Cisco Spark Room Kit and Crestron Integration

[gregmora801]

We have SX20 systems connected to a Crestron controller via serial (RS-232). This has worked out wonderfully for us in the past; however, moving forward we are looking to remodel our conference rooms with the Spark Room Kit that were released this year. Very little information has been provided on these new units, but we did confirm that serial is not a recommended option and won't be until os 9.2 (possibly). Please note that we have everything on the Cisco side configured since the community is very knowledgeable on how to do this but the Crestron side is lacking info. 

My questions are:

Has anyone seen a guide for configuring Crestron to connect with the In-Room api via IP for SSH or Telnet?

Is SSH or Telnet better? Is there a better option? 

Is anyone else planning or deployed the new Room Kit? What was your experience/expectations?

Note that we do have licenses for Crestron tools; it has just been a while so it would be nice to see what others have already accomplished. 

Thanks in advance!

[Patrick Sparkman]

Take a look at Advanced Settings for Room Devices, this is for Spark registered room endpoints.  To connect and use the API, you can use serial or SSH, refer to the Spark Room Kit API Guides for reference, you can also look at the Crestron Application Marketplace for example programs that utilize either connection method.

[Justin Ferello]

Greg,

This depends on how the SRK is deployed, is it going to be registered to Spark or a local unit on VCS/CUCM?

Where did you hear that serial is not recommended?  I believe the SRK works the same as the SX20 with regards to using the USB port for RS-232 control.

Thanks,
Justin

[gregmora801]

Hi Justin, 

Thanks for the reply. 

We contacted Cisco and they informed us that the serial over usb is an option, but they do not recommend until a later version of CE (called out 9.2 specifically). Instead of risking it we decided to just look at the SSH or Telnet option. 

As for the deployment, we are going to be using CUCM for the first year or two. 

Thanks, 
Greg

[ryan.miller2]

We are installing several of the Spark Room Kits and have run into an issue. We use Extron control gear and are having issues with telnet. The Extron driver for the Room Kit is built for telnet, but the Room Kit does not appear to allow telnet. On the SX20, there is an option to turn telnet on or off. No such option on the Room Kit.

[Patrick Sparkman]

You'll need to use SSH, HTTP/S, or RS232 to connect to the endpoint, as Telnet isn't an option with the Spark Room Kit Series.

[ronaldstangl]

Hi, I am a Crestron certified programmer, and like you have worked seemlessly using the SX-20 previously by connecting a USB to serial port adapter, and simply controlling via RS232 as with any device. I now have a Cisco Spark in front of me right now, and cannot get the RS232 control to work. One thing I noticed is that the USB connector for RS232 on the back of the unit is now mini-USB. The manual says to take a USB to mini-USB and connect to a PC. I did, and can send and receive commands, however this does not resolve how to connect serially with a Crestron control system, and I could not get it to work using the same USB to serial dongle as with an SX-20. 

OK, so I can control the Cisco Spark via SSH, however I do experience problems where if too many commands occur too quickly, it seems to stop responding. Polling seems to be out of the question, even at a slow rate. (2 seconds) 

If you have any help please let me know! I intgrate Cisco with Crestron control systems often, and the units with serial ports (or even the SX-20) have  never been a problem.

[Wayne DeNardi]

Edit: Message removed as this feature is not available for RoomKit devices yet on the current CE9.1.x software verisons.  Stay tuned for future updates.

[ronaldstangl]

The manual says this port is for future use.

[ronaldstangl]

I greatly appreciate your response, but I am still having no luck. This is Trendnet TU-S9 dongle (Prolific PL2303 chipset). This is the dongle I have used successfully with SX-20 previously.

[Wayne DeNardi]

As per my post above - this feature is not yet available on the RoomKit devices running CE9.1

[Alan Ross]

Hello,

are there any news regarding the control of RoomKit via Crestron?

As I´m plannig new VC rooms for a customer any news would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

[Patrick Sparkman]

USB to Serial port support for Cisco Spark Room Kit, Room Kit Plus and Room 55 was added in CE9.2.1 which was just released.

CE9 Release Notes

[Carlo24]

Does this also require a Cisco Spark Services License?

[Patrick Sparkman]

Access to the serial port for integration purposes doesn't require a license.