Introduction; Coalesce-Wireless Visual Collaboration; Coalesce On Your Network; Initial Setup - Black Box Coalesce WC-COA Deployment Manual

Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Introduction

1.1 Coalesce—Wireless Visual Collaboration
Coalesce provides enterprise-class wireless collaboration and media streaming to any display. Once deployed, the Coalesce
supports multiple, simultaneous user devices connected to a room display over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network. Laptops, tablets,
and phones can use a Web browser or the free Coalesce client app to connect, share media, and control the display, improving
meeting engagement and fostering collaboration.
The Coalesce is enterprise-ready, providing enterprise-grade security, management, and network deployment options that comply
with network policies and adjust to fit existing network setups. The Coalesce also ships with wireless access point capabilities,
supporting on- and off-network deployments.
This guide provides your IT administrator with all the information needed to deploy a Coalesce successfully, either as a standalone
collaboration hotspot or on one/multiple existing network(s), including corporate enterprise networks. Configuration of the
Coalesce for network deployment is typically performed before use and then does not require modification after the initial setup.

1.2 Coalesce on Your Network

Coalesce can be flexibly deployed on your existing network and can be configured based on your own network constraints and
topology. This is true for Coalesce units and instances of Coalesce Software. Some things to keep in mind about Coalesce:
• Managed as Standard Traffic. Coalesce communicates via TCP/IP and uses three ports. These ports can be configured using
Coalesce Central or via the Coalesce unit's Configuration Panel.
• Enterprise Network Compatible. Coalesce supports encryption of Coalesce network data (via RSA/SHA cipher with a 2048-bit
private key—optional, can be disabled) and is designed for use on complex networks, including multiple VLANs and segregated
networks.
• Flexible Resource Discovery. Clients share displays in one of three ways, based on configuration:
- IP Entry: Direct entry of the Coalesce (or the Coalesce Software host PC) IP address.
- Broadcast: Auto-discovery via broadcast on the local network only (for click-to-connect access).
- CDS: Non-broadcast auto-discovery using the Coalesce Directory Service (for click-to-connect access).
Coalesce Directory Service (CDS) is a non-broadcast approach that uses TCP/IP traffic and provides multiple methods for
configuring a Coalesce name server to list Coalesce displays across a network for clients to discover and connect to. This approach
is recommended for larger switched networks and includes an option that does not require configuration changes to the
enterprise network.

1.3 Initial Setup

Coalesce is configured to act as a wireless access point upon arrival. This allows administrators to connect to the Coalesce unit's
network from any device and configure the unit, or the admin can connect a monitor and USB mouse to configure the unit.
To access the Coalesce unit's web-based Configuration Panel, follow these steps:
1. Power on your Coalesce using the provided power adapter.
2. From a separate computer/device, connect to the Coalesce wireless network.
3. Open a Web browser and enter the Coalesce unit's IP address—192.168.43.1—in your browser address bar.
You should now see all the Coalesce unit's configuration options in your browser. Here you can assign a display name (the name
that will be shown on screen), apply an administration password, customize the display appearance, designate network settings,
and further configure the Coalesce based on your requirements. See Appendix D: Configuring a Coalesce for more details about
Coalesce configuration.
To configure network settings, visit the Network tab on the configuration page. The image on the next page shows the Coalesce
unit's network configuration page for a Coalesce that is configured to be deployed through Ethernet and standard DHCP.
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