Response Point Team Blog : Technology

2 Free VOIP Training Webcasts for Partners from TechEd's Top Speaker!

sprague — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:45:00 GMT

Introduction to Response Point Analysis with Wireshark (Part 1 of 2)
October 6th, 2009, 9:00 - 10:00am PDT
MRP01PAL

Registration URL: https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/LMS_ActDetails.aspx?UserMode=0&ActivityId=552695

This online seminar provides the foundation for troubleshooting Response Point communications with Wireshark, the open source analyzer, or other analyzer products. Beginning with the troubleshooting methodology and the tips/tricks to locating the cause of network problems related to VoIP communications, Laura demonstrates the visible evidence of the most common network infrastructure problems. If the infrastructure isn't performing properly - no network-based applications will perform properly. That includes Response Point.

Response Point Analysis and Troubleshooting (Part 2 of 2)
October 28th, 2009 9:00 - 10:00am PDT
MRP02PAL

Registration URL: https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/LMS_ActDetails.aspx?UserMode=0&ActivityId=552698

This online seminar follows the Introduction to Response Point Analysis with Wireshark event with a focus on issues that affect Response Point communications. Beginning with the overview of telephony protocols and typical communication processes, Laura delves into the numerous issues that affect the visibility and performance of Response Point systems, walks through a series of Response Point trace files and demonstrates how to use Wireshark's telephony-specific troubleshooting features. Finishing up this event is a summary of problems that may be caused by firewall issues and add-on service problems.

VPNs and Remote Workers

sprague — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:46:44 GMT

Erik Lagerway at the SMBPhone blog has a nice overview of how he installed a VPN to support a remote worker. It includes specifics like exactly which router he used, which Response Point hardware, and how he configured everything. He concludes:

The Response Point phone and Assistant worked as expected and the VPN provided other benefits related to file sharing etc.

We know that remote workers are an important scenario asked for regularly by customers, so Erik’s piece is a good read if you want to learn how to get one working for you.

Books We Are Reading … :)

RexBackman — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:55:07 GMT

Well sort of… Actually we are working on some small projects here in Redmond with Ray Horak. Ray’s a very savvy technologist with a focus on the telecom space. He is the author of some popular and well respected telecom books – a dictionary and a handbook on telecom and data communications. If you want to refresh your technical skills check out Ray’s books at your favorite book-buying location.

Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool

sprague — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:04:39 GMT

Does your router work with Response Point? Almost always the answer is yes – RP isn’t a terribly complicated addition to your network – but sometimes you’ll find older or poorly-made routers that can cause problems. Fortunately Microsoft offers a simple online tool to help evaluate the functionality of routers. Although it’s designed for home testing, many small offices use routers similar to those you have at home, so it’s worth taking a look:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/using/tools/igd/default.mspx

Quintum gateways are shipping

sprague — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:52:33 GMT

Response Point customers who need easy connectivity to digital services like T1, E1, and PRI, or analog phones and their FXS ports, have some new options starting today, with the general availability of the Quintum Response Point gateways. As we discussed back at the original announcement, these gateways give you the same easy-to-configure, auto-sensing functionality that RP users expect – in contrast to the complicated process required by other systems.

The digital (T1/E1/PRI) version has a list price of $1800. Just plug it into your network, launch RP Administrator, run the wizard and you’re set.

The analog gateway has the same easy configuration, only it lets you plug analog phones and use them on your RP network. The list price is $330 for 4 FXS ports.

Ask your closest Response Point reseller about how these products can bring new connectivity options to your small business. (and if you’re a reseller interested in carrying these products, contact Quintum for details).

RP Webinar on Telcomm

sprague — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:07:27 GMT

Tom Cross is doing a series of webinars for Response Point partners interested in learning more about telco. His next one is Thursday, November 19th at 9:30am PST.

He sent me a draft of the presentation and it looks very interesting, especially to those of us who think we know a fair bit about RP but want to learn more about the competition, and the industry as a whole.

