Avaya IP Office Release 8
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
With the recent release of Avaya IP Office Release 8, Telephone Magic Inc. has had many questions asked about the new modules, software, updates, mobility, and general new features. Below you will find a list of questions and answers which should help.
Avaya IP Office Release 8 Hardware:
Avaya is introducing the C110 Unified Communications Module, an integrated CPU running Linux, thus avoiding the need for server licenses and any requirement to keep an external server updated outside of the telephony software and hardware. Avaya is also introducing a new IP DECT Gateway which allows connection of digital base stations to leverage existing 4-wire cabling.
Can the C110 UC Module run Preferred Edition Voicemail?
Yes. The C110 UC Module provides flexibility with application deployment such as Preferred Edition, one-X® Portal for IP Office, and one-X® Mobile Preferred for IP Office (server) and the ability to expand ports or licenses for user productivity packages.
What is the difference between Preferred Edition on a C110 and an external server?
The functionality is the same, but with the C110 UC Module you get more simplicity, single maintenance, and easier installation.
What is the capacity cut off between the C110 UC Module and an external server?
The final capacities of the C110 UC Module are still being determined.
Will the C110 UC Module require a software update to R8.0 after it becomes available?
Yes. The C110 UC Module is compatible with (and requires) Release 8.0 software on an IP500v2 chassis.
Does the C110 UC Module need to be plugged into a specific slot in the IP500v2?
No – the C110 UC Module can use any of the 4 slots.
What type of video endpoints can connect to the IP Office?
The 1000 series endpoints, the IP Office video softphone, and many standard SIP-based video endpoints are supported on IP Office.
Can I upgrade my Power Demo kit to include C110?
There are no new Demo Kits for R8.0. Please check the IP Office Power Demo Update from Release 7.0 on the SME Sales Portal –> SME Sales View –> IP Office Demonstrations. For demo kits that require a C110 UC Module, this item must be separately ordered and installed with the existing demo kit.
IP Office Basic Edition:
What is IP Office Basic Edition?
Basic Edition is specifically designed to address the “Sub-20” user market served by solutions such a PARTNER® ACS or Norstar, and offers embedded voice mail, eliminating the need for external servers. IP Office Basic Edition is boots-up with two intercom buttons, basic system functionality, and voice mailboxes are automatically populated on all phones. Administration can be via the telephone (TUI) or with Avaya IP Office Web Manager.
Are Essential Edition – PARTNER® Version and Essential Edition – Norstar Version still available?
Yes – they have been renamed “Basic Edition – PARTNER® Mode” and “Basic Edition – Norstar Mode”. Functionality is similar to Basic Edition.
Can I upgrade Basic Edition?
Yes. Basic Edition may be upgraded to Essential Edition by purchasing and applying the new Essential Edition License. During this upgrade, the configuration of the system will be retained.
Can we still forward/copy voicemail to an email address with Basic Edition?
Yes.
What is the maximum capacity of Basic Edition?
- Up to 100 digital phones (if using only Nortel T series and M series phones) or up to 98 digital phones (any combination of 1400, 9500 and Nortel T series and M-series) supported on DS8, TCM8, DS16/16A and DS30/30A modules
- Up to 100 analog phones
- Up to 18 PARTNER ETR phones (North America only, additional non ETR phones can be added total to 100)
- Up to 32 analog CO lines
- 1 PRI / E1 (30 lines, EMEA/MENA only)
- 1 PRI / T1 (24 lines, North America only)
- Up to 12 BRI channels
- Up to 20 SIP lines
How many ports and hours of voicemail storage come with Basic Edition?
Basic Edition Voice Messaging comes with 2 ports and 15 hours as standard.
Can I add more messaging ports or storage time to Basic Edition?
Yes – Additional ports can be added while simultaneously increasing storage capacity. With 2 additional ports, there are 4 ports in total, 20 hours of storage; with 4 additional ports, there are 6 ports in total, 25 hours of storage.
How many Auto Attendants are available with Basic Edition?
Basic Edition supports up to 9 Auto Attendants.
Can IP500v2 systems with Basic Edition be networked?
No.
Essential Edition License:
What is the Essential Edition license?
The Avaya IP Office Essential Edition License will enable mobile twinning and the one-X Mobile Essential client for all users. Essential Edition further provides the capability to add two remote workers, offering connectivity to the IP Office system without the need for a VPN concentrator.
Do I need to have the Basic Edition SD card to get Essential Edition?
Yes, the Basic Edition SD card is required.
Can I upgrade to Preferred Edition without the Essential Edition license?
No. Essential Edition is a pre-requisite for Preferred Edition. The Preferred Edition will not work if the Essential Edition license is not present. New customers attempting to install Preferred Edition without the Essential Edition license will receive a prompt that an Essential Edition license is required.
What about existing customers with Preferred Edition – will they need to purchase the Essential Edition license?
No. Existing customers with Preferred Edition will not need to buy an Essential Edition license for their system. The Essential Edition license will be implied.
