Planning

Understanding How CMR Hybrid is Deployed

The core elements of CMR Hybrid are:

  • TelePresence Conductor

  • TelePresence Server and/or Cisco TelePresence MCU Series conference bridges

  • Cisco TMS

The TelePresence Conductor manages the conference bridges. SIP trunks connect the bridges to the TelePresence Conductor, which in turn is trunked to one or more call controllers. All XML RPC connections also route via the TelePresence Conductor. Cisco TMS provides conference management, including scheduling, provisioning and monitoring of conferences. XML RPC connections link Cisco TMS to the TelePresence Conductor.

The solution architecture is exclusively SIP. Conferencing with H.323 endpoints requires interworking by a

Cisco VCS Control or Cisco Expressway-C.

CMR Hybrid can be deployed in either of the following networks:

  • Cisco Unified-CM-centric networks

  • Cisco VCS-centric networks

The supported deployment models are described in the section: Deployment Options.

Cisco TMS Scheduling Role

Cisco TMS provides a control link to the Cisco WebEx site. This interface allows Cisco TMS to book a WebEx-enabled meeting on behalf of the WebEx Host, and to obtain Cisco WebEx meeting information that is distributed to meeting participants.Cisco TMS then pushes Cisco WebEx meeting details to the TelePresence Server/MCU.

TelePresence Server and MCU Roles

Cisco TelePresence Server/MCU will send/receive two-way main video with up to 720p30 between WebEx Meeting Center clients and TelePresence endpoints. The MCU/TS sends a single transcoded video stream to the WebEx Meeting Center client.

The MCU/TS will send a single mixed audio stream of the TelePresence meeting participants to the WebEx cloud. Likewise, the MCU/TS will receive a single mixed audio stream from all WebEx participants, including WebEx Meeting Center participants joined over PSTN or VoIP.

Support for two-way content share XGA (1024 x 768) resolution between telepresence endpoints and WebEx clients.

Each meeting creates its own SIP connection to avoid Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) congestion and potential TCP windowing issues.

MCU/Cisco TelePresence Server connects automatically at the meeting's scheduled start time.

Ports and Protocols Used in CMR Hybrid

The following ports and protocols are used between different components of the CMR Hybrid solution.

Component Communication

Port and Protocol Used

Cisco TMS to WebEx cloud

Ephemeral port using TLS.443

WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook to Cisco TMSXE

Ephemeral port using TLS.443

Cisco VCS Expressway to WebEx cloud

Set in accordance with the traversal subzone media port range configured on the Expressway. For more information, refer to the Inbound (Internet > DMZ) requirements in Appendix 3: Firewall and NAT Settings on page 52 of Cisco VCS Basic Configuration Control with Expressway Deployment Guide X8-5 if using Expressway 8.5.

If using an earlier supported Expressway version, refer to the same section in the appropriate version of the guide on Cisco.com.

Note   

For outbound, all ports >1024 need to be opened.

WebEx client to WebEx Cloud

UDP ports 9000-9001*

 

*For a complete list of WebEx IP subnets, refer to article WBX264, in the WebEx Knowledge Base.

Note: On WebEx clients using UDP vs TCP, and customers should check their firewall setting to prevent UDP from being blocked.

Important:

Firewalls, ports and protocols that do deep packet inspection should not be used. Specifically, the stateful packet inspection used in Check Point Software Technologies, Inc. firewalls is incompatible with Cisco VCS Expressway and Expressway-E.

Understanding Scheduling Flow

This section describes what takes place when a CMR Hybrid is scheduled using the following:

Scheduling with the Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook

Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook Scheduling Flow



Table 1 Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook Scheduling Steps

Step #

Description

1

User books meeting with Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook.

Adds users

Adds rooms

Meeting request is sent to WebEx and books the WebEx portion of meeting.

2

WebEx responds with meeting information:

Date and time of meeting

Meeting subject

Audio dial-in information

If TSP audio, then the audio will contain additional info for the MCU to dial the TSP provider.

