Polycom DOC2066F User Manual

MGC Manager

User’s Guide

VoicePlus Edition, Version 7.5

Catalog No. DOC2066F Version 7.5

Proprietary and Confidential

The information contained herein is the sole intellectual property of Polycom, Inc. No distribution, reproduction or unauthorized use of these materials is permitted without the expressed written consent of Polycom, Inc. Information contained herein is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment of any type on the part of Polycom, Inc. Polycom and Accord are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc.

Notice

While reasonable effort was made to ensure that the information in this document was complete and accurate at the time of printing, Polycom, Inc., cannot assume responsibility for any errors. Changes and/or corrections to the information contained in this document may be incorporated into future issues.

Canadian Department of Communications (EC) Declaration of Conformity

Polycom Inc., declares that the Polycom VoicePlus with NET-2/4/8 card is in conformity with the following relevant harmonized standards: EN 60950: 1992 Including Amendments 1,2,3 & 4 EN 55022: 1994 EN 50082: 1997

Complies with the provisions of the Council Directive 1999/EC on radio and telecommunication terminal equipment and the recognition of its conformity.

Notice: The Industry Canada label identifies certified equipment. This certification means that the equipment meets telecommunication network protective, operational and safety requirements as prescribed in the appropriate Terminal Equipment Technical Requirements document(s). The Department does not guarantee the equipment will operate to the user's satisfaction.

Before installing this equipment, users should ensure that it is permissible to be connected to the facilities of the local telecommunications company. The equipment must also be installed using an acceptable method of connection. The customer should be aware that compliance with the above conditions may not prevent degradation of service in some situations.

Repairs to certified equipment malfunctions may give the telecommunications company cause to request the user to disconnect the equipment.

Users should ensure for their own protection that the power utility, telephone lines and internal metallic water pipe system, if present, are properly grounded. This precaution may be particularly important in rural areas.

Caution: Users should not attempt to make such connections themselves, but should contact the appropriate electric inspection authority, or electrician, as appropriate.

VoicePlus Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

About the MGC Manager User’s Guide VoicePlus Edition ................1-2

VoicePlus Main Features ..................................................................... 1-3

System Requirements ...................................................................1-5

Prerequisites .................................................................................1-6

VoicePlus Commands Shortcut Keys ...........................................1-6

User’s Guide Conventions ............................................................1 -9

Audio Look & Feel ............................................................................1-11

Audio Only Conferences ....................................................................1-12

Reservation Templates ...............................................................1-12

Default Reservation Templates ..................................................1-12

Connecting to an On Going Conference ............................................1-16

Dial-in SIP Participants .......................................................1-17

Defining Standard Audio Only Conferences and

Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

About Conferences ...............................................................................2-1

Conference Scheduling Methods ..................................................2 -1

Scheduled Conferences ..........................................................2 -1

On Demand Conferencing .....................................................2-1

Attended and Unattended Conferences ........................................2-2

Unattended Conference ..........................................................2-3

Attended Conference ..................................... .... ... .... .............2-3

Conference Types .........................................................................2-4

IVR and Entry Queue Services ....................................................2-5

MCU Configuration and Audio Only Conferences ......................2-6

Participant Roles ..................................................................................2-7

Participant Connection to Conference ..........................................2 -8

Participant Connection Types ................................................2-8

Conference Access for Dial-in Participants ...........................2-8

IVR Access ..........................................................................2-12

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Table of Contents

Conference Access for Dial-out Participants .............................2-13

Defining New On Going Audio Conferences ................................... 2-14

General Properties ..................................................................... 2-16

Settings Parameters .................................................................... 2-21

Participants ................................................................................ 2-28

Recording ................................................................................... 2-35

Completing the Conference Definition ...................................... 2-36

Resolving Scheduling Conflicts ................................................ 2-37

Listing On Going Conferences ......................................................... 2-40

Scheduling a New Reservation .............................................. ... .... ..... 2-41

Defining Recurrent Reservations ............................................... 2-44

Listing Reservations ..................................................................2-47

End of Conference Reminder ............................................................ 2-48

Defining Participant Properties .........................................................2-49

ISDN/PSTN/T1-CAS Participant Definition ...................... 2-51

IP (H.323 and SIP) Participant Definition .......................... 2-59

Dialing-in from an H.323 Endpoint ........................................... 2-67

