Step by Step Enabling Lync Server 2013 Enterprise Voice Features, Response Groups and Managers

In this step by step we will look at enabling Enterprise Voice features in Lync Server 2013. If you are interested in the new Response Group Manager feature in Lync 2013 click here .

To get by in Part 5 you need to have done at least Part 1 of Our Lync 2013 Lab.

Enable Users for Enterprise Voice

To enable our users for Ent. Voice lets open the Lync Server Control Panel. Now click on Users. To save on CPU no users are shown by default so just click on Find to show all your currently enabled Lync users.

Now We will see a list of Lync enabled users. Note in the Telephony column that our users are enabled for “PC-to-PC only”. Let’s changed that by double clicking on a user to edit.

Now we can change a few setting

Telephony:Enterprise Voice
Line User: tel:+18005551003;ext=1003

Now click “Commit”.

Now you can repeat this step for each user. (or use powershell). Now if we give our Lync clients a few minutes a new “Phone” tab will show up inside our Lync 2013 client! (NOTE: there is no need to log out or do anything on the Lync client side. This will automatically show up.)

Alright, now your users should be enabled for Enterprise Voice.

Trying Out the Audio Test Service

If we click on the Phone Tab/Button we will see our phone dial pad. From here we can make our first “Voice” call. If we click the “Check” button Lync will call the Lync Audio Test Service. Go ahead.

test

Enabling and Using Call Park

To enable the call Park feature go to Voice Features | Call Park | New

Configure a Park using the below example. In our example we are making 5 parking “slots” or spaces so we can park up to 5 calls. We could make this the amount we want to, but for this lab we’ll make it 5.

Name: Call Park Orbit
Number Range: #500
Number Range: #505
FQDN of destination server: FE01.lab.local

Now click “Commit”

Now let’s call another rLync user and test our new Park feature. After we are connected, hover over “Call” then click “Transfer Call” and then “Parking Lot”

Once the call is Parked, you will be notified which of the “slot” the call is in. In the below case it is in #500. Anyone on Lync with Ent. Voice enabled can pick up this call Parked by dialing #500. You can click “COPY” to IM this to someone or verbally.

Some Quick notes about Call Park

By default, if no one picks up the park xx minutes, the call will ring back to the person who parked the call.
You can only have 1 call park orbit per user/deskphone. So, for example, you can not have a Park for Sales and a Park for Service.
Unlike some PBX systems, you will not be able to see if someone is currently in Park via a light/button on a phone

Setting Up Normalization

Since we probably don’t want to be walking around dialing things like “tel:+18005551003;ext=1003” to reach another extension, (I suspect our users would suspect us of being insane? ;-) we need to make a Normalization rule that turns “1003” into “tel:+18005551003;ext=1003” for us automatically.

In the Lync Control Panel we’ll make this new Normalization Rule under “Dial Plan”. To do this Click “Voice Routing” | “Dial Plan” | select the “Global” dial plan | “Edit” | “Show Details” as shown below.

Now under “Associate Normalization Rules” click “New”.

Now define the New “Normalization Rule” like below.

Name: Extensions
Length: Exactly 4
Pattern to match: ^(1\d(3))$
Translation rule: +1800555$1;ext=$1
Internal extension = checked

To save this “Normalization Rule” click “OK” | “Commit” | “Commit All”.

Note: The normalization rule we just setup will only take care of extensions in the 1000-1999 range. In our lab exercises we’ll make sure we stay in that range, but if you to a little “exploring” just be aware.

Update Address Book

Because of the way Lync Server is designed the changes we made above will take some time to propagate out to all the clients if we just let the process happen normally. We can “push” this process by taking the below steps on each client we want to test “right now”.

Run Update-CSAddressBook from the Lync PowerShell and wait about 5 minutes
- you can check Lync Server event log to see when this happens
Signed out of the Lync 2013 Client and delete everything under:
- C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Lync
- Lync 2010 = C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Communicator

Now you should be able to dial Lync user’s by their Ent. Voice 4 digit extension number.

Unassigned Number

The first thing we need to do to create a “Unassigned Number” is to create an announcement. This requires Powershell New-CsAnnouncement command. Here is an example:

New-CsAnnouncement –Identity ApplicationServer:FE01.lab.local –Name “Welcome to Lab 001” –TexttoSpeechPrompt “Welcome to Lab Announcement” –Language “en-US”

New we will define the new Unassigned Number in LSCP. After filling the form below click OK. Then “Commit all”

ERRATA NOTE: the 2nd number in the number range below should be exactly the same as the first. If you are using the ext=xxxx suffix you can have only 1 extension per range. If using plain jane DID number you can have a range.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg398522

Quick Notes About Unassigned Number

If you have an “ext” LineURI you can only have 1 number in Unassigned Number range. If a normal DID you can have a range.
If you have a legit number that falls inside an unassigned range you will still be able to call it

Response Group

Response Groups…

The overview to setting up a RGS is

Assign specific Lync users to a Group
Assign Group(s) to a Queue
Define a Workflow and assign the Queue to the Workflow.

Group | New | Select a pool (FE01.lab.local)

Commit

Next we’ll setup a Queue. Queue | New | Select a Service (Front end Pool. In our case FE01.lab.local) |

Create or Edit a Workflow | select a Service (or FE pool)

Lync will now pop out a browser window will pop up. From here you can create a new workflow/response group. Let click on “Create” beside “Hunt Group”.

Now configure your Hunt Group as shown below:

Now your response group will be deployed and you will see the below when it is. NOTE: I’ve you may need to wait several minutes after the RGS is deployed till you can actually dial it. So, don’t get too worried if you get “Your organization does not support calling this number.”

Now we can call this response group.

RGSManager

Setup a Response Group Manager

Now that we have tested our response group, let’s circle back and look at a new feature in Lync Server 2013: Response Group Managers. RGS managers allows us to configure otherwise normal Lync users as RGS managers that can login to Lync Server Control Panel, Response Group Config web page or PowerShell and only have access to appropriate response group(s) and configuration.

Response Groups in 2013 can be Managed by a manager or UnManaged, which means they are administrated by the Lync Admin.

To setup a Response Group Manager is to add our Response Group manager user to the CSResponseGroupManager AD Group. We’ll ad u1@lab.local.

Note: this user needs to be enabled in Lync

Next, lets edit our Response Group/Workflow and add our user as a Response Group Manager.

Remember several things:

The Queues and Groups cannot be used in another Response Group if we are going to make this a managed RGS

After we add our user, scroll to the bottom and click Save.

Now lets move to the Manager user’s machine (or log onto a machine with the manager credentials). The manager will be able to login to these Admin tools, but they will ONLY see RGS info they can manage:

https://FE01.lab.local/cscp
https://FE01.lab.local/rgsconfig/default.aspx
and Lync Powershell

Lync Control Panel: Only Manager related items are enabled.

In Users tab, Manager can see users, but not edit them
In Response Group tab Manager can see only their own Response Groups, Queues and Groups.
They can not add new RGS, but can add new Queues and Groups.

Response Group Config: Note the manager can’t add a new RGS.

To read more about RGS Managers, see below:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg398513(v=ocs.15).aspx

Some General Notes:

Lync Attendant 2010 Seems to crash on Windows Server 2012 RC
Lync Attendant 2010 seem to run fine on Windows 8 Release Preview

Continue your lab with more articles in this Lync Server 2013 Step by Step Series:

SBAMakingSmall

Thursday, August 16, 2012