This is the most common method for connecting a Unified Messaging environment with a traditional telephony system. The complexity of the telephony infrastructure is masked by the VoIP gateway, which offers two common functions:
· Signaling and/or media stream conversion between circuit-switched and packet-switched networks
· Routing of the converted data to a specified endpoint
From a Unified Messaging perspective, the VoIP gateway simply represents an IP address or FQDN used for sending or receiving communications. There are certain limitations with regards to which VoIP gateways are officially supported for use with Unified Messaging, but the most basic requirement is that the device support SIP communication over TCP.
In upgrade scenarios involving VoIP gateways, not only must inbound calls arrive from an IP address or FQDN that is recognized by a UM server, but they must also be sent to a telephone number which is expected by the UM server.
For Unified Messaging to recognize a physical VoIP device as an authorized communication partner, a UM IP Gateway object bearing the IP address or FQDN of the device must exist in Active Directory. Furthermore, the UM IP Gateway object that represents the VoIP device must be associated with the same Dial Plan as the Unified Messaging server which received the call.
Since it is possible a Unified Messaging server to provide voice mail and auto attendant services, VoIP devices use Pilot Numbers for service discrimination when routing calls to Unified Messaging. For example, if the Subscriber Access number for a UM Dial Plan is extension 50000, and the access number for a UM Auto Attendant is 59999, the VoIP device must be similarly configured to route voice mail calls to Pilot Number 50000 and Auto Attendant calls to Pilot Number 59999.
While both the VoIP gateway and UM server may be configured to handle calls to extensions 50000 and 59999, the UM server is not yet configured to expect calls to either of those extensions from the VoIP device. Additionally, a UM Hunt Group object containing each Pilot Number used for call routing must be created in Active Directory. Alternatively a ‘catch-all’ UM Hunt Group can be created to route calls to any extension from the VoIP device.
Upgrades involving IP PBXs
Another common method for integrating Unified Messaging with a telephony environment involves establishing connectivity to an IP PBX either directly using a SIP trunk or indirectly using a VoIP gateway device. Some of the more common IP PBX solutions are the Nortel CS1000, Cisco Call Manager and Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Avaya Communication Manager, and the Mitel 3300.
An IP PBX solution typically involves several components:
· Call Server – provides core functionality and management capabilities
· Media Gateway – provides analog/digital and PSTN connectivity
· SIP Server – provides VoIP capabilities/integration for IP devices
The IP PBX, together with the proper software and/or hardware options, will often allow direct connectivity to the Unified Messaging server using a virtual SIP trunk. A SIP trunk is essentially a virtual connection between two VoIP devices which can communicate with each other natively without the required intervention of a third party device. In the event that direct connectivity is not possible between the IP PBX and Unified Messaging server, a supported VoIP gateway device can be used to facilitate communication between the two entities.
For a UM server to accept calls from an IP PBX, a UM IP Gateway object representing the IP address or FQDN of the device must exist in Active Directory. Likewise, a UM Hunt Group and associated Pilot Numbers must also exist. Finally, the UM server and UM IP Gateway must be associated with the same Dial Plan before a call can be successfully routed to Unified Messaging.
You may notice a discrepancy in the way communication is handled during the course of a call when Unified Messaging is directly integrated with an IP PBX. In telephony environments involving a legacy PBX and a VoIP gateway, all signaling (SIP) and media (RTP) communication occurs between the Ethernet interface of the VoIP gateway and the UM server. In telephony environments involving IP PBXs and IP phones, it is common for all signaling (SIP) communication to occur between the IP PBX and the UM server, while all media (RTP) communication to occur between the IP phone and the UM server.
In cases involving outbound calls placed from Unified Messaging (for example, a Play on Phone request), the Unified Messaging server will send the SIP request directly to the VoIP gateway or IP PBX. The Unified Messaging server depends entirely on the VoIP gateway or IP PBX to handle the request correctly - from the lowest layer of IP network, to name resolution, to call integration information. In the event of failure, note the source of the error. If the error is returned by the VoIP gateway or IP PBX, then there is likely a configuration problem which is external to the Unified Messaging environment. However, if the error is returned from the UM server, then there is likely a configuration problem with Unified Messaging itself.