Simple Dial-in Using the IP Card Address ......................... 2-67

Simple Dial-in Using the IP Card Alias .............................. 2-67

H.323 Advanced Dial-in ............................................ .... .... .2-68

Listing Participants ............................................................................2-70

Monitoring On Going Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

General Monitoring ............................................................................. 3-2

Listing On Going Conferences in the Status Pane ....................... 3-3

General Conference and Participant Monitoring ......................... 3-5

Monitoring the Conference and Participant Status ............... 3-5

Additional Participant Statuses ........................................... 3-15

Participant’s Audio Status ...................................................3-16

Monitor Filter ............................................................................. 3-17

Automatic Monitoring of Conferences ...................................... 3-19

Secure Conference Mode ........................................................... 3-19

Audio Tones ............................................................................... 3-21

Noisy Line Detection Mechanism and Automatic Muting ........ 3-22

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Participants Queue ......................................................................3-23

Conference Level Monitoring ............................................................3-24

Participant Level Monitoring .............................................................3-28

Monitoring ISDN/Telephone Participants ..................................3-29

Checking the Status of VoIP Participants ..................................3-39

Operations Performed During On Going Conferences . . . . 4-1

Management Functions Overview .......................................................4-2

Participant and Conference Level Operations ..............................4-3

Participant Level Operations ................................................................4-5

Making Dial-Out Connections .....................................................4-5

Changing Participant Connection Types (Dial-In/Dial-Out) .......4-6

Disconnecting Participants from Conferences .............................4-7

Naming Undefined Dial-in Participants .......................................4-8

Changing the Disconnected Participant’s Properties .................4-10

Moving a Participant from one Conference to Another .............4-11

Designating an Exclusive Speaker .............................................4-12

Changing Participant’s Status to Conference Chairperson ........4-13

Designating a VIP Participant ....................................................4-15

Adjusting Participant’s Broadcasting and Listening Volume ....4-16

Muting and Unmuting Participant’s Audio ................................4-17

Enabling/Disabling Auto Gain Control (AGC) ..........................4-20

Modifying the Participant’s User Defined Properties ................4-21

Conference Level Operations ............................................................4-22

Adding New Participants to a Conference .................................4-22

Muting Dial-In Participants Upon Connection ..........................4-28

Adding Remarks During an On Going Conference ...................4-30

Locking and Unlocking a Conference ........................................4-31

Managing Question-and-Answer Sessions .................................4-35

Controlling Q&A Queues with the Toolbar ........................4-35

Adding Questioners to the Q&A Queues .............................4-36

Changing Participant’s Position in Q&A Queue .................4-39

Allowing Participant Questions ...........................................4-39

Ending Participant Questions ...............................................4-40

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Table of Contents

Removing Participants from the Q&A Queue ....................4-41

Clearing Q&A Queues ........................................................ 4-41

Managing Voting Sessions ........................................................ 4-42

Conducting a Voting Session ..............................................4-43

Viewing and Saving Voting Results ................................... 4-47

Placing a Conference On Hold .................................................. 4-49

Modifying Conference General Parameters .............................. 4-52

Changing the Conference Duration ........................................... 4-53

Ending a Conference before its Scheduled Termination Time .. 4-54

Rescheduling Conference Reservations ....................................4-55

Deleting Recurring Reservations ............................................... 4-56

Printing Conference Data .............................................. ............ 4-58

Managing Conferences Using DTMF Codes .................................... 4-62

DTMF Guidelines ......................................................................4-62

Using DTMF Codes in Cascading Conferences ........................ 4-68

Modifying Conference and Chairperson Passwords .................. 4-68

Request DTMF Help Menu ....................................................... 4-70

Dialing Out to Invite Participants (Invite Session) .................... 4-70

Chairperson Initiated Blast Dial-out .......................................... 4-71

Managing Secure Mode Conferences ........................................ 4-72

Roll Call ..................................................................................... 4-72

Meeting Rooms and Entry Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Meeting Rooms ............................................................................5-1

Entry Queues ...............................................................................5-2

Defining a New Audio Only Meeting Room ..................................... 5-4

Manually Assigning Phone Numbe r s to the Conference ...... 5-8

Manually Assigning the H.323 Service Prefix to the

Conference .......................................................................... 5-10

Completing the Meeting Room Definition .......................... 5-11

Listing Meeting Rooms .............................................................5-11

Defining a New Audio Only Entry Queue ........................................ 5-13

