The Scripting Dude

Managing virtual meetings efficiently is a challenge for any organization. IT administrators often face issues such as scheduling conflicts, limited participant capacities, and the need to enforce company policies on meeting durations. Cisco Meeting Server (CMS) provides robust capabilities for hosting and managing virtual meetings, especially in disconnected and sovereign environments, but ensuring compliance with company guidelines while keeping operations seamless can be a time-consuming task. This is especially true for organizations that are beyond day-2 operations and are now running into operating and maintaining tasks. As the number of meetings grow, the amount of technical debt increases and the need for a managing solution becomes critical to running a healthy service.

To address these challenges, I developed a PowerShell automation solution that centralizes the management of CMS meetings. The script, Manage-CMSMeetings.ps1, helps organizations streamline their meeting processes, automate scheduling, and enforce consistent meeting policies without requiring manual intervention.

The Solution

The primary objective of this automation is to:

1. Standardize Meeting Durations – Ensure meetings adhere to predefined time slots (e.g., 60, 90, 120 minutes).
2. Enforce Meeting Capacity Limits – Prevent system overload by capping participant limits.
3. Send Timely Notifications – Provide users with meeting reminders and warnings before session termination.
4. Optimize Resource Allocation – Assign specific rooms for extended or long-duration meetings.
5. Automate Policy Enforcement – Ensure exemptions for VIP or high-priority meetings while applying restrictions on others.

By automating these tasks, IT administrators can reduce manual workloads, minimize scheduling errors, and improve the efficiency of virtual meetings across the organization.

My PowerShell-based CMS meeting management solution includes several key features that automate the entire process:

1. Automated Meeting Scheduling and Notifications

The script reads from a configuration file (config.json) that defines meeting durations, participant limits, and notification settings. It ensures that all meetings comply with company policies and sends timely alerts via email to administrators and participants when a meeting is about to end.

2. Centralized Policy Enforcement

The script ensures meetings are aligned with organizational standards by enforcing the following rules:

• Standard, Extended, and Long Meeting Durations – Predefined settings control meeting times, ensuring consistency.
• Exempt Meeting Rooms – Certain rooms, such as VIP or Helpdesk, can bypass restrictions.
• Participant Limits – Prevents excessive attendees from overloading system resources.

3. Authentication & Security

To ensure secure access, the script utilizes an authentication key (authkey.key). Users generate this key using the included helper function in CMS.functions.ps1, ensuring controlled access to CMS resources.

4. Scheduled Task Automation

Organizations can schedule this script to run every minute using a Windows Task Scheduler command, reducing manual intervention and ensuring that meeting policies are continuously enforced in real-time. This guarantees that meeting room policies are applied 24/7 without any administrator oversight.

Result

By implementing this automated CMS meeting management solution, organizations can expect:

• Enhanced Efficiency – IT admins save time by eliminating manual scheduling and policy enforcement.
• Improved Compliance – Meetings automatically adhere to corporate policies.
• Optimized Resource Utilization – Prevents overbooking and ensures fair room allocation.
• Increased Security – Access to CMS is safeguarded through an authentication key.
• Better User Experience – Timely notifications help participants stay informed about their meeting schedules.

Please check it out at https://github.com/ArmyGuy255A/CMS-PowerShell!