Upgrades involving OCS Integration
The last upgrade scenario is that of Unified Messaging integration with Office Communications Server 2007 R2. When Unified Messaging is deployed as the voice mail solution for Enterprise Voice enabled users, all calls will be routed to Unified Messaging from an OCS Front End server (Standard Edition) or from an OCS Pool (Enterprise Edition).
The Enterprise Voice feature in Office Communications Server 2007 involves the following components:
· OCS Pool – provides core functionality and management capabilities
· Mediation Server – provides media transcoding for telephony codecs
· Edge Server – provides PSTN connectivity for external (internet) users
While it a common practice to establish unsecured SIP communication between Unified Messaging and third party VoIP gateways and/or IP PBXs, the same is not true for Office Communications Server 2007.
By default, all SIP communication in Office Communications Server 2007 is encrypted using PKI certificate exchange. In OCS 2007 R2 release, both SIP and RTP communication is encrypted by default. To establish connectivity with OCS 2007, the Unified Messaging server must be assigned a PKI certificate containing the FQDN of the server as either the Subject Name (CN) or as an entry in the list of Subject Alternative Name (SAN). This certificate must be issued from the same Certification Authority used to generate the certificates used by the OCS Pool servers.
We will discuss OCS 2007 integration in more detail in later in this module.
Upgrade an existing Exchange 2007 UM Environment (VoIP Gateway / IP PBX Integration)
After understanding what is needed for an Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging installation to work, we need to know what kind of implementation scenarios we may encounter in customer environments.
Infrastructure Prerequisites
Before introducing any Exchange Server 2010 Unified Message server role into an Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging environment, we have the following prerequisites:
· All Exchange Server 2007 servers are on SP2 or later
· Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging SP2 is installed and working, which includes:
o Users can call and leave voice mail
o User can log on with Outlook Voice Access (OVA) and check their Exchange Inbox
o User can use OVA or Auto-Attendant to redirect call to contacts
o User can use Play On Phone to have Unified Messaging call a number and play a voice mail.
· All other Exchange Server 2010 roles such as Mailbox, Hub and CAS server are all working:
o Exchange Server 2010 mailbox clients can log on and send email
o Exchange Server 2010 users can log on via OWA
Upgrade Options
Once we confirmed that we have met all of the prerequisites, we can add a new Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging server to the Active Directory site. Simply follow the standard Exchange Server 2010 installation procedures and add the Unified Messaging role to the server.
Once the server is installed with the Unified Messaging role, you should be able to either create a new Exchange 2010 Dial Plan or add the new Exchange 2010 UM server to an existing Exchange 2007 Dial Plan.
For existing Exchange Server 2007 Dial Plans, the major questions are whether you should:
· Create new Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging configuration objects, such as Dial Plan or UM Mailbox Policy?
· Upgrade the existing Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging configuration objects to Exchange Server 2010 format?
· Let the existing Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging configuration objects remain the way they are?
Create New Configuration Objects
When migrating from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging, creating new configuration objects to support Exchange 2010 can cause significant management overhead for the Exchange administrator. With this in mind, creating all new configuration objects is not generally recommended as the best migration strategy.
Several changes must be made to the environment to support this upgrade strategy, including:
On the server side:
· New Dial Plan will require parallel configuration of new Unified Messaging Mailbox Policy, Unified Messaging IP Gateway, Pilot number, and so on.
· Automatic Attendants will need to be re-created.
· All dialing restrictions need to be re-created.
· The routing on IP PBX or VoIP Gateway will need to be adjusted.
· If any Auto Attendant is scoped to Dial Plan membership for call transfers, then this will no longer work as expected. Auto Attendants for SIP URI Dial Plans will be unable to transfer calls to extensions which are associated with other Dial Plans.
On the client side:
· Users need to call new pilot number for Subscriber Access.
