Reference14r2:PBX/Objects/Conference

The PBX conference object manages conference rooms, including announcements and PIN protection.

Conference calls are handled by one or more conference servers (MCUs) registered as devices to this object. If multiple conference servers are used, different media types can be handled by different servers. innovaphone conference interfaces (CONF/SCNF) can also be registered to this object to provide audio, video and application sharing conferences.

General Configuration

Information about general configuration options shared by all PBX objects can be found at Reference14r2:PBX/Objects.

Devices

Hardware Id

The hardware ID must correspond to the hardware ID of a device listed on the object's General page (not the Gateway). The device is registered to this object and provides the conference service.

innovaphone device

Tick this option if the MCU is an innovaphone device.

Media Types

When a media type is selected, calls to the registration include that media type.

Channels Licenses

Use the PBX Channel Licenses to enable conference functionality. This option can be enabled via the Conference Plugin in the Settings App.

Number of channels

Specifies the number of channels available on the MCU device or the maximum number of channels to be used. If left empty, the value is 0 (no channels).

MCU Room Numbers

If the device is not an innovaphone device and has multiple rooms, the room numbers to dial can be configured here.

Registration

If a registration exists for this hardware ID, the registrar's IP address is displayed here.

Options

Announcement URL

The URL used to store the announcements. In this URL, $type is automatically replaced with the announcement type. For example: http://127.0.0.1/webdav/conference/$type.$coder?coder=g722,g711u,g711a,g723,g729,opus-nb,opus-wb. The available announcement types are listed in the Announcements section.

Extern Announcement Name/No

By default, the conference object uses its internal HTTP interface for announcements. You can also use an external destination. Enter its name or number here.

Room number length

If the room number length is set to zero, only one room is available. Otherwise, static rooms can be configured and temporary rooms can be created by the operator.

PIN

If the room number length is set to zero, you can set the PIN for the conference room here. The PIN can be empty or defined with four digits.

Operator enabled

If ticked, the operator is enabled and can be reached when no room number is dialed.

International Number

If an international number is configured, the conference invitation generated by the Conference App includes the international number, followed by the conference object number and the conference room number. It also includes the internal SIP dialing information. If no international number is configured, no dialing information is shown in the invitation.

Trace

If ticked, tracing is enabled for this PBX object.

Rooms

Up to 30 static rooms can be configured. When the first participant joins a room, the room is opened and the configured number of channels is reserved for it. These channels are then available for the other participants joining the room. All selected media types must also be available when the room is opened. Otherwise, the room cannot be opened. When the last participant leaves the room, the reserved channels are released.

A room is defined by:

Room number

The room number must be unique. Its length depends on the Room number length option.

Number of channels

This is the number of channels configured on the Device tab. When the first participant joins the room, the configured number of channels is reserved for the room, provided that enough channels are available on the MCU to open it.

Each additional participant uses one of the reserved channels. If all reserved channels are in use, additional participants can still join as long as channels are available on the MCU.

If no channels are available on the MCU, the room cannot be opened. If all available channels are reserved or in use across all rooms, no additional rooms or participants can use them.

Media types

The ticked media types are used for the calls. All selected media types must be available when the room is opened. Otherwise, the room cannot be opened.

If the H.264 video codec is not selected, it is removed from the call. The same applies to the VP8 video codec. This filtering takes place before the call is forwarded to the MCU.

Display Name

The name of the conference room. This name can be used to search for and call the room. It is also used as the name of the corresponding Conference App.

Meeting Feature

Defines which meeting features are available in the Conference App:

• Meeting allowed: Displays the invitation information for the permanent conference room and allows users to create temporary conferences.
• Meeting not allowed: Displays only the invitation information for the permanent conference room.
• Only Meetings: Displays only the option to create temporary conferences.

PIN

The room PIN can be empty or must contain four digits. The PIN cannot be included in the dialed number.

Operator

If the operator is enabled, users can dial the operator number to create temporary conference rooms (ad-hoc rooms). When a new room is created, the requested number of channels is reserved for this room. These channels remain reserved until the last participant leaves the room.

Operator Number

The number used to access the operator menu. It must be different from all permanent room numbers. The system also checks that new ad-hoc room numbers do not match this number.

If no operator number is configured, calls to the conference object are routed directly to the operator.

PIN

The PIN required to access the operator. It can be empty or must contain four digits. The PIN cannot be part of the dialing number.

Media Types for ad-hoc rooms

Defines the media types used for ad-hoc rooms.

A room can still be created if some of the selected media types are not available. However, audio channels must be available.

If the H.264 video codec is not selected, it is removed from the call. The same applies to the VP8 video codec. This filtering takes place before the call is forwarded to the MCU.

IVR Menu

The operator menu guides the user through the following steps:

• Enter the PIN to access the operator.
• Enter the room number. The number of digits depends on the configured Room number length.
• Enter the number of channels to reserve, followed by #.
• Enter a four-digit PIN for the room, followed by #. To create a room without a PIN, press # only.

Note: Overlap dialing to the operator number is not supported. You must dial the complete number (Conference Object Number + Operator Number) in one step (en-bloc dialing).

Apps

In the App tab, the Virtual Background app is ticked automatically when the Virtual Background service is installed and a Conference object exists.

Note: You can check here whether the Virtual Background app is enabled.

Announcements

For a list of supported announcements, please refer to Reference15r1:PBX/Objects/Conference/Announcement_types.

Note: The available announcements can be customized and recorded again if needed.

Notifications

To notify participants when someone joins the room, you can play a simple DTMF tone instead of the standard announcement. This is configured in the routing table. Use the configuration shown below:

Note: This does not apply to software conference interfaces (SCNF), as they do not support DTMF sequence generation.