Here are some network requirements that are required for VoiceThread to function quickly and reliably. You can pass this information along to your local network administrator so they can make any necessary changes.

The following urls must be open on your local network:

http://cdn.voicethread.com (for browsing content)
http://media.voicethread.com (for recording audio and video)
http://wildfire.gigya.com (if you want to allow easy embedding)

If you have a firewall, you should allow access to media.voicethread.com on port 1935. If you are using a proxy server, or if your firewall filters based on packet content, you may need to do more advanced configuration. To see if you've got it right, you can take the test on this page. http://voicethread.com/test/media.swf
Please note that port 1935 is RTMP (a media streaming protocol) and not HTTP; this means that your proxy must pass a direct connection through. If your proxy attempts to treat all traffic as HTTP, then RTMP over port 1935 may fail.

Adequate bandwidth for the number of local users. Computer labs of 20+ users simultaneously recording commentary can strain local bandwith resources so some trial and error might be necessary to find the maximum number of simultaneous users your network connection will allow. If you are using an asymmetic network connection (such as most Cablemodem and DSL connections), you will find that upstream bandwidth may be an issue even though there is plenty of downstream bandwidth. This is because uploading and recording use upstream bandwidth, and connections commonly have 10-20 times as much downstream bandwidth as upstream.

If you wish to verify your connection speed, please use a speed testing service such as http://speedtest.net/. Pay particular attention to the upstream speed shown; this is the limiting factor for commenting and uploading.

Proxies For full VoiceThread functionality, your proxy must allow actual plain TCP connections (not just http) on port 1935, as well as http on port 80 and https on port 443 to the VoiceThread servers, as defined above.

Email You must accept e-mail from the voicethread.com domain. Please note that VoiceThread e-mail is easy to verify, as we have implemented a number of e-mail authentication technologies (DomainKeys, DKIM and SPF).

If you are using a Barracuda Networks anti-spam appliance, please make sure to specifically whitelist voicethread.com; the Barracuda device may otherwise be prone to false positives.

If you are using the Lightspeed Systems anti-spam solution, we strongly recommend that you whitelist voicethread.com. While we will attempt to catch any verification attempts, this may result in substantial delays in invitations.

Blocking urls to control what content the students can browse
These first two urls need to be open now matter what other options are chosen:

http://cdn.voicethread.com (for browsing content)
http://media.voicethread.com (for recording audio and video)

Option 1. Most open, students can browse any public content on voicethread

Open> http://voicethread.com
Open> https://voicethread.com
Open> http://ed.voicethread.com (for the main Ed.VoiceThread site)
Open> https://ed.voicethread.com (for the main Ed.VoiceThread site)
Open> http://yourschool.ed.voicethread.com (for your school or classroom sites)
Open> https://yourschool.ed.voicethread.com (for your school or classroom sites)

Option 2. Students interact and collaborate only on ed.voicethread. They can still explore a worldwide community but there are no free or anonymous users on it.

block> http://voicethread.com
block> https://voicethread.com
Open> http://ed.voicethread.com (for the main Ed.VoiceThread site)
Open> https://ed.voicethread.com (for the main Ed.VoiceThread site)
Open> http://yourschool.ed.voicethread.com (for your school or classroom sites)
Open> https://yourschool.ed.voicethread.com (for your school or classroom sites)

Option 3. Students only interact and collaborate within your school domain, http://myschool@ed.voicethread.com

block> http://voicethread.com
block> https://voicethread.com
block> http://ed.voicethread.com (for the main Ed.VoiceThread site)
block> https://ed.voicethread.com (for the main Ed.VoiceThread site)
Open> http://yourschool.ed.voicethread.com (for your school or classroom sites)
Open> https://yourschool.ed.voicethread.com (for your school or classroom sites)

*All of the blocking options presented here can only control use within the school network and don't have an effect on home use of voicethread.

If you can't find the "trusted sites" list, try accepting cookies from the urls Steve mentioned. :-)

~Katie