Enabling Encryption for Entry Queues ............................... 5-17

Listing Entry Queues ................................................................. 5-19

MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I

Dialing in to an Entry Queue ......................................................5-19

IVR and Entry Queue Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Conference Access .......................................................................6-2

Directly ..................................................................................6-2

IVR Queue Access .................................................................6-2

Entry Queue Access ...............................................................6-2

IVR/Entry Queue Stages ........................................................6-3

Operations Performed Using IVR Services ..................................6-3

Using Roll Call .................................................................... .... .... .6-5

Using SilenceIT ................................................................... .... .....6-6

IVR Requirements ...............................................................................6-8

Hardware ......................................................................................6-8

Audio File Conversion .................................................................6-8

Defining IVR Software Module Properties .........................................6-9

Setting IVR Message Services ...........................................................6-16

Defining a New IVR Message Service ......................................6-16

Listing IVR Message Services ...................................................6-36

Setting an IVR Message Service as Default ...............................6-37

Modifying IVR Message Service Properties ..............................6-38

Assigning IVR Services to Conferences ....................................6-39

Defining a New Entry Queue Message Service .................................6-40

Assigning Entry Queue Services to an Entry Queue ..................6-47

Connecting to a Conference from an Entry Queue ....................6-48

Viewing the Audio Messages Status ..................................................6-49

Printing IVR/DTMF Codes ................................................................6-51

Default IVR Prompts and Messages ..................................................6-53

Attended Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Requirements for an Attended Conference ..........................................7-3

Defining an Operator Conference ........................................................7-5

Setting the Participants Connection to th e Conference to Attended

Mode ....................................................................................................7-9

Setting the Entry Queue to Attended Mode ................................. 7-9

Setting the Conference Connection to Attended Mode ..............7-10

Table of Contents

VoicePlus Overview

VoicePlus is the conferencing system of the Polycom MCU that enables Audio Only conferencing. The VoicePlus system includes special features such as the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) functionality, chairperson blast dial-out to multiple pre-defined participants, chairperso n and participant DTMF code control of conferences, voting and Question & Answer management, Ad Hoc Auto Cascading, VTX 1000 Resource allocation and more.

T ouch-tone commands, MGC Manager and Web controls are the tools that are used to manage both Audio Only c onfere nces an d parti cipan ts and t he part of the video bridge that handles Audio Only and IVR functionality in both Audio Only and Video conferencing.

The VoicePlus system uses voice prompts to guide participants to their appropriate conferences. These prompts can be customized to enable mult ilingual support. In Audio Only conference setup, only the functions, operations and icons relevant to this type of conference are displayed in the MGC Manager, while functions and operations relevant to video conferences, such as ATM network connection or video options, are hidden and disabled.

The Polycom VoicePlus conferencing system provides a way to hold meetings with participants at multiple remote sites. It enables end-users to conduct all types of meetings from the office or from the road using a telephone, whether they require a high-level, scheduled, operator-assisted conference or the convenience of on-demand or reservationless meeting.

Audio Only conferences include only Audio participants. In an Audio Only conference, participants can connect to the conference using different network connections: PSTN/ISDN or T1-CAS lines, cellular phones, or VoIP (H.323 or SIP). These conferences allow the use of VoicePlus capabilities.

When the Audio Look and Feel mode is set for the MGC Manager, the video parameters are hidden, but you can still monitor video conferences if they are run on any of the connected MCUs.

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

About the MGC Manager User’ s Guide VoicePlus Edition

The VoicePlus Edition includes information required to set up and monitor On Going Audio Only Conferences, Audio Only reservations, define Audio Only participants and configure the IVR modules. In addi tion, it includes dire ctions for using the Polycom ReadiRecorder audio recording system

If you are new to the Polycom MCU and MGC Manager, we recommend that you read the appropriate Getting Started Guide that accompanies your unit.

The other volumes of the MGC Manager User Guides documentation set describe setting up and monitoring multipoint video conferences and combined audio/video conferencing. They describe performing system configuration activities for the MGC Multipoint Control Units (MCUs) to which it connects. This user’s guide provides references to related topics in other volumes of our documentation as relates to each topic.

