Overview

Conferencing is a scenario in which more than two parties participate in a single call. In addition to line and trunk cards, a switch must be equipped with one or more Service Platform Cards (SPCs) configured for conferencing. There are many uses for conferencing in the switch, including:

Third-party billed and collect calls (operator services)
Monitoring of telemarketing personnel performance by a supervisor
Two-party calls with a consultant
Multiparty bridging (conference calls)

Conferences are controlled by the host using the Conference Control ($6D) command. A single conference can support up to eight two-way (talk and listen) parties, or up to seven two-way parties and an unlimited number of one-way (listen only) parties (up to the maximum number of network interface ports in the system). A switch can support up to 128 simultaneous conferences. The input level from and output level to each conference party can be adjusted by the host at any point during a conference.

Conference Control ($6D) Command

The Conference Control ($6D) command allows the host to perform the following functions:

Reserve a conference

: Up to eight conference ports can be set aside for use by a specific conference. Line and trunk ports are not affected. No parties are involved in a reserved conference; each party must be individually added. Reserving a conference also sets up the conference structure that allows conferencing to take place. Conference structures are discussed later in this chapter.

Start a conference

: When a conference is started, conference ports are allocated, a conference structure is set up, and voice paths are summed to create a conference. The number of conference ports allocated corresponds to the number of parties (both one-way and two-way) specified in the command.

Tear down a conference

: When a conference is torn down, conference parties are removed from the conference, the conference ports are returned to the resource group and marked as available, and the conference structure is torn down.

Add parties to a conference

: One or more parties can be added to an existing conference.

Delete parties from a conference

: One or more parties can be deleted from a conference without affecting the other parties. Parties removed from a conference can be idled or placed in setup state.

Adjust input/output levels

: Input levels to the conference and output levels from the conference can be adjusted for each party when it becomes part of a conference or at any time thereafter.

The system assigns a number to a conference structure when it is set up. This number remains as an identifier until the conference is either torn down or all conference parties are deleted or hang up. The host must reference the conference by number whenever any action (other than starting or reserving a conference) is to be performed. Commands to reserve or start a conference should always specify Return All in the Network Control byte of the Network Header. Refer to the Cisco VCO/4K Standard Programming Reference and Cisco VCO/4K Extended Programming Reference for information on the Network Header. When this is done, the conference number is returned to the host in byte offset 5 of the command.

Reserved conference ports remain reserved until the conference is torn down. If a line/trunk port is deleted from a reserved conference, the conference port to which it was linked remains reserved.

For more information on system command and report structure and usage, refer to the Cisco VCO/4K Standard Programming Reference and Cisco VCO/4K Extended Programming Reference.

Table of Contents

Overview

Conference Control ($6D) Command