​W​e've been getting an increased number of scheduling panel calls.  These are just a few basic steps for troubleshooting Roombook/Acendo panels.  We'll be focusing on the Exchange mail service since most of the calls we get start there.  Each section of the document will correspond to a tab in the panel setup and will contain a few things to check in each of the sections.  At the bottom will also be instructions for updating firmware and gathering logs from the panel.​  

Network:

• This is basic network setup for the device.  The most important thing here is if they are connecting to a “cloud" system or connecting via hostname, the Gateway and DNS information entered in must be real and correct.  Otherwise the panel won't be able to access the internet or server.  

Calendar: 

• The server URL must be the Exchange Web Services (EWS) address.  This is usually signified by the suffix of the address “EWS/Exchange.asmx".  The address will almost always be https://*SERVER NAME*/EWS/Exchange.asmx.  This can be changed by the administrator, so always ask if it is the EWS address.
• The Username and Calendar Email ID must always be in the *USERNAME*@domain.suffix configuration.  Examples: dawnp@harman.com, example.email@amx.com 
• Most of the time a service account is created and then given access to all of the different rooms that are used.  The service account must be given one of three different kinds of access: Full Permission, Delegate, or Impersonation.  If they aren't given this kind of access the panel won't be able to access the room resource.  Additional Resource: Look at the Instruction Manual for links on how to create users and rooms
• If they choose Google Calendar for their calendar service, it has to use Google for Business mail services.  The panel does not work with a Gmail account.

Group: 

• You can setup several panels to be a part of a group.  In order for this to happen:
   

1. One of the panels must be assigned as the Master and given the group's username and password.  
2. The other panels must be assigned as Members, connect to the host name/IP address of the Master, and given the group's username and password.  
    

• You can tell this is working from the main reservation page.  If the page says Book Room and Browse Rooms at the bottom right it means that it is a part of a group, it can communicate with the Master, and check to see if there are other rooms available at this time.  Panels can only belong to one group.  

Room: 

• The Logo image must be a hosted picture somewhere on their network.  It can be a .jpg, .png, or .bmp.  The panel will size the picture to fit the panel.  

Firmware:

• If at all possible, make sure the firmware is equal to or greater than 1.1.15.  It provides a lot more logging and much better error messaging.  
• Firmware can be updated one of 2 ways currently.  To update the panel go to Advance Settings -> Reset and Update -> Firmware Manager.  If the panel can connect to the internet you will see an option at the bottom to update via the web.  If you cannot connect to the internet you must put the kit file on a thumb drive, plug the drive into the back of the panel, and then click on the Install Firmware from USB option.  
• Starting at version 1.1.15 you can also connect via SSH and use the “webu" command to point to the kit file being hosted on your network in order to update the panel.  If you have the original 1.0.4/5 firmware version you CANNOT use this command.  

Logging:

• If the basic troubleshooting doesn't fix the issue you will need to gather logs from the panel.  To gather logs connect to the panel via the SSH port using Putty or another terminal program.  The username is 'amx' and the password is the administrator password they have setup for the panel (default 1988).   
• In order to get the logs from the panel type in “msg on all".  This will begin logging all connections and button pushes. 
   

1.   Starting with firmware version 1.1.15 you can use the “ewstrace" command.  Before you type in “msg on all" type in “ewstrace on" and press enter to turn on additional logging concerning the mail server.  

Tips and Tricks:

• The 1.0.x firmware is very lacking when it comes to error messages.  Most of the errors are pretty generic.  A good way to try and figure out the failure point is to purposefully put in the wrong username/password/URL/calendar ID and see if the error message changes. 
• The 1.1.15 firmware includes a Verify button on the Calendar screen.  This button is much more specific on where the problem is.  Upgrade firmware!  Here's a list of errors as an example:
  • Please check Server URL.
    • This means the panel can't even reach the server.  See if you can ping the server from the panel.
  • Please check Username and Password.
    • This means the panel could reach the server, but it received a 401 error when it tried to login.
  • Please check Calendar ID.
    • This means the panel can reach the server, it can login, but the Calendar ID cannot be accessed.  This usually means the user account doesn't have the right access to the calendar, the calendar doesn't exist, or the calendar wasn't setup properly.
• The logging will give you a lot of good information as long as the firmware is greater than 1.0.5.
• Once you login via SSH there aren't many commands you can use, the most important one is 'ping'.  If you can't ping the server where the room mail box exists you can't get the calendar information.  Be sure to ping just the server, not the full URL.  Example: The server URL is https://my.exchange.server/EWS/Exchange.asmx.  You cannot ping that URL, but you can use the command “ping my.exchange.server".
• Roombook/Acendo panels cannot connect to RMS.  If they have RMS, they can use RMS Scheduling.

“Failed to login via impersonation" is not an error.  Each time the panel tries to login it tries to use Impersonate first, and when that fails it tries to login again without it.  If you use Delegate or Full Permission as the user account setting it will always fail impersonation.