In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- Introducing dial plans and voice routing
- Defining dial plans
- Configuring PSTN usage – voice policy
- Configuring PSTN usage – Location-Based Routing
- Enabling routes
- Validating trunks
- Configuring load balancing, failover, and least cost routing
- Controlling call forwarding
Enterprise Voice is a complex group of features in Lync Server 2013, and involves a number of aspects that are as follows:
- Technological, like the architecture of our deployment and our hardware
- Economical, like Lync user licenses or Office 365 fees
- Logistical, like the agreements with one or more external providers
- Legal, like compliance with local regulations
This chapter focuses on some specific aspects of the flow used to manage a voice call from a user in Lync Server 2013. We can imagine the dialing of a phone number divided in two different phases. The first one is usually called dialing behaviors and has only one objective, that is, to normalize any dialed number until it is compatible with E.164 (or to apply a less used but more precise definition, the RFC3966 standard). Dial plans and normalization rules are used during this phase. The second phase is dedicated to a series of controls to resolve if a call is authorized and what is the best path for it. This is usually called the routing and authorization phase. Voice policies, voice routes, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) usage, and trunk configuration are applied during this stage. We will see the configurations and hints related to both the previously mentioned stages of call processing in Lync.