3com pcXset Getting Started

Getting Started with
pcXset

Release 5.0

Published April 2005

http://www.3com.com/

3Com Corporation
350 Campus Drive
Marlborough, MA
01752-3064

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UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LEGENDS:

If you are a United States government agency, then this documentation and the software described herein are
provided to you subject to the following:

United States Government Legend: All technical data and computer software is commercial in nature and
developed solely at private expense. Software is delivered as Commercial Computer Software as defined in
DFARS 252.227-7014 (June 1995) or as a commercial item as defined in FAR
with only such rights as are provided in 3Com’s standard commercial license for the Software. Technical data
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3Com, the 3Com logo, and NBX are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. NetSet and pcXset are
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Other brand and product names may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

2.101(a) and as such is provided

52.227-14 (June

CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

Overview 5
Computer Requirements 6
Installing the pcXset Software 7
Configuring the pcXset Software 8

Customizing pcXset’s Display 10
Configuring Network Settings 13

Configuring Advanced Settings 14
Editing the Access Button Labels and Tooltip Pop-ups 17
Keyboard Shortcuts 18
Troubleshooting 18

Audio Buffers Need Adjusting 19

Audio Sounds Distorted 19

Audio Stream Error 19

DTMF Tones Echo Back to the Analog Line Card 21

Full-Duplex Errors 21

Incorrect IP Address for the Call Processor 22

NBX Packet Driver Error (Windows NT Only) 22

The pcXset Software Won't Initialize 24

PC Standby Mode Causes pcXset Calls to be Missed 25

Audio Driver Configuration Error 25

4

GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

This guide explains how to install and configure the NBX® pcXset™ Soft
Telephone Client software. The information in this guide is designed for
installers and technical support representatives. Only users with
administrative privileges can install and configure the software.

This guide explains how to install and configure the pcXset application. It
is designed for resellers and technical support representatives.

Use this guide in conjunction with the following documents:

■ NBX Administrator’s Guide

This guide describes how to change and manage the NBX system after

initial installation and configuration. It is intended for installation

technicians and administrators.

■ NBX Business Telephone Guide

This guide provides an overview of the features in the NBX system as

they relate to the NBX Business Telephone.

Use the NBX NetSet™ utility to access these documents. These guides
can also be found on the Resource Pack CD.

Overview The pcXset PC Telephone is a software application that enables a user’s

computer to have the same features and functions as an NBX Business
Telephone. Using the pcXset software is similar to using an NBX Business
Telephone except that the telephone has a handset while the pcXset
software requires a headset with a microphone connected to the client
computer. You use the computer’s mouse and keyboard to operate the
pcXset controls.

3Com recommends that you use a USB headset with your computer. Do
not use the computer’s built-in speaker and microphone due to sound
quality issues.

6 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

The pcXset software can accept calls only when both the client computer
and the pcXset software are running. However, voice mail messages are
received and stored on the NBX system even if the pcXset computer is not
running.

The pcXset Help contains instructions for using the application. For
detailed instructions on using the pcXset software, select Contents from
the Help menu.

The NBX Business Telephone Guide has similar instructions, except for the
obvious differences between using the controls of a physical telephone
and the controls of a software program.

Computer Requirements

The computer on which you install the pcXset software must meet the
following hardware and software requirements:

■ Processor — Minimum Pentium 333MHz. Recommended 500 MHZ

or higher.

■ Operating system — Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000

(Server and Professional versions) and Windows XP (Home and
Professional). Recommended Operating System is Windows 2000 or
Windows

■ RAM — 32 MB (Windows 98), 64 MB (Windows 2000)

■ Video display — 640 x 480 pixels with 16 colors minimum. 3Com

XP.

recommends 800 x 600 pixels with 256 colors or greater.

■ Network — An Ethernet network adapter.

■ Audio — A USB handset or headset with microphone.

■ Disk Space — 40 MB of free disk space

■ USB headset with microphone

■ Please avoid the following:

■ PC sound card systems.

■ Poor quality headset.

■ Using speakers and a separate microphone. See “DTMF Tones Echo

Back to the Analog Line Card” for more information.

Installing the pcXset Software 7

Installing the pcXset Software

You install the pcXset software from the NBX Resource Pack CD.

Each NBX system is shipped with one pcXset license. To use more than
one pcXset Soft Telephone on a system, you must purchase additional
pcXset licenses and enter the license key into the NBX system.

CAUTION: Do not install the pcXset software on the same computer on
which NBX ConneXtions is installed.

To install the pcXset software:

1 Insert the NBX Resource Pack CD into the CD-ROM drive of the client

computer.

