OCS and Windows 7: Problems to Watch Out For
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Reference, Unified Communications
It's bound to happen. New systems, hundreds of possible configurations…bugs will pop up. Today I've collected four bugs found when you put OCS 2007 R2 and the Windows 7 OS together. We've run across a couple of them ourselves. I'm including source links for all of them, since we definitely weren't the only ones!
Office Communicator Client Won't Open on Windows 7
On some Windows 7 PCs, the Office Communicator client application won#039;t open. This is due to a registry bug. To fix it, open RegEdit and navigate to this entry:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftCommunicator]
Change the PreventRun key value to 0 instead of 1. Apparently it works like a charm.
OCS Doesn't Inventory All Applications on a Windows 7 PC
This is something that didn't show up during Windows 7 Beta testing. It came about as a weird fluke after RTM. OCS 2007, while inventorying local software on a Windows 7 machine, will miss certain applications. These applications work just fine; OCS can”t see them.
The bug originates in the storage methods used by the Windows 7 registry governing 32-bit and 64-bit applications. In other words, a 64-bit Windows 7 PC's registry stumbles on reporting some applications to OCS.
As of yet there is no fix. However, since this bug doesn't interfere with running any applications, it's not a big reason to worry.
(Source: http://forums.ocsinventory-ng.org/viewtopic.php?id=5198 )
OCS Stops Working on a Windows 7 Beta PC
A funny thing can happen if you run OCS 2007 on a Windows 7 Beta PC - the Office Communicator client may stop working. Poof. Just like that. The event log will show a faulting module in KERNELBASE.dll.
An inventive solution comes from the LCSKid MSDN Blog: He recommends installing a patch that's actually intended for interfacing between Office Communicator and older versions of Windows (Vista, XP, 2000). Inventive! Points to “The LCS Kid” for sniffing this out.
Download the patch from Microsoft.com.
(By the way, this Windows 7/OCS 2007 only works for testing. Use Windows Server 2008 for running OCS in your office.)
(Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonward/archive/2009/03/16/windows-7-and-office-communicator-2007.aspx )
Address Book Sync Error on Windows 7 PCs
Is your Office Communicator client showing a red exclamation point on its icon? When you click it, do you see this error message?
“Cannot synchronize with the corporate address book. This might be because the proxy server setting in your web browser does not allow access to the address book.”
The problem isn't with a proxy server though. It's with, of all things, Internet Explorer 8. Try unchecking the “Check for server certificate revocation” box in IE's options to fix this.
Never let it be said we aren't open about bumps in the OCS road. Thanks to everyone who documented their own encounters with these bugs.
Have you encountered a Windows 7/OCS 2007 bug (or just a weird problem that had a simple fix)? What was it? How”d you arrive at a solution?
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Got Enough Bandwidth for OCS R2?
Filed under: Conferencing, OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, OCS 2010, Reference, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
One quick point for today. When implementing an OCS 2007 R2 setup, make sure there's plenty of bandwidth available. Standard or Enterprise edition. With or without VoIP built-in.
One of our clients (a nationwide energy firm) uses OCS to communicate between branches. Initially this was facilitated by T1 lines. However a few weeks ago, we upgraded them to a DS3 line.
They'd had some issues beforehand - garbled calls, lost IM transmissions, general stability. Most of it came from problems the Unified Messaging server had.
That all vanished when the DS3 line was put in. Poof. More bandwidth = no more connection troubles. Just like that.
Not sure how much bandwidth you have available? Use Speakeasy's Bandwidth Speed Test. Compare the results to the Three UC Amigos' OCS 2007 Bandwidth Requirements . (Alternate reference: Mark Garcia's OCS Web Conferencing Bandwidth Charts.)
Three Articles on Unified Communications Tech
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
SIP Primer from SearchUnifiedCommunications
Back in November I posted a few resources for SIP trunking. Here’’s one more: a more in-depth SIP primer at Unified Communications News.
Author Elaine Hom talks about the many points in SIP where cost and time savings come about. It’’s a good introduction, and even addresses some basic concerns & caveats. Worth the read if you”re using SIP in any way.
The IP PBX: Who Needs It?
Written by Shamus McGillicuddy for his Unified Communications Nation blog, this post is a comment on the necessity of PBXs in general (IP PBXs in specific). I think the direction he’’s pointing is the right one. We”re in the middle of a big shift in communications technology.
Before, you pretty much only had the PBX option. Now, not only do you have other options for phones (VoIP, cellphones), you have options for different types of communication too (IM, video).
Zeacom Unveils a New Gateway for OCS
Two weeks ago I talked about VoIP gateway manufacturers. Here’’s a new one. Zeacom is a communications solutions company out of New Zealand (with a US office in Irvine, CA). They announced a new gateway for Microsoft OCS 2007 on February 1st.
