Meeting room device management

Meeting room device management#

In the Jabra Plus Management platform, the Meeting rooms menu item enables you to visualize, sort, and manage Jabra meeting room devices, effectively mapping physical meeting rooms used for online meetings and creating an organizational structure.

Meeting rooms address the challenges of remote identification, management, and troubleshooting of Jabra meeting room devices. You can perform bulk management of settings and firmware, inspect real-time Jabra meeting room device or room status, reboot Jabra meeting room devices for troubleshooting, access activity logs for each meeting room, and other functionalities.

Like personal devices, Jabra meeting room devices have a virtual inventory, called room inventory. The Meeting rooms menu item is made up of the Room inventory, Room configurations, and Room clients.

When adding meeting room devices to the room inventory, there are two ways of approaching provisioning:

• Adding during provisioning: an admin user or AV Installer names the virtual room and adds the Jabra meeting room device, which appears in the room inventory as an unassigned room. The name helps identification (and can be changed anytime), letting you add the device first, then assign a room configuration and a firmware policy before moving the room to a location structure.

• Adding before provisioning: an admin user can add rooms first (name a room with an Empty room status), optionally assign a room configuration and/or firmware policy, then provision or add compatible Jabra meeting room devices and peripherals directly into those rooms. This strategy lets you create a room/location structure first before devices are provisioned – when delegating provisioning, the devices then appear in the correct room automatically.

For either provisioning approach, you can drag and drop these rooms into predetermined locations, which serve as a grouping mechanism, similar to device groups (for personal devices). This is designed to hierarchically group or organize Jabra meeting room devices based on real or made-up locations e.g.: countries, cities, buildings, departments, rooms, or others.

The following is an example of a tree structure within locations.

Your organization (root of tree structure)

• United States (Parent)
  • California (Child)
    • Cupertino office (Child)

To keep Jabra meeting room devices updated with the latest firmware while minimizing disruptions for end users, you can modify scheduled device updates according to the organization’s working hours. For example, updates can be scheduled to take place exclusively at night.

In the room inventory, clicking a Jabra meeting room device opens the Room page, displaying details such as Room Type, Location, Software client, and if applicable, Room AV system, Video Service Provider, and Meeting room computer or computing device information, among others.

Note

The Video Service Provider pane is displayed only in rooms with PanaCast 40/50/55 VBS meeting room devices. This also applies to PanaCast U30 when the meeting room device is connected to a controller/compute unit. Changing the video service provider between Microsoft® Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms requires re-provisioning the affected meeting room devices.

Room inventory for meeting room devices#

The room inventory is a repository or bucket for all Jabra meeting room devices added to a specific organization on the platform, like the device inventory for personal devices.

The room inventory enables you to set up a structure to organize your meeting rooms and Jabra devices in your business organization, showing you a real-time overview of your meeting room devices and status of your rooms.

Be aware that you can only have one room inventory per organization. All Jabra meeting room devices connected to the room client created by the same organization appear in the room inventory.

Through the room inventory, you can remove individual meeting room devices, or you can delete the entire room, removing any Jabra meeting room device within it.

Note

There are different procedures to remove Jabra meeting room devices from the room inventory. See the Deleting a room or removing a meeting room device from a room topic for procedures.

On a searchable and filterable list – the inventory outlines information such as Room, Room Status, Location, Devices, Seat Count, IP Address, Configuration, Date added, (Device) Serial number, and Firmware Status, all in real time.

Note

When a device serial number is not available, cannot be displayed or cannot be fetched from the device, be aware it is replaced by the Electronic serial number.

In the room inventory, Jabra meeting room devices are first automatically sorted into rooms (a primary grouping), and rooms can be further sorted into locations, enabling you to create a secondary grouping for your rooms. For example, you can group rooms into different regions, countries, offices, and others, effectively building a hierarchical structure based on geography.

When Jabra meeting room devices are added to the room inventory – and to mass manage meeting room devices with a shared firmware policy and settings – a default Standard Room Configuration is applied across the board to all Jabra meeting room devices in the room inventory.

See Standard Room Configuration for further details.

Adding Jabra meeting room devices to the room inventory#

To understand the different provisioning strategies, see the Device provisioning methods and strategies in the following topic End of QSG – Next Steps. For provisioning procedures, see the Device Provisioning & Onboarding Guide.

Moving a room into a location#

To perform this procedure, you must first have created one or more locations in your room inventory. See the Moving rooms into locations and adding room details topic.

Adding a room#

Depending on the device provisioning method and strategy, an admin user can add a (empty) room to the room inventory to first create a room structure and then assign a room configuration/firmware policy to the room, before provisioning a meeting room device or peripherals to it.

Note

The Jabra meeting room device that requires a room client for provisioning i.e.: Jabra PanaCast 50 Room System, always appears as an unassigned room after provisioning, and cannot be added to a room.

For guidance, read the Device provisioning methods section in the End of QSG – Next Steps topic.

