Thank Rob for your participation.

I had created a Meet-Me extension so I was able to join many Onsite users and only two external users dialing that extension.

once I had tried to join the conference as a third external user , the extension appeared non available.

I think that Cisco limits the software conference up to two users...!

what do you think.

Hi Mo,

No, I don't think that restriction exists. There is a Maximum "Total" number of participants but that Total does not differenciate between Internal and External callers.

Try setting up a new Meet-Me and only connecting External calls from Mobiles etc. You shouldn't see this restriction.

Cisco Conference Bridge Software

Software conference devices support G.711 codecs by default.

The maximum number of audio streams for this type equals 128. With 128 streams, a software conference media resource can handle 128 users in a single conference, or the software conference media resource can handle up to 42 conferencing resources with three users per conference.

If the Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming Application service runs on a different server than the Cisco CallManager service, a software conference cannot exceed the maximum limit of 128 participants.

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Caution If the Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming Application service runs on the same server as the Cisco CallManager service, a software conference should not exceed the maximum limit of 48 participants.

From this good doc;

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/admin/4_1_3/ccmsys/a05confb.html#wp1035397

Hope this helps!

Rob

Great link Rob. Thanks, but I want to verify something on it. It sounds like to me, within callmanager only, you can have up to 128 users on one conference call. (correct me if Im wrong on that). If that is the case, why would anyone need anything really more than that? AND, if callmanager will handle up to 128 calls into a conference bridge, are there any other items to consider if a company needs only less than that for conferencing, like meetingplace, other resources, etc? Thanks.

Hi John,

Hope all is well! Good question :)

For most of us the Internal Conferencing capabilities with CCM are plenty. As far as setting up a Conference with 128 participants, well.... I wouldn't. This to me is really more of a theoretical rather than practical maximum. For the most part however the MeetMe and Adhoc conferences for smaller groups is a great solution.

Meetingplace and Meetingplace Express offer a whole other level of connectivity beyond just Audio Conferencing;

Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express is a software solution for voice, Web, and video conferencing that runs on a single Cisco Media Convergence Server using a Linux-based operating system. Its design includes the following capabilities:

• Telephony and video integration: Standards H.323, SIP, G.711, and G.729a are supported for telephony integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, and other standards-based call-control systems. H.263 or H.264 is supported for video communication. See Table 6 for more details on system requirements. In Cisco Unified Communications Manager environments, advanced conferencing capabilities are exposed on supported IP phones (such as the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7940) through Phone View, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) application.

• Web conferencing access: Web conferencing access is available from Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Solaris platforms using standard browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox) and the Adobe Flash Player. Encrypted access is supported through HTTPS and SSL.

• Directory integration: Facilitate user profile setup and authentication through Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, or with Cisco Unified Communications Manager using other standard directories (such as Microsoft Active Directory).

• Microsoft Outlook and e-mail integration: Set up and attend meetings from Microsoft Outlook using a plug-in that communicates with the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express server using HTTP or HTTPS. E-mail notifications are enabled in e-mail environments supporting Microsoft Exchange or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

• Network management: Monitoring and alarming are supported through the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express can be deployed in the following ways:

• On the internal network: This model provides for voice and video conferencing access from internal and external endpoints (using gateways), with Web conferencing access limited to those with access to the internal network.

• Segmented meeting access: This model addresses the need to make some Web meetings available to external users, for example partners and customers, while also keeping internal Web meetings, for example confidential forecast meetings, protected from Internet access. An additional server is placed in a demilitarized zone (DMZ) and provides Internet access to Web conferences set up to allow external participants.

Hope this helps John!

Rob

Great info. Yes, I have a situation where Ill have about 50 users trying to do a conference call every day. Ill be installing CUCM 6.x and I was hoping that just the software configuration in CUCM would be enough. Still trying to learn when to look at other resources and when not to. It sounds like just the built in conference capability would be enough for what Im looking at. You agree? Thanks for the great info.

Hi John,

Yes, I think you should be good to go! Just make sure that if any participants are calling in via the PSTN that you have sufficient Trunking :)

Hope this helps!

Rob

Thanks Rob.

Hi Rob and All,

Thank you all for this nice duscussion.

regarding the Meet-Me confernces, I think it is initiated internally first then all external users can join this conference.

so external users cannot initiate this type of conference(correct me if I am wrong).

my question here if I can force all external users to insert a passcode before joining the Meet-Me conservation.

Thanks again,

Mo

Hi Rob and All,

I want to implement a conference solution as similar to Meet Me but with the ability to initiate it from outside (in such a case that all participants are outside the company and want to terminate the conference call on my CCM).

As I know that Meet Me software and hardware bridge conferences cannot cover this desire.

I am just asking if MeetingPlace can help me as a solution, if not can you provide me with such a solution.

thatnking you in advance.

Mo

Hi Mo,

Hope all is well :) Yes, MeetingPlace can be used exactly for this purpose. Audio Conferences cab be setup using the Touch Tone interface;

With the Reservationless Meetings feature, profile users can create impromptu meetings through their touch-tone phones without having to schedule the meetings in advance. Using a unique meeting ID reserved for each user (the user's profile ID), participants can conduct meetings whenever system resources are available and use all available features during the meeting.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/meetingplace/5_3/english/audio_server/administration/guide/ag02.html#wp74273

An immediate meeting is one that starts right away (when the Reservationless Meetings feature is not enabled). Users can schedule immediate meetings through the telephone interface, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Conferencing, or in the MeetingTime Schedule tab.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/meetingplace/5_3/english/audio_server/administration/guide/ag03.html#wp72375

Hope this helps!

Rob

Hi Rob,

Thank you for your prompt response.

Actually using this conference product (MeetingPlace) with its interesting capabilities and features requires also an internal user intervention (Onsite user).

do we need to provide an external participant with a meeting ID(Profile ID)?

I have not worked on it but I need to recommend it if it is suitable and sufficient in all aspects.

Thanks Rob,

Mo.

Hi Mo,

With this solution you can set up an Audio Conference without Internal user intervention. This can be completely set up via Telephone from an External location. You just require the Dial-In number and the Meeting ID and password.

This sounds like it would fit your needs really well :)

Hope this helps!

Rob