How can one make Webex work more reliable?

Not trying to be a smart ass, but your client is getting the service they are paying for. You might try using the service in off hours. I suspect the Webex free servers are getting loaded down.

But if they are paying you by the hour for your help, every time it hangs and you have to wait, look up at the clock and think "ca-ching".

As far as I know Webex is not exactly cheap.

That's not a solution for me. In a large company one has to accept some things infrastructural that aren't perfect, and this is one such issue. All I am looking for are some hints to make it work at least a little more often. Maybe some settings in Windows need to be different, I don't know.

Open some ports up?

Article ID: WBX264 How Do I Allow WebEx Traffic on My Network?

Question(s): How do I allow WebEx traffic on my network?

How do I optimize firewall and proxy settings for use with WebEx services?

What ports need to be opened to use WebEx services?

What exceptions should I add to my firewall for WebEx?

What IP range is assigned to WebEx?

What settings does WebEx recommend for proxy servers?

Solution: To ensure traffic to and from the WebEx domain is routed appropriately through your firewall or proxy servers, review the settings below:

Web browser exceptions

?Add an exception for the entire webex.com domain = *.webex.com.?At the minimum, the following addresses should be added as exceptions: YOURSITENAME.webex.com and akamaicdn.webex.com.

?ActiveX and/or JavaScript will need to be allowed through the firewall and web browsers should be configured to not restrict ActiveX and/or JavaScript. ?We ask that WebEx sites are not cached (content, IP-path) on proxy servers. Cisco WebEx Production IP Exceptions

Note: Due to dynamic IP address allocation, WebEx cannot guarantee your WebEx site will operate with a given IP at all times. Therefore, it is necessary to add the full IP address range to ensure proper connectivity to your WebEx site in all situations.

?64.68.96.0/19 (CIDR) or 64.68.96.0 - 64.68.127.255 (net range) ?66.114.160.0/20 (CIDR) or 66.114.160.0 - 66.114.175.255 (net range) ?66.163.32.0/20 (CIDR) or 66.163.32.0 - 66.163.47.255 (net range) ?209.197.192.0/19 (CIDR) or 209.197.192.0 - 209.197.223.255 (net range) ?208.8.81.0/24 (CIDR) or 208.8.81.0 - 208.8.81.255 (net range) ?210.4.192.0/20 (CIDR) or 210.4.192.0 - 210.4.207.255 (net range) ?62.109.192.0/18 (CIDR) or 62.109.192.0 - 62.109.255.255 (net range) ?173.243.0.0/20 (CIDR) or 173.243.0.0 - 173.243.15.255 (net range) ?114.29.192.0/19 (CIDR) or 114.29.192.0 - 114.29.223.255 (net range) Ports used by the WebEx client for communication for both inbound and outbound traffic

Port Port Number Access Type TCP 80 Client Access TCP 443 Client Access - Secure Traffic (SSL Sites) TCP/UDP 1270 Client Access (Non SSL Sites) TCP/UDP 53 Domain Name System (DNS) TCP/UDP 5101 MMP TCP 8554 Audio Streaming Client Access UDP 7500 Audio Streaming UDP 7501 Audio Streaming UDP 9000 VoIP/Video UDP 9001 VoIP/Video

Well, I've gone through all that before. The only thing I can't do is Active-X. Firefox won't allow it and there's good reasons not to.

What all this does not explain: Sometimes (about 50% of the meetings) Webex works just fine, except that it takes longer to start than the others but many folks told me that's "normal". But why does it sometimes only start after several log-in attempts, or only after 10-20 minutes, or sometimes remains dead in the water for the whole meeting?

It often does begin something after the host started the meeting but then often that's it. No error messages, nada. To me that looks like poor design quality but I have to make this work somehow.

Ah, don't feel so bad. Some how Verizon has screwed up our network connection to the internet since yesterday morning. When I left work today, we still didn't have it.. This also includes any phone service that spans out side a certain region. The problem obvious isn't local to us but some how on their end. I bet others are having issues at the moment!

