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Prepare for live traffic with Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile and Azure Communications Gateway

  • Article

Before you can launch your Operator Connect or Teams Phone Mobile service, you and your onboarding team must:

  • Test your service.
  • Prepare for launch.

In this article, you learn about the steps you and your onboarding team must take.

Tip

In many cases, your onboarding team is from Microsoft, provided through the Included Benefits or through a separate arrangement.

Important

Some steps can require days or weeks to complete. For example, you'll need to wait at least seven days for automated testing of your deployment and schedule your launch date at least two weeks in advance. We recommend that you read through these steps in advance to work out a timeline.

Prerequisites

Methods

In some parts of this article, the steps you must take depend on whether your deployment includes the Number Management Portal. This article provides instructions for both types of deployment. Choose the appropriate instructions.

1. Ask your onboarding team to register your test enterprise tenant

Your onboarding team must register the test enterprise tenant that you chose in Prerequisites with Microsoft Teams.

  1. Find your company's "Operator ID" in your operator configuration in the Operator Connect portal.
  2. Provide your onboarding contact with:
    • Your company's name.
    • Your company's Operator ID.
    • The ID of the tenant to use for testing.
  3. Wait for your onboarding team to confirm that your test tenant has been registered.

2. Assign numbers to test users in your tenant

  1. Ask your onboarding team for the name of the Calling Profile that you must use for these test numbers. The name typically has the suffix commsgw. This Calling Profile has been created for you during the Azure Communications Gateway deployment process.

  2. In your test tenant, request service from your company.

    1. Sign in to the Teams Admin Center for your test tenant.
    2. Select Voice > Operators.
    3. Select your company in the list of operators, fill in the form and select Add as my operator.

  3. In your test tenant, create some test users (if you don't already have suitable users). License the users for Teams Phone System and place them in Teams Only mode.

  4. Configure emergency locations in your test tenant.

  5. Upload numbers in the Number Management Portal (if you chose to deploy it as part of Azure Communications Gateway) or the Operator Connect Operator Portal. Use the Calling Profile that you obtained from your onboarding team.

    1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
    2. In the search bar at the top of the page, search for your Communications Gateway resource.
    3. Select your Communications Gateway resource.
    4. On the overview page, select Consents in the sidebar.
    5. Select your test tenant.
    6. From the menu, select Update Relationship Status. Set the status to Agreement signed.
    7. From the menu, select Manage Numbers.
    8. Select Upload numbers.
    9. Fill in the fields as required, and then select Review + upload and Upload.

  6. In your test tenant, assign these numbers to your test users.

    1. Sign in to the Teams Admin Center for your test tenant.
    2. Select Voice > Phone numbers.
    3. Select a number, then select Edit.
    4. Assign the number to a user.
    5. Repeat for all your test users.

3. Carry out integration testing and request changes

Network integration includes identifying SIP interoperability requirements and configuring devices to meet these requirements. For example, this process often includes interworking header formats and/or the signaling & media flows used for call hold and session refresh.

You must test typical call flows for your network. Your onboarding team will provide an example test plan that we recommend you follow. Your test plan should include call flow, failover, and connectivity testing.

  • If you decide that you need changes to Azure Communications Gateway, ask your onboarding team. Microsoft will make the changes for you.
  • If you need changes to the configuration of devices in your core network, you must make those changes.

4. Run a connectivity test and upload proof

Before you can launch, Microsoft Teams requires proof that your network is properly connected to Microsoft's network.

  1. Provide your onboarding team with proof that BFD is enabled. You should have enabled BFD in 8. Connect Azure Communications Gateway to your networks when you deployed Azure Communications Gateway. For example, if you have a Cisco router, you can provide configuration similar to the following.

    interface TenGigabitEthernet2/0/0.150
   description private peering to Azure
   encapsulation dot1Q 15 second-dot1q 150
   ip vrf forwarding 15
   ip address 192.168.15.17 255.255.255.252
   bfd interval 150 min_rx 150 multiplier 3

router bgp 65020
   address-family ipv4 vrf 15
      network 10.1.15.0 mask 255.255.255.128
      neighbor 192.168.15.18 remote-as 12076
      neighbor 192.168.15.18 fall-over bfd
      neighbor 192.168.15.18 activate
      neighbor 192.168.15.18 soft-reconfiguration inbound
   exit-address-family

  2. Test failover of the connectivity to your network. Your onboarding team will work with you to plan this testing and gather the required evidence.

  3. Work with your onboarding team to validate emergency call handling.

5. Get your go-to-market resources approved

Before you can go live, you must get your customer-facing materials approved by Microsoft Teams. Provide the following to your onboarding team for review.

  • Press releases and other marketing material
  • Content for your landing page
  • Logo for the Microsoft Teams Operator Directory (200 px by 200 px)
  • Logo for the Microsoft Teams Admin Center (170 px by 90 px)

6. Test raising a ticket

You must test that you can raise tickets in the Azure portal to report problems with Azure Communications Gateway. See Get support or request changes for Azure Communications Gateway.

7. Learn about monitoring Azure Communications Gateway

Your staff can use a selection of key metrics to monitor Azure Communications Gateway. These metrics are available to anyone with the Reader role on the subscription for Azure Communications Gateway. See Monitoring Azure Communications Gateway.

8. Verify API integration

Your onboarding team must provide Microsoft with proof that you have integrated with the Microsoft Teams Operator Connect API for provisioning.

If you have the Number Management Portal, your onboarding team can obtain proof automatically. You don't need to do anything.

9. Arrange synthetic testing

Your onboarding team must arrange synthetic testing of your deployment. This synthetic testing is a series of automated tests lasting at least seven days. It verifies the most important metrics for quality of service and availability.

After launch, synthetic traffic will be sent through your deployment using your test numbers. This traffic is used to continuously check the health of your deployment.

10. Schedule launch

Your launch date is the date that you'll appear to enterprises in the Teams Admin Center. Your onboarding team must arrange this date by making a request to Microsoft Teams.

Your service can be launched on specific dates each month. Your onboarding team must submit the request at least two weeks before your preferred launch date.

Next steps