Thanksgiving Thank You
I”m writing a short holiday greeting for today. And a thank you for your attention. Checking our stats, I see the OCS Insider’’s traffic is up to over 2,000 visits per month now!
Thanks very much, to all of you. Please enjoy your Thanksgiving. Stay safe on Black Friday!
And don”t forget to check back next week.
Three SIP Resources You”ll Need for VoIP
Filed under: OCS 2007, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
Considering a switch to a VoIP-based phone system? You”ll need to know about SIP Trunking.
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) allows voice traffic to travel over data networks. It connects legacy phones and the Internet. In order to do this right, you”ll need to know how SIP functions. On its own, and integrated into OCS 2007.
These resources popped up in my alerts and/or RSS recently. Two are downloads; one’’s an online guide.
1. Podcast: “Reality Check: Five Things You Should Know About SIP”
Start here if you”re unsure what SIP does/can do. Download the 8-minute podcast or listen to it on the page.
The five things are (in brief):
- SIP is more than just telephony;
- Trunking enables end-to-end IP (lots of applications);
- SIP is about Presence (remember what we”ve said about Presence?);
- The SIP Forum is available for reference;
- Mobile SIP is out there too.
2. White Paper: “The Benefits of Using a Demarcation Device When Integrating Legacy Voice, SIP Trunks and Microsoft OCS R2″
Published by NET, this white paper makes a thorough case for switching to SIP/OCS over PBX phones. Some of its examples include better voice quality, cost savings, & more efficient use of bandwidth.
The white paper’’s about using a demarcation device (their own product) to help integrate SIP. But don”t let that sway you; the reference material is great. It even shows a lot of the inherent complexities of an OCS-based phone system. (I think they went a bit overhead with that topic; our OCS implementations don”t usually get near that complex!).
Download the white paper at the UC Strategies Blog.
3. OCSPedia’’s “Step-by-Step Mediation Server Guide” Online Resource.
One of Mediation Server’’s primary functions is to translate SIP-over-TCP to SIP-over-TLS. In other words, if you want to call out with OCS? You need a Mediation Server in place to handle SIP.
OCSPedia.com has kindly written out a series of detailed instructions on installing/configuring Mediation Server. And several posts on what it does/how to make use of it.
OCSPedia.com Step-by-Step Mediation Server Guide
These days, SIP Trunking is an essential component of any serious VoIP system. Even major telco providers have SIP Trunking available now (for approved hardware of course; we keep a list). So read up!
Anything more to add on SIP? Post it in the comments, or email me.
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A Special Note For Our Veterans
Everyone at PlanetMagpie honors the service of the men & women in our Armed Forces. We are proud to support American veterans and American business.
Why it’’s a Good Idea to Let Someone Else Run Your Exchange 2010 (or OCS) Server
Exchange 2010 released worldwide on November 9th. The Microsoft Exchange Team Blog has the announcement.
There’’s a lot of blogging out there about Exchange’’s capabilities (the Exchange Team Blog announcement, especially). We beta-tested it, so I could give my opinion too (a positive one) if I wanted. But there’’s plenty of good writing about that already.
What I will write about stems from this article at the ZDNet “Microsoft Report” blog:
“Why I”m Letting Someone Else Run My Exchange 2010 Server”
The author, Ed Bott (who’’s great to read if you like keeping up on MS software), lays out a series of reasons why going the hosted option makes sense for Exchange 2010. It’’s the sort of conversation you might overhear at the coffeemaker between a VP and his IT manager.
I wanted to weigh in on this because Exchange 2010 helps out OCS 2007 (and the new 2010 when it’’s released). Because our hosted 2010 services are getting a lot of attention already. And because I think Ed’’s points deserve restating for the OCS crowd.
“Big Reasons” Why Companies Opt for Hosted Exchange (and how it helps OCS)
No need to manage it yourself
Ed said it himself. “The biggest objection to a complex but powerful server product like Exchange is the hassle of managing it locally.” By far this is the biggest reason people use our Hosted Exchange. It’’s also a big reason people like Hosted OCS too.
No migration scrambling
How much time could a small business lose if they did the Exchange 2010 migration themselves? Figure at least a couple days” worth. As in the total day. And then you”re dealing with management (see above).
Security handled for you
“Is it safe to outsource our email?” = Most common worry we see. Sure it is. No more dangerous than running email in-house.
Probably even safer than that, since hosted providers have to maintain stringent security for ALL their servers. We refer to our security setup as “The Labyrinth” sometimes. Hackers get lost before they get anywhere.
Affordable by Small Business
Buying one Exchange Server 2010 Standard license costs $699. As opposed to hosted plans, where both Exchange and OCS become more economical. Then you”re looking at a monthly rate that usually starts around $20. The only factor is how many user accounts you need.
Sync with non-Microsoft equipment
A hosted environment has to incorporate different hardware & software. Which makes it easier for them to include the option of connecting other software to your Exchange account.
Ed mentions connecting a hosted Exchange 2007 account to his Snow Leopard mail client and an iPhone. We connected two office iPhones to our Exchange 2010 server, so we know this particular value has carried over. (They don”t like working with OCS though - we mentioned it in a newsletter article comparing smartphones recently.)
The comments on Ed’’s article went back and forth over Exchange. Debating its stability, concerned about security on outsourced servers…many of the issues I mentioned above, in fact. If they had questions, our readers would too. If you”re looking to migrate to Exchange 2010 in the future, read Ed’’s article (and the comments) and consider the hosted option.
Ed Bott’’s Microsoft Report Blog: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/
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Avoid “The Choking Line” — Don”t Use Consumer-Grade Broadband Lines for VoIP
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Voice over IP
The main difference between Voice over IP and POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service; your typical desk phones) is the fact that Voice over IP runs all of its connections through Internet lines. NOT phone lines.
Sometimes people forget this. So we remind them during initial meetings. You”ll need a high-speed line for good-quality VoIP conversations.
When we say this, their thoughts often switch to the most immediate Internet line solution: consumer broadband connections. Like through Comcast or AT&T.
“That”ll work for VoIP phones, right?”
Sigh.
Why Consumer-Grade Broadband Chokes VoIP
Most consumer broadband packages are measured in up/down speeds. Say 3MBps down/512Kbps up, for example. That stands for 3 megabits-per-second download, half a megabit-per-second upload. This is part of the problem. Phone conversations are two-way. People talking, people listening. If both upload and download speeds aren”t at least close? The conversation breaks up all over the place.
The major reason this occurs comes from VoIP’’s underlying technology. Voice over IP works by packet-switched telephony - digitizing your voice and sending it in separate packets through the Internet. Each packet takes its own route to the destination, where they”re reassembled back into voice.
Some people consider this a detriment to VoIP use. It isn”t really; the voice speed is comparable, and you gain other advantages from VoIP. Still, the speed needed for proper packet switching in a business environment can”t be found in DSL or basic cable. If you tried it, conversations will resemble traffic at rush hour with all its stops and starts.
Leave consumer-level broadband to Skype. If you run a business, you need a business-grade Internet line to handle VoIP.
What Kind of Internet Line is Needed for Business VoIP
For your standard office of 20 people or so, you”ll want a dedicated T1 line. Go higher - a couple T1s, a T3 or OC3 - if you”re dealing with multiple office locations and lots of employees.
P.S. - Don”t forget about SIP. SIP trunking connects your VoIP phones to the main POTS telephone network. Bridging the gap between packet switching and regular phone circuits. A good explanation of SIP trunking can be found at Siptrunk.org.
Which ISPs do you use/recommend for VoIP? Drop us a comment and let us know.
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OCS 2007 R2
