More Lync related Visio icons

Some more  Lync related Visio icons has been posted on a Swiss Microsoft page.

It is icons from Aastra, Polycom and Radvision and it is great to finally find MX-ONE and Aastra 6725ip as visio icons!

Click this link for a zip file containing all icons.

See also this post for other visio icons:
http://kressmark.blogspot.com/2011/02/lync-2010-visio-icons.html

When I am busy I am busy and do not disturb me!

Lync handle the concept of busy differently than many traditional IP-PBX systems. Is it better or not? I do not personally know and I guess that it largely is a matter of taste and personal preference.

When busy in a call in Lync you could still get notifications popping up as a toast on your computer screen, not to intrusive and could easily be handled by most users. But if you also have parallel ringing configured to your cell phone it would also start to ring while you’re in a call, not to nice...

Another scenario where the Lync version of busy might fall short would be in a PBX integrated environment and where you have a serial call list, e.g. call first my PBX phone and then my Lync client and if I do not answer send the caller to my voice mail box. Now if Lync did not hand back a busy tone to the PBX you could end up in a scenario where you are busy on the phone in Lync, another important customer calls and he will not even reach your voicemail box. Hmm...

So we can see that in some environments there is a need for Lync to adapt to an old-fashioned way of handling busy.

Enter the Busy-on-busy software from the good people at Unify Square.

I have tested this little piece of software and it works like a charm! It is easy to install and it is easy to configure the system user-by-user as to if they are going to have busy-on-busy or not.

To install, you simply run a setup.msi on all the Lync front-ends, and the register the software:

C:\Program Files\Unify Square BusyOnBusy>BusyOnBusy.exe /register

Copyright © Unify Square 2011

Registering the BusyOnBusy Server Application.....

Successfully registered the BusyOnBusy server application

Then you simply use the .exe file with a sip address to configure which users that should get a busy tone.

C:\Program Files\Unify Square BusyOnBusy>BusyOnBusy.exe /multiplecalls:block /sipuri:mattias@kressmark.com

Copyright © Unify Square 2011

Certificate SerialNumber is: 62C85547000000000005

Configuring SipUri: mattias@kressmark.com, Multiplecalls: block

Configuration for mattias@kressmark.com was modified.

Looking at the illustration above we can discuss three scenarios which will be different if the user "Mattias Kressmark" have busy-on-busy turned on.

1. An external call to a PBX-homed DID number which is configured with a serial call list. In this case the incoming call would ring the PBX phone for x number of seconds, move on to the Lync "extension", then get a busy tone by the busy-on-busy tool, and then go to the voicemail system connected to the PBX.

2. An external call comes in and Mattias Kressmark is not answering anywhere, then the caller would end up in the voicemail box. (Yes, I do know about Exchange UM but just because we have two call managers we do not want two voicemail systems as well.)

3. An internal user - Isabella - calls Mattias who is in another call and she will then see the following message in the Lync client:

Localization bug in the Lync Client

Lync version 4.0.7577.314 thinks that it is Lync Attendee when switching from Swedish to any other language. This bug seems to only be in the Swedish localized version. I think most users should be able to live with this flaw, but it is always fun to find bugs

(I do have a past as a software tester...)

Won’t you call my private number?

...we can go away for the summer.
We can drive around with the top down.
Stereo turned up loud with a fat sound. :-)

With Lync it is possible to configure a private number - an additional telephone number which you can hand out to your closest friends. A call to a private number will bypass call forwarding (i.e. not be forwarded), and "Do not disturb" status. If the receiving user have configured simultaneous calling the secondary number will ring, probably because of Lync assuming that the secondary number belongs to the receiving user. It is not possible to set a status such as "Do not disturb" on the private line, it is always "open". It is possible to select a different ringtone for calls coming in on the private line, this is done in Tools / Options / Ringtones and Sounds in the client. A call to a private number will also generate an additional line in the call toast stating "Private Call" as seen in the picture. 

Some limitations of the private line is that it will work only for inbound calls, a user cannot use the private line to make an outbound call.  Voicemails recorded on the private line will be sent to the same Exchange UM mailbox as the users LineURI. Private telephone lines are available in Lync on-premise only, not in Lync with Office 365, also mixed environments with Lync and OCS 2007 will not work to a 100%.

Unfortunately there is no way of seeing a private number in the Lync Control Panel so Powershell must be used:

Get-CsUser mk@kressmark.com | Format-Table -Property DisplayName, LineURI, PrivateLine -AutoSize

DisplayName       LineURI          PrivateLine
-----------       -------          -----------
Mattias Kressmark tel:+46736405540 tel:+46736405541

This will show if a user has a private number configured or not.
To set a private number use the following command:

Set-CsUser mk@kressmark.com  –PrivateLine “tel:+46736405541”

From the Lync documentation:

Private Telephone Lines

Get-CsUser

Set-CsUser

Swedish Datasheet for Aastra 6725ip Lyncphone

Nu har det kommit svenska datablad till Aastra's Lync telefoner,
som jag skrev om tidigare.

Ladda ner ditt exemplar här.

Creating DNS SRV record for a Lync Installation

I always seem to forget how to do this, so I’ll put it here and I will never forget.

1. Open the DNS management console.

2. Make sure to right click the domain name (Fabrikam.com)

3. Select "Other New Records..."

4. Scroll down to, and select "Service Location (SRV)"

5. Click "Create Record..." and configure the SRV record like this.

Update:

Now the tool is updated, thanks Curtis Johnstone!
The OCS & Lync Sign-In Troubleshooting Tool V3.0

Even though not updated for Lync I still like this tool
The OCS 2007 Automatic Sign-In Troubleshooting Tool V2.0

From the Lync documentation:

Create and Verify DNS SRV Records



Lync operator solutions

Although Lync is more than a PBX, organisations will still have use of switchboard operators working at an attendant console.

Since this has been my primary line of work before going into Unified Communications I am now happy to see that there are at least three software suites that will bring operator functionality to Lync.

• Competella - Multimedia Attendant
• Trio - Trio Enterprise 3.1
• Visionutveckling - Vision 80/20