Ken LaskoLync Practice ManagerBuchanan Technologies

Lync 2013 Enterprise Voice Best Practices

BEST301

What this session is aboutThe WHYs behind the HOWs of Lync Enterprise VoiceHow to best structure your Enterprise Voice deployment (dial plans, voice policies etc)Special CasesDemo of the Lync Dialing Rule OptimizerAssume you already have a good understanding of Lync Enterprise Voice core concepts

Who am I?

@KenLasko#LyncConf14

Background in Exchange/OCS

Since 2000klasko@buchanan.com

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional

Toronto, Canada

LyncOptimizer.comUCKen.blogspot.com

Key Concepts – Telephone Numbering

Tel:+1234567890123;ext=1234

Defines the format for telephone numbers in SIP

RFC3966

+14162345678 – Toronto, CA

+402071234567 – London, UK

Internationally recognized telephone number format

E.164

Tel URI Global number in E.164 format Extension(optional)

CountryCode

AreaCode

Local number

Regular ExpressionsA “language” for pattern matchingRegex is key for normalization/routingSome common patterns: Get to know regex basics:

http://hanytaha.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/regular-expression-regex-and-lync-2010/

Test your regex:http://www.regextester.com/

^ start of pattern$ end of pattern\d single digit\d{3} 3 digits\d{1,5} 1 to 5 digits\d+ 1 or more digits\d* 0 or more digits\D non-digit

[135] 1, 3 or 5[1-5] 1 to 5135 135? not required\+ plus sign| or(123) Store 123 $1 Return 123

Before you get startedActive Directory phone numbersLync client will display office, mobile, home and other phone numbers from ADWill only display if Lync can recognize the numberWorks with both user and contact AD objectsDoesn’t have to be Lync-enabled

AD phone numbersFormatting numbersConsistency is keyTry to ensure that every number is E.164 formattedFormat numbers as they exist, not as they are dialed

Don’t include local dialing codes like 0Make the numbers display correctly for your country

Feel free to include dots, dashes, spaces, brackets where appropriateNot necessary to include the +

Good Bad

1 (604) 555-1111 (604) 555-1111

+1 (604) 555-1111 x234 234

+44.20.7123.4567 +44.020.7123.4567

AD phone number normalization

Not necessary to change every phone number in AD

Use the Company_Phone_Number_Normalization_Rules.txtFound in \\LyncFileShare\x-WebServices-x\ABFiles

Lync Address book process parses AD-based numbers using this file

Use regex patterns to ensure all AD numbers are readable

Check by using ABServer.exe-TestPhoneNorm “<samplenum>”

Examples:([2-9]\d{9})\D+(\d+)+1$1;ext=$2

([2-9]\d{9})+1$1

Why should I care about E.164?Dialing numbers from different countriesAD is global, so numbers visible to everyoneLocal formatting for one country will not work in another

Federated contactsNumbers presented to outside clients need to follow a standardIf your numbers are all shown as just extensions, how can someone dial you?

+44.020.7123.4567

Core Lync Enterprise Voice concepts

Dial PlanTakes user-dialed numbers and formats (“normalizes”) them for Lync

Voice PolicyWhat kind of calls users are able to makeAvailable call featuresCall routing

PSTN UsageThe link between voice policies and voice routes

Voice RouteThe specific path a call will take to the PSTN

Trunk Translation RulesFinal phone number manipulation before exiting Lync

Decisions, decisions, decisionsLync gives you an open playing fieldLack of structure can be either liberating or terrifying

Think about what kind of deployment you wantVery simple, very complex or somewhere in the middle

Plan thoroughly before you startUnderstand how voice policies/routes/PSTN usages interactChanging things like naming convention are harder to do once deployed

Naming conventionsConsider a standard naming conventionVoice policies, normalization rules, PSTN usages, trunk translation rules….Makes administration easierMakes finding/sorting things much easierEasier to script with PowershellConsider breaking down by country, state/prov, city and call classAvoid spaces and overly long names

UK-London-LocalIT-Rome-InternationalFR-Paris-Mobile

US-NewYork-NationalUS-WA-Seattle-TollFreeES-HeadOffice-AllCalls

Simple vs. ComplexThe overall complexity depends on your goals. I’m all about KISS (keep it simple, smartdude)BUT, if you want to:• Prevent some users from making certain types of calls• Control call-forwarding• Leverage least-cost routing