The webinar covers everything from open source alternatives to hardware. Remember, the best part of attending the webinar live is that you get to ask questions of Tom right there.

If you want to be better at positioning yourself for RP sales, please sign up now (it's free).

There’s full-duplex, and then there’s FULL-duplex.

sprague — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:02:53 GMT

Here’s a note sent by Response Point hardware partner, Clearone.

By Mark G. Child

It seems to me there is a fair amount of confusion out there surrounding the term “full-duplex.” And since we’re the audio experts, I thought an attempt to clear things up a bit was in order.

First of all, some technical definitions:

Duplex: A duplex communications system is composed of two connected parties or devices which can communicate with one another in both directions (e.g., telephone). Radio and TV broadcasts are an example of communications systems that do NOT need duplex capabilities.

Half-duplex: A half-duplex system allows communication in both directions, but only one at a time—not simultaneously. A “walkie-talkie” is an example of a half-duplex system, since the listener must wait for the speaker to finish transmitting before he or she can begin speaking.

Full-duplex: A full-duplex system allows communication in both directions, simultaneously. Land line telephone networks are full-duplex, since both callers can talk and be heard at the same time.

Have you ever had a conference call where you and several other participants all huddled around a speakerphone and tried to have a meaningful conversation? You strained to hear the far side of the conversation; you had to yell to be heard. And, when someone tried to speak, the far side caller couldn’t hear you because she started to speak at the same time, and so you both talked in fits and spurts. Sound familiar?

Aside from a desire for good audio quality, full-duplex communication is a worthy goal, since this allows more natural conversations to take place. If the audio equipment you are using is not full-duplex, the microphones won’t pick up your voice if the person on the other end of the call is speaking. And this problem is compounded when both callers are using speakerphones, making it very frustrating to those trying to bring up new points or add to the conversation.

So, when is full-duplex not really FULL-duplex? Many speakerphones claim to provide full-duplex technology. Unfortunately, since their main job is not conferencing, they may actually perform at a level that is closer to half-duplex, or like our walkie-talkie example. Most telephone users spend a vast majority of their time on the phone speaking into the handset. However, once the speakerphone is activated, the device’s conferencing shortcomings soon become apparent.

Enter the experts. A conferencing phone is purpose-built, containing the high-performance technologies that will deliver a hands-free call that is as close to the participants being in the same room as possible. By combining state-of-the art acoustic echo cancellation with full-duplex performance, a good conference phone can give call participants crystal-clear audio without listener fatigue. And after all, isn’t effective communication the whole point?

ClearOne has been designing and building the best audio conferencing equipment for over 20 years and is recognized as the experts in the field. The MAX IP Response Point tabletop conference phone is the industry’s first—and only—conference phone for Microsoft’s Response Point phone system. And fortunately, just because it’s the best conference phone on the market doesn’t mean it’s expensive. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

Technical Resources for Response Point

sprague — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:35:37 GMT

People ask us for more technical information about Response Point, so we want to remind you about series of documents we think will help:

Deploying Windows SBS with RP

Small Business Server configuration instructions for an optimized Response Point user experience. This technical document is written for the phone system administrator (VAR, SBO, or other employee in charge of the network).

Troubleshooting Guide

Reference this guide for the seven simple system checks before launching troubleshooting technical resources. Use this high-level overview for common issues, causes, and solutions. This technical document is written for the phone system administrator (VAR, SBO, or other employee in charge of the network).

Maintaining RP

Reference for pre-deployment administrator issues, considerations and advice on maintaining Response Point at optimum performance and quality. This technical document is written for the phone system administrator (VAR, SBO, or other employee in charge of the network).

Also please see our documents on Networking Considerations and Networking Requirements.

