MCD 5 vs 4.2 1

[ChrisvanT]

Hi Guys, (3300 MXe)

I need to know what the main differences are between MCD 5 and 4.2

We are currently on 4.2 and want to investigate if it would be a neccesary/advantage to upgrade to 5 or are the changes not too major and is it better to save money then to upgrade?

If anyone has the specific changes between the two (e.g. comparing release notes) and could tell me what the advantages of 5 over 4.2 is, it would be great!

Thanks
Chris

 

[LoopyLou]

How do you think you will save money? If you have software assurance then the upgrade is free ( other then maybe labour for someone to install the upgrade ). If you want to receive product support and fixes you have to keep moving forward with upgrades.

What's New in This Release
MCD Release 5.0 SP2
New Features and Capabilities
New form, Codec Settings, allows you to select the audio codec(s) offered for negotiation by devices at each end of a call within the MCD network. (Replaces the the AddCodeFilter and RemoveCodecFilter maintenance commands in earlier MCD releases.)

New Class of Service option, Fax Capable, separates fax functionality from Campon Tone Security which is optional (but recommended) for fax operation.

Support for the 5320e, 5330e, and 5340e IP Phones with embedded Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) switch

Default labels in Simplified Chinese added for programmable features on display phones.

Hebrew and Russian prompt support added to the MCD embedded voice mail application.

Changed the display of "Speak@ease" on phones to Voice Dialler reflecting the MCD support for other speech-enabled auto-attendant products.

Eliminated scheduled software Upgrades failures caused by inaccurate reporting of 3300 ICP memory usage.

MCD Release 5.0 SP1
New Features and Capabilities
The following new wireless device types can be programmed in the Multiline IP Sets and User and Device Configuration forms:

5607 SIP

5624 SIP

Refer to the IP-DECT Wireless Solution (Global) documentation on the Mitel eDocs website (

http://edocs.mitel.com)

for information on the 5607 and 5624 SIP wireless handsets.

The maximum number of network zones used in Bandwidth Management is increased from 250 to 999.

All MCD web-based management tools (System Administration Tool, Desktop Tool, Group Administration Tool, etc.) support Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 9.0. The minimum requirement is changed from IE7 to IE8.

Introduction of IPv6 The new standard protocol for the Internet, Internet Protocol version 6 (also known as IPv6), is the next step beyond IPv4, the current standard protocol for the Internet. These protocols provide IP addresses, the "phone numbers" for the Internet that are responsible for identifying computers and devices so they can communicate. IPv6 expands the address space on the Internet from 32 bits to 128 bits, enough for trillions upon trillions of additional addresses.-ready firmware for the 5300-series of Mitel IP Phones. First phase interoperability of IPv6 sets with Mitel Communications Director (MCD) requires a Mitel Border Gateway (MBG) server. See the MBG documentation on Mitel eDocs (

http://edocs.mitel.com)

for more information.

MCD for Industry Standard Server (ISS) can operate as a Designated License Manager The Designated License Manager (DLM) connects with an Application Group on the AMC in order to obtain licenses which may then be shared among the group members. The DLM also tracks license usage and violations for the group, and provides statistics to the AMC. The DLM requires a Group Application Record ID (GARID) with Enterprise License Sharing enabled. and obtain system licenses while disconnected (offline) from the Application Management Center A web-based service that handles licensing of Mitel products. (AMC). Formerly, licenses could only be obtained while online.

A new option, "Replace incoming CgPN with Originally Dialed Number" in the ISDN Protocol form, provides improved interoperability between the MCD telcos in the Benelux region. The option applies to E1 trunks and controls which number is presented to the called destination: the number originally dialed by the caller or the actual number of the line that is answered when the call is completed.

Confirmation tone is now presented to Mitel phone users of ESPA paging equipment. The tone acknowledges a successful "call me" page attempt and applies to MCD-Philips SOPHO integrations only.

Optional email notification provided at the beginning and completion of each process in a scheduled software upgrade and when a process is canceled from the Scheduler.

SIP enhancements:

Maintenance commands added, SIP REREGISTER PEER and SIP STATS CLEAR.