…then a more complex EV deployment is your best bet

Complex deployment exampleCreate a set of voice policies/voice routes/PSTN usages for each site and call class combination

Route Example: UK-London-LocalUK-London-NationalUK-London-MobileUK-London-InternationalUK-London-ServiceCA-ON-Toronto-LocalCA-ON-Toronto-NationalCA-ON-Toronto-InternationalCA-ON-Toronto-Service

Simple deployment exampleCreate a single voice policy/voice route/PSTN usage for each site

Route Example: UK-London-AllCallsCA-ON-Toronto-AllCalls

Simple deployment pros/consPROLess of everything

Every call can be sent to an all encompassing route (think *.*)

Easier to manage and troubleshoot, especially in large deployments

CONCan’t leverage several Lync features

No least cost routing

Can’t limit calling or call forwarding for users

Complex deployment pros/consPROVery flexible

Very granular routing/call control possibilities

Least-cost routing

CONIt’s….ummm…it’s complicated

Many routes/PSTN usages

Can be difficult to troubleshoot

Dial Plans

Dial Plan best practicesAlways, always, ALWAYS normalize to E.164 (except for service/special numbers)Makes call routing much simplerEven applies to internal extensions

Consider every way that a typical user may want to dial a numberNorth American users dial 10-digits (omitting the country code 1), or even 7-digits (omitting area code)North American users dial 011 for international callsUK users dial 7-digits for local numbers, a 0 for national numbers, or 00 for international

Dial Plan best practicesStrive for a single global dial plan…if all users are in the same country

Use site-level dial plans…if users are in different countries with local Lync deploymentsStay away from user-level dial plans, if possible

User-level dial plans…if you have users in different countries with no local Lync deployment

Dial Plan best practicesResist the temptation to not normalize PBX-bound extensions

Normalize to E.164, using the main office number for the location as the base:+12125551234;ext=2345

Strip back down to 2345 as the call leaves Lync

Order normalization rules from most specific to the least

Most normalization rules are the same countrywide, so consider that in your naming convention

UK-London-LocalUK-NationalUK-International

DON’T worry about PBX access codes like 9 in normalization rules

Doing so will mean not normalizing to E.164

Use the External Access Prefix option instead

External access prefix and Internal extensionExternal access prefixUsed to provide desk phone users with a “PBX-like” off-hook dialing experience.

Internal extensionCheck for every internal extension normalization rule

What happensWhen the prefix is dialed first, Lync ignores any normalization rules marked as Internal Extension

External access prefix examplesWithout external access prefix/internal extensionUser wants to dial 604-555-1234. Norm rule exists for normalizing 10-digits to +1xxxxxxxxxxNorm rule exists for 4-digit extensions starting with 6. Normalizes to +16042226xxx

6 +16042226045045

External access prefix examplesWith external access prefix/internal extensionUser wants to dial 604-555-1234. Norm rule exists for normalizing 10-digits to +1xxxxxxxxxxNorm rule exists for 4-digit extensions starting with 6. Normalizes to +16042226xxx

9 +160455512346045551234

Dial Plan examplesNorth America

Rule Name Pattern Translation

NA-National ^1?([2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})(\D+\d+)?$ +1$1

NA-Service ^([2-9]11)$ +$1

NA-International

^(?:011)?([2-9]\d{6,14})(\D+\d+)?$ +$1

Dial Plan examplesUnited KingdomRule Name Pattern Translatio

n

UK-London-Local ^([378]\d{7})$ +4420$1

UK-TollFree ^0((80(0\d{6,7}|8\d{7}|01111)|500\d{6}))$ +44$1

UK-Premium ^0((9[018]\d|87[123]|70\d)\d{7})$ +44$1

UK-Mobile ^0(7([1-57-9]\d{8}|624\d{6}))$ +44$1

UK-National ^0((1[1-9]\d{7,8}|2[03489]\d{8}|3[0347]\d{8}|5[56]\d{8}|8((4[2-5]|70)\d{7}|45464\d)))(\D+\d+)?$

+44$1

UK-Service ^(1(47\d|70\d|800\d|1[68]\d{3}|\d\d)|999|112|[\*\#][\*\#\d]*\#)$

+$1

UK-International ^(?:00)?((1[2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})|([2-9]\d{6,14}))(\D+\d+)?$

+$1

Voice Policies

Voice Policy best practicesVoice policies determine calling capabilities and routing behaviourCreate only as many voice policies as you needEasy to add more laterAssign calling features hereAssign calling rights via PSTN Usages

