AXA

Ολοκληρώνεται με επιτυχία το έργο που υλοποιεί η Applied Networks Hellas A.E. στην  AXA Ασφαλιστική. Πρόκειται για ολοκληρωμένη λύση τηλεφωνικού κέντρου Alcatel-Lucent η οποία καλύπτει τις απαιτήσεις της AXA Ασφαλιστική σε Αθήνα Θεσσαλονίκη Πάτρα και Λάρισα. Η λύση βασίζεται σε IP τεχνολογία και ενσωματώνει σύγχρονες εφαρμογές Call Center και Unified Communications.

Eurobank

Ολοκληρώθηκε η αναβάθμιση του IP τηλεφωνικού κέντρου Alcatel-Lucent OMNI PCX Enterprise στην τελευταία έκδοση του λογισμικού. Πρόκειται για τηλεφωνικό κέντρο 850 IP εσωτερικών συνδρομητών.

Marfin Εγνατία Bank

50 νέα συστήματα Alcatel OMNI PCX Office εγκαταστάθηκαν από την Applied Networks Hellas A.E. στα νέα ανακαινισμένα υποκαταστήματα της Marfin Eγνατιας Τράπεζας.

H AppliedNet εγκατέστησε πρόσφατα ένα εξελιγμένο τηλεφωνικό κέντρο Alcatel OmniPcx Enterprise Release 9 καθώς και δίκτυο τηλεφωνικών συσκευών IP Alcatel IPTouch 4019 και IPTouch 4029 για λογαριασμό της Areva Hellas, θυγατρικής του παγκόσμιου ηγέτη στον χώρο της παραγωγής και μετάδοσης ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας.

Το σύστημα προσφέρει αυξημένη λειτουργικότητα και περιλαμβάνει voice mail, boss/secretary programming, διασύνδεση με τα κεντρικά της εταιρείας και αυτόματη επιλογή βελτιστοποίηση δρομολόγησης κλήσεων.

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AREVA the global energy expert that specializes in power generation and electricity transmission and distribution, has recently installed an advanced Alcatel-Lucent voice communication system in its subsidiary in Greece.

AppledNet installed an OmniPcx Enterprise Release 9 system that consists of a full IP telephone network with IPTouch 4019 and IPTouch 4029 phone sets.

Some of the features include: Individual Voice Mail boxes for all users which they can access internally or externally. Full Voice guides in the PBX to allow users to take advantage of all the programmed features easily. Boss/Secretary programming for the handling of incoming calls to executives. Outgoing calls routing to different providers using Automatic Route Selection for cost optimization.

AREVA Hellas is one more implementation that demonstrates how Applied Networks helps Alcatel-Lucent customers in Greece implement reliable, well managed enterprise voice solutions that improve productivity and reduce costs. 

Applied Networks Hellas has recently completed the installation of advanced Alcatel-Lucent hotel telecommunication systems for Club Med in Athens and Gregolimano.  The project includes the installation and management of advanced PBX systems OMNI PCX Enterprise configured for large hotels as well as Club Med’s offices in Athens.   The hotel PBX  is connected to a PMS system for automated charge management while in Athens AppliedNet installed an OmniTouch CCD Call Center and a complete management and reporting application.  Both systems are directly connected to Club Med’s international network.

Applied Networks Hellas has recently been engaged in a host of cutting edge Alcatel-Lucent projects in Greece. Among our customers: Groupama, Marfin Egnatia Bank, Eurobank, Olympia Odos, Atiki Odos, Minoan Lines, Data Research & Consulting.  These projects involve advanced IP telephony solutions, call centers, management solutions and multi-vendor interoperability architectures.  Below the highlights in Greek:

ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ ΟΔΟΣ ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΙΑ Α.Ε.

Ενοποιημένο δίκτυο φωνής 9 τηλεφωνικών κέντρων Alcatel OMNI PCX Office, διασυνδεδεμένα με IP τεχνολογία. Δημιουργία ενιαίου Call Center με σύστημα καταγραφής και ηχογράφησης συνομιλιών. Σύγχρονο σύστημα διαχείρισης εξοπλισμού κι εφαρμογών.

