Cisco devices now support AirPlay, offering another simple and familiar sharing experience. Users can wirelessly connect their iPhone, iPad, or Mac to share their screen, collaborate, and playback audio and video content.

This functionality works best when the Apple device is running the latest version of iOS/iPadOS/macOS.

Network requirements

To allow for wireless sharing with AirPlay, either:

  • the Apple device and the Cisco device need to be on the same broadcast domain (VLAN or subnet). This is typically the case in a user's home network set up.

    or

  • the administrator needs to enable discovery beacon support on the Cisco device. This is typically the case in an enterprise network set up. If beacon support is not enabled, AirPlay will still be available but will require Bonjour services for network support. IP routing will be required between subnets to allow for sharing. See the table below.

AirPlay functionality is not supported when a proxy is enabled on your network. Some features may appear to work, but consistent performance cannot be guaranteed.

For Cisco devices with external radio antennas (Room Kit EQ and Room Kit Pro), attaching the external antenna is required to allow Bluetooth to operate.

Port

TCP or UDP

Direction

Service or protocol name

Service name

Used by

80

TCP

 Inbound

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

http

AirPlay

443

TCP

 Inbound

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL or HTTPS)

https

AirPlay

319, 320

UDP

 Inbound

Precision Time Protocol (PTP)

ptp

AirPlay

554

TCP/UDP

 Inbound

Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP)

rtsp

AirPlay

3689

TCP

 Inbound

Digital Audio Access Protocol (DAAP)

daap

AirPlay

5353

UDP

 Inbound

Multicast DNS (MDNS)

mdns

AirPlay

7000

TCP

 Inbound

AirPlay HTTP server

http

AirPlay

32768-60999

TCP/UDP

 Outbound

Ephemeral port range required between subnets for share

http

AirPlay

Configuration

To configure AirPlay on a Cisco device, access the device's web interface or Control Hub. See the Device Configurations article for more information. Then, select and set the following configurations.

The first time you configure a Cisco device you need internet connection with access to the Webex cloud during configuration in order to receive provisioning information.

Internet connection is necessary for first-time configuration, configuration after factory reset and configuration after software downgrade.

Configuration > Video > Input > AirPlay > Mode

Enable AirPlay on the device.

  • On. AirPlay is activated on the device.

  • Off (default). AirPlay is deactivated on the device.

Once you activate AirPlay on a personal mode device, end users can disable and re-enable it themselves from the device's Settings menu.

Configuration > Video > Input > AirPlay > Beacon

Turn on discovery beacon support.

  • Auto (default). The AirPlay beacon is activated and the device is discoverable.

  • Off. The AirPlay beacon is deactivated and the device will not be discoverable through the beacon service.

Beacon discovery requires Bluetooth®. Enabling the beacon also enables Bluetooth on Cisco devices that don’t have a dedicated Bluetooth setting. On Desk Series, Board Pro, and Room Bar, you have to enable and allow Bluetooth:

Configuration > Bluetooth > Enabled

  • True. Bluetooth is activated on the device and the discovery beacon is broadcast.

  • False (default). Bluetooth is deactivated on the device and the discovery beacon is not broadcast.

Configuration > Bluetooth > Allowed

  • True (default). Bluetooth will appear on the device’s Settings menu and users can enable or disable it there.

  • False. The Bluetooth setting won’t be visible to users on the device.

Configuration > Video > Input > AirPlay > DiscoveryInstructions > NetworkName

Define the network name.

  • Default empty. Enter the name of the network the user should connect to.

Configuration > Video > Input > AirPlay > DiscoveryInstructions > ShowNetworkInfo

Define whether to show the network name entered above to the user, or not.

  • True. The user can see the network name you entered above, on the AirPlay information screen on the device.

  • False (default). No network information is shown to the user.

Configuration > Video > Input > AirPlay > SecurityMode

Define security settings.

  • Password. The device will require a password for AirPlay pairing. The user has to set a password in the device’s web interface. If the user doesn’t set a password, the device will revert to default and request a PIN.

  • PinAlways (default for shared mode devices). The device will request a PIN at every AirPlay pairing.

  • PinFirstTime (default for personal mode devices). The device will request a PIN at the first AirPlay pairing. After the first time, the successfully paired device will be remembered.

Save your changes before closing the web interface or Control Hub. Detailed information about each setting is available in the Cisco collaboration devices API Reference Guide.

See this article about how to share wirelessly with AirPlay on Cisco devices, and end-user settings.