Active Communications Solutions Brief

Westcon is a value added distributor of category-leading unified communications, infrastructure,

data centre and security solutions with a global network of specialty resellers. Our teams create

unique programmes and provide exceptional support to accelerate the business of our partners.

Strong relationships at every level of the Westcon organisation enable our partners to receive support

tailored to their needs. From global logistics and flexible customised financing solutions to pre-sales,

technical and engineering assistance, we work with our partners to respond with agility and speed

to changing market conditions so they can achieve the fastest time to revenue.

Westcon Convergence offers the widest portfolio of Microsoft Lync eco-system vendors currently

available through value-added distribution. Through our collaboration with Microsoft, as their only

Pan-European distribution partner for the Lync In-a-Box catalogue in EMEA, Westcon is able to offer

exclusive bundles and special offers. Incremental per-product and multi-unit purchase discounts and

bundles are also available to Microsoft Gold & Silver Communications Partners through the Lync

Hardware Catalogue.

In addition to the broadest portfolio of Lync eco-system vendors, Westcon provides an integrated

supply chain value proposition encompassing product, sales & pre-sales support, marketing, services

and training. By reducing cost and complexity in the channel supply chain for Lync products &

services, we hope that you will take the opportunity to work with Westcon to accelerate success and

improve efficiency of solution fulfilment in your Lync-related business.

We currently provide this support for the following Lync eco-system partners: Active Communications,

Acme Packet, Advatel, AudioCodes, F5, Jabra, Net, Plantronics, Polycom and Radware.

This Solution Brief is designed to help you understand Microsoft Lync and Active Communications

solutions and the benefits they bring to your customer.

Our goal is to make Lync business easier and more profitable for our customers.

To learn more about Westcon’s Lync offers please visit our website, contact your Westcon Account

Manager or get involved with our social media feeds – details are below.

westcon.com/go/lync

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Contents

4 An Introduction to Unified Communications

6 Microsoft Lync 2010

7 IM and Presence

7 Enterprise Voice

8 Unified Conferencing

9 Video

9 Application and Document Sharing

10 Active Communications Solution

10 Product Overview

11 What does the Active Communications Server solution consist of?

12 The Active Communications Advantage

14 Lync Licence Types

14 Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) Mobility for Smartphones

15 Telephony Features Matrix

16 Unprecedented Reliability

17 Relative Positioning – Lync vs. Traditional VoIP infrastructures

18 Deployment of Active Communications Server & Microsoft Lync

21 Active Communications Server Summary

22 Lync Enabling Vendor Eco-system

22 E-SBCs (Enterprise Session Border Controllers)

22 Media Gateways

22 Video Conferencing

23 UC Audio Devices: IP Endpoints

23 UC Audio Devices: Headsets

23 Contact Centre Solutions

An Introduction to Unified Communications

Unified Communications (UC) is improving and enhancing the way that enterprises and individuals not only

communicate but also in the way business is transacted. By incorporating multi-media applications (voice, video, IM,

presence) into a single, feature rich user experience, significant productivity and efficiency gains can be achieved.

What is Unified Communications?There are many definitions of “unified communications” but broadly speaking it combines multiple real-time and offline communication modes (such as telephony, video, email, fax, and instant messaging) plus a range of additional capabilities (including presence detection and click-to-call) into a single, integrated solution. With UC solutions, users can access and manage all of their communications tools from a single environment, regardless of their location.

Typically, UC solutions capitalise on Internet Protocol (IP) technology to carry voice, video, and data across a single network. By eliminating the need for multiple, disparate networks, UC solutions can reduce costs and simplify administration.

“ Unified communications (UC) offers the ability to significantly improve how individuals, groups and companies interact and perform. UC also enables multiple communication channels to be coordinated. In some cases, separate servers may be consolidated; however, more frequently, UC adds functionality to existing communication applications. Key technologies include Internet Protocol (IP)-PBX, voice over IP (VoIP), presence, e-mail, audio conferencing and Web conferencing, video conferencing, voice mail, unified messaging (UM), instant messaging (IM), and various forms of mobility. Another key capability of UC is that it offers a method to integrate communication functions directly with business applications; Gartner calls this capability

‘communications-enabled business process’ (CEBP). ”

The Gartner definition of UC

Historically, all the forms of communication technology, both real-time and non-real-time, are separate, requiring an application for each. Unified Communications takes all of these and integrates them into one unified platform, allowing users to choose their preferred medium of communication.

Typical forms of communication, each separate... ...UC integrates each into a single solution

Unified Communications Demo

Requires Microsoft® Silverlight™

4

How can UC help my company?UC solutions can deliver several key benefits:

Reduce additional costs by converging multiple communication modes over a single, shared IT network. •Reduce capital expenditure and minimise operating expenses by eliminating the need to buy and manage multiple, •independent systems for telephony, collaboration, and more.

Boost business productivity by improving the efficiency of communications and collaboration. •

With a UC solution, a salesperson can locate contact information for a potential customer, place a call, and share documents with that customer all through a few mouse clicks. A geographically distributed team can use conferencing and document collaboration capabilities to work together to complete a project rapidly. An organisation can use the same capabilities to provide multimedia training inexpensively to workers in regional offices. Call centre agents can use presence detection capabilities to find subject-matter experts fast and then use instant messaging to confer with those experts, all while assisting customers in real time.

With UC solutions, employees gain the tools they need to work anywhere, with any device, at any time. The mobility offered by UC solutions enables organisations to extend the work environment beyond the traditional office and desktop. Remote workers can log in to a UC system on the road and have access to all the same capabilities that they have when office-based. This includes seeing co-workers’ presence online, as well as having access to instant messaging, conferencing, and collaboration capabilities.

