In addition to the global, cloud-based Office 365 service including Lync Online, Microsoft provides the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Multitenant Pack for Partner Hosting for companies offering hosted Lync services to their customers. The Lync Hosting Pack enables hosters to offer services such as IM/Presence, Conferencing, and Enterprise Voice in a multi-tenant architecture to overlay customers’ existing communications systems with UC capabilities. The Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Multitenant Pack for Partner Hosting is particularly attractive for companies that want to offer hosted Lync services in regions with unreliable international internet connections or where data security is a concern.

Author: Wajih Yahyaoui

Publication date: February 6, 2012

Product: Lync Server 2010

An important element of the  Lync Server 2010 Multitenant Pack architecture, is its ability to interconnect with public telephony networks. This enables Lync users to send calls to and receive calls from external parties. In cases where a direct connection between the hosted Lync Servers and the PSTN is required (for instance, when no qualified SIP trunking providers are available in that location), it is necessary to deploy a VoIP media gateway to convert the VoIP traffic emanating from Lync into TDM traffic and vice versa.

Figure 1.

AudioCodes, a Microsoft Gold Unified Communication Partner, provides a range of media gateways that can be deployed by Lync hosters, to enable interconnection with PSTN operators. AudioCodes media gateways support a variety of PSTN interfaces and VoIP protocols. They also offer a wide range of scalability and redundancy options. As part of the Microsoft Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program, AudioCodes collaborates closely with Microsoft to ensure interoperability between AudioCodes media gateways and Microsoft UC platforms. Several AudioCodes media gateways are qualified for use with Lync Server 2010. This ensures that customers have a seamless experience with setup, support, and operation of their voice services. All AudioCodes gateway platforms have a common core architecture, software version, and management system which reduces training and ongoing support expenses for the hoster.

The AudioCodes media gateway platforms that are frequently used for PSTN connectivity of Microsoft Lync are listed in the table below. The variety of available gateways enables hosters to choose the most suitable solution for their needs, based on factors such as scalability and redundancy.

Gateway Model

Mediant 1000

Mediant 2000

Mediant 3000

Mediant 8000

Max PSTN Channels

120

480

2,016

16,000

PSTN Interfaces

1 - 4 E1/T1

1-20 BRI

1 -16 E1/T1 trunks

Up to
63 E1/84 T1 trunks

Up to 8xOC-3 (STM-1) ports,
Up to 24xT3 (DS-3) ports
Up to 252 E1/T1/J1 trunks

Redundancy

Dual redundant 10/100 Ethernet ports

1+1 Power supplies

Dual Redundant 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet ports

1+1 Power supplies

Power supply, fans: N+1 load shared

Media gateway blades (including PSTN interfaces): 1+1

System Controller and Ethernet Switch blades: 1+1

Power supplies: N+1 Load Shared

Media Gateway blades (including PSTN interfaces): N+1

Table 1 - AudioCodes Media Gateways Comparison

One company that has successfully deployed the Lync Server Hosting Pack with AudioCodes media gateways is New Edge Technologies. New Edge Technologies is  a privately held company that specializes in Information Technology and Telecommunications services. Headquartered in Rabat, Morocco, the company is the only pure hoster of the Microsoft Unified Communications stack (Lync Server 2010) in Africa and the Middle East thanks to its strong partnership with Microsoft US. New Edge Technologies deployed AudioCodes Mediant media gateways with E1 ISDN interfaces to provide reliable interconnectivity between the hosted Lync platform and the local PSTN provider.

For more information on the hosting pack see the wiki page: Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Multitenant Pack for Partner Hosting Resources. 

Additional Resources

Lync Server Resources

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