Response Point XML API dev kit

sprague — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:06:58 GMT

Are you a developer who wants to make your own custom solutions on Response Point? Microsoft doesn't offer an SDK yet, but now Aastra has a free development kit that just might satisfy some of your need to build your own projects on top of Aastra's Response Point phones.

What can you do with the kit? Since the kit lets you write to the large Aastra phone display, one simple possibility is a dashboard that lets you show real-time items of interest to your user: weather reports, today's sales figures, alternate time zone, etc. Okay, those are some very simple examples, but if you're itching to provide something special to your customers, you'll want to look at this more closely.

Check out the Aastra Response Point XML API guide, available from the Aastralink RP web site at www.aastralinkrp.com.

UW EE Colloquium: How did we run a startup inside Microsoft?

Xuedong David Huang — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:37:00 GMT

I will be giving a talk at UW on May 6th, 2008 on our RP and core technology development story.

How did we run a startup inside Microsoft?

Delivering value to small businesses with the right product offering challenges many product teams at Microsoft. The Response Point team is no different. How did we enter into the competitive IP telephony market with a differentiated solution? I will discuss how the Response Point team’s vision of simplicity guided the team from conceptualizing the business proposal through product development and product launch as a startup experiment in a large enterprise. While technologies are critical, it is the use of technologies in the right context that is more critical to the success of the product. Response Point’s magic blue button illustrates how speech recognition technologies can be used to help small business customers managing their daily phone activities.

10 Things You Don't Know About Response Point

sprague — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:04:58 GMT

I'm putting the finishing touches on the presentation I'll be making at SMBNation's Response Point Deep Dive Webinar tomorrow morning (Jan 31). I'm going to discuss 10 things I bet you don't already know about Response Point.

Which things?

Well, some of them are technical things (like interfacing with Small Business Server) and some are more day-to-day practical (like how to hook RP up to a 2-line phone system). One of the more intriguing items is "How to Hack a Syspine Box".

Anyway, be sure to watch at 8am PST and don't forget to pre-register here:

Join at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/317941194

Response Point and Small Business Server

sprague — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:28:09 GMT

If you run Small Business Server (SBS), you want Response Point to take advantage of the powerful event handling and remote monitoring capabilities that come with your system. You already get integrated email, and we've hinted that more features are possible, but this week a bunch of new possibilities arrive now that we've released the new Response Point Status Monitor.

The Response Point Status Monitor is a free download (click here to get it) that runs in the background as a service to replicate the Response Point event logs to SBS and augment them with other events as needed (for example, the status monitor detects a fault in the Response Point deployment)—so that the
SBS automated monitoring reports can monitor Response Point. See instructions in our Windows Small Business Server Integration white paper.

Like everything else with Response Point, this service was designed to be super-easy -- so easy in fact that you might not think anything's happening (right, Mark?) But don't worry, it's just quietly humming away, waiting for some kind of event that SBS can respond to. You may want to test it a few times (try unplugging the base unit, for example!) to see what happens.

If you've set up a Response Point system for somebody in another location, we hope you find this utility helpful. As always, let us know if you have questions or would like more information.

Concept Recognition in Response Point

sprague — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:19:47 GMT

One of the coolest features of the Response Point automated receptionist is the ability to set pre-recorded announcements that will play when an outside caller asks common questions like "What is your office location?", or "What are your hours?". Unlike other IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems you may have tried, with Response Point you don't have to sp-eeeea-k slooooo-lyyyy or c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y to get the correct greeting. In fact, you can ask your question as naturally as you would to a human, using whatever words you usually use.

Alex Acero is a research area manager in Microsoft Research whose team collaborated with us to build this feature. When I bumped into Alex in our new cafe yesterday, he mentioned he was going to talk about the feature at a speech scientist talk next week and asked if I had any videos that demonstrate it.

So I made the following short demo to show how it works. Let us know what you think:

Response Point CRE

Remember: you're welcome to test my personal Response Point system 24 hours a day. (Dial 425-881-2170 or click here for more instructions).