· PIN reset will be required when the users are disabled for Exchange 2007 UM and re-enabled for Exchange 2010 UM.
Upgrade Existing Configuration Objects
Upgrading the existing Unified Messaging configuration objects to Exchange Server 2010 is the recommended migration path for environments that are not integrated with Office Communications Server 2007.
Before we even discuss the pros and cons for this decision we should look at how these Unified Messaging objects can be upgraded and what is changed after the upgrade.
Following is the details of an Exchange 2007 UM Dial Plan:
NumberOfDigitsInExtension : 3
LogonFailuresBeforeDisconnect : 3
AccessTelephoneNumbers : {}
FaxEnabled : True
InputFailuresBeforeDisconnect : 3
OutsideLineAccessCode :
DialByNamePrimary : LastFirst
DialByNameSecondary : SMTPAddress
AudioCodec : Wma
AvailableLanguages : {en-US}
DefaultLanguage : en-US
VoIPSecurity : Unsecured
MaxCallDuration : 30
MaxRecordingDuration : 20
RecordingIdleTimeout : 5
InputRetries : 3
InputTimeout : 5
UMServers : {NAE7ALL}
UMMailboxPolicies : {E7TelExt3D Default Policy}
UMAutoAttendants : {}
WelcomeGreetingEnabled : False
AutomaticSpeechRecognition : True
NDREnabled : False
PhoneContext : E7TelExt3D.contoso.com
WelcomeGreetingFilename :
InfoAnnouncementFilename :
OperatorExtension :
Extension :
MatchedNameSelectionMethod : None
InfoAnnouncementEnabled : False
InternationalAccessCode :
NationalNumberPrefix :
CountryOrRegionCode :
InCountryOrRegionNumberFormat :
InternationalNumberFormat :
CallSomeoneEnabled : True
ContactScope : DialPlan
ContactAddressList :
SendVoiceMsgEnabled : True
UMAutoAttendant :
AllowDialPlanSubscribers : True
AllowExtensions : False
AllowedInCountryOrRegionGroups : {}
AllowedInternationalGroups : {}
ConfiguredInCountryOrRegionGroups: {}
ConfiguredInternationalGroups : {}
UMIPGateway : {HostMachine}
URIType : TelExtn
EquivalenceDialPlan : 6fe5d9cc-c3d1-4fcf-96de-b7889fe438b7
PromptPublishingPoint : \\NAE7ALL.contoso.com\ExchangeUM
TUIPromptEditingEnabled : False
FDSPollingInterval : 5
AdminDisplayName :
ExchangeVersion : 0.1 (8.0.535.0)
Name : E7TelExt3D
DistinguishedName : CN=E7TelExt3D,CN=UM DialPlan Container,
CN=contoso,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Se
rvices,CN=Configuration,DC=contoso,DC=
com
Identity : E7TelExt3D
Guid : 993185cf-e95f-4f63-9ecc-46b907fac1d0
ObjectCategory : contoso.com/Configuration/Schema/ms-Exc
h-UM-Dial-Plan
ObjectClass : {top, msExchUMDialPlan}
WhenChanged : 5/11/2009 1:02:44 PM
WhenCreated : 5/11/2009 1:02:09 PM
OriginatingServer : NADC.contoso.com
IsValid : True
Following is the same UM Dial Plan as seen from Exchange 2010 Management Shell:
RunspaceId : c7a24911-4b7b-43f7-9055-7a2a113c80d5
NumberOfDigitsInExtension : 3
LogonFailuresBeforeDisconnect : 3
AccessTelephoneNumbers : {}
FaxEnabled : True
InputFailuresBeforeDisconnect : 3
OutsideLineAccessCode :
DialByNamePrimary : LastFirst
DialByNameSecondary : SMTPAddress