There isn”t a lot of info on their site about it, but there’’s plenty on overall UC solutions. I”ll keep an eye out for reviews of their new gateway–might be one we can add to the Recommended list.
Any more links related to these you”d like to share? Put them up in the Comments.
Technorati Tags: Microsoft business technology OCS 2007 
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Get On the List: Putting Together OCS Contact Lists for Users
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications
In most IM clients you have to add new contacts one by one. It’’s annoying, it’’s piecemeal…and if you”re in a big office with lots of people, skipping it altogether starts to appeal after about 5 seconds.
Avoiding this is good. Especially if you want to actually use OCS for communicating with others. So the smart thing for an OCS administrator to do is push contact lists out. Formulate standardized groups and apply them to everyone’’s Office Communicator clients. (Whether they like it or not! Bwahaha…er, sorry. Got carried away.)
First, Group Your Contacts
Group them by department or by task.
Department groups could be Administration, IT, Project Development, Sales, HR, etc.
Task-based groups could be Main Product Team, Support Staff, Marketing, etc.
For starters, I”d recommend department groups for everybody. Then task-based groups as needed.
Next, Choose a Script or a Utility
Now that you have some groups built up with appropriate contacts, you”ll have to push them out to users. There are two ways to go about this right now - use a Microsoft scripting approach, or a third-party utility.
The Microsoft script is called “LCSAddContacts.wsf.” It’’s in the OCS Resource Kit available here. (Note: This version works with OCS 2007 R2 only.)
LCSAddContacts.wsf does one thing and one thing only: Adding contacts to OCS. It will even sort with Active Directory Containers. The WinXNet blog has a good tutorial on how to use it for pushing out contact lists.
The other way is to use a third-party utility called Office Communications Server Contact Manager (OCSCM for short) found here: http://www.ocscm.com/
I haven”t tried this one out. It has a user guide, FAQs and a support forum though. Plus it’’s free. Good to have as an option.
If you”re still on original OCS 2007, try OCSCM out. If you”re up to R2, go with LCSAddContacts.wsf.
A final note: Be sure to double-check your contact groups before pushing them out as lists! People WILL notice if they”re on a list that doesn”t correspond to their job function.
Do you know another way to manage contact lists for an OCS 2007 setup? Drop us a comment with a link below.
Technorati Tags: Microsoft business technology OCS 2007
Which Voice Gateway Should You Use for OCS?
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, OCS 2010, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
Here’’s a list (Microsoft Technet) of Direct SIP Gateway and IP-PBXs approved for use with Office Communications Server.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ocs/bb735838.aspx#direct
Obviously, we haven”t tested them all. I can only give you what we”ve learned on our own install (and subsequent client installs).
Aculab - The ApplianX Gateway
The ApplianX Gateway for OCS 2007 was the first voice gateway we tested.
This gateway was designed to interface between OCS-based VoIP and the regular PSTN. One of the first to do so in the world, in fact.
The ApplianX Gateway is capable of handling 240 VoIP calls at once. In terms of voice quality, it’’s great, but I did notice one thing: the longer you were on a call, the more packets got lost. Words would start falling out of the conversation. I”m not sure this was a problem with the gateway however, or with our bandwidth allocations.
I do know that it went away before we switched to Dialogic.
Dialogic - The DMG2000 Media Gateway
When we upgraded our OCS to R2, we switched to a Dialogic Media Gateway. I don”t see any reason to change again.
None of the fabled VoIP problems happen - no “I can hear myself in echo,” “They can”t hear my voice,” or “The calls break up on us all the time.” Client installs have gone smoothly.
Another handy thing about Dialogic is the guides they post on their site. You can downoad white papers, datasheets and configuration guides for all their media gateways, free.
Dialogic.com Downloads
Other Choices
- Quintum’’s Tenor Gateway is highly-rated in the industry.
- Cisco has a gateway available, but some interoperability issues do exist. See the Cisco Interoperability Portal for more on that.
- As a general rule, avoid a gateway that isn”t rated for R2. You”re almost guaranteed problems when OCS 2010 is released.
Which is the Best Choice for a Voice Gateway?
The best gateway choice is the one that will allow everyone in your office to make voice calls, handle the load, and still be open for expansion down the line. So it pays to consider these factors in your research.
Size of business. If you”re a smaller business or startup, try Aculab or Dialogic. Over 40 employees? Dialogic is my first recommendation, but the Quintum may work well for you.
