Create a Caption and Win errr Something

You may have noticed the new photo to the right hand side of this post. This is deployment photo of a customer retiring a Cisco phone with a new Polycom CX600 deployed on Lync.

If you can create a better caption than mine (as judged by me, I am very impartial), you could win something (I have no idea yet what that is) I have stored away in my treasure trove of stuff. Worst case you win a Ethernet cable, best case you win a webcam. I have a mixed bag. Your comment will also go in place of my own on VoIPNorm.

Just add your caption in the comments and I will announce the winner at the end of June. Make sure to identify yourself with your comment so I can send you the prize if you win.

VoIPNorm

****UPDATE: We now have prizes.

Prize pool so far:

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema

Polycom CX100

Windows 2008 R2 Administrators Pocket Reference

Thanks to Graham Walsh at Polycom for sourcing a Polycom CX100.

Lync 2010 Mobile and Desktop Click-to-Join for Non-Enterprise Voice Users

I was recently helping out some folks with a deployment and wanted to get down this information in one place rather than constantly searching for it. So here it is. If you notice any errors in behavior that I have documented please let me know.

There are currently two different methods of configuring Click-to-Join for joining conferences. The method varies for Non-Enterprise Voice enabled users depending on whether you are using the desktop clients or mobile. I have heard people say repeatedly that you need to enable EV for Click-to-Join, but this is not true for either the desktop or mobile clients. The information below is taken from my own experimenting as well other sources that were very helpful in pulling this information together.

Desktop (includes Web App, Lync Attendee, Lync 2010)

This works the same for Web App or the desktop clients (either Lync 2010 or the Attendee client) for Click-to-Join. Basically, you need to create a static route that leverages one of you Mediation Server Pools. This allows non-EV enabled and Anonymous users the ability to use the Click-to-Join feature.

Positives-

• Allows Non-EV users to Click-to-Join.
• If a Tel URI has been configured for the user it is used in the From in the SIP header.

Challenges -

• No control over what the user can dial with Lync. Basically everything is sent to the Mediation Server as-is. If you have address book or dial plan normalization in place that normalizes number to E.164 this is what is sent when selecting numbers from within the Lync client. You can remove the plus sign however using PowerShell so some small relief but not much. Most of your translations and number manipulation of the called number will need to be carried out in a gateway or other system such as a PBX.
• No adherence to Voice Polices. This is not feature related but more call authorization. You have no control in Lync what number the user dials and all calls will be passed to the Mediation Server. All call authorization will need to be completed at the gateway based on the caller ID or some identifiable SIP field that the gateway can recognize as coming form the Mediation Server.
• Uses default gateway. If you are using DNS load balancing for your gateways this is much less an issue, but the default gateway for the Mediation Server pool defined in Topology Builder is what the static route will use to send calls. If you have defined gateways using IP addresses this will limit you to one gateway and therefore limit redundancy. Redundancy may not be a huge concern for this feature but it is something to be aware of.

References:

Remove the plus PowerShell command:

Set-CsTrunkConfiguration -RemovePlusFromURI

Handy Static Route creation blog post:

http://www.confusedamused.com/notebook/lync-dial-in-conferencing-static-route-configuration/

Lync Mobile

Lync Mobile is quite a bit easier to configure and has less challenges . Firstly, a Static route is not required for Lync Mobile and Click-to-Join will adhere to Lync routing, translation rules and Voice Policies. Something to note is that Call via Work will require EV enablement.

Positives-

• Lync Mobile only requires that a Voice Policy be applied to the user account for enablement of Click-to-Join (outside of normal dial plan configuration such as routes etc.).
• Adheres to voice routing and translation rules.

Challenges

• A non-EV user that requires a Voice Policy can only be set using PowerShell.
• The From header field in the SIP message is the user name SIP URI and not a telephone number. Depending on your gateway this may present an issue. A simple fix (without gateway configuration) is to suppress the Caller ID with a trunk ID via the Trunk Configuration under the Lync Control Panel UI. By selecting Suppress CallerID and entering an alternate ID this should easily resolve this issue. This will alter the From field to what ever number you enter for the Trunk.

From the Lync Mobile Deployment Guide

· Do you want users who are not enabled for Enterprise Voice to be able to use Click to Join to join conferences?

