Lucent Technologies Octel Unified Messenger Planning Manual

101-1620-005

Octel Unified Messenger

Concepts and Planning Guide

Your comments on this document are welcome. They can assist us in improving our products. Please address comments to:

Unified Messenger Documentation Team Lucent Technologies, Octel Messaging Division 1001 Murphy Ranch Road Milpitas, CA 95035-7912 USA +1 408-321-2000

http://www.octel.com/um E-mail: unified.messenger@octel.com

This software is the property of Lucent T echnologies Octel Messaging Di vision, formerly Octel Communications Corporation, and may not be used without a valid written license agreement. This software is protected by the copyright laws of the United States, international copyright treaties, and all other applicable national laws. The right to copy this document is granted to authorized resellers and customers for their use and the use of their customers, as specified in their agreements with Octel Communications Corporation, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies. Any unauthorized use, reproduction (except for legally permissible archival copies), distribution or transfer of this software, or preparation of derivative works is strictly prohibited. Copyright 1996-1999 Octel Communications Corporation, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies. All rights reserved.

All trademarks identified by the

or ® symbol are trademarks or registered trademarks, respectively, of Octel Communications Corporation, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Printed in the USA.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights Notice

This software is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at FAR Section §52.227-19, in the applicable software license agreement pursuant to DFARS §227.7202-3(a) (1995), or in (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS Section §252.227-7013 (OCT 1988), as applicable. Unpublished rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States. Contractor/Manufacturer is Octel Communications Corporation, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, 1001 Murphy Ranch Road, Mi l pitas, CA 95035-7912, US A.

101-1620-005 iii

Preface

Overview

This guide provides:

n Guidelines for planning and sizing a new installation. n A descript ion of the hardware and software comp onents of Octel

Unified Messenger.

n The concepts underlying Octel Unified Messenger, including

voice mail domai ns, addressing, client and serv er ope rat io ns, and telephony concepts.

Audience

This guide is intended for use by anyone recommending, purchasing, or installing Octel Unified Messenger. Readers should be familiar with the concepts and operation of Windows NT and Microsoft Exchange.

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iv 101-1620-005

Octel Unified Messenger documentation

See the following documentation for more information about Octel Unified Messenger:

Installation Guide, 101-1621-005

Provides information on the installation process. Available on the Octel Unified Messenger CD-ROM.

Administrator’s Guide, 101-1618-005

Provides information on ad ministering the Octel Unified Messenger system.

Available on the Octel Unified Messenger CD-ROM.

Subscriber’s Reference Guide, 101-1619-005

Provides information on using Octel Unified Messenger client applications.

Available on the Octel Unified Messenger CD-ROM.

Unified Messenger At-A-Glance, 101-1622-004

Provides at-a-glance information on using Octel Unified Messenger from the telephone user interface.

Configur ati on No te s

Provides integration information for types of PBX and fax devices. Available from your Octel Unified Messenger support representative.

Rhetorex User’s Guide for AccuCall+ for Windows 95 and Windows NT, Revision 1.0, 201-0048-000

Provides information on configuring the voice board driver software to communicate with a PBX.

Available on the Octel Unified Messenger CD-ROM.

Rhetorex Hardware and Software Installation Guide for Windows 95 and Windows NT, 201-0050-000

Provides information on installing a Rhetorex Voice Processing board, and on installing and configuring Rhetorex driver software and firmware.

Available on the Octel Unified Messenger CD-ROM.

Preface

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Unified Messenger Online Support

For Octel Unified Messenger support, contact your Octel Unified Messenger support representative.

For important, up-to-date information on Octel Unified Messenger, see the Readme file available on the Octel Unified Messenger C D-ROM.

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this guide:

Convention Description

ALL CAPITALS

Filenames and extensions, directory names, paths, and acronyms.

Initial Capitals Names of applications, programs, menu items, and

dialog boxes.

italic type Book titles.

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Contents

vii101-1620-005

Chapter 1 Introducing Octel Unified Messenger

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-2

Product features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3

The unified mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-4

Telephone user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-5

PC user interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 -5

Networked components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-6

Microsoft Exchange Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-6

Voice server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-7

Tracing server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 -7

Fax server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-8

PBX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-9

TUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-9

LAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-10

PC user interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 -10

Benefits summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-11

Subscriber convenience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-11

Ease of administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-11

Send messages near and far . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-11

Chapter 2 Sizing the system

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-2

Design rules for voice mail domains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3

Sizing ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4

Calculating the number of voice servers required. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-9

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Hardware and software requirements for Octel Unified Messenger servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Evaluating the additional load on Microsoft Exchange servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Evaluating the additional network traffic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Using Octel Unified Messenger via slow network connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16

Using multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16

ConfigurationUsing the telephone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17

The effect of slow network connections on Octel Unified Messenger applications . . . . . . 2-19

Octel Unified Messenger interoperability with third-party fax servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Requireme nts for third-p arty fax server interoperability with Octel Unified Messenger . . 2-2 1

Enabling Octel Unified Messenger subscribers for fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21

Routing inbound fax calls to the third-party fax server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22

Chapter 3 System architecture

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Voice mail domain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Addressing messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

System components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Client components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Server components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

PBX integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

Audio encoding formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

Chapter 4 Designing addressing schemes

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Local mailbox numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Dial-by-Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Numeric addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Chapter 5 Providing interoperability with existing Octel servers

Introduction to OctelNet ™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

OctelNet Messaging Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Designing an OctelNet addressing scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Prefix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Additional digits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Mailbox length. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5

OctelNet addressing scheme design rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5

Addressing OctelNet messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Addressing OctelNet messages from Octel Unified Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

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ix101-1620-005

Addressing OctelNet messages to Octel Unified Messenger recipients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-7

Providing single-site interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 -8

Automatic mailbox forwarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-8

Chapter 6 Connecting with the PBX

and establishing security rules

Connecting with the PBX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-2

Establishing security rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3

Access to voice mail domain administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3

Access to subscriber accounts administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3

Access to subscriber mailboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3

Appendix A Appendix A - Sizing for ports

Calculating the number of supported subscribers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2

Appendix B Appendix B - Grade of service

Calculating busy hour traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL-1

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IN-1

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PART 1

CONCEPTS

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101-1620-005 1-11-1

Introducing Octel Unified Messenger

This chapter introduces Octel Unified Messenger and discusses the following top ics:

n Octel Unified Messenger product features. n The “unified mailbox” concept. n Networked components of the Octel Unified Messenger

environment.

n Benefits of using Octel Unified Messenger.

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Introduction

Today e-mail, voice mail, and fax are established as strategic, enabling technologies at companies large and small. As a result, people are receiving both a larger volume and more types of messages than ever before.

However, each kind of mes sag e typically requires its own access medium (telephone, personal computer, or fax device) and support structure (capital equipment, management tools, and service procedures). The task of retrieving, prioritizing, and storing messages can be inconvenient, complex, and time-consuming, even though messaging should enhance and streamline the communications process.

To make this task easier, Octel Unified Me ss enger provides the follo w i ng features:

n Messaging con venience

Octel Unified Me ssenger enables everyone to view, listen to, send, store, and retri eve all their messages from one mailbox (the

“unified mailbox”) with whatever access tool is the most convenient at any particular time: telephone, desktop computer, portable computer, or fax device.

n Simplified messaging management

With Octel Unified Messenger, organizations can simplify communications administration, maintain accurate messaging directories, and reduce communication costs.

n Interoperability

Utilizing OctelNet, Octel Unified Messenger systems interoperate with other Lucent Technologies Octel Messaging Division (OMD) voice messaging systems. This means that subscribers can exchange voice messages with users on other Octel messaging servers t hat support O ctelNet.

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Product features

OMD uses th e next-generation client/server messaging system Microsof t Exchange Server to deliver a truly unified messaging architecture that meets the mission-critical demands of even the largest organization. Specific features of Octel Un ified Messenger include:

n A single unified view of messages using the Exchange Server

mailbox.

n Telephone access to the Exchange Server mailbox. n Fax, voice, and e-mail management using personal folders in

Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Outlook.

n A single data store for all messages in the Microsoft Exchange

Server.

n A common, enterprise-wide directory for all messages. n A single point of administration through enhanced Microsoft

Exchange Server administration.

n Text-to-speech (TTS) delivery of e-mail and fax subject headers

or the entire body of text messages.

n Fax delivery of e-mail messages (including attachments) using

third-party fax servers.

n Voice message playback through multimedia equipment or a

telephone.

n Voice messages addressed using the Microsoft Exchange

directory.

n Ability to send, forward, or reply by voice across a local area

network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet.

n Voice object embedding in OLE 2.0 and ActiveX compliant

documents.

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The unified mailbox

For each Octel Unified Messenger subscriber, all voice mail, telephone answering, e-mail, fax, and data messages (including documents and forms) are stored in the unified mailbox. Messages can be viewed, listened to, stored, or retrieved using either telephone, PC, or fax. Figure 1-1 shows the concept of the unified mailbox.

1PC 2 Telephone 3Fax

Figure 1-1. Unified mailbox

21 3

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Telephone user interface

Subscribers can access their unified mailbox from a telephone user interface to do the following:

n Send and receive voice messages. n Play back voice messages. n Listen to e-mail messages, using TTS conversion. n Forward fax messages to other recipients or to a fax device for

printing.

n Store, delete, reply to, or forward e-mail, voice, or fax messages. n Print e-mail messages on a fax device.