Do the user solutions (e.g., Mobile Worker, Power User, etc.) work with Essential Edition?
Only the Receptionist solution can be used with Essential Edition. Mobile Worker, Teleworker, Office Worker, and Power User require an upgrade to Preferred Edition.
What about existing customers with Essential Edition and user productivity solutions – will they continue to work?
No. Existing customer sites where user solutions were implemented without Preferred Edition will need to upgrade to Preferred Edition with their R8.0 upgrade. Any R8.0 upgrades where only Essential Edition is implemented will lose all user solution functionality (excluding Receptionist, which will continue to work).
If existing Essential Edition customers upgrade to R8.0, will every user get one-X® Mobile Essential?
Yes.
Does the Remote Worker feature that comes with Essential Edition require a VPN phone?
No. You only need a 9600 IP phone to connect an IP Office system.
What if more than 2 remote workers are needed?
If more than 2 remote workers are needed, VPN phones can be added to the system. Optionally, upgrade to Preferred Edition and add as many Teleworker user solutions as needed.
Release 8 Enhancements:
What is one-X® Mobile Preferred?
one-X ® Mobile Preferred for IP Office provides rich unified communications capabilities for mobile workforce and is designed to give mobile users quick access to various forms of communications and help users conduct normal business while on the move. The application, which is included with Mobile Worker and Power User, provides unified communications capabilities including the following:
- Presence and Instant Messaging with server-side buddy lists and server-managed user groups and client side IM history
- Visual voicemail with ability to play voicemail messages and ability to manage voicemail messages from the mobile application
- Rich conference controls with click-to-conference for users and groups, entry and exit notifications, ability to view and manage conference participants (mute/unmute/disconnect/isolate)
- Advanced user presence monitoring and reporting including geo-location presence and tracking, calendar and on-the-phone presence, following user’s presence and availability
Is the one-X® Mobile Preferred client available for every user with Preferred Edition?
Individual users need to purchase a Power User or Mobile Worker user solution to enable the one-X® Mobile Preferred solution.
What mobile platforms are supported?
The application is supported on the Android platform. The Apple iPhone and Blackberry platforms will be supported in a later release.
Can the one-X® Mobile Preferred client be downloaded from the Android Marketplace?
Yes. However, it does require either an existing Mobile Worker or Power User license to function.
Does one-X® Mobile Preferred work with Wi-Fi networks?
The data connectivity is supported over Wi-Fi or 3G networks, but the primary call still needs to go over the cellular network.
Can IP Office R8.0 network with Avaya Aura® via Session Manager?
Yes – after further consideration, this capability was retained with IP Office R8.0.
How is Avaya one-X® Portal for IP Office enhanced?
Avaya one-X® Portal for IP Office in R8.0 introduces federated presence and instant messaging with GoogleTalk contacts both internal and external to the organization. R8.0 also introduces integration with Microsoft® Exchange, allowing the presence status of a user to automatically change based on calendar eetings/appointments. Additionally, users can now integrate 3rd party gadgets from iGoogle or Zoho directly into their desktop for a more personalized workspace.
Can users create their own or design their own gadgets?
No, not at this time.
Does the Exchange server need to reside on the customer site to interoperate with one-X® Portal for IP Office?
Yes.
How is Avaya Customer Call Reporter (CCR) enhanced?
Customer Call Reporter now provides the following real-time monitoring and historical reporting enhancements:
- 15/30 minutes reporting
- Agent Performance Factor (APF) in the Agent Time Card Report
- System Statistics enhancements
- Real Time – Presented Calls – sum of Calls Answered + Calls Lost – Monitor and Wallboard
- Supervisor Report Template Copy
IP Office Release 8.0 also introduces that ability to create custom reports using Microsoft Report Builder, as well as a new coaching / silent intrusion / whisper page feature, allows a supervisor to listen in on a live call and talk to an agent without the far end caller hearing the conversation.
What is the Avaya IP Office Plug-in for Microsoft® Outlook?
The IP Office Plug-in for Microsoft® Outlook brings a subset of the one-X® Portal functionality to Outlook, allowing you to click-to-call or conference contacts directly within the application. It is included with the Power User, Office Worker, and Teleworker user solutions.
What features does the Outlook Plug-in support?
The Avaya IP Office Plug-in for Microsoft Outlook includes the following features:
- Federated Presence
- Click-to-call any contact
- Call screening
- Visual voice mail
- View the communication history with a selected contact or logged in user
- Export Outlook contacts to one-X Portal Server
- Plug-in window can be “collapsed” to avoid capturing the entire screen. The UC features will continue to be available to the Outlook user
What is the Avaya IP Office Plug-in for Salesforce.com®?
The Avaya IP Office Plug-in for Salesforce.com® is included with the Power User, Office Worker, and Teleworker user solutions, and enables users to control calls through IP Office from within the Salesforce.com portal, including:
- Making outbound calls
- Receiving incoming calls
- Put calls on/off hold
- Consultative or blind transfers
- Screen pops on incoming calls
Software Upgrades:
What is the cost of an IP Office software upgrade to R8.0 from previous releases?
