Configuring Avaya for Remote Workers/Work From Home
Acquiring the Avaya Communicator Installation Files
Wireless have made Communicator available to download from the following address:
https://syn04ce.syd7.hostyourservices.net/~wireless/files/avaya-communicator-2.1.4.0.msi
Installing Avaya Communicator
The Avaya Softphone is a standard MSI installer package, savvy IT administrators may choose to automate this procedure, otherwise there are only minimal choices to make during installation and the process is straight forward:
- Double Click the “Avaya-Communicator-2.1.4.0.msi” file to commence installation. If you are unable to run the installer, consult with your IT Support as there may be restrictions on where files can be run.
- On the Welcome page, click ‘Next’ to continue.
- Tick the checkbox to accept the terms of Avaya’s license agreement and click ‘Next’.
- Confirm the installation path (for most users this will not require modification), and click ‘Next’.
- Click ‘Install’ on the following page to confirm details and commence installation. You may be prompted at this stage for Administration Credentials to install software on your computer at this stage.
- Once installation is complete, you will have one final Confirmation Page with a checkbox in the bottom left corner to automatically Launch Avaya Communicator after setupexits. Check or uncheck this as required and click Finish.
Configuring Avaya Communicator for Use
On first launch of Communicator, you may be prompted with an auto configuration wizard, close out of this, and you will be presented with the main Communicator window as it appears on the right:
- To configure Communicator for use click the three stacked horizontal lines icon in the top right, beside the Minimize and Close buttons, and then select ‘Settings’
- The first screen you will be presented with is the ‘Server Settings’ page. You will need to configure this page as per the directions provided to you by either your IT department, or Wireless Communications.
- Enter the Server Address that you have been provided into the Server Address Field
- Enter the Server Port, this will be 5060
- Set Transport type to TCP
- If provided with a Domain, enter this here. If not provided with one specifically, leave this blank.
- Next, go to Dialling Rules and untick ‘Apply Dialling Rules’. We will not use these as our dialling rules are applied by your Avaya IP Office system for you.
- Next, go to Audio, and make note of the settings that appear. This page will need to be reconfigured depending on your audio devices; and may take some experimentation. If you have Bluetooth Audio devices, a separate USB headset, or have a laptop that you place on and remove from a dock, these Audio Devices will need to be adjusted.
- Once this configuration is complete, click OK. You can return to this settings page by clicking the same three horizontal lines button in the top right and clicking ‘Settings’. Be aware that Server Settings cannot be changed while the softphone is logged in.
- To log in, use your Desk Phone extension number, and the same password that you use to log into Avaya One X Portal, not your desk phone PIN.
Using Avaya Communicator
Once Communicator has been logged in to the system successfully, basic operation of the client is straightforward.
- The Communicator view is very streamlined. The bottom left corner contains a simple number dial field, and the icons on the right allow selecting between Contacts, Call History, Instant Messages, and Conference Participants.
- To dial an external number, click into the dial field in the bottom left corner of the window and type in your number as normal. You will be presented with three options, the leftmost icon is to initiate a regular landline call, the 2nd is to initiate a Video call (network dependent), and the third is to re-enter the previously dialled number.
- Once a call is in progress, the window will grow larger and you will see the current call as an entry in the middle of the window. The mute key on the right hand side is self-explanatory and mutes the transmission of any audio from your side, the pause key places the call on hold, and the red telephone icon facing downwards hangs up the call. Additionally if you need to enter DTMF digits in a menu, the dial pad icon beside the pause icon brings up dial pad to enter these digits.
- While a call is in progress, you can still continue to dial numbers using either the dial field in the bottom left corner, or by dialling a user from the contacts list. The first call that you are on is automatically placed on hold in this instance, and a 2nd call window appears.
- By Drag and Dropping a call onto a 2nd call, you are presented with the option to either Merge or Transfer these calls, with a Merge placing all
three parties into a Conference Call automatically. - The Contacts tab lists all contacts loaded across both your Avaya Phone system (including Directory entries, Extensions, Hunt Groups, and Personal Directory entries), and optionally synchronised from Microsoft Outlook. The button beneath your extension number in the top left corner allows narrowing this selection down; for instance System Contacts lists only the contacts in the Avaya Phone system.
- Once you have found an entry to dial, you can hover over their entry to display a small widget with Call, Video and Message icons to initiate dialling in much the same fashion as when entering a phone number into the
Dial Field.
Footnotes
There are a few points with Avaya Communicator that bear mentioning that I will cover below:
- Avaya Communicator requires a VPN connection from your machine back to your Corporate Network if operating remotely. To test connectivity to the Avaya Phone System, try opening a web browser and entering the ‘Server Address’ that you were provided for entry back on Page 3 of this guide. If you do not see an Avaya logo with a few links, you do not have connectivity back to your phone system from your VPN Client, and the Avaya Communicator Softphone will not work.
- Customers who do not use a VPN Client and NAT Port Forward the Avaya system to the Public Internet should contact Wireless Communications to get this set up to avoid exposure to the risk of Toll Fraud on their system.
- Audio Quality will be entirely dependent on network and VPN Tunnel quality. Wireless Communications can make no guarantees regarding voice quality over a Softphone, however the Network Engineers of our ICT Team are available for consultation to assist diagnose potential issues with VPN’.
- It is possible to still use Avaya One-X Portal while using the Avaya Softphone. To do this, ensure that your desk phone is logged out before logging into One-X Portal, One-X Portal will take control of your Communicator Softphone in much the same fashion, however, depending on Software Version of your PABX there may be compatibility issues with features such as Park Keys.
- Operation and configuration of the iPad OS ‘Avaya Communicator’ is much the same, however an additional guide will be circulated covering the configuration of this software.
- All users who wish to use this software will require their ‘Profile’ configured to either ‘Office Worker’ or ‘Power User’ profile. Do not tick the ‘One X Portal Services’ checkbox on the users separately, and always specify the Profile from the drop down list.
- Avaya Communicator is not supported in Citrix, Remote Desktop/Terminal Services, or VDI environments. It is recommended to install Communicator on the user’s computer directly, and then establish their Terminal Services session afterwards.
- To confirm all licensing details on your system and make orders for additional licensing please contact your Wireless Communications Account Manager, or call 08 8274 0050.