PC user interface

Subscribers can access their unified mailbox from a PC to do the following:

n Send and receive voice messages. n Play back voice messages through the telephone or through PC

multimedia equipment.

n Send and receive e-mail messages. n Send and receive fax messages. n Store, delete, reply to, or forward e-mail, voice, or fax messages.

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Networked components

Figure 1-2 shows the networked components of the Octel Unified Messenger environment.

1PBX 2 Telephone user interface 3 Fax (optional) 4 Octel voice server 5 Fax server (optional) 6 PC user interface 7LAN 8 Octel tracing server 9 Microsoft Exchange server

Microsoft Exchange Server

The Microsoft Exchange server is a Windows NT-based system that contains all user mailboxes and all directory information. It communicates with other Exchange servers on the LAN, with Exchange servers on remote sites via WAN or network dial-up, and through gateways with other e-mail systems across the Internet. The Exchange server provides a single point of administration for subscriber mailboxes.

Figure 1-2. Octel Unified Messenger networked components

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Voice server

The voice server is a Windows NT-based system that is the integral link between the LAN and the telephone network. It performs the following functions:

n Answers PBX-forwarded telephone ca lls. n Plays personalized greetings. n Records messages. n Sends compressed message files to subscriber mailboxes for

storage.

n Retrieves stored messages for playback through the telephone or

through multimedia.

n Provides the capability for TTS conversion of e-mail messages. n Detects incoming faxes and forwards them to third-party fax

servers.

Multilingual text-to-speech

The voice server includes a speech synthesis device that allows subscribers to hear their e-mail messages over the telephone. This feature is also used for name confirmation when a record ed name is not availa bl e.

Organizations that receive e-mail in more than one language can enable a multilingual TTS. This identifies the language of the e-mail message and reads the message in that language.

The following languages are available:

n English n French n German n Spanish n Dutch n Italian n Russian

Tracing server

The tracing server is a separate system that records operational information about activity in the v oice mail domain. Events, for example, port acti vity, are stored in an ope rati on hist ory dat abase. An a dmin istrato r

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can generate reports summarizing voice mail activity using the Octel Unified Messenger Reporting Tool application.

Fax server

The fax server is a third-party component to which the voice server delegates all functionality related to sending and receiving faxes. For more inform ation on thir d-party fax server compatibil ity with Octe l

Unified Messenger, see “Octel Unified Messenger interoperability with third-party fax servers” on page 2-20.

Octel Unified Messenger, in conjunction with a com patible fax server, offers the following fax features:

n Fax messages can be received and stored in a subscriber’s

mailbox.

n Subscribers can send fax messages and e-mail messages to fax

devices for printing.

n A copy of a subscrib er’s Inbox listing can be fax ed to a f ax de vice

through the telephone user interface.

For more information on how to set up fax servers, see “Octel Unified Messenger interoperability with third-party fax servers” on page 2-20.

Incoming faxes Incoming faxes may be received in two ways, depending on whether the

system is set up with Direct Inward Dialing (DID):

n On systems with DID, callers call int o a subscriber’s mailbox and

press Start on their fax device.

n On systems without DID, callers call the subscriber’s automated

attendant from the fax machine’s telephone, select the subscriber’s extensions by using either Dial-by-Name or by entering the subscriber’s extension number, and press Start on their fax device.

Once fax calls are received, Octel Unified Messenger transfers the call from the voice server to the fax server. When the fax server answers the call, the v oice ser ver identif ies the in tended r ecipien t and swit ches the call to the fax server to receive the fax. The fax server then delivers the fax message into the recipient’s mailbox.

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Access to faxes using the TUI

The telephone user interface recognizes messages of the message type IPM.NOTE.FAX. If a fax server doe s not support thi s message type, Octel Unified Messe nge r does not classify messages as faxes but only as e-mail messages with TIFF attachments.

Subscribers can send fax messages to other recipients or to a fax device for printing. They can also send e-mail messages to a fax device for printing.

E-mail messages that have attachments, for example, a document in Microsoft Word or Micros oft Exc el f ormat c an be converted to f ax for mat by the fax server and can be printed to a fax device. Which types of attachments can be printed to a fax device depends on the capabilities of the fax server.

PBX

The PBX or s witch transfers calls from within the enterprise or from the outside telephone network to the OMD voice server. This capability can

also be provided by the service provider’s central office equipment, known as Centrex.

An Octel Unified Messenger voice server includes a “PBX integration”. This is a specialized connection to the PBX that provides information about calls as they are routed, such as:

n Who the call was originally intended for (called party). n Who placed the call (calling party). n What caused the call to be directed to the voice server (for

example, there was no answer or the telephone was busy).

TUI

Subscribers can use a touchtone telephone to do the following:

n Record voice messages. n Listen to voice and e-mail messages. n Reply to voice, e-mail, or fax messages. n Instruct the system to store, forward, or dele te messages. n Send fax and e-mail messages to a fax device for printing.

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LAN

The LAN provides a high-speed (minimum 10 Megabit per second switched) connection between servers and client systems. Octel Unified Messenger supports Ether net and tok en ring ba sed LAN topologi es. Octel Unified Messenger takes advantage of the file streaming capabilities of Windows NT to transfer voice files across the network. This minimizes network traffic congestion and provides speedy message playback and navigation.

PC user interface

The PC user interf ace can be a portable or deskt op c ompute r that is either connected by a LAN or part of a re mote netwo rk. This co mputer e x e cutes Octel Unified Me ssenger clien t software that manages th e display of al l

messages contained in the subscriber’s mailbox, facilitates and controls the recording and playback of voice messages, and interacts with the Exchange client.

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Benefits summary

Octel Unified Me ssenger provides the following benefits to your organization.

Subscriber convenience

With Octel Unified Messenger, subscribers can:

n Store all messages in one place, regardless of the message type. n Access voice , e-mail, and fax messages from e it her t he telephone

or PC user in terface.

n Reply to messages in one medium (for example, voice) with

another medium (for example, e-mail).

n Send voice messages with the same ease and convenience as

sending e-mail messages.

n Use TTS con ver sion to liste n to e-ma il messag es when access to a

PC is not possible.

Ease of administration

Octel Unified Me ssenger offers adm inistrators the following cap abilities:

n All messaging administration can be handled by a single

administrator.

n Management tools are combined into one application. n A single directory for voice, e-mail and fax messages makes

system management easier.

n PC user interface tools make it easy to create or update mailbox

information.

Send messages near and far

Octel Unified Messenger systems can utilize OctelNet to connect to existing Octel voice messaging systems at the same location or at remote locations. Subscribers can send and receive messages from remote subscribers as easily as if they were all using the same local system.

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PART 2

PLANNING

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101-1620-005 2-12-1

Sizing the system

This chapter discusses the main points to consider when sizing the hardware for Octel Unified Messenger. It contains information about:

n Voice mail domain design rules. n Establishing the number of voice ports required. n Calculating the number of voice servers required. n Hardware and software requirements. n Evaluating the additional load on the Microsoft Exchange server. n Evaluating the additional network traffic. n Using Octel Unified Messenger via slow network connections. n Enabling fax servers to comm unicate with Octel Unified

Messenger.

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Introduction

Sizing the hardware for Octel Unified Messenger involves the following steps:

1. Designing the voice mail domain structure for the organization.

2. Calculating the number of voice ports required.

3. Calculating the number of OMD voice servers needed.

4. Designing fax server and voice server communication.

5. Evaluating the additional load on Microsoft Exchange.

6. Evaluating the additional network traffic that must be handled.

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Design rules for voice mail domains

Designing voice mail domains (VMDs) is very similar to designing domains in Microsoft NT.

When designing Octel Unified Messenger voice mail domains, the following rules must be observed.

n Each voice server can belong to one voice mail domain only. n Each voice mail subscriber can belong to one voice mail domain

only.

n Each voice server has a single peer Exchange server. n Different voice servers in a voice mail domain can have different

peer Exchange servers, provided that those Exchange servers are in the same Exchange site.

n An Exchange server ca n be a pe er ser ver for more than one voice

server.

n An Exchange server can be a peer server for voice servers from

different voice mail domains. However, the voice mail domains must be located in the same Exchange site as the Exchange server.

n A Microsoft Exchange site can contain more than one voice mail

domain.

n In a voice mail domain, there can be one tracing server only. n Voice mail domains cannot spread across multiple Exchange

sites.

n There is only one PBX integration link per voice server. This

means that if yo ur PBXs a re int egrat ed, you need one vo ice serve r per PBX.

n There can be several PBX types in one voice mail domain.

However, each PBX must be linked to its own voice server and the voice mail domain properties must match every PBX type.

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Sizing ports

Accurate port sizing is critical to the successful implementation of any voice processing application. A careful analysis of system traffic patterns must be made. Specifically, the volume of calls generated by internal subscribers and external callers to the system during the busiest hour of the day must be determined.

Busy hour traffic is used in the calculation to determine the number of ports needed to provide an acceptable level of service to the users. Most newer PBXs provide traffic statistic reports that can provide an accurate picture of traffic patterns on the switch. When preparing the implementation of a messaging system, the planner should study a

minimum of one week’s traffic data to determine daily and hourly call volumes.

How to determine the busy hour

Most PBXs can generate tra ff ic reports t hat pro vide stat istics on a weekly, daily, or hourly basis. Usually these reports break out the traffic statistics by type of call, for example, incoming calls, outgoing calls, and calls to specific hunt groups. These reports can be used to determine specific traffic patterns and when the busy hour occurs.

