|

Using the Legacy Zoom Connector for Polycom

ByCorporate Guider Home, Zoom

 

Note: New Cloud Room Connector licenses provisioned on or after January 18, 2021, will automatically include the enhanced API Room Connector for SIP/H.323 devices. Enhanced room provisioning and management instructions are available if your account was provisioned with a CRC license after January 18.

Zoom can be integrated with any existing Polycom RealPresence room system (Group Series, Debut, HDX, or Trio). With this, you can start Zoom meetings right from your existing hardware. The room can also be used to start an instant meeting if it is configured with a Personal Meeting ID, or to join Zoom meetings that are not scheduled.

Prerequisites for using the Legacy Zoom Connector for Polycom

General requirements

  • Cloud Room Connector license for Zoom accounts
  • Powered on Polycom system with all components connected, including a network cable and a TV screen. Download firmware and devices.

API Connector requirements

  • Install and run the Zoom API Connector software on a Windows PC, server, or virtual machine.
    • Processor with two cores
    • and 8GB of RAM
    • plus 20GB of storage

Note: The above device requirements support up to 200 endpoints.

How to associate the Zoom Connector with your network

  1. Zoom’s web portal requires you to sign in.
  2. Then click Cisco/Polycom Rooms in the navigation panel.
    You can purchase a Cloud Room Connector license on this page if you don’t already have one.
  3. Click Add API Connector under the API Connectors tab.
  4. Fill out the pop-up window with the network information.
    The range is set by default to cover all possible networks with which your system might be connected. This can be limited to the network and subnet information your Polycom system uses.
    Please make sure that your network values do not overlap if you are using multiple connectors.
  5. Press Save.

In the list of API Connectors, the new connector is displayed with an automatically generated Connector ID. Once the Connector ID has been generated, it will be copied to your clipboard and used in the installation procedure for Zoom API Connector.

How to install the Zoom API Connector software

You enter the Connector ID (created in the previous procedure) associated with the Zoom cloud in the Zoom API Connector installer.

The API Connector software runs on either a Windows Server or a Virtual Machine.

  • Log in to Zoom’s web portal.
  • To access Cisco/Polycom Rooms, click Room Management in the navigation panel.
  • On the API Connectors tab, click the Install action.
    The installer is downloaded for the Zoom API Connector ready for installation, and the Connector ID is copied to the clipboard for your convenience.
  • When installing ZoomAPIConnector.msi on a computer other than the one you downloaded it on, move the file to the installation computer.
  • Start the installation process by double-clicking ZoomAPIConnector.msi.
  • On the wizard pages, click Next after accepting the license agreement and selecting an installation location.
  • On the Customize this installation screen of the wizard, enter the Connector ID.
    As part of the procedure for connecting the Zoom Connector to the network, this value is automatically generated.

  • Click Next, then click Install to install the Zoom API Connector software.
  • After the installation is complete, click Finish to exit the wizard.

With the Zoom API Connector, the Polycom room system is now part of the network. No matter how many Polycom systems you want to configure, you only need to install the Zoom API Connector application once. After the systems are configured, Zoom API Connector may be disabled or uninstalled, but it must be running whenever you change configuration information.

Note: For testing or short-term purposes, you can install and run the Zoom API Connector software on any Windows computer, including workstations. It is recommended that you keep the Zoom API Configuration software running on a Windows Server or a Virtual Machine that is always available in order to gain the most benefit and convenience.

How to prepare the Polycom system for provisioning

Prior to enabling on the Zoom platform, it is recommended that you perform a factory restore in order to remove any previous configurations.

Note: It is possible that some settings may remain in place if a Polycom system is removed from the Zoom platform after it is no longer retrieving its provisioning profile from Zoom. When removing the Polycom system from Zoom, it is recommended to also perform a factory restore.

How to provision the Polycom system and calendar with Zoom cloud settings

Utilize the Room Connector API to populate the provisioning settings for the Polycom system and connect it to a calendar in the Zoom cloud.