Groupama ΦΟΙΝΙΞ Α.Ε.

Επιτυχής αναβάθμιση κεντρικού τηλεπικοινωνιακού κόμβου στην τελευταία  εμπορικά διαθέσιμη έκδοση Alcatel OMNI PCX Enterprise με εγκατάσταση ενός απομακρυσμένου IP Media Gateway με Passive Call Server.  Η αρχιτεκτονική σχεδιάστικε για την εξυπηρέτηση και απομακρυσμένων χρηστών στο Ηράκλειο της Κρήτης και να καλύψει τις ανάγκες του οργανισμού για την σταδιακή διασύνδεση επιπλέον απομακρυσμένων εγκαταστάσεων της Groupama. Το σε ενιαίο IP  τηλεφωνικό κέντρο εξασφαλίζει σημαντική μείωση των τηλεπικοινωνιακών δαπανών του Οργανισμού.

Αττική Οδος Α.Ε

Ολοκληρώθηκε η αναβάθμιση των κεντρικών κόμβων του τηλεφωνικού δικτύου της Αττικής Οδού, που περιλαμβάνει τη διασύνδεση 25 σημείων, σε τελευταία έκδοση. Οι κεντρικοί κόμβοι του τηλεφωνικού δικτύου μεταφέρουν σημαντικές πληροφορίες στο σύγχρονο Κέντρο Διαχείρισης Κυκλοφορίας. Επιπλέον υλοποιήθηκε σύγχρονη εφαρμογή για την διαχείριση όλου του εξοπλισμού που επιτρέπει την διάγνωση/αποτύπωση  καθώς και την αποκατάσταση όλου του εξοπλισμού.

DATA Research και Consulting

Υλοποιήθηκε σημαντική επέκταση του Call Center που επιτρέπει την διαχείριση μεγάλου αριθμού κλήσεων που δέχονται τα νοσοκομεία του Νομού Αχαίας. Επιπλέον υλοποιήθηκε σύγχρονο σύστημα καταγραφής κι ανάκλησης συνομιλιών.

Marfin Eγνατία Τράπεζα.

Εγκατάσταση τηλεφωνικών συστημάτων σε όλα τα νέα υποκαταστήματα της Τράπεζας με μελλοντική δυνατότητα διασύνδεσης και δημιουργίας ενιαίου δικτύου.

 Eurobank A.E.

24ωρης τεχνική υποστήριξη του τηλεφωνικού κέντρου της Εurobank με 700 ΙP users.

Μινωικές Γραμμές

Aναβάθμιση και διασύνδεση των κόμβων Ηρακλείου Κρήτης και Πειραιά που δίνει την δυνατότητα στις ΜΙΝΩΙΚΕΣ να έχουν απομακρυσμένους IP users σε διάφορα σημεία πώλησης εισιτηρίων.

Applied Networks Hellas  has successfully tested an implementation of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 with a direct sip trunk connection to an Alcatel-Lucent OXE R8 PBX.  The connection is direct via the OCS Mediation Server without the use of any additional gateway.  Call forking, conferencing as well as call forward are supported transparently among the two systems while the PBX also provides connectivity to and from the public telephone network to OCS users.  Extranet users are also supported with full voice and PBX/PSTN integration via an OCS edge server connection.

The PBX connection is handled by the OCS meditation server role (part of OCS 2007) which is configured as an external gateway to the Alcatel-Lucent R8 PBX.  Voice communication is completely transparent between PBX IP phones, the public network and Microsoft Office Communicator (MOC) users. Below a sample setup. Before you begin, if you would like an introduction to OCS 2007 and a test configuration (exluding voice integration) have a look here. 

OCS Enterprise Voice Integration Sample configuration

First let’s define what we want to do. We want to allow Microsoft Office Communicator users to have a unique telephone extension and be able to place and receive voice calls to/from PBX IP phones as well as the public telephone network.  This will be done via the Alcatel OXE R8 PBX without additional gateways. This scenario in OCS terminology is called “Enable Enterprise Voice”.  In this configuration, an OCS user does not need an Alcatel IP phone and can rely exclusively on Microsoft Office Communicator, which acts as a soft-phone, for voice calls.  A USB headset or OCS compatible "telephone set" can be used.