Suppose that during the course of a typical business week the traffic report indicates that Monday is the busiest day for incoming calls. On Monday a total of 3,500 calls are received, and the hourly statistics show that the busiest hour of the day occurs between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., with 350 incoming calls. Therefore 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. is the customer’s busy hour.

Another way of expressing busy hour traffic is as a percentage of total daily traffic. In the example above, 350 busy hour calls is 10% of the 3,500 total calls received for the day. If traffic statistics are not available, then an educated guess at busy hour traffic is required. The tables in Appendix A, “Sizing for Ports” can be used as guidelines for estimating how many users can be supported with a given number of ports based on some assumptions about average daily port usage per subscriber. These tables also provide for traffic patterns of 10%, 14%, or 18% busy hour traffic.

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Units of measurement for busy hour traffic

Busy hour traffic is normally expressed in units of measurement such as minutes, Erlangs, or Centum Call Seconds (CCS).

Note: 1 CCS = 100 call seconds. For example, there are 3,600

seconds in 1 ho ur . To determine the number of CCS i n 1 hour, divide 3,600 by 100 to get 36 CCS.

Minutes, Erlangs, and CCS are different ways of expressing busy hour traffic. For example, during busy hour, 120 calls are generated with an average length of 30 seconds each. This equals 3,600 call seconds (120 x

30) of busy hour traffic. This same number can also be expressed as 60 call minutes, 1 Erlang, or 36 CCS of busy hour traffic. That is:

“Calculating the amount of busy hour traffic”, below, describes how to calculate busy hour offered traffic in seconds and how to convert to minutes, Erlangs, or CCS units.

Calculating the amount of busy hour traffic

Standard traffic engineering tables are used to determine the proper number of ports based on busy hour offered traffic. Offered traffic is the total traffic offered to a group of ports during the busy hour, including calls that are blo cked . It i s usually e xpress ed in mi nutes, E rlangs , or CCS. Carried traffic is the total busy hour traffic that was offered to the group of ports minus the blocked calls. To calculate the total minutes of busy hour offered traffic, two variables must be known or estimated:

n The aver age nu mber of c alls genera ted d uri ng th e b usy hour. This

is all calls incoming and outgoing.

n The average length of a call, also known as average hold time

(AHT), usually expressed in seconds or minutes. The hold time must include call setup and tear-down time. Setup time starts from the moment a port is seized, that is, when ringing starts. Tear-down time is the time it takes for the port to be available to process another call after a caller hangs up or is disconnected by the server.

Below is a telephone answering/messaging example with no other applications in use:

If 1,500 calls (forwarded and direct calls) are generated during the busy hour, and the AHT of a call is 45 seconds, the total busy hour traffic can be calculated as follows:

1,500 calls x 45 seconds = 67,500 call seconds of busy hour offered traffic.

3,600 call seconds(/60) = 60 call minutes(/60) = 1 call hour or Erlang = 36 CCS

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To convert this total into call minutes, divid e by 60: 67,500/60 = 1,125 call minutes. To convert this total into Erlangs, divide by 3600: 67,500/3600 = 18.75 Erlangs. To convert this total into CCS, divi de by 100: 67,500/100 = 675 CCS. To predict busy hour traffic accurately, you must collect reliable traffic

data that reflects the calling patterns specific installation or application. If busy hour calls are underestimated, the number of ports may not be sufficient to provide users with an acceptable level of service. If busy hour calls are overestimated, the additional number of ports increases the cost of providing the service needlessly. To calculate the number of ports

accurately, it is necessary to unde rsta nd the c oncept of “gr ade of servi ce”, see below.

Grade of service Grade of service (GOS) is the probabili ty that an incoming cal l is blocke d

and therefore the caller hears a busy signal because all ports are in use. This is express ed a s a pe rcent age of call ers who call during the busy hour . For example, if the number of ports is sized so that no more than 2 out of 100 calls are likely to be blocked during the busy hour, the system is said to provide a P.02 GOS. If no more than 5 out of 100 calls are likely to be blocked, the system provides a P.05 GOS. P.01 is a better GOS than P.05 and therefore requires more ports.

Common industry GOS for messaging servers are P.01, P.02, P.03, and P.05.

There is an obvious trade-off between cost and grade of service. The choice is a busi ness dec isio n based on a numbe r of f actor s, incl uding ho w critical the application is to the business, and the cost of ports and other physical resources that are required to provide the desired GOS.

The tables in Append ix B “ Grad e of Ser vice” sh o w the maximum a mount of busy hour traffic supported by a number of ports for each GOS.

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PBX integration device sizing

As described in “PBX integration” on page 3-10, PBX integrations are accomplished by different methods depending on the PBX type and the capabilities of the PBX. Although all PBX Integration Devices (PIDs) perform the same basic functions, they all accomplish it in a slightly different manner. Therefore, the number of PIDs required to support a given number of ports varies based on:

n The number of integrated ports. n The type of PID used. n The incoming call volume during the busy hour.

Sizing outgoing call features: Intercom Paging and OctelNet

Outgoing call features include intercom paging and OctelNet message delivery. These features require the user of a port by the voice server to place an outgoing call.

The traffic generated by these features can significantly affect the GOS if this traffic is not included in the estimate of busy hour offered traffic. If outcall deli very traffi c is m anage d so tha t th e major ity o f i t occu rs ou tsid e of the busy hour, the impact on busy hour GOS is minimized. For instance, network delivery schedules can be defined to allow only urgent messages from prio rity sub scribers to be de li v ered dur ing the b usy period. If a large a mount of outcall traf f ic is e xpe cted dur ing the b usy hour , it may be preferable to s ize a separ ate group of out going p orts and dedi cate th em to outcalling applications only.

For a conservative estimate of the number of ports required for outgoing OctelNet messages, use this calculation:

Number of ports = 1 + (a vera ge messag e length * es timated da ily number of messages) / total daily duration of the window during which Octel Net is free to outcall.

Note: When using this calculation, the following is assumed:

n The ports are not taken up by other outgoing calls. n The schedule is the same for all priority messages.

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Total estimated port requirements

To summarize, when sizing the number of total ports required for any given server to provide a desired GOS, the following factors must be considered.

n Estimated total busy hour offered traffic generated by both

internal and external callers.

n Estimated total busy hour offered traffic generated by all

applications, including those that place outgoing calls.

A system planner shoul d all o w for a saf ety or growth factor of 5% to 15% when sizing the initial implementation.

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Calculating the number of voice servers required

Having established the total number of voice ports, it is possible to calculate the minimum number of voice servers needed. The minimum number of servers is equal to the tot al number of ports need ed, di vi ded b y the number of ports to be installed on each of the servers. An Octel Unified Messenger voice server can support up to 24 voice ports.

To determine the correct (not the minimum) number of servers needed, it is necessary to consider the effects of the following factors:

n The voice mail domain design. For more information, see

“Design rules for voice mail domains” on page 2-3.

n The PBX configuration and integration. n Potential heavy processing demands, such as those imposed by

the tracing system.

Note: The Octel Unified Messenger tracing system should

be installed on a separate machine that does not run the voice server software. This is particularly recommended for any implementation of Octel Unified Messenger that uses eight or more voice ports.

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Hardware and software requirements for Octel Unified Messenger servers

Octel Unified Messenger servers require the following configuration:

Minimum voice server requirements

n For systems using 4 to 12 ports: 200 MHz Intel Pentium.

For systems using 16 to 24 ports: 400 MHz Intel Pentium.

n 128 MB RAM. n Access to a CD-ROM drive to install the s oftware. n Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with the latest service pack. n Rhetorex VPS4, 8-port PCI cards ( Vantage PCI_8L o r PCI_8LH),

or VRS24 with ATSI voice card(s) (available in US and Canada only).

n Microsoft Exchange Client software.

n Rhetorex Insta llation Suite. n 1 GB free disk space.

Recommended Processor:

The processor recommended for an OMD voice server depends on two key factors:

n The number of voice ports to be supported by the server. n The maximum number of simultaneous text-to-speech (TTS)

sessions to be allowed on the server. The number cannot exceed the number of TTS licenses purchased.

Note: When using Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5, it

is recommended that you use Microsoft Outlook 98.

Note: Ensure there is sufficient disk space on the voice

server. If the voice server runs out of disk space, you will obtain unpredictable results. Microsoft recommends that you k eep at le ast 20% of disk spa ce free to guarantee good performance.

Note: T oo ma ny TTS sessi ons ca n have a detrimental ef fe ct

on the voice server’s performance.

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Minimum tracing server requirements

n For systems with up to 2 voice servers: 200 MHz Intel Pentium.

For systems with more than 2 voice servers: 400 MHz Intel Pentium

n 64 Mbytes RAM. n Access to a C D-ROM drive to install the software. n Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with the latest service pack. n Microsoft Exchange Client software. n 2 Gbyte free disk space.

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Evaluating the additional load on Microsoft Exchange servers

Implementing Octel Unified Messenger affects the activity of the Exchange servers and the disk space usage.

Number of Exchange users

Use the foll owin g guidelines to estimate the effect of adding Octel Unified Messeng er to an existing Exchange environm ent:

n Adding Octel Unif ie d Messenger capability to a single Exchan ge

mailbox is equi valent to adding appro ximatel y 30% to th e syst em load that would otherwise be required for that mailbox.

n Adding one line of voice activity to an Exchange server affects

Exchange response time in the same way as the addition of 10 medium-activity e-mail users.

n Generally, the load imposed by voice mail usage represents a

quarter of the load imposed by e-mail usage from the same population. This in turn represents a 25% to 30% increase in the required capacity of the Microsoft Exchange servers.