Must be all those aliens that suppose to come to earth by the end of the year, got some early arrivals spewing all that damaging exhaust, while passing by the satellites!

Jamie

Well, this goes on since whenever I started to (have to) use Webex, AFAIR more than a year ago. It's always been that unreliable for me.

The puzzler is, other such services are rock-solid, those work all the time. Which especially surprised me in the case of Adobe NetMeeting because their PDF reader is IMHO almost useless for quality issues. But their web conference stuff worked like a champ. This is all on the same PC.

Somehow I have bad luck with stuff from Cisco. Once I would have needed a VPN and unfortunately that company used Cisco. They could not really make it work. Other VPN software works flawlessly here.

The flying saucers? I thought those now need to go through smog test every two years :-)

We got rid of Verizon FIOS a few months ago, in favour of Optimum cable. Verizon's service worked very well, pretty nearly flawlessly in fact, but they kept overcharging us, and their customer service folks couldn't find their rear ends with radar. My second shift manager almost quit on account of the sheer amount of agita that she endured from Verizon over at least a dozen stupid-but-large billing issues.

I stuck with them for a long time because I really wanted to keep the copper POTS service in order to have central-office power in emergencies. Eventually, I concluded that people as incompetent as that couldn't be relied on for disasters anyway. We have a couple of cell phones and a bunch of spare phone batteries. If the cell towers go out, oh well.

With Optimum, it was one phone call, one installer visit, and a bill that is exactly what they said it would be.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Isn't it your client who's paying for the Webex subscription?

I certainly don't pay for such communications requested by the client.

I do pay for GoToMyPC capabilities so I can retrieve needed data while on the road, and to run big PSpice simulations, too big for the laptop. ...Jim Thompson

Have you tried another DNS server? You could get GRC's DNSBENCH and see if the server your using is up to par. Otherwise you can just use LEVEL3's servers at 4.2.2.2 - 4.2.2.6

Cheers

Then I'm missing something. Is this just *your* connection that is having the problems or does everyone have these problems at the same time? When you say "two agonizing minutes and finally the other side's desktop shows up" is this just you or is everyone complaining about the issue?

You might look here for a log file on XP: C:\Documents and Settings\&username&\Local Settings\Temp\Webex \Wbx_AudioVideoStatisticsData.csv

Joerg, He of paranoia supreme, has everything turned off for fear of a security breach. Just about everything he complains of, I've never had a problem with. ...Jim Thompson

Why didn't you keep the copper POTS from Missy Bell? We stripped it down to super-basic by disabling long distance. Their customer service guy almost fell off his chair "You want to do WHAT? Nobody does that!". We use 3rd parties for int'l and long distance, much better deal. The basic charges are state-regulated and they can't overchagr eon those. I think it's around $20/mo.

The 3rd party just raised continental Europa fees from 2c/min to 2.5c. Hurumph ... grumble ... :-)

Yep.

I don't.

Such a service came with my LAN server but I've disabled it. If I need to do a big sim there's always a client PC from someone who is on the raod and doesn't need it.

The connection to another party a few hundred miles from there usually works. But I've heard similar stories from others who have to use Webex for coast-to-coast conferencing. Maybe it's the distance, who knows.

That I have heard from many business people. Typically they say "Just use NetMeeting instead" but I do not have that choice.

I looked and there is no file like that. Neither under \Joerg nor under \DefaultUser.

... until one fine day it hits ya. Happened to a company in the area. They thought they had it all under control when some nasty virus got in and cost them countless productivity hours.

With my Internet service I can only use AT&T servers on the west coast, SF and LA.

But if that was a problem, couldn't Webex be a tad more verbose about it? There are never any error messages, absolutely nothing. It simply does not work when it doesn't, and does when it does. It's pathetic.

I'm considering that. The LD loss is no problem, but I'd still like call-forwarding... anyone have a zero-cost way to do that ?:-)

I presently use Skype for that. ...Jim Thompson

I'm often doing 2 or 3 projects at once, so I can't use one client's machines to do work for another ;-) ...Jim Thompson

You have to stay away from those girly sites ;-) ...Jim Thompson