Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Connecting Polycom
VSX 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., 128.227.128.16 for UF) and also the specific conference number (i.e., 78411549) to be joined.

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

Use Gatekeeper -	select "Specify"
H.323 Name -	enter any text (i.e., your name)
H.323 Extension (E.164) -	enter "79" + your 5 digit phone number (i.e., 7924636)
Gateway IP Address -	enter Gatekeeper IP address (i.e., 128.227.156.75 for UF)

When all entries have been made press the "Home" button on the remote control. On the home page

CHECK FOR THE BUTTON !

If the "Alert" button appears, check the message to ensure that both the IP and Gateway are connected. A green arrow for both indicates a proper connection. A red down-arrow indicates a problem with the specified task. The problem will need to be corrected before attempting to connect to a videoconference.

When the Polycom 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, NOT an IP address).

Hang up when completed by pressing the green "Call-Hang-up" button on the top of the remote control..

The Polycom Viewstation unit 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 "Use 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.