Example: calculation of impact on the Exchange servers capacity

n With a hunt group of 24 lines, which covers a fully configured

Octel Unified Messenger voice server, the system is capable of supporting approximately 16.6 Erlangs at the peak hour. This represents a load on the Exchange system equivalent to approxim ately 160 simultaneously active voice mail u sers.

n The 24 lines should be able to support a total voice mail

population of approximately 720 subscribers with 30 users per line.

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Disk space requirements

Voice messages require 4 Kbytes per second (240 Kbytes per minute) of space for storage.

Subscriber mailboxes

A subscriber who receives five voice messages per day, with an average message length of 60 seconds, requires 1.2 Mbyte of storage space to keep all messages s tored o n the Ex chan ge ser ve r or on a nother machine if the subscr iber stores t he messages in Persona l Folders. However, most people have no need to store all o f the messages they receive. Subscribers should be encouraged to remove unnecessary copies of messages from their Exchange folders. For example, they should make sure the Deleted Items and Sent Items folders are not retaining copies of messages longer than necessary.

Off-line message taking

When the Exchange server is not running, all voice messages from outside callers are temporarily stored on the Octel Unified Messenger voice server. This offline spooling facility requires enough available disk space on the voice server to hold all voice mail coming in during that time.

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Evaluating the additional network traffic

Implementing Octel Unified Messenger results in the flow of voice data

over the organization’s data network. This section provides the information required to calculate the additional network traffic generated by an Octel Unified Messenger system. This calculation is based on several factors, in cluding:

n The number of voice servers in the voice mail domain (S). n The number of ports on each voice server (P). n The usage characteristics. n The voice encoding rate (32 kilobits per second).

Worst-case network load

To calculate the worst-case ne twork load contributed by an Octel Unified Messenger voice mail domain, substitute the number of voice servers in the voice mail domain for S and the number of ports on each voice ser ver P into the following formula:

Worst-case network bandwidth = S x P x 32 kilobits per second. For example, for a site with a voice mail domain containing five voice

servers, each with 24 ports, the worst-case network bandwidth is 5x24x32=3,840 kilobits per second. In addition, it is necessary to apply a factor to allow for the overheads applicable to the network protocols and options that are in operation.

This calculation is based on the worst-case assumption that all ports are recording or play ing voice data at the same time. I t pr ovides a calculation of the total netw ork traf f ic potentia lly added , but no ind ication conc ernin g the direction or path taken by this data.

Dedicated connection

Average values will be much lower than indicated by the worst-case calculation presented above. However, they can still represent a significant load on the LAN connections between the voice servers and the Exchange servers. For that reason, each voice server in a multiserver environment should be given a dedicated switched Ethernet spur or switched token ring segment connecting directly into the backbone network.

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Types of operations The Octel Unified Messenger voice servers open data streams between

voice servers and:

n Exchange servers. n Client systems.

The actual Exchange server associated with each data stream depends on the operation and, in some cases, the associated mailbox:

n The operation of telephone answering results in the e stablis hment

of a data stream between the voice server and the voice server’s peer e-mail server.

n The following operations result in the establishment of a

connection between the voice server and the Exchange server containing the mailbox of the relevant subscriber:

— Playing back a voice message over the telephone. — Recording a voice message to be sent to another subscriber. — A caller listening to one of the subscriber's prerecorded

greeting messages.

It is possible, usin g the in formati on above, to calculate the w orst -case and normal throughput r equirement f or each v oice serv er and Exchange serv er pairing.

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Using Octel Unified Messenger via slow network connections

Octel Unified Messenger applications move voice messages between Octel Unified Messenger client systems and:

n Octel Unified Messenger voice servers. n Octel Unified Messenger client systems and Exchange servers.

How the data flows between systems is dependent on whether a subscriber uses multimedia or the telephone and whether voice messages are recorded or played back.

This section explains how the data flow is affected by slow network connections, for example, Remote Access Services (RAS), when playing back or recording messages using multimedia or the telephone. It also lists client applications and administration utilities that may be affected.

Note: This section does not address the connectivity between voice

servers and e-mail se rvers. Thes e require high- bandwidth and

low-laten cy connecti vity and ar e described in “Ev aluating the additional network traffic” on page 2-14.

Using multimedia

Voice messages can be played back or recorded using multimedia.

Playing back voice messages

Before playback starts, a voice message is copied to the client PC. A delay in copyi ng th e message from the Exchange server to the PC may be experienced. This delay depends on the message length and the network bandwidth between the client PC and the Exchange server. Once the message is copied, playback is not affected by slow network connections.

Recording voice messages

When recording a voice message, the message is stored on the client PC until recording is completed. Only then is the message copied to the Exchange server mailbox. This means that a slow network connection does not affect the recording process. However, a delay in copying the message from the client PC to the Exchange server may be experienced. This delay depends on the message length and the network bandwidth between the client system and the Exchange server.

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Using the telephone

Voice messages can be played back and recorded using the telephone.

Playing back voice messages

When playing back a voice message, the message is moved from the Exchange server to a telephone via the voice server. The playback is not affected by the speed of the client network connection. However, if playback controls ar e us ed, for example, fast forw a rd or r ewind, these are routed through the network connection. Playback controls occupy little bandwidth, so they are only slightly affected by a slow network connection.

Figure 2-1 shows the data flow when playing back messages using the telephone.

1 Exchange server 2 Voice server 3RAS machine 4PBX 5 Modem 6 Telephone 7Client PC

Figure 2-1. Data flow when playing back messages using the telephone

1 2

When playing back

Public

telephone

network

Playing back a message

Playback controls

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Recording voice messages

When recording voice messages, the data must be copied from the voice server to the client PC via slow network connections. It is stored on the client PC until the recording is stopped. Once recording is stopped, the message is copied to the Exchange server mailbox. Therefore it is very important to have adequate network bandwidth. Although lower speeds may work, a minimum speed of 56 kilobits per second between the client PC and the voice server is recommended.

Figure 2-2 shows the data flow when recording voice messages using the telephone.

1 Exchange server 2 Voice server 3RAS machine 4PBX 5 Modem 6 Telephone 7Client PC

Figure 2-2. Data flow when recording v o ice mess a ges usin g the tele phon e

Recording a message

When message is saved or sent

When recording

Public

telephone

network

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The effect of slo w netw ork connections on Octel Uni fied Messenger applications

This section lists all Octel Unified Messenger applications and how each is affected by slow network connections.

Octel Unified Messenger Voice Form

If Octel Unified Messenger Voice Form is used with multimedia, a slow network connection is sufficient.

If the Octel Unified Messenger Voice Form is used with a telephone to play back voice messages only, a slow network connection is sufficient. However, if voice messages are recorded, a high-speed connection is needed. For more information, see Figure 2-2 on page 2-18.

Using Microsoft Exchange Offline. If Microsoft Exchange is used in of fline

mode and messages are synchronized with the Exchange server message store, it is recommended to use multimedia to listen to and recor d messages.

Octel Unified Messenger Voice Recorder

It is recommended that you use Octel Unified Messenger Voice Recorder with local multimedia when using a slow network connection.

Octel Unified Messenger Options

A slow network connection can be used for all configuration operations, for example, setting call handling. However, a high-speed connection is required when recording prompts and greetings over the telephone.

Visual Voice Editor

It is recommended that you use multimedia or a 56 kilobits per second network connection to work with the Visual Voice Editor prompts.

Voice Mail User Administration Extension

A slow network connection can be used for all configuration operations, for example, setting call handling. However, a high-speed connection is required when recording the Spoken Name prompt using the telephone.

Port Monitor, Voice Mail System Configuration, Operation History Viewer, and Reporting Tool

Since none of these applications transmit voice messages, they all work over slow connections. Operation History Viewer connects to the Octel Unified Messeng er Tracing Server. If it is to be use d in live mode, the network connection must have enough bandwidth for the amount of data to be viewed.

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Octel Unified Messenger interoperability with third-party fax servers

This section desc ri bes how third-party fax servers interoperate wit h Oct el Unified Messeng er. It is recommended that the third- party fax server resides on a separate Windows NT server. The fax hardware is connected to a fax hunt group on the PBX.

1 PBX 2Fax cards 3Voice cards 4 Fax server which contains:

Fax server software

Fax routing

Windows NT

5 Unified Messenger server which contains:

OctelNet

PBX integration/devices

TTS

Telephone user interface

Windows NT

6 Microsoft Exchange server which contains:

Message transport

Message database (mailboxes)

Directory

Windows NT

7 Client machines which contain:

Octel Unified Messenger software

Fax client software

Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Outlook client

Windows ‘95 or Windows NT

Figure 2-3. Octel Unified Messenger interoperability with third-party fax servers

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Requirements for third-party fax server interoperability with Octel Unified Messenger

The following are the requirements for third-party fax server interoperability with Oc tel Unified Messen ger:

n Octel Unified Messenger version 2.0 or higher must be installed. n The fax serv er mus t be int egrated with Microsoft Exchange as an

Exchange Connector or an Exchange gateway for fax.

n The fax server must use a FAX address type that is specified to

Octel Unified Messenger. Th is is so that one-of f addresses can be created and messages can be delivered to the fax server for transmission.

n The fax server must support DTMF detection and collection. n The fax server must match the DTMF fax routing number

supplied by Octel Unified Messenger with a subscriber’s FAXROUTE address.

n The fax server must create faxes as e-mail messages with .TIF

attachments and send th em to the inten ded Exchange reci pient for storage within the Exch ange message store.

n The fax messages placed in the subscriber’s Outlook inbox

should be identif ied by a unique mes sage cla ss (IMP.NOTE.FAX) so they can be detected as faxes by Octel Unified Messenger.