Expected call volume. If you”re enterprise-level and have a call volume in the hundreds (or thousands), consider the devices rated for “Direct Sip via IP-PBX.” Otherwise, look at Cisco or Dialogic’’s Enterprise Media Gateway.
OCS version. The Aculab ApplianX Gateway isn”t certified for use with R2. I”m hoping for an upgraded version by the time OCS 2010 rolls out. Go with any of the others rated for R2.
What Happens When You Don”t Change Your OCS Presence Status
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications
Let’’s talk about OCS Presence for a moment. Specifically, what happens in the minds of others when you leave yours the same for days on end.
Do You Do This?
If your office use OCS at all, you know someone like this. You never know what Bill or Mary is doing–because they haven”t changed their Presence status in days. They”ve been “Updating the server” or “Meeting with Joe.”
Since last week? Really?
Presence is there for a reason. It makes others aware of what you”re doing. Just like IM. Are you here, available to talk? Away, not at your desk? Busy on a project, so please don”t disturb?
These are things co-workers need to know. And it frustrates the heck out of them when they can”t tell.
Why They Do It
Now the reason people don”t change their Presence status is simple. They”re lazy.
No, it’’s not “I just don”t have time” or “It’’s new, so I forget about it.” Those are excuses. They”re lazy and don”t value what help Presence does bring them.
It takes what, five seconds to update Presence? Nobody is so busy they can”t spare five seconds. (And if they think they are, they need to offload some duties.)
It’’s Poor Communication - Why Presence is Something to Remember
There’’s a very good reason why those five seconds matter. If you”re not updating your Presence status while working, it casts a bad shadow on you in the minds of others.
Little things like this can make people lose trust in your effectiveness. “He/she can”t be bothered to let us know what they”re doing? Are they not working at all? Or maybe hiding something?”
That’’s the kind of thought process this starts. With stale Presence status, your productivity can be called into question. If nobody knows what you”re doing, how can you prove you”re doing anything?
Something else to consider: If management monitors employee productivity (and there’’s no reason why they shouldn”t, if they do use OCS), then a days-old Presence will make them wonder. What are you up to? Anything?
Now you see where this can become a problem.
Loss of (Your) Value - What Happens as a Result
Without others able to determine what you”re doing, your value as an employee could drop. (I”m not saying this will happen. But it could.)
Why? Because people will stop relying on you. They”ll assume you”re not available for whatever reason and go about their business. They stop seeing you as a person who can help them do their job. That becomes a real problem for you. Fast.
And if management makes the same assumption? That you can”t keep “the rest of us” in the loop, so you could be screwing around not doing work? Well…
An Easy Way to Remember to Update
Like I said before - five seconds. And here’’s an easy way to remember.
Plan to update Presence before & after lunch. This way you put Presence in your thoughts related to lunch. (You”ll remember lunch, right?) Associating Presence with another idea like this makes it easier to recall afterward. A little memory trick courtesy of modern psychology.
OCS Presence status should be updated every day. Five seconds. Keep it up, and retain the impression of a reliable, productive worker in the minds of others.
The OCS Insider will go on holiday from today until January 1st. Join us again after that for more exploration of OCS 2007 - and the upcoming OCS 2010. Happy Holidays!
Top 3 Questions People Ask Us Re: Voice Over IP
Filed under: Conferencing, OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
For my third & final post regarding Top 3 Questions (related to OCS naturally), I”m putting up the questions we get on VoIP.
I should point out that we field a lot of questions on all these topics. OCS is a popular technology, and growing. We”re expecting 2010 to show an even bigger jump - mostly due to the cost savings clients get over PBX phone systems. Voice over IP makes for an appealing low-cost alternative.
However, the questions we get on VoIP itself usually veer toward the negative. I think it’’s because of old perceptions about the technology (from when it was first introduced) that still linger. Doesn”t worry us; every new technology had its initial troubles. If you”ve called us in the past year, then we”ve spoken via VoIP. Couldn”t tell the difference, could you?
Anyway, here are the Top 3 questions we get, and the answers we give.
1. If your network goes down, doesn”t VoIP go down too?
This one’’s repeated to us all the time. Verbatim. I think it’’s a leftover catchphrase from a telecom guy trying to stifle competition. For the most part it’’s true - if your VoIP runs through the same Internet lines as your network, it can go down if you lose your Internet. However, by using a dedicated line (as many of our OCS clients do), you avoid this problem.
2. I”ve heard this (VoIP) breaks up on you all the time. Is that true?
Not “all the time,” no. Every phone call runs the risk of breaking up when certain conditions are met - you”re driving, you”re in a tunnel, the weather changes, a hiccup on the phone network (it happens all the time)…
This arises because of the packet-transfer method VoIP employs to send voices. If packets get lost along the way, the person you”re talking to could lose a word here and there. However, VoIP these days builds in packet redundancy to avoid this exact issue.