SIP video and audio (if SIP audio) dial-in information for the bridge to dial into WebEx

Meeting URL for participants to click

3

Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook contacts TMSXE and does a booking request which includes the WebEx info from step 2.

4

TMSXE sends a booking request with the same information to TMS.

5

TMS confirms the meeting and returns the meeting details to TMSXE.

6

TMSXE sends the meeting confirmation to the Cisco WebEx and TelePresence Integration to Outlook.

7

Outlook invitation is sent back to Exchange to book the rooms and to also any added participants.

8

TMSXE monitors the room mailbox to make sure the rooms accept the meeting.

9

If user invited TelePresence rooms, TMS One-Button-to-Push information is sent to the TelePresence endpoints.

Scheduling with the Cisco Smart Scheduler

Cisco WebEx Smart Scheduler Scheduling Flow



Table 2 Cisco Smart Scheduler Scheduling Steps

Step #

Description

1

User books meeting with Smart Scheduler.

Adds rooms

Adds WebEx

Clicks Save.

2

TMSPE sends a booking request to TMS.

3

TMS sends booking request to WebEx.

WebEx books WebEx portion of meeting.

4

WebEx sends meeting details in response to the booking request from TMS:

Date/time of the meeting

Meeting subject

Audio dial-in information

if TSP audio, then the audio will contain additional info for the MCU to dial the TSP provider.

SIP video and audio (if SIP audio) dial-in information for the bridge to dial into WebEx

Meeting URL for participants to click

5

TMS responds to TMSPE with booking confirmation information.

6

TMS sends confirmation email to user.

7

User sends meeting invitation with meeting details to invitees.

8

If user invited TelePresence rooms, TMS sends One-Button-to-Push information to the TelePresence endpoints.

Scheduling with the Cisco WebEx Scheduling Mailbox

Cisco WebEx Scheduling Mailbox Scheduling Flow



Table 3 Cisco WebEx Scheduling Mailbox Scheduling Steps

Step #

Description

1

User books meeting in email/calendar client supported by Microsoft Exchange:

Adds rooms

Adds WebEx Scheduling Mailbox (e.g. webex@example.com)

Adds participants

Clicks Send

Meeting request is sent to Exchange.

2

TMSXE monitors mailboxes for the rooms and the WebEx Scheduling Mailbox.

3

TMSXE communicates with the booking API on TMS to request a WebEx-enabled meeting.

4

TMS requests WebEx to book the WebEx portion of the meeting.

5

WebEx sends meeting details in response to the booking request from TMS:

Date/time of the meeting

Meeting subject

Audio dial-in information

if TSP audio, then the audio will contain additional info for the MCU to dial the TSP provider.

SIP video and audio (if SIP audio) dial-in information for the bridge to dial into WebEx

Meeting URL for participants to click.

6

TMS responds to TMSXE with booking confirmation information.

7

TMSXE sends email confirmation to meeting organizer.

8

If user invited TelePresence rooms, TMS sends One-Button-to-Push information to the TelePresence endpoints.

Differences When Scheduling TelePresence Conductor-Managed Bridges

Before moving to a TelePresence Conductor scheduling deployment, note the following differences between scheduling direct-managed bridges and bridges managed by TelePresence Conductor.

Table 4 Differences when scheduling TelePresence Conductor-managed bridges

Direct-managed

TelePresence Conductor-managed

Booking

  • Conference configurations can be set per conference, over-riding default conference settings.

  • Cisco TMS chooses the SIP URI to provide the dial-in number for the conference.

  • Can be added to Cisco TMS participant and conference templates.

  • No option to overbook bridge resources.

  • Some conference configurations are set on the TelePresence Conductor conference template, and cannot be changed during booking.

  • Users can input the variable part of the alias during booking to create the dial-in number for the conference.

  • Cannot be added to Cisco TMS participant and conference templates.

  • Overbooking of bridge resources: Using the service preference capacity adjustment feature, you can configure Cisco TMS to allow overbooking of the actual resources available on the bridges in the pools associated with the service preference. By doing this, you allow for the case where users unnecessarily book more ports than they need for conferences, thereby freeing up unused resources for other users.

