Modular Messaging is a powerful IP- and standards-based voice and fax messaging platform designed for single- or multi-site global enterprises.
It offers exceptional scalability and a superior feature package of call answering and voice messaging capabilities. Messages are accessible any time, anywhere from a wide array of access devices including telephones, fax machines, or PC graphical user interfaces.
Modular Messaging is all about delivering more flexibility and choice in the best messaging productivity tools to improve customer satisfaction, lower costs and drive revenue for an enterprise or organization. Not all businesses and organizations are alike so messaging systems should have no limitations for managing messages.
With Modular Messaging, enterprises can add new IP-based messaging capabilities while preserving current messaging infrastructure and capital investments. It combines the power of Avaya messaging systems into a single, highly scalable platform that seamlessly integrates with existing Avaya Octel® 250/350, Octel 200/300 and Intuity® AUDIX® systems without any changes to current voice and data infrastructures.
Modular Messaging release 3.1 supports the Avaya message store, the Microsoft Exchange server as a unified message store, or the IBM Lotus Domino server as a unified message store. It features the Aria®, Serenade® and AUDIX-based Telephone User Interfaces (TUIs), all in a single system. Modular Messaging is available to new customers as a full turnkey solution with the new Avaya S3500 Message Application and Message Storage Servers. Customers using the Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino message stores also have the option of a software-only solution that utilizes their own server of choice.
Capacities for use with the Avaya Message Storage Server range from four to 144 ports and up to 20,000 mailboxes and 15,000 hours of storage. Capacities for Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino message storage servers range from four to 240 ports.
Avaya S3500 Message Server Elements
The Avaya S3500 Message Server family consists of two major elements: the Message Application Server (MAS) and the Message Storage Server (MSS). Sometimes known as the front end and the back end, each Modular Messaging system consists of one or more MAS front ends and a single MSS back end. Multiple MASs are deployed based on the number of messaging sessions/ports required or to enhance system resiliency by providing duplication of services. The Message Application Server is essentially an IP Gateway, providing the Messaging Application software layer (features) and IP Gateway functions (switch integration interface to IP messaging, i.e., transport). All Message Application Server data is transient; both customer data and messages are stored on the Message Store Server. The Message Storage Server stores the customer configuration database and message database.
The Message Application Server and Message Storage Server communicate over an IP link, which is designed to be separate from the customer's LAN/WAN infrastructure. In the event of an IP link failure between the MAS and MSS, the Message Application Server is sustainable and can continue to store up to 5,000 hours of messages per Modular Messaging system. During operation in a sustainable mode, the MAS "pings" the MSS every 30 seconds so that the message store reconciliation begins within 30 seconds of service resumption. With Modular Messaging, during an MSS or link outage, subscribers can access messages on the MAS (recent messages only) while in an off-line mode.
Message Application Server(s)
One or more Message Application Servers are used to provide the following "front-end" IP Gateway functionality, including (but not limited to):
- Telephony ports.
- Switch integration (SWIN).
- Caller and subscriber touchtone user interfaces (TUIs).
- Two channels of Multilingual Text-to-Speech (TTS) - Additional TTS channels can be added for email on unified message stores.
- System Automated Attendant.
- Caller applications.
- Voice encoding and decoding.
- Fax receipt and send.
- Notification of new messages, via switch Message Waiting Indicator (MWI) and/or outcalling.
The maximum number of MASs supported by a single Voicemail Domain will depend on message store used (Avaya MSS, Microsoft Exchange, or IBM Lotus Domino). It will also depend on the integration type (analogue, QSIG, IP or Digital Set Emulation) and port card circuit density. A total of five MASs can be provisioned for the Avaya Message Storage Server and up to ten MASs can be used with the email message storage servers.
Beyond capacity expansion, additional servers can also be used to enhance the overall availability and therefore provide additional system protection. For example, if a customer configuration consists of 32 Digital Set Emulation (DSE) ports, two Message Application Servers with two 8-port DSE port boards would be required. To increase availability and add further system protection, a third Message Application Server with up to 16 ports might be configured to effectively add 50% greater availability to the system and 100% port redundancy to any of the individual Message Application Servers.
Designated an N+1 configuration, this type of configuration can be used to extend additional protection for hardware without necessarily providing full redundancy for all hardware elements. (Note that the Modular Messaging N+1 configuration is documented and supported for Modular Messaging integrations with Avaya Communication Manager. Other PBXs may be supported, please check your Switch Integration Configuration Notes for details and support availability). Disk storage redundancy is not required because the Message Application Server stores only transient data. A UPS with 30-minute holdover is required to be provided by the customer. Loss of power and power surges are the primary source of disk failures. By including a UPS, it is estimated that disk failures can be reduced by at least 50%.
The Message Application Server is a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server provided by Avaya. Specifications for the Message Application Servers hardware are included in the Hardware Configurations section. For the email message storage servers, either the Avaya S3500 MAS hardware can be used or customers may provide the hardware based on Message Application Server specifications provided by Avaya.
Message Storage Server
The Message Storage Server (MSS) is a RedHat Linux-based system provided by Avaya. The Message Storage Server provides the following functionality:
- Subscriber mailbox storage, including recorded names and greetings.
- Message storage, including multimedia components voice, fax, text and/or binary attachments.
- Message delivery to local mailboxes.
- Message networking for delivery to remote destinations.
- Directory services, including mailbox account information.
The Message Storage Server is a Linux-based system provided by Avaya. Port (Line Interface) Boards provide the interface circuitry between the telephone system and the Modular Messaging/Message Application Server. Port boards in a single Modular Messaging system must all be the same type, (e.g., T/R, DSE, T1 or E1). Port boards are not required for the IP integration. The MASs in a single system must support the same type of port board. For Modular Messaging, Dialogic Port Boards will be provisioned. Each has resources for dynamic fax ports; the fax ports can be used on any available Port board port. A single Message Application Server can only support a single board type and cannot simultaneously support multiple types of boards.