Microsoft's Direct Routing Teams continues to evolve to offer enhanced functionality and greater reliability to users. Here are the main recent updates:
Updated calculation of network efficiency ratio (NER)
As of November 11, 2024, Microsoft has adjusted the NER calculation formula to provide greater visibility of potential problems affecting Direct Routing reliability. Administrators can now more accurately identify the causes of call failures by analyzing specific response codes.
New version of the Survivable Branch Appliance (SBA)
Since September 23, 2024, a new version of SBA for Direct Routing has been available, offering the following features:
- Send and receive PSTN calls via the local SBA/SBC with the media stream passing through SBC.
- Hold and resume PSTN calls.
- Blind transfer.
- Forward calls to a specific phone number or user Teams .
- Redirect incoming calls to a call queue or automatic switchboard to a local agent or another queue.
- Toggle VoIP : if a VoIP call cannot be initiated and the recipient has a PSTN number, a PSTN call is attempted.
- Calls VoIP between local users registered behind the same SBA.
Testing EKU certificate extensions SBC
On March 5, 2024, Microsoft carried out a 24-hour test requiring SBC certificates to include both client and server authentication in their Extended Key Usage (EKU) extensions. Ensuring that SBC certificates meet these requirements is essential to avoid any degradation of service. The final switchover to this configuration took place on March 19, 2024.
Change the certification authority for SIP certificates
Microsoft 365 has updated its services to use TLS certificates from a different set of root certificate authorities. Microsoft Teams Direct Routing SIP endpoints used for PSTN traffic in Office 365 Government - GCC High (GCCH) and DoD deployments are affected. The transition to certificates issued by the new certificate authority began in May 2024. It is crucial to update your SBC root certificate store to include the new "DigiCert Global Root G2" certificate authority to avoid any impact on service. SBC that do not have this new certification authority in their list will receive certificate validation errors, which may affect service availability or operation.
Optimize your Microsoft Teams telephony with Lambert Consulting
To take full advantage of these developments and ensure seamless integration of Direct Routing into your infrastructure, it's essential to work with an experienced partner. At Lambert Consultingwe are renowned for our expertise in Microsoft telephony Teams. With over 17 years' experience of Microsoft telephony solutions such as MS-Teams Phone, Skype for Business Entreprise VoiceLync and Office Communication Server. We are certified Microsoft Gold Communications Partner and Microsoft Partner Advanced Specializations. Our team of multi-skilled engineers offers a high quality of service, exemplary responsiveness and special care for our customers, both in Switzerland and internationally. We also offer hybrid telephony solutions and cloud, as well as migration services from PBX to VoIP and UC/UCC. To find out more about our services and recent projects, please contact us or visit our official website.
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