Additional options in the SIP Peer Profile form for treating E.164 numbers on outgoing SIP calls and for stripping the Primary Node Identifier A digit string that identifies a network element or a cluster within a network. Automatic Route Selection for the network is set up to route calls to the network elements based on the PNIs. Note that in a single standalone cluster, you do not need to assign PNIs to the cluster members. from calling party numbers.

Added SNMP trap with configurable threshold for monitoring voice packet latency.

Enabled, via Mitel Border Gateway (MBG), the recording of voice streams from Mitel phones on remote MCDs instead of the local MCD only. See the Mitel Border Gateway documentation on eDocs (

http://edocs.mitel.com)

for more information.

A new timer in the SIP Peer Profile form provides better (more expedient) rerouting of SIP trunk calls on congested networks or during network failures.

MCD Release 5.0
New Hardware
The 5505 SIP Phone is an entry-level, single-line telephone designed for the hospitality market. Supporting SIP protocol only, the 5505 features a cordless handset with 2-line display and a full-duplex speakerphone.

New Features and Capabilities
Hotel/Motel feature enhancements:

VIP Status Label: Allows you to program a room extension with a VIP status label. When the guest places a call, the label appears on the attendant console and display phones, enabling hotel staff to respond accordingly.VIP Wakeup: If this feature is enabled, the guest will always receive a personal wake-up call, even if the extension is configured to receive an automatic wake-up call.

Language: Allows you to change the room extension's display language from the attendant console and the PMS. Up to fifteen different languages are available.

Do Not Disturb: This feature is now available from the Guest Services Application and the PMS, in addition to the attendant console.

Maid ID: If the Room Status - Maid ID option is enabled, maids are required to enter their personal ID codes when they update the status of guest rooms.

To support the above-noted changes, new PMS Message formats have been introduced.

The Centralized Suites for Analog Devices feature distributes the connections for analog guest room extensions across several elements, and centralizes all processing on a single IP node in a hospitality environment. This implementation can be protected by installing the ICP Hospitality node software on fully redundant platform such as the Stratus® Server for RHEL.

A Customer Emergency Services ID (CESID) can now be configured for mobile directory numbers. Although any hot desk user can have a CESID, only External Hot Desk Users (EHDUs) on trunks can make use of it. Regular hot desk users and EHDUs logged in to MiNET devices will continue to use the CESID associated with their set's registration DN.

The SIP Device Capabilities and SIP Peer Profile forms have been redesigned. Data entry fields are now displayed on tabbed panels instead of a single window. In addition, it is now possible to add descriptive information for each record; this is useful when you employ the new Configuration Profiles feature to load templates for particular SIP devices and trunks.

The User and Device Configuration form has been reorganized to simplify the creation and management of users. Major changes include:

When adding a new user, you are now prompted to select a predefined role rather than a service type.

A number of new fields related to multiline sets have been added to the Service Details tab.

The form presentation has been modernized, with fields grouped into distinct boxes.

A new tab has been added to enable you to configure keys prior to saving the form.

Templates have been introduced to speed the configuration process and ensure that correct settings are applied throughout the enterprise. Common settings, such as the Class of Service and Device Type, can be saved in a template and applied to multiple users and devices. Three new forms are available:

Key Templates: Allows you to program line key settings for multiline telephones and SIP devices.

User and Device Templates: Allows you to program a subset of the information normally added on the User and Device Configuration form.

User Roles: Allows you to link templates with roles. When you add a new user, you are prompted to select a role and its associated template.

SIP features have been enhanced:

Call forking is now supported for outgoing SIP calls handled by external SIP forking servers.

When a SIP phone user rejects an incoming call, it is immediately sent to an alternate call handling destination such as voice mail, provided that Call Forwarding is programmed to support Call Forward No Answer (CFNA) or Call Forward Busy (CFB). In previous releases, the call would continue to ring even after being rejected.

TFTP firmware upgrade using the Load command is now supported for IP-DECT wireless devices.

To enable SIP devices to automatically answer calls using a header that was not previously supported , enable the Override Auto-Answer Headers option in the SIP Device Capabilities form.