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VoicePlus Main Features

The Polycom VoicePlus conferencing system offers a comprehensive range of capabilities for audio conferencing:

Scheduling methods

Conferences can be started immediately or scheduled in advance on the Polycom MCU by means of the following applications:

• Windows-based MGC Manager

• Browser-based WebCommander

• Microsoft Outlook using the MGC Personal Scheduler add-on

• Polycom ReadiManager application

Conference scheduling options

• Ad Hoc conferencing

• On-demand conferencing (On Going)

• “Meet Me” reservationless conferences (Meeting Rooms)

• Scheduled conferences (Reservations)

• Recurrent conferences

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

Conference modes

• Attended (Operator Assisted) conference; reserved and reservationless

• Unattended conference; reserved and reservationless

Conference access

• VoIP (H.323 and SIP), T1-CAS, and ISDN participants in a single

conference

• Dial-in (Toll-free dial-in and caller-paid dial-in)

• Automated (blast) dial-out

• Operator initiated dial-out

• Participant dial-out inviting new participants

• Combination of dial-in and dial-out

• One dial-in number for all conferences (Entry Queue)

Conference features and options

• Automatic password and identification number generation at time of

conference booking

• Two allocated passwords: conference and chairperson password

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

• Single telephone number can be associated with all conferences

• Reservation of resources at the conference setup stage

• User defined fields for additional conference and participant information

• Chairperson features and control

• Presentation (operator guidance)

• Conference locking

• Access to external recording devices

• Use of Roll Call and conference greetings

• Mute-on access (Mute all incoming parties)

• Self Mute

• SilenceIT - automatic muting of noisy lines

• Automatic termination of conference

• Conference On Hold (with background music)

• E-mail notification (with Web scheduling only)

• Access to a Reservations database

Security features

• Conference-specific and Chairperson-specific entry password

• Conference locking mechanism

• Roll Call for joining participants’ identification

• Data encryption at MCU, conference and participant level

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Conference control options

• Touch -tone (DTMF codes)

• MGC Manager (Windows interface)

• WebCommander (Web Browser)

• Polycom ReadiManager application

On Going Conference management and monitoring

• Active or exclusive speaker indication

• DTMF detection for any participant

• Connect and disconnect individual participants

• Add participants during an On Going Conference

• Dial-out to a participant during an On Going Conference (Invite)

• Identify connected participants

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

• Mute and unmute participants

• Control individual broadcasting and listening audio volume

• Manually and automatically extend the conference duration

• Lock and unlock the conference to dial-in and all other participants

• Move a participant from the main conference to a side area for one-to-

one conversation with the Operator

• Terminate the conference before its scheduled end time

• Manage Question-and-Answer queues

• Control voting (polling) sessions

• Configure and enable an audio reminder of impending end of conference,

with automatic disconnection at scheduled end of conference

• Secure the conference from unauthorized connection and monitoring

• Operator assistance on demand

• Enhanced operator tools for attended participant conferences

• Monitor conference and participant status

• Monitor all On Going and reserved conferences for multiple MCUs

Application features

• Customizable voice messages

• Configurable new feature event alerts

• Software development kit

• Access and SQL databases can be used to store participant and

conference information

• Easily accessible Call Detail Records

• Local or remote operators

• Active display of system resources, individual participant statuses and

conference properties

• Recording to an external device

System Requirements

The MGC Manager application can be installed in an environment th at meets the following minimum requirements:

• IBM PC compatible computer Pentium II, 400 MHz CPU or higher

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

• Minimum 64 MB RAM (recommended 128 MB)

• Windows 98

Windows 2000

• Modem (optional)

• Network capabilities - TCP/IP

For detailed information about how to install the MGC Manager application, how to connect to the MGC unit and how to use its main window, menus and toolbar buttons, refer to the MGC Manager User’s Guide, Volume I, Chapter 3, “MGC Manager Basics.”

Prerequisites

This manual assumes the user has the following knowledge:

• Familiarity with Windows 98

Windows XP

• Basic knowledge of audio conferencing concepts and terminology

• Familiarity with the Polycom Quick Start Guide for your MCU

• Familiarity with the MGC Manager User’s Guide - Volume I, Chapter 3

, Windows ME®, Windows NT®,

or Windows XP®operating system

, Windows NT®, Windows 2000® or

environment and interface

VoicePlus Commands Shortcut Keys

In MGC Manager, you can quickly ac complish frequ ently performed tasks by using shortcut keys. For example, pressing <CTRL> + <R> connects or

reconnects a participant to an On Going Conference.

• The predefined shortcut keys can be modified using the Configure Shortcut

function from the Options menu. For more details, see the MGC Administrator’s Guide, Chapter 5, “Configurable Shortcut Keys” on page 5-

144.