What sorts of businesses can benefit from UC?UC solutions can help organisations of all sizes, from small businesses to large-scale global enterprises. Small companies can eliminate the costs of owning and operating a traditional phone system while accessing enterprise-class tools that help improve competitiveness. Despite having limited IT resources, small businesses can more easily manage internal and external communications systems with UC. Large organisations can enhance the efficiency of business processes, improve collaboration among geographically distributed teams, and generate telephony cost savings commensurate with the scale of their communications infrastructure. And by consolidating the infrastructure required for multiple modes of communication, UC can help organisations of all sizes access a broad range of tools while streamlining IT administration.

Demand for Unified Communications will continue to grow as the Skype generation increasingly enters the workforce, and an increasingly virtual workplace demands improved collaboration for physically separated employees.

With Microsoft’s recent purchase of Skype for $8.5bn it is reasonable to expect further acceleration of the UC market. Why? Residential users of Skype understand and recognise the full benefits of a collaborative experience. Combining various multi-media streams such as voice, video, IM and presence takes communications to a new level in the home environment. With “consumer-isation” becoming more pervasive, home users are demanding these rich collaboration experiences be replicated in the workplace. There are numerous interaction profiles aligning with different worker types including office or home based workers, contact centre agents, road warriors and teleworkers. UC clearly adds efficiency and productivity gains to each such as:

Faster customer response times •Improved business outcomes •Increased first call resolution •Business continuity & resilience •Reduced carbon footprint •Reduced Capital and Operational Expenses (CapEx & OpEx) •Improved supply chain integration and customer collaboration •

“ … businesses are already relying on Microsoft as a viable alternative to traditional PBX systems. Microsoft is clearly very much a player in the business communications market already. ”

Brian Riggs, Senior Analyst - Current Analysis

5

Microsoft Lync 2010

Workplaces are changing. Teams are more distributed. People need productivity tools that enable them to work

from virtually anywhere. Yet, despite organisations’ technology investments, users struggle to stay connected with

colleagues and the business. Slow innovation in traditional technologies such as telephony forces users to choose

other modes for collaboration and communication. This makes it more challenging for IT professionals to deliver new

capabilities in an integrated, cost-effective, and secure manner.

Microsoft Lync connects users in new ways, regardless of their physical location and delivers an intuitive user experience that is directly accessible from Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft SharePoint. Lync brings together the different ways people communicate in a single interface, is deployed as a unified platform, and is administered through a single management infrastructure. The unified nature of the system helps reduce costs and facilitates rapid user adoption. And, because Lync is broadly interoperable, it fits into existing IT infrastructure for easier deployment and migration.

Access product information, case studies and more on the Microsoft Lync resource centre

Connected End User ExperienceMicrosoft Lync Server 2010 ushers in a new connected user experience transforming every communication into an interaction that is more collaborative, engaging, and accessible from anywhere. Users seek communications tools that make their work easier and are available anywhere, anytime - including within the context of other applications. Microsoft Lync 2010 is the rich client application that provides presence, IM, voice, and ad hoc collaboration and online meeting capabilities through a single interface. Lync 2010 is easy to use, works closely with familiar tools such as SharePoint and Office applications, and drives user adoption with powerful features and a streamlined communications experience. The client dashboard surfaces common functions such as dial pad, visual voicemail, contact list, and active conversations. Users get an experience that is consistent and familiar across PC, phone, and browser.

Business Need See

Find and communicate with the right person Rich Presence, Skill Search

Create a more interactive work environment by building social connections Activity Feed

Communicate naturally, the way users work Office Integration, Enterprise Voice

Make every interaction a near face-to-face meeting Unified Conferencing

Communicate with context from Microsoft Office applications Office Integration

Stay connected from virtually anywhere Enterprise Voice

Work from Anywhere

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Single, Unified PlatformFor IT, the benefits are equally powerful, with a highly secure and reliable system that works with existing tools and systems for easier management, lower cost of ownership, smoother deployment and migration, and greater choice and flexibility. Lync Server 2010 is built from the ground up to be a single platform that works with, and can even replace traditional and IP PBX systems, third-party voicemail systems, and legacy audio, video and Web conferencing solutions.

Business Need See

Augment or replace traditional PBX Enterprise Voice, Unified Platform

Suit various user device needs Choice of Endpoints

Reduce IT management challenges and cost Simplified Deployment

Create custom business solutions Extensibility

Flexibly leverage time and cost savings of moving to the cloud Support for On-premises, Cloud, and Hybrid Deployments

IM and PresenceRich presence and instant messaging capabilities in Lync Server 2010 help workers find and communicate with one another efficiently and effectively. Integration with familiar Microsoft Office productivity tools and Microsoft SharePoint makes IM and presence a natural part of everyday workflow, enhancing collaboration while making knowledge and expertise inside the organisation readily accessible to all users.

PresenceLync Server 2010 provides an immediate, visual representation of a user’s availability, or presence. By simply looking at the contact list, users can find everything they need at a glance. For example, a green icon means a contact is available, red means a contact is busy, and yellow indicates that a contact is Away from the computer. Picture and location is available with the presence “jellybean,” making a richer interface and allowing for better communications decision. Presence can be enhanced with physical locations relative to corporate network access points. Or, users can manually set their location information to let others know precise whereabouts when working from home, a coffee shop, or elsewhere.

