How to Produce an Access Grid Event

Jennifer Teig von Hoffman Boston University & National Computational Science Alliance

Objectives

Types of AG eventsHow to prepare for eventsStaffing recommendations

We’ve got a lot to cover, so please hold questions until the end of each section I’ll ask for questions by show of hands

Primary Reference

Access Grid-in-a-box tutorial, “How to Produce an Access Grid Event: An Elementary Guide for Technical Users” . . . Which in turn refers to

presentations by Lisa Childers of Argonne National Laboratory, Russ Wolf of Boston University, and myself

An Ongoing Process

Today’s seminar will introduce you to general concepts, giving you a good starting place for planning eventsAs technology changes, best practices in planning change 1999 -> the present -> the future

Introductions

Please wave when I say “hello” to your site

Types of Access Grid Events

How “Real Life” Events Translate into Life on the Access Grid

What is an AG Event?

Any occasion for which people get together over the AGEach AG event takes place in a Virtual Venue Virtual Venue = virtual conference room Every event should have a Virtual Venue

reservation (can be made last-minute)

Some Events Are More Complicated Than Others

Not complicated: Staff meeting Chatting with friends and family

Complicated: Multi-site collaboration using virtual

environments International conference

Two General Categories

AG events are often spoken of as “formal” or “informal”In this context, “formal” and “informal” describe types of interactions more than they do apparel, etiquette, or languageThese categories and related guidelines are general – you’ll develop your own strategies for each specific event

What is a Formal Event?

For these purposes, we’ll define a formal event as “an event which requires structured planning”The opposite: An event which requires little if any planning

Examples of Formal Events

SC GlobalPACS Training WorkshopsVirtual Conference on Genomics and Bioinformatics)Demonstration for Governor of Illinois

Examples of Informal Events

Planning meeting with Mary and AriellaU. Australia management meetingsSC Global planning meetingsFirst Annual Access Grid Symposium on Beerology

Is Your Event Formal?

The answer may be obvious, based on the content of the eventOtherwise, consider: Tolerance for interruptions Visibility and potential consequences

of failure Level of technical risk

Can Your Event Tolerate Interruptions?

Ask yourself: could you pause for: Audio adjustments? Loading presentation files? Other unforeseen circumstances?

The larger the number of participating sites, the higher the likelihood of interruptionsIf interruptions would be a problem, consider your event formal

How Visible is Your Event?

Who’s expected to attend? Will success or failure be an important matter?When the event is high-visibility, consider it formal Demonstrations for VIPs Site visits Events for the press

How Technically Risky Is Your Event?

Many factors may create technical risk New node installations New technology New node operators

Technical risk should be considered along with other factors If it’s risky but not high-visibility, it’s

probably informal

Be Minimalist When You Can

Unnecessarily rigid or excessive preparation plans can discourage participating sitesIt is good for the health of the AG community for us to reduce event preparation time as much as possible without sacrificing quality

Questions?

How to Prepare for Events

Developing Appropriate Preparation Strategies, With a Focus on Formal Events

You Need a Good Foundation

A well-functioning AG node requires (at a minimum): Stable, fully debugged multicast networking

(which must be monitored over time) The latest release of Access Grid Toolkit

software All hardware and software consistent with

the AG equipment specification Technical staff with sufficient time available

to keep their skills current and the node well-maintained

Make It So

You must ensure that your technical staff have access to all the resources they need to make this happen

A Key Assumption

In the slides that follow, I will assume that your node is well-functioning and your technical staff have intermediate or advanced AG skillsIf this is not the case, your event- planning strategy must bring it about Big events are often good proving grounds Get feedback on plans from seasoned staff

Time Zones are Important

Always explicitly include time zones in all event announcements, agendas, etcWhen planning an event which is open to the whole community, consider international time zone issues You may wish to repeat a lecture or

workshop to attract participants in additional time zones

If Your Event Is Informal. . .