PSTN Usage ordering is criticalLeast-cost and failover routing is done here and here only

Voice Policy best practices

Use site-level policies by default

Automatically assigned to all users homed on Lync servers within a site

Assign the most typical call classes to capture the most users (ie. Local and National PSTN Usages)

Example: Assign a site-level National voice policy for users who don’t require international dialing

Use user-level policies for exceptions

Manually assigned via Lync Control Panel or Powershell

Assign additional or remove call classes for smaller groups of users (ie. International PSTN Usage)

Example: Assign a user-level International policy to executives and others that require international dialing

Voice Routes

Voice Route best practicesDefines the actual path taken by a callCalls that match the route regex will use the PSTN gateways assigned

Assigned to PSTN usages which are assigned to voice policiesMake voice routes as specific as required for the desired call classAvoid overlaps that may grant users calling rights they shouldn’t have

Voice Route Best PracticesCreate as many routes as you require call classesCreate local, national, mobile, toll-free, premium routes as requiredAssign the routes to PSTN gateways local to your Lync deployment (FE pool or SBA/SBS)If you adhere to E.164, this makes routing calls easier

Don’t assign gateways from multiple sites to a route for failover routingCalls will round-robin between all gateways in a routeUse PSTN usage ordering for failover routing X

PSTN Usages

PSTN UsagesThe link between voice policies and routesRoutes assigned to PSTN UsagesPSTN Usages assigned to voice policies

Create PSTN Usages for each PSTN egress location/call-class combinationAssign routes that match the given location/call class

PSTN Usage orderingCall route determined by order of PSTN Usages in a voice policyStarts at top and works down until matching route within a PSTN Usage is foundIf a matching route is down, continues down the list

Failover routingAutomatically send calls through a secondary/tertiary/etc PSTN access point if the primary is down

Possible with both simple and complex voice deployments

Failover routing

Done via PSTN Usage ordering in Voice Policy

If possible, group PSTN usages from the same country to avoid international toll charges

Put the “main” PSTN Usage above a similar PSTN Usage assigned to another site

NA-ON-Toronto-AllCallsNA-AB-Calgary-AllCallsUK-London-AllCalls

Ordering and selection of PSTN Usages is critical

Easy to accidentally grant someone calling capabilities they shouldn’t have

Easy to incur additional toll charges by incorrect ordering

Least cost routingMost often used in conjunction with failover routingRequires a “complex” Enterprise Voice deploymentCan’t do least-cost routing with an “AllCalls” PSTN usageNeed separate PSTN Usages for local, national and international calls

PSTN Usage ordering is even more critical than failover routingEasy to accidentally grant undesired calling rights to usersWatch out for inefficient routing scenarios

Least cost routing exampleTips and tricks

Group PSTN Usages from the same country together

Put more frequently called PSTN Usages closer to the top

Group in-country PSTN Usage call classes together

Place out-of-country PSTN Usages below in-country National PSTN Usages

NA-BC-Vancouver-LocalNA-ON-Toronto-LocalNA-BC-Vancouver-NationalNA-ON-Toronto-NationalUK-London-LocalUK-London-MobileUK-London-NationalNA-BC-Vancouver-InternationalNA-ON-Toronto-InternationalUK-London-International

Trunk Translation Rules

Trunk Translation RulesUsed to format numbers as required by the next-hop PSTN gatewayUse for pre-pending an external access prefix (ie 9) for calls bound for a PBXUse for pre-pending any digits required by the local phone companyOften not required for SIP trunk connections

Using E.164 throughout is keyMakes translation much simpler if every call is formatted the same way

Trunk Translation Rule examplesNorth America

United KingdomRule Name Pattern Translation

UK-London-Local ^\+4420([378]\d{7})(;ext=\d+)?$ $1

UK-London-Service ^\+(1(47\d|70\d|800\d|1[68]\d{3}|\d\d)|999|[\*\#][\*\#\d]*\#)$

$1

UK-London-AllCalls ^\+44(\d+)(;ext=\d+)?$ 0$1

UK-London-International ^\+((1[2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})|([2-9]\d{6,14}))(;ext=\d+)?$