This configuration should not be confused with “Remote Call Control” which is the ability of Microsoft Office Communicator to remote-control the IP Phone in a user’s desk.  

• In OCS users configuration (OCS management console->users) click “enable enterprise voice” for each user and assign a unique Line URI in E.164 format.  For example assign Line URIs like tel:+302108105801, tel:+302108105802, etc.  Notice that in this example 5801, 5802, etc are 4-digit extension numbers that start with “58” assigned to Office Communicator end points.  The Server URI is not used and should be blank.  You also do not need to check “enable PBX integration”.  The label is misleading.  It actually means “enable remote call control” (i.e. control your PBX IP phone from communicator).  This is not what we want to do here..
• Assume that PBX users have 4-digit extension numbers starting with “59”:  5901, 5902, 5903, etc.  The corresponding E.164 format is: +302108105901, +302108105902, etc.
• A single user can have an Alcatel-Lucent IP phone (extension 59xx) and a MOC “soft-phone” (extension 58xx).  Alternatively a user may have one or the other and a single extension.
• The PBX can be configured to fork calls, i.e. ring the 58xx (MOC) extension when the 59xx (PBX) extension is called.  MOC can also be configured to ring the 59xx (PBX) extension when it is called.  It can also be configured to ring any internal or external number when called, forward calls to any number or the PBX extension, forward unanswered calls to any internal or external number, etc.  Details on how users can configure this in Microsoft Office Communicator below.
• In Active Directory, each user can be assigned different phone numbers (work, home, mobile, MOC, etc.). These should be assigned in full E.164 12 digit format.  These numbers then become available in OCS and MOC and users can call them with point and click.  They can also be used for call forward, conferencing, forking etc from MOC.
• All external calls to and from the public network go through the PBX. 

OCS Normalization Rules

All numbers dialed in OCS (incoming/outgoing) are normalized using normalization rules.  These are set in the OCS management console->forest->properties->voice properties.

MOC-MOC (OCS-OCS )voice calls

• When a communicator user calls a number assigned to another communicator user, the call is handled directly by OCS without going through the PBX.  Since, as far as OCS is concerned, each user is identified by a full 12-digit E.164 Line URI number (for example +302108105801), if a 12-digit E.164 number is dialed and there is a direct match, the user is identified as an OCS user and the call is established.  If any other number is dialed (for example the 4-digit extension 5801,  the number is normalized using normalization rules in OCS.  For MOC-MOC calls to work using 4-digit extensions you need a normalization rule in OCS that transforms 4-digit extensions that start with “58” to E.164 numbers by appending the 4-digit extension to” +30210810”.
• OCS-OCS calls are not routed to the OCS mediation server and the gateway.

Communicator to Alcatel PBX IP phone calls

• When a communicator (MOC) user calls an extension belonging to an Alcatel IP phone (example MOC user calls extension 5901), the call is forwarded to the mediation server and the PBX.
• Since the PBX can handle 4-digit extensions, no need to transform to 10-digit E.164 format.  For the call to be correctly routed however, we need a normalization rule in OCS that says: “if you get a 4-digit extensions starting with 59, pass it on as is”.  This will cause OCS not to match the extension dialed to an OCS user and pass it on to the mediation server as a 4-digit number. This will then be passed on to the PBX.
• We need a single route defined in OCS for all non OCS-OCS calls. This route should be to the mediation server (this is a single site configuration).  So the 4-digit extension starting with 59 is passed on to mediation server which connects to the Alcatel PBX as an external gateway.
• The mediation server places a sip call to the PBX extension 59xx and the call is established.

