What’s New in AltiGen’s Release 6.5, Update 1
The following enhancements have been made to MAX Communication Server Release 6.5 and Release 6.5 Update 1
SNMP Management Feature
MAXCS issues alerts, via SNMP, that fall into the following categories:
- Server status – Server memory, CPU, or hard disk exceeds defined limits
- MAXCS Software Status – Switching service is initialized, stopped, or restarted
- PRI Service Status – PRI trunk goes down or reconnects
- Gateway Status – A gateway server loses connection or restarts
- Multi-site Enterprise Manager status – The master or a member server in the Enterprise VoIP domain goes down or reconnects
- IP Phone Server Service Status – IP phone server service goes down or restarts
- Voice Mail Service Status – Voice mail service goes down or restarts
- CTI Service Status – CTI service (CT Proxy) goes down or restarts
- Softswitch Redundancy Status – Softswitch redundancy switchover occurs
QoS Enhancement (802.1p/802.1Q)
Supports 802.1p class of service priority and 802.1Q VLAN in the server and AltiGen IP
phones
Secured VoIP Calls (TLS/SRTP)
Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure RTP (SRTP) are implemented to establish secured SIP connections and encrypted conversations to prevent eavesdropping. Secured connection can be configured for AltiGen IP phones and SIP-Tie trunks.
Enhanced 3rd Party IP Phone Support
Release 6.5 supports standard SIP Hold, Transfer, Call Waiting, and server-side Conference for certified 3rd party SIP phones. This release also supports the Polycom SoundStation IP6000 conference phone.
Microsoft Exchange 2007 Integration Enhancements
Release 6.5 expands the capability of Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging (UM) with the following new features:
- Option to enable voice mail synchronization in Bridged mode. You can use Bridged mode to access Exchange UM over SIP only or enable voice mail synchronization with
UM at the same time. - Native mode integration enhancements, namely, the ability to:
- Return a call from Exchange voice mail
- “Zero out” of Exchange voice mail greeting to the operator
- Click “Play on Phone” option from Outlook 2007 to play the voice mail stored in Exchange
In addition, the AltiGen voicemail greeting is disabled when in Native mode.
PBX Enhancements
Station conference enhancements
The station conference bridge is released when the number of conference participants is
reduced to two. The call can then be transferred or parked. The conference bridge is
freed for other users.
MeetMe conference enhancements
Supports 120 MeetMe conference members in one bridge when using an HMCP MeetMe
conference resource. If the MeetMe conference has more than 30 members, by default
all the members are muted.
SIP Trunk Enhancement
Gives the ability to send the Transmitted Caller ID when the extension user makes a call
through a SIP trunk, if the SIP trunk service provider supports it.
Mobile Extension over SIP trunk
Allows you to deliver Mobile Extension features to a cell phone or a PSTN number over
a SIP trunk.
Ability to assign a Mobile Extension to a different trunk group
For systems with PSTN, SIP, or cell phone gateway as MobileExt trunks, you can assign
a MobileExt to use a specific trunk group to save toll charges.
Import and export an extension list from or to a CSV file
Helps speed up the process of creating extensions and configuring extension settings
after a system is configured.
Multi-site VoIP Enterprise Management New Features
Global extension rerouting over PSTN when WAN connection is down.
When a user dials a global extension number in the Enterprise VoIP domain and the WAN
connection is down, the call is automatically rerouted over PSTN to the destination.
Enterprise Manager will publish the main PSTN number of each site to all VoIP domain
members for PSTN rerouting.
Redirect an AltiGen IP phone to an alternate server when its home server is down.
An IP phone can be assigned to two MAX Communication Servers in the same VoIP
domain; one is the home server and the other one is an alternate server. When the home
server is down, the IP phones will register to the alternate server automatically. Thus,
the IP phone can still work under the alternate (backup) server. When the home server
is recovered, the administrator can switch IP phones back to the home server from
Enterprise Manager. The extension must be a global extension in a VoIP domain.
This feature supports only AltiGen IP phones. Analog phones or 3rd party IP phones are
not supported.