Creating a room structure first lets you use a room provisioning code so you can provision a Jabra meeting room device directly to a predetermined room. For more information on how to generate a room provisioning code, see the Provisioning Codes chapter.

To add a room to the room inventory:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory page, click Add room
3. In the Select location dialog, select the relevant location and click Continue
4. In the Add a room dialog, enter the Room name and click Add

You have now added a room with the status Empty. You must now generate a room provisioning code to add compatible Jabra meeting room devices to the room.

Adjusting settings remotely of a single Jabra meeting room device#

The Jabra Plus Management platform lets you remotely manage the settings of Jabra meeting room devices individually or in bulk. You can only change the settings of a single Jabra meeting room device, when you have not assigned a custom room configuration to the room that includes the specific Jabra meeting room device. You can, however, adjust the settings on a single Jabra meeting room device via the room inventory.

Moreover, it is recommended that you create a room configuration to adjust the settings of many Jabra meeting room devices simultaneously. When adjusting individual settings, the Jabra meeting room device must be connected and online.

Tip

Prior to mass deployment, you can also use this procedure to test the settings of a single Jabra meeting room device.

To adjust the settings of one Jabra meeting room device:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory page, in your locations tree structure, click the name of your organization
3. On the Room inventory table, click the room name where your Jabra meeting room device is located
4. On the Room details page, click the relevant Jabra meeting room device pane
5. On the Device details page, click the Settings tab and make the necessary changes to settings
6. To apply the changes and deploy them to the end user, on the bottom ribbon, click Publish changes

After you click Publish changes, the setting changes are published or applied, and Jabra meeting room devices may automatically reboot.

Renaming a room#

After provisioning a Jabra meeting room device, an admin user with the relevant permissions can rename the room.

To rename a room:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory table, click the room name you would like to rename
3. On the Room page, on the top right-hand side of the page, click the action menu (three-dot menu) and click Edit room
4. Rename the room as desired and click Save changes to confirm

Deleting a room or removing a meeting room device from a room#

In Jabra Plus Management, an owner or member with edit rights (for meeting rooms) can delete rooms from the room inventory as well as remove a Jabra meeting room device from within a room.

Be aware that when you remove a room from the room inventory, you delete all Jabra meeting room devices within the room.

Depending on the Jabra meeting room device – and to permanently delete the room – you must ensure that after deleting a room or meeting room device from the room inventory, that you also uninstall the software client (room client) from the meeting room computer it was installed on.

If you do not delete the software client, when the meeting room computer is restarted, the Jabra meeting room device is automatically re-added to the room inventory as an unassigned room.

In the room inventory, when you remove a single meeting room device from a room, (i.e.: the structure created when the meeting room device was added to the platform) the room itself remains empty within the room inventory, ready to have a meeting room device provisioned to the inventory.

To remove a Jabra meeting room device from the room inventory, you must first ensure the Device status appears as Offline before removing it.

To do this, ensure that you unplug the Jabra meeting room device from the power outlet and wait a few minutes for the Device status to appear Offline. You can then perform the following procedure:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory table, click the relevant room name
3. On the Room page, on the card displaying the meeting room device, click the action menu, click Remove device and confirm
   • To remove the room entirely, including all the Jabra devices within the room, on the top right-hand side of the page, click the action menu and click Delete room

Important note

To permanently delete a room or Jabra meeting room device from a room, ensure that after you delete the meeting room device, you also delete Jabra Plus clients whenever possible.

Depending on the Jabra meeting room device, the client removal must be performed differently, and as follows:

• PanaCast 50 BYOD: After the meeting room device has been deleted from a room, or a room has been deleted, the PanaCast 50 BYOD is removed. To re-add the meeting room device to the platform, you must re-provision it.
• PanaCast 50 RS: After the meeting room device has been deleted from a room or a room has been deleted, you must switch the PanaCast 50 RS OFF, and the USB cable must be unplugged. To re-add the meeting room device to the platform, you must reinstall the Jabra Plus room client.
• PanaCast U30 and PanaCast 40/50/55 VBS: After the meeting room device has been deleted from a room or a room has been deleted, the PanaCast U30 or 40/50/55 VBS is removed from the platform. To re-add the meeting room device to the platform, you must factory reset it and then re-provision the respective meeting room device.

Failure to remove the clients can result in the Jabra meeting room device being detected by the platform again and reappearing in the room inventory.

Activity logs – Device details and meeting room activity#

Activity logs consist of device details and meeting room activities, allowing you to view information about Jabra meeting room devices and events in physical rooms.

From the room inventory, clicking a room name shows a timeline of activities related to that room and its associated meeting room devices. The Activity tab on each device’s Room page lists events such as reboots, status changes, firmware updates, and errors.

Logs maintain a record of activities for the past 30 days, displayed in a searchable and filterable format, including Events in the room and their triggers (e.g., configuration changes or device additions/removals).

The Activity tab also shows the event and the exact time it occurred, impacted entity and admin user. For example, if an admin user renames a room, this action is logged.