Enabling Octel Unified Messenger subscribers for fax

Octel Unified Messenger subscribers are fax-enabled when a system administrator adds a FAXROUTE address as an e-mail address type for the subscriber.

Octel Unified Messenger subscribers with fax-enabled mailboxes can use the telephone user int erface to acce ss fax messages in their mailbox. Fro m the telephone user interface, fax-enabled subscribers can route fax or e-mail messages (with or without attachments) to any fax device for printing. When a subscriber requests the printing of a fax or e-mail message, Octel Unified Messenger forwards a copy of the message to a one-off address of the form [FAX:nnnnnnnn], where FAX is the actual address type for the fax server and nnnnnnn is the telephone number of the fax device supplied by the subscriber.

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Routing inbound fax calls to the third-party fax server

Like voi ce cal ls, f ax ca lls placed to a su bscri ber’s extension ar e re direc ted to the Octel Unified Messenger voice server when these calls encounter a ring-no-answer or busy condition. Whenever the voice server receives a call and detects that it is a fax, it places the call on courtesy hold and initiates a call to the fax server hunt group. After a fixed time delay (5-second def ault) Octe l Unif ied Messenger sends f ax routing informat ion as DTMF codes to the fax server and then cuts through the fax call. The fax routing infor mation sent b y Octel Unif ied Messe nger is determ ined by retrieving the Microsoft Exchange FAXROUTE address for the subscriber, based on the called extension number or entered mailbox number.

After the fax server receives the fax, it determines the Exchange subscriber’s address by finding the subscriber with a matching FAXROUTE address. Then the f ax server creates an e-mai l message with a .TIF attachment (TIFF group 3 fax format), sets the message class to IMP.NOTE.FAX, and sends the message to the subscriber’s mailbox.

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System architecture

This chapter introduces the Octel Unified Messenger system architecture and describes some of its key concepts, such as the voice mail domain (VMD) and addressing mechanisms. This chapter also contains a list of the main system components, including client, server, and telephony.

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Introduction

This section introduces the concept of a v oi ce mail domain, as well as the various methods that subscribers can use to address voice messages.

Voice mail domain

An Octel Unifie d Messenger voice mail do main is a group of OMD voice servers that share the same set of properties, for example, PBX settings. Any changes made to a voice mail domain’s properties are updated and replicated automatically to all voice servers in the domain. Voice mail domains provide the ability to store and retrieve properties that belong to a set of servers working together to give integrated call answering.

A voice server has configurable properties, which are maintained by the system administrator using administrative utilities. Many of these properties are configured identically for all the ser ver s. An e xample is the dates of public holidays. It would be unacceptable to have one server announcing that the office is open for business, while another server is simultaneously claiming that the business is closed in observance of a holiday. It would also be unacceptable to require administrators to ensure that these properties are configured identically in several voice servers because of the workload involved, and the risk of error.

The group of v oice s erv er s in a v oice mail do main can be see n as a single ,

“virtual” serv er for tha t domain. This vir tual vo ice serv er allo ws any Octel Unified Messenger subscribers in the domain to call in using the telephone user interface, access their mailboxes, and retrieve their messages. Also, the virtual voice server can call the telephone of any subscriber who runs Octel Unified Messenger PC client applications to play back voice messages.

An organizatio n can cr eate mult iple v oice mai l domains, f or ex ample, one in each major geographical site. Figure 3-1 shows a typical implementation. It co nsists of two voice mail domains, one in San Francisco with three voice servers and two Exchange servers, and one in London with one voice server and one Exchange server.

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1PBX 2 Subscribers VMD1 3 Octel Tracing Server for VMD1 4 Octel Voice Server 5 Octel Tracing Server for VMD2 6 Microsoft Exchange server 7 Subscribers VMD2

Figure 3-1. Example of typical implementation of voice mail domains

LAN

London

LAN

San Francisco

WAN

Voice mail domain 2

Voice mail domain 1

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Addressing messages

When sending voice messages, subscribers enter recipients’ addresses differently depending on whether they use the PC user interface or the telephone user interface.

From the PC user interface

A subscriber can retrieve recipients’ addresses from the Exchange directory, in other words, from t heir addr ess bo oks. Exc hange s upport s an enterprise-wide directory, which has the following benefits to Octel Unified Messenger subscribers:

n The worldwide corporate directory uses unique identifiers valid

from anywhere in the enterprise.

n Directory information updated in one location is automatically

available in every location.

From the telephone user interface

The following methods are available for subscribers to designate the recipients of a message using the telephone user interface:

n The local mailbox number. n The numeric address. n Dial-by-Name. n The OctelNet address.

For more information about addressing mechanisms, see Chapter 4, “Designing addressing schemes”.

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System components

The system components of Octel Unified Messenger are classified in three categories:

n Client components n Server components n Telephony components

Client components

The client applications enable subscribers and administrators to access Octel Unified Messenger from the telephone or from their desktop PCs.

Telephone access Outsid e callers inte ract with Octel Unified Messeng er through the

telephone to leave voice messages or faxes. In addition, subscribers can access the following applications through the

telephone user interface.

Octel Unified Messenger Options

This application enables subscribers to configure the main voice mail properties of their mailbox. Subscribers can also override the default fax number to print a fax to a different fax machine.

Note: Octel Unified Messenger Options can also be accessed from a

desktop PC.

Voice mail system

The telephone user interface provides voice mail subscribers with a friendly and easy way to record, send, reply to, or forward voice mail messages. Voice mail subscribers can also forward fax messages to other subscribe rs or to a fax device for printing.

Exchange e-mail system

Subscribers can save, forward, or delete e-mail, voice, and fax messages. They can also use the text-to-speech conversion feature of Octel Unified Messenger to listen to e-mail messages over the telephone.

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PC access From a desktop PC, subscribers and administrators can use the following

Octel Unified Messenger applications.

Octel Unified Messenger Options

The Octel Unified Messenger Options application enables subscribers to modify their mailbox settings at any time from their PC user interface.

Note: The Octel Unified Messenger Options can also be accessed

from the telephone user interface.

Subscribers can modify all or some of their mailbox settings, depending on how the mailbox is configured by the administrator.

When a mailbo x is initially enabled for voic e mail, the adm inistrator sets subscriber defaults for incoming call and message handling. The administrator also determines the initial telephone password, sets defaults for the greeting played to outside callers when the line is busy or unanswered, determi nes how voice messages are sorted in the subscriber mailbox, and specifies the default fax printing telephone number.

For more information on Octel Unified Messenger Options, see the Octel

Unified Messenger Subscriber’s Reference Guide.

Octel Unified Messenger Voice Form

The Octel Unified Messenger Voice Form application provides a quick and easy way to send voice messages from within Microsoft Exchange. It makes recording and sending voice messages from the de sktop PC as easy as writing and sending e-mail messages.

Subscribers can reply to and forward voice messages with both voice and e-mail messages. They can al so attach an e- mail or v oice message to a fax message.

For more information on Oc tel Unified Messenger Voice Form, see the

Octel Unified Messenger Subscriber’s Reference Guide.

Octel Unified Messenger Voice Recorder

With Octel Unified Messenger Voice Recorder, subscribers can record voice and embed recordings as a voice object into an OLE or ActiveX application, such as Microsoft Word. Recipients of the document can listen to and change the recording, using Octel Unified Messenger Voice Recorder.

Octel Unified Messenger Voice Recorder works independently from

Microsoft Exchange and Octel Unif ied Messenger ’ s Voice Form. It can be used to send voice messages.

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Administration applications

System administrators can use the following applications and tools to manage Octel Unified Messe nger.

Voice Mail System Configuration

This application displays property pages for configuring and maintaining the voice mail system. Pr opertie s that are shared acr oss v oices s erver s in a voice mail domain can be configured centrally. Any changes made to a

voice mail domain’s properties are then replicated to all voice servers in the domain.

Voice Mail User Administration Extension

This tool adds voice mail administration for a mailbox to Microsoft Exchange Administrator. It allows an Octel Unified Messenger administrator to voice enable a mailbox, and maintain voice mail information for an Octel Unified Messenger subscriber.

Operation History Viewer

This diagnostic tool lets administrators view events generated by voice mail system activity that are logged in the Octel Unified Messenger operation history dat ab ase. The y can view live e v ents as the y ar e added t o the operation histor y database, or view histor ical events.

Reporting Tool

This tool enables administrators to generate reports for monitoring voice mail system usage, for planning capacity, and for tracking security. Once a report is generated, an administrator can zoom in on a specific area of interest or p rint t he repo rt for easy r eference . Report s can a lso be exp orted to several popular file formats, or attached to a message sent via a MAPI-enab led e-mail system.

Port Monitor

This application provides a graphical interf ace for che cking an d changi ng the status of ports on a voice server.

OctelNet Gateway Administration Extension

This tool extends Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator with administration for an OctelNet gateway.

Visual Voice Editor

This application presents a graphi cal interface for recording customized company prompts for use by the automated attendant. For example, the organization’s Welcome greeting. Customized prompts can be recorded using multimedia equipment or a telephone. Visual Voice Editor displays audio data as a waveform to enable precise prompt editing.