• When upgrading the MGC Manager from version 6.0 or earlier, click

Configure Shortcuts on the Options menu, and then click Restore Defaults to update the default shortcut keys.

The following default shortcut keys are used in VoicePlus MGC Manager:

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MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

Table 1-1: VoicePlus Commands Shortcut Keys

Command Shortcut Key Function

New <Ctrl> + <N> Used to create a new User T emplates file or a

new Reservation Templates file.

Open <Ctrl> + <O> Opens the User Templates directory or the

Reservation Templates directory. Used to view and open the contained files.

Copy/Paste/ Paste As

Cut <Ctrl> + <X> Copies the conference or participant

Delete <Del> Used to terminate a selected On Going

Save <Ctrl> + <S> Saves a User or Reservation Template file, or

Help <F1> Opens the relevant Help topic.

-in

Dial Dial Out

Copies the properties of a selected OnGoing conference, Reservation, Entry Queue, Meeting Room or participant, to the clipboard.

Note: To select several items to copy/Paste, use the standard Windows conventions. If you want to modify the selected items’ name or properties, click Paste As.

properties to the clipboard while deleting the original item. Used when copying participants from one conference to another.

Conference, Reservation, participant, operator or template. Opens a dialog box to confirm the selection.

Note: To select several items to delete, use the standard Windows conventions.

saves the changes to the database.

Sets the participant’s Connection Type to

Dial

-in.

Sets the participant’s Connection Type to

Dial out

New Participant

<F8> Adds a new participant to the On Going

Conference, reservation or Meeting Room.

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

Table 1-1: VoicePlus Commands Shortcut Keys (Continued)

Command Shortcut Key Function

Connect Participant/ Disconnect Participant

Connects or reconnects a participant to an On Going Conference.

Disconnects a participant from the On Going Conference.

Note: To select several participants, use the standard Windows conventions.

Mute Audio/ UnMute

Mutes the participant’s audio channel. Unmutes the participant’s audio channel.

Audio Refresh

<F9> Refreshes the database.

Database Next

Questioner

<Alt> + <N> During a Q&A session, allows the operator to

let the next participant in the Q&A queue ask the question.

Paste Entry Queue As

<Ctrl> + <E> Used to modify Entry Queue properties or

name when pasting the selected entry queue from the clipboard to the Meeting Rooms &

Entry Queues list. Opens the Entry Queue Properties dialog box.

Attend <F2> Moves the participant to the Operator

Conference for assistance.

To Home Conference

<F3> Moves the participant from the Operator to

the destination (Home) conferen ce.

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Hold <F4> Enables the operator to place the attended

participant on hold.

Clear Q&A Queue

Move (in attended queue dialog)

Next (in attended queue dialog)

<Alt> + <C> Clears the selected participants listed in the

Q&A queue.

<F5> Enables the operator to move the attended

participant to a selected conference (Attended Participant dialog box).

<F6> Enables the operator to attend to the next

participant in line (Attended Participant dialog box).

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

Table 1-1: VoicePlus Commands Shortcut Keys (Continued)

Command Shortcut Key Function

Join to Conference

End Join Operation

Attend Next Party

Context Help <Shift> + <F1> Opens the relevant Help topic.

<F10> Enables the operator to temporarily join an

<F11> Enables the operator to return to the

<F12> Moves the next participant in line from the

User’s Guide Conventions

The following terms and conventions are used in this Guide:

• “Open” or “Double-click” is used to open files and applications.

“Double-click” can also expand a tree or open a dialog box.

• “Select” or “Click” is used to highlight a part of the window, dialog box

or menu that you want to be changed with your next action. “Click” can also select a menu option or activate a toolbar button.

• “Right-click” is used when you press and release the right mouse button

to open a pop-up menu.

• “Click OK” means that you can either cli ck the OK button with the

mouse, or press the <Enter> key on the keyboard.

• Keyboard keys appear in capital letters, between these two symbols < >.

For example, the Shift key appears as <Shift>.

• The plus sign (+) between two key names indicates that you must press

and hold down one key while pressing down the second key. For example, “press <Alt> + <P>” means that you press and hold down the Alt key while you press the P key.

• Bold type indicates the word or the chara cter that you should type into a

text box or the name of the menu or command that you should select.

• Italic type indicates the name of a menu, a dialog box or a field to or

from which to select or enter an option.

