Cisco WebEx Administration Tool

Overview

The Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool enables Organization Administrators to monitor, manage, control, and enhance user access to Cisco WebEx. The Cisco WebEx administrator is known as the Organization Administrator. The Organization Administrator controls what features are available to Cisco WebEx users and determines how they can use these features.

Important:

The Cisco WebEx Connect service has been rebranded as Cisco WebEx Messenger. The Cisco WebEx Administration Tool will be updated shortly to reflect this change.

The client application is branded as Cisco Jabber.

This section includes a summary of tasks to quickly get started using the Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool.


Note

Customers with Single Sign-On or Directory Integration enabled need to contact a Cisco WebEx representative for assistance in getting started with launching Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool.

Desktop Requirements

The following are the minimum and recommended desktop requirements to install and run the following Cisco WebEx Applications:

Cisco Jabber for Windows

Please refer to the Cisco Jabber Windows application documentation (http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/jabber-windows/tsd-products-support-series-home.html) for the minimum and recommended desktop requirements to install and run the Cisco Jabber application.

Cisco Jabber for Mac

Please refer to the Cisco Jabber Mac application documentation (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11764/prod_release_notes_list.html) for the minimum and recommended desktop requirements to install and run the Cisco Jabber application.

Cisco Jabber Mobile Clients

Please refer to the following Cisco Jabber Mobile applications documentation for the minimum and recommended desktop requirements to install and run the Cisco Jabber applications.

  • Cisco Jabber for iPhone and iPad: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/customer-collaboration/jabber-iphone-ipad/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

  • Cisco Jabber for Android: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/jabber-android/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

Cisco WebEx Connect

Important:

MS Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes are for desktop applications only. They are not for web-based or mobile versions of the application.

The Cisco WebEx Connect application is being retired. The replacement client is Cisco Jabber for Windows.

Component

Requirements

Operating System

Windows 7 (32-bit application on a Win 7, 64 bit OS)

CPU

At least 1.5 GHz Pentium or higher (for laptop computer)

At least 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium Processor or higher (for desktop computer)

Disk Space

80 MB

RAM

512 MB RAM (1024 MB recommended)

Browser

Internet Explorer 7, 9 and 11

Chrome (all versions)

Firefox 3.5 (Latest FF version is not supported)

I/O Ports

USB 2.0 (for video camera)

Internet Connection 

Broadband connection 

Email Program

Make sure you have selected the Cisco WebEx setting permitting MS Outlook integration

MS Outlook 2007 (32 bit), Outlook 2010 (32 bit & 64 bit)

MS Outlook 2007 (32 bit, Sender field only)

MS Word 2007 & 2010, Excel 2007 & 2010

Calendar integration for meetings

MS Outlook 2007 (32 bit), MS Outlook 2010 bit & 64 bit)

Audio

Full duplex sound card and a headset

For Click-to-Call: Your organization must have Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) already deployed and available. Contact your CUCM system administrator to obtain account and server information. Unit ServerUnity Connection server must be available to use voicemail services.

VoIP codec: iSAC from Global IP Sounds Inc

Video

At least 1.8 GHz CPU, 800x600 resolution, 256 colors or more, and a webcam.

HD Video

Quad core, or dual core + HT(Hyper thread) support + working speed 2.4GHz, or dual core + no HT support + working speed 2.8GHz, 1 GB

Network Requirements

The following network requirements are required to access the Cisco WebEx Messenger service. The application computer must have Internet connectivity and be able to connect to the following hosts and ports.

Note: Cisco WebEx Connect application uses the Web Proxy information configured in Internet Explorer to access the application configuration service. If the proxy in the customer network is an authenticated proxy, the proxy is appropriately configured to allow access to this URL without requiring any authentication.

Domains

You need to open connectivity over ports 80 and 443 for the following domains:

  • webex.com

  • webexconnect.com

  • The sub-domains of above: *.webex.com and *.webexconnect.com.

    If you intend to use third-party XMPP applications such as http://adium.im, you need to open port 5222 as well. For more information about using third-party XMPP applications, see Third Party XMPP IM Application Support.

CRL Domains

The Cisco Jabber clients check x509 certificate revocation lists (CRLs) or use online certificate status protocol (OCSP) when establishing TLS connections to the servers. These lists are obtained by following URL addresses embedded in the x509 certificate. These URLs are controlled by the certificate issuing authorities.

Cisco periodically updates these x509 certificates and changes certificate authorities due to normal maintenance or security concerns and reserves the right to change certificates and certificate authorities without notification.

