Table of Contents
The shift to hybrid work has led to a reimagining of how workplace environments are designed, with a focus on building more collaborative spaces that enhance the in-office experience. A growing trend in this movement has been the increase in immersive conference rooms, meeting spaces, and huddle areas.
For IT teams, this shift often means providing additional support for high-resolution video conferencing equipment with high-bandwidth, low-latency requirements, as well as managing complex multicast and Quality of Service (QoS) configurations to help ensure optimal performance of the devices and their associated applications. Additionally, network teams are also responsible for ensuring this diverse mix of connected devices remains compliant and secure from unauthorized access.
The benefits of AVoIP technology: unifying audio and video data
A common workaround is the use of Audio-Visual over Internet Protocol (AVoIP) technology to distribute audio and video signals as digital data over a standard Ethernet network. This simplifies complex traditional AV setups that use dedicated, single-purpose cables combined with power adapters.
Cisco’s approach to AVoIP is based on the integration of compact Cisco Catalyst 9200CX switches with Webex Control Hub, using Cisco Room Devices connected via AVoIP to simplify the design, provisioning, and management of collaboration spaces.
Figure 1. Cisco AVoIP solution
Figure 1 shows how the C9200CX Series Switch connects to video over IP devices, audio over IP devices, and room control and booking over IP solutions. The Codec EQ connects the C9200CX Series Switch, room control and booking over IP devices, and camera control over IP devices. The corporate network connects to the C9200CX Series Switch.
Bridging IT and AV for smarter, more secure, more performant spaces
By introducing an access switch into audio-video environments, IT teams can extend the network into collaboration spaces to ensure endpoint security, device performance, and network-wide visibility into locations that previously lacked these features. AV teams can eliminate cumbersome extenders and legacy cabling to simplify the design and deployment of conferencing solutions in those spaces.
The integration of C9200CX switches with Control Hub gives AV teams real-time visibility into the status of each switch port and its connected devices. This enhanced insight supports self-service troubleshooting, allowing AV teams to pinpoint exactly which device is down. When escalating issues, they can share precise details with the help desk, resulting in more efficient ticket resolution.
Why Cisco Catalyst 9200CX?
While many switches can power AVoIP deployments, only Cisco Catalyst 9200CX is purpose-built to deliver advanced enterprise features in space-restricted environments, with the added benefit of direct integration with Webex Control Hub.
When choosing Cisco Room Devices and Catalyst 9200CX switches to power your employee experiences, network teams will appreciate these benefits:
- Compact, silent design: The small form factor and fanless operation make it ideal for deployment in space-constrained or noise-sensitive collaboration environments.
- Reliable PoE: Flexible PoE options, including fast and perpetual PoE, support an array of room devices and connected accessories requiring up to 60 W of power.
- Advanced routing: This feature enables efficient management of high-bandwidth audio and video streams across the network, with up to 10 GbE ports, QoS, and IP Multicast Routing.
- Enterprise security: Microsegmentation, 802.1X authentication, dynamic VLAN assignment, and advanced threat protection help secure the network and connected endpoints.
- Management flexibility: Admins have the freedom to manage your network either through the cloud or on premises with a unified operating system, maintaining full control and adaptability.
Why Cisco for AVoIP?
Cisco offers an end-to-end solution that transforms meeting rooms from standalone installations into seamlessly managed, scalable, and secure extensions of the enterprise network. It’s a giant advance in AV, based on industry-leading, high-performance campus switching and AI-powered collaboration.
Ready to transform your collaboration spaces? Explore the next generation of
networking and collaboration equipment from Cisco. Design your space today.