Communicator to public network (PSTN) calls via the Alcatel PBX

In this scenario, the OCS normalization rule needs to transform the number dialed in communicator to a format that can be handled by the PBX.  If for example an IP Phone user dials 0 for an external line, then the normalization rule needs to append the number dialed to 0.  If an E.164 number is dialed, another normalization rule needs to take out the “+” and replace it with “000” if it is a foreign number.  If a local E.164 number is dialed it needs to be normalized to something that the PBX can understand.  Not that users ever dial E.164, but since you can dial with point and click in the directory, it is quite probable that an E.164 number will be called at some point.  In any case, creating these normalization rules in OCS is easy and flexible.

So in summary, the dialing rules would look like the following:

1. If a 4-digit extension starting with 85 (example 8501) is dialed, normalize to E.164 12-digit by appending the 4-digit extension to +30210810.  This number will be matched to an OCS user.
2. If a 4-digit extension starting with 95 (example 9501) is dialed, don’t touch it since it is a PBX extension.  This will not be matched to an OCS user.  It will be passed on to the mediation server (via the single route for all non matched numbers) and then to the PBX.  The PBX will match it to a PBX user.
3. If a E.164 local country number is dialed, normalize the number to the correct PBX format for local country calls.
4. If a foreign E.164 number is dialed, normalize to the correct PBX format for international calls.
5. If any other number is dialed, add a “0” to the beginning.  This will be passed to the PBX via the OCS mediation server.  The PBX will then dial the external number and the MOC-public number call will be established.

Alcatel IP Phone to Communicator calls

When an IP phone user dials a communicator extension (example 8501), the PBX needs to be configured to route this call to the OCS mediation server.  The OCS mediation server is configured as an external gateway to the Alcatel OXE PBX.

•  The OCS mediation server applies the same dialing normalization rules for incoming calls that are defined in OCS for outgoing calls in MOC.  As a result, the incoming 4-digit extension starting with “85” will be normalized to a 12-digit E.164 number according to rule #1 above.  The incoming call number is then transformed by the OCS mediation server to +302108108501.
• This number is matched to the OCS URI and the user’s communicator end-point rings.  The call is then established normally.

Public telephone network (PSTN) to Microsoft Office Communicator (MOC)/OCS calls

To call an OCS user from the public telephone network, we would dial a number like 2108105801 or +30-210-8105801 (from a mobile phone).  The call is received by the PBX and normally the 4-digit extension is extracted.  The PBX then identifies this extension (starting with 85) as an external gateway extension and routes the call to the OCS mediation server.  This is then handled exactly as above by applying normalization rules and the call is established.

Microsoft Office Communicator voice basics: how to dial a number?

How do you dial a number from Microsoft Office Communicator?  Easy:

Option 1: simply type the number in the communicator contact field and hit enter.  You will see the number normalized according to normalization rules as you type.

Option 2: select a communicator contact and click:

Which telephone numbers are published in the Microsoft Office Communicator and OCS directory?

If telephone numbers (work, home, mobile, IP phone, etc) are set in active directory, these are automatically available to the OCS directory and cannot be changed by a user.  Alternatively, users can click: tools->options->phones within communicator to set their own phone numbers.  Work numbers are automatically available within the company.  Other numbers however don’t show up unless a contact has “team” or “personal” access level.  More info here.

Microsoft Office Communicator call forward and conferencing

You can establish a conference with anyone (communicator, PBX, or external caller) and also invite  anyone (OCS user, PBX IP phone call or public telephone network caller) to that voice conference.  The Alcatel-Lucent PBX will handle this transparently.  Simply hit “invite” in communicator to invite additional callers to conference.

Communicator multi-point ring, and missed call handling.

A user can have all calls to his/her communicator extension forwarded to any other internal or external number:

Microsoft Office communicator allows you to ring additional numbers when it is called.  A user can therefore setup his communicator to ring a PBX extension or an external number (like a mobile or home phone) when there is an incoming voice call to Microsoft Office Communicator.  The call can be then answered from either end point.

A user can also configure communicator to route unanswered calls to any number or a communicator contact.  Thus an incoming call can be forwarded to a PBX extension, PBX voice mail, or a mobile number transparently.

