The Aculab Cloud supports conferencing together two or more calls (parties) within an entity called a conference room for which you provide an identifying name. Within each conference room a conference entity controls the audio mix that each party hears. A number of options can be set for each party as they enter the conference room
A conference room is Created when the first party enters a room either by placing a call to the room or by transferring an existing call to the room.
A conference room is Destroyed if a party exits that is configured to destroy on exit or if the last remaining party exits. When a conference room is destroyed any remaining parties are automatically hung up. A party exits a conference room either by hanging up or by retrieving its call.
Although the name chosen for a conference room is unique to your user account, you are strongly advised to provide a different name for each one. (This avoids various potential issues, for example, the case where a caller stays in one conference longer than expected and is suddenly introduced into a supposedly new conference as new callers ring in)
The conference has two states, Started and Stopped. It is initially in the Stopped state. See conference lifetime control for more information.
While the conference is in the Stopped state the parties cannot hear each other and each party may hear its on conference stopped file (if configured).
While the conference is in the Started state all parties in the conference room can converse.
The conference starts (goes to the Started state) when a party configured as start on entry enters, and the room already contains one or more parties. In addition, for the conference to start the conference room must contain at least one talker (this can be the party currently entering).
The conference stops (goes to the Stopped state) when the number of parties in the room drops to one, or if there are no talkers left.
Conference rooms can normally host up to twenty callers. If you need a conference room that will host more than twenty callers you will have to reserve it.
Additional information:
- A named conference room is unique to your user account.
- When transferring into a room, a ringback tone can be configured to play while the call is ringing.
- A party exits the room when the call is hung up.
- A party can be configured to exit the room when they hit a specified DTMF digit.
- A party may be a human or an application, such as one that records a conference room.