Below is the current list of domains which should be white-listed in firewall rules:

  • *.verisign.com

  • *.comodo.com

  • *.usertrust.com

  • *.cisco.com

IP Ranges

WebEx services are offered over the following IP ranges:

  • 64.68.115.0 - 64.68.115.255

  • 64.68.116.0 – 64.68.116.255

  • 66.163.32.0 – 66.163.63.255

  • 209.197.192.0 - 209.197.223.255

  • 173.243.12.0 - 173.243.12.255 (Subnet)

    It is generally not recommended to restrict access based on IP ranges as WebEx may acquire new IP addresses or reassign IP addresses.

    To receive notifications from Cisco WebEx, set your SPAM Filter to allow emails from mda.webex.com. Notifications typically include important information about new Cisco WebEx accounts, password resets and similar information, communicated to users through emails..

High Availability

In order for Cisco WebEx High Availability to function correctly for the Cisco WebEx Connect application, add the following URL to your firewall whitelist:

  • http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols/index2.txt

  • http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols/wininet.pdb/9241CE8FD46D4D28B0C1AAA596FD93222/wininet.pdb

Audio-Video Port and Bandwidth Requirements

This section lists the recommended port and bandwidth requirements for the Video sessions initiated from the Cisco WebEx Connect application.

Video is provided over random ports that include both TCP and UDP. In general, audio and video functionality is offered over the following ports:

Item

Port Type

Port Number

A/V Server port

TCP

80 and 443

 

UDP

5101

STUN server

TCP

80

 

UDP

8070/8090

P2P port

TCP

Random

 

UDP

Random

The UDP port 5101 is used to establish the server connection. If the connectivity fails, ports 80/443 are used to establish connectivity.


Note

Typically, when a Cisco WebEx Connect user starts an audio or video call, the Cisco WebEx Connect application first attempts to establish a direct connection to another user's Cisco WebEx Connect application. Direct connections are possible if the other user is on the same network and is not separated by a firewall. If a direct connection is established, then the P2P ports listed in the table are used for audio and video communication.

If a direct connection cannot be established (due to a firewall or other network device), the Cisco WebEx Connect application will establish a connection to a Cisco WebEx Messenger service for audio and video communication. The Cisco WebEx Connect application will first attempt to connect to the server using a UDP port. If the port connection cannot be established (due to firewall restrictions), the Cisco WebEx Connect application will then establish a server connection using the TCP ports listed in the table.

Bandwidth Requirement for Video

Resolution

P2P Bandwidth

Remarks

90p

0~120kbps

Additional bandwidth may be consumed if severe packet loss is detected. This will compensate for lost packets.

180p

120~360kbps

Additional bandwidth may be consumed if severe packet loss is detected in order to compensate for lost packets.

360p

360~1200kbps

Actual resolutions include 360p, 432p, and 512p. Additional bandwidth may be consumed if severe packet loss is detected. This will compensate for lost packets.

720p

1200kbps~2000kbps

Actual resolutions include 576p and 720p. Additional bandwidth may be consumed if severe packet loss is detected. This will compensate for lost packets.

WebEx with Other IM Providers

Cisco WebEx Messenger can federate with users of leading instant messaging providers such as AIM, IBM Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Lync, and XMPP-based IM networks like GoogleTalk and Jabber.org. A list of public XMPP-based IM networks is available at the XMPP Standards Foundation website: http://xmpp.org/services.

Federation with XMPP-based IM networks or IM solutions that support XMPP

Federation between Cisco WebEx and XMPP-based Instant Messaging networks or IM solutions that support XMPP requires the publishing of a Service (SRV) record in DNS. Examples of XMPP-based IM networks include Google Talk, and Jabber.org. For more information on enabling XMPP federation, refer to Specifying IM Federation settings.

The following example shows how XMPP federation is provisioned for an organization called acme.com.

If acme.com wants federation with external domains (domains not within the Cisco WebEx Collaboration cloud), it publishes the following Service (SRV) records in DNS: 

_xmpp-server._tcp.acme.com. 86400 IN SRV 5 0 5269 s2s.acme.com.webexconnect.com

Note

The SRV records for your domain can be found in IM Federation under the Configuration tab. For more information, see Specifying IM Federation settings.

The TCP port, 5269 should be open to enable XMPP federation.

Configuring a DNS server sample

The following are sample IM Federation settings for each of the options available:

  • SRV (Service):

  • Service = _xmpp-server

  • Protocol = _tcp

  • Name = acme.com (domain name)

  • Priority = 5

  • Weight = 0

  • Port = 5269

  • Target = s2s.acme.com.webexconnect.com

Requiring encryption with Federation

If encryption is required then this can only be accomplished by using the NextPlane service. Refer to http://www.nextplane.net for further information.

Federating with the AOL IM Network

Cisco WebEx Messenger can federate with AOL’s IM network. Contact your Cisco WebEx account representative if you would like to federate with AOL’s IM network.