For IP Office systems with up to and including 32 users, the upgrade license price is $99 NPL. For IP Office systems with 33 users and above, the upgrade license price is $199 NPL per system.
How does IP Office track the 32 users?
IP Office tracks the number of extensions every time a phone attempts to log in. For example, if the system was upgraded for 32 users and below, when the 33rd phone attempts to connect, the phone will show an error. Customers that have bought the below 32 license but configured with more than 32 extensions, will need to purchase the 33 users and above license.
When a new IP500v2 system is purchased, does the upgrade license need to be purchased in order to run IP Office Release 8.0?
No. New IP500v2 systems purchased with Release 8.0 do not require the upgrade license. Additionally, if you purchase the new IP Office 500v2 with Release 8.0, then you have a period of 90 days from initial use of the system to install the version of software that you wish to run. Thus, if another release of IP Office becomes available within 90 days, you can upgrade to that release without purchasing an upgrade license.
If an IP Office 500v1 is purchased does the upgrade license need to be purchased in order to run IP Office Release 8.0?
Yes. Note: The 90 grace period described above is not applicable to the existing IP Office 500 v1, IP406v2, or IP412 systems; these systems will require the purchase of the upgrade license.
If Avaya releases another system release shortly after a new IP Office 500v2 is purchased with Release 8.0, can that system be upgraded to the new release in the 90 day window without an upgrade license?
Yes. If Avaya releases a new software release within 90 days of a system first being used, this new software release may be loaded and run on the new system within that 90-day window without requiring an upgrade license to the newer release. Note: The 90 day grace period is not applicable to existing IP Office 500v1, IP406v2, or IP412 systems; these systems will require the purchase of the upgrade license.
How is it controlled – can’t I just upload a new release of software to an IP Office?
A system can be upgraded but will ‘look’ for a license key after a short period of time. If a key is not present, the system will be unusable. In that event a license will need to be purchased to run Release 8.0 software.
Which releases of software will be supported?
Avaya will continue support release N (where N is the latest release) & N-1 (where N-1 is the latest release of the previous version of IP Office software). When Release 8.0 goes GA, Release 8.0 and Release 7.0 (latest maintenance release/service pack) will be supported. Release 6.1 will no longer be supported; that is, Avaya will no longer issue maintenance releases/service packs for Release 6.1.
In summary, the following applies:
If current Release ‘N’ Then, ‘N-1’ is
- Release 6.1 Release 5.0
- Release 7.0 Release 6.1
- Release 8.0 Release 7.0
- Release 9.0 Release 8.0
Will Avaya charge for software maintenance releases (also known as service packs)?
No.
How does Avaya support customers on IP Office Release 7.0 with a bug, assuming that the current release is Release 8.0?
Avaya policy is to support customers and deliver service packs for every supported (N and N-1) release. Assuming the current release is Release 8.0 (N), N-1 is Release 7.0. Customers with Release 6.0 will be asked to upgrade to a supported release (either R7.0 or R8.0). If the bug was reported after the end of support of Release 6.0, the customer will pay for the upgrade. If the bug was reported prior to the end of support of Release 6.0, Avaya Tier 3 and Avaya Tier 4 will be authorized to provide the relevant upgrade license free of charge.
How does Avaya support customers on IP Office Release 7.0 with a bug, assuming that the current release is Release 8.0?
Avaya policy is to support customers and deliver service packs for every supported (N and N-1) release. Assuming the current release is Release 8.0 (N), N-1 is Release 7.0. Customers will receive a service pack to correct the problem. Service packs are free of charge.
Assuming that a customer has an existing IP Office at Release 6.0 with 20 users, and they wish to expand to 40 users and upgrade to the latest release (for example, assuming Release 8.0). What do they do?
If their current IP Office R6.0 hardware does NOT support Release 8.0 software, they will need to purchase an IP500v2 unit. In this case, an upgrade license is NOT required. If there current IP Office R6.0 hardware DOES support Release 7.0 software, they will need to purchase the above 32 user software upgrade license since they wish to support 40 users.
Can customers skip releases?
Yes, customers can skip releases as long as their IP Office hardware supports the desired release.
Release 8 General Questions:
Where can we find more complete information on R8.0?
In our Avaya Manuals section under IP Office Release 8.0 Documentation.
Will there be a migration path from Avaya IP Office R8.0 to Avaya B5800?
There is no formal migration package from IP Office to B5800. Any opportunities will be addressed on a case-by-case basis
Will the R8.0 enhancements apply to the B5800 as well?
No. The B5800 is different platform and will not include the IP Office R8.0 enhancements.
Where can I find the link for the EZ Demo for iPad?
Go to the Partner or Enterprise Portal -> SME Sales View -> Demonstrations -> EZ Demo for iPad
Will the EZ Demo be available on Android tablets?
Avaya is assessing Android tablets, but no formal timeframe has been determined.
Add your IP 500 Expansion Modules and Cards here!
We can source any item, even from brands that are not represented on our website.