TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE No. TG0024 Ed. 03 OmniTouch Unified Communication Nb of pages : 30 Date : 25 July 2005 SUBJECT : TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE FOR IP SOFTPHONE The objective of this Troubleshooting Guide is to help you to solve problems around IP Softphone applications (IP 4980 Softphone, IP Web Softphone and 4980 Softphone in Nomadic VoIP mode): bad voice quality, application remains in "Initialization in progress" state, audio tuning, etc.
OmniTouch Unified Communication 3.0 Troubleshooting Guide for IP Softphone Release R3.0.0 or higher Revised th Edition 3 – 25 of July 2005 Summary Troubleshooting guide for IP Softphone applications (4980 Softphone and Web Softphone) and 4980 Softphone in Nomadic VoIP mode.
Disclaimer This documentation is provided for reference purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, this documentation is provided “as is” without any warranty whatsoever and to the maximum extent permitted. In the interest of continued product development, Alcatel reserves the right to make improvements to this manual and the products it describes at any time without notice or obligation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 PRE-REQUISITES AND ARCHITECTURES.................................................................................... 5 1.1 PRE-REQUISITES ................................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 ARCHITECTURES ................................................................................................................................ 7 1.2.1 Two kinds of client ..............................................
About Troubleshooting Guide for IP Softphone The objective of this Troubleshooting Guide is to help you to solve problems around IP Softphone applications (IP 4980 Softphone, IP Web Softphone and 4980 Softphone in Nomadic VoIP mode): bad voice quality, application remains in “Initialization in progress” state, audio tuning, etc.
1 Pre-requisites and Architectures 1.1 Pre-requisites Hardware and software environments Refer to the document [1] (Feature List) for: • Supported 4980 Softphone client platforms (IP Softphone or Nomadic VoIP mode). • Supported browsers for IP Web Softphone clients. Note that the client station must be equipped with a full-duplex soundcard (Sound Blaster compatible) and an USB device (IP handset or headset). OmniPCX system Requirements are as follows: • Software release of OmniPCX 4400 must be at least 4.2.
• Other voice mails cannot be addressed by the IP Softphone applications, as local DTMF tones cannot be sent. BEFORE CALLING ALCATEL’S SUPPORT CENTER Before calling Alcatel’s Business Partner Support Center (ABPSC), make sure that you have read this document and completed the actions suggested for your trouble(s).
1.2 Architectures 1.2.1 Two kinds of client We can distinguish here two kinds of client stations according to the protocol used: • • UA (Alcatel proprietary protocol) client: IP 4980 Softphone IP Web Softphone H323 client: 4980 Softphone in Nomadic VoIP mode " Above clients are only available on Microsoft Windows stations as the IP module for the Web Softphone application is designed for Windows only (and therefore cannot be used on other operating systems).
1.2.2 Architectures Typical architecture for IP 4980 Softphone and 4980 Softphone in Nomadic VoIP mode is as follows: Typical architecture for IP Web Softphone is as follows: OmniTouch UC R3.
Details for modules and protocols used are as follows (example with IP Web Softphone): IP module of Softphone applications is composed of: • • • • • • GAELIC: Generic ATAPI Evolutive LIght Client, an executive binary dedicated to the VoIP processing. Used by IP Web Softphone only. ATAPI-light: a proprietary protocol (Alcatel Telephony API-light) dedicated to VoIP messages towards the Open Telephony Server (OTS). Used by IP Web Softphone only (versus “full” ATAPI used by 4980 Softphone applications).
1.2.3 Initialization sequences with IP 4980 Softphone and 4980 Nomadic VoIP Initialization sequences (1) between the different modules are indicated in the following figure: OmniPCX VoIP Gateway OTS ATAPI 4980 DLL UA ABERS Login (phone number) MAC address Connect message TFTP (MAC address) Download of lanpbx.cfg, bintscip, start_tscip = UA listening recover (1) UA establishment link (lots of UA messages ) Init.
1.2.4 Initialization sequences with IP Web Softphone Initialization sequences (1) between the different modules are exactly the same than for 4980 Softphone sequences: OmniPCX VoIP Gateway OTS ATAPI GAELIC DLL UA ABERS Login (phone number) MAC address Connect message TFTP (MAC address) (1) Download of lanpbx.cfg, bintscip, start_tscip = UA listening recover UA establishment link (lots of UA messages ) Init.
2 Troubleshooting The first step in any troubleshooting process is to gather information. The more information you have about symptoms and characteristics of a problem, the better your chances are for solving the problem quickly and efficiently.
2.2 What should I do if previous step is OK ? Following table proposes you different problems that have been identified and possible solutions to resolve them. Problems described below are the most common cases you may encounter when using the IP Softphone applications. Electronic document only: once the problem identified, click the link(s) in the column “Checkpoint(s)”. This will allow you to directly go to the corresponding section(s). PROBLEM MET The voice quality is bad.
2.3 Checkpoints 2.3.1 Checking the Quality of Service (QoS) Layer 2 Ethernet (802.1P/Q) is not supported by IP Softphone applications. Only TOS/DiffServ for Layer 3 IP is available.