2 On the NBX Resource Pack dialog box, click NBX Applications and then

click NBX pcXset to begin the installation wizard.

3 Reboot the computer to complete the installation.

You must reboot the computer to finish installing the pcXset software
driver.

This completes the installation process. You must now configure the
pcXset software before you can begin using it.

8 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

Configuring the pcXset Software

You must configure the pcXset software so that it can interact with both
the Call Processor and with the computer on which it is installed.

To configure the pcXset software:

1 Select Start > 3Com NBX > NBX pcXset Configuration Wizard. The

Configuration Wizard window appears (

Figure 1 Configuration Wizard Window

Figure 1).

2 Use the buttons described in Ta bl e 1 to access Windows configuration for

your PC setup:

Configuring the pcXset Software 9

Ta bl e 1 Windows Access Buttons

Windows Configuration Type Button

Multimedia Control Panel — Displays Multimedia properties
for your PC.

Volume Control — Allows you to set the volume for
speaking and listening using the pcXset application.

Network Control Panel — Provides information on network
devices, such as network interface card parameters,
protocols, and IP addresses.

Microsoft System Information — Displays information about
your system, such as operating system, memory, and
processors. You must specify the MAC address of your
network adapter if you manually add the pcXset client as a
new device in the NBX system.

3 Use the Configuration Wizard tabs to configure the pcXset software.

■ Welcome — Introduction.

■ Audio — Test the client computer’s audio controls for compatibility

with the pcXset software.

■ Mic — Test the headset microphone’s compatibility with the pcXset

software.

■ MAC Info — Enter the NBX system’s MAC address.

■ IP Info — Enter the NBX system’s IP address, subnet mask, and default

gateway. The wizard can locate this information automatically.

■ NetSet — Add the pcXset software to the Call Processor using the

NetSet utility.

■ Country — If you want the pcXset tones and cadences and Help to

use the same regional settings as the NBX system, select the a setting

on the Country tab. To specify different regional settings for tones and

cadences and Help, enable the Use Advanced Settings check box and

click Advanced.

■ Done! — Finish the pcXset configuration process.

The user can now start using the pcXset application, and may customize
the pcXset display and other settings at any time.

10 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

Customizing pcXset’s

Display

After you launch pcXset, you can set the pcXset display:

1 Select pcXset Tools > Options > Display. See (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Options Dialog Box - Display Tab

Configuring the pcXset Software 11

2 Select from the following display types:

■ Windows style — This Windows application-style appearance

Figure 3) is recommended for computers with a video card capable of

(

displaying only 256 colors.

Figure 3 Windows-style Display

12 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

■ Large NBSet or Small NBSet — You can set this realistic telephone

Figure 4 NBSet-style Display

display (the classic NBX Business Telephone as shown in

Figure 4) to

large or small to suit your preference. To display only the telephone
image on the screen, select Display > Default to transparent
background? or, when the pcXset application is running, double-click
the telephone image to remove the grey background.

■ Prevent Machine from Entering Standby Mode — (See Figure 2)

A call that comes in to the pcXset application when your computer is
in standby mode is transferred to voice mail. This setting is enabled by
default to prevent your computer entering standby mode.

■ Substitute for DTMF tones — (See Figure 2) Check this box to hear

a “click” sound when you dial using pcXset software instead of the
normal DTMF tone that you hear when dialing with a regular

Configuring the pcXset Software 13

telephone. This substitution makes the pcXset software sound more
like a PC application.

Configuring Network

Settings

In the Network tab (Figure 5), you can customize or adjust the network
settings that you applied in the Configuration Wizard.

Figure 5 Options Dialog Box - Network Tab

14 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

Configuring

Advanced Settings

Use the Advanced tab (Figure 6) to adjust your audio parameters and
communications strategy.

Figure 6 Options Dialog Box - Advanced Tab

■ Tone Volume — Allows independent volume control of dial tone,

dialing, and DTMF tone sounds (that is, telephone audio tones) which
are generated when you press digits to dial a telephone number.

■ Control Mixer — A mixer program controls settings such as the

amplification level of the microphone, computer volume, CD device,
and wave play. The mixer program, which is called Volume Control on
Windows machines, is typically available by an icon in the system tray.

Configuring the pcXset Software 15

You can also access the Volume Control program by clicking the Volume

Control icon (see Ta bl e 1) in the NBX pcXset Configuration Wizard.