00$1

Rule Name Pattern Translation

NA-ON-Toronto-Local ^\+1((905(20[^7]|21[02469]|22[1234]|23[^35]|24[178]|25[^1239]|26[45678]|28[^09]|29[^567]|30[^489]|31[36]|33[04789]|36[^0578]|39[1589]|40[^147]|41[23578]|42[^59]|46[^8]|47[^368]|48[^15]|49[^368]|51[034]|53[02349]|55[^1567]|56[^0123]|58[^19]|59[^246]|62[^0378]|64[029]|65[234]|66[039]|67[^459]|68[36]|69[^027]|6[01]\d|70[23679]|71[237]|72[4679]|73[1789]|74[04789]|75[^3]|76[^589]|77[013]|78[^68]|79[^7]|80[13458]|81[^018]|83[^0456]|85[^3]|86[^589]|87[^01]|88[^5]|89[01367]|8[24]\d|90[^256]|91[^124]|93[69]|94[^125]|95[16]|96[589]|99[^1234]|326|350|370|542|636|927|970|(27|45|50)\d)))

$1

NA-National ^\+1([2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})(;ext=\d+)?$ 1$1

NA-Service ^\+([2-9]11)$ $1

NA-International ^\+([2-9]\d{6,14})(;ext=\d+)?$ 011$1

Special cases:Extensions

Special case - extensionsReasons to use extensions in LyncNot enough DIDs to go aroundWant to maintain legacy dialing patternsExtension/PIN for dial-in conferencing

Always follow E.164 standards in LyncResist the urge to just use 2345 as the TelURI because it’s easierUse the main office number as the base number, followed by the extensionIE. +16045551212;ext=2345

Make sure every number is uniqueIf you use the above example for extension formatting, don’t use the base ANYWHERE in Lync by itselfThe dreaded 485 Ambiguous will result

Normalizing and routing extensionsNormalize dialed extensions to E.164

2345 +14165551111;ext=2345

^(2\d{3})$ 14165551111;ext=$1

Assign a route to the appropriate PBX

^\+14165551111 PBX_Gateway

Add a trunk translation rule to strip back down to extension

+14165551111;ext=2345 2345

^\+14165551111;ext=(2\d{3})$ $1or^\+\d+\D+(\d+)$ $1

Why go through all the hops?

Easier to deal with routing and trunk translation when everything follows same standard

Extremely important when migrating away from PBX to Lync

Scenario:• Normalization/routing rules created

specifically for PBX extensions• 2xxx normalized to 2xxx (not

E.164)• Lync migrated users configured with

E.164 Tel URIs• tel:+12125551111;ext=2xxx

• Original extension scheme maintained

• How to dial Lync user by extension?• Normalization becomes a nightmare

• Need to create user-specific normalization rules for every migrated user

Incoming calls to extensionsUse a normalization rule to map the main number to an extension (E.164 format, of course)

When creating auto-attendant or response group extensions, make sure to follow E.164 standards

Can be an Exchange Auto-attendant, Response Group or individual user

Make sure incoming number does not have a + in front

Workaround: http://ucken.blogspot.ca/2012/02/re-routing-incoming-calls-to.html

Lync will assume number is already normalized and won’t apply any additional rules

Potential issuesUsers with DIDs and extensions that don’t matchExample: DID - +12125551234 Extension – 9876Solution: Sadly, none. Excel is your friend.Have to create individual normalization rules for each

Some Lync features don’t accept ;ext= as part of a valid E.164 number“Forward to phone number” in response groups

Special cases: Inter-trunk routing

Special case – Inter-trunk routing Allows Lync to route incoming calls to other systemsAssign a PSTN usage to an incoming trunkCreate a dedicated PSTN usage/route combination for thisBe very specific with the routeMake sure any Lync internal numbers aren’t within the route scope

Special cases: Location-based routing

Special case – Location-based routingRoute calls based on the physical location of the userAssign a voice routing policy containing PSTN usages (just like a normal voice policy) to a network siteCalls from site route according to the voice routing policy, not user’s assigned voice policy

Summary of stepsCreate Lync sites/subnets for all affected locationsNew-CSVoiceRoutingPolicy –PSTNUsagesSet-CSNetworkSite -EnableLocationBasedRouting:$TRUE –VoiceRoutingPolicy <policyname>Set-CSTrunkConfiguration -NetworkSiteID <sitename>

Add -EnableRoutingRestriction:$TRUE to prevent inbound calls while outside home site

Set-CSVoicePolicy -PreventPSTNTollBypass:$TRUE enables location-based routing for policy

