Connecting Polycom video conferencing system to IPOffice 406DS

[wfaulk]

I have a Polycom video conferencing system, a VSX7000A. It is supposedly H.323 compliant. I also have an IPOffice 406 DS system running firmware 4.1(15), for which I've purchased a single "IP End-points" license.

I want the Polycom to be able to use the IPOffice to make audio-only calls on the PSTN, but I can't get it to work.

On the IPOffice, I defined a new VoIP extension with ID 8001 and extension number 1899. I set up the Polycom to use the IPOffice as a gatekeeper and to "log in" as extension 1899.

The Polycom claims to successfully register with the gatekeeper, and I can make calls to the extension apparently without problem.

However, if I make calls from the Polycom, they don't work. If I dial an internal extension, the phone rings, but when I pick up, there is nothing on the other end, and the Polycom continues to receive a ringback tone. If I hang up the Polycom, the called extension will immediately drop the call if it's a digital extension or emit a continuous tone with which I'm unfamiliar if it's an analog extension.

If I dial an external number from the Polycom, the Polycom receives a ringback tone indefinitely, but the called party never rings. A System Status trace shows that the outgoing line is picked up and immediately dropped.

I have some System Status traces for these calls:

trace of Polycom to internal extension
trace of called extension

trace of Polycom to external number
trace of PRI

I've also tried using the Netmeeting H.323 client in Windows XP (Start->Run->conf) with similar results, though when I hang up a half-connected call, the IPOffice gatekeeper frequently boots it out and it can't reconnect.

I have also tried to use the IPOffice system as a gateway instead of a gatekeeper, with similar results, and though it is more irritating to use that way, if using it as a gateway is a way to make it work, that's fine. The reason I say that is that, at one point, I got it working that way, and it seemed to work fine for a few days, but then stopped for some reason and I haven't been able to reproduce the success.

Polycom's H.323 config options:

This is the only VoIP client on the IPOffice (all of our phones are digital or analog), though there are a couple of VoIP trunks to other offices, which are also running IPOffice systems.

I'd very much appreciate any pointers anyone could provide me. I've been arguing with this for ages.

 

[mattKnight]

You do have a VCM don't you?


Have you created a User for the polycom devices?



Take Care

Matt
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone.
My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

 

[kholladay]

The Polycom claims to successfully register with the gatekeeper, and I can make calls to the extension apparently without problem."

I would think that the statement above would make it a yes to both.

Kyle Holladay
ACA-I, ACA Call Center, ACS-I, ACS-M, TIA-CTP, MCP/MCTS Exchange 2007
ACE Implement: IP Office

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it." - Henry Ford

 

[mattKnight]

Fair point...

Take Care

Matt
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone.
My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

 

[kholladay]

Just made me smile and you seem to be able to take a fair bit of harassment

Kyle Holladay
ACA-I, ACA Call Center, ACS-I, ACS-M, TIA-CTP, MCP/MCTS Exchange 2007
ACE Implement: IP Office

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it." - Henry Ford

 

[tlpeter]

Making a call does say nothing
I have made calls to ip phones on a 406 but there was no sound without a vcm card

ACS - Implement IP Office
ACA - Implement IP Telephony -- ACA - Design IP Telephony
ACA - Voice Services Management
______________
Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[kholladay]

Seems quite opposite to what should happen since the VCM isn't needed for the IP to IP call yet it is needed for the ring generator.

The point in the quote was that he said "without issue". Although he did include "apparently" which seems odd. You would think that you would be able to make a call WITH or WITHOUT issue.


Kyle Holladay
ACA-I, ACA Call Center, ACS-I, ACS-M, TIA-CTP, MCP/MCTS Exchange 2007
ACE Implement: IP Office

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it." - Henry Ford

 

[amriddle01]

The standard Polycom IP conference phone does not work on the IP Office (many have tried), I don't see why this would be any different

ACS - IP Office Implement

"I'm just off to Hartlepool to buy some exploding trousers

 

[wfaulk]

Thanks for the quick responses, folks!

You do have a VCM don't you?

Not 100% sure; I didn't order the system, and I'm not an expert by any means. I can tell you that there's a VCM tab in the System pane of the Manager application, and that our VoIP trunks work fine, which I believe also require a VCM.

Have you created a User for the polycom devices?

Yes. Actually, I believe that I've tried both with and without, and I think that it will automatically create the user. Or maybe not. I've argued with it so much that I'm just not 100% sure what I've done any more.

The point in the quote was that he said "without issue". Although he did include "apparently" which seems odd. You would think that you would be able to make a call WITH or WITHOUT issue.

Well, the Polycom rings, and when I answer it, sounds transfer both ways. I have not done any extensive stress testing, though.