For users to have access to mobility features and Call via Work, they must be enabled for Enterprise Voice. However, users who are not enabled for Enterprise Voice can join conferences by clicking the link on their mobile device if they have an appropriate voice policy assigned to them. You can either assign a specific voice policy to these users or make sure that a global or site level policy exists that applies to them. The voice policy you assign must have public switched telephone network (PSTN) usage records and routes that define the areas to which users can dial out to join a conference. For details about setting voice policy, PSTN usage records, and routes, see Configuring Voice Policies, PSTN Usage Records, and Voice Routes.

Note:

Mobile users who want to use Click to Join require a voice policy, along with the related PSTN usage records and voice routes, because clicking the link on the mobile device results in an outbound call from Lync Server 2010.

References:

Apply Voice Policy for Non-EV user with PowerShell-

Grant-CsVoicePolicy -Identity <UserIdParameter> [-PolicyName <String>]

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg398828.aspx

VoIPNorm

Device Review: HP 4120 Lync Phone Edition

As most people are already aware HP announced their Lync IP phones quite a while ago. I finally got one today so I thought I would post a couple of quick pictures of what they look like and also a comparison of what the Aastra 6725ip looks like side by side.

There is considerable size difference in the phone models between the two vendors as seen below.

I happen to like the size and key layout of the HP phone although if you’re short on desk space it might be worth considering a smaller option. To me the phone feels more executive just because of the size of it. I think the size also changes the acoustics a little and the stand really allows a great upright position. The Aastra phone sits pretty flat and I find myself leaning over to use it. The HP phone was very upright and seems to meet the eye a little better because of the changed angle.

My first few calls have been pretty good and I like the sound quality. I did a direct comparison with against the Aastra 6725ip using the Lync test service and I think the HP phone was more than comparable in this area. Of course the firmware was identical so any comparison of features would be a waste of time so its more a question of physical attributes if deciding between various phone vendors.

One thing I noticed when I plugged in the Ethernet cables was that I had the LAN and PC cables in the wrong ports. The phone firmware told me that this was the case which I thought was neat but all Lync Phone Edition devices should function the same way regardless of vendor. I have not seen this feature with other popular platforms so I thought it was worthy of a mention.

Overall another great option with the same familiar Lync Phone Edition firmware.

VoIPNorm

Lync Direct SIP Interoperability Note: CUCM SIP 503 Service Unavailable and 404 Not Found Errors

Getting the settings right on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)side of a SIP trunk is sometimes a fine art and there are certainly many things that can go wrong. This week I ran across two errors that at first glance were not completely obvious as to what the issue was.

503 Service Unavailable

Service unavailable is a misleading error to say the least. Just when you think that you have everything setup right things don’t work as they should. Well at least this time around it half worked. Inbound calls to Lync from CUCM seemed to work just fine but outbound calls to CUCM failed. As the screen shot below shows the Device Pool is set just like the documentation shows with the Device Pool set to default.

Well this is all good in a lab that has one CUCM server but in a production environment that has multiple CUCM subscribers the default Device Pool may not be setup with the correct Communications Manager Group (CMG). In the case I am describing the default Device Pool had the incorrect CMG defined and even though calls from CUCM to Lync worked fine, calls from Lync to CUCM failed. They generated a 503 Service Unavailable error message from CUCM when looking at Snooper Traces on the Lync Mediation Server.

So the lesson learned is always ensure you have the correct CMG defined in your device pool you associate to your SIP trunk. The Servers defined in the CMG are the same CUCM servers/gateways that are defined in your Lync Topology.

http://voipnorm.blogspot.com/2012/01/adding-cucm-subscribers-to-lync.html

404 Not Found

This error although a little simpler to understand doesn’t mean that the solution is all that easy to find. Basically a 404 means either the line number doesn’t exist, there is not a matching route pattern or there are some Calling Search Space (CSS) issues with your CUCM configuration.

Probably the most complex is Calling Search Space (CSS) issues. Although the CUCM Dialed Number Analyzer may seem as though things should work chances are CSS issue may still be the issue. Best bet is to create Partitions and Calling Search Spaces just for the inbound calls setting on your Lync SIP Trunk in CUCM so you understand exactly what is occurring with calling permissions.

Hopefully this sheds some light on a couple of common errors I have seen in CUCM Lync Direct SIP deployments.

Comments welcomed.

VoIPNorm