Polycom VideoConference Solutions. Memories 6 years later ... Stage 2. Part 1. RMX1500
Good afternoon, colleagues.
Finally it was time to fulfill the promise and tell how it all continued and ended. I apologize for being so late.
There will be 2 parts:
The text below will contain many letters and may cause an incorrect assessment of my attitude to this decision. In conclusion, I will reveal the moment that I relate to Polycom smoothly and well, just that their products are not for everyone. So, a picture to describe the situation:
Incepto ne desistam
So, let me remind you. In 2013, an article was published about the pitfalls of Polycom hardware codecs. The implementation, in principle, began in 2011 and by 2013 we had 10 such devices throughout Russia. The following question arose: how to organize multipoint conferences? In theory 1, the existing HDX 7000 with a certain license (and we had one) could combine up to 4 points, and two - up to 8 points (I recall a joke about a marker and two markers), but it was not clear what to do with users with laptops and how to implement bridges without overloading communication channels).
So, in 2013 we matured before acquiring the RMX1500 with 45 licenses. Why so much? At the policom, everything is tricky :-)
Those. a total of 45 licenses allowed us to combine up to 15 meeting rooms (in one or different rooms). And also we could connect to another (external RMX) and unite at least 30 users using proprietary cascading technology.
I had to go to training, as it was clearly longer to master almost 1000 pages of the administrator’s manual. Also, Polycom paws did everything to make the administrator comfortable:
In general, everything is clear. I’ll say that in 2013 it was already hard to find Internet Explorer 8 ...
During the training, all told and described the scenarios in detail, the integrator completed his task. But the problem is that the scenarios of the courts, the Ministry of Emergencies and banks do not quite fit the young and rapidly growing organization, which "needs yesterday and why it is not ready."
Since I am not distinguished by a love of continuous support, I did what classical integrators were horrified by. I just created 30 rooms for every taste and color - with different layouts, the number of participants and quality, printed them out in the meeting rooms for the business, put all the HDX in the catalogs, put them in speed dial. (By the way, our employees mastered this ... but dialing * 59 # to prevent outsiders from entering was much more difficult).
In addition, it was done:
Everything is collected in a daddy and safely transferred to operation
Polycom RMX1500 survived:
For 6 years, we have made only 1 change - we added a connection to the CMA4000, which came back to us in 2019, but I will talk about this in part 2.
Polycom has a very good line of hardware and software for it. They have excellent support, good partners. The equipment is super-stable and fault tolerant. Everything is great. Question: how much are you willing to pay for this and do you need this level? If you are a bank, a legal organization, an emergency center, an infrastructure company responsible for safety (railways, nuclear plants), then yes, be sure to consider it. If you are still young, do not plan for 5-10 years in advance, do not know how the business will develop, then it is better to stop in time, limiting yourself to HDX and a cloud solution.
This is my personal opinion based on Polycom's industry positioning and my experience as a young company.
Thank you for your attention, I promise not to disappear with part 2.
Questions are welcome!
Finally it was time to fulfill the promise and tell how it all continued and ended. I apologize for being so late.
There will be 2 parts:
- RMX1500
- CMA4000
The text below will contain many letters and may cause an incorrect assessment of my attitude to this decision. In conclusion, I will reveal the moment that I relate to Polycom smoothly and well, just that their products are not for everyone. So, a picture to describe the situation:
Incepto ne desistam
Foreword
So, let me remind you. In 2013, an article was published about the pitfalls of Polycom hardware codecs. The implementation, in principle, began in 2011 and by 2013 we had 10 such devices throughout Russia. The following question arose: how to organize multipoint conferences? In theory 1, the existing HDX 7000 with a certain license (and we had one) could combine up to 4 points, and two - up to 8 points (I recall a joke about a marker and two markers), but it was not clear what to do with users with laptops and how to implement bridges without overloading communication channels).
Start to do good
So, in 2013 we matured before acquiring the RMX1500 with 45 licenses. Why so much? At the policom, everything is tricky :-)
- 1 license! = 1 member
- 1 license = 1 stream of a certain width.
- Voice = 1 thread.
- Video with SD quality = 1.5 streams or licenses
- HD = 3 licenses.
Those. a total of 45 licenses allowed us to combine up to 15 meeting rooms (in one or different rooms). And also we could connect to another (external RMX) and unite at least 30 users using proprietary cascading technology.
I had to go to training, as it was clearly longer to master almost 1000 pages of the administrator’s manual. Also, Polycom paws did everything to make the administrator comfortable:
-
Great and intuitive interface -
Logical placement of settings items -
Absolutely safe change of table settings -
Instant access to detailed logs -
A clear need is already in 4 network ports (of course, everything is signed) -
A good table of contents in the manual allows you to find the answer to any question in 3 minutes -
The web interface works under all modern browsers
In general, everything is clear. I’ll say that in 2013 it was already hard to find Internet Explorer 8 ...
A little bit about laziness
During the training, all told and described the scenarios in detail, the integrator completed his task. But the problem is that the scenarios of the courts, the Ministry of Emergencies and banks do not quite fit the young and rapidly growing organization, which "needs yesterday and why it is not ready."
Since I am not distinguished by a love of continuous support, I did what classical integrators were horrified by. I just created 30 rooms for every taste and color - with different layouts, the number of participants and quality, printed them out in the meeting rooms for the business, put all the HDX in the catalogs, put them in speed dial. (By the way, our employees mastered this ... but dialing * 59 # to prevent outsiders from entering was much more difficult).
In addition, it was done:
- translation of all IVRs into Russian (oh yes, the vendor is not ready to provide them) it also turned out there, would not lie - mono 8bit wav
- welcome page replacement
- documentation: administrators, service specialists, users (1 sheet with pictures)
- Full configuration backup
- Support contract and updates for 3 years
Everything is collected in a daddy and safely transferred to operation
Summary
Polycom RMX1500 survived:
- VKS with one big bank (it was so nice when the videoconferencing administrator of this bank, hearing my voice, said “I asked to connect me with a technical specialist.” As a result, everything worked out, but I had to align MTU - because I didn’t pass the content (Desktop)
- 2 relocations of the data center (including intercity in winter)
- A fallen off video card and a full reset (in 2016. The funny thing is that the 2012 backup helped)
- Crowded log
- 4 hardware administrators and maintenance service (organizational structure has changed)
- 3 addressing changes
For 6 years, we have made only 1 change - we added a connection to the CMA4000, which came back to us in 2019, but I will talk about this in part 2.
PS
Polycom has a very good line of hardware and software for it. They have excellent support, good partners. The equipment is super-stable and fault tolerant. Everything is great. Question: how much are you willing to pay for this and do you need this level? If you are a bank, a legal organization, an emergency center, an infrastructure company responsible for safety (railways, nuclear plants), then yes, be sure to consider it. If you are still young, do not plan for 5-10 years in advance, do not know how the business will develop, then it is better to stop in time, limiting yourself to HDX and a cloud solution.
This is my personal opinion based on Polycom's industry positioning and my experience as a young company.
Thank you for your attention, I promise not to disappear with part 2.
Questions are welcome!
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