Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Connecting a PC
Polycom PVX
to a Gatekeeper

Before participating in a videoconference call you must know if the call will be using a Gatekeeper to join all the participants. Normally you would not be connected to a Gatekeeper and would be directly accessible from anywhere on the Internet.

If the conference does not use a Gatekeeper the connecting address will be a normal IP address (i.e., 128.227.103.179). However, if a Gatekeeper is involved, you will need to know both the IP address of the Gatekeeper (i.e., 128.227.156.75 for UF) and also the specific conference number (i.e., 78411549) to be joined.

The Polycom PVX software can be configured on the PC to use the specified Gatekeeper. Follow these steps through the on-screen menu:

When all entries have been made Click on "OK".

Now that the Polycom PVX system is properly configured, place your conference call to the number provided by the conference host (this will usually be a 7 to 9 digit number beginning with 78, NOT an IP address).

Hang up when the videoconference is completed by pressing the "Hang-up" button on the top-right of the PVX software window.

The Polycom software should be reset for normal IP Internet calling when the call is completed. This is done by returning to the "Gatekeeper" menu as detailed above and setting the "Gatekeeper" option from "Specify" to "Off". The other settings do not need to be changed because they will be ignored until you again specify the use of a Gatekeeper. This will make the setup for your next visit to this or other Gatekeepers easier.