Setting up the PSTN server and client

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 8 Beta

Setting up the PSTN server and client

Telephony programs can use telephony devices controlled by both local and remote telephony service providers. For remote devices, the telephony server controls user access to lines and phones. The Windows Remote Service Provider on client computers gives users access to telephony devices on remote servers. The following instructions summarize how to set up the telephony server and clients.

Select a server that is part of a domain

Make sure that the server that will be used as a telephony server is part of a domain and that the domain is trusted by the telephony users' domains. Add telephony clients to this domain or a fully trusted domain. Clients cannot be logged on to more than one domain at a time. For information about adding local users or groups, see Local Users and Groups overview. For more information about adding users and groups in Active Directory, see Windows interface administrative tool reference A-Z: Active Directory Users and Computers.

Administer the telephony server

Log on to the server as an administrator. Administrators of the Telephony service must be in the same domain as the server or in fully trusted domains. Use the Telephony console in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to administer the Telephony service on the local computer. To open the Telephony console, see Working with MMC console files.

Enable the telephony server

The telephony server is automatically installed with Windows Server 2003 operating systems. To begin using the telephony server, you must first enable it, and then specify the logon account for the Telephony service on the server. You can also specify additional telephony administrators. They do not have to have administrative credentials on the entire server.

Use the Telephony console to enable the telephony server. For more information, see Enable or disable a telephony server.

When you enable the telephony server, enter the user name and password of the domain user account to run the Telephony service on the server. (For more information, see Change the Telephony service logon account for a telephony server.) This account must be in the Administrators group on the server. It must also be in the same domain as the server or in a fully trusted domain. You may want to create a special account in the domain for this purpose. If you do, use an easily recognizable name, such as TAPI_ADMIN.

You should also designate individuals who will administer the telephony server. (For more information, see Designate telephony administrators.) This procedure enables you to allow users who do not have administrative credentials on the telephony server to administer the Telephony service. This procedure does not give users additional administrator rights and permissions on the server. Users who have administrative credentials on the telephony server can administer the Telephony service just as they can administer any other service on the computer. These users must be in the same domain as the telephony server or in fully trusted domains.

Provide access to Telephony service providers

Specify which users have access to the telephony service providers on the telephony server. This task is also performed in the Telephony console. You can do this by assigning users to a line or phone belonging to the service providers. (For more information, see Assign a telephony user to a line or phone.) Users need to be in the same domain as the telephony server or in a trusted domain. If you need to delete a user, follow the steps in Remove users from telephony lines or phones.

Set up the telephony clients

To use remote PSTN telephony devices on a server, telephony clients must be running TAPI version 2.1 or later. For information about which version of TAPI is included in each Windows operating system, see Telephony Resources.

Computers running Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition must have File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and user-level access control enabled, and they must be running Client for Microsoft Networks. For more information, see Enable a Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition telephony client.

For all operating systems, you need to specify the telephony servers to be used by the client. For more information, see Specify telephony servers on a client computer. The clients must be in the same domain as the telephony server or in fully trusted domains.