Cascading

  • Does not support cascaded TelePresence servers.

  • Cisco TMS decides whether to cascade MCUs when routing conferences.

  • Cisco TMS cannot create a cascade after the conference has started if more participants join than the capacity on the hosting MCU(s)

  • More functionality in Conference Control Center for example, moving participants from one cascaded MCU to another.

  • Cascading is selected using the Distribution options when booking a conference.

  • Cascading is not possible when booking using clients that use Cisco TMS Booking API (Cisco TMSBA) for example: Microsoft Outlook and Smart Scheduler.

  • Supports cascaded TelePresence Servers.

  • TelePresence Conductor cascades the bridges.

  • TelePresence Conductor can cascade on the fly if more participants join than the initial capacity of the hosting bridge(s).

  • No functionality in Conference Control Center, except visibility of which bridge a participant is connected to.

  • You have to select an alias that supports cascading when booking the conference.

  • Cascading is possible when booking using clients that use Cisco TMS Booking API (Cisco TMSBA) for example: Microsoft Outlook and Smart Scheduler.

Conference Control Center

Full functionality dependent on the bridge type hosting the conference.

The following functionality is not available for conferences hosted on a TelePresence Server managed by TelePresence Conductor:

  • Video protocol

  • Audio protocol

  • Encryption status

  • Number

  • Participant audio level

  • Video Resolution

  • Duo Video Status

  • Snapshots

Reporting

Full functionality

  • Call Detail Records (CDRs) from TelePresence Conductor-managed conference bridges will not contain any ConferenceIDs.

  • TelePresence Conductor itself does not feed back any conference CDRs to Cisco TMS. The bridges themselves will however, if added to Cisco TMS.

  • Depending on the call direction you might get incomplete CDR data, as dialing out can lead to incorrect data.

  • Bridge utilization reporting is not supported for conferences hosted on a TelePresence Conductor.

Zones

Cisco TMS uses IP zones to ensure that systems uses bridges that are geographically closer.

Cisco TMS chooses which TelePresence Conductor to use based on IP zones but will disregard any IP zone information for the bridges themselves.

Understanding Call Flow

This section describes the call flow of the following CMR Hybrid Meetings:

SIP Audio Call Flow



Table 5 SIP Audio Call Flow Steps

Step #

Description

1

MCU calls WebEx using SIP URI and the call is routed through Cisco VCS Control

2

Cisco VCS Control sends call to VCS-E through the traversal zone.

3

Cisco VCS Expressway does a DNS lookup for example.webex.com.

4

DNS resolves example.webex.com to the CUSP servers.

5

Cisco VCS Expressway sends call to CUSP. This step is always encrypted (mandatory) (encryption is optional on previous steps).

- Cisco VCS Expressway and the CUSP server verify each other's certificates.

6

CUSP forwards the call to Cisco VCS Expressway inside the WebEx dmz.

- This leg is encrypted also (mandatory).

7

Media is connected.

- Media is encrypted between the two Cisco VCS Expressways (across the Internet)

- It is optional whether it is encrypted between the MCU and the Cisco VCS Expressway in the customer's site.

TSP Audio Call Flow with API Command to Unlock Waiting Room



Table 6 TSP Audio Call Flow with API Command to Unlock Waiting Room Steps

Step #

Description

1

TMS starts the conference on MCU/TelePresence Server, providing it with the SIP URI, telephone number (if using PSTN audio) and DTMF String (if using PSTN audio) to dial into WebEx

2a

MCU/TelePresence Server dials WebEx via SIP. (refer to Understanding Cisco CMR Hybrid Call Flow [p.1] for details).

2b

At the same time as step 2a, MCU/TelePresence Server dials PSTN call-in number for WebEx.

3a

WebEx notifies TSP provider using API command to start the audio conference, and as part of that, Webex tells the TSP provider that the conference type = telepresence and that it should unlock the waiting room.