AppliedNet Professional Services

Connecting an Alcatel OXE PBX to Microsoft OCS can add significant value to both systems.  The OCS to Alcatel  PBX configuration is a reasonably small project but requires expert knowledge for correct architectural design and configuration.  AppliedNet’s professional services group can help you design and deploy a solution that connects Microsoft OCS to an Alcatel PBX in Greece as well as international locations.  Please contact Applied Networks Hellas for more information.

http://www.appliednet.gr/Blog/2009/03/04/AlcatelLucentOXER8PBXSipTrunkConnectionToMicrosoftOCS2007Tested.aspx

Appliednet has tested Alcatel Lucent PBX OXE R8 connection To Microsoft OCS2007.  A detailed writeup can be found here.

Applied Networks Hellas has recently announced a migration and Buy-Back program for Nortel customers that are looking to gradually migrate to Alcatel-Lucent technologies preserving their existing investment.  This offer involves:

This offer is designed to provide gradual migration, interoperability and financially attractive terms for customers wishing to diversify their Nortel telecommunications environment.  For more information please call Applied Networks Hellas at +30-2108105900 or e-mail sales@appliednet.gr.

As part of the Alcatel-Lucent professional line, these state-ofthe-art IP phones are full-featured with integrated IP connectivity and telephony, bringing you the converged power of data and voice over IP. Besides its ability to support any web-based business application, IP Touch brings you optimized design, high-resolution, adjustable color or grayscale displays; superior listening quality and ring tones, plus the freedom and connectivity of Bluetooth® wireless technology.

Alcatel IP Touch 4038 User Guide - Greek.pdf (1.62 MB)

Microsoft‘s OCS provides instant messaging, presence, voice, video and web conferesning services within your corporate network.  It also integrates well with your Alcatel OXE PBX.

Different OCS configurations depend on requirements for scalability and network topology and can get quite complicated. A medium size orgamization with up to 2.000 users however, can implement a consolidated configuration that is simple to configure and maintain. Here is a configuration with a Front End server, an Edge server and a Mediation server for PBX integrationthat works!:

The basics:

Microsoft Office Communication Server works with two different client apps: Microsoft Office Communicator and Microsoft Office Live Meeting.  Office Communicator supports enterprise instant messaging and presence as well as voice and video communications for 1-1 calls or 1-few conferences.  Office Communicator  instant messaging is integrated with Active Directory which means that each user of the corporate network automatically gets access to any other user via instant messaging using the existing corporate directory infrastructure.  This is a significant for organizations with many users in different locations/buildings/floors.

Microsoft Office Live Meeting on the other hand supports web conferences – i.e. the ability to conduct remote presentations that include on screen presentations like PowerPoint, but also voice video and demos.  It is ideally suited for 1-few or 1-many presentations to remote corporate users or customers located outside the corporate network.   It provides access to the on-screen presentation material (example PowerPoint, or schematic diagrams), the ability to upload and download document handouts,  meeting notes and live Q&A and chats among participants.  It also allows presentations to be recorded for on-demand viewing.

Office Communicator and Office Live Meeting connect to the OCS server within the corporate network.   A consolidated Front End OCS server runs the OCS Front End Access (used mainly for Communicator), Conferencing (used for Live Meeting) and AV (used for voice and video for both Communicator and Live Meeting) roles. Users can connect to the corporate OCS server via the internet when an OCS Edge + ISA combination is deployed to provide internet connectivity.

OCS can also connect to a corporate PBX via an OCS Mediation Server which is a special OCS role that needs to be deployed in a different machine.  It provides codec translation between OCS and the PBX.  The PBX in turn can provide access to the entire corporate telephone network as well as the public telephone network.

How Many Users, how many servers?

A fully fledged implementation can be deployed in as few as 3 physical servers (OCS Front End, OCS Edge, OCS Mediation). This assumes that ISA Server, a DNS server and Active Directory are already available.   Such a configuration can support up to 2.000 users assuming a decent network infrastructure with good links to the central location where the OCS Front End server is located.

Can OCS be deployed virtualized?

