Microsoft Teams Room (MTR) deployment
Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTRs) are dedicated A/V conferencing devices typically used for shared spaces, offices, and classrooms. MTR devices require:
Compatible MTR Hardware installed (or planning to be installed) in a destination space
Resource Accounts modified to MTR compatibility
MTR Pro Edu licenses (one per room)
We highly recommend preparing the following steps as early as you can before expected use, as some steps may take up to 1-3 weeks to complete.
Preparing your MTR space
MTR spaces are typically conference rooms but are flexible enough for classrooms, office spaces, huddle rooms, or any other space that would be easily reserved by multiple people.
We recommend working with your A/V integrator to find what works best for your space, as these can range from multi-screen, multi-camera builds to tiny huddle spaces working with a single bar.
Devices already used on campus include:
Crestron Flex systems
Logitech Rally systems
Microsoft Surface Hubs
Have your build plans ready before requesting the following steps!
Preparing the MTR resource accounts
Resource accounts are M365 accounts that can be used for calendaring and reservations of a physical space, and these are not compatible with MTRs by default. The Collaborative Platform Services (CPS) can prepare these resource accounts for MTR compatibility.
If your rooms have existing resource accounts for calendaring, we recommend using the existing account to make the transition seamless for frequent schedulers.
If your rooms do not have resource accounts created, you may create new ones using the Office 365 Admin Tools
If you or another manager on your team cannot access Office 365 tools, please include this in your request to the CPS Team
Compile a list of the room(s) that you are planning to make MTR ready. Include each room’s resource account used for calendaring (or note that you cannot create resource accounts).
Submit a request to postmaster@utexas.edu containing the following:
Subject: MTR Resource Conversion - [Department Name]
Description: Please convert the following resource accounts for Microsoft Teams Room (MTR) compatibility
[List all rooms and corresponding resource accounts]
This will open a ServiceNow ticket with the CPS team and they will guide you through the process.
Once completed, the password will be shared with you via Stache. You can remove the CPS team member as an Owner and retain access to the password to deploy your devices.
Note: Please test the credentials by signing into Office.com using the provided password.
Procurement
TRECS handles purchasing and assigning of Microsoft Premium licenses, inlcuding MTR licenses.
TRECS can confirm pricing, as the price per MTR license has fluctuated around ~$180/room/year
Although some licenses may be ready immediately, if additional licenses need to be procured, account for an additonal 1-3 weeks.
Prepare your list of rooms, resource accounts, and a departmental account number to be used for IDT billback on the costs of the licenses.
Assign a ServiceNow ticket to TRECS-Purchasing (or submit a request to trecs-purchasing@austin.utexas.edu) containing the following:
Subject: MTR Pro EDU License Req - [Department Name]
Description:
[List all rooms and corresponding resource accounts]
[Include your departmental account number to IDT the costs]
This will open a ServiceNow ticket with TRECS, who will handle the procurement and assigning of the license to the respective resource accounts.
Deployment
Once you have your MTR Hardware installed (or ready for testing), and you have followed the steps to prepare your resource account and license, you can deploy and begin using your MTR using the resource account and password included.
In most cases, you will:
Boot up your MTR device
When asked to sign-in, use the respective resource account and password provided by the CPS team
After sign in, you should not have to sign in again, and the room can be invited to any Teams meeting.
Some devices (such as Crestron Flex devices) can be configured in mass through the manufacturer’s deployment software to prevent having to login on each device individually.
Advanced Configuration
Please contact Microsoft365@austin.utexas.edu for any additional questions. Our admins can assist in advanced settings.