AudioCodec : Wma
AvailableLanguages : {en-US}
DefaultLanguage : en-US
VoIPSecurity : Unsecured
MaxCallDuration : 30
MaxRecordingDuration : 20
RecordingIdleTimeout : 5
UMPilotIdentifierList : {}
UMServers : {NAE7ALL}
UMMailboxPolicies : {E7TelExt3D Default Policy}
UMAutoAttendants : {}
WelcomeGreetingEnabled : False
AutomaticSpeechRecognitionEnabled : True
PhoneContext : E7TelExt3D.contoso.com
WelcomeGreetingFilename :
InfoAnnouncementFilename :
OperatorExtension :
DefaultOutboundCallingLineId :
Extension :
MatchedNameSelectionMethod : None
InfoAnnouncementEnabled : False
InternationalAccessCode :
NationalNumberPrefix :
InCountryOrRegionNumberFormat :
InternationalNumberFormat :
CallSomeoneEnabled : True
ContactScope : DialPlan
ContactAddressList :
SendVoiceMsgEnabled : True
UMAutoAttendant :
AllowDialPlanSubscribers : True
AllowExtensions : False
AllowedInCountryOrRegionGroups : {}
AllowedInternationalGroups : {}
ConfiguredInCountryOrRegionGroups : {}
LegacyPromptPublishingPoint : \\NAE7ALL.contoso.com\ExchangeUM
ConfiguredInternationalGroups : {}
UMIPGateway : {HostMachine}
URIType : TelExtn
SubscriberType : Enterprise
GlobalCallRoutingScheme : None
TUIPromptEditingEnabled : False
PersonalAutoAttendantEnabled : True
SipResourceIdentifierRequired : True
FDSPollingInterval : 5
EquivalentDialPlanPhoneContexts : {}
NumberingPlanFormats : {}
AllowHeuristicADCallLineIdResolution: True
CountryOrRegionCode :
AdminDisplayName :
ExchangeVersion : 0.1 (8.0.535.0)
Name : E7TelExt3D
DistinguishedName : CN=E7TelExt3D,CN=UM DialPlan Container,
CN=contoso,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Se
rvices,CN=Configuration,DC=contoso,DC=
com
Identity : E7TelExt3D
Guid : 993185cf-e95f-4f63-9ecc-46b907fac1d0
ObjectCategory : contoso.com/Configuration/Schema/ms-
Exch-UM-Dial-Plan
ObjectClass : {top, msExchUMDialPlan}
WhenChanged : 5/11/2009 1:02:44 PM
WhenCreated : 5/11/2009 1:02:09 PM
WhenChangedUTC : 5/11/2009 8:02:44 PM
WhenCreatedUTC : 5/11/2009 8:02:09 PM
OrganizationId :
OriginatingServer : NADC.contoso.com
IsValid : True
You can see that after Exchange Server 2010 is installed, the version of the dial plan remains the same. However, if you view the same Exchange 2007 UM Dial Plan using the Exchange 2010 Management Shell, you will see the presence of additional attributes that were added to the schema during the Exchange 2010 schema prep (highlighted in green). Otherwise, the existing Exchange 2007 attribute values remain unchanged.
So exactly when will the Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging configuration objects be upgraded to Exchange Server 2010? The first time the object is edited using the Exchange 2010 administration tools. For example, if you open the Exchange 2010 Management Shell and issue the command “Set-UMDialPlan {DialplanName}”, you will be asked to confirm that you would like to upgrade the object. Once you confirm, the Dial Plan object will be upgraded to Exchange 2010.
