Category: phone

Apr 23 2011

PIN Authentication Login Fails on the Devices, NTP

PIN Authentication works using the Test-CsPhoneBootstrap cmdlet but fails on Lync devices

Recently I decided to 'play' with my Lync devices by moving them to a dedicated voice VLAN on my network. After doing so, I noticed I was unable to use PIN authentication. I found this extremely odd especially since I had just told a fellow colleague how simple the PIN process was. From the Lync 2010 servers the Test-CsPhoneBootstrap cmdlet was passing with a code of Success making me even more perplexed. Digging a bit deeper into the issue, I noticed that the phones authenticating using a PIN as well as my CX700 phones were taking a significant amount of time at boot while they were acquiring their time.

Comparing my two VLANs nothing stood out until I remembered I did not allow the new VLAN Internet access (why should the phones need to go out to the Internet after all?). Well, as it turns out, they were getting their time service from time.windows.com come even though my Windows domain controllers were configured as NTP servers and their SRV records existed in DNS.

The solution was quite simple and all devices benifited from a faster boot time. Within DHCP there is a standard option, 042 NTP Servers, which I configured with my domain controllers as the defined values. As soon as I added this option, the phones received their time nearly instantly and PIN authentication worked as expected.

0 comments - Posted by Brian Ricks at 1:30 AM - Categories: 2010 | Microsoft | phone | Polycom | Aastra | Lync Server | NTP

Apr 23 2011

Dedicated Voice VLAN for Lync Devices

There are multiple reasons to deploy a dedicated VLAN for your Lync devices - IP constraint, data partitioning, QoS, just because (my personal case). I decided it was a brilliant idea to move my phones to their own VLAN but wanted to make sure my PCs behind the various devices (Polycom CX600/CX700 and Aastra 6725ip) remained on the current VLAN.

In OCS, this was accomplished exclusively via DHCP options. The process was poorly documented for whatever reason by Microsoft (and nearly non-existent in OCS 2007 R2) although multiple bloggers came to the rescue and had (for the most part) the answers. In Lync Server 2010 in addition to the DHCP OPTION 43 'option' LLDP-MEP was introduced as a method to define the multiple VLANs. Unfortunately my older networking equipment did not support LLDP-MEP so I was pushed back into the DHCP realm (thank you Microsoft for retaining the option!).

Luckily the configuration of the second VLAN is exactly the same as it was in OCS although the process is manual. Why Microsoft didn't create a script like they did to create the 'other' PIN required DHCP options is beyond me. Below I have written a batch file to create the required functionality to make sure typos are eliminated. Like the Microsoft DHCP PIN script, the options are added at the Server Options level; if this is not what you want/need, go ahead and add the Option (010 VoiceVLAN) directly to the desired scopes and remove it from the Server Options.

Note: if the DHCP MMC is running when you execute this script, you will not see the changes made. To refresh, exit the MMC and re-launch.

Now to break down what we are doing in the script. When executed from an elevated prompt (ex. VoiceVLAN.bat 30) the script uses netsch to create a Vendor Class named CPEOCPhone with a value of CPE-OCPHONE. It then creates an option 10 definition called VoiceVLAN and assigns it (in this case) a value of 30. Simply replace 30 with the desired Voice VLAN number (displayed in HEX in the MMC). Manually this would be accomplished using the following steps.

Right-click on IPv4 and select Define Vendor Classes...

Select Add to define a New Class. The Display name is whatever you want it to be; the script sets it to CPEOCPhone with a Description of VLAN tagging for the Microsoft Phone Devices. The only part that MUST be entered exactly is the ID value. This is set most easily in ASCII by simply placing the cursor under the word ASCII and clicking. Enter CPE-OCPHONE (yes, case sensitive) and watch the Binary equivalent automatically appear.

Click OK to save the new Vendor Class and Close to complete the creation process.

Next the Predefined Options must be created (in this case, Option 10). Once again, right-click IPv4 in the DHCP MMC but this time select Set Predefined Options...

Change the Option class... to the newly created class (CPEOCPhone) where you will find no Options created. Click Add... to create the new option. In the Name, enter VoiceVLAN. Change the Data type to Word. In the Code, enter the number 10. Enter Phone VLAN in the Description and click OK.

The Predefined Options and Values will now display option 010 VoiceVLAN with no default Value. Click OK to close the configuration dialog. You must now add the option to one or more scopes. Select a scope and select Configure Options...


Select the Advanced tab and from the Vendor class drop-down select CPEOCPhone. A single option should be listed, 010 VoiceVLAN. Select the option and under Data entry enter your VLAN (ex. 30).

Click OK to add the Option to the selected DHCP scope and repeat as necessary.

