Posted: December 30th, 2011 | Author: Michael | Filed under: MSPL | Tags: Lync Server SDK, Managed SIP Application API, MSPL | 11 Comments »
The Lync Server SDK includes an API, the Managed SIP Application API, which is essentially a more powerful and complex managed-code cousin of MSPL (Microsoft SIP Processing Language). It allows you to create applications that, much like MSPL scripts, reside on a Front End Server or one of the other Lync servers (Edge, Mediation, etc.). Unlike MSPL, however, these are created using managed code. The classes that make up the API, which are contained in the Microsoft.Rtc.Sip namespace, allow you to modify SIP messages and control message routing in a number of ways that are not possible with MSPL. Continue reading “Modifying SIP headers using the Managed SIP Application API” »
Posted: December 27th, 2011 | Author: Michael | Filed under: UCMA 3.0 | Tags: media | No Comments »
For complex UCMA applications that handle things like quality monitoring, call recording, or call flow management, the effect of the UCMA application on network traffic can become a concern. For a UCMA application to act as a participant in an audio, video, or application sharing call, there must be a media stream flowing from the application to the remote party on the call, and another media stream flowing from the remote party back to the application, as in the diagram below. Each of these streams will take up bandwidth on whatever network the media must traverse to flow between the endpoints, or on the connection to the public Internet if the remote endpoint is an individual user logged into Lync remotely. Continue reading “Reducing media traffic from UCMA using call hold” »
Posted: December 20th, 2011 | Author: Michael | Filed under: Conferencing, Lync Development, UCMA 3.0 | Tags: AVMCU, dial out, MCU | 10 Comments »
At times I find it confusing to how an MCU dial-out (as triggered by methods like AudioVideoMcuSession.BeginDialOut in UCMA) differs from a conference invitation (ConferenceInvitation class in UCMA). In my previous post I described what happens behind the scenes when a conference invitation is sent to a Lync user, so I thought I would take this post to explain the very different process that occurs during an MCU dial-out. UCMA does a very good job of putting a layer of abstraction over the extensive SIP signaling that goes on at a lower level during both of these operations, which is a good thing overall, since it frees up developers to focus on solving business problems using the API. However, at times it is useful to know things like the underlying difference between a conference invitation and an MCU dial-out in order to solve complex technical questions. Continue reading “Conference invitations vs. MCU dial-outs” »
Posted: December 15th, 2011 | Author: Michael | Filed under: Conferencing, Lync Development | 1 Comment »
From the Lync client, the process of inviting someone to a conference, or of being invited to a conference, seems simple and straightforward. The recipient clicks on the incoming call popup to accept the invitation, a Lync conversation window opens up, and he or she is connected to the conference. If you take a look at the SIP messaging that is going on during this process, though, it is quite a bit more involved than you might expect. Inviting a new participant to a typical audio conference involves three separate SIP dialogs. Continue reading “Lync conference invitations in SIP terms” »
Posted: December 8th, 2011 | Author: Michael | Filed under: Lync Development, MSPL, OCS Development | Tags: MSPL, SDP | No Comments »
Microsoft SIP Processing Language, a.k.a. MSPL, can be handy for changing Lync’s routing behavior, to do things like block or reroute calls based on their origin, or send all calls of a certain type to a UCMA application. In certain cases, when writing MSPL scripts, you may want your script to behave differently depending on whether it is dealing with an audio call or an instant messaging session. It’s not immediately obvious how to distinguish between these two types of calls in MSPL, so I wanted to write up a quick description of how you can do this. Continue reading “Distinguishing IM vs. audio calls in MSPL” »
Posted: December 1st, 2011 | Author: Michael | Filed under: UCMA 3.0 | Tags: forwarding, routing, SIP, voicemail | 1 Comment »
If you have a UCMA application that does call routing, particularly one that is designed to get callers to an available person, you may need a way to figure out whether your call has been answered by the person you were trying to dial, using Lync; whether it has been picked up by Exchange UM voicemail; or whether it has been redirected to another Lync user or a PSTN phone number. This way, you can avoid situations like sending an irritable customer who wants immediate assistance to the voicemail box of someone whose name they have never heard before. Continue reading “How to know when voicemail answers a Lync call” »