The following is the result of adding an Exchange 2010 UM server to the Dial Plan, and then upgrading it to Exchange 2010:
RunspaceId : c7a24911-4b7b-43f7-9055-7a2a113c80d5
NumberOfDigitsInExtension : 3
LogonFailuresBeforeDisconnect : 3
AccessTelephoneNumbers : {50000}
FaxEnabled : True
InputFailuresBeforeDisconnect : 3
OutsideLineAccessCode :
DialByNamePrimary : LastFirst
DialByNameSecondary : SMTPAddress
AudioCodec : Wma
AvailableLanguages : {en-US}
DefaultLanguage : en-US
VoIPSecurity : Unsecured
MaxCallDuration : 30
MaxRecordingDuration : 20
RecordingIdleTimeout : 5
UMPilotIdentifierList : {}
UMServers : {NAE7ALL,NAE10ALL}
UMMailboxPolicies : {E7TelExt3D Default Policy}
UMAutoAttendants : {}
WelcomeGreetingEnabled : False
AutomaticSpeechRecognitionEnabled : True
PhoneContext : E7TelExt3D.contoso.com
WelcomeGreetingFilename :
InfoAnnouncementFilename :
OperatorExtension :
DefaultOutboundCallingLineId :
Extension :
MatchedNameSelectionMethod : None
InfoAnnouncementEnabled : False
InternationalAccessCode :
NationalNumberPrefix :
InCountryOrRegionNumberFormat :
InternationalNumberFormat :
CallSomeoneEnabled : True
ContactScope : DialPlan
ContactAddressList :
SendVoiceMsgEnabled : True
UMAutoAttendant :
AllowDialPlanSubscribers : True
AllowExtensions : False
AllowedInCountryOrRegionGroups : {}
AllowedInternationalGroups : {}
ConfiguredInCountryOrRegionGroups : {}
LegacyPromptPublishingPoint : \\NAE7ALL.contoso.com\ExchangeUM
ConfiguredInternationalGroups : {}
UMIPGateway : {HostMachine}
URIType : TelExtn
SubscriberType : Enterprise
GlobalCallRoutingScheme : None
TUIPromptEditingEnabled : False
PersonalAutoAttendantEnabled : True
SipResourceIdentifierRequired : True
FDSPollingInterval : 5
EquivalentDialPlanPhoneContexts : {}
NumberingPlanFormats : {}
AllowHeuristicADCallLineIdResolution: True
CountryOrRegionCode :
AdminDisplayName :
ExchangeVersion : 0.10 (14.0.100.0)
Name : E7TelExt3D
DistinguishedName : CN=E7TelExt3D,CN=UM DialPlan Containe
er,CN=contoso,CN=Microsoft Exchange,
CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=conto
so,DC=com
Identity : E7TelExt3D
Guid : 993185cf-e95f-4f63-9ecc-46b907fac1d0
ObjectCategory : contoso.com/Configuration/Schema/ms-
Exch-UM-Dial-Plan
ObjectClass : {top, msExchUMDialPlan}
WhenChanged : 5/13/2009 3:33:47 PM
WhenCreated : 5/11/2009 1:02:09 PM
WhenChangedUTC : 5/13/2009 10:33:47 PM
WhenCreatedUTC : 5/11/2009 8:02:09 PM
OrganizationId :
OriginatingServer : NADC.contoso.com
IsValid : True
If an administrator would like to upgrade his or her Unified Messaging environment to Exchange Server 2010, there are several configuration objects that will need to be upgraded. This can be done using the Exchange 2010 Management Console, or you can use the Exchange 2010 Management Shell to issue the following commands:
· Set-UMDialPlan
· Set-UMIPGateway
· Set-UMMailboxPolicy
· Set-UMAutoAttendant
So what would be the consequences if these Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging objects are not being upgraded to Exchange Server 2010? When we introduce Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox/Hub/CAS roles to the organization, the Active Directory schema is updated to a later version, and new Exchange attributes are added to the schema. The attributes for existing Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging objects will continue to show the previous schema version value until they have been updated using the Exchange 2010 management tools.
Until the exiting configuration objects are upgraded to Exchange 2010, they will work for both Exchange 2007 UM and Exchange 2010 UM servers. The only real impact for not upgrading the Unified Messaging objects is that when looking at these objects in the Exchange Server 2010 management console, all of the new Exchange Server 2010 feature options in the user interface will be grayed out.
For example, in the General Tab of the Exchange 2007 UM Mailbox Policy, the option “Allow users to configure personal auto attendants” will be grayed out. This is because the configuration objects have not yet been upgraded to Exchange 2010.
