Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of how to schedule WebEx Enabled TelePresence meetings using TMS and useful information, tips and known issues about WebEx Enabled TelePresence meetings.
In addition to scheduling using TMS, there are up to 3 additional ways to schedule a WebEx Enabled TelePresence meeting:
- Using the Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook
With the WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook, users can schedule WebEx Enabled TelePresence meetings directly from Microsoft Outlook for Windows. Advanced options like adding external video and audio dial-in participants are also available.
For scheduling information, refer to the WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook Quick Reference Guide
For additional information, including how to schedule a meeting on behalf of another person or to assign a delegate to schedule meetings for you, refer to the WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook help available in Outlook or the user guide, available on your WebEx site.
- Using the Cisco Smart Scheduler
With Cisco Smart Scheduler, Macintosh, mobile and other non-Windows users can schedule WebEx Enabled TelePresence meetings using a simple web-based interface which is touch-screen friendly.
For scheduling information, refer to the Cisco Smart Scheduler and WebEx Scheduling Mailbox Quick Reference Guide
For additional information, including supported browsers and mobile platforms, refer to the Cisco TelePresence Management Suite Provisioning Extension (TMSPE) release notes.
- Using the Cisco WebEx Scheduling Mailbox
With the Cisco WebEx Scheduling Mailbox, users without the WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook can create a TelePresence Enabled WebEx meeting in Outlook by inviting TelePresence rooms and then adding WebEx to the meeting by including a special invitee; the WebEx Scheduling Mailbox.
The mailbox may be called simply “webex” or something different. It as configured by the administrator and provided to users.
For additional information, refer to the Cisco TelePresence Management Suite Extension for Microsoft Outlook (TMSXE) Installation Guide and release notes.
For scheduling information, refer to the Cisco Smart Scheduler and WebEx Scheduling Mailbox Quick Reference Guide
Scheduling WebEx Enabled TelePresence Meetings in Cisco TMS
When scheduling conferences with Cisco TMS, it is not necessary for the user to worry about network protocols, MCUs, or gateways. Cisco TMS handles infrastructure choices and compatibility checking of all these things automatically. Advanced users may still tune and tweak the selected methods for the conference as needed.
To schedule a Cisco WebEx Enabled TelePresence Meeting:
Step 1 Log in to Cisco TMS.
Step 2 Go to Booking > New Conference.
Figure 11-1 Cisco TMS New Conference page
Step 3 For Title, enter a conference title. It will be displayed in all Cisco TMS interfaces, and in email notifications about the meeting.
Step 4 For Type, select either Automatic Connect or One Button to Push.
- Automatic Connect: Cisco TMS automatically connects all participants at the meeting start time.
- One Button to Push: Meeting dial-in information is automatically displayed on endpoints that support One Button to Push. Participants on those endpoints join the meeting by pressing a button. For endpoints that do not support One Button to Push, the meeting organizer adds a video dial-in number.
Note For information about additional types, refer to the TMS help.
Step 5 Set the Start Time and the End Time or Duration for the meeting.
Step 6 Make sure Include WebEx Conference is checked.
Step 7 Optionally, enter a WebEx Meeting Password.
Note If you do not enter a password, WebEx will automatically generate one. It will be displayed on the Confirmation page, after you successfully schedule the meeting.
Step 8 Optionally, click Recurrence Settings to create a series of meetings that are tied together, such as a weekly or daily meeting.
Note Advanced settings are optional. Most settings will take their default values from the Conference Default values configured under Administrative Tools. Refer to the help for an overview of all available settings. For details on the Advanced Settings, click the Help button in Cisco TMS.
Note If Secure is set to Yes, Cisco TMS will only allow systems that support encryption to participate in the conference.
Step 9 Optionally, add notes about the meeting in Conference Information, which will appear in the meeting invitation.
Step 10 In the Participant tab, click Add Participant and a new window will appear.
- Available participants and a planner view with their availability is displayed based on existing scheduled and ad hoc meetings. The colored vertical lines represent your current requested time for the scheduled meeting.
- Click the tabs to have participants listed by type. If you have used scheduling before, the default tab is Last Used with quick access to the systems you have used recently.
- Hover over any system, or the blocks in the planner view, for additional detail about the system or scheduled meeting.
Step 11 Add participants to the meeting by selecting their checkbox and clicking the > button to add them to the list of selected participants on the right side of the window. Adding network infrastructure components like MCUs and Gateways is optional as Cisco TMS will handle this for you automatically.
Step 12 Use the External tab to add systems not managed by Cisco TMS, for example endpoints in other organizations, or telephone participants.
- For dial-out participants, enter their contact information, and Cisco TMS will automatically connect them to the conference at the scheduled time.
- For dial-in participants (including endpoints that do not support One-Button-to-Push), Cisco TMS will reserve the capacity needed to host the site in the conference and will provide you with precise dial-in information to forward to the participant.
Step 13 When all participants have been added, click OK.
You are returned to the conference page, with the participant section of the page now showing your selected participants, and some additional tabs. These additional tabs allow advanced scheduling tasks such as altering how calls are connected, or setting specific MCU conference settings for the meeting.
Step 14 Use the Video Conference Master drop-down list to determine which system should be considered the meeting organizer. Not all telepresence systems support the necessary features for this functionality, and only systems that are eligible will be displayed in this list. This is the system that will be prompted:
- to connect the conference if it is not scheduled for automated call launch.
- to extend the conference when it is about to expire.
Step 15 Click Save Conference. When the conference is saved, Cisco TMS will do all the routing calculations to determine the best way to connect your selected participants.
- If Cisco TMS is able to complete your request:
– You are presented with a confirmation page indicating that your conference has been saved and showing the details of your meeting, including the participant list and listing how each of those participants are scheduled to connect to the conference and the exact dial string any participants must dial.
– You will also receive an email confirmation from Cisco TMS with all meeting information, including WebEx and video dial-in information, and an ICS attachment for saving the event in your Outlook (or a compatible) calendar. Open the ICS attachment and save it to your calendar.
– If your WebEx site is set up to send email confirmations, you will receive two additional emails from WebEx: 1. An email with the subject line “Meeting Scheduled” which contains the host key and the WebEx information for the meeting 2. An email with the subject line “(Forward to attendees) Meeting Invitation” which contains only the WebEx information for attendees.
- If Cisco TMS is unable to complete your booking request:
– You are returned to the New Conference page. A message banner states why it was not possible to save the meeting. This may be due to lack of availability, lack of network resources, or no known route to connect the participants together.
– Edit the conference settings to try to resolve the issue and try saving the conference again.
Step 16 After successfully scheduling your meeting, invite people to the meeting using your calendar application.
For information about the Cisco WebEx Enabled TelePresence meeting experience, see Cisco WebEx Enabled TelePresence Experience.