Initial platform configuration — Hyper-V

After you have run the installation wizard, you must perform some preliminary configuration of the Pexip Infinity platform before you can deploy a Conferencing Node.

This section lists the configuration required, and provides a summary of each step with a link to further information.

All configuration should be done using the Pexip Infinity Administrator interface.

No changes should be made to any Pexip VM via the terminal interface (other than as described when running the initial Pexip installation wizard) unless directed to do so by Pexip support. This includes (but is not limited to) changes to the time zone, changes to IP tables, configuration of Ethernet interfaces, or the installation of any third-party code/applications.

Accessing the Pexip Infinity Administrator interface

The Pexip Infinity Administrator interface is hosted on the Management Node. To access this:

  1. Open a web browser and type in the IP address or DNS name that you assigned to the Management Node using the installation wizard (you may need to wait a minute or so after installation is complete before you can access the Administrator interface).
  2. Until you have uploaded appropriate TLS certificates to the Management Node, your browser may present you with a warning that the website's security certificate is not trusted. You should proceed, but upload appropriate TLS certificates to the Management Node (and Conferencing Nodes, when they have been created) as soon as possible.

    The Pexip Infinity Conferencing Platform login page will appear.

  3. Log in using the web administration username and password you set using the installation wizard.

You are now ready to begin configuring the Pexip Infinity platform and deploying Conferencing Nodes.

As a first step, we strongly recommend that you configure at least 2 additional NTP servers or NTP server pools to ensure that log entries from all nodes are properly synchronized. For details, see Syncing with NTP servers.

You can also configure the Pexip Infinity platform to authenticate and authorize login accounts via a centrally managed LDAP-accessible server, such as a Windows Active Directory LDAP server.

It may take some time for any configuration changes to take effect across the Conferencing Nodes. In typical deployments, configuration replication is performed approximately once per minute. However, in very large deployments (more than 60 Conferencing Nodes), configuration replication intervals are extended, and it may take longer for configuration changes to be applied to all Conferencing Nodes (the administrator log shows when each node has been updated).

Brief details of how to perform the initial configuration are given below.

Configuring the Pexip Infinity platform

This table lists the Pexip Infinity platform configuration steps that are required before you can deploy Conferencing Nodes and make calls.

Configuration step Purpose

1. Enable DNS

(System > DNS servers)

Pexip Infinity uses DNS to resolve the hostnames of external system components including NTP servers, syslog servers, SNMP servers and web proxies. It is also used for call routing purposes — SIP proxies, gatekeepers, external call control and conferencing systems and so on. The address of at least one DNS server must be added to your system.

You will already have configured at least one DNS server when running the install wizard, but you can now change it or add more DNS servers.

See Configuring DNS servers for more information.

2. Enable NTP

(System > NTP servers)

Pexip Infinity uses NTP servers to obtain accurate system time. This is necessary to ensure correct operation, including configuration replication and log timestamps.

We strongly recommend that you configure at least three distinct NTP servers or NTP server pools on all your host servers and the Management Node itself. This ensures that log entries from all nodes are properly synchronized.

You will already have configured at least one NTP server when running the install wizard, but you can now change it or add more NTP servers.

See Syncing with NTP servers for more information.

3. Add licenses

(Platform > Licenses)

You must install a system license with sufficient concurrent call capacity for your environment before you can place calls to Pexip Infinity services.

See Pexip Infinity license installation and usage for more information.

4. Add a system location

(Platform > Locations)

These are labels that allow you to group together Conferencing Nodes that are in the same datacenter. You must have at least one location configured before you can deploy a Conferencing Node.

See About system locations for more information.

5. Upload TLS certificates

(Certificates > TLS certificates)

You must install TLS certificates on the Management Node and — when you deploy them — each Conferencing Node. TLS certificates are used by these systems to verify their identity to clients connecting to them.

All nodes are deployed with self-signed certificates, but we strongly recommend they are replaced with ones signed by either an external CA or a trusted internal CA.

See Managing TLS and trusted CA certificates for more information.

6. Add Virtual Meeting Rooms

(Services > Virtual Meeting Rooms)

Conferences take place in Virtual Meeting Rooms and Virtual Auditoriums. VMR configuration includes any PINs required to access the conference. You must deploy at least one Conferencing Node before you can call into a conference.

See Configuring Virtual Meeting Rooms (VMRs) for more information.

7. Add an alias for the Virtual Meeting Room

(done while adding the Virtual Meeting Room)

A Virtual Meeting Room or Virtual Auditorium can have more than one alias. Conference participants can access a Virtual Meeting Room or Virtual Auditorium by dialing any one of its aliases.

See About aliases and access numbers for more information.

Next step

You are now ready to deploy a Conferencing Node. See Deploying a Conferencing Node on a Hyper-V host for more information.