Enterprise VoiceLync Server 2010 delivers on the promise of unified communications with the complete telephony capabilities of an IP PBX, integrated with rich presence, instant messaging (IM), and ad hoc collaboration and online meetings. Enterprise voice in Lync Server 2010 meets telephony requirements through a combination of traditional IP PBX voice user features and more flexible unified communications alternatives. Features such as call answer, hold, resume, transfer, forward, and divert are supported directly, while personalised speed dialing keys are replaced by contact lists, and automatic intercom is replaced with IM.

Traditional telephony management functions including dial plans, call authorisation, and call detail records are supported and improved via interoperability with standard enterprise tools including Active Directory and Microsoft SQL Server. With Enterprise Voice, users can use their computers or desktop IP phones as their primary business phones; Enterprise Voice can also extend business calls to mobile devices.

7

Lync 2010 Mobile ClientWith the Lync 2010 mobile client, Lync Server 2010 supports a range of Microsoft and third-party platforms, extending a rich communications experience to customers on their mobile devices of choice. Mobile clients compatible with Lync Server 2010 are made available by Microsoft.

Unified ConferencingConferencing capabilities are historically evaluated and acquired by workload – voice, application sharing, web conferencing, and video conferencing – and limited to users within a department or division within the enterprise. Lync Server 2010 aspires to remove those boundaries, delivering efficiency and cost savings by delivering a unified solution with feature parity to multiple single-workload solutions. New features, a unified client, and simplified operation drive adoption to help users improve productivity without extensive training.

Scheduling, managing, and joining online meetings

Online meeting tools integrated into Outlook 2010 enable organisers to schedule a meeting or start an impromptu conference with a single click and make it just as easy for attendees to join. Attendees can be placed in a “lobby,” helping the meeting organiser to control access. The meeting roster clearly displays titles and names of attendees. A Web client extends rich conference features to participants who do not have the desktop Lync 2010 client.

Audio ConferencingAudio conferencing is a fundamental need for many businesses and presents a great opportunity for cost savings when deployed on-premises. Lync Server 2010 provides a user experience that is familiar to users of traditional audio bridge services including PSTN dial-in services with touch-tone call control commands. At the same time, it incorporates powerful scheduling, joining, and management features available only with an integrated Unified Communications platform.

8

VideoVideo conferencing is becoming increasingly important as organisations get more distributed and mobile because it provides a more personal experience that supports effective team-building. Complex interfaces, high cost, and limited features have reduced adoption of video conferencing across the broader workforce. Lync Server 2010 simplifies the user experience by incorporating video into the unified client so that adding scheduling an online meeting with video or escalating to video spontaneously is seamless and easy. In order to provide the most immersive communications experience possible, Lync Server 2010 supports a variety of video conferencing options. High-definition video (resolution 1270 x 720; aspect ratio 16:9) and VGA video (resolution 640 x 480; aspect ratio 4:3) are supported for peer-to-peer calls between users running Lync 2010 on high-end computers.

Application and Document SharingBy integrating traditional application and document sharing into the streamlined Lync 2010 client, Lync Server 2010 delivers a highly accessible and reliable tool that virtually everyone can use. Combined with audio or video conferencing, the result is a highly immersive and collaborative session that is simple to facilitate.

Microsoft Lync delivers a wide range of user benefits that enable enterprises to improve productivity and efficiency and their employees to work smarter. A consistent unified platform and approach delivers feature rich extensibility to both desk based and mobile workers.

Communications-enabled business processes automate, speed up, or otherwise improve business processes by adding unified communications capabilities including telephony, conferencing, enterprise messaging, and presence.

Access product information, case studies and more on the Microsoft Lync resource centre

9

Active Communications Solution

Product OverviewThe Active Communications Server (ACS) appliance is 110% Microsoft Lync 2010 and has been developed as a single server using Microsoft’s advanced virtualisation and security techniques. A single ACS appliance has a maximum capacity of 2,500 users and can accommodate up to 250 simultaneous voice / video sessions. This can be expanded easily by adding additional server roles such as Mediation and/or Edge Servers in the enterprise network infrastructure. The ACS appliance is designed to facilitate straightforward Microsoft Lync deployments with limited impact to the existing IT environment. Additional functionality can be added quickly and cost effectively.

The ACS appliance has a specially designed Lync Active Directory Connector and its own Management Console for daily administrative tasks. The Management Console does not replace the Lync Control Panel but serves as an additional management application for an administrator. For advanced settings such as Response Groups, IVR, etc. the network administrator can (or in collaboration with Active Communications) manage these through the Lync Control Panel.

ACS is available in two versions:

An Introduction

Active Care Services - 1 year

Updates and Upgrades to ACS Server Software •Technical Support 8 hr response •Software Assurance Lync server components •

ACS Light (ACSL):For organisations that do not initially require the full suite of collaboration features, such as voice and video capability, then the ACS Light solution is a perfect fit. ACS Light enables users with Presence and Instant Messaging capability and scales up to 750 users enabling organisations to embark on a phased deployment of Microsoft Lync.

Rapid deployment of Unified Messaging solution •Improved efficiency and availability of employees •Minimal impact to existing IT infrastructure •Improved customer response times •

ACS Upgrade option

For organisations that initially purchase an ACS Light solution, this can be upgraded at a later stage to the Enterprise solution in order to take advantage of Lync Enterprise Voice telephony and video features.

ACS Enterprise (ACSE):Organisations may wish to deploy a complete Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) solution from the outset. The ACSE solution enables organisations to deploy the complete Microsoft Lync solution suite allowing them to gain immediate benefit from features such as:

Enterprise Voice •Presence •Audio Conferencing •Video Conferencing •Instant Messaging •

The ACSE solution scales to 2,500 users per server (multiple servers supported) and enables Microsoft Lync to be deployed into an organisation quickly and without impact to the existing IT and server infrastructure.