3. Is it true you can”t make emergency calls?
Yes and no. 911′’s still a viable number. I think the concern here isn”t making the call, it’’s getting the full use of it. I”ll explain.
Because it’’s not on the phone network, emergency personnel may have difficulty tracing your location via VoIP like they do with regular phone calls. A very legitimate concern. That’’s being dealt with by hardware developers; soon it won”t be an issue. In the meantime, we recommend keeping a cellphone available in case of emergency.
Any more OCS/VoIP/related questions you”d like us to tackle? Leave a comment or email me.
Next week we”ll have a quick cautionary article about Presence, and then a holiday break. Hope your shopping’’s all done!
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OCS Not Working? It May Be KB974571′’s Fault
Filed under: Conferencing, Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
A few days ago OCS 2007 users couldn”t get online. Right after Patch Tuesday. OCS just refused to work. Why?
Turns out it’’s a bug with a new patch. KB974571, to be exact. Once it went live, it started blocking OCS and Live Communication Server installs. Reporting that “the evaluation license has expired.”
If this only happened to evaluation copies, that might make sense. (KB974571 was supposed to help with spoofing.) However, like a well-meaning but overzealous mother, it disrupted full-version installs as well. Enough that Microsoft escalated the bug to a Known Issue.
Doug Deitterick at TechNet Blogs posted this warning last week: Do NOT Apply KB974571 to LCS/OCS Servers.
So if this all went down last week, why am I blogging about it today? It’’s because we”re still receiving support calls. Apparently some offices were able to limp forward with partially-working OCS servers, unaware of KB974571′’s effect.
And also because the patch hasn”t been fixed yet. Right now, uninstalling the KB974571 patch is the only way to fix the problem. (OCS snaps right back when you do it, too.)
If your OCS 2007 and/or 2007 R2 haven”t worked since last week, check your server for KB974571′’s presence. If you have no communications capability, it’’s a safe bet that the patch is the problem. Uninstall it. Or call us to uninstall it, if you”re in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Microsoft’’s Security Bulletin on this issue: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/974571
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Line is Busy, Please Try Again Later
No OCS Insider post this week, readers! We just got a big new contract (yay, a good sign!).
Check back next week for, “Is Moving to VoIP a Smart Thing to Do in a Recession?”
How Do You Determine the ROI of an OCS Setup?
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
Using Office Communications Server 2007 in a business does have a lot of advantages, some of which I”ve covered in this blog so far. But what if you”re dealing with a numbers guy, someone who constantly repeats phrases like, “Bottom line,” “maximize profits” and “ROI?”
How do you please a hardcore-numbers manager/CFO when it comes to OCS? They”ll want to know lots of specifics. And you can be sure the question of ROI will come up. “What’’s the return on investment here?” they”ll probably bellow, pounding a fist into the desk hard enough to rattle their pen cup. “How do we know we”re getting a good value from this software?”
It’’s a fair question. So let’’s see about answering it!
What Kind of ROI Should We Expect from OCS?
I”ve talked about replacing PBX with a VoIP setup in OCS before. In terms of direct expense, that’’s the biggest ROI for OCS 2007 in terms of cash–you don”t need a PBX if you use OCS VoIP. Other related services (voicemail extras, additional phone/data lines, third-party conferencing software) also add up to monthly cost savings.
Sometimes companies buy OCS for the VoIP capability, or the conferencing capability. The fact that they get all the other services - instant messaging, presence, email plug-ins - is icing on the cake to them. However, I”d say this is another form of ROI too. Several clients found that as they began using these additional communications methods, the more valuable they became. (So did we, in fact.)
ROI of Time Savings
But a better way to look at ROI for OCS 2007 is in productivity. This is harder, maybe impossible to give numbers for. But you can illustrate it by showing what its benefits will lead to. For example.
- Conferencing Anyone Can Start. Leads to: Live records of who said what, fewer project mistakes due to clearer directions.
- Mobile information Sharing. Leads to: Fewer bottlenecks/delayed deadlines.
- Quicker, Easier Inter-office Conversations. Leads to: Faster turnaround on projects.
So, What DO We Tell the Numbers Guy?
Tell him you”ll save an estimated X each month on not paying for a PBX, conferencing systems and extra lines. Tell him employees will be able to complete projects more easily, resulting in pleased customers & more repeat sales. Tell him OCS 2007 even has hosted & virtual options, if he wants to stick to flat rates.
It’’s not a strict-dollars-and-sense type of ROI measurement. But it’’s a great way to demonstrate that the office would get value from OCS 2007.
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