Every meeting scheduled by any user in the same Teams organization will always use the same Tenant Key (e.g. Throughout this article the example above will be used to illustrate how calls would be placed from a VTC endpoint to join this meeting via the provided details. Once the service is enabled for a Microsoft 365 tenant then enabled Teams users will begin to see additional video conferencing details when creating new Teams meeting invitations. There is no way for a VTC endpoint or a Poly bridge to connect directly into Microsoft Teams both must utilize the CVI service to do so.īecause the service is required for all possible scenarios then the initial onboarding and repeated meeting scheduling experience is the same across the board. Thus, the service can either used by itself as a cloud-only solution or it can be used in conjunction with an on-premises Poly video infrastructure deployment which may or may not contain a traditional Multipoint Control Unit (MCU), commonly referred to as a bridge. The RealConnect Service is Poly’s CVI offering which is hosted entirely in Microsoft Azure and is utilized in all of the available RealConnect topologies discussed here. For these systems to interoperate with Microsoft Teams the only available method is to leverage Microsoft’s partner-based Cloud Video Interop ( CVI) offerings to join a scheduled Teams meeting. BackgroundĪ traditional video endpoint, also referred to as a VTC ( Video Tele Communications) system by definition only supports standards-based SIP and/or H.323 protocols and cannot communicate directly with Microsoft Teams.

Designing 80% of the solution based on 20% or less of common use can often lead to a cyclical approach with no clear winner, so given the state of world today and how quickly people have been able to adapt to forced changes in work behavior this can also serve as an opportunity to shed some of those antiquated behaviors and deliver a simpler overall solution.

Some initial advice is to maybe not get too caught up in heading towards the most complex approach solely to try and mimic every single use case which may exist today. Even multiple topologies could be utilized concurrently in the same environment if desired, so migrating or transitioning between different topologies can also be figured into the overall planning. Alternatively it may seem desirable to leverage existing Poly video infrastructure which could currently be used for traditional video meetings or even RealConnect with Skype for Business, but certain limitations in that approach may make the cloud-only route more attractive to some.Īs many of the following scenarios are simply minor configuration differences among overall identical deployments then it can be fairly trivial to change models later on. But when cost, complexity, and overall experience might outweigh that elementary approach then understanding the nuances among the supported topologies is fundamental to arriving at the ideal solution. Often the first and only criteria though is simply based on selecting a cloud-only solution which provides little to no on-premises footprint, thus making the decision very easy. While the overall user experience is nearly identical between all scenarios there are a few distinct differences which can often sway the decision one way or the other, while other differences could collectively impact the cost to deploy and/or use the solution.

The main areas where differences reside between the topologies are categorized as: architecture, video experience, and licensing. Some of this content has already been covered in various older articles, but this serves as an opportunity to present the latest information in a single cohesive story leveraging best practices derived from real-world planning and deployments. The purpose of this article is to explain the differences between the available topologies so that an informed decision can be made. While this blog already contains several articles discussing Poly’s RealConnect solution many organizations with existing Poly video infrastructure deployments want to understand which RealConnect for Microsoft Teams topology may be best.

Poly bridge split