Getting Up To Speed On UM Basics
In preparing for upcoming Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging engagements, PointBridge looked into making the transition into UM easier by designing and incorporating a small lab environment that allowed consultants to get the needed UM basic experience.
This article will describe the lab PointBridge set up to facilitate these objectives:
· Cost-effective
· Provide basic support for setup and workings of UM capabilities
· Portable and easy to setup
Hardware Needed:
Setting up a large physical lab would have prevented the “portable” goal from being achieved. Therefore, we set out to set up a virtual lab using a several laptops plus the gateway device and an analog telephone.
· A single laptop served as the host for the Exchange 2007 product. The laptop was a Dell D810 with 2 GB of RAM.
· AudioCodes MP-114 VoIP Gateway
· Standard analog desk phone and phone cable
· Second laptop for running Outlook 2007 for MAPI use with RPC
Software Needed:
· Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 – the OS for the Exchange host running on the server
· Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Server (Standard could have worked)
· Microsoft Windows XP with SP2, and Microsoft Office 2007 Professional for the second laptop
Setup and Configuration:
The setup was fairly easy, but time consuming. One of our Senior Consultants originally set up the AudioCodes MP-114 and had built the DC/Exchange server out. The setup looked like this.
· Exchange/DC Host – Server 2003 R2 Domain Controller for PointBridgeUM.com test AD domain name
o Roles: DC, GC, DNS, WINS, IIS
o Exchange 2007 installation as a Client Access Server, Hub Transport Server, Mailbox server and Unified Messaging Server roles
One of the most time consuming part of the setup was getting the AudioCodes MP-114 VoIP device setup to communicate properly with the Exchange 2007 host. The MP-114 VoIP Gateways provide voice technology for connecting legacy telephones, fax machines and PBX systems with IP-based telephony networks, as well as for integration with new IP-based PBX systems. The MP-114 gateway is what connects the analog telephone to the Exchange 2007 system in our lab.
The portable lab had to be easy to connect and easy to work to demonstrate the UM capabilities of the new UM features of Exchange 2007.
The toughest part was in the PointBridge Consultants’ task of editing an .INI file for the MP-114 to have it understand the hunt groups and phone ports used to connect the analog phone to. The extensions understood by Exchange 2007 had to be also recognized by the gateway device.
Once the gateway was configured (via a web interface), and the Exchange Server was configured with a UM Dial Plan object, a UM Gateway object, and a UM Mailbox Policy object, the created user accounts – with mailboxes – were ready to be tested.
By dialing from the analog phone the extension set up for the test users, it was easy to make phone calls for other test users and leave voice messages. Then, by logging on to the Exchange environment with either OWA or the Outlook MAPI client, that user who received the voice message could use the new UM components to “listen” to their new voice messages via the item in their inbox. Replies could be made back to the original caller. Calendar items could be learned by the OVA (Outlook Voice Access) component to the dialed-in user. This approach makes it easy to learn of new emails, voice mails and calendar items with any phone – mobile or land-line.
Besides the obvious server or laptop costs, the AudioCodes MP-114 gateway is another cost to be factored. Online purchases can range from mid-$400 up to nearly $1,000. The gateway can also be used in production environments – not just for lab use.
For more information on the AudioCodes gateway used in this lab – and other information on Microsoft-supported UM devices – see the AudioCodes web site at http://www.audiocodes.com/Content.aspx?voip=2331
Of course, Microsoft has a wealth of information available on Exchange 2007 and the supported devices at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/unifiedmessaging/default.mspx