Yearly Public Certificate •Update support for qualified Microsoft software updates •

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What does the Active Communications Server solution consist of?Multiple server applications and roles are required in order to deploy a Microsoft Lync UC solution. The ACS solution comprises of a single hardware server platform that is pre-built as a Microsoft Lync Solution with all relevant server applications and roles pre-installed. This significantly reduces the deployment time for a Microsoft Lync solution.

ACS Server software v3.0

The ACS server software is a powerful management tool that simplifies user administration and management. Through the ACS Active Directory Connector, users are added to the ACS Lync environment without schema extensions to the enterprise Active Directory. A “two-way trust” is established between ACS and the Active Directory for a completely transparent environment.

Lync A/V Conferencing Server

The A/V Conferencing server provides both audio and video conferencing facilities to internal and external parties.

Monitoring and Archiving Server

Monitoring and Archiving server roles are required for

deployment of a Microsoft Lync deployment, enabling: CDR

reports, call reliability reporting and numerous call quality metrics as well as archiving Instant Messages and Web Conferencing content.

Lync Server 2010 Mediation Server

Mediation server is implemented in order to support voice connectivity and conferencing as well as managing VoIP Codecs. Typically SIP trunks will be terminated by the SBC (Session Border Controller) and this will in turn be connected to the mediation server.

Lync Server 2010 Front End Server

The Lync Front End (FE) server is the main server that supports user registration, features and signalling between telephony devices such as SIP handsets, Lync Clients and Mobile Lync Clients. The FE Server can be compared to the call processor in an IP PBX.

Front End server functions include:

Client registration and authentication• Presence availability, DL expansion and address book services• IM services including IM conferences (chat rooms)• Web conferencing and app sharing•

Dell PowerEdge Rackserver

The Active Communications Server is preloaded with the Windows 2008 Server operating system and the full suite of Lync applications and server roles.

Windows 2008 Server Enterprise

T h e u n d e r l y i n g operating system for the Lync solution is Windows 2008 server. This forms the basis of the user and domain management.

Lync Server 2010 Edge Server

The role of the Edge Server (ES) is essential to provide connectiv it y between internal and external parties that may be outside of the corporate firewall. For example if one organisation wishes to federate services or IM to another external organisation, it is the role of the ES to support this.

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The Active Communications AdvantageDeployment of a Microsoft Lync solution requires specialist skills and understanding of the underlying IT infrastructure. The very nature and complexity of enterprise client/server networks means that user moves, adds and changes can be very time consuming even without including deployment of new applications.

A Microsoft Lync architecture is complex and relies upon multiple server roles as well as physical elements of server hardware.

Before deployment of ACS

Active Directory

QOE MonitoringArchivingCDR

Fire

wal

l

PBX

Public IMClouds

SIP Trunks

Fire

wal

l

Exchange Server2007/2010

Voicemail

UC Endpoints

PRIPSTN

(SIP-PSTN-GW)

RemoteUsers

FederatedBusinesses

MediationServer

Data, Audio/Video, SIP

Edge Server

DMZ

Front-End Server(IM, Presence)

BackendSQL Server

• Inbound Routing

• Outboung Routing

• Voicemail Routing

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However, the ACS solution significantly decreases the time to deploy a Microsoft Lync solution with minimal impact to the underlying network infrastructure. By virtualising multiple applications and co-locating server roles the Active Communications server enables rapid deployment of a Microsoft Lync solution.

Reduced complexity •Simplified management via the ACS management dashboard •No impact to customer Active Directory configuration •Preloaded hardware with Microsoft Lync and associated servers and roles •

After deployment of the ACS appliance solution

Active Directory

Firewall

PBX

Public IMClouds

SIP TrunksExchange Server

2007/2010

Voicemail

UC Endpoints

ACS Server

PRIPSTN

(SIP-PSTN-GW)

RemoteUsers

FederatedBusinesses

How are users enabled with Lync features using the Active Communications Server?

Lync functionality is delivered to users by way of licencing. Each user requires a client access licence (CAL) in order for features to be enabled. Licences are installed on the desktop/laptop. There are three types of licence:

Standard •Enterprise •Plus •

Any combination of these licences can be deployed per user but the Standard CAL is mandatory and is required as a ‘base’ licence. This approach allows for full feature flexibility and the ability to activate specific feature groups on a per user basis.

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ACS Server Licence

In addition to each client licence, a per user licence must be enabled on the Active Communications Server running Microsoft Lync 2010. This allows users to be registered to the Lync server to enable internal and external IM, Voice and Audio and Video Conferencing communications.

Lync Server 2010 Standard CAL • : The Lync Server 2010 Standard CAL offers instant messaging and rich presence (IM/P) features. It provides users with real-time presence and enhanced IM along with PC-to-PC audio and video communications, as well as authenticated attendee experience for internally hosted conferences.

Lync Server 2010 Enterprise CAL • : The Lync Server 2010 Enterprise CAL offers Audio, Video, and Web conferencing features. It provides users the ability to create, moderate, and join conferences for collaboration with both internal and external users.

Lync Server 2010 Plus CAL • : The Lync Server 2010 Plus CAL offers enterprise voice telephony features. It provides high-quality voice and other related features to users anywhere with an Internet connection across IP phones, PCs, and desktop applications.