Even though these options may be grayed out in the management interface, it does not necessarily mean that the option will not work. If you have an Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging dial plan assigned to the Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging server, and you move the mailbox of a UM enabled user to an Exchange 2010 mailbox server, all of the features from Exchange 2010 UM will be available to the user.
For example, the new Message Waiting Indicator feature will work immediately for the user upon successfully moving the mailbox to Exchange 2010, if configured correctly. When an administrator moves an Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging enabled mailbox, from Exchange Server 2007 to 2010 Mailbox server, the Message Waiting Indicator function will start working immediately. This is because the MWI feature is enabled automatically by default in Exchange 2010.
If there are certain features that an administrator would like to disable (such as Voice Mail Preview), he or she must use the Exchange 2010 Management Console or Management Shell to do so. To disable the feature, the administrator must use the Exchange 2010 management tools, which will cause the configuration object (for example, the Dial Plan) to be upgraded to Exchange 2010.
The question may arise, “Why not just upgrade all Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging configuration objects once we have the Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging servers up and running?” Here are some of the reasons you may consider to delay upgrading all the Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging configuration objects to Exchange 2010:
· After the version number is upgraded, all Unified Messaging administration must be done using the Exchange Server 2010 Management Console or Management Shell. The Exchange 2007 Management Console or Management Shell will fail to open any configuration objects which have been upgraded to Exchange 2010.
· During the upgrade you need to route all the incoming calls from the Unified Messaging server to the Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging server. However, the Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging servers must be available to handle incoming calls for UM enabled users with Exchange 2007 mailboxes. If all Exchange 2007 UM servers have been upgraded to Exchange 2007 SP2, then upgrading the configuration objects to Exchange 2010 should not present a problem – although they will have to managed using the Exchange 2010 administration tools.
· Some administrators my elect not to upgrade the existing Exchange 2007 Unified Message objects, so that they reserve the option to roll back to Exchange 2007 in the event of a failed migration to Exchange 2010.
Recommended Upgrade Option
In most common cases, the goal of the migration is to minimize the impact to the design of the current environment by making as few changes as possible. It is recommended that the customers should stay on the same Unified Messaging dial plan so they can reuse their existing UM configuration. However, there will be situations where customers will have to create new a new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan and associated objects, such as with the case of integration with Office Communication Server.
The most common upgrade scenario will involve integration with a third-party VoIP gateway device or IP PBX. To minimize possible user impact, the following upgrade procedure is recommended:
· Confirm that Exchange Server 2010 Hub Transport, CAS, and Mailbox roles have been installed and are operational within the same Active Directory site.
· Introduce the Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging role into the same Active Directory site as the other Exchange 2007 UM server and Exchange 2010 servers.
· Assign the existing Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging Dial Plan to the new Exchange 2010 UM server.
· Reconfigure the gateway, so that the next hop for all incoming calls is the new Exchange 2010 UM server.
Upgrade an existing Exchange 2007 UM Environment (OCS 2007 Integration)
Upgrading an Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging environment that is integrated with Office Communications Server 2007 can be a challenging task. There are a number of different infrastructure elements involved in this migration scenario which is unique to OCS 2007 integrated environments.
Infrastructure Prerequisites
Before introducing any Exchange Server 2010 Unified Message server role into an Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging environment that is integrated with OCS 2007, we have the following prerequisites:
· Users are enabled for OCS 2007 or OCS 2007 R2 Enterprise Voice
o OCS 2007 or OCS 2007 R2 Standard Edition or OCS Pool required
o OCS 2007 or OCS 2007 R2 Mediation Server role is required
o At least one Location Profile exists for UM enabled Enterprise Voice Users
o Telephony integration with VoIP Gateway or IP PBX is required
· All Exchange Server 2007 servers are on SP2 or later
· Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging SP2 is installed and working, which includes:
o Users can call and leave voice mail from Office Communicator or OC Phone Edition (Tanjay)
o User can log on with Outlook Voice Access (OVA) and check their Exchange Inbox
o User can use OVA or Auto-Attendant to redirect call to contacts
o User can use Play On Phone to have Unified Messaging call a number and play a voice mail.