IMPORTANT: After changing the VLAN options for the phones, a hard reset is required as the devices cache their VLAN information to avoid the query process each time. For the CX700 (Tanjay) this is accomplished by using a small object to push the reset button on the back of the phone. For the newer Lync phones (Polycom CX600/CX500 and Aastra 6725ip/6721ip) you must hold down the * and # keys while powering on the phone until prompted to reset the device (this takes a few minutes). After the phone reboots, the new DHCP options will be passed to the phone. The switch port the phone is attached to must already have both VLANs associated to it with the PVID (primary VLAN) set to the computer VLAN, not to the voice VLAN. Of course, normal routing and switching configuration must be completed as well (as defined by the switch/router vendor).

VoiceVLAN.bat

netsh dhcp server add class CPEOCPhone "VLAN tagging for the Microsoft Phone Devices" "CPE-OCPHONE" 1

netsh dhcp server add optiondef 10 VoiceVLAN Word 0 Vendor=CPEOCPhone comment="Phone VLAN"
netsh dhcp server set optionvalue 10 Word vendor=CPEOCPhone "%1"

0 comments - Posted by Brian Ricks at 1:00 AM - Categories: 2010 | Microsoft | phone | Polycom | VLAN | Aastra | DHCP | Lync Server

Oct 7 2009

Quick auto-dialer for Office Communicator

From time-to-time there are really quick/easy programs that are available on the Internet and sometimes even for free. In this case, the product Phone Tools for Communicator by ESTOS is all of the above.

Phone Tools for Communicator is a small applet that runs on your local PC that enables you to quickly call any phone number using Office Communicator. Communicator and the back-end Office Communications Server must be capable of making outbound calls - this tool does nothing for that - but assuming you have a functioning telephony solution this product assists you in making those calls.

How? Communicator already has the ability to understand the tel: hyperlink so that if a phone number is linked correctly, it is click-able and the number is dialed. However, it is all too often that numbers are entered into documents, websites, or other electronic communication without the hyperlink. To call the number without Phone Tools for Communicator you have two options: 1) Stop being lazy and simply push the numbers on your Windows Phone Device or 2) highlight the number, copy it, open Office Communicator, paste the number, and press enter.

For all of us lazy folks, option two is generally the route we take. Phone Tools for Communicator is essentially performing option two but with fewer clicks. To use the product, simply highlight the desired number and click F8 (the default hot-key which can be changed) and viola, the number is dialed - simple, yet satisfying.

As I mentioned, the product is free, it takes 2088k of memory to run, and I have successfully used it on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Save yourself a few extra clicks and go out and try Phone Tools for Communicator - you won't be disappointed.

Posted by Brian Ricks at 3:41 PM - Categories: Communicator | phone | ESTOS

Oct 7 2009

Mobile Outlook Update for Windows Mobile 6.1

With the recent release of Windows Mobile 6.5 and the newly improved Mobile Outlook most of us WM6.1 users are saying - what about us? Well the story is not as bleak as many might imagine. While the OS in the Windows Mobile devices is carrier 'owned' the applications are not. Luckily, Microsoft has decided to release the Outlook portion of WM6.5 as free upgrade for WM6.1 users. This is great news for me - I don't know about everyone else, but I am not interested in most of the WM6.5 features I simply want the new Outlook.

My current back-end environment is Microsoft Exchange 2010, Outlook 2010 and using the latest Mobile Outlook enhances my experience keeping the look and feel similar across clients. The upgrade was easy although it did force a re-sync of my Exchange data to my phone which took a bit of time even over the EvDO Rev A network.

More information about the upgrade and the features can be found here and it is a CAB file so you can use your WM device to navigate directly to it (my preference).

New Outlook Email Inbox

New Inbox View in Outlook Mobile

Conversation View

Single conversation thread Previous OCS RFC. There are four emails that make up the thread and all can be seen in a single view (reducing clutter and speeding up your day)!

Quick Folder List

The folders you select to sync are shown in your folder list. You can still expand your entire folder list by selecting All Folders.

Voice Mail Integration with Exchange 2010

New Single-click Voice Mail Integration or Exchange 2010 UM users. The play button eliminates the need to launch Windows Mobile player leaving you in your Inbox where you should be. The green phone button allows a single-click call back to the sender.

Text Mesage Integration

With Exchange 2010 and Mobile Outlook 6.5 text messages to your phone have the option of being integrated. This mean a text message received to your phone is synced with Outlook where you have the option of replying to the text directly (assuming you have the optional TXT provider in Outlook 2007 or you are using Outlook 2010 / Outlook Web Access 2010).

Posted by Brian Ricks at 4:09 AM - Categories: mobile | Outook | phone | Exchange | WM65