Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions about Moodle with Groopex Integrated Conferencing (GIC).

Moodle

Do my Moodle credentials need to be the same as my conferencing provider credentials
No. You are able to enter your conferencing provider credentials within our Moodle component.

Which versions of Moodle does GIC support?
At the time of this writing: 1.9 to 2.6.

Can I install GIC for Moodle 1.9, then upgrade to 2.x?
Yes. The block will work across Moodle versions.

What is the pricing for GIC for Moodle?
Please see our pricing page.

Can I use my existing Moodle setup with GIC or do I need to move to Groopex Moodle hosting?
Yes you can! As long as your existing setup meets our requirements, you can continue using your existing setup.

I get hosting from a specialized Moodle hosting company, can I use GIC?
We provide our software to anyone who uses a server which meets our requirements. However you will need to check with your Moodle hosting company if they will be willing to install our software.

I do not have Moodle, can Groopex give me a complete solution?
Yes. Groopex has several Moodle hosting partners via which we can offer you a complete solution.

Does GIC integrate with Moodle’s calendar?
Yes. GIC is fully integrated with Moodle’s calendar. Events can be scheduled in Moodle’s calendar, and are displayed in Moodle’s calendar.

Can GIC scheduled events be exported?
Yes. All events can be exported in iCal format which is supported by all major calendaring software.

How is the integration with conferencing providers displayed in Moodle?
GIC for Moodle adds a block which can be displayed on specific course pages or throughout the entire site. The block contains upcoming meeting information, links to join the meeting, access to meeting archives, and allows meetings to be scheduled, all in a single location.

Why is integration not done as an activity?
We wanted to offer users a quick and easy way to view information, access their events, and interact with them.

Integration via a Moodle activity would limit or prevent some of this functionality.

Does GIC for Moodle require modification to Moodle source code?
No. GIC for Moodle is self contained.

Does GIC for Moodle modify the Moodle database?
Yes it does. However all the changes are additional tables and fields, which contain the name Groopex, so they should not conflict with any other Moodle plugins and addons. No existing tables are removed or have their existing fields removed or altered.

Does integration require anything more than installing some code into Moodle?
Yes. Two components are needed. The first is a server side application with various language bindings which acts as the core component used for scheduling and handling conferencing providers and any data pertaining to them. The second is a standard Moodle block which interfaces with the core server side component via its PHP language bindings.

Is the GIC block for Moodle open source?
Yes. However the block itself is a thin wrapper around the GIC core application, which is proprietary.

Is it legal to use Moodle, a GPLv2/GPLv3 program, with extensions based on proprietary software?
Yes. It is permissible to run a GPL application on top of applications which are not compliant with the GPL. The only prohibition is to combine code which is not compliant to the GPL with code that is. Just as Moodle’s license itself is not compatible with PHP’s and all its plugins, Apache’s license, Internet Information Services, or Microsoft Windows which it may be running on, yet it is still legal to use Moodle.

Conferencing Providers

Which conferencing providers are supported with GIC?

Is Groopex working on support for other conferencing providers?
Yes, we are. However, not all conferencing providers provide an API sufficient to the extent of integration we offer, and therefore integration with them is on hold until they meet our minimum requirements.

Does GIC support WebEx 8 accounts?
Yes.

Does GIC’s feature set differ between various conferencing providers?
No. GIC supports the same range of features for all conferencing providers we support.

Can I access archives of classes from my conferencing provider in Moodle?
Yes. Archives are available organized by class from our Moodle component. If a class scheduled via our Moodle component has an archive associated with it, GIC will automatically retrieve the links for it.

Can I have archives automatically downloaded from my conferencing provider and hosted on my own server?
By special request, Groopex can provide this feature. Since this feature is more demanding on a server than typical usage, a representative will need to review your specifications and tailor automatic downloading to your server. From a users’ perspective, archives are still accessed in the exact same manner.

Can I have archives automatically moved to an online storage service?
Yes. At the time of this writing, we support Rackspace Cloud Files. Please also see the answer to the above question.

Server

Can I use shared hosting with GIC?
Yes, but a VPS or better is ideal. That being said, if your shared host meets our requirements then you can use GIC. However, setup may be difficult and security will not be ideal.

Which versions of PHP is GIC compatible with?
5.2, 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5.

Do you offer RPMs or DEBs?
Not at this time.

Are credentials secured on my server?
Yes. All third party conferencing provider credentials are encrypted according to and beyond industry standards. Security is built upon the advanced encryption standard, leading finalists, and block ciphers.

Are credentials securely transferred from my server to the conferencing provider?
Yes, all communication is done via SSL/TLS. GIC includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit.

Do I need to have a particular version of OpenSSL installed on my server to use GIC?
No, GIC is bundled with its own copy of OpenSSL, there is no need to manually install any version, nor will the version included with GIC conflict with any system-wide version.

Is it legal for Groopex to bundle OpenSSL in this manner for use on my server?
Yes! OpenSSL can be bundled with a product as long as nothing is done to hide this fact. Please read the OpenSSL license for yourself.

On Linux, which C libraries is GIC compatible with?
GIC works with GLIBC (and EGLIBC) 2.3.4+.

Do I need to install any additional system libraries in order to use GIC?
No.

Does my server need Java installed in order to use GIC?
No. GIC does not require Java.

Does my server need perl or python interpreters installed to use GIC?
No. GIC does not require perl or python.

Can multiple instances of Moodle all use GIC on a single server?
Yes. However you will need to configure the paths specified in our Moodle component to use a unique location for each instance of GIC.

What are the default paths used by GIC?
On Linux:
Binaries are placed in: /usr/bin
Language bindings in: /usr/share/groopex
Configuration files in: /etc/groopex

On Windows:
Binaries and language bindings are placed in: %PROGRAMFILES%\Groopex
Configuration files in: %APPDATA%\Groopex

Does GIC work on AMD64/x86-64 servers?
Yes.

Does GIC work on ARM servers?
Not at this time, but we are actively looking into it.

Do I need to open any incoming ports in order to use GIC?
No.

Do I need to allow any outgoing connections in order to use GIC?
Yes. GIC needs to be able to connect to conferencing providers’ servers. All communication is ran over HTTPS which by default is on port 443. The domain names and IP addresses are dependent upon the conferencing provider, please check with them.

Do I need to install any Apache modules in order to use GIC?
No.