can take decision after considering reviews about the
acceptance/rejection of papers.
Many softwares have been developed in conjunction with the conference
management system. That some of them have come in the context of the
paper, according to the description given on the softwares for conference
management system and comparisons between them, Indico is one of the
software that in addition to being world's best conference management
system have many usages in the process of synchrotron and Desy One of
the most important synchrotron in the world uses it.

References
[1] www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_management_system
[2] November 2011, international Journal of Computer Applications (0975
8887) Volume 34 No.3, page-54
[3] 2009, Computer and Information Science, "Framework for Conference
Management System", Vol.2 No.1, Page 91
[4] All Information About Easychair are available at : www.easychair.org
[5] All Information About Openconf System are available at :
www.openconf.com
[6] http://yacomas.sourceforge.net/
http://wcmt.sourceforge.net/ [7]

31

[8] http://www.conftool.net/en.html
http://www.conftool.net/en/features.html [9]
[10] http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Conference_management_software
[11] http://cmt.research.microsoft.com/cmt/
[12] https://uit.stanford.edu/service/videoconference/bluejeans
[13] https://www1.aps.anl.gov/InformationTechnology/Communications/Video-Conference
[14] www.conference-service.com/conference-support/conference-managementsystem.html

[15] http://indico.readthedocs.org/en/latest/installation/

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