Standard CAL:

IM & PRESENCE

Plus CAL:

ENTERPRISE VOICE

Enterprise CAL:

CONFERENCING

Web ConferencingConferenceAttendee

Call Routing & User Call Management

Conference Organiser

Branch Office Survivability

Video Conferencing

Office Backstage Integration

Response Groups

Meeting Lobby

Enhanced 911 Capability

Call Park and PBX features

Audio ConferencingWindows Live Messenger AV

Federation

Team Call and Delegation

Conference Recording

Call Admission Control

Desktop Sharing

SharePoint Based Skill Search

Click to Call on PBX Phone (RCC)

Join From Experience

Visual Access to V-Mail

Ad hoc Audio Conferencing

Suites: ECAL

Suites: ECAL

Suites: None

Lync Licence Types

Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) Mobility for Smartphones

Supported Applications Device Type Functionality

Microsoft Lync 2010 Client WP 7 / iOS / Android / Symbian Presence/IM/Voice/Video

Altigen - MaxMobile WP7 / iOS / Android / Blackberry Presence/IM/Voice

Modality iDialog iOS Presence/IM/Voice

Damaka – Xync iOS / Android / Symbian Presence/IM/Voice/Video

14

Dial/Hold/Transfer/ •DND/Mute/TransferDDI/CLI/Call coverage/Divert •Click to call/Call by name •User presence displayed •to the handsetCTI integration •Hunt groups •Automatic Call Distributor •Caller Name Display •Call Attendant/Voicemail •Single number reach •Inbound Private line •Softphone •Speed Dial •Call forward •Call logging – CDR •Multi-tenant •Multiple codecs – RTA, •G.711, G.722 and G.723.1

Security - SRTP/TLS •Call Park and retrieve •Malicious call trace •FMC with mobile devices •Presence based call routing •Conference Call voice •and video – internal/external/drag and dropPSTN dial-in/out •Call Admission Control – •bandwidth managementCall authorisation •Skill search call routing •E911 (US location service •for emergency calling)Corporate Directory search •Federated Voice/ •IM/Video callsRemote worker (no VPN) •Bridged calls •

Enterprise Voice Features

Plus CAL:

ENTERPRISE VOICE

Call Routing & User Call Management

Branch Office Survivability

Response Groups

Enhanced 911 Capability

Call Park and PBX features

Team Call and Delegation

Call Admission Control

Click to Call on PBX Phone (RCC)

Visual Access to V-Mail

Ad hoc Audio Conferencing

Suites: None

Audio, Video and Web •Single click scheduling •Ad-hoc / Scheduled •Mute / Unmute / Dial in/ •Dial outMobile users (Lync) – •single click accessOpen / Closed / •Anonymous accessDial-in access – •PIN code accessHD or VGA support •Lobby / Roster / •Announcements

Conference attendant for •multi-language prompt supportSingle click to add video •to voice conferenceActive speaker support •Document / application / •desktop sharingWhiteboarding •Support for 250 user •conference (can be more)Conference recording •

Unified Conferencing (Enterprise CAL)

Auto Attendant •Mailbox login •Play messages – oldest /newest •TTS / STT – 26 languages •Multiple Exchange servers supported •Speech Recognition •Find me follow me •Mailbox search •2nd dialplan per user •

Message Waiting Indicator (MWI) •Voicemail • ó Email Call announcements and greetings •Missed call and voicemail notification •via SMSSend a voice message to a person. •Change their PIN, spoken name, or •greetings.Visual voicemail •

Calendar scheduling: •Listen to new and saved e-mail and –voice mail messages.

Forward, reply to, save, and delete –e-mail and voice mail messages.

Interact with their calendar. –

Locate a person in the global –address list or their personal Contacts.

Voicemail & Messaging Features

Enterprise CAL:

CONFERENCING

Web Conferencing

Conference Organiser

Video Conferencing

Meeting Lobby

Audio Conferencing

Conference Recording

Desktop Sharing

Join From Experience

Suites: ECAL

Telephony Features MatrixMicrosoft Lync supports an extensive range of enterprise telephony features. All features are determined by the licence that has been applied to the laptop/desktop device. The following matrices provide a ‘snapshot’ of the overall feature set.

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Unprecedented ReliabilityFive-nines reliability – it’s the standard often quoted for traditional telephony services, a goal for new competitors, and a selling point for equipment vendors. But what does it really mean?

What the Labs say...Microsoft Lync has been subjected to rigorous performance and security testing. The Miercom Group subjected a Microsoft Lync infrastructure to a number of ‘stress’ tests with the following results..

Call handling and throughput

4m calls in 13 days, 100% success •Over 13,000 calls per hour •100% call completion •

Security

• TLS/SSL protocol mutation

Over 16,000 protocol mutations of SSLv3 and TLSv1 messages –

No residual vulnerability –

TCP attack •Over 3,000 protocol mutations from 91 variants –

No vulnerabilities –

Resiliency

• Remote branch survivability with PSTN failover

Remote clients still connected in the event of WAN failure –

Branch client survivability •In the event of Lync server unavailability Lync clients still –maintained connectivity to branch appliance and were able to establish basic calls through the SBA locally and via the PSTN.

The complete report can be accessed here

4,000,000 calls 100% success

19,000 attacks No vulnerabilities

Remote clients still connected in event of WAN failure

99.999% Reliability

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Relative Positioning – Lync vs. Traditional VoIP infrastructuresIn an ACS Microsoft Lync environment, a range of additional products are deployed in order to support a complete Microsoft Lync unified communications solution.