· All other Exchange Server 2010 roles such as Mailbox, Hub and CAS server are all working:
o Exchange Server 2010 mailbox clients can log on and send email
o Exchange Server 2010 users can log on via OWA
Upgrade Options
Once we have confirmed that we have met all of the prerequisites for installing Exchange 2010, we can add a new Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging server to the Active Directory site. Simply follow the standard Exchange Server 2010 installation procedures and add the Unified Messaging role to the server.
For Unified Messaging environments that are integrated with Office Communications Server 2007, the options for upgrading the environment to Exchange Server 2010 are somewhat limited. It all depends on whether you have planned for a rapid or staged migration.
· Move all mailboxes to Exchange 2010, replace all Exchange 2007 UM servers in the Dial Plan with Exchange 2010 UM servers, and upgrade existing UM configuration objects?
· Create new OCS 2007 Location Profile and new Exchange 2010 UM configuration objects, to operate in mixed mode with the existing Exchange 2007 UM configuration?
Rapid Migration – Replace UM Servers / Upgrade UM Objects
For smaller Unified Messaging environments that are integrated with OCS 2007, a rapid migration to Exchange 2010 may be the best upgrade option. Essentially this involves moving all UM enabled mailboxes to Exchange 2010, replacing Exchange 2007 UM servers in the Dial Plan with Exchange 2010 UM servers, and upgrading the existing UM configuration objects to Exchange 2010.
While this upgrade option involves much less work for the administrator, it also involves a greater risk of possible failure and user impact. To support this upgrade strategy, several changes must be made to the environment.
On the server side:
· A new Exchange 2010 UM server to replace each Exchange 2007 UM server in the Dial Plan
· All mailboxes for UM enabled users must be moved to Exchange 2010
· All existing Unified Messaging configuration objects must be upgraded to Exchange 2010
· ExchUCUtil.PS1 script should be ran to verify that all permissions are set correctly
· OCS 2007 Front End services must be restarted for all servers in OCS Pool
On the client side:
· No changes required.
Staged Migration – Two Dial Plans / OCS Location Profiles
The most common upgrade option for larger Unified Messaging environments which are integrated with Office Communications Server 2007 is a staged migration to Exchange 2010. In this scenario, the Exchange 2007 UM servers and Exchange 2010 UM servers coexist within the environment on different UM Dial Plans, and users are migrated to Exchange 2010 in staged intervals.
This migration approach allows an administrator to exercise more granular control over the speed of the migration to Exchange 2010. While there is significantly more work involved with this migration scenario, it offers the best opportunity for a successful upgrade while preserving the option to roll back to the previous configuration in the event of failure.
When Exchange 2007 UM servers and Exchange 2010 UM servers are associated with the same UM Dial Plan and integrated with a VoIP gateway or IP PBX, all calls are initially routed to the Exchange 2010 server and redirected as necessary. This redirection is possible because VoIP gateways and IP PBXs are capable of processing the redirection request sent from the Exchange 2010 UM server. However, this is not true for Office Communications Server 2007.
Office Communications Server 2007 servers are not aware of functionality differences between the different versions of Unified Messaging. This means that OCS 2007 servers are incapable of properly handling the new redirection logic in Exchange 2010 for calls involving UM users who have Exchange 2007 mailboxes. Without the ability to redirect this type of call, Exchange 2010 UM servers and Exchange 2007 UM servers cannot be associated with the same UM Dial Plan.
Therefore, if you have Office Communication Server integrated with Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging, and you want to upgrade to Exchange 2010 using this migration option, you must create several new configuration objects to support Exchange 2010 users.
On the server side:
· New configuration objects for Exchange 2010 (UM Dial Plan/SIP URI type, UM Mailbox Policy, UM IP Gateway, UM Hunt Group, and UM Auto Attendant)
· New contact objects for Subscriber Access and Auto Attendant numbers from Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan.
· New OCS Location Profile created using the Phone-Context value of the new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan. For example, if the phone-context value of the DialPlan is EX2010DialPlan.contoso.com, then the new OCS Location Profile must also be named EX2010DialPlan.contoso.com.