You can set and save a set of mixer state values for use with the
pcXset application. Each time you start the pcXset application, it uses
these saved values instead of the Windows default values. To set and
save the mixer values for pcXset, open the Volume Control window,
start the pcXset application and:

a Click Tools > Options. On the Advanced tab, enable the

Control

Mixer check box.

b Set the volume control to the value you want to use with pcXset.

c Click the Save Mixer Settings button.

d Set the mixer amplification levels back to the values you want to use

as the Windows default values.

When the pcXset application is active, it uses the saved mixer
amplification levels. When pcXset is not the active window, it uses the
Windows default values.

To verify this:

a Open the volume control window.

b Start the pcXset application and observe the volume control settings.

c Exit from the pcXset application and observe that the volume control

mixer settings change from the values used by the pcXset application
to the Windows default values.

■ Share audio hardware — Enable this selection for the pcXset

software to share the audio hardware recording channel. If you do not
enable this, you must close the pcXset application before any other
applications can use the audio hardware recording channel.

■ Shared shutdown delay (sec.) — If you have chosen to share the

audio hardware and find that the pcXset application is cutting off the
audio, increase this value. For example, increase the value if the tones
are distorted when you dial a telephone number. The default value for
this setting is 2 seconds.

CAUTION: Increasing the value too much can also prevent the pcXset
application from playing tones properly or prevent other applications
from using the shared audio hardware, which could result in audio
sharing conflicts. See

■ Force Layer 3 (IP) — Select Force Layer 3 to force the pcXset

“Troubleshooting” for more information.

software to use Layer 3 IP addressing to communicate with the NBX

16 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

■ Accept All Multicasts — Some Ethernet cards do not fully support

■ Delay and Multiplier — The size of the audio buffer pool is a product

■ PC Speaker Audio Warning Setup — These values determine at

system. When you use Layer 3, the pcXset application requires the IP
address of the NBX system. You specify this setting using the pcXset
Configuration Wizard, or using the Network tab of the Options dialog
box.

When you use Layer 3, you must also specify the version of your NBX
software.

selective multicasting communication. Select this option if you are
experiencing problems with conference calls or internal or external
paging.

of Delay and Multiplier. Higher multipliers and lower delays generally
produce an optimal audio setup. Higher overall values may improve
audio quality for slower machines at the expense of a small
communications delay. Lower overall values improve audio
responsiveness, but may result in some audio break-up for slower
machines.

which frequency and for how long your PC plays a sound when there
is an incoming call. Press Test to hear a sample tone.

Editing the Access Button Labels and Tooltip Pop-ups 17

Editing the Access Button Labels and Tooltip Pop-ups

You can edit the labels to the right of the Access buttons on both the
NBX Telephone display and the Windows style display. You can add brief
text that describes the feature or speed dial that you have assigned to the
button. You can also add a description that appears as a “tooltip”
comment when you place the cursor over any of the buttons.

To edit the label and tooltip of a button:

1 Right-click any of the Access buttons. The Button Properties dialog box

appears (

Figure 7 Button Properties Dialog Box

2 Enter a brief, descriptive name in the Button text field.

If the name is longer than five or six characters, it may be truncated on
the Access button labels.

Figure 7).

3 Enter a more descriptive comment in the Tooltip text field. You can use up

to 100 characters.

4 Click OK. The text appears on the Access button labels in any of the

displays.

18 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

Keyboard Shortcuts Ta bl e 2 lists the keyboard shortcuts you can use instead of clicking

telephone control buttons with the mouse.

Ta bl e 2 Keyboard Shortcuts

Press Key To Select

0 through 9 Digits 0 through 9

* Star

# Hash or pound

F1 through F12 Line Appearance Buttons L1 through L12

Esc Speaker

S Speaker

R Redial

C Conference

T Transfer

H Hold

F Forward Voice Mail

V Voice Mail (Msg)

A Handsfree

M Mute

P Program

Up Arrow Volume Up

Right Arrow Volume Up

Down Arrow Volume Down

Left Arrow Volume Down

Alternatively, you may use 0 through 9 and * on the numeric keypad on
your computer’s keyboard. Use “.” (the period key) for hash or pound.
Before you use the keypad, verify that Num Lock is on.

Troubleshooting This section outlines possible problems that you may encounter when you

install and use the pcXset software for the first time. It includes error
messages, problem descriptions, and recommended solutions. The pcXset
log file (pcXset.log) is in the pcXset installation directory.

Some of the errors described in this section are audio card problems.
Audio card errors have an error number of [8004xxxxH]. Note, however,

Troubleshooting 19

that 3Com recommends that you use your system’s USB audio capabilities
rather than using sound card audio.