Tip

Viewing additional Details and Activity aid troubleshooting by helping you identify the origin of issues, track actions, and resolve problems, such as rebooting the Jabra meeting room device.

Viewing Jabra meeting room device details#

When a Jabra meeting room device is added to the room inventory, you can see information such as Room name and Status, Location, Devices, Seat Count, Configuration, and Firmware Status.

You can also find additional details of your Jabra meeting room device by drilling down into the Device page.

On the Room page, the Room Details tab displays Room Information, Room Configuration, Room AV system / Meeting room computer, Date and Time for scheduled device updates, and more.

The Device Details page shows you more granular information specific to the Jabra meeting room device, which includes Installed Firmware (version), Firmware policy, when the device was Last Seen as Connected (Online), and more.

To view additional Room or Device details:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory page, in your Locations tree structure, click the name of your organization
3. On the Meeting room inventory table, click the relevant room name
4. On the Room page, click the Details tab to see more information about the room
   • To see more information about the Jabra meeting room device in the room, click the relevant pane on the Room page showing the Jabra meeting room device.

Viewing room activity#

In addition to Room Details and Device Details, the Activity tab is a source of information that helps you track events and their triggers in a room.

The Activity tab captures events that occurred in a room, e.g.: Firmware status, reboot, change of settings of a meeting room device, and others.

To view activity in a room:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory page, in your Locations tree structure, click the name of your organization
3. On the Meeting room inventory table, click the relevant room name
4. On the Room page, click the Activity tab

The activity log in a room (and the meeting room devices within) is now visible on a list that can be sorted by Time, Impacted Entity, Event, and User.

Locations#

Locations are a secondary grouping, designed as a hierarchical tree structure to sort and organize your organization´s virtual meeting rooms and meeting room devices. It is located within the Room inventory menu item.

You can use locations as a geographical representation of your organization with individual rooms within each location. If you have created a location-based hierarchy, be aware that you can drill down several levels in the hierarchical structure. You can also optionally restrict or limit access to the room inventory of that location, for certain admin users.

A location consists of a name and a placement in the hierarchy that you choose. The following examples illustrate an organization with a simple hierarchical structure and a more complex one. Be aware that your organization may be simpler and may not need many locations.

In these examples, certain rooms do have Jabra devices provisioned, while others are just an empty room without devices provisioned to it.

In the example that follows, ABC Company is your organization, First floor and Second floor rooms are a location you created, and within these locations you have the different rooms in your organization (e.g., Room 100, Room 101, Room 102) that you created before or during provisioning.

ABC Company (your organization)

• First floor meeting rooms
  • Room 100
    • Jabra meeting room device A
  • Room 101
    • Jabra meeting room device B
  • Room 102
    • No device provisioned yet (empty room)
• Second floor meeting rooms
  • Room 200
    • Jabra meeting room device C
  • Room 201
    • No device provisioned yet (empty room)
  • Room 202
    • Jabra meeting room device D

Adding, renaming, or deleting a location#

You can also add, rename, or delete a location in the room inventory. Like a parent-child hierarchy, when you add a location starting from the top of the tree structure, you can create as many locations as the organization may need.

Moreover, when you create more locations within the nested groups you can have up to six levels of hierarchy. You can also rename or delete a location.

Adding a location:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the left-hand side of the screen, on the locations tree structure, click the action menu (three-dot menu) and then click Add location
3. In the Add location dialog, in the Location name field, enter the name of the new location, and click Create. The new location appears beneath the location that you chose to group it under.

Renaming a location:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the left-hand side of the screen, on the locations tree structure, click the action menu (three-dot menu) of the relevant location you would like to rename, and then click Rename
3. In the Rename location dialog, in the Name field, enter the new location name
4. Click Save. The location has now been renamed.

Deleting a location:

Note

Be aware that when you delete a location you also delete all the children locations beneath.

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the left-hand side of the screen, on the locations tree structure, click the action menu (three-dot menu) of the relevant location you would like to delete, and then click Delete
3. In the dialog that appears, click Delete to confirm. The location is now deleted.

Moving rooms into locations and adding room details#

After provisioning meeting room devices, an unassigned room is created in the locations tree structure, within the room inventory. You can move the unassigned room into a predetermined location that you may have created in the tree structure.

Note

If you use the room provisioning code, there is no unassigned room created, as the room is created during the provisioning of the meeting room device.

Moreover, when you move a room into a location, an Add details dialog appears, letting you add room information such as Room name, Seat Count, Description, and others.

Tip

The following procedure is also helpful when you have already provisioned several Jabra meeting room devices into the platform as unassigned rooms, and you would also like to bulk assign a room configuration that you have previously created or change room names.

To do this:

1. On the left-hand navigation bar, click Meeting rooms > Room inventory
2. On the Meeting room inventory page, click unassigned room
3. On the list of unassigned rooms , drag and drop the room into the desired location in the hierarchical structure
4. In the Add details dialog, if necessary, enter the relevant information in the provided fields, and then click Save

Scheduling firmware updates for meeting room devices#

See the Scheduled device updates topic in the firmware management chapter.