" Use external tools like Aviso (VoIP Assessment Tool) to check above parameters. For more details, please consult the Alcatel Business Partner Web site at the following URL: http://www.businesspartner.alcatel.com/. Go to the section e-Support and expand the following links: Technical Support/Communication Server/Technical Communication. Then select the section Voice over IP Engineering/Tools and have a look to the document “VoIP Assessment Tool Presentation & Benefits”. 2.3.
2.3.3 Checking the Audio tuning When voice quality is too bad, the problem may come from audio tuning parameters. The volume level, the microphone settings and the volume control of receivers must not be tuned too high. The audio medial control window is available on the Softphone application when the user is engaged in a conversation.
Note: with IP 4980 Softphone application, go to the Tools menu and select the Audio tuning Wizard item. 2.3.4 Analysing the “Initialisation in progress” state When starting the Softphone application, the “Initialisation in progress” state is displayed on you Softphone client. This is a normal behaviour as initialisation sequences (see sections 1.2.3 and 1.2.4) are performed between your client and the IP Gateway (INTIP, GD or GA): OmniTouch UC R3.
This state takes few seconds then the message disappears. If the message remains, this indicates a trouble between the Softphone client and the IP gateway. Refer to the following sub-sections to solve this problem. 2.3.4.1 Application is running and enters in “Initialisation in progress” state If this problem appears after the initialisation phase, i.e. the client application is running well but suddenly enters in this state, check your software version because this problem has been solved since Release 2.
2.3.5 Checking “abers” and “gaelic” processes When closing the IP Web Softphone application, be sure to use the Close button and not the Close box of the browser: When closing the application through the browser’s Close box, the VoIP processes abers and gaelic will not be closed. Thus, at the next connection, the application will remain in “Initialisation in progress” state. If the application has been badly closed, you must manually stop the VoIP processes through the Windows Task Manager application. 2.
2.3.6.2 Activating ActiveX controls If the following warning message appears, ActiveX controls have not been activated in the Internet browser: Example with Internet Explorer: Go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options. In the Security tab, click the Local intranet icon and then the Custom Level button. In the Security Settings window, select Prompt or Enable for the following entries: • Download unsigned ActiveX controls • Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins OmniTouch UC R3.
2.3.6.3 Enabling Pop-ups The (IP) Web Softphone application is considered as a pop-up window for Internet browsers: Today, lots of tools exist (like the Google bar) to block most unwanted pop-up windows from appearing. Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2 fully supported from Release 3.0.6) introduces a native “Pop-up Blocker” tool in Internet Explorer. " Refer to the documentation of these various tools to enable the (IP) Web Softphone application running.
When the settings window of the Pop-up Blocker is displayed, you can select three different Filter levels: • High: blocks all pop-ups. • Medium: blocks most automatic pop-ups. • Low: allow pop-ups from secure sites. If the user selects the Low or Medium level, the (IP) Web Softphone application will not be affected by this new Microsoft Windows XP mechanism. If the user wants to use the High level filter, he must allow pop-ups from specific Web sites by adding the URL to the "Allowed sites" list.
The following warning message appears if more than one IP device is launched on the client machine (i.e. IP 4980 Softphone is launched and you are trying, for example, to launch the IP Web Softphone application): 2.3.8 Checking Nomadic Ghost Z resources Above warning message mainly occurs if Nomadic Ghost Z sets are not available (because not declared or busy). Use the OTS Maintenance console and the menu 20 to check Ghost Z resources (create, if needed, additional Ghost Z sets on OmniPCX side). 2.3.
2.3.10 Checking the Nomadic gateway In above screenshot, a call has been launched from the 4980 in Nomadic VoIP mode. After a few seconds, the 4980 is frozen and the only way to exit from this state is to kill the 4980 binary through the Task Manager. This trouble appears because the Nomadic gateway has not been configured on OmniTouch UC side. To solve this problem, use the Web Administration tool and indicate the IP address of the INTIP/GD board, as indicated below: OmniTouch UC R3.
Click the Configure button, then the Next button to manage the Nomadic gateway: OmniTouch UC R3.
3 Traces and Log files This chapter indicates how to set debug traces and how to retrieve log files when advanced investigation is needed. These traces, if required, must be sent to the Alcatel Technical Support (through the Alcatel Business Partner Support Centre) for analysis. 3.1 “Pcmm.cfg” “pcmm.cfg” is a file to create and to copy under the “...\A4980\Alcatel 4980” directory. To generate Multi-Media PC 2 traces, include the following directives in pcmm.cfg file: output=traces.
3.3 Network Protocol Analyzers Additionally, a diagnostic tool may be used for displaying and analyzing communications protocols. With this tool, a user can test the performance of network data to make sure that the network and its hardware are operating within the network's specifications. LAN managers use protocol analyzers to plan network upgrades and expansions, and to perform network maintenance and troubleshooting tests. Lots of Protocol Analyzers are available on the market.
3.4 OTS Maintenance traces OTS Maintenance console allows you to set Multi-Media PC 2 and Nomadic traces through debug options –tpcmm and –tnomadic: How to launch debug traces: • • Type 0 p –tnomad for Nomadic traces and 0 p –tpcmm for Multi-Media PC2 traces. Capture traces to a log file with the following command: >> traces.log (log file “traces.log” will be available in the OTS Maintenance directory). Note: to remove traces, type 0 r –tnomad and/or 0 r –tpcmm. OmniTouch UC R3.