To reject anonymous calls, enable the Reject Incoming Anonymous Calls option in the SIP Peer Profile form.

The maximum number of simultaneous calls per peer has increased from 400 to 2,000.

New SIP Timer Options have been added to the SIP Peer Profile and SIP Device Capabilities forms.

To override privacy settings and allow display information to be presented to the remote party, enable the Use Privacy: None option in the SIP Peer Profile form.

To reject all incoming calls, enable the Only Allow Outgoing Calls option in the SIP Peer Profile form.

To indicate that the user portion of SIP URIs should be treated as a telephone number, enable the "Use user=phone" option on the SIP Peer Profile and SIP Device Capabilities form.

To prevent phones from receiving calls when they are already engaged in a call, enable the Force Device Busy If Any Line In Use COS option. This feature is available for both SIP and MiNet sets.

A new maintenance command has been introduced to assist in debugging 5505 SIP endpoints in Hotel environments: SIP DEVUSERDATA.

Location Based Time Zone allows administrators to manage (via Network Zones form) the time display on IP sets based on their location rather than the location of the host system.

System security enhancements:

Users are now required to change the default password that is used to log into the System Administration, Group Admin and Desktop Tools . The password strength and expiration interval are configurable via a new form, System Security Management.

The period of inactivity after which the current System Administration Tool session is automatically terminated is configurable in the System Security Management form.

New maintenance commands, Reset_Login_Password and Reset_All_Login_Passwords, have been added to reset passwords for individual users or all users and to log out hot desk users.

A new Class of Service option (User Inactivity Timer) automatically locks 5300-series phones after a configurable period of inactivity.

Embedded voice mail enhancements for improved security:

Configure administrator passcodes through the System Administration Tool

Unlock mailboxes after a configurable timeout

Enable/disable mailbox management via the administrator's mailbox

Improved the ability to restrict callers from accessing system resources via the Auto Attendant by matching on more than just the first digit dialed.

The number of BLF appearances supported on a set increases to 64 from 16 in previous releases.

ACD enhancements (applies to the MXe Server, MCD-ISS Mitel Communications Director for Industry Standard Server. A version of MCD call control software that runs on industry standard servers. and MiCD Multi Instance Communications Director. A multiple instance version of Mitel Communications Director for industry standard servers. only unless otherwise specified)

The number of ACD Agent IDs supported is increased to 2100 from 1180.

The number of active ACD agents supported on a single controller (with Paths and Agents) is increased to 350 from 100 (supported on ISS only)

The number of active ACD agents supported in a cluster with Paths on Gateway controller(s) and Agents on a dedicated agent contoller is increased to 700 from 350 (supported on ISS only)

The number of Agent Skill levels supported on all platform types is increased to 500 from 256.

The number of ACD Agent Skill groups supported is increased to 999 from 256 groups.

The max number of agents that can be programmed in each ACD Agent Skill group is increased 700 agents each from 500 each

The number of ACD groups to which an agent can belong is increased to 60 from 30

The number of Path Interflow Dialing List entries is increased to 500 from 32 on all platform types.

RAD A Recorded Announcement Device (RAD) is a device which automatically answers a call and delivers a pre-recorded message. RAD is often used to inform a caller that they are in a queue and their call will be dealt in due order. hunt group directory numbers not just individual RAD DNs can now be sent to an IP RAD application such as Mitel IVR - Visual Workflow Manager. This eliminates the static association of RAD-port-to-ACD-path for any given RAD message in previous releases (applies to all platforms).

Increase the Work Timer maximum duration in the Class of Service Options form to four hours from 10 minutes (applies to all platforms).

The number of simultaneous 3-party conference calls supported on MCD-ISS Mitel Communications Director for Industry Standard Server. A version of MCD call control software that runs on industry standard servers. and MiCD Multi Instance Communications Director. A multiple instance version of Mitel Communications Director for industry standard servers. platforms is increased to 200.

