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Looking to configure direct routing for Microsoft Teams? This guide covers everything from prerequisites to setting up your SBC, enabling users, and validating your configuration.
Direct Routing integrates existing telephony infrastructure with Microsoft Teams, offering flexibility, cost savings, and enabling scalability for both office and remote work.
Successful configuration of Direct Routing requires a fully deployed Teams environment, certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs), and proper DNS and firewall settings for call routing.
Partnering with a Direct Routing as a Service (DRaaS) provider simplifies the implementation process and enhances support, allowing organizations to scale their telephony services efficiently.
Enhance your MS Teams experience with our Direct Routing Solution
Direct Routing connects your existing telephony infrastructure to Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, offering a seamless communication experience for microsoft teams users. Users can use on-premises telco lines or SIP trunks for calls, integrating their current phone system with Microsoft Teams.
One of the standout benefits of Direct Routing is its flexibility and cost efficiency. Businesses can realize significant cost savings, potentially up to 50%, compared to Microsoft Calling Plans. Moreover, it enhances scalability, enabling organizations to add new users and devices as needed, supporting both office and remote working environments. This flexibility ensures that your communication system grows with your business.
Direct Routing also allows organizations to maintain their existing geographical phone numbers globally, providing a consistent communication experience regardless of location. Whether you need to retain existing PSTN contracts or integrate third-party PBX systems, Direct Routing offers a robust solution to meet your needs. Linking your existing PSTN hardware with Microsoft Teams and teams direct routing helps avoid the hassle and cost of on-premises equipment.
Ensure that your Microsoft Teams environment is fully deployed and adopted within your organization to achieve the full benefits of Direct Routing. Proper infrastructure, including certified Session Border Controllers (SBCs) and network configurations, is also vital for a reliable deployment.
Choosing a certified SBC provider is of utmost importance. Microsoft guarantees that certified SBCs will work in all scenarios for Direct Routing. These SBCs are rigorously tested and validated by Microsoft to ensure compatibility and support. At least two ports per concurrent call are recommended for the SBC to handle the call traffic efficiently.
Public DNS records are crucial for ensuring proper call routing. Each domain must be registered and complete the necessary registration process with the service provider. Proper DNS entries and firewall settings are essential for achieving reliable performance and ensuring that your communication system runs smoothly.
The Session Border Controller (SBC) acts as a bridge between your on-premises phone system and Microsoft Teams, enabling secure communication. Utilizing a certified SBC is crucial for establishing secure connections between Microsoft Teams and external phone networks. The SBC must have the correct SSL certificate, including the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) in the subject or SAN fields, with a private key size of at least 2048 bits.
Configuring your SBC involves pairing it with Microsoft Phone System, which requires setting up pairs, routes, and routing policies in PowerShell. Certifying and correctly configuring your SBC helps avoid support issues and ensures smooth operation.
Confirming that the SBC complies with Microsoft certifications through testing is crucial.
Registering and activating alias domains in Microsoft 365 is necessary to ensure that Microsoft Teams trusts the domains. If you attempt to pair an SBC with an unregistered domain name, you will encounter errors indicating that the domain wasn’t configured for the tenant. Register the domain name in the Domains section of the tenant before pairing the SBC.
The registration process involves using a licensed user with an email address within the domain to activate the SBC. Typically, domains for activating SBC are provided by your service provider. An SBC can service users from different SIP address spaces within the same tenant, offering flexibility in managing your communication system.
SIP signaling requires specific FQDN connection points, such as sip.pstnhub.microsoft.com, sip2.pstnhub.microsoft.com, and sip3.pstnhub.microsoft.com. Open the necessary firewall ports for SBC signaling to ensure proper operation. In environments like Office GCC DoD, all IP addresses for signaling must be allowed through the firewall.
The SBC must have direct internet access to facilitate proper communications for SIP signaling. The SBC will attempt to connect to a secondary datacenter if the primary one becomes unavailable, and to a tertiary datacenter if both primary and secondary fail. Validate the SIP options flow by receiving a 200 OK response to confirm correct configuration.
Enhance your MS Teams experience with our Direct Routing Solution
Enabling users for Direct Routing requires assigning a Teams Phone license to each user. Users must be placed in Teams Only mode to enable users for Direct Routing. The user’s phone number must then be configured to configure teams users within the Teams admin center or using the Microsoft Teams PowerShell module.
Verify if a user is properly set up for Direct Routing using a diagnostic tool available in the Microsoft 365 admin center. This tool helps ensure that all configurations are correct and that users can effectively utilize Direct Routing for their communication needs.
Voice routing policies are essential for determining how calls are routed in Microsoft Teams. These policies serve as containers for PSTN usage records, which define how calls are managed and routed within the system. Custom voice routing policies can be created in the Microsoft Teams admin center or via PowerShell commands.
Users default to the global voice routing policy unless a custom policy is assigned to them. To create a voice routing policy, it is essential to combine PSTN usages. Additionally, it also requires the integration of voice routes and a voice route. Voice routes define how calls are routed through the SBC, ensuring that calls are directed to the appropriate destinations.
