Icy

If you have upgraded to Rls.4.0. Then I see no reason for you to upgrade to 4.5. But on the other hand if you haven´t upgraded then I would go for Rls. 4.5. I would say that the difference between Rls. 4.0 and 4.5 is that Rls. 4.5 is mostly about IP stuff.

ctrieu

Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
We currently have Rel 4.0 and using the both TDM and IP (H323/SIP)protocols.
We would like to know what added benefit/features would Rel 4.5 provide?
Any links or documents which outline the difference between the two release? We need to know to justify the cost of the upgrade.

Also, a side question:
Upgrade from Rel 4.0 to Rel 4.5, is this only for the Call Server?
What about the Signaling Server?

Thanks,
CT

M1tech

Below is summary of main things introduced with Release 4.5

•Control Processor Pentium®IV (CP PIV)
•Campus Redundancy over 3rdparty layer 2 switches
•IP Call Recording Enhancement
•CLID enhancements
•Bandwidth Management
•Alternate Routing for Bandwidth Management
•Adaptive Bandwidth Management
•Active Call Failover
•Advanced UnistimFW download
•Management and Administration Security Enhancements
•EM improvements (Navigation and Usability)
•EM Security and Encryption
•OAM Security/Strong Passwords
•LNAME Option Removed
•SNMP Improvements
•DSP Peg Counter Traffic Report
•Set Features
•Attenuator bit for WLAN handsets
•802.1x / EAP
•VLAN filtering
•Support for Ignoring Gratuitous ARP (GARP)
•ACD Incallkey display flexibility
•Call Duration Timer on IP Phone 2001/2 (Same as 3900 sets)
•ACD Enhancements
•IP ACD Agent Capacity Increase with CP PIV
•Default Q Management with Symposium
•Support for SRG50
•DSN Compliance

ctrieu

Hi M1tech,
Thanks for the list of features.
Would you or anyone have more detail on this two features enhancement:

•IP Call Recording Enhancement
•CLID enhancements

Is the Signaling Server upgrade part of the Rel 4.5 upgrade or is it a separate thing? (meaning...does the SS software goes hand in hand with the Call Server)

Thanks,
CT

DB

The main difference is that Nortel have increased the security functions for 4.5. Named login is now standard & cannot be changed back. More warnings are given at all login levels about the status of the system security. The "0000" password is treated as insecure along with the default "pdt" codes.
The Signaling Server software has also been upgraded in line with 4.5. It has different screens, but is pretty well the same as 4.0.

M1tech

If you have a Signaling Server it will need to be upgraded to Release 4.5 as well...Some real nice enhancements with the "Element Manager". This is part of the upgrade and is not additional in cost. You Distributor can get the software from Nortel. Same process as always...upgrade you Voice Gateway Media Cards, You Signaling Server, and PBX as part of the upgrade. If you need new hardware upgrades (such as Memory on the Singnaling server and or Processors in the PBX that will need to be factored into the equation as well). Get your distributor to provide you a quote.

IP Call Recording Phase 2

CS 1000 Release 4.5 introduces an enhancement to IP Call Recording that provides a direct and cost effective method of capturing and recording VoIP calls.

The feature enhancement implements a mechanism to record the IP media stream to an external media-recording device by instructing the IP Phone to send a duplicate media stream to a third-party call-recording application. The third-party callrecording application provides the recording and playing function for the IP calls.

This feature enhancement is supported on the Phase II IP Phone 2001, IP Phone 2002, IP Phone 2004 and will be supported on the IP Softphone 2050 and the IP Phone 2007 with their next firmware up issue.

This feature requires as a minimum:
• Communication Server 1000 Release 4.5 Software
• IP Phone Firmware D98
• Symposium 5.0 Service Update 5
• Product Enhancement Patch (PEP) SUS0504_IPR
• Third Party Call Recording Application and Server.

The Call Recording vendor must participate in the Nortel Partner Program and be a MLS licensee.

The following clients are not supported at this stage: 2050MVC (Mobile Voice Client), IP Audio Conference Phone 2033 and WLAN handsets (2210/2211). This feature is not applicable to Analogue or Digital (TDM) telephone sets.

This feature enhancement introduces a new class of service (CLS) prompt: IP Call Recording Allowed/Denied (ICRA/D).

Note: This Class of Service is not supported in OTM release 2.2. and overlay 10 must be used directly to add this CLS to the IP Phone. If the CLS prompt is set to Denied (default), the IP Phone will not respond to a duplicate media stream request and an error message will be sent to the Call Recording device.

Call Recording is initiated by the Call Recording (CR) application sending a Start Recording Request message via MLS to the Call Server. This MLS message specifies the IP Phone address (by DN, TN or ACD agent Position ID) to be recorded and the IP address and port information where the duplicate stream should be sent. The Call Recorder application can request the IP Phone to insert a warning tone into the transmit path of the IP media stream. This will signify to the distant party that the call is being
recorded.

If the request is for an invalid device (e.g. analogue or digital set, DN not equipped or excluded IP sets), an error message is returned. If the call recording is allowed the Call Server will send on a per call basis a Start Duplicate Media Stream Request message to IP Phone. The IP Phone creates an exact duplicate of the primary media stream (e.g. if the primary media stream is G.711, the duplicate media stream will also be G.711). The IP Phone sends separate Transmit and Receive duplicate media stream to the requested destination. At the end of the call the Call Server will send a Stop Duplicate Media Stream Request message.

When the IP Phone receives a start or Stop Duplicate Media Stream message it replies with an acknowledge message that it has undertaken the action. This message is then forwarded by the Call Server via MLS to the Call Recorder Application.

When the Call Recorder application wants to stop recording, it sends a Stop Recording Request message via MLS to the Call Server with the appropriate IP Phone information (DN, TN or ACD agent position ID). If a call is in progress, the call server will instruct the IP set to stop sending the duplicate stream.

CLID Redirecting Number Enhancements

Calling Line Identity (CLID) Redirecting Number Enhancements feature provides the flexibility to select the desired redirecting number for calls that undergo multiple redirections.

These enhancements enable users to select the desired CLID from the incoming call redirection information. Providing the appropriate CLID display on the terminating sets and selecting the appropriate Voice Mail box if applicable are the main benefits of these enhancements. The following sections describe the two key aspects of the enhancements.

Incoming diverted call with multiple internal and/or external diversions
One new configurable option Allow last Re-Directing Number “ARDN” on the Route Data Block in Overlay 16 will be provided to select the appropriate option according to the following scenarios:

• When the ARDN prompt is set to NO (default), the Original Called Number (OCN) is selected to be displayed and the associated Voicemail box will be utilized if applicable.

• When the ARDN prompt is set to YES, the last redirecting number will be selected to be displayed and the associated Voicemail box will be utilized if applicable.

• When the ARDN prompt set to RPO (Redirecting number for Public OCN), the Original called number is first checked if it is a private or pubic number (whether the call is first forwarded from private or public network).