PMRef

Notice:

• With Linux Java VM, PMRef seems having problems. For example, on my environment(Linux Java VM version 1.5.0_09), I can't confiugre "reflector.address=" property with 2 IPv4 addresses on DUAL HOME PC.

What is PMRef?

It is one of CU-SeeMe(*) Reflector program written in Java.

I'd ever used Spacer's EnhauncedRefector and it worked fine until I changed the OS of my machine from SunOS 4.1.4 to Solaris 2.6. After this upgrading, ERef dumps core everytime when someone geeks. Since ERef has not been Enhaunced for long time, my options were

1. Purchase WhitePine MeetingPoint(*),
2. Write my own Reflector program.

MeetingPoint(*) coasts $1,600- and I couldn't pay so much for it. So I wrote this.

What can PMRef do?

• "WhitePine password" protected conferences.
• Peered conferences(a conference over several PMRef servers).
• IPv6 connections with Cindy(PMRef2).
• Accepts "PMRef-type" password, "Close My Video" which Cindy (CU-SeeMe client for MS Windows) can handle.
• it can also handle "Dual Homed" machines(accepts connections from both interface, or runs different reflectors on each interface, or runs a reflector on one of them), has "CU-SeeMe Proxy" function.
• PMRef version 2.1.0 or later, reflector can have conferences which handle UTF-8 for chat encoding. With Cindy, you can enjoy CU-SeeMe with your own language.

Environment to run PMRef

• A machine which Java can runs on.
• JRE or Java SDK 1.5.0 or later. However we strongly recommend you to use the latest version.

• Fast CPU, hopefully. ;-P

  You might want to know how fast PMRef runs. On a machine, AT-Compatible PC, AMD MP2800 Dual,running on Solaris 9, Java JRE1.5.0_02,with 10 Participants(Max Send Rate 64Kbps / Max Recv Rate 768Kbps), PMRef handled them,using only "3%" CPU Usage. It is not bad, isn't it? ;-)

Caution!!

• On the machine running PMRef, you can run CU-SeeMe Client under the conditions blow.
• 1. Run PMRef first.
  2. Set the client program "not to accept incoming calls".
  3. Run Cindy, SeeMeFreely on Windows, VChat on MacOS X.
• Do NOT run PMRef & WhitePine client on a same machine.

Programs

• (Use "Save this Link As..."(Netscape) or "Download link to disk"(Explorer) to download files)
  
  • PMRef Package.jar (jar file, download this file, "Un-jar(jar -xvf PMRef.package.jar)" it and read "Readme" file.)
  • PMRef2 Package.jar (jar file, download this file, "Un-jar(jar -xvf PMRef2.package.jar)" it and read "Readme" file.)
  • Setup Tool package for MacOS X(ppc) Ver. 1.01 (dmg file, to make PMRef a daemon, automatically startint up/shutting down when your Mac is up/down)
  • Setup Tool package for Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Ver. 1.01. (zip file, to make PMRef a daemon, automatically startint up/shutting down when your Windows is up/down)

For more parformance

Since PMRef is Java code, it processes CU-SeeMe packets slower than Machine native code. So it is a good idea to try to compile PMRef to the Machine native code if your environment allows. On my "Pentium-Linux" (Kernel 2.4.20, gcc 3.3.1) environment, the PMRef native code runs great.

• Install the newest gcc configured with "--enable-language=c,c++,java" option. I strongly recommend you to do "make check" testing to see the reliability of your "bytecode->native code" compiler. If it reports errors about "compilation from bytecode" or "bytecode->native", give up to compile PMRef to native code on the environment. ***NOTE*** The current version of gcc has a bug about "static link". Instead of it, use "dynamic link".
• In the directory where PMRef.jar is installed, compile PMRef.jar with the command like "gcj PMRef.jar --main=PMRef.Main -o PMRef".
• Run the native code.

For more parformance again

According to Sun's documentation "Java HotSpot VM Options", Java VM version 1.3 for Sparc with "-server" option never compiles(JIT) a method until it invokes the method 10,000 times !!! (Did you know this?) This means that a method (to send a data packet, for example) will be compiled after PMRef sends 10,000 packets. So It must be a good idea, if your environment doesn't alllow you to convert Java code to native code, that you run PMRef with Java VM option "-XX:CompileThreshold=100" and join to a selfreflect confrence for a while to break when you start your reflector.

Version History

PMRef Current version is 1.9.14 (2006/06/03)
What has been changed since 1.9.13

• Fixed the problem that "Close My Video" didn't work in "SelfReflect" conferences.

PMRef2 Current version is 2.1.2 (2010/02/12)
What has been changed since 2.1.1

• Fixed the problem that Conference Menu sometimes crush WhitePine client ver.3.1for Macintosh.
  

To check how PMRef works

PMRef Trial Reflector (All conferences are G-Rated, no nudity please)

IPv4 Address : hyper.linc.or.jp
IPv6 Address : pandora6.hyper.linc.or.jp The IPv6 link is back!!

PMRef running by my friends

• Unique Visuals
• Address: ref.UniqueVisuals.com
• Conf id: 0
• Viking Cave
• Address: vikingcave.net
• Conf id: 0

Click here to send E-Mail to the development team.

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