Audio Buffers Need

Adjusting

Audio Sounds

Distorted

Choppy audio occurs during telephone conversations or during the audio
test in the Configuration Wizard, or there are delays in audio playback
during telephone conversations.

Description

This problem is caused by incompatible audio buffer size settings.

Solution

Audio buffer size settings are expressed as two values: Delay and
Multiplier. The product of these numbers represents the overall size of the
buffer pool. Lower values for these numbers reduce echo delay. Higher
values increase audio quality. Change these values in any of these ways:

■ Select Configuration Wizard > Audio > Audio Configuration

■ Select Configuration Wizard > Mic > Audio Configuration

■ Select Options > Advanced

These numbers depend on your computer hardware and operating
system. Experiment with different value combinations to see how low you
can adjust the product of the delay and multiplier and still achieve good
audio quality.

Audio sounds choppy while on a conference call.

Description

You must configure some Ethernet cards to accept all multicasts to
improve audio quality.

Solution

1 Run the pcXset software.

2 Select Tools > Options > Advanced > Accept All Multicasts.

Audio Stream Error This type of error occurs when the pcXset software is trying to play or

record audio.

20 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

The following messages appear during an audio test, microphone test, or
during pcXset startup:

Error code: [80044802H]

A similar message may appear in the log file:

ERROR: XXXXX [80044802H]

Error code: [80041000H] Error Message: XXXXX Context: XXXXX

A similar message may appear in the log file:

Error running audio stream from engine. Could be caused by
accidentally running pcXset and the configuration wizard
at the same time.

Error running audio stream from engine. Could be caused by
accidentally running pcXset and the configuration wizard
at the same time.

This error has occurred in the Wave Audio object. Please
contact your technical support representative.

ERROR: XXXXXXXX [80041000H]

This error has occurred in the Wave Audio object. Please
contact your technical support representative.

Description

You cannot hear pcXset audio with the audio card.

Solution

1 Select one of these:

■ Windows 9X and Windows NT

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Multimedia > Audio

■ Windows 2000

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Multimedia >
Audio

■ Windows XP

Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices

2 Verify that there are valid entries in the Preferred device drop-down lists

for Playback and for Recording.

Troubleshooting 21

3 Use Windows Sound Recorder to verify that you can play the wave files.

See the solution under

“Full-Duplex Errors”, later in this guide, for more

information.

DTMF Tones Echo

Back to the

Analog

Line Card

The pcXset software cannot make external calls through any Analog Line
Card port, but calls to internal extensions are successful. Typically, the call
fails the first time, but succeeds if you click Redial.

Description

This error occurs when DTMF tones echo from the PC speakers back into
the microphone, causing the Analog Line Card to receive each outpulsed
digit twice.

Solution

Select Options > Display > Substitute For DTMF Tones. This option
replaces DTMF tones with clicks. The Analog Line Card ignores the clicks
when they echo back to the TLIM. You can also use headphones to
alleviate this problem.

Full-Duplex Errors Full-duplex audio is an audio card’s hardware ability to play and record

audio at the same time.

The following related message appears during an audio test or
microphone test:

Error code: [80042004H] Error Message: XXXXX Context: XXXXX

The likely cause of this error is lack of full-duplex audio.

A similar message may appear in the log file:

ERROR: XXXXX [80042004H]

The likely cause of this error is lack of full-duplex audio.

Description

This error occurs when the pcXset software attempts to use the audio
card while another application is recording audio. It also happens when
the audio driver does not support full-duplex audio.

You can use Windows Sound Recorder to verify that the audio subsystem
supports full-duplex by running two Windows Sound Recorder

22 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

applications at once. Play a wave file in one application while recording in
another application. If you get an error message, your audio card does
not support full-duplex audio.

Solution

Use a USB audio headset.

Incorrect IP Address

for the Call Processor

The following message appears during pcXset startup or after you click
Tes t on the IP Info tab of the Configuration Wizard.

Error code: [80043002H] Error Message: XXXXX Context: XXXXX

This error has occurred in the Winsock subsystem. Please
check your IP configuration. Especially your NCP IP address.

A similar message may appear in the log file:

ERROR: XXXXX [80043002H]

This error has occurred in the Winsock subsystem. Please
check your IP configuration. Especially your NCP IP address.

Description

The Winsock call connect, used to determine the correct local interface
during Auto IP determination, received the error. This error normally
occurs if pcXset has an incorrect IP address for the Call Processor or
cannot connect to that Call Processor due to network problems.

Solution

1 Verify the Call Processor IP address. See “Configuring the pcXset

Software” for more information.