Not in production environments.  However, in test environments, a fully fledged consolidated configuration can be deployed in a 100% virtual server environment in a single machine with enough memory and a dual core processor!  This includes, OCS FE, Edge, Mediation, ISA, etc.  While such a virtual implementation is not recommended by Microsoft, in our lab environment it works fine.  Voice quality as well as general performance is excellent for a small number of users.

How about PBX Integration?

Applied Networks has implemented a connection from OCS to an Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise PBX (OXE) with call forking (routing of calls to both telephones and Communicators).  While specialist skills are required to configure the OCS Mediation server and the PBX, the configuration works well in both directions.  It provides transparent access to the corporate telephone network as well as the public telephone network to OCS clients.

Physical Network Configuration

The OCS Edge server needs an interface that connects to the internet with 3 public IP addresses (in the example above 85.89.160.182, 85.89.160.183, 85.89.160.184).  These are used for the OCS Access Edge, the OCS Conferencing Edge and the OCS AV Edge interfaces respectively.  The last one needs to be a fully routable public address (not NAT).   The OCS Edge server is not joined in the Active Directory domain and is a standalone server in a workgroup.   In a simple configuration, you can acquire a broadband connection with a static block IP address range from your ISP. You can assign public IP addresses from your range to the Edge server interfaces (as well as the ISA server public interface).  You also assign a public address to the router internal LAN interface and disable NAT.  This will make your Edge server directly contactable from the Internet.  This is of course a basic configuration suitable for test environments and small loads.  You would use a DMZ configuration and load balancers for heavier loads.

Ports ,  Certificates  and DNS

OCS port and certificate configuration can be cumbersome.  The configuration in the diagram above works.  You need a number of certificates that can be issued by your private certification authority and 4 that you have to buy from a public certification authority.  Here are the details:

Private Certification Authority (example: contosoCA)

·         The OCS Front End Server uses a single certificate for all roles. 
Subject name: ocs.corpnet.contoso.local (matches the OCS FQDN).
Subject Alternative Name: sip.contoso.com ocs.contoso.com

·         The OCS Edge Server uses a private CA certificate for the local (LAN) interface:
Subject name: ocsedge.edge.contoso.local (matches the OCS Edge server FQDN).

·         The OCS Mediation Server uses a private CA certificate:
Subject name: ocsm.corpnet.contoso.local (matches the OCS Mediation server FQDN).

Public Certification Authority (www.certificatesforexchange.com Starfield CA provides good value for money and the certificates work fine with OCS)

You need 4 certificates:

·         Access Edge: ocsae.contoso.com
Subject Name: ocsae.contoso.com

·         Conference Edge: ocsce.contoso.com
Subject Name: ocsce.contoso.com

·         AV Edge: ocsav.contoso.com
Subject Name: ocsav.contoso.com

·         ISA Server OCS Listener: ocs.contoso.com
Subject Name: ocs.contoso.com

To generate and install the certificates you use the certificate wizard that comes with OCS.  However you need access to your corporate CA to generate the private certificates.  Installing the ISA OCS listener certificate is also tricky.  You need to store this in the personal certificate store of the local machine using the IIS console (rather than mmc).

DNS:
In your internal DNS you need :

• A records for your OCS Front End Server, Mediation server and Edge Server in the corpnet.contoso.local zone. 
• A split DNS implementation i.e. a copy of the contoso.com zone in the internal DNS to be used by internal users only.
• A CNAME record in the contoso.com zone.  CNAME: sip.contoso.com pointing to ocs.corpnet.contoso.local.

In your external DNS you need:

• A records: ocs (ISA OCS Listener), ocsae (ocs access edge ip address)
  ocsce (ocs conference edge address), ocsav (.ocs AV edge address)
• A SRV record: _sip._tls.contoso.com pointing to ocsae.contoso.com port 443

OCS Mediation Server

OCS can connect to an Alcatel OXE PBX through its native mediation server. This configuration requires the correct codec configuration in the PBX as well as the correct voice user configuration for the OCS network.  The PBX can fork calls and provide access to the internal telephone system as well as the public telephone network.

www.appliednet.gr