Maximum capacities for the following call groups on the MXe Server, MCD-ISS Mitel Communications Director for Industry Standard Server. A version of MCD call control software that runs on industry standard servers. and MiCD Multi Instance Communications Director. A multiple instance version of Mitel Communications Director for industry standard servers. has been expanded:

Hunt Groups: 2000

Extended Hunt Groups: 64

Pickup Groups: 800

Page Groups: 64

Ring Groups: 704

Resiliency enhancements:

Resilient Queuing in a Network ACD environment is no longer dependent on the Agent Group form option "Queue calls when no local agents are logged in." See the Resiliency Guidelines for details.

Faster failback of resilient ACD agents and switches helps to reduce the incidence of abandoned call. See the 3300 ICP Resiliency Guidelines for details.

Failback behavior for the following resilient call control groups and users is now subject to the 'Resiliency - Allow Return to Primary ICP’ in the Controller Registry form: ACD Groups. Ring Groups, Personal Ring Groups, Network Hunt Groups, External Hot Desk Users.

A new type of ACD Agent, External Hot Desk Agent, allows external devices to receive ACD calls.

Mitel 5330, 5340, and 5360 IP Phones now support the G.722.1 wideband codec in addition to the already supported G.711 a/u law, G.729a codecs.

Audit Trail Logs help with troubleshooting and security monitoring by tracking changes to the system database as well as login/logout activity.

The Scheduler can be used to program wider range of events, including:

Backups

CSV File Import/Export

File Transfers

IDS Synchronization

Night/Day Service

User Logouts (for Hot Desk users)

Software Download, Upgrade and Activation (Unattended Upgrades)

The Integrated Directory Service (IDS) feature uses the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) to synchronize user and service data from your corporate directory server to the MCD platform. System Data Synchronization is then used to share the data among the administrative group. Note that in the current release, data is synchronized in one direction only, from the corporate directory server to MCD, and that only one type of directory server is supported—Microsoft Active Directory. Although all users are IDS manageable by default, you can disable the feature for individual users on the User and Device Configuration form.

Licensing Enhancements:

A new licensing mode, Shared Enterprise, allows multiple systems to be added to an application group in the AMC. Once a Designated License Manager (DLM) is specified for the group, the member elements can share their licenses without needing to re-synchronize with the AMC. If license sharing is not required, you can still configure systems to operate in Standalone or Non-Shared Enterprise mode.

On the User and Device Configuration form, the new Service Level field enables you to define the features and licensing characteristics for a directory number by selecting one of the following options: Full Service This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to a standard user and device with full telephony functionality., Trusted Service This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to a trusted Mitel application that has full telephony service once it registers with the system. Although the DN can be programmed on the same forms as a Full Service user/device, it does not use an IP User License., Multi-Device This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to a user that has only basic telephony functionality (e.g., emergency or attendant calls) until programmed as a member of a Multi-Device user group or suite. The DN does not use an IP User License. However, the group or suite has a Multi-device Users or Multi-device Suites license which one person can use at a time in order to receive full telephony service., or IP Device Only This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to an unlicensed device that has only basic telephony functionality (emergency or attendant calls). The device becomes functional when a hot desk user or hot desk ACD agent logs into it.. The Service Type field has been dropped from the form.

New licensing features available for all systems: Try Before You Buy—Allows you to enable licenses for services you have not yet used and test them for a limited period of time. Trusted Services—Allows you to validate an application to the MCD using a digital certificate rather than a license. Over Allocation—Allows you to use more licenses than you have actually purchased for a service.

License Violation Events occur when the system or application group detects a problem. For example, if too many licenses are provisioned an "over allocation" event is registered. If the event is left unresolved, it is subject to License Violation Event Escalation with increasingly severe notifications being issued via log messages, alarms and the system interfaces. Ultimately, the event may escalate to "System Lock" level, which places users in restricted service mode and prevents them from placing regular calls.