The standard Polycom IP conference phone does not work on the IP Office (many have tried), I don't see why this would be any different

Does it also almost work? Should I be able to get NetMeeting to work? Or is there anything else (that I can get for free, like a commercial software demo or freeware app) that is known to work that I can try as a proof of concept that the IPOffice's H.323 is working?

 

[amriddle01]

Yes it does almost work, people report similiar issues to yours registering but only partial voice path/connection etc. I have not tried myself but I have seen a few attempts on here but none that have worked as far as I remember

ACS - IP Office Implement

"I'm just off to Hartlepool to buy some exploding trousers

 

[wfaulk]

Can anyone suggest a free software H.323 client known to work with my IPOffice that I can use as a proof of concept, please?

 

[wfaulk]

Okay, I've found that with both PacPhone and SJphone I can successfully accept incoming calls and I can make outgoing calls to extensions, even ones on the other side of a VoIP trunk. I even get the username of the party I'm calling. So it sounds like the H.323 is working well.

But I still can't make PSTN calls. I'm dialing in the exact same way I would dial from my desk phone (91aaapppnnnn and 9pppnnnn), which is how I'm dialing the extensions, too (xxxx).

Any ideas?

 

[amriddle01]

What lines are you using? How are the shortcodes for dialling external setup, are they system or user shortcodes etc, you could try turning off "allow direct media" path for the IP extn too

ACS - IP Office Implement

"I'm just off to Hartlepool to buy some exploding trousers

 

[mattKnight]

It is possible that you may find that outbound calls from the polycom will be set up with different H323 capabilites (i.e. video) that the IP office can't cope with.

However, because the IP office sets up calls to the polycom using voice capabilities, that the polycom can answer - all works ok?

Sound feasible?



Take Care

Matt
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone.
My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

 

[mattKnight]

A sysmon trace with All H323 options and display whole packet is the only next step I think

Take Care

Matt
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone.
My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

 

[wfaulk]

What lines are you using?

What lines? I'm not sure what you mean, but the PSTN connection is a 23-channel PRI, ESF/B8ZS.

How are the shortcodes for dialling external setup, are they system or user shortcodes etc,

There is a system shortcode for 9 that dials the remainder of the number using Line Group 50, which is defined in the ARS pane. Then there are short codes there for "1xxxxxxxxxx" and "xxxxxxx" (amongst others) that dial that number using Line Group 0. (I assume 0 means "whatever's available".)

you could try turning off "allow direct media" path for the IP extn too

Already off.

Sound feasible?

Yeah, but I guess I'd like to exhaust my possibilities. I can't make outgoing calls with a voice-only H.323 client, either, at this point.

A sysmon trace with All H323 options and display whole packet is the only next step I think

Can do: Here.

The relevant lines seem to me to be:

54651461mS CMLineRx: v=5
CMReleaseComp
Line: type=Q931Line 5 Call: lid=0 id=1244 in=0
BChan: slot=0 chan=22
Cause=57, Bearer capability not authorised

and

InformationElement = BearerCapability
0000 04 03 88 93 a5                                  .....

I believe that means ITU-T standardized coding, unrestricted digital information, circuit mode, 384kbps, H.221/H.242. That seems wrong to me, but what do I know?

And cause 57, if I understand correctly, means that the IPOffice can do that, but won't.

 

[Westi]

cause 57 Bearer capability not authorised. The user requested a bearer capability that the network provides, but the user is not authorized to use it. This might be a subscription problem.

which ISDN service is it trying to use, voice? speech? do you see that in the trace?

Joe W.

FHandw., ACS

If you can't be good, be good at it!

 

[mattKnight]

There may be a line issue, but because the can't dial internally from the polycom, it isn't the full story either

Take Care

Matt
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone.
My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

 

[wfaulk]

Okay, I finally got a 3rd party client working: ePhony demo. It seems to work without a hitch.

So now I need to compare what's going on with the softphone vs. the Polycom and see if I can make some changes.

On a tangential note, I've had two softphones crash on me and they don't deregister themselves from the gatekeeper. Since I only have one license, this means that I then can't connect with another system until that registration goes away, which only seems to occur after a reboot. (Maybe a really long timeout, like hours.) Is there any way to force the IPOffice gatekeeper to throw away the registration?

 

[wfaulk]

It seems you can use sysmon to deregister H.323 clients.

I've found that the Polycom wants to do "unrestricted digital information" instead of "speech". I've contacted Polycom support to see if there is any way to get the VSX to try to make a voice-only call.

In the meantime, I realized that I could make a call from a regular phone connected to the IPOffice and transfer that call to the video conferencing system. Kind of a pain, but it works.