Just reserve a room and show up Node operators may want to arrive 5-

10 minutes early

Work with your node operator on technical issues as you go along Presentation files Audio adjustments Camera adjustments

Planning Informal Events:

Ensure that node operators are available You may wish to learn to operate your

node yourself

Ensure that AG nodes are availableRecognize that it’s normal for technical adjustments to occur from time to time

Self-serve AG Events

Sometimes your node operator might start up the node, get the event started, give you their cell phone number, and let you manage the rest of the event yourself

Example:AG Packaging Initiative Team

Before each meeting, Lisa Childers reserves a (virtual) room, and sends out an announcement of the time and place She always includes the time zone –

very important!

Everybody just shows up

If Your Event Is Formal. . .

Amount of necessary preparation varies widelySome is prep you need to do anyway Developing and finalizing agendas Coordinating with presenters

For your first event, err on the side of caution

Preparing for a Formal Event

Get the lay of the landOrganize event informationRehearse, rehearse, rehearse Test cruises Content rehearsals

Arrive early on event day

Get the Lay of the Land

Determine how much lead time you haveDetermine approximate number of presenters, participants, and participating sitesDevelop a draft agendaMeet immediately with your technical team leader to discuss all of the above

Organize Event Information

Develop a detailed agenda, in close collaboration with your technical team leader Order of speakers Physical location of speakers List of all participating sites Links to all presentation files All other relevant technical

information

Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

The bigger and more formal the event, the more rehearsals you needTwo types of rehearsal: Test cruise: technical staff test and

troubleshoot all relevant technologies Content rehearsal: presenters and/or

masters of ceremony rehearse their presentations, or have a “dry run”

Test Cruises

In close collaboration with your technical team leaderObjective: ensure that all sites have well-debugged nodes and networkTo determine how many to hold, ask yourself: How many participating sites do you have? How many of those sites have brand-new

nodes? How many new or unusual technologies will

be in use?

What to Test in the Cruises

All technologies which may be used in the actual event Standard AG audio, video, and MOO Distributed PowerPoint? (use actual

slides, when possible) Telephone backup channel? Distributed VR?

Content Rehearsals

To determine how many to hold, and whose attendance to require or request, ask yourself: Have these presenters spoken over

the AG before? Will they facilitate complicated

interactions?

Arrive Early on Event Day

Technical staff should arrive at the appropriate virtual venue 30-60 minutes before the event beginsIf participants will be arriving in the node’s physical space early, you and your staff may need to arrive even earlierIdeally, presenters should participate in final audio tests

Example: SC Global

A component of Supercomputing 2001 (Denver, 11/01)Volunteer planning committee, representing many organizations

Dancing Beyond Boundaries, Presented by U. of Florida

As Viewed from University of Manchester, United Kingdom

An Unprecedented Event

Very formal, high-visibility, and technically-risky 40+ participating sites, some

contributing content, some just “lurking”

100+ participants at many locations Four days of content, often in four or

more concurrent tracks

Unprecedented Preparations

Application process winter/spring 2001Test cruises twice a week, July – November 2001Production Institute, September 2001 Production-oriented training for staff at

all sites contributing content

Mega-cruise, October 8 Dry runs of (most) all content

Recommended Reading: Another Example

Report on March 28 & 29, 2001, MPI Workshop over the Access Grid, Leslie Southern, Ohio Supercomputer Center, April 2001 I’ll list the URL at the end of these

slides

Excellent overview of preparation for and evaluation of the event

Questions?

Staffing Recommendations

Roles and Responsibilities

Again, General Guidelines

We’ll discuss one way to divide up the labor – again, your mileage may varyWhen you design your own staffing plans, keep in mind: The strengths and weaknesses of the

people on your team The needs of your particular event

Each Site Has Its Own Staff

Each site participating in a given event is responsible for developing their own staffing plan, and filling the roles appropriatelyYou may wish to work with representatives of each site on their staffing plans

Each Venue Is Different

The size of your physical venue plays a large part in determining the size of your staff

Staff for an Informal Event

At the main site: Meeting leader (ie, meeting chair) Node operator

At all other sites: Node operator

Staff for a Formal Event:Main Site

Producer of overall event Usually also acts as local Producer too

Technical Director Usually also operates node in some

capacity

Floor ManagerAdditional node operators/assistants

Staff for a Formal Event:Remote Sites

ProducerTechnical DirectorFloor ManagerAdditional node operators/assistants

Producer’s Responsibilities: Main Site

Manage entire team Locally and for the overall event

In collaboration with the Technical Director, develop technical web page for event discussed earlier in this seminar Also known as Production Plan or Technical

