Telephony replacement: transition guide - technical

For telephony lines requiring handsets some network preparatory work is required.  The timing of these activities is outlined at Telephony replacement: transition guide - tasks and schedule and details are available at Telephony network preparation | IT Help.

If your network is managed by Managed Network Services (MNS), MSDIT or GLAM IT you do not need to coordinate these activities as they will be undertaken by the appropriate team.  You might need to take action if physical cabling is required to move analogue lines to Teams Phone. 

Otherwise, you need to engage early with your network provider and IT support colleagues to plan this work.

The key activities are:

• arranging for cabling installation if it required to move analogue lines to Teams Phone
• configuring a suitable Voice VLAN
• requesting the FroDo port be enabled.

There are two possible approaches for lines requiring handsets:

• a big-bang approach where you swap Chorus for Teams Phone on a single a day 
• a staged approach which is dependent on your network administrator being able to support Teams Phone and Chorus at the same time on your network

You can validate your network configuration by testing handsets ahead of your transition to Teams Phone.  

• request a test device from the project team. This will be supplied from your project provided allocation (10% of common area handsets)
• configure your network and network port for use with Teams Phone devices
• plug your test device in to a Teams network port, and ask your ITSS to verify that it is picking up a Teams IP address.  They can do so by checking at https://www.networks.it.ox.ac.uk/itss/huginn
• if the network is set up correctly, you should be able to log into the phone using your own account and also test how it operates 

1. For Poly CCX handsets, you need to register your handsets ahead of deployment by sending your list of MAC addresses and models to the project team.

2. Deploy handsets to their required location.  The device should pick up an address in the Teams network subnet associated with your building’s Frodo.  You can check what is in Huginn (available to ITSS via https://www.networks.it.ox.ac.uk/itss/huginn/frodos/)
3. You then need to:
   1. plug in the device and set the admin password (the default is 789)
   2. accept the Terms & Conditions
   3. set the language
   4. set the time zone
   5. confirm the settings, and the phone will reboot
4. The handset will boot up and display a URL and a code on the screen.  Note: the handset will log in to the account associated with the browser you’re using
   1. personal phones: browse to the URL and log in with their SSO credentials.  If they are already logged in on the browser, you will not need to perform this step.  Next, enter the code on screen and the user should be logged into the phone.  Note: the code on the phone’s screen only lasts for a few minutes.  If login fails, try refreshing the code on the phone and entering this on the browser you’re using. 
   2. common area phones: use the browser on your laptop or PC to navigate to the URL using a private or incognito window.  Enter the code on the phone’s screen.  When prompted, enter the Common Area Phone username and password supplied.   Details of the username and default password can be found on this document.  On first login, you will need to change the password.  There is no need to retain this password in your records, nor tell the support team what it is
5. Unplug any Chorus handsets and store ready for collection, otherwise your users will be able to make outbound calls using the same number on two systems which would cause confusion 

In some cases, where there is a lack of available network ports, the telephone is used to give network access to PCs and laptops. It is easy to check for this. If the Chorus phone has 2 network cables plugged into it then it is indeed supplying network access to a laptop or PC.  

When it is time to swap the Chorus phone for the new Poly Teams phone, you can ensure both phone and PC continue to work by following the following steps: 

1. Turn the Chorus phone upside down and identify the port marked 'Network'  
2. Unplug and retain the cable from that port 
3. Then remove the other cable from the port labelled 'PC'  
4. Remove the Chorus phone from the desk and replace it with the new Poly phone 
5. Plug the cable that was in the port marked 'Network' on the Chorus phone into the left-hand port on the Poly phone (it is embossed with a picture of 3 devices linked together) 
6. Plug the cable which was in the port labelled 'PC' on the Chorus phone into the right-hand port on the Poly phone (it is embossed with a picture of a PC screen)  

The phone will boot up and PC connectivity to the network will be restored.  

Call Queues

A Call Queue is similar to a Hunt Group in Chorus.  It allows calls to a single number to be distributed to a group of colleagues. This is managed through the Teams client of the named individual. 

AutoAttendant

AutoAttendant provides additional functionality such as welcome messages, time-of-day-routing, and configurable opening hours.  This can be managed in the Teams client of the named individual. 

See more information on the IT Help site further information.

How to activate Call Queues/AutoAttendants

To set up in Teams Phone, complete the Call Queues and Autoattendants’ Service Request for each one as soon as possible.  When completing the Request, select the following options:

• Requester details: when asked whether the number is on Telephony over Teams (now known as Teams Phone) or Chorus, select the option that applies
• Setting the call routing live to the Teams Queue/AutoAttendant Contact:
  • if the all the lines associated with that Call Queue have already been reassigned to Teams Phone, select You can set the call routing immediately
  • if the any of the lines associated with that Call Queue have not yet been assigned to Teams Phone select Please contact before setting the call routing live

The Communications and Collaboration team will then be in touch to discuss when to activate this for you.

Intercoms will work in one of the following ways:

1. Audio only: these devices can be remotely reconfigured to work on Teams Phone.  They can be configured to call people or groups on Teams Phone in the same way they did on Chorus
2. Audio and video: Teams Phone cannot handle video calls from these devices.  This means that migrating your intercom will require that the device is reconfigured to work with a 2n Indoor View.  The 2n Indoor View can handle calls from many intercoms, and the reception team will be able to clearly see who is at the door before remotely unlocking it

Migration process

Migrating your intercoms will impact your building operations, so the project team will provide as much support as possible.  

Audio only

The project team will remotely reconfigure your device to work with the Teams network and migrate your intercoms telephone number to Teams Phone.  The project team will do this while your device remains on the Chorus network.  When their work is complete, you will need your network administrator to reconfigure the network port supplying the intercom with the Teams Phone voice VLAN.

Audio and video

You will need to purchase a 2n Indoor View (from Avoira) and plug it into the Teams network, so that the project team can remotely reconfigure it.  The project team will remotely reconfigure your device to work directly with the Indoor View.  The project team will do this while your device remains on the Chorus network.  When their work is complete, you will need your network administrator to reconfigure the network port supplying the intercom with the Teams Phone voice VLAN.

To optimise the responsiveness of Phoneman:

• it is recommended that you stagger reassigning personal lines to Teams Phone and start this process early (note that Call Queues and delegation will only work if all associated lines are in Teams Phone)
• it is recommended that you decommission unwanted lines in advance of reassigning lines requiring handsets from Chorus to Teams Phone (for example the day before)