Polycom Phone Setup

A complete guide to Polycom provisioning and configuration

Here at Phonism, we value simplicity and ease-of-use.  Below you will find that we have outlined the easiest ways to get your Polycom phone configured.

There are 2 major methods to configuring any VoIP phone, manually or using a centralized provisioning server.  Which method will you be using?  If you’re not sure which route is best for you, don’t worry, we will go over the pros and cons of both.  

As a rule of thumb, we recommend you only provision manually when configuring less than 10 phones.  If you are frequently deploying new devices and supporting existing ones, you might want to skip ahead to the section on using a centralized provisioning server.

Note: This guide applies to the following Polycom phone models: VVX & Soundpoint IP

Manual Provisioning

When provisioning a polycom phone manually, you have two options.  

  1. Using the phone’s keypad
  2. Using the phone’s web interface

This is exactly what it sounds like, manual & time consuming.

Using the keypad

  1. Press the Home/Menu button on the phone
  2. Navigate to Settings > Advanced…
  3. Enter the default password (456)
  4. Navigate to Administration Settings…
  5. Navigate to Line Configuration…
  6. Navigate to Line 1… and fill in the following fields
    • Address: This is a SIP registration address, sometimes referred to as a SIP URIie: 2001@sip.server.com
    • Label: Enter the label you would like to show for this line key (i.e. Tom Smith)
  7. Navigate to Authentication… and fill in the following fields.
    • User ID: You would have received this from your provider
    • Password: This was also given to you from your provider
  8. Navigate to SIP Protocol… and fill in the following fields.
    1. Enabled: Yes ← You must enable this
    2. Navigate to Server 1… and fill in the following fields.
      • Address: sip.server.com – Your provider gave you this.
      • Port: 5060
      • Register: Yes
      • Special Interop: Set this to Standard – Unless your provider said for you to use something different.
  9. Reboot the phone.
    • When the phone turns back on, you should see Line 1 configured.

Using the web interface

  1. HTTP to the phone’s IP Address
    • Need to know your phone’s IP address?  Perform the following steps on your polycom device:
      • Navigate to Settings->Status…
      • Navigate to Network…
      • Navigate to TCP/IP Parameters…
      • On this screen you will find your phone’s IP address
    • Enter the IP address in your web browser
  2. Enter your credentials
  3. Navigate to Simple Setup…
    • Navigate to & expand SIP Server… and fill in the following fields.
      • Address: sip.server.com – Your provider gave you this.
      • Port: 5060
    • Navigate to & expand SIP Line Identification… and fill in the following fields.
      • Address: This is a SIP registration address, sometimes referred to as a SIP URI, ie: 2001@sip.server.com
      • User ID: Given by your provider
      • Password: Given by your provider
      • Label: Enter the label you would like to show for this line key (i.e. Tom Smith)
  4. Reboot the phone.
    • Sometimes a reboot is unnecessary and the phone will immediately pull config

If all went well, your phone should have connected using the settings and authentication credentials you entered above. Line 1 should read the label you entered.  Do you hear dial tone when you pick it up?

Congrats!  How long did that take?  Did you time it?  Imagine installing 1,000 of these manually.  

I know what you’re probably thinking, it wasn’t THAT hard…  You may be right.  Manual provisioning can be effective, but mostly when you are dealing with a small number of phones.  There is little upfront work required and with 10 phones or less, it shouldn’t take long.

With that being said, many companies tend to outgrow this model quickly.

Here’s why:

  • Doesn’t scale easily – Time intensive
  • Gets expensive…. FAST
  • Higher likelihood of human error
  • Lacks asset management capabilities

Now that you’ve learned how to provision the ol’ fashioned way… Let’s take a look at how you could speed up this process with a centralized provisioning server.

Centralized Provisioning Server

If you’re using a provisioning module built into your PBX, a third party provisioning server (like Phonism), or a redirect server like Polycom ZTP, you will need to follow the steps below. You can learn more about centralized provisioning servers here.  

Using a central server to provision and manage devices has many benefits.  Not only will all of your information be stored and accessible in one place, but you will also benefit from:

  • Asset management capabilities
  • Time savings
  • Ease of use
  • Greater customization abilities

When using a central server, you will be configuring the device settings through the server’s GUI.  Since that varies between different solutions (Broadsoft, CoreDial, Phonism, etc..), we will help you get your phone pointed to that server.  From there, we recommend you refer to your server documentation.

There are 4 ways you can point your phones to your server:

  1. Using the keypad
  2. Using the web interface
  3. DHCP Option 66
  4. Polycom ZTP

Using the keypad

  1. Press the Home/Menu button on the phone
  2. Navigate to Settings > Advanced…
  3. Enter your password or the default password (456)
  4. Navigate to Administration Settings…
  5. Navigate to Network Configuration…
  6. Navigate to Provisioning Server… and fill in the following fields.
    • Note: This information is usually specific to your preferences.
    • Server Type: HTTPS
    • Server Address: phonism.com
    • Server User: Optional
    • Server Password: Optional
    • Tag SN to UA: Enabled

Using the web interface

  1. HTTP to the phone’s IP Address
    • Need to know your phone’s IP address?  Perform the following steps on your polycom device.
      • Navigate to Settings > Status…
      • Navigate to Network…
      • Navigate to TCP/IP Parameters…
      • On this screen you will find your phone’s IP address
    • Enter the IP address in your web browser
  2. Enter your credentials
  3. Navigate to Settings…
  4. Navigate to Provisioning server… (6th option in dropdown) and fill in the following fields. Note: This information is usually specific to your preferences.
    • Server Type: HTTPS
    • Server Address: phonism.com
    • Server User: Optional
    • Server Password: Optional
    • Tag SN to UA: Enabled

DHCP Option 66

Note: Obviously a Cisco server will be different from a Microsoft server.  Below we have included some generic instructions for configuring options 66 in your server. If you run into trouble, please consult the documentation specific to your server.

  1. Navigate to the GUI for your local DHCP server.
  2. Navigate to DHCP…
  3. Navigate to Options…
  4. Navigate to Option 66…
  5. Enter the URL of your provisioning server.

Polycom ZTP

This can be a powerful tool for for Polycom users.  Most customers use ZTP to set their provisioning server address.  However, users can also use this to configure line 1 and perform software updates.

Note: This tool is intended primarily as a one-time step at initial deployment.

For instructions on using Polycom ZTP to set your provisioning server address, please visit the official Polycom ZTP Documentation.

Now that you have pointed your phones to a central provisioning server, you can use that to configure specific settings on your devices.  Methods of configuration will vary depending on the tool that you’re using.  We recommend that you refer to the documentation for your specific tool.

We typically recommend our customers use DHCP Option 66.  This is the most efficient, scalable method.

Of course there are some pitfalls associated with central provisioning servers.

  • Some upfront work required
  • Provisioning modules built into your PBX suck (Lack features & usability)
  • Some tools are still expensive

Which is the best method for your organization?

We have tried to lay out the variety of methods that will help guide you to dial-tone.  However, it’s important to note that every organization has different needs. Manual provisioning can be cost effective early on, but as you grow you will quickly realize it won’t be that way for long.  In the long run, using some type of central server will be your best bet.

Third-party solutions like Phonism are helping service providers automate and streamline their provisioning process, saving engineers hours of headaches and hair pulling.