Set Up Cascading for Large-Scale or Critical Meetings

Cascading Overview

Within the local CMR Premises enterprise network, larger conferences that exceed the capacity of a single conference bridge can be cascaded (distributed) across one or more additional bridges. The bridges must be routable with each other and with Cisco TelePresence Conductor


Note

Cascading is not supported from one conference bridge to another bridge that is outside the boundaries of the local enterprise network.

  • Cascade links share only a single screen of video between TelePresence Server.

  • Cascading is not supported from a TelePresence Server bridge to an MCU, or from an MCU to a TelePresence Server.

  • On cascade-enabled conferences, cascading resources are reserved from the start of the conference for the configured Maximum number of cascades, whether or not they are actually used. For this reason we recommend using the cascade option sparingly—typically for large-scale meetings or for rendezvous conferences / personal CMRs used by VIP personnel.

  • Cascading should not be enabled where certainty of resource availability is critical, such as the dedicated bridge scheduling case (where a single bridge in its own pool is reserved for scheduling).

  • The ActiveControl feature on the TelePresence Server supports up to 500 participants.

Process for CMR Conferences

This process uses the Cisco TMSPE provisioning extension of Cisco TMS to create a cascade-enabled CMR template and then apply it to a group. If your deployment does not use Cisco TMSPE, you can instead use the TelePresence Conductor to configure cascading, as described in the Conductor documentation.

Procedure
    Step 1   In Cisco TMS, go to Systems > Provisioning > Users > Collaboration Meeting Room Templates and create one or more templates as required.
    Step 2   Check the Allow Cascading check box.
    Step 3   Specify the maximum number of cascades allowed for a conference.
    Step 4   In Cisco TMS, go to Systems > Provisioning > Users. Choose the relevant group, then select the button for the required template in the Active column.

    Process for Scheduled Conferences

    Before You Begin

    For deployments that use dedicated bridges for scheduling, cascading is not recommended (or possible in the case of a single pool with a single bridge). For deployments with shared-use bridges, which support both scheduled and non-scheduled conferences, the solution supports cascading of scheduled conferences on TelePresence Conductor-managed TelePresence Server or MCU conference bridges.

    Cisco TMS will prompt you at booking time if the number of participants exceeds the single bridge capacity.

    Procedure
      Step 1   Book the scheduled conference as normal in Cisco TMS: Add the TelePresence Conductor to the conference (unless if it defined as the default MCU).
      Step 2   Enable distribution for the conference: In the settings for the conference created in the previous step, check the Distribution check box.

      More Information

      For details, see the Cisco TelePresence Conductor with Cisco TMS Deployment guide on the Cisco website at: http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​en/​us/​support/​conferencing/​telepresence-conductor/​products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html