In a typical IP PBX or legacy TDM PBX environment, (excluding the main call processor or switching fabric for call signalling and handling), PSTN line cards or modules would be required in order to support voice connectivity to the outside world. This might, for example, involve the use of an ISDN 30 (PRI) module for 30 concurrent telephone calls. A Microsoft Lync solution has the same needs but instead of using internal line-side or trunk-side cards or modules, external appliances are deployed.

The following matrix maps existing IP PBX solutions to an ACS Microsoft Lync deployment and identifies the appliances that are used in order to support specific functionality.

PBX Vendor Active Communications Avaya IP Office Mitel Shoretel

PBX ModelACS Enterprise (Microsoft Lync 2010)

IP Office 500 v23300 MXe III Expanded

Voice Switch 220 E1

Capacity (Users) ACS Enterprise 2,500 384 / 1,000 1,500Scales with ‘Switch’ models deployed

Media Cards / Gateways for PSTN/SIP Trunk Access

AudioCodes:MediaPack Gateway 1xx rangeMediant Gateway 1000 / 2000NET: Tenor Gateway, UX 1000 / 2000Acme Packet: Net-Net ESD-SE, Net-Net 3820, Net-Net 4500

Integral Modules:240 Trunks MaxPRI 30 ModulePRI 60 Module4x Analogue Module4x BRI Module8x BRI Module

Integral Modules: 240 Trunks (can be expanded)2x E1 Module4x BRI Module4x Analogue Module6x Analogue Module

External Units:1x E12x BRI8x BRI8x Analogue4x Analogue2x Analogue

Media Cards for Analogue devices such as Telephones/FAX

AudioCodes:MediaPack Gateway 1xx rangeMediant Gateway 1000 / 2000NET: Tenor Gateway, UX 1000 / 2000

2 port, 8 port, 16 port, 30 port external modules

24 port external unit12 port external unit

24 port external unit

VoicemailEmbedded and routed into Microsoft Exchange

Further Edition - External Server

Embedded Embedded

Unified Messaging and Conferencing

Embedded and routed into Microsoft Exchange

A/V – 2x64 partiesVideo softphone and Lifesize integration

Embedded Embedded

Handsets

Polycom: CX seriesSnom: 3xx, 6xx and 8xx seriesAastra: 67xxi seriesAudioCodes: 3xx HD series

IP 16xxIP 96xx

53xx55xx

6xx5xx2xx1xx

Softphone Microsoft Lync 2010 ClientIP Office Video Softphone

Unified Communicator Express / Advanced Softphone (UCE/A)

Shoretel Communicator

Attendant Console Microsoft Lync 2010 Attendant IP Office Receptionist 5550 IP Console BB24 Console

HeadsetsPlantronicsJabra

PlantronicsJabra

PlantronicsJabra

PlantronicsJabra

Presence / IM / Chat / Voice

ACS Light Presence / IMACS Enterprise fully featured Voice / IM / Presence

oneX portal server – External server

Via UCA applicationShoretel Communicator

Integration with Microsoft Lync

ACS is running 100% Lync TBALive Business Gateway (or external appliance available from Westcon)

Via open APIs

Fixed Mobile Convergence

Lync 2010 Client WP7 / iOS /Android / Symbian

Mobile client – Android / iOS

Mitel Unified Communicator Mobile

RoamAnywhere client

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Deployment of Active Communications Server & Microsoft Lync

There are numerous deployment scenarios for Microsoft Lync solutions:

Integrate with legacy telephony infrastructures •Enhance functionality of existing telephony platform •Replace end of life PBX •Deployment of a new Unified Communications and Collaboration telephony solution •Stand alone configuration •High Availability configuration •Hosted cloud based Microsoft Lync and support for Microsoft Office 365 •

Integrating Microsoft Lync 2010 with legacy telephony infrastructures:

Integrating Microsoft Lync solutions with disparate telephony infrastructures introduces a number of design challenges and questions:

How is the PBX integrating with the Microsoft server infrastructure? •How is the voice access being delivered – SIP? •What endpoints are being used – handsets, softphones and headsets? •How is the unified communications infrastructure being secured? •Is this a single or multi-site configuration? •

Solutions from the Westcon Lync vendor eco-system are able to address all of these deployment scenarios delivering a fully integrated Microsoft Lync solution:

Adding functionality to existing telephony infrastructuresFor organisations wanting to add and integrate functionality such as audio and video conferencing to their existing PBX without necessitating a forklift upgrade, Microsoft Lync delivers a cost effective upgrade path.

Lync deployed in parallel with existing PBX

Add Audio and Video Conferencing to an existing telephony platform –

Audio, Video and Web Conferencing –

“Join From” calls from the existing handset, retains PBX investment and reduces complexity –

Enables future path for full UC adoption –

Westcon product solutions available:

Active Communications - Microsoft Lync 2010 deploymentAcme Packet - H.323 – SIP interworking between PBX and Video infrastructureAudioCodes - Integration with existing telephony infrastructureNET - Integration with existing telephony infrastructurePolycom - Video and Voice EndpointsPlantronics - Audio DevicesJabra - Audio DevicesAdvatel - Call routing, management and agent display panel

Enterprise Network Service Provider Network

Existing TelephonyEnvironment

Lync ServerEnvironment

PSTNSIP TrunkIP-PBX

Lync Endpoints FEServers

MediationServer

E-SBC E-SBC GW

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Replacement of end of life legacy PBX or new ‘green field’ deploymentsOrganisations may be looking to replace their existing telephony architecture for a number of reasons:

Fully depreciated and/or high maintenance cost –

End of life PBX with no ongoing support offered –

Reduce OPEX of existing solution –

Deployment of a Microsoft Lync solution as the primary voice platform becomes the Day 1 platform for delivering a unified communications and collaboration solution.

