Laying the foundations

The 'must-do' steps for flawless configuration.

Laying the foundations: Your 'must-do' steps

Want to know the secret of Webex success in your organization?

Lay good foundations!

It’s the difference between endless firefighting and being everyone’s favorite technical wizard.

By following these 'must-do' steps you’ll be set up for long-term success and have confidence in a consistently great experience for your users. All Webex activity will be safe, secure, and vetted.

Join our Control Hub Essentials: Foundations online class.

If you are new to Webex, we recommend using our in-app guidance in Control Hub for Getting Started with your organization setup.

Why is the order important?

Each step builds on the previous and should be completed in sequence. Completing the steps in this order will streamline the configuration process and reduce the need for hands-on management down the road.

Do you have an internal support team?
Tip: If you have an internal support desk, make sure to enable your Control Hub settings to align with your support team. Looking for more tips around internal support? Here is our guide to prepping your team.

When your Webex site is ready, the designated contact will receive an email with a link that allows them to sign in. They will then be prompted to complete the Plan Review set up wizard.

Points to note

This step sets your global site URL and videoconferencing SIP address.
The Service Setup wizard can be skipped but will continue to pop up until completed.
Your Cisco partner may have completed this step on your behalf.
Once completed, the Service Setup Wizard will disappear. If you don’t see it, move to the next step.

Impact for you

Confirm what you have purchased from Cisco.
Make important choices about service configuration as early as possible.

Impact for users

Purchased services will be ready to use faster.

What to do

Complete the three sections in the setup wizard:

Plan Review. Confirm the Webex, Webex Meetings, Webex Calling, and Webex Devices services in your plan.
Calling Settings. Confirm phone-related settings.
Enterprise Settings. Set up global configurations, such as SIP Address and Webex Assistant.

One complete, click Finish.

Learn more here.

This step is all about ensuring that your organization’s network is ready for the deployment of Webex. Especially key for organizations that are new to Webex.

Points to note

If your Webex services are already deployed and working well in all locations, you can move past this step.
If your Webex services have not been fully tested in your environment, we recommend following this step closely.
To get the best video experience, enable Webex Collaboration Meeting Rooms for all hosts. This step and the Bandwidth requirements document allows you to plan for the optimal experience.

Impact for you

Have confidence that Webex will work and scale in your environment.
Identify underperforming parts of the network and make the case for improving or upgrading them.

Impact for users

Reduced likelihood of bandwidth frustrations and blocked functionality.

What to do

Cisco Webex
Access the network test tool.

Cisco Webex Meetings
Test meeting.
Bandwidth requirements.

Allow Webex Meetings Traffic on My Network
Find out more.

This step is vital for security and user management. It allows you to discover all users who have already created free Webex accounts, so that you can convert them to your organization in the following steps.

Points to note

If you have users across different domains – for example, .com, .co.uk, .au – be sure to verify all of these domains.
Verifying your domains does not prevent people in your organization from creating free Webex accounts.
In the next section, you will learn how to Claim Domains, which will prevent the creation of free user accounts with your company domains.

Impact for you

See instantly who in your organization has created free Webex accounts.
Prepare for converting free accounts into your organization for better management and access to paid services.

Impact for users

Access to the full range of paid services instead of being stuck with limited free accounts.
This is a prerequisite for more advanced features later.

What to do

To verify domains, we provide a token to add to your domain host's DNS TXT record. To confirm that you own the domain, we check for this token on the DNS server.

Follow the steps in this guide under “Add and verify domains”.

Tip: If you are not the admin for your DNS server, you will need help from that person or team to complete this step.

Note: Once you have verified domains, don’t proceed to claim domains just yet. It’s better to complete all foundational steps first.

The auto-assign template ensures a consistent experience for all new users only, by automatically applying the correct license from your subscription.

If you have existing users you can update them manually, or use a CSV file to modify many users and account attributes at once.

Points to note

If you do this in advance of adding the bulk of user accounts they’ll all be created with the same features assigned.
Currently, Control Hub supports one template. If you need to apply a variety of license attributes, configure auto-assign for the most common account type and change others manually or by CSV batch file.
We recommend enabling Webex Collaboration Meeting Rooms for everyone so that they can enjoy consistent video collaboration experiences from mobile, desktop, or room systems.

Impact for you

Consistent, streamlined license assignments.
Users will have access to the right features.

Impact for users

Everyone has the intended Webex experience per their role in your organization.

What to do

Follow this guide to modify your auto-assign template for the most common account type.
Modify users by CSV.

Note: You can modify or deactivate this template at any time.

If some people in your organization signed up for free Webex accounts, you can claim them, so that they're managed from your organization. After claiming, you can assign licenses to people so they can use the features included in your subscription.

Points to note

Users cannot exist in multiple Webex organizations with the same email address.
This step is critical for domain claim, Directory Synchronization, SSO, assigning security services, and more.

Impact for you

Peace of mind that all of your users are securely managed under your Control Hub instance.
Ensure that converted users have the right licenses assigned to them.

Impact for users

No confusion over why some colleagues can access Webex features while others can’t.

What to do

Follow this guide to firstly claim users from free accounts and then assign the appropriate licenses.

Tip: Ensure that you have set up the auto-assign template to streamline license provisioning for newly added users.

Note: Before you begin you must have an active administrator email address with the same domain as the accounts you're converting. If you have multiple domains, you can create an admin login for each domain to manage the convert function.

If you’ve completed all of the other foundational steps, congratulations! Adding and managing users will be much easier for you going forward. Now you can decide if you want to add the bulk of your users manually, by CSV batch file, or Directory Synchronization.

Points to note

How you add users will be influenced by the size of your organization. Adding users manually works for many small organizations, whereas CSV batch files are necessary when user numbers grow. Directory Synchronization streamlines adding and managing users to your Control Hub site but requires Microsoft Azure or Active Directory.
You can also change information and license settings for many users at once by using the CSV batch file method.
Directory Sync is required for activating some advanced features like People Insights.

Impact for you

Quickly create new user accounts “on the fly” with manual add.
Add with CSV batch files that run in the background while you perform other tasks or even leave Control Hub while they complete.
Have complete peace of mind regarding leavers and joiners with Directory Synchronization (next section).

Impact for users

Shorter waits for users when they request or need changes to their setup.

What to do

Add user accounts manually.
Modify users accounts manually.
Add users by CSV
Modify users by CSV.
Manage users in Control Hub.
For directory synchronization, see the next section:
Taking user experience from good to amazing.