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Server components

Octel Unified Messenger adds two types of servers, the voice server and the tracing server, to the Microsoft Exchange Server environment.

Voice server An Octel Unified Messenger voice server provides or supports the

following func ti ons:

n Call management. This function provides an interface between

the voice cards and the Octel Unified Messenger telephony applications.

n Messaging. This function provides communication between

Microsoft Exchange and the Octel Unified Messenger applications.

n User Profile. This function provides access to the data associated

with individual subscribers, such as numeric address and spoken name.

n Text-to-speech. The voice server includes a speech synthesis

device that allows subscribers to hear their e-mail messages over the telephone. This feature is also used for name confirmation, when a recorded name is not available.

n Administration, configuration, and addressing support. n OctelNet gateway support. n Significant Event Log. The server software records significant

events or alarms in the Windows NT Event Log.

n Statistics and performance counters. The voice server software

outputs statistics and performance information using the Windows NT Performance Monitor.

n Operation history event generation. Voice server software

components generate operation history events during their execution. Thes e events are written to the operation history database.

n Fax capability. The server software detects faxes and forwards

them to third-party fax servers.

n Print capability. The server software forwards fax and e-mail

messages to third-party fax servers for printing.

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Tracing server A tracing server maintains connections with all voice servers in a voice

mail domain, and performs the following tasks:

n Collects the events that are of interest to an administrator for

diagnostic purposes, for example, a Call Waiting state generated by the telephone user interface.

n Writes the events to the operation history da tabase. n Periodically creates transactions from the operation history

database, and writes them to the transaction database.

n Periodically cleans up expired events from the operation history

database and from the transaction database.

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PBX integration

Callers who are forwarded to a voice server can leave a message for the called party without additional intervention. This is made possible through the integration of the PBX or Centrex with the Octel Unified Messenger voice server.

With an integrated voice server, callers are greeted by the personal greeting of the called party, inviting them to leave a message. Integration also provides callers with the option to transfer to another extension if they choose not to leave a message.

In an interfac ed environment, in other words, w ithout PBX integration,

calls to a subscriber’s telephone are forwarded, but no information about the call is passed to the voice message server. The caller is requested to reenter the mai lbox or e xtension number of the pe rson who i s being c alled in order to play the personal greeting.

Integration is accomplished when a call is forwarded to the voice server and the telephone system passes information about the call. This information includes calling party identification if known, called party identification, and a forwarding reason code.

There are four ways to integrate a PBX with Octel Unified Messenger:

n In-band signaling n Serial RS-232 data channel n Digital Meridian Integration Device (DMID) n Voice Bridge II

In-band signaling In-band signaling involves connecting the voice server to the PBX as if it

were a series of single-line telephones or a series of trunks in a hunt group. The term “in-band” is used because all of the call identification information is passed from the PBX to the voice server using DTMF signals on the same line as the voice connection.

Series RS-232 data channel

This method of int egrat ion involves the connectio n of an RS-232 dat a link from the PBX to the voice server. When an incoming call is sent to the voice server, it is accompanied by a digital message from the PBX. This messages contains the call infor mation. Although it is sent ov er a sepa rate path from the incoming voice call, the call identification i nformation is linked to a particular voice port on the messaging server. This port answers the call and plays the appropriate greeting. Data is sent to the voice server using a standard protocol called Simplified Message Desk Interface (SMDI) PBX-proprietary protocol.

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Digital Meridian Integration Device

The Digital Meridian Inte gration De vice (DMI D) is a de vice tha t pro vides integration with Northern Telecom switches, such as the Meridian SL-1. The DMID is located between the PBX and the voice server and appears as one or two digital telephones to the PBX, depending on the number of analog ports required. It is connected to the voice server via an RS-232 link. Analog line cir cuits for th e v oi ce pat h appea r on the digit al se t of th e DMID. When a call is received on the DMID, it simultaneously rings at the analog port. The DMID interprets the call display information and transmits i t to the voice server, which answers the caller with the appropriate personal greeting.

VoiceBridge II The VoiceBridge II is a device tha t provides integration with s everal

switch types, including the AT&T G3 and the Rolm 9751. It is connected to the PBX through one or more digital telephone lines and to the voice server via an RS-232 link. When a call is received, the VoiceBridge II routes it to an available voice port and transmits the call information to the messaging server in SMDI format. The caller is answered with the appropriate greeting.

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Audio encoding formats

Octel Unified Messenger supports the following audio encoding formats:

n ADPCM audio encoding format. This is a high quality audio

encoding algorithm with a coding rate of 32 kilobit per second.

n Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 6.10 audio

encoding format. Th is au dio en codi ng fo rmat ha s a c oding rate of approximately 13 kilobit per second.

GSM has the following benefits:

n Voice messages using GSM only use 40% of the storage

space compared with ADPCM messages. This reduces the network bandwidth and storage requirements. It has a more significant impact if a high proportion of subscribers use Octel Unified Messenger through slow network connections.

n The GSM audio compression manager codec is available on

all Windows desktops. Voice messag es recorded using Octel Unified Messenger and sent to non-Unified Messenger users can be played back using Microsoft Sound Recorder on a multimedia-equipped PC without requiring any additional software.

System administrators de ci de whether to use GSM or ADPCM format by voice mail domain in Voice Mail System Configuration.

Important information for Octel Unified Messenger subscribers upgrading from earlier releases

The selection of GSM as the preferred audio format for existing installations should be carefully considered. Octel Unified Messenger releases earlier than release 3.0 do not support the GSM format. Consequently, any voice messages encoded using GSM format cannot be played back by earlier releases of Octel Unified Messenger. System administrators should ensure their system uses ADPCM only until all Octel Unified Messenger components throughout their enterprise are updated to Octel Unified Messenger 3.0.

When changing to GSM, all client systems need to be updated with the new configuration information. This is achieved by using Octel Unified Messenger Options to connect to an Octel Unified Messenger voice server. Until subscribers update their desktops, they will continue to send voice messages in ADPCM format.

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Designing addressing schemes

This chapter introduces different forms of addressing and describes the following addressing schemes:

n Local mailbox number. n Dial-by-Name. n Numeric addresses.

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Introduction

Octel Unified Messenger subscribers can use different forms of addressing:

From the PC user interface

Subscribers use the Microsoft Exchange directory for addressing messages. An address is alw ays unique within th e Exchange director y . An address en tered at any location is auto matically available at all locations within the organization.

From the telephone user interface

Octel Unified Messenger supports four custom forms of addressing. These four forms are needed because the telephone user interface (TUI) does not provide a facility to enter alphabetic characters easily. They also reduce the number of digits that are needed to address messages from the telephone user interface. The four special forms of addressing are as follows:

n Local mailbox number n Dial-by-Name n Numeric address n OctelNet address

This chapter contains information on the first three addressing schemes.

For information on OctelNet addresses, see Chapter 5, “Providing Interoperability with Existing Octe l Servers”.

Designing addressing schemes

101-1620-005 4-3

Local mailbox numbers

Local mailbox numbers are used to addr es s any Octel Unified Messenger subscriber in a voice mail domain from the telephone user interface. Traditional voice mail systems typically use this form of addressing.

Within a voice mail domain, all local mailbox numbers must have the same number of digits. Each l ocal mailbox numbe r must be uniq ue within the domain. Many o rgani zations use t elephone e xtension number s as local mailbox numbers. This means that a separate directory item for mailbox numbers does not need to be maintained.

In a Centrex environment, many organizations use only the last four or fiv e di gits of the subscr iber tel ephone nu mbers as loc al mail box number s. This provides a shorter number that is easy to enter, but still unique. Other schemes are also possible.

Note: A local mailbox number has no signif ica nce outsi de the v oice

mail domain. For example, it cannot be used as an element of an OctelNet address.

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Dial-by-Name

Dial-by-Name is a method of addressing messages by spelling the

recipient’s name using the keys on the telephone keypad. T o sup port Dial- by-Name addressi ng, Octel Unif ie d Messenge r maintain s

an internal database of all recipients in the Exchange directory. This database is indexed by the DTMF codes corresponding to their spelled names in “last name, first name” order. Any user in the Exchange directory can be selected through Dial-by-Name addressing, making it basically equivalent to entering a recipient's spelled name on the desktop PC. This provides a means of addressing messages to both Octel Unified Messenger subscribers and users on other OMD Octel systems.

Note: With Dial-by-Name, if subscribers do not record their own

names, the telephone user interface voices their Microsoft Exchange display names. This should be taken into consideration when setting up a format for display names in the Microsoft Exchange directory.

Designing addressing schemes

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Numeric addresses

A numeric address enables subscribers to address any Octel Unified Messenger recipient in an organization.

Every Octel Unified Messenger recipient must be assigned a unique numeric address. The numeric address allows a subscriber to send a message to any reci pient from the telephone us er interf ace wit hout ha ving

to know the recipient’s location. The Exchange directory ensures that all numeric addresses are unique, and makes them available to all locations within the organization.

It is recommended that all numeric addresses have the same number of digits. However, the length of a numeric address must not be the same as the length of the local ma ilbox number in any voice mail domain within the organization. If the lengths conflict, Octel Unified Messenger cannot distinguish between a local mailbox number and a numeric address. It assumes the address is a local mailbox number. To avoid conflicts with the length of any local mailbox numbers, leading digits may be added to numeric addresses.

