Telephony Best practices

  • Article

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

Best practices

  • As a rule, any computer with enough processing power to run a Windows Server 2003 operating system can act as a telephony server, linking client computers to hardware, such as a PBX.

    Other services, especially server-side telephony programs, may have different requirements.

    Remember that, if the telephony server is the PBX, it may make additional processing demands.

  • Obtain service provider components required to communicate with a PBX from a PBX vendor or value-added reseller.

    TAPI does not supply the service provider components required to communicate with a PBX.

  • Like networking software, a telephony program must be secured to protect privacy and data integrity.

    The Telephony service must run on a computer that is a member of a Windows Server 2003 domain, and all users must have valid domain accounts. The domain administrator defines which users have permission to communicate with the switch, and the telephony server administrator defines which lines those users can access.

  • Telephony client users must be in the same domain as the telephony server.

    Make sure that telephony clients are in the same domain as a telephony server or in a domain that has a two-way trust relationship with the domain containing the server. MADCAP servers must also be in the same domain as their client computers.

  • Specify the server on a telephony client or install the Windows Remote Service Provider to make lines or phones available to the client users

    TAPI is automatically installed on computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. However, unless your servers are running Windows Server 2003 , and your clients are running Windows XP or a Windows Server 2003 operating system, you must specify a server on the telephony clients before the server's lines are available to the client users.

    For more information, see Specify telephony servers on a client computer.

    If your servers are running Windows Server 2003 , and your clients are running Windows XP or a Windows Server 2003 operating system, you only need to add the Windows Remote Service provider.

    For more information, see Add a telephony service provider.

  • Set up a domain and install Active Directory for IP multicast video conferencing (and optionally, for H.323 IP telephony).

    In Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, application directory partitions store and replicate static or dynamic program-specific data. TAPI application directory partitions are not required for H.323 IP telephony, but if one is available on your network, users of TAPI-based programs can specify user names, rather than computer names or IP addresses, when making H.323-based IP telephony calls.

    Note

    • You can still use Internet Locator Service (ILS) servers in your organization, if ILS is needed to support certain programs, because telephony clients running Windows XP or a Windows Server 2003 operating system can query either ILS servers or TAPI application directory partitions.

    For more information about TAPI and Active Directory, see TAPI and Active Directory.

  • If you create a multicast scope, be certain to provide a range of addresses that is large enough for your needs.

    If a range is not large enough, the scope's pool of addresses will be exhausted. The time-out period must also allow addresses to be reused often enough to keep the pool of addresses from being exhausted. A setting of 30 days is normally sufficient.

    For more information, see Using multicast scopes, Create a multicast Telephony scope, and Enabling IP multicast.