Client Application Enhancement
Line Park Supported on MaxCommunicator and MaxAgent
The administrator can assign Line Park groups to an extension in the Line Park
configuration. When configured, the assigned lines will show up on the Line Park tab in
MaxCommunicator and MaxAgent clients. The extension user can park a call from the
client application and allow other users to pick up the call from either an AltiGen IP phone
or a client application.
MaxMobile Communicator (MaxMobile) for the G1 Phone
AltiGen’s new MaxMobile Communicator application, installed on a G1 phone based on
Google’s Android platform, makes the phone a fully capable office phone extension and
serves as a “desktop” call control client, allowing the user to access, configure, and
perform most of the company’s PBX functions directly from the graphical user interface
in MaxMobile Communicator. This includes call handling, call forwarding, extension
monitoring, conferencing, conversation recording, directory and contact lookup and dial,
and contact editing. An AltiGen MaxMobile license is required.
New in Release 6.5 Update1
The following features are new in MAXCS ACC/ACM Release 6.5 Update1:
PBX Enhancements
AltiGen IP phone can automatically discover server IP address
You can enable the AltiGen IP phone to automatically discover the MAXCS server IP
address (instead of the user having to enter it manually) by configuring option 120 in
your DHCP server with your MAXCS IP address. The user will only need to enter the
extension and password.
In addition to making initial IP phone setup easier, this feature is also helpful when there
is a need to migrate MAXCS to a new IP address. The administrator just needs to update
the new MAXCS IP address in the DHCP server and then reboot all Altigen IP phones.
The phones will automatically pick up the new MAXCS IP address.
Extensions can be imported from Active Directory
In addition to importing extensions from a CSV file, this update supports importing
extensions from the Active Directory. This saves significant time by avoiding re-entering
extension information.
Recording alert tone is periodic
In addition to inserting a recording tone at the beginning of a conversation, a periodic
recording alert tone is added in this update. It occurs every 15 seconds in half-second
bursts of 1400 Hz and is recorded together with the conversation. (Configured in
Extension Configuration > General page.)
A Custom Phrase Manager tool makes managing custom phrases easy
The AltiGen Custom Phrase Manager is a Windows-based application that makes
managing custom phrases easy. It displays all custom phrases in a graphical user
interface. You can add or delete a phrase by clicking a button. You also can rename an
existing phrase to a meaningful name. An AltiGen SDK license is required to use this tool.
Changes in automatic administrative tasks
- In the midnight tasks, reset channel is removed, and MAXCS will no longer reset
channels and boards automatically. - The configuration backup option under MAXCS Data Management is now turned on
by default.
Client Application Enhancement
MaxCommunicator, MaxAgent, and MaxOutlook enhanced with ability to:
- Dial Using Smart Tags—Phone numbers that appear in Internet Explorer and
Microsoft Office programs can be dialed through the active MaxAgent/MaxCommunicator/MaxOutlook by either clicking an icon (in Internet Explorer) or choosing Dial by MaxClient from a Smart Tag (in Microsoft Office programs). Requires configuration on the MaxAgent/MaxCommunicator/MaxOutlook’s Configuration > General screen and in each Microsoft Office program. - Dial Using Shortcut Keys — Users can select a phone number from any window, for
example, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, Excel, Notepad, and so on, and then dial
that phone number by pressing two or three keys they define for this task. Requires
configuration on the MaxAgent/MaxCommunicator/MaxOutlook’s Configuration >
General screen (Select-n-Dial option). - Dial Automatically — Any phone number users dial using a Smart Tag or the Selectn-N-Dial method can be dialed automatically, or they can choose to simply have that phone number put in the dialer box. This option is configured on the Configuration > General screen.
- Record, save and play a message to a call — A new feature called MaxCall allows
a user to hand over an outgoing connected call to the MAXCS system so that when
the callee’s voice mail is reached it can play a message the user pre-recorded, for
example a marketing campaign script. This frees the user’s extension to make the
next call. This feature is available on a new MaxCall tab. An AltiGen MaxCall license
is needed for this feature.