Organizations may choose to use telephone numbers for numeric addresses because they are unique. Other possible schemes include:

n A geographic location code associated with a local mailbox

number.

n Social sec urity numbe rs. n Employee numbers. n Short numeric addresse s, such as “55” f or a Help Desk, or “1” for

the CEO’s office etc.

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Providing interoperability

with existing Octel servers

This chapter describes how existing Octel servers can communicate with

Octel Unified Messenger. It introduces Oc telNet, OMD’s solution for voice networking between Octel servers. It includes information on:

n Designing an OctelN et addressing scheme . n Addressing OctelNet messages. n Providing single-site interoperability.

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Introduction to OctelNet

™

OctelNet is a networking application that allows users on one OMD system to exchange messages with users on other OMD systems. For

example, organizations already using OMD’s Octel system can provide interoperability with Oc tel Unified Messenger through O ctelNet. This allows them to link all employees in one cost-effective messaging network that is easy to use and manage.

With OctelNet, OMD servers may be located in the same building, in different cities, or in different countries around the world. Octel Unified Messenger supports OctelNe t as an Exch ange gateway. This allows Octel Unified Messenge r subsc riber s to exch ange voice messages with users on Octel servers inside of their organization. Subscribers can also exchange voice mail messages with users outside of their organization, such as customers or vendors, as long as those users have Octel servers with OctelNet s oftware.

Figure 5-1. OctelNet provides networkin g between Octel servers and Octel Unified Messenger

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OctelNet M essaging Fe at ures

When sending or receiving messages via OctelNet, subscribers can:

n Mark messages as urgent. n Request message confirmation. n View envelope information. n Reply to messages. n Address messages by spelling a recipient’s name, using

NameNet.

n Receive spoken name confirmation, using NameNet.

NameNet

™

NameNet allows users to address messages to recipients in the Exchange directory by spelling the recipient’s name on the telephone keypad. This feature is known as Dial-by-Name.

NameNet also provides spoken name confirmation for OctelNet

messages. Wi th spok en name conf irmati on, the recip ient’s name is played to the sender when the message is addressed. This confirms that the message is being sent to the right person.

Note: With Dial-by-Name and spoken name confirmation, if

subscribers do not record their own names, the TUI voices their Microsoft Exchange display names. This should be taken into consideration when setting up a format for display names in the Microsoft Exchange directory.

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Designing an OctelNet addressing scheme

For messages to be sent via the OctelNet gateway, the administrator must set up an OctelNet addressing scheme. If required, multiple addressing schemes can be set up for a single OctelNet node. This allows OctelNet messages to be addressed in different ways to the same destination system.

Setting up an OctelNet addressing scheme

An OctelNet addressing scheme consists of:

n A prefix. n Additional digits. n Mailbox length.

Prefix A prefix is a number used by the sending system as a way of addressing

OctelNet messages to the destination system. For more information on

setting up prefixes, see “OctelNet addressing scheme design rules” on page 5-5.

Additional digits Additional digits are the number of dig its that t he subscri ber must enter in

addition to the prefix to form a complete OctelNet address. Since an OctelNet address consists of the pr efix followed by the mailbox number, additional digits are normally the same as the number of digits in the mailbox number on the destination system. For example,

1234 (prefix) + 6002 (mailbox number) = 12346002 (OctelNet address)

In this example, the number of additional digits is 4, because 4 digits (6002) must be added to the prefix to form a complete OctelNet address.

In some cases, however, the prefix can include only some digits of the mailbox number. For example:

1234 (prefix) + 4002 (mailbox number) = 1234002 (OctelNet address)

In this example, the number of additional digits is 3 (for the digits 002), because the 4 of the prefix overlaps with the 4 of the mailbox number.

Mailbox length Mailbox length is the number of digits in the mailbox numbers on the

destination system.

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OctelNet addressing scheme design rules

When designing OctelNet addressing schemes, the following rules must be observed.

n The mailbox length must be greater than or equal to 3 digits. n The additional digits must be less than or equal to the mailbox

length.

n The number of digits in the prefix plus the additional digits must

be greater than or equal to the mailbox length.

n In multiple addressing schemes, no two prefixes can contain the

same first digits, if the sum of the additional digits and the number of digits in the prefix is the same in each case. For more

information, see “Examples” on page 5-6.

Note: This rule applies to addressing schemes across all

OctelNet nodes in the organization.

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Sample addressing scheme s

Table 5-1 shows examples of valid OctelNet address schemes. Table 5-2 shows examples of invalid OctelNet multiple addressing schemes.

Table 5-1. Valid OctelNet multiple addressing schemes

Addressing scheme Why is this valid

prefix

1234 1234 12345

additional digits

4 5 5

mailbox length

5 5 5

Although all the pref i x es ha v e t he same first digits, the sum of the additional digits and the number of digits in the prefix is different in each case. (See rule 4.)

prefix

12345 4321 4322 4323

additional digits

3 4 4 4

mailbox length

4 4 4 4

Although the sum of the additional digits and the number of digits in the prefix is the same (8), the first digits of the prefix are different in each case. (See rule 4.)

Table 5-2. Invalid OctelNet multiple addressing schemes

Addressing scheme Why is this invalid

prefix

1234 12345

additional digits

4 3

mailbox length

4 4

1234 has the same first digits as 12345, and in each case the sum of the number of digits in the prefix and the addition al digits is the same (8). (See rule 4.)

prefix

1234 1234

additional digits

5 6

mailbox length

4 5

The number of additional digits i s greater than the mailbox length. (See rule 2.)

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Addressing OctelNet messages

OctelNet addresses provide a means of sending voice messages to recipients on a v oice messagi ng server that suppor ts OctelNet ne tworking, such as any OM D Octel Message Server.

Addressing OctelNet messages from Octel Unified Messenger

Two methods can be used for addr ess ing messages to OctelNet recipients :

n Administered OctelNet addressing. n Casual OctelNet addressing.

Administered OctelNet addressing

With administered OctelNet addressing, the administrator creates a

“custom recipient”. Each OctelNet custom recipient entry must contain the recipient’ s Oct elNet address and name. OctelNet custom recipient s are automatic ally replicated to all Exchange server s in an organization.

To send a message to an OctelNet recipient from the telephone user interface, t he subscribe r enters t he OctelNet ad dress and re ceiv es a spok en name confirmation.

To send an OctelNet message from the desktop PC, the subscriber selects the custom recipient from the Exchange Address Book.

Casual OctelNet addressing

To send a message to an OctelNet recipient from the telephone user interface with casual OctelNet addressing, the subscriber enters an OctelNet address. This address is made up of a prefix number and a mailbox number. The OctelNet gateway delivers the message to the address specified. Spoken name confirmation does not take place with casual OctelNet addressing.

To send a casual OctelNet message from the desktop PC, the subscriber enters an address of the type [OCTELNET:ppppmmmm], where pppp is the prefix and mmmm is the mailbox address.

Addressing OctelNet messages to Octel Unified Messenger recipients

To send an OctelNet m essage to an Octel Unified Messenger recipient, the user enters an addr ess. This add ress consi sts of the pr efi x for th e Octel Unified Messeng er OctelNet gateway node, followed by th e numeric address for the Octel Unified Messenger recipient.

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Providing single-site interoperability

Although OctelNet is generally used to link multiple sites, it can also be used to exchange messages betwe en Octel Unif ied Me ssenger su bscriber s and Octel message server users at the same site. When an Octel Unified Messenger system and an Octel server share the same PBX, OctelNet networking can be configured to operate like a single voice server by using automatic mailbox forwarding.

Automatic mailbox forwarding

Automatic m ailbox forwarding capa bility is provided by the Follow-Me-Forward feature on Octel servers with Aria™ software, and

the Auto-Co py/Auto-Delete feature on Octel servers with Serenade™ software. On systems that use automatic mailbox forwarding:

n Automated Attendant allows outside callers to use Dial-by-Name

to reach any user on the PBX regardless of which server (Octel Unified Messenger or Octel message server) the user resides on.

n All messages sent to the mail box on the Octel mess age serv er can

be forwarded a utomatically to the Octel U nified Messenger mailbox, if a subscriber has a mailbox on an Octel message ser ver and an Octel Unified Messenger mailbox.

n When sending messages, Octel message server users can address

messages to Octel Unified Messenger subscribers in the same way that they address messages to users on the Octel server, that is, by entering a mailbox number. Messages for Octel Unified Messenger subscribers are automatically forwarded to their mailboxes on the Octel Unified Messenger system.

Forwarding Octe lNet messages

With automatic mailbox forwarding, users on Octel servers at other sites can send OctelNet messages to Octel Unified Messenger subscribers without any changes to the OctelNet addressing scheme. The message is received in the subscriber's mailbox on the Octel server, where it is automatically forwarded to the Octel Unified Messenger mailbox.

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Connecting with the PBX

and establishing security rules

This chapter introduces the following:

n How to connect with the PBX. n The Octel Unified Messenger’s security features that prevent

unauthorized access.

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Connecting with the PBX

Using the Voice Mail System Configuration application, an administrator can specify the parameters necessary to enable PBX integration to the voice server.

See the Octel Unified Messenge r documentati on for the specific information required for the major PBX types. These notes are available from the Octel support representative.

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Establishing security rules

Octel Unified Me ssenger offers several features that reduce the risk of fraudulent long distance charges, unintended disclosure of confidential information, and decreased performance of the voice servers.

