Join Teams work meetings from Microsoft Teams (free) and vice versa

Microsoft Teams (Free) users can currently join Teams for work (or school) meetings only as guests, which requires them to use a browser and results in a sub-optimal experience. The new feature rolling out will allow these users to join Teams for work (or school) meetings in one click, without being redirected to the browser or asked to fill in their name/surname. They will also be able to continue collaborating with the meeting organizer and other participants via meeting chat after the meeting.  The feature will work in the opposite way as well, so Teams for work (or school) will just as easily be able to join meetings hosted by a Teams Free user with one click. This is associated with Roadmap ID: 167326

Lync in coexistence with CUCM part 2

In part 1, I showed you how you can add calling features to Lync without enabling Enterprise Voice, and keeping all call control elements within an existing CUCM installation. There is one major drawback to the design in part 1; It requires a LAN connection to the CUCM in order to work.

Great if you are afraid users will misuse the trust given to them, by making a lot of calls from home but charging the company bill. Not so great if you have a lot of employees who's constantly on the road, and need to bring their phone and office capabilities with them.

This is where you might give this design a thought. Using a sip-trunk as described in a previous post, I place the the Lync server "behind" the existing CUCM. I create a separate fictional number range on the Lync server, and get creative in the CUCM server.

The users will only need to know their Cisco phone number as their primary number. And with the configuration example I will provide here, I will show you how you can use CUCM to dual fork calls to both the HW and SW phone. And how to hide the fictional Lync number when the client makes a call out to PSTN.

This way, you can make use of every remote feature the Lync can offer. You can even route calls to the Lync server, and serve all the features Lync has to offer.

Let's get down to business. Again; this is not a step-by-step guide, but rather a configuration example on one of the ways you can implement this in your environment.

I'll begin by showing what you need to do on the end-user interface (you might have to go a bit back and forth to complete all tasks, but I'll try to keep it as straight forward as possible).

My way of implementing dual-forking, is by utilizing the "mobility feature" in CUCM. This must be enabled on the user before you can allocate the user to the Remote profile. (NB: The remote profile won't be available until you have created it, and added the user as an owner)



And don't forget to associate the Cisco IP Phone as well.



Finally, make sure the user can control CTI devices, and access the end-user page in CUCM.



Let's take a look at the devices, numbers and destinations involved. I find the easiest way to begin is by going to the users primary device, and copy it to a remote destination profile (and copying all the device's properties).



Remember to add the end user to this profile.



When in the newly created device, add a remote destination and fill inn the desired settings (such as always ring, or ring only when....). These setting can be made available for the end user to modify through their CUCM user web page.



Make sure the the remote destination has a pattern match in the route plan, and sends the call to the Lync server.



If you take a closer look at the screen shot above, you might discover two patterns. One pattern is made for sending the call to the Lync server. The other pattern you see here is a "Calling party transformation mask" which is used to mask the calling number when the Lync client is making a call to PSTN.

How do we achieve this? Here is a suggestion.
Create a CPTP matching the number (or numbers).




Put it in a separate partition only the gateway has access to through the gateway page.





When you now have prepared the CUCM, enable the user in Lync with Enterprise voice and the "fictitious" number.



Finally, there is one tiny (but important) thing the end user will have to edit if you want users to see the correct phone number in the contact card: His (or hers) phone number.



That would be all for now. Happy labbing :)

See the other posts in this series for more info on CUCM and Lync



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Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi, when you call out from Lync Client, is the Cisco Extension busy?Have you any presence update when you use the Cisco Phone?
Interesting question.
Maybe I should create a post on the subject?

Here is the thing: The Lync client is blissfully unaware of the CUCM. If the CUCM phone goes off-hook, there is no sigannling to the Lync of it's presence status.
But, if the Lync calls somewhere else (and through the CUCM), the CUCM catches the status of the "remote destination" and will signal "line busy" to CUCM (as a shared line).

I will go through the scenarios in an upcoming post.
Anonymous said…
Unfortunately the ficticios number is displayed in coller ID. I could suppress it, but in that case the Cisco user will not be able to see who is calling. Theoretically it is possible to keep/manage both numbers, but I guess it will confuse people.

Did you resolve this issue somehow?

REgards,

-Alex
Hi Alex,

Unfrotunaly, what You are describing is true if the mobility settings ar incorrect. If You configure the CUCM Mobility settings correct, it would show up with a correct number for CUCM users.

maybe I should do some testing, and create a corresponding post.

Lasse
Amir said…
Does this setup allow you to click to to dial a number from Lync, but somehow the call to be made from your Cisco desk phone?
Hi Amir,

No it doesn't. Then you need to use CUCILYNC plugin described in part 1, or use RCC in conjunction with a presence server.
Anonymous said…
Hi, in this scenario when the lync client make an internal call to another lync client and/or Cisco IP phone will the called party see fake lync extension?
Hi,

When a Lync user call another Lync user, no phone number will be shown. Within Lync, only the SIP address is used (someone@somwhere.com).

If you create a proper dial-plan, you can makes calls coming into Lync, and this way the receiver will see the correct number.