· OCS 2007 Front End services and Mediation servers must be restarted
On the client side:
· Enable Exchange 2010 mailbox users for Enterprise Voice and associate them with the new OCS Location Profile.
· Enable Unified Messaging for the Exchange 2010 mailbox users using the Exchange 2010 Management Console or Management Shell.
It is important to note that existing Exchange 2007 users whose mailboxes have been moved to Exchange 2010 cannot be easily migrated to Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging. Although the recorded personal greetings for the user will be retained in the mailbox move to Exchange 2010, the user will have to create a new PIN upon the first call to Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging.
Also, if the environment is integrated with Office Communications Server 2007 R2, the default security setting for the OCS Pool is Require Encryption. This means that both SIP and RTP communication is encrypted using TLS. When creating a new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan for OCS 2007 R2 users, be sure to set the VoIP Security level of the Dial Plan to Secured. Otherwise, Office Communicator users will be unable to connect to the Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging server.
To migrate existing Exchange 2007 UM users to Exchange 2010, the following steps are involved:
· Verify that user has logged out and closed all OCS clients
· Associate the user with the new OCS Location Profile
· Disable Unified Messaging for the user (Exchange 2007 UM Dial Plan)
· Move the user’s mailbox to an Exchange 2010 Mailbox server
· Enable Unified Messaging for the user (Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan)
· Replicate all Domain Controllers within the Active Directory site
· Request that user log on to OCS client(s) and place call to voice mail
Recommended Upgrade Option
One of the biggest concerns for administrators who planning for a migration is user impact. Questions like ‘How quickly can service be restored in the event of failure?’ and ‘is it possible to roll back to a working configuration if things go terribly wrong?’ often weigh heavily on the minds of migration planners. For larger customers, these concerns not only just influence the decisions of the migration planners, but they often dictate the course of the migration itself.
Considering this, the recommended migration strategy for Unified Messaging environments which are integrated with OCS 2007 is the coexistence option with two separate UM Dial Plans. This approach not only minimizes the potential for negatively impacting the end user, but it also preserves the option for the administrator to roll back to a working configuration with minimal effort in the event of a failed migration attempt.
To that end, the following upgrade procedure is recommended:
· Confirm that Exchange Server 2010 Hub Transport, CAS, and Mailbox roles have been installed and are operational within the same Active Directory site.
· Introduce the Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging role into the same Active Directory site as the other Exchange 2007 UM server and Exchange 2010 servers.
· Create a new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan and associate it with only Exchange 2010 UM servers. Assign a unique telephone extension as the Subscriber Access number for the new UM Dial Plan.
· Use the Exchange 2010 Management Console to configure the Exchange 2010 UM Mailbox Policy that was created with the new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan.
· Create a new Auto Attendant for the new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan (optional). If you have an existing Exchange 2007 Auto Attendant, create the new Exchange 2010 Auto Attendant with a similar configuration. Assign a unique telephone number to the new Exchange 2010 Auto Attendant.
· Run ExchUCUtil.PS1 integration script from Exchange 2010 to create new UM IP Gateway and UM Hunt Group objects for the OCS Pool(s) and to set permissions correctly.
· Create a new OCS Location Profile using the Phone-Context value of the new Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan. For example, if the phone-context value of the new Dial Plan is EX2010DialPlan.contoso.com, then the new OCS Location Profile must also be named EX2010DialPlan.contoso.com.
· Configure outbound call routing for the new OCS Location Profile
· Run OCSUMUtil.exe utility from OCS 2007 to create contact objects for the Subscriber Access and Auto Attendant telephone extensions from Exchange 2010 UM Dial Plan.
· Restart OCS 2007 Front End services and Mediation services.
· Move mailboxes for UM enabled users to an Exchange 2010 Mailbox server in the same Active Directory site
· Select the new OCS Location Profile for each UM enabled user
Disable each user for Exchange 2007 UM and re-enable each user for Exchange 2010 UM