  1. Zoom’s web portal can be accessed by signing in.
  2. You need to click Room Management then Cisco/Polycom Rooms in the navigation panel.
  3. Click the Add Room button on the Rooms tab.
    A dialog box displays.
  4. To display advanced options, click Show advanced options.
  5. Enter the name of the room you wish to display on the Rooms tab of the Calendar Integration page under the Room Profile section. As you type in this field, the Edit dialog box’s name changes.
    Note: If this is for a Polycom HDX room type, the room name can’t contain any of the following special characters: !@#$&*;,-
  6. Under the Room Setup section, enter the following information:
    • Disabled device: Leave the toggle switch off during configuration.
    • Polycom system type: Select the Polycom system type you are configuring.
      When selecting Polycom HDX, make sure the Room Name does not contain any of the special characters listed in step 5.
    • Type in the serial number for your Polycom system. Obtain the serial number either from the TV screen, the Polycom box, or your Polycom invoice.
    • Username and Password: Enter a username and password that will be used to log into Zoom from your Polycom system. As the password must be entered using the Polycom remote control, it is typically a short numeric string.
      The value of “1234” is not acceptable here as it is the default value and is not secure.
    • When the Polycom system is ready for Zoom integration, enter the IP address displayed on the TV screen.
    • Pick the appropriate time zone.
    • If you need to override the default time server, enter the value of a local time server.
  7. Enter the following information under SIP / H323 Integration:
    • Password for Registration: The Password for Registration is used to authenticate the automatically generated Username for Registration. You can enter a custom password here or leave it blank to automatically generate one.
    • SIP Call Control: The default setting is Enabled, not registered.
    • Choose Disabled (default) unless there is a problem and the system must use the H.323 protocol.
    • Choose a call rate that is the highest possible within your bandwidth constraints. 1920 is the default value. Video quality can be impacted by lower call rates.
    • Optimise the sharing of video clips when joining a meeting by using the video-sharing mode.
    • Tone: The volume of the audio. A normal volume is considered the default.
  8. Under the Meeting Settings section, enter the following information:
    • Calendars: Enter at least one calendar address (either Exchange, Office 365, or Google) of the room where the Polycom system is located.
    • Room Meeting ID: If your Polycom system has been registered as a Zoom Room, it has an assigned Personal Meeting ID, which can be used to start instant meetings. Obtain this value on the Edit page for the room. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator and click Zoom Rooms. Click the name of the room, then click the Edit button.
    • Join a Meeting: Click the toggle to enable if you want the Polycom system to have a Speed Dial option for joining meetings that are not on the calendar. To join a meeting, use the remote control or touch panel to enter the Meeting ID.
    • Ad-hoc Join/Meet Now location: This option is available only for Group Series. Choose whether to enable the Polycom system to use the Speed Dial mode or the Dynamic Calendar mode by default, or to turn off both of these modes.
      • If you choose Speed Dial or Favorites, your speed dial settings are configured so that you can start a meeting (if you entered the Meet Now ID) and join a meeting (if you chose Enable Join a Meeting) from the Speed Dial menu.
      • If you choose Dynamic Calendar, you see the ‘Meet Now’ or ‘Join a Meeting’ presented on the calendar view in addition to actual list of events in the room’s calendar. The Speed Dial menu is not displayed. A Call button displays at the meeting start time, enabling you to start the meeting. This is available for Group Series only.
      • If you choose Contacts or Local Contacts, then the Join meeting option and Meet now option are available on the Contacts button of your device.
      • If you choose Off, ‘Meet Now’ and ‘Join a Meeting’ options are only available from the system directory.
  9. Under the Advanced section, in the Alternative Room Connector field, change this value if you are using a Virtual Room Connector.
  10. Click Save.
    The values that you entered are used to provision the Polycom system with services and settings, including calendaring, SIP or H.323 service, and other system settings optimized for use with Zoom meetings.
  11. Click the Calendar Credentials tab.
    Note: It might take several seconds before the values saved in the Rooms tab populate the Calendar Credentials tab.
  12. Find the entry for each of the calendars that you entered in the Calendars field of the Edit dialog (in step 8), and then do one of the following:
    • For a Google calendar:
      1. Click the Approve action.
      2. Click Allow in the dialog that shows the actions that Zoom will use for calendar management.
    • For an Outlook or Exchange calendar:
      1. Click the Edit action to open the dialog.
      2. Choose the Type (either ews for Exchange or o365 for Outlook).
      3. Enter the Username and Password for the account.
      4. Click Save.

After calendar access has been approved, the Polycom system is provisioned for Zoom meetings that are on the associated calendar. Any Zoom meetings that you start or join from your Polycom room system display on the TV screen, using the integrated camera for video and the integrated speakers and microphones for audio during the meeting.

Additional options are available for controlling the information that displays from the calendar. To change or remove information from the screen of your Polycom system:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation panel, click Room Management then Cisco/Polycom Rooms.
  3. Click the Calendar Credentials tab, then click Edit in the Action column for the calendar.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the dialog and change any of the following settings:
    • Hide Topic: Toggle this option to Hide if you want to prevent the meeting topic from being displayed on the screen. If you leave this toggled to Default, the meeting topic from the calendar displays, if it is available.
    • Hide Agenda: Toggle this option to Hide if you want to prevent the meeting description from being displayed on the screen. If you leave this toggled to Default, the meeting description from the calendar displays, if it is available.
    • Default Topic: The topic that displays on your system screen for meetings in the room’s calendar that are not Zoom meetings, if the meeting topic is not available in the calendar. If you do not change this value, the topic that displays is Reserved.
      Tip: If you need to include the name, you can use the special token {{organizerName}} for example ‘Reserved for {{organizerName}}’
    • Default Topic (Zoom): The topic that displays on your Cisco screen for a Zoom meeting if the meeting topic is not available in the calendar. If you do not change this value, the topic that displays is Zoom Meeting.

How to manage Polycom room settings

Use the actions on the Rooms tab to Edit or Delete configuration settings.

If the Management column shows that the room is active, you can click that entry to display a menu. The menu items provide access to remote diagnostics tools on the Polycom system, if they are available. Note that the items on this menu are provided as a convenience, but are not supported by Zoom or Polycom.

Choose Admin UI to display the administrator console for the room:

Choose Remote Control to view and interact with the web interface of the room touch control.

Choose View Screen to view what is current displayed on the room display:

Additional information about the Polycom room systems is available from the Polycom support site:

Related posts:

  1. Customizing your profile in zoom app
  2. Accessing audio conferencing reports in zoom app
  3. Using Group HD video in zoom app
  4. How do I host an instant meeting in zoom app?
  5. Bypassing passcode when joining a meeting in zoom app
  6. Enabling webinar livestreaming in zoom
  7. Setting up shared line groups in zoom
  8. Enabling or disabling call overflow and transfer in zoom
  9. Managing dispositions in zoom app
  10. Managing inboxes in zoom app

Similar Posts