Exchange Server 2007 Webcast Series (Part 17 of 24) Questions and Answers Log (03-19-07)

I finished cleaning up the Q&A Log for Part 17 (Unified Messaging) of the 24 Part Exchange 2007 Webcast Series.  One thing I want to make clear when it comes to Unified Messaging is that this is not something that you can easily configure if you don't have an understanding of Telecom technologies (PBX, IP/PBX, VoIP systems, VoIP Gatways).  You will need to work with your telecom folks to get UM fully configured.  You may even want to bring in a consutant group that specialises in UM.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Harold Wong
harold.wong@microsoft.com

Exchange Server 2007 Webcast Series (Part 17 of 24) Questions and Answers Log (03-19-07)


Question: in the moments, what is the central support for exchange 2007?

Answer: I do not understand this question at all. If you are asking if we support Exchange 2007, absolutely. Whoever asked this question, please send me an email at harold.wong@microsoft.com if you need an answer.


Question: Any plans for microsoft to release a fax component? or will it be exclusively through 3rd party?

Answer: Currently, we only support inbound fax with Exchange 2007 UM. If you need an outbound fax solution as well today, you will need to go with a 3rd party provider.


Question: Linksys has a gateway called the SPA400 that sells for $250. Have you tested with this device? It has been on the market for about a year.

Answer: You can take advantage of the Exchange UM Telephony Advisor Website: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/telephony-advisor.mspx. I did not see this particular device listed, but that does not mean it will (or will not) work. You may want to contact Linksys directly.


Question: Is there a prefered vendor that handles out bound faxes?

Answer: there's a lot of competition in the marketplace, I would recommend looking at each and executing your own comparitive analysis on costs, deployability and feature sets that meet the criteria for your organization. For a list of 3rd party vendors, you can also check out the partner link on the Exchange website: https://www.microsoft.com/exchange/partners/2007/other.mspx.


Question: We have used Cisco Unity Unified Messaging since 1999, but would like to add the new Microsoft features like reading back the calendar & rescheduling appointments, inbound FAX, etc. Is there any reason I could not implement Unified Messaging Server and keep my phone coverage pointing to Unity?

Answer: Since Exchange Unified Messaging is a competing solution to Cisco’s Unity, there is no direct integration between the two. On your Cisco Call Manager configuration, how do you point to both the Exchange UM server as well as the Cisco Unity server? Or from a VoIP Gateway, how would you configure this? I don’t know of a way to do this so unless you can get creative, I don’t see how this would work.


Question: Is there a document providing step-by-step instruction how to implement UM and a listing of supported VoIP gateways?

Answer: Yes, see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125141.aspx and https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123948.aspx.


Question: Do you have any info about the following as it relates to Exchange Server 2007? "I'm at the second annual Small Business Summit in Redmond (Microsoft Conference Center) and want to get some BREAKING NEWS to you. Microsoft has announced a new small business telephone system today."

Answer: Since it was just announced, there isn’t a whole lot of information on this yet. Stay tuned – as I hear more, I will try to blog about it.


Question: Will we have support for Attachment Filter at Hub Transport Server role in SP1?

Answer: I do not see it the list of features / enhancements for SP1 today. This is currently one of the value adds provided by the Edge Transport server role and hence why it is not part of the Hub Transport.


Question: Can I download the previous webcast on exchange server 2007 on the web?

Answer: Absolutely, just scroll down to the on-demand section at https://www.microsoft.com/events/series/tnexchangeserver.mspx.


Question: If your using PBX without IP/PBX or VoIP will the IP Gateway allow you to use Unified messaging?

Answer: If you don’t have an IP PBX or a VoIP solution in place, then the additional component you will need is a VoIP Gateway. You will need to verify that your current PBX is supported by one of the existing VoIP Gateways on the market.


Question: is it possible to load balance um servers ? I'm thinking of putting in a mailbix cluster plus 2 other servers each with cas, hub and um roles - hub will self load balance, i can use nlb to loab balance the cas one presumes (for owa) but what about um ? how does that load balance or would i be more sensible to put the um on one machine and cas / hub on the other ?

Answer: You cannot use NLB for Unified Messaging server roles. There is a little more information on high availability for CAS, Hub Transport, Edge Transport and UM in this article: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124721.aspx.


Question: Is there link that provides supported analog and digital cards?

Answer: If you are referring to supported VoIP Gateways, see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123948.aspx.


Question: Is the Exchange Unified Messaging server designed to replace the Cisco Unity voice mail server or do they work together?

Answer: Exchange Unified Messaging is a competing product to Cisco’s Unity solution. There are no built in integration points between the two systems.


Question: Does Exchange 2007 support click2dial and will it be integrated into CRM? In other words, will it have Asterisk like features?

Answer: That is not a built in functionality of Exchange 2007 UM (at least not that I’m aware of). I haven’t heard whether it will be implemented as part of CRM integration though.


Question: Can the dialing Rule groups handle intralata long distance? (need to dial the area code, but not a 1)

Answer: 10 digit dialing is supported


Question: why did microsoft deploy um to use tcp/sip when just about every ip phone system uses udp/sip and are there any plans to change this to udp in the future to remove the need for gateways between um and ip/pbx's / voip ?

Answer: I’m confused here. UM uses SIP and RTP as well as UDP / TCP. Look here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998265.aspx. Please keep in mind that some of the communications that take place are between the IP / PBX or VoIP / VoIP Gateway and the UM server and other communications take place between the UM server and other Exchange Server roles such as CAS, Hub Transport and Mailbox.


Question: Step-by-step how to implement UM. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125141.aspx shows basic information only.

Answer: To really implement UM, you need to have an understanding of the Telcom side of the environment. This includes PBX configuration (or VoIP / VoIP Gateway). The information we provide is the basics for the Exchange side of the configuration. There is a bit more around the architecture here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123911.aspx. In my webcast, I walked through all the key components that need to be configured on the Exchange UM side. There is no document currently that provides a step by step guide on everything you need to configure UM since there are so many different details that come into play depending on what your phone system is.


Question: is the aa pilot number different than the dialing plan pilot number

Answer: descriptions of all dial plan configuration options can be found here https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124408.aspx.


Question: Will there be a authentication feature for the IP gateway in the future?

Answer: I’m not sure about this one. If I had my crystal ball, I would be able to tell you. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost mine a few years ago. J


Question: can u use 3cx ip pbx for the um function

Answer: I’m not familiar with that device. You will want to check with the manufacturer.


Question: I have a good internet connection...in past few session the Live Meeting closes and it produces an error reporting dialog box...I have to relog on which it looses the previous all the Q and As that had happen...can u fix this?

Answer: Unfortunately, I cannot fix that issue. The nice thing is that I do post the Q&A Log to my blog so that you can review all the answers after I’ve had a chance to go through and “clean” them up.


Question: Which component enables voicemail option?

Answer: The Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging server role.