Cool demo on covergence site OCS/Sametime coexistance

Microsoft Live Communications Server and Office Communications Server

Microsoft Live Communication Server (LCS) and its follow-on, the Office Communications Server (OCS), are enterprise real-time collaboration (RTC) systems that support presence-enabled instant messaging, audio, video, white-boarding and application sharing. The network protocol used for client/server communication in LCS/OCS is based on the IETF’s Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), with Microsoft-specific extensions. This makes LCS/OCS a potentially ideal solution for use as a unified communications solution.

The security requirements for connecting remote users who are “outside the firewall” and “off the VPN” require a fully encrypted (signaling and media), authenticated and validated user connection combined with complete application-level SIP security to protect against external intrusions and attacks.

Covergence Session Manager enables LCS Federations and remote Office Communicator sessions

  - Provides NAT traversal and other SBC features necessary for LCS voice and video support
  - MTLS support for LCS Federations & TLS support for remote Communicators
  - Supports SRTP media (consistent with Microsoft’s future media security plans)

Covergence Session Manager provides complete SIP firewall and enterprise SBC feature set

  - NAT traversal, DOS protection, control, and monitoring
  - Supports CSTA / SIP interworking to integrate LCS telephony capabilities with enterprise PBXs

Covergence Session Manager works with or without Microsoft LCS Access Proxy

  - Can even mix and match
  - Use Covergence Session Manager for Federation & remote Communicator access
  - Use LCS AP for Public IM connectivity

Covergence Session Manager (CSM) is a hardened security solution that augments the Access Proxy by providing the comprehensive application-level security, control and monitoring necessary to ensure that all remote LCS access complies with security and regulatory policies. With CSM organizations have the ability to:

• Exercise finely grained, policy-based control to restrict the types of SIP messages and SIP-associated media streams that cross the network edge. For example, some subscribers could be restricted to voice services while others would have access to voice and video services.
• Record the content of instant messaging (text chat), audio and video sessions, under policy-based control, to enable organizations to allow customers to comply with regulations pertaining to the monitoring and recording of electronic communications.
• Provision both authenticated, validated, and encrypted (TLS and SRTP) connections and unencrypted (SIP/UDP and RTP) connections.
• Deliver PSTN-like quality and reliability consistently that its customers expect across all real-time services.

Click here for our Interoperability Solution Brief (PDF).
Click here for more information.

Source: covergence corporate website.

Review the live demonstration.