Federating with IBM Lotus Sametime


Note

We recommend you use NextPlane federation services to federate between Cisco WebEx Messenger and IBM Lotus Sametime. Refer to http://www.nextplane.net for further information.

Cisco does not provide support for the IBM Lotus Sametime XMPP Gateway. This is due to numerous known issues that exist with the Gateway, and our inability to provide support for another company's product.

Federating with Microsoft Lync


Note

We recommend you use NextPlane federation services to federate between Cisco WebEx Messenger and Microsoft Lync. Refer to http://www.nextplane.net for further information.

Federation between Cisco WebEx and Microsoft Lync requires an XMPP Gateway to be configured and running in the Microsoft environment and the publishing of a XMPP service (SRV) record in DNS for your domain. Additionally, confirm that TCP Dialback is set in the XMPP Configuration settings on the XMPP Gateway server. Microsoft Gateway is available from Microsoft.

For example, if your domain is acme.com and the Microsoft domain you want to federate with is mysupplier.com, you will need to publish a XMPP Service record for your domain acme.com in DNS. For more information, refer to Specifying IM Federation settings. The owner of the mysupplier.comdomain will need to configure and run the Microsoft XMPP gateway in their environment.

Federating with Microsoft Lync


Note

We recommend you use NextPlane federation services to federate between Cisco WebEx Messenger and Microsoft Lync. Refer to http://www.nextplane.net for further information.

Cisco does not provide support for the Migrosoft Lync XMPP Gateway. This is due to numerous known issues that exist with the gateway, and our inability to provide support for another company's product.

Third Party XMPP IM Application Support

Instead of the Cisco Jabber for Windows application, third party applications (for example, Pidgin for Linux) that support XMPP can also be used for basic IM communication. However, organization policies cannot be enforced on third party XMPP applications. Additionally, features such as end-to-end encryption, desktop sharing, video calls, computer-to-computer calls, and teleconferencing are not supported with third party applications. A list of third party applications that support XMPP is available at the XMPP Standards Foundation website http://xmpp.org/software/clients.shtml.

To allow the use of third party applications with the Cisco WebEx Messenger service, you need to enable a setting in Cisco WebEx Administration Tool. For more information refer to Specifying IM Federation settings.

You will also need to publish a Service (SRV) record in DNS to enable third party XMPP applications to work with the Cisco WebEx Collaboration cloud. For example, the Cisco WebEx Organization, acme.com publishes the following SRV record in DNS to allow the use of third party XMPP applications:

_xmpp-client._tcp.acme.com. 86400 IN SRV 5 0 5222 c2s.acme.com.webexconnect.com

  • The SRV records for your domain can be found in IM Federation under the Configuration tab. For more information, see IM Federation Settings.

  • The TCP port 5222 should also be opened to enable the use of third party XMPP applications.

  • Polices cannot be enforced when users in your Cisco WebEx Organization use third party XMPP applications to connect to your domain. Policies can only be enforced on users who use Cisco Jabber clients.

Sign in to the Administration Tool

Important: If your Cisco WebEx Messenger organization is enabled with Single sign-on integration, the URL that you need to type in your Web browser should be in the format: https://<WAPIserver>/wbxconnect/sso/acme.com/orgadmin.app 
where acme.com is the Cisco WebEx Messenger organization enabled with Single sign-on integration.

Procedure
    Step 1   To sign in go to http://www.webex.com/go/connectadmin. The Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool page is displayed.
    Step 2   Enter your sign in details in the Username and Password fields.
    Step 3   Select Remember Username to avoid typing in the username each time you sign in.
    Step 4   Select Sign In.

    Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool Interface

    The following tabs are available in the Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool.

    Tab

    Description

    User

    Add and configure user information.

    Configuration

    Configure settings for various features of Cisco WebEx such as general information about your organization, domains, password enforcement, user provisioning, IM settings, and additional services such as IM federation, IM archiving, and unified communications.

    Policy Editor

    Set policies and rules for users.

    Group

    Assign group policies.

    Report

    View usage reports on users.

    About

    View Cisco WebEx Messenger Administration Tool version information.

    Help

    View Cisco WebEx Messenger Administrator's Guide.

    From the Administrative Tools tab, you can:

    • Enable self-registration.

    • Customize various system-generated emails sent to Cisco WebEx users.

    • Add new Cisco WebEx users and assign Roles and Groups to these users.

    • Enforce password requirements.

    • Import and export users from or to comma-separated value (CSV) files.

    • Define and apply policies and policy actions.


    Note

    When a User-Only administrator signs into Organization Administration, only the User, Report, About, and Help tabs are displayed.