Location-based routing considerationsApplies to all location-based routing enabled users at the site

Don’t enable location-based routing on limited-access voice policies

Users with limited calling capabilities may get more than they should while at certain sites

Check out Doug Lawty’s deep-dive session on Location-based Routing (VOICE303)

Same applies to voice policies with greater calling access than the standard

Special cases: On-demand caller ID block

Special case – “Block" caller ID on demandCan’t actually block caller ID in LyncCan present a different number via Lync voice routeTo allow users to selectively “block” caller ID:Modify normalization rules to allow pre-pending the country’s typical caller ID block code (ie *67)

Normalized number will appear as *67+15552223333

Original Normalization Rule New Normalization Rule

^1?([2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})(\D+\d+)?$ +1$2 ^(\*67)?1?([2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})(\D+\d+)?$ $1+1$2

Special case – “Block" caller ID on demandCreate a caller ID block route and add it to the appropriate PSTN usagePrepend the desired block code to the rule:

Example: ^\*67\+1(?!(900))[2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6}$Set the option for Suppress Caller ID and enter the desired “fake” number

Update Trunk Translation Rules to drop the block caller ID prefix before exiting LyncPattern Translation

^(\*67)?\+1([2-9]\d\d[2-9]\d{6})(;ext=\d+)?$

1$2

Don’t have time for all this?

Lync Dialing Rule Optimizer

Dialing rules for 35 countries

Location-based routing

Custom localized dialing rules for all of North America

Least-cost/failover routing

Extensions

Premium number blocking

Call Park

Simple or complex dial rules

Use your own naming convention

Demo

Lync Dialing Rule Optimizer

Monday, February 17th

Exhibit Hall Hours 6:00pm – 8:00pm

6:00pm – 8:00pm Welcome Reception

Tuesday, February 18th

Exhibit Hall Hours 8:00am – 9:00am (Breakfast), 10:30am – 5:00pm

8:00am – 9:00am Breakfast (Exhibit Hall) 9:00am –10:30am General Session10:30am – 5:00pm Expo Hall Hours11:00am – 12:15pm Sessions & Hands-on Labs12:15pm – 2:00pm Lunch2:00pm – 5:00pm Sessions & Hands-on Labs5:00pm – 7:00pm Ask the Experts

Wednesday, February 19th

Exhibit Hall Hours 10:30am – 4:30pm

7:30am – 8:30am Breakfast8:30am – 11:30am Sessions & Hands-on Labs10:30am – 4:30pm Expo Hall Hours11:30am – 1:00pm Lunch1:00pm – 5:45pm Sessions & Hands-on Labs6:30pm – 9:30pm Attendee Party

Thursday, February 20th

Exhibit Hall Hours 9:00am – 12:00pm

8:00am – 9:00am Breakfast9:00am – 12:00pm Expo Hall Hours9:00am – 12:15pm Sessions & Hands-on Labs12:15pm – 1:30pm Lunch and Departures

Ask the ExpertsLocation: Meal Hall located on Level 1 in Pinyon Ballroom 4-8 Tuesday, February 18

TABLE TOPICS:Best Practices, Business Value, Clients & Mobility, Lync Meetings and Video, Lync Online, Networking, Platform, Server & Manageability, Voice, Lync Feedback Sessions

Meet face-to-face with the foremost experts in the Lync field and ask them the questions that have you stumped.

Location: Breakout rooms located on Level 1 5:00pm-7:00pm

GROUPS INCLUDE:Manageability – Pinyon 2Meetings & Web Experiences – Bluethorn 4-6Mobility – Bluethorn 7-9Presence & Chat – Pinyon 1Voice & Video – Bluethorn 1-3

Come participate in targeted Feedback Sessions to hear about the high-priority feature asks and help us improve the next release!

Lync Feedback

These sessions are meant to be informational, providing an understanding of the workload and conversational, to discuss your user scenarios and desired improvements.

Birds of a FeatherBirds of a Feather flock together! Join daily breakfast discussions of relevant topics by sitting in the separately designated areas of the Meal Hall. Seating will be sorted in a different way for each Birds of a Feather breakfast:Wednesday, February 19:Where are you from? Asia/Pacific, Eastern & Central Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, US (West, Central & East) and Canada, Western Europe

Thursday, February 20:What is your interest?Best Practices, Business Value, Clients & Mobility, Lync Meetings and Video, Lync Online, Networking, Platform, Server & Manageability, Voice

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