2 Verify the network connection by pinging the Call Processor from the

DOS prompt.

NBX Packet Driver

Error (Windows NT

Only)

The following message appears during pcXset startup:

Error code: [80046000H] Error Message: XXXXX Context: XXXXX

This error has occurred in the Communications object. Please
contact your technical support representative.

A similar message may appear in the log file:

Troubleshooting 23

ERROR: XXXXX [80046000H]

This error has occurred in the Communications object. Please
contact your technical support representative.

Description

This error occurs if the system cannot open the packet driver (Layer 2).

Solution

1 Select Start > Options > Control Panel.

2 The next steps depend on your operating system:

■ Windows NT — Select Network > Services and look for the NBX

Packet Driver entry.

If the NBX Packet Driver entry is missing, install the driver manually
(select Network > Protocols). The driver is in the Packet subdirectory
of the pcXset application directory.

If the NBX Packet Driver entry exists, click the Bindings tab to
determine if the driver has been bound to the network adapters. If
not, try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.

■ Windows 2000 — Select Network and Dialup Connections icon >

Local Area Connections > General and look for the NBX Packet
Protocol Driver entry.

If the NBX Packet Driver entry is missing, click Install to install the
driver manually. The driver is in the Packet subdirectory of the pcXset
application directory.

If the NBX Packet Driver entry exists, you must determine if the driver
has been bound to the network adapters. Select Network and
Dialup Connections > Advanced > Advanced Settings. The driver
should be visible in the Adapters and Bindings tab.

If not, try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.

■ Windows XP — Select Network Connections > Local Area

Connection and then click Properties to open the Network dialog. On

the General tab, look for the NBX Packet Driver entry.

If the NBX Packet Driver entry is missing, install the driver manually
(select Network > Protocols). The driver is in the Packet subdirectory
of the pcXset application directory.

24 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET

If the NBX Packet Driver entry exists, click the Bindings tab to
determine if the driver has been bound to the network adapters. If
not, try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.

The pcXset Software

Won't Initialize

If the pcXset software does not initialize, a message like the following
may appear:

ERROR: [80046000H]

Error Message: H3InitDefault failed

Context: Starting

This error has occurred in the Communications object. Please
contact your technical support representative.

Solution

If you receive an initialization error, do one or more of the following:

■ Verify that you have enough pcXset licenses. The SuperStack 3 NBX

system ships with only one pcXset license.

To view the number of user licenses that you have installed:

1 Log on to the NetSet utility as an administrator.

2 Select Operations > Licenses.

You can purchase additional licenses from your authorized NBX reseller.

■ Verify that you have connectivity with the Call Processor. Try to ping

the Call Processor IP address entered on the IP Info tab of the
Configuration Wizard, for example, 192.168.1.190. If you cannot
ping the Call Processor, then the pcXset software cannot
communicate with it either.

■ If you are attempting to use autodiscover, verify that Auto Discover

Telephones is enabled. In the NetSet utility, select System

Configuration > System Settings > System-wide.

■ Verify the NBX system MAC address. Select Configuration Wizard >

MAC Info > Reports > System Data.

■ Verify that you have selected the active network adapter on the MAC

Info tab. If you are unsure which device to select, use your computer’s

Control Panel to view device settings and verify the adapter driver that
is started.

Troubleshooting 25

PC Standby Mode

Causes pcXset

to

Calls

be Missed

Audio Driver

Configuration Error

The pcXset application does not wake a PC from standby mode on an
incoming call, so the user misses incoming calls.

Description

The pcXset software provides no mechanism to wake a computer from
standby mode. However, you can set it to prevent the machine from
entering standby mode.

Not all computers support standby mode properly. Therefore, pcxset may
not be able to stop the PC from going into standby mode.

Solution

Select Options > Display > Prevent Machine from entering Standby
Mode.

The following message appears during an audio or microphone test, or
during the pcXset software startup:

Error code [8007xxxxH] Error starting stream. Ensure that
this computer’s multimedia devices are properly installed.

A similar message may appear in the log file:

ERROR: Error starting NBX pcXset [8007xxxxH] Error starting
stream. Ensure that this computer’s multimedia devices are
properly installed.

Description

The Waveform Audio interface returned an error code. There is a problem
with the wave play device.

Solution

1 Open your computer’s Control Panel and view the Multimedia or

Sounds and Audio Devices settings.

2 Verify that there are entries in the Preferred Device drop down lists for

Playback and for Recording.

3 To verify that you can play wave files.

26 GETTING STARTED WITH PCXSET