Creating or updating voice routing policies allows you to adapt to changing needs. This flexibility ensures that your Teams users can call external numbers and that your communication system adapts to organizational requirements.
Enhance your MS Teams experience with our Direct Routing Solution
Translation rules are necessary to ensure that phone numbers are correctly formatted for Teams routing. These rules are applied at the SBC level to convert dialed numbers into the correct format recognized by Teams. Localization rules stipulate that phone numbers must start with a leading + sign or the country code, ensuring consistency and proper routing.
Short numbers can be translated to long ones as defined in the Localization rules under Voice > Long Numbers. This ensures that all phone numbers adhere to a standard format, facilitating seamless communication within the organization.
Testing and validating your configuration is a crucial step to ensure that everything is set up correctly. Check if your SBC holds certification from Microsoft. Additionally, ensure it is supported for Direct Routing. Confirming that the SIP options flow is functioning correctly is vital for SBC validation.
Use monitoring tools like the Teams Admin Center, Call Quality Dashboard, and PowerShell cmdlets to assess SIP signaling. Regular updates and maintenance of SBC and Teams configurations are essential best practices for maintaining optimal performance.
Monitoring call quality and user feedback helps in optimizing the Direct Routing deployment.
Transferring existing phone numbers involves careful collaboration with both your current telephony provider and Microsoft. Coordinate between these parties for a smooth process. Ensure that all necessary documents are uploaded in PDF format as part of the porting process. When using the e-signature option for the Letter of Authorization, an email is sent to the authorized user for approval.
To avoid port rejection, the Billing Telephone Number (BTN) must match what the current provider has on file. The organization’s name must also match exactly with the current service provider’s records.
Port requests can be tracked through the Teams Admin Center under Order History, providing visibility into the porting process.
Direct Routing requires specific licensing for users, including Microsoft Teams Phone licenses. Users need either an E1/E3 Office 365 subscription with the Phone System add-on or an E5 license. An Audio Conferencing license is only necessary under certain circumstances when using Direct Routing, but it is not mandatory for all users.
Direct Routing is not supported for direct routing user in Islands mode, which limits their ability to utilize this feature. The necessary licenses must be assigned to users before they can connect to the SBC using Direct Routing. These licenses can be purchased individually, ensuring that your organization has the flexibility to meet its specific needs.
Partnering with a Direct Routing as a Service (DRaaS) provider can greatly simplify the setup process and provide customizable SBC support. A DRaaS provider reduces complexity, time, and risk while offering seamless configuration, flexibility, and scalability at a lower cost. This approach eliminates the need to train or hire additional staff, streamlining the implementation process.
For example, the ZIRO Managed SBC offers customizable support to meet compatibility challenges, ensuring that your communication system is tailored to your specific needs. MyTeamsConnect acts as an add-on to Office 365, enabling enterprise tenants to manage calls through Microsoft Teams using the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for call processing.
Working with a DRaaS provider ensures a smooth transition and ongoing support for your Direct Routing setup.
Adopting Direct Routing as a Service (DRaaS) simplifies the management of telephony systems by outsourcing the complexity to a service provider. This approach allows organizations to access advanced features such as multi-level auto attendants and comprehensive analytics tools. DRaaS providers can also enhance business continuity by implementing strategies like backup PBX systems.
Partnering with DRaaS providers enables companies to scale their telecommunications services globally without needing new vendors. This scalability, combined with significant cost reductions of up to 50%, makes Direct Routing an attractive solution for modern businesses. Adhering to these best practices ensures a successful deployment and long-term benefits for your organization.
Enhance your MS Teams experience with our Direct Routing Solution
In summary, configuring Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams is a transformative step for any organization seeking to enhance its communication infrastructure. By leveraging on-premises telco lines or SIP trunks, businesses can achieve significant cost savings, flexibility, and advanced calling features. Setting up a certified Session Border Controller (SBC), enabling users, and configuring voice routing policies are crucial steps in this journey.
Partnering with a Direct Routing Service Provider can further streamline the process, offering customizable support and reducing complexity. Implementing best practices ensures a smooth deployment and long-term success. Embrace the power of Direct Routing and revolutionize your communication strategy today.
Direct Routing connects your organization's telephony infrastructure to Microsoft Teams, enabling the use of on-premises telco lines or SIP trunks for making calls. This feature enhances your communication capabilities within the Teams environment.
To configure Direct Routing, you must have a fully deployed Microsoft Teams environment, a certified session border controller (SBC), proper network configurations, and registered public DNS records.
To enable users for Direct Routing, assign Teams Phone licenses, set their Teams mode to Teams Only, and configure their phone numbers in the Teams admin center. This ensures they can utilize the Direct Routing features effectively.
Considering a Direct Routing Service Provider can significantly simplify your setup process while offering customizable support, ultimately reducing complexity, time, and costs. This strategic choice enhances operational efficiency and ensures tailored solutions for your needs.
To comply with licensing requirements for Direct Routing, users must have Microsoft Teams Phone licenses, which can be obtained through an E1 or E3 Office 365 subscription with the Phone System add-on or by possessing an E5 license.
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