Agenda

Determine how/when it is appropriate to deviate from the agenda

Producer’s Responsibilities: Remote Sites

Manage and support local team Ensure that video and audio streams

from local site meet main site’s needs

In many events, Producer and Technical Director merge into one role at remote sites

Technical Director’s Responsibilities: Main Site

Provide technical leadership and guidance to the entire team Locally and for the whole event

Collaborate closely with the Producer Test cruise and content rehearsal

strategy and implementation Technical web page

More Technical Director Responsibilities: Main Site

Collect and place online all required presentation filesEnsuring arrangements are made for any necessary technical contingency plans Back-up public channel telephone line

Technical Director Responsibilities: Remote Sites

Provide technical leadership and guidance to local teamIn many events, Producer and Technical Director merge into one role at remote sites And as often as not, remote sites with

small audiences can operate with a one-person team

Master of Ceremonies’ Responsibilities

Introduce presenters and, with Floor Manager’s help, keep them on scheduleManage audience in case of any disruptions to event May give brief explanation of any pauses May use opportunity to share anecdotes

Manages flow of questions “Passing the Floor”

Floor Manager’s Responsibilities

Ensure all presenters arrive at the podium on timeKeep track of time, and let MC know if presenters need to be nudged alongMay communicate with presenters using cue cards “5 Minutes Left,” “Time’s Up”

Other Operators/Assistants Responsibilities

Additional Operators/Assistants are often needed in large venues or high-pressure situationsSometimes all of these things need to be done at the same time

Manage Audio

Ensure that local audience can hear all necessary audioEnsure quality of outgoing audioAudio needs special attention during interactive portions of events Question and answer sessions Discussion

Manage Main Display Wall

Ensure that participants can see all participating sites Enlarge video windows as

appropriate, such as video of main speaker

Ensure that all other necessary components are displayed PPT, VNC, etc

Manage Outgoing Video

Monitor using vic on display machine or additional computer SC Global used “producer stations”

Make camera adjustments, usually with remote controlVideo also needs special attention during interactive portions of events

Manage Microphones

Ensure all speakers have appropriate access to microphones Presenters Masters of Ceremony Participants asking questions

Ensure that microphones are used correctly throughout event

Manage Presenter Tools

Ensure presentation tools on the laptop podium run successfully Distributed PowerPoint master? VNC? WinTV? Scan converter?

Event Communications forAll Staff

Use the MOO, the official Access Grid back-channel Communicate among staff at all

participating sites Communicate among staff at local site

Use optional telephone back-channelUse optional headset radios within the room

Questions?

A Final Example: Planning This Seminar Series

A somewhat experimental model for events of this size – I’m hoping it has been successful

No Test Cruises or Rehearsals

Instead, all sites were required to arrive 60 minutes early Participants were responsible for

ensuring their node was available and well-functioning

If I had been concerned about any participating nodes, I could have contacted them to arrange a test cruise

Factors I Considered

Mary, Ariella, and I are experienced AG presenters and operatorsWe did not plan to use any new or unusual technologiesBU and ANL nodes are well-functioning, and frequently usedI believed we could tolerate brief pauses if necessary

Further Reading . . .

Access Grid-in-a-Box web-based tutorial: “How to Produce an Access Grid Event”http://webct.ncsa.uiuc.edu:8900/public/AGIB/ More thorough treatment of nearly every

topic covered in this seminar Highly recommended for anybody planning

AG events on a regular basis, or anybody planning a large, high-visibility event

Further Reading. . .

Report on PACS Training MPI Workshop http://alliance.osc.edu/mpi/report.pdf

Access Grid Documentation Projecthttp://www.accessgrid.org/agdp/ A project by and for the Access Grid

Community As you gain expertise and confidence,

please consider writing documents to submit to the AGDP

Questions?

We Need Your Feedback

http://scv.bu.edu/accessgrid/seminars/eval.htmlLet us know if you’re interested in leading other seminars too!

Thank You Everyone