On Going Conference, for example for short announcements or assistance.

Operator Conference.

Participants Queue to the Operator Conference, for assistance.

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

• “Expand a tree” means to click on the plus sign (+) next to it or double-

click the icon to display the dependent branches.

• Tips and notes are ind icated by an icon and appea r in a specia l format on

a gray background. For example:

This is an example of the type of note that you encounter in this User Guide.

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Audio Look & Feel

The MGC Manager application that is used for Audio Only conferencing can be set to the Audio Look & Feel mode to hide all video associated functions and display only Audio Only parameters.

To set the MGC Manager to Audio Look & Feel:

1. On the Options menu, click Audio Look & Feel.

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

A check mark appears next to Audio Look & Feel, indicating that this mode is active. All video related functions and dialog boxes are hidden.

2. Click this feature again to cancel the Audio Look & Feel mode.

3. Restart the MGC Manager application.

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

Audio Only Conferences

The MGC Manager provides various methods to set up and schedule conferences. Each method is represented in the MCU tree by a name and an icon.

After the scheduling method is determined, you must select a conference type, and determine how the participants connect to the conference:.

Participants can connect to the conference by an accessing method such as Entry Queue, conference IVR Queue, or directly and by th e conferencing service level, i.e. operator attended or unattended conferencing.

When user’s move from one conference to another, they maintain the resources as allocated to them. A VTX 1000 user who moves from a VTX enabled conference to a VTX disabled conference is able to move back to the VTX enabled conference and maintain the wide band connection as initially allocated.

Reservation Templates

A Reservation template contains a partial or complete definition of a single conference. It is used to run a series of conferences that use the same parameters, such as participants, transmission rate and phone connections.

You can use a Reservation template to schedule a conference to start immediately (On Going Conference), or to start au tomati cally a t a predefined date and time (Reservation).

For information on defining a reservation template, see the MGC Manager User’s Guide Volume II, Chapter 7.

Default Reservation Templates

Five default Reservation templates are installed with the MGC Manager:

• Default-Audio: is the only Reservation template designed for Audio

Only conferencing. It includes the default IVR Service.

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MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

When you first start the MGC Manager application, the Reservations in Database window automatically opens listing the Default group in the Root

tree.

Figure 1-1: Reservations in Database Window

You can push or drag the Main window sizing handle to resize the window and display the Reservations in Database window beside or beneath the Main window.

The MGC Manager automatically displays the Reservations in Database window when starting the MGC Manager application every time the application opens, unless you close Reservations Database window. If you close it, it will not automatically reopen unless you manually open it and leave it open. You can access the Reservations Database window by clicking Reservations in AccordDB from the Window menu.

Using the default Reservation templates, you can schedule a conference to start immediately (On Going Conference), or to start automatically at a predefined date and time (Reservation).

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

To start an On Going Conference from a default Reservation template:

1. Display the Reservations Database window.

a. If the Reservations Database window is closed, open it. For a

detailed description of the Reservations Database window, see the MGC Manager User’s Guide, Volume I, Chapter 3, “Default Reservation Templates”.

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b. If the Reservations in Database window is hidden behind other

windows, display it on top of the MGC M anager Main window: On the Window menu, click Reservations in <database name>.

2. Expand the Default templates tree until you locate the desired Reservation template.

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

3. T o start an On Going Audio Only Conference, right-click the icon of the

Default-Audio template and then click Start Immediately.

— If you are connected to more than one MCU, an arrow appears next

to Start Immediately option. Click the arrow to display the list of MCUs and then click the name of the MCU to use for running the conference.

4. Alternatively, click Start to schedule a conference to start now, while

modifying its properties (such as name, durati on or passwords) or to schedule the conference to start later (Reservations).

The conference is started and is added to the On Going Conference list. If you have scheduled the conference to start later, it will appear in the

Reservations list.

If the MCU does not have enough resources to run the conference, an appropriate error message is displayed.

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

Connecting to an On Going Conference

You can add dial-out participants to the conference either by selecting the participants from the Participant database, from a User Template file or by defining them directly during the On Going Conference. For a discussion on adding participants directly to the conference, see Chapter 4, “Adding New Participants to a Conference” on page 4-22.

Dial-in participants can connect directly to the conference using its dial-in number (PSTN/ISDN/T1-CAS participants) dialing string composed of the IP Network Service Prefix and conference Numeric ID (H.323 participant) or the conference URI (SIP participant).