3b

At the same time as step 3a, TSP provider prompts the MCU/TelePresence Server for the meeting access number.

4a

TSP provider unlocks waiting room, in response to step 3a.

4b

At the same time as step 4a, MCU/TelePresence Server sends DTMF tones it was prompted for in step 3b to TSP.

5

TSP provider receives the DTMF tones.

6

TSP provider places MCU/TelePresence Server into the audio conference.

TSP Audio Call Flow with Waiting Room and MCU/TelePresence Server as Host



Table 7 TSP Audio Call Flow with Waiting Room and MCU/TelePresence Server as Host Steps

Step #

Description

1

TMS starts conference on MCU/TelePresence Server, providing it with the SIP URI, telephone# (if using PSTN audio) and DTMF String (if using PSTN audio) to dial into WebEx

2a

MCU/TelePresence Server dials webex via SIP. (refer to Understanding Cisco CMR Hybrid Call Flow [p.1] for details).

2b

At the same time as step 2a, MCU/TelePresence Server dials PSTN call-in number for WebEx.

3

TSP provider prompts the MCU/TelePresence Server for the meeting access number and host key.

4

MCU/TelePresence Server sends DTMF tones and host key it was prompted for in step 3.

5

TSP provider receives the DTMF tones.

6

TSP provider unlocks the waiting room and places the MCU/TelePresence Server into the audio conference.

WebEx Audio (PSTN) Call Flow



Table 8 WebEx Audio (PSTN) Call Flow Steps

Step #

Description

1

TMS starts conference on MCU, providing it with the SIP URI, telephone number and DTMF string to dial into WebEx.

2a

MCU dials WebEx via SIP. (refer back to Understanding Cisco CMR Hybrid Call Flow [p.1] for details).

2b

At the same time as step 2a, MCU dials PSTN call-in number for WebEx.

3

WebEx prompts the MCU for the meeting access number.

4

MCU sends DTMF tones it was prompted for in step 3 to TSP.

5

WebEx receives the DTMF tones.

6

WebEx places the MCU into the audio conference.

Server and Site Access Checklist

Table 9  Information you must have before configuring CMR Hybrid for the first time.

What You Need

Description and Source

Done

WebEx Site URL

URL for the Cisco WebEx site.

Provided by the Cisco WebEx Account Team.

Example: https://example.webex.com/example

See Configuring the Cisco WebEx Feature in Cisco TMS for instructions.

 

WebEx Site Hostname

Hostname of WebEx site used by the customer.

Provided by the Cisco WebEx Account Team.

Example: example.webex.com

See Configure Cisco TelePresence Management Suite for instructions.

 

WebEx Site Administration URL

Your unique address for accessing the Cisco WebEx Site Administration interface where you complete your initial Cisco WebEx setup configuration and manage and maintain your account after initial setup. This URL takes you directly to the WebEx Administration site.

Provided by the Cisco WebEx Account Team.

Example: https://example.webex.com/admin

See Integrate Cisco TelePresence with a Cisco WebEx Site Administration Account for instructions.

 

Cisco WebEx Administrator username

Cisco WebEx Site Administrator account username.

Provided by the Cisco WebEx Account Team.

Example: webexAdmin

See Integrate Cisco TelePresence with a Cisco WebEx Site Administration Account for instructions.

 

(Optional) Certificate pair, including public certificate and private key from TMS

Used to authenticate Cisco TMS to the WebEx cloud for meetings booked by users with WebEx accounts when Single Sign On (SSO) is enabled on TMS. When SSO is configured and a user schedules a WebEx-enabled meeting, the WebEx username in their Cisco TMS user profile is passed to the WebEx site to complete the booking.

See Configuring Single Sign On in Cisco TMS for instructions.

 

Client/server certificate for Cisco VCS Expressway

Because the call leg between the Cisco VCS Expressway and the WebEx cloud must be encrypted, .

See Cisco Expressway and TelePresence Configuration Tasks and Configure Certificates on Cisco Expressway-E and Cisco VCS Expressway for instructions.