It is now possible to license a Personal Ring Group or Suite with a single license provided that the PRG/suite members are programmed as Multi-Device This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to a user that has only basic telephony functionality (e.g., emergency or attendant calls) until programmed as a member of a Multi-Device user group or suite. The DN does not use an IP User License. However, the group or suite has a Multi-device Users or Multi-device Suites license which one person can use at a time in order to receive full telephony service. users. The traditional licensing method, where members are licensed individually and programmed as Full Service This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to a standard user and device with full telephony functionality. or Trusted Service This Service Level indicates that the directory number (DN) is assigned to a trusted Mitel application that has full telephony service once it registers with the system. Although the DN can be programmed on the same forms as a Full Service user/device, it does not use an IP User License. users, is still available.

A new maintenance command, Licence Status, has been added to provide detailed information regarding license events.

The following can now be provisioned using the Mitel Integrated Configuration Wizard:

Clusters and resilient devices

SIP trunks

DID numbers

Virtual Mitel Communications Director (vMCD)

additional Automatic Route Selection data for country/region-specific dialing prefixes and local emergency numbers.

Support for the MCD Import Spreadsheet has been added allowing users to load all the configuration data it contains directly into the wizard. Previously, the data had to be saved as individual csv files prior to loading.

The introduction of a new ARS routing medium (Direct IP Route) for IP trunks allows for faster deployment of 3300 ICP networks and clusters.

System Data Synchronization improvements:

The message warning of problems following a synch operation has been rewritten to indicate that the operation succeeded but that there are unresolved errors. The message used to warn that the operation had failed outright.

Clearer prompts have been added to inform the administrator that a data sharing operation must be followed up by a data synching.

The SDS Shared Data Updates form has been renamed SDS Distribution Errors to more accurately reflect its function.

A new warning is provided in the System Administration Tool to alert the administrator to any unresolved data distribution errors. The warning displays on logout and again on login.

Foreign Database Restore allows you to take a database backed up from one 3300 ICP and restore it to a different 3300 ICP. Formerly, the Restore was only allowed if the IP addresses in the source (backup) database and destination database matched.

Resiliency handling of Line Appearances on IP devices and Attendant Console softkeys now covers more key configurations, in particular the configuration of multicall keys shared between resilient and non-resilient devices and between devices with different primary and secondary controller pairings. See the Resiliency Guidelines for details.

User names display on phones in the letter case in which they were entered in the Telephone Directory form. Previously, the names always displayed in uppercase.

Maximum digit length for mailboxes in the embedded voice mail system has been increased to seven.

System Administration Tool interface improvements:

Tooltips are provided in virtually all forms. Hover over an item, such as a field label, and a question mark will appear next to the mouse pointer () to indicate that a tooltip is available. Clicking will display the tooltip—a small box with information about the item you are hovering over.

The Class of Service Options form has been redesigned for better usability. The options are now grouped by function and divided into tabbed pages making them easier to find.

Options in the System Options form have been put in alphabetical order so that they are easier to locate.

When viewing the Admin Group Alarm Summary form on the local node in a Multi-node Management environment, the user can click on the relevant system alarm record and reach-through to that system to access the Alarm Details form.

The Alarm Status area will display alarm levels for licensing violations and SDS data distribution errors.

User names in the User and Device Configuration and Templates form can now be entered using the UTF-8 character set for true multilingual support.

A new form, Fax Advanced Settings, has been added to configure support for T.38 fax calls through a SIP gateway.

The Class of Service option that suppresses caller ID delivery has been extended to SIP sets.

Virtual Mitel Communications Director (vMCD) changes:

A single Virtual MCD instance scales up to 2500-users.

Embedded voicemail, stardard unified messaging, and auto-attendant which supports a total of 150 mailboxes for small business.

A new Class of Service option controls whether an external hot desk user gets dial tone or not when the caller hangs up.



I'd tell you a UDP joke but I'm afraid you won't get it. TCP jokes are the best because you always get them.

 

[kwbMitel]

LOL - He asked for it, literally

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[LoopyLou]

I live to server.

I'd tell you a UDP joke but I'm afraid you won't get it. TCP jokes are the best because you always get them.

 

[ChrisvanT]

Thanks LoopyLou!!!

This is exactly what i wanted!

The things that really stand out for me are:
Support for IE 9
Templates
The auto phone lock and backup scheduler.

Thanks again!!