Undefined participants connect to a conference by using the conference dialin number (ISDN/T1-CAS/PSTN), dialing string (H.323) or SIP URI (SIP).

The ISDN/T1-CAS dial-in number, the H.323 Network Service Prefix and conference numeric ID are displayed in the Status pane of the MGC Manager main window.

To view the list of On Going Conferences and their dial-in numbers:

• Expand the MCU tree, and then click the On Going Conferences icon.

The list of On Going Conferences with their H.323 Network Service Prefixes, Numeric IDs and dial-in numbers are displayed in the Status pane.

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ISDN/T1-CAS/PSTN

For a description of the Status and Monitor pane columns, see MGC Manager User’s Guide, Volume I, Chapter 5.

Undefined Dial-in ISDN Participants

Undefined ISDN participants dial-in to a conference di rectly using the dial -in number provided by the conference organizer or the MGC Manager operator. If necessary, add the country code and area code.

MGC Manager User’s Guide - VoicePlus Edition

Undefined Dial-in H.323 Participants

Undefined participants connect to the conference by en tering the IP Network Service Prefix and the Entry Queue conference Numeric ID or name in the following format: [IP Network Service Prefix][Numeric ID/Name].

For conferences defined as Meet Me per Conference or Meeting Rooms, the Network Service prefix is displayed in the Status pane of the MGC Manager.

Dial-in SIP Participants

SIP participants can connect directly to a conference by entering the conference URI in the format: name@domain name

The SIP address is displayed in the Network Service Properties di alogue bo x, DNS Settings tab, Local Domain Name field.

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Chapter 1 - VoicePlus Overview

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Defining Standard Audio Only Conferences and Reservations

About Conferences

The MGC unit enables you to run different types of conferences, use different scheduling methods and provide different methods of connectin g to the conference.

Conference Scheduling Methods

The MCU system supports both scheduled and on-demand conferences. Scheduled conferences are arranged ahead of time or just before the conference starts. On demand conferencing enables participants to immediately start and connect to an On Going Conference from their endpoint, with no advanced scheduling.

Scheduled Conferences

Scheduled conferences are arranged ahead of time or just before the conference starts. The schedu ling can be done by means of the MGC Manager application, by using the browser based WebCommander application or by means of Microsoft Outlook using the MGC Personal Scheduler Add-On. These confer ences are deleted from the MCU when they end.

On Demand Conferencing

The MGC environment offers two methods for on demand conferencing:

• Ad Hoc Conferencing

• Meeting Rooms

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Chapter 2 - Defining Standard Audio Only Conferences and Reservations

In Ad Hoc conferencing, participants connect to an Ad Hoc-enabled Entry Queue. Meeting Rooms are conferences that have no allocated resources on the MCU or a starting date and time. They are created once but remain on the MCU in Passive mode and can be activated as many times as required. When the conference ends, the conference reverts to the passive Meeting Room mode until the next activation. It remains in the MCU memory (configuration) and in the Meeting Rooms list. For a detailed description of Ad Hoc Conferencing, see, MGC Manager User's Guide, Volume II, Chapter 3, “Ad Hoc Conferencing and External Database Authentication”.

The Meeting Room is activated when the first participant connects to it. The conference connection information is given to all other participants by the Meeting Room owner. The Meeting Room is terminated when the last participant disconnects from the conference or when the chairperson leaves the conference, depending on the conference settings. However, Meeting Rooms can be manually terminated at any time by the MGC Manager operator, or by the conference chairperson via the WebCommander or by using the appropriate DTMF code.

On Going Conferences

An On Going Conference is a conference that has already started. An On Going Conference is created to start immediately or was pre-set previously and the scheduled time to start has arrived.

Reservations

Reservations are conferences scheduled to start at some time in the future. Reservations are defined using the same parameters a s On Going Conferences with the addition of the conference start date and time.

When defining a Reservation, you can also schedule a recurrent conference. Each occurrence is deleted from the MCU when it ends.

Attended and Unattended Conferences

Audio Only conferences can be managed by an Operator who takes an active part in the conference, or they can run unattended while the participants manage the conference themselves with the meeting organizer who optionally has additional privileges.

All conferences can be set as Unattended or Attended mode. All conferences are set as Unattended unless the Attended mode is selected in the IVR Service or Entry Queue Service when selecting the On Hold for Operator

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