Support for Acme Packet Session Border Controllers in Lync Server 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 will reach end of support on January 9, 2018. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 interoperate with Acme Packet Session Border Controllers (SBCs) when used with SIP trunking to Internet telephony service providers (ITSPs). This article describes the supported topologies for using Lync Server 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Acme Packet SBCs.

Authors: Rui Maximo, Wajih Yahyaoui

Publication date: February 2011

Product version: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2

Lync Server 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2 now interoperate with Acme Packet Session Border Controllers (SBCs). Supported topologies are described in this article. Acme Packet and Microsoft work in close partnership to regularly test releases of Lync Server and Communications Server to ensure support of certain Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program (UCOIP) certified service providers that use Acme Packet SBCs. Acme Packet has also joined Microsoft in the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF), ucif.org, as a founding member.

Acme Packet SBCs are used by many Internet telephony service providers (ITSPs) as part of their SIP trunking infrastructure. These SBCs can be used to support SIP trunk connectivity to Lync Server and Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Mediation Servers on customer premises. In some instances, ITSPs may require an SBC to be deployed on the customer’s premises as part of the SIP trunk service for one or more of the following reasons:

• Interworking functions   The service provider may support only specific signaling and media functions that are not supported by your environment. By deploying an SBC on customer premises, the service provider can resolve these differences.

• Codecs compatibility   The service provider may choose to use a codec other than G.711 or RTAudio. The SBC deployed in the customer’s network converts the codec at the perimeter of the customer’s network. If the service provider supports the pass-through transit of RTAudio and RTVideo codecs, the Acme Packet SBCs are capable of supporting this function.

• Quality of service   By deploying an SBC within the customer’s network perimeter that is managed by the ITSP, the service provider eliminates many of the complexities of interoperating with the customer’s systems and can guarantee better service quality.

There are three supported deployment models for using Acme Packet SBCs in conjunction with a Lync Server or a Communications Server 2007 R2 SIP trunk. The first two models involve connecting the Mediation Server directly to an Acme Packet SBC. These deployment models are shown in Figure 1 and 2. Figure 3 illustrates a third option. These deployment models are supported only when used for SIP trunk services that have been qualified through the UCOIP.

Figure 1 illustrates the Mediation Server connecting directly to the Acme Packet SBC in the ITSP’s SIP trunk network infrastructure.

Figure 1. Mediation Server connecting directly to the SBC in the service provider’s SIP trunk network infrastructure

Figure 2 illustrates the Mediation Server connected to an SBC that is on customer premises but is managed by the service provider. This SBC is deployed in the customer’s network perimeter, which then links the SIP trunk to another Acme Packet SBC in the service provider’s SIP trunk network infrastructure.

Figure 2. SBC deployed in the customer’s network perimeter

Figure 3 illustrates the SBC connected to the IP-PBX, and the IP-PBX connected to the Mediation Server through Direct SIP. In this topology, SIP trunk connectivity for the Lync Server or the Office Communications Server environment is provided through the enterprise’s existing IP-PBX environment (which has an existing SIP trunk to the ITSP). This configuration requires that Direct SIP connectivity is supported for your particular IP-PBX. You can determine whether your IP-PBX is supported by Lync Server and Office Communications Server 2007 R2 by visiting the UCOIP site.

Figure 3. SBC connected to the IP-PBX

Configuring an SBC for any scenarios other than SIP trunk topologies is not supported. For example, configuring an SBC to interconnect to an Edge Server is not supported (Figure 4) because Lync Server and Communications Server clients must connect directly to the Edge Server to maintain the integrity of the end-to-end communication between clients and an Edge Server.

Figure 4. SBC connected to an Edge Server (not supported)