Communité, like Cisco's Unity, runs on standard Intel-based processors supported by Microsoft Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000. Although both UM servers scale to several hundred ports or sessions (simultaneous, active calls) per server, Communité leverages LDAP-supported directories as a central repository for user information and attributes. Different versions of Communité, for Exchange, Lotus Notes and iPlanet e-mail systems, work with Microsoft's Active Directory, IBM's Lotus Domino directory, and iPlanet's Directory Server, respectively. It can also use Novell's eDirectory. Information like e-mail addresses, preferences, telephone numbers and message notification rules are stored in the directory. Likewise, details on features such as "follow me" and filtering or call-screening are also stored in the directory.
Unity stores a small subset of subscriber information in Active Directory, the Exchange 5.5 directory or the Domino directory. It uses a built-in SQL 2000 database for the bulk of user information and attributes. (The Cisco Unity Administrator is accessed from the Unity box itself using a Web browser.) Communité is managed from a snap-in module to Active Directory, the Domino directory and database administration forms, or Interactive's Interaction Administrator. There is also a plug-in for the Microsoft Management Console if you use Communité for Exchange.
Because LDAP-supported directories can be used as the primary user database, Communité servers can be deployed in each of Leagles' locations to share a common LDAP directory. In the alternative, different versions of Communité could be deployed in site-specific implementations--for example, Communité for Lotus Notes on the East Coast and Communité for Exchange on the West Coast. Interactive's version 2.2.2, scheduled for release in summer 2003, will support Chicago's open-source LDAP and IMAP4 resources, so they won't be left out in the cold. For high availability, an N+1 server configuration can be added to each site, as with Cisco Unity.
Leagles plans to replace its aging PBX, but Communité's broad support for PBXs may delay its end-of-life status. Communité supports all the leading PBXs, from Avaya to Siemens; and, like Unity, it will support any SIP-enabled PBX. While both vendors support legacy voicemail using AMIS (Audio Messaging Interchange Specification) and VPIM (Voice Profile for Internet Mail), Communité integrates fax services with the UM server. And like Cisco's product, it can support third-party fax servers like RightFax. In the event Leagles needs to upgrade its RightFax servers, it has the option to rely on Communité's onboard fax services.
Interactive and Cisco advised Leagles to run both digitized voice and call control on the same IP network as data. In that vein, Interactive recommended SIP phones on the desktop that have the same features as most proprietary digital sets. Users can move from phone to phone and simply log in from their current location. Administrators need not spend time shuffling or adding users as they move within the office, or even outside the office when roaming with a cell phone. Users can keep their analog phones and still get the benefits of UM because Communité comes with a softphone for the PC. And with SMDI (Simple Message Desk Interface) support, message-waiting lights can still illuminate LEDs on the desk phone. Although Unity also supports SMDI and message-waiting indicators on desk phones, it does not include a softphone without deploying CallManager.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