Lync deployed as the PBX replacement solution from Day 1

SIP Trunking –

Audio, Video and Web conferencing –

Presence and IM –

Messaging platform with Exchange –

Westcon product solutions available:

Active Communications - Microsoft Lync 2010 deployment Acme Packet - IP Trunks, Security and video endpoint and PBX integrationAudioCodes - SIP Trunks, SecurityNET - SIP Trunks, SecurityPolycom - Video and Voice EndpointsPlantronics - Audio DevicesJabra - Audio DevicesAdvatel - Call routing, management and agent display panel

Enhance existing telephony platformDeploying additional Unified Communications features with an existing PBX and enhance it with new functionality such as mobile integration, click to call functionality or SIP trunks can be achieved using Lync.

Lync deployed in parallel with existing PBX

Lync deployed to give soft client functionality for IM and Presence –

Click to call support –

Instant Messaging and Presence –

Messaging platform with Exchange –

Westcon product solutions available:

Active Communications - Microsoft Lync 2010 deployment Acme Packet - Integration with existing telephony infrastructure, SIP TrunksAudioCodes - Integration with existing telephony infrastructure, SIP TrunksNET - Integration with existing telephony infrastructure, SIP TrunksPolycom - Video and Voice EndpointsPlantronics - Audio DevicesJabra - Audio DevicesAdvatel - Call routing, management and agent display panel

Service Provider NetworkEnterprise Network

PSTNSIP Trunk

Lync Endpoints FEServers

MediationServer

E-SBC E-SBC GW

Mobile voice –

Full UC security –

Enterprise Federation –

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Standalone Configuration

In a standalone configuration, a single ACS appliance is deployed. Redundancy in this configuration is delivered by a server platform supporting N+1 power supplies and RAID 5 mirrored hard drives. When Microsoft Lync is deployed in this format, the capacity is 2,500 users running on the “Standard Server Edition” of the Microsoft Lync Server application.

High Availability Configuration

Enterprises wishing to exceed 2,500 users or deploy a highly resilient solution can ‘stack’ additional ACS appliances. In this scenario, the ACS appliances are running on the “Enterprise Server Edition” of Microsoft Lync Server 2010. Enterprise Server Edition can support over 100,000 users

Hosted Microsoft Lync, Office 365 – Lync OnlineWith the emergence of the cloud and associated XaaS services, organisations are reviewing their IT deployment and operating expense models and in a growing number of cases, are opting for a cloud based service for applications delivery. For office productivity applications, Microsoft Office 365 has proved to be a popular deployment choice to deliver applications such as Microsoft Office, Exchange, SharePoint and Lync.

In a hosted Microsoft Lync deployment via Office 365, there are distinct limitations in functionality as opposed to on premises deployment of Lync. Whilst Lync features such as instant messaging, presence and video conferencing within Office 365 work very well, current voice functionality is limited to internal client to client calling and a limited level of conference call participation. Features fundamental to a voice deployment such as inbound and outbound calling, response groups and more are not currently available in ‘the cloud’.

Deployment of an on-premise Active Communications Server enables organisations to deploy and/or maintain Office 365 productivity solutions and enable enterprise voice features and functions not currently available in the cloud. Active Communications Server integrates with all cloud based active directory services ensuring that Office 365 users are fully enabled for voice.

Full Cloud deployment – no voice integrationIn an environment where Microsoft Office 365 cloud applications (including Lync), have been deployed, the existing telephony solution has no enterprise voice integration with Lync and becomes a communications island with limited integration capability with the cloud-based applications and collaborative tools.

UC Endpoints

Physical Site

E-SBC

E-SBCIP PBX

Office 365 CloudActive Directory Server

SIP TrunkProvider / PSTN

Fire

wal

l

Active Directory Federation Server

AD ServerDirSync Server

AD Federation Server

Cloud Infrastructure (without ACS)

All applications hosted •No Enterprise Voice •functionality

Only basic Lync features •available:

IM –Presence –Video Conferencing –

Disparate autonomous •telephony infrastructure

< 2,500

< 100,000

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Voice Enabling Cloud Users within Office 365Deployment of the Active Communications Server enables full enterprise voice integration with the cloud-based elements of Office 365 applications. The organisation can now benefit from a fully integrated Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) solution. This includes enterprise voice functionality in addition to audio and video multipoint conferencing, and more. The legacy telephony solution (TDM or IP PBX) can now be retired – with significant reductions in associated operating and maintenance costs – and replaced by Microsoft Lync in its entirety. The diagram below depicts the changed network topology in this scenario.

AD ServerDirSync Server

AD Federation ServerACS Server

ACS - AD connector

UC Endpoints

Physical Site

E-SBC E-SBC

Office 365 CloudActive Directory Server

Fire

wal

l

SIP TrunkProvider / PSTN

Active Directory Federation Server

Cloud Infrastructure (with ACS)

All applications hosted •Full Enterprise Voice •enablement

Full UC enablement •Voice –Unified Messaging –IM & Presence –Voice/Video –Conferencing

Integrated Microsoft •telephony infrastructure

Active Communications Server SummaryStreamlined Communications • : The Lync client is available for Windows, Mac OS, iOS, WP7, Android and Symbian, unifying the user experience across these devices and increasing employee productivity

User Controlled Communications • : Users immediately find the right person and communicate with them using the preferred medium: voice, video, IM. Truly integrated communication enhances effectiveness.