Access to voice mail domain administration

Administrators creat e and mai ntain v oice mail doma ins, and conf igure t he voice servers in these domains. The Voice Mail System Configuration application presents a collection of property pages for performing these tasks.

The OMD voice servers run under the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. All access to the servers is mediated by the Windows NT domain security mechanism.

Access to the Voice Mail System Configuration application is strictly controlled through the voice mail domain security feature. This enables administrators to maintain lists of users and grou ps who are authorized to administer the voice mail domain. For information on configuring security for a voice mail domain, see the Octel Unified Messenge r Administrator’s Guide.

Access to subscriber accounts administration

Octel Unified Messenger administrators create and configure voice mail accounts for subscribers. OMD has extended the Microsoft Exchange Administrator with the Voice Mail property page which can only be used by Exchange ad ministrators.

Access to subscriber mailboxes

Octel Unified Messenger subscribers gain access to the message server from a desktop PC or through the telephone user interface. Access to messages via the desktop PC is controlled by the security scheme established for Microsoft Exchange users. Access through the telephone user interfa ce is contro lled by a subscriber passw ord. Thi s pass w ord is set through Octel Unified Messenger Options or through the telephone user interface.

The following Oc tel Unified Messeng er features a llow th e administrator to minimize the risk of unauthorized access to the messaging server, messages and long distance lines.

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Subscriber password for the telephone user interface

Octel Unified Messenger subscribers maintain a password for accessing their voice mail through the telephone user interface. They can do this either from Octel Unified Messenger Options on their desktop PC or through the telephone user interface.

The administrator enables a subscriber account for voice messaging and determines the i nit ial passw ord for t eleph one acces s. The i nit ial passw or d can be a randomly generated number. When subscribers access the voice mail system through the telephone user interface for the first time, they are prompted to change their passwords. Administrators can reset a subscriber password at any time, but they are unable to view the password.

Subscriber passw or ds for the telephone user i nterface can be from 0 to 3 2 digits in length. The Octel Unified Messenger administrator establishes the minimum password lengt h as a system- wide paramet er. Increasing the number of digits in a password lowers the probability that an unauthorized user might guess it. Table 6-1 shows the probability of guessing a passw ord co rrectly, as a functi on of the lengt h of the password . With a 6-digit password, the probability of guessing a password is 1 in 900,000.

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The administrator can also enable password expiration that forces subscribers to change passwords at predetermined time intervals. Changing passwords periodically reduces the chances of an unauthorized

user gaining access to a subscriber’s mailbox.

Table 6-1. Probability of guessing password

Number of digits in the password

Odds of correctly guessing the password

11 in 9 21 in 90 31 in 900 4 1 in 9,000 5 1 in 90,000 6 1 in 900,000 7 1 in 9,000,000 8 1 in 90,000,000 9 1 in 900,000,000 10 1 in 9,000,000,000 11 1 in 90,000,000,000 12 1 in 900,000,000,000 13 1 in 9,000,000,000,000 14 1 in 90,000,000,000,000 15 1 in 900,000,000,000,000

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Recipient’s name confirmation

Octel Unified Messenger confirms the name of the recipient before sending a voice message from one subscriber to another. This feature makes it possible for sender of voice messages to ensure that their messages are delivered to the intended destination.

Disconnecting callers who enter incorrect passwords

If a caller enters an incorrect password to a subscriber’s account, Octel Unified Messenger informs the caller of the error, and requests entry of the correct password. The caller is offered another opportunity for two reasons:

n The caller might ha ve pres sed key s quickly, inadvertent ly missing

digits.

n The caller may have recently changed his or her password and

accidentally entered the old password.

Octel Unified Messenger can be configured to disconnect when a threshold of between one to three attempts has been met. If a caller does not enter the correct password in the allowed number of attempts, the caller is automatically disconnected. This feature prevents unauthorized users from trying various numbers repeatedly in order to discover a password.

Handling callers who make too many errors

Octel Unified Messenger has t he capability to disconnect or transfer callers who make too many errors while trying to navigate through the system. The number of erro rs - from 0 to 9 er rors - can be conf ig ured on a system-wide basis.

Monitoring system usage reports

Octel Unified Messenger provide s two standard re ports that allow the administrator to monitor the system for potential misuse. These can be generated using the Reporting Tool application.

n The Port Statistics report shows the number of calls coming into

the ports. Substantial activity occurring at unusual times of the day can be an indicator of unauthorized system usage.

n The Login Failure s report recor ds informati on about unsucces sful

telephone logins due to an incorr ect passw ord or mail box number being entered. Numerous login failures may indicate unauthorized users trying to access Octel Unified Messenger.

Other security precautions

Additional security measures can be implemented on PBX or Centrex systems.

Access restrictions can be imposed by limit ing access to the lines used by Octel Unifie d Messenger for call proc essing thr ough toll re strict ion. Long distance carriers also have security services available to help control unauthorized users. They can monitor normal usage and provide immediate notification of unusually high long-distance call activity. Organizations should contact their long distance carrier for more information about these services.

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Appendix A - Sizing for ports

This appendix gives guidelines for estimating how many users can be supported with a given number of voice ports.

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A-2 101-1620-005

Calculating the number of supported subscribers

Table A-1 through Table A-18 can be used as guidelines for estimating how many users can be sup port ed with a given number of ports, based on average daily port usage per subscriber. These tables also provide for traffic patterns of 10%, 14%, or 18% Busy Hour traffic.

Table A-1. Number of supported subscribers with four ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 36 10 14 46 10 10 65 81845 81458 81081 61860 61477 610108 418 90 414116 410163 218181 214232

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-3

Table A-2. Number of supported subscribers with eight ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 120 10 14 155 10 10 217 818150 814193 810271 618201 614258 610361 418301 414387 410542 218602 214774 2101083

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Table A-3. Number of supported subscribers with twelve ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 220 10 14 283 10 10 397 818275 814354 810496 618367 614472 610661 418551 414708 410992 2181102 2141417 2101983

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-5

Table A-4. Number of supported subscribers with sixteen ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 327 10 14 420 10 10 588 818409 814525 810735 618545 614700 610981 418817 4141051 4101471 2181634 2142101 2102942

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Table A-5. Number of supported subscribers with twenty ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 439 10 14 564 10 10 790 818549 814705 810988 618731 614940 6101317 4181097 4141411 4101975 2182194 2142821 2103950

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

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Table A-6. Number of supported subscribers with twenty-four ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 554 10 14 712 10 10 997 818692 814890 8101246 618923 6141187 6101661 4181384 4141780 4102492 2182769 2143560 2104983

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Table A-7. Number of supported subscribers with twenty-eight ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 671 10 14 863 10 10 1208 818839 8141079 8101510 6181119 6141438 6102014 4181678 4142158 4103021 2183356 2144315 2106042

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-9

Table A-8. Number of supported subscribers with thirty-two ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 791 10 14 1017 10 10 1423 818988 8141271 8101779 6181318 6141694 6102372 4181977 4142542 4103558 2183954 2145083 2107117

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Table A-9. Number of supported subscribers with thirty-six ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 911 10 14 1171 10 10 1640 8181139 8141464 8102050 6181519 6141952 6102733 4182278 4142929 4104100 2184556 2145857 2108200

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-11

Table A-10. Number of supported subscribers with forty ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1032 10 14 1327 10 10 1858 8181291 8141659 8102323 6181721 6142212 6103097 4182581 4143318 4104646 2185162 2146637 2109292

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Table A-11. Number of supported subscribers with forty-four ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1156 10 14 1486 10 10 2080 8181444 8141857 8102600 6181926 6142476 6103467 4182889 4143714 4105200 2185778 2147429 2 10 10400

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-13

Table A-12. Number of supported subscribers with forty-eight ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1280 10 14 1645 10 10 2303 8181600 8142057 8102879 6182133 6142742 6103839 4183199 4144113 4105758 2186398 2148226 2 10 11517

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Table A-13. Number of supported subscribers with fifty-two ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1404 10 14 1805 10 10 2527 8181755 8142256 8103158 6182340 6143008 6104211 4183509 4144512 4106317 2187019 2149024 2 10 12633

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

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Table A-14. Number of supported subscribers with fifty-six ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1529 10 14 1965 10 10 2752 8181911 8142457 8103440 6182548 6143276 6104586 4183822 4144914 4106879 2187644 2149827 2 10 13758

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Table A-15. Number of supported subscribers with sixty ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1655 10 14 2127 10 10 2978 8182068 8142659 8103723 6182758 6143546 6104964 4184137 4145318 4107446 2188273 2 14 10637 2 10 14892

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-17

Table A-16. Number of supported subscribers with sixty-four ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1781 10 14 2289 10 10 3205 8182226 8142862 8104006 6182968 6143815 6105342 4184451 4145723 4108013 2188903 2 14 11446 2 10 16025

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Table A-17. Number of supported subscribers with sixty-eight ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 1907 10 14 2452 10 10 3433 8182384 8143065 8104292 6183179 6144087 6105722 4184769 4146131 4108583 2189537 2 14 12262 2 10 17167

Appendix A - Sizing for ports

101-1620-005 A-19

Table A-18. Number of supported subscribers with seventy-two ports

Average usage per subscriber per day (minutes)

Busy hour peak (% of daily calls)

Number of subscribers

10 18 2034 10 14 2615 10 10 3662 8182543 8143269 8104577 6183390 6144359 6106103 4185086 4146539 4109154 2 18 10171 2 14 13077 2 10 18308

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Lucent Technologies Octel Unified Messenger Planning Manual

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