[TheKoach]

So, i've managed to be able to push individual .cfg files down to each Polycom phone on my network by making a <MAC address>.cfg and matching it up with a phone1.cfg, phone2.cfg, etc. Now, my next concern is the 000000000-directory.xml file which supposedly fills the Contact Directory on the Polycom 501. Is there an easy way to name or program the file so EVERY phone looks to this one file on boot up? Or do I have to rename it <MAC address>-directory.xml for every phone on my network? Thanks in advance.

[packetvoice]

The Koach:

I have struggled with this issue for a while and here is where we are:

The purpose of 000000000-directory.xml is to initially "seed" all the phones with a baseline company phone directory. After that, each phone user can make changes to his/her phone directory locally on the phone. During a subsequent reboot of the phone, the phone will create and write a file <MAC address>-directory.xml on the bootserver. User can edit the <MAC address>-directory.xml and during the next reboot, it will download the server copy of the <MAC address>-directory.xml into the phone. Once you have <MAC address>-directory.xml on the bootserver, 000000000-directory.xml is not touched by any of the previously configured phones; it only applies to new (factory reset) phones.

Here is how the sequence works:

The phone will first look for <MAC address>-directory.xml. If not present, it will look for 000000000-directory.xml. What that means is that if you want the baseline company directory to be seeded into each phone, you don't want <MAC address>-directory.xml to be present on the bootserver.

Here is the link to "How Do I Create a Local Directory on a Polycom SIP Phone?" on Polycom site:

http://eknowledge.polycom.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=46,E=0000000000003317647,K=3685,Sxi=7,Case=obj (42064)

I still have some open questions such as "what if there are changes made on the local phone as well as on the bootserver <MAC address>-directory.xml before the next reboot - will the it perform a true synchronization or one file will overwrite the other?" Or, "how to update the "company" directory at later date?

I am looking to Polycom to answer these questions. Hope some Polycommie is reading this

-packetvoice

[mberlant]

I would think that it is not possible to push company-wide updates via 00000000-directory.xml. There are several reasons for this, including:

- There is no timestamp on any record. The phone does not know if it is replacing a record with a newer one or an older one.
- There is no mechanism to restrict company-wide entries to certain Speed Dial Index slots and individual entries to certain other Speed Dial Index slots. Should the company add a new field office and want to put that entry into slot 11 it would clobber Joe's favorite pizzeria, Mary's babysitter, Steve's barber, etc.
- There is no mechanism to prevent the erroneous updating of an intentionally changed entry. If Joe calls London 30 times a day he may decide to put that number into SDI slot 1, replacing company HQ's number (which he never calls). An automated update would revert that entry without Joe's knowledge or consent.

Now, should your company make a policy dictating that individual users may not customize the Speed Dial directory you may have another tool. On your bootserver you can set the directory permissions such that only an administrator can write to the directory. Then, when an individual phone attempts to save its <MACaddress>-directory.xml file it will fail. A subsequent reboot will then reload the 00000000-directory.xml file, which has been updated by the administrator.

[TheKoach]

Wow...that's exactly what I needed. Your advice couldn't get any better. Thanks a million.

[public@lipan.org]

Just a heads up guys, this problem may of been solved by the last update (SoundPoint IP / SoundStation IP BootROM version 3.1.2 &amp; SoundPoint IP / SoundStation IP SIP version 1.6.4) According to the release notes

.cfg File Action Parameter Description
000000000000 added CONTACTS_DIRECTORY,
OVERRIDES_DIRECTORY
New fields which can specify a directory on
the boot server in which contact overrides
(<Ethernet address>-directory.xml) and
configuration overrides (<Ethernet
address>-phone.cfg) should be stored.

However, I cannot get my hands on the update so I cannot test. If anyone can forward me the updates to public <at> lipan.org i can do some testing and post my results.

I am having the same problem as the above poster. i want both a Company Directory AND speed dial to work. I need those update files first.

-Ginel Lipan

[ManyCom]

packetvoice: The phone assumes that it "owns" that file, so there is no attempt at synchronization. If you make changes while the phone is on, there are two cases:

1. The user makes a local change on the phone, and that erases any changes made on the server.
2. The user doesn't make any changes, and the phone downloads the updated directory during its next reboot.

Thus the only safe time to make changes to the directory file is when the phone is powered off.

[ManyCom]

Ginel: The new <mac>.cfg options only allow you to change the location where the files are stored; there are no changes in how the files are dealt with.

There is no real way to do company directories at this time, as you can see from the descriptions above (good detective work there, BTW).

If this matters to you, the best path is to tell Polycom sales that you want LDAP support.

[public@lipan.org]

ManyCom,

Guess what, I did and I actually got an answer from a Polycom Developer. I'm going to post it in a new post in this forum.

-ginel