Reduced Cost of Ownership • : With one system management interface, user moves, adds and changes (MACs) can be made quickly without affecting the corporate network topology. User and system MACs can be made either locally on-site or remotely, enabling a quick response to changing environments. Enhanced functionality can be added and integrated with an existing telephony solution without the need for costly forklift upgrades to the existing telephony network.

Reduced Implementation Time • : The ACS appliance simplifies management and reduces deployment cost, without consuming IT support time. Deploying ACS doesn’t require complex changes to the existing solution, enabling deployment during business hours without necessitating downtime to the corporate network.

Scalability • : The ACS appliance has a ‘day 1’ capacity of a maximum of 2,500 users and can accommodate up to 250 simultaneous voice / video sessions. This can be expanded further through the addition of additional server hardware and roles. Standalone and high availability options available for improved resiliency.

Unified Communications Enablement • : The ACS appliance can be deployed within the existing environment to deliver added UC features and functionality not available from the existing telephony platform. Equally the ACS solution can replace the entire telephony infrastructure delivering a cost effective approach to delivering a feature rich telephony UC solution.

Flexibility • : Suitable for soft-phones, headsets or desk phones. Employees can work from home as if they are in the office and collaborate from different locations.

Advanced Security • : The ACS uses Advanced Security and Virtualisation technology and is based on a single redundant server with dual power supply and RAID 5. The unique Active Directory connector removes the need for schema extensions in the enterprise active directory, without compromising functionality. The ACS management suite allows for regular maintenance, online reporting and proactive monitoring of the Lync 2010 environment through the online user interface either on-site or remotely.

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Lync Enabling Vendor Eco-system

To successfully deploy a Lync solution, a number of complementary products are necessary in order to exploit the full range of Lync features, functionality and integration.

E-SBCs (Enterprise Session Border Controllers)E-SBCs have multiple roles in a Lync environment. They are predominantly used for deploying SIP trunks to a Lync solution or integrating Lync with an existing IP PBX and/or IP telephony applications. Security of the voice infrastructure, codec management and voice quality are also key roles of the E-SBC.

Enterprise Session Border Controller Vendors:

Acme Packet

Net-Net Enterprise Session Director: •Server Edition

Net-Net 3820 •Net-Net 4500 •

AudioCodes

Mediant 800 •Mediant 1000 •Mediant 2000 •Mediant 3000 •

NET (Network Equipment Technologies)

UX 1000 •UX 2000 •

Media GatewaysMedia Gateways are used for integrating legacy TDM PBXs and IP PBXs with Lync in a phased approach. This facilitates connectivity and integration of the existing telephony infrastructure with a Lync solution eliminating the need for a ‘rip and replace’ approach to deployment. They also deliver both SIP trunks and traditional PSTN voice trunks such as ISDN 2 (BRI), ISDN 30 (PRI) and analogue ports. Additionally, media gateways bring analogue connectivity (where required) to a Lync solution. A typical example of this would be connecting existing FAX machines to the voice network or adding devices such as credit card swipe terminals.

Media Gateway Vendors

AudioCodes

MediaPack product range •Mediant product range •

NET (Network Equipment Technologies)

Tenor product range •UX 1000 •UX 2000 •

Video ConferencingVideo conferencing is becoming increasingly important as organisations become more distributed and mobile and provides a more personal experience that supports effective team building, collaboration and user interaction. Complex interfaces, high cost and limited features can prevent wide-spread adoption of video conferencing across the broader workforce. Lync Server 2010 simplifies the user experience by incorporating video into the unified client so adding or scheduling an online meeting with video or spontaneously escalating IM or telephone sessions to video is seamless and easy.

Video Conferencing Vendors

Polycom

HDX Video Conferencing Platforms •RPX, OTX and ATX Telepresence appliances •DMA Distributed Media Application Server •RMX Real time Media Conference Platform •

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UC Audio Devices: IP Endpoints High quality ‘Lync optimised’ audio devices should be deployed for voice connectivity to Microsoft Lync in order to maximise the quality of the user experience. Microsoft Lync optimised handsets from the vendors listed below not only deliver exceptional wideband audio and HD voice quality but also support specialist features such as presence, replicating a user’s call status and contact card dialling capabilities.

Polycom • : CX series

Aastra • : 67xxi series

AudioCodes • : 3xx HD series

Snom • : 3xx, 6xx and 8xx series

UC Audio Devices: HeadsetsOrganisations often utilise different methods for voice connectivity to the telephony infrastructure, whether through a desk based handset, DECT wireless, WLAN wireless, softphones or smart mobile devices. As a result, different types of UC audio devices – headsets – are required in order to ensure the best possible audio experience.

A recent study showed that headsets can increase productivity in the office alone by up to 43%. Tasks such as note taking or checking documents during telephone calls are achieved more comfortably and faster through the ‘hands-free’ experience when using a headset. Microsoft Lync optimised headsets from the following vendors enable a consistent and high-quality audio experience;

Plantronics • : Voyager, Calisto, Savi and Blackwire series

Jabra • : PRO, GO, BIZ, GN and Speak series

Contact Centre SolutionsFor organisations that are deploying ACD (automatic call distribution) and contact centre solutions it is important to understand information relating to the performance of the contact centre as well as the agents that are supporting it. Providing real-time queuing information such as: number of incoming calls, calls in queue, busy agents, available agents, longest queuing call and average queue time are all key indicators to the performance of a contact centre.

Powerful call routing features within Microsoft Lync can be reported back to agents and supervisors alike ensuring that contact centre performance is optimised and delivering improved customer service and business outcomes.

Advatel • : Espera - Real Time

Aspect • : Contact, Unified IP

Altigen • : MaxACD Server

23

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