Introduction

This interoperability guide provides the necessary steps to set up Bria softclients with Sipxecs in order to explore its call control, presence and instant messaging capabilities. The emphasis is on initial exploration of Bria capabilities with Sipxecs and hardphones in an intra-enterprise environment - to simplify this task, use of XMPP or DNS setups for XMPP was avoided. Bria has a Workgroup feature that displays Line presence for phones by subscribing to the Sipxecs resource list used by the Sipxrls process. Instant messaging between softclients is delivered via the SIP message method and uses Sipxecs to route the messages between Bria clients.

The objective of this guide is summarize information found in the various www.sipfoundry.org user forums and wiki using a simple test network topology to demonstrate basic Bria capabilities with Sipxecs.Refer to http://wiki.sipfoundry.org/display/sipXecs/Upgrade+or+Install+Planning+for+4.2+and+XMPP and http://wiki.sipfoundry.org/display/sipXecs/DNS+Concepts+for+sipXecs for advanced details on using Bria clients using XMPP with DNS and DHCP for messaging, presence, and file transfer.

Test Environment

The following diagram describes the test environment used to configure Bria clients with Sipxecs. The test environment used the following software and firmware levels:

Sipxecs Release 4.6 Update 11
Counterpath Bria 3 clients at release 3.5.5 running on Windows 7 Professional systems
Polycom VVX phones running updater 4.4 bootrom and release 4.1.6 firmware
Separate voice and data lan
- Sipxecs DNS/DHCP is enabled on the voice LAN for Polycom phones
- DNS/DHCP is enabled on the router for the data LAN for the desktop and laptop running Bria clients.

How Bria Provisioning Works with Sipxecs

Sipxecs supports Bria client profiles in a similar manner to other phones such as Polycom - an .ini and .xml file are built for each client and placed in the Sipxecs tftpboot directory along with other client and phone profiles. Sipxecs provides a cmcprov plugin that when invoked by the Bria login client, finds the correct client profiles and pushes the configuration to the user. The following diagram and steps describes how a Bria client is defined in Sipxecs and enabled by the user:

The Bria client profiles are defined on Sipxecs, including assignment of line registration. Multiple lines can be assigned to a Bria client.
When the Bria client profile is submitted, client.ini and client-directory.xml files are created and stored in the Sipxecs tftpboot directory
Bria 3.5.x provides a mode that allows the user to login into the provisioning server - in Bria 3.5.5, this option is enabled by default and can be toggled on and off. For this configuration, the user specifies http://192.168.55.10:80/cmcprov/login as the Login server in Bria. The username must be the first line defined in the Bria profile definition on Sipxecs, and the password is the same password used to access the Sipxecs user portal. The Bria client will build an account for each line and provide the user with options in the Account Settings menu regarding which preferred accounts to use for calls and workgroup presence.
The Bria client is enabled with the line(s) registered to the Sipxecs server

Provisioning the Bria Profile in Sipxecs

The following steps generates a working Bria profile for enabling presence and instant messaging in Sipxecs without use of XMPP:

Select Bria as the phone type when building a new phone. In the provisioning section, enter the license key assigned to the Bria client.
Add a line to the Bria client - to begin exploring presence and instant messaging with a working model, the recommendation is to assign unique lines to the Bria clients that are not defined on other phones. On the line > registration menu, populate the user name, display name, and SIP domain information. In this example, the IP address of the Sipxecs server is used.
In the line > presence menu, set the presence mode to peer-to-peer. Provision the Address of Record (AOR) to be the full or consolidated format resource list URI of the line for the Bria client according to the BLF guidelines documented here http://wiki.sipfoundry.org/display/sipXecs/Manually+Configuring+Phone+BLF. In release 4.6 update 11, both full and consolidated format resource list URIs are defined in the /etc/sipxpbx/resource-lists.xml file - a resource list is built for every user with subscribe to presence enabled. In the attached example below, a Bria group profile was built in Sipxecs using the consolidated format resource list URI sip:~~rl~C~2xx@192.168.55.10. When the Bria client profile is built and line 200 is assigned, the 2xx is changed to 200 in the workgroup address field.
Assign speed dials to the first line defined on each Bria client with subscribe to presence enabled - this builds the subscription lists in /etc/sipxpbx/resource-lists.xml used by the Sipxrls process to communicate line state on phone line keys or via the View > Workgroup menu on the Bria client.
Enable instant messaging for each line being assigned to a Bria client. Also ascertain that the IM services (Openfire and SipxIM) are running.

Using Basic Bria Presence and Instant Messaging with Sipxecs

Step 1 - Enable Bria Login Menu and Pull the Client Profile from Sipxecs

The Bria client may not be configured to display the login menu - the first four steps enables the login menu. If the login menu is already displayed when the Bria client starts, then proceed to step 5.

Go to Softphone > Preferences and hit enter
Select the Enable Login screen option in the Preferences > Application menu and hit okay at bottom to apply
Select Log Out from the Softphone pull-down menu
The Bria login screen now appears - select option to manually enter login server and continue
In the Login server field using our test network topology above, enter http://192.168.55.10:80/cmcprov/login. The user name is the first line defined for the Bria client in Sipxecs, and password is the password used to access the Sipxecs user portal (not the voicemail password).

Step 2 - Validate Bria Client Configuration Downloaded from Sipxecs

The Bria client configuration downloaded from Sipxecs is validated as follows:

Bring up the SIP account settings by selecting Softphone > Account Settings and editing the account. If multiple lines were defined in the Bria client profile on the Sipxecs server, edit the first account.
Check the userid, domain, display name, and authentication information on the account tab
Select the Presence tab on the SIP Account. Ascertain that the mode is set to Peer-to-peer and Workgroup address is a properly-formatted consolidated resource list uri for the line defined for the Bria client.
Exit editing the SIP account and return to the main Bria screen - ascertain the provisioned line is registered and available

Step 3 - Display Workgroup Subscription for the Line from Bria

The workgroup subscription defined by the line subscribe to presence speed dial settings assigned to the client can now be displayed by selecting the View > Workgroup option from the Bria primary screen.The workgroup screen can remain open even when the main Bria screen is collapsed in Windows. The status of incoming and outgoing calls as well as calls in progress of being established are displayed in real-time in the workgroup view.

The Bria client maintains the list of lines to monitor when the client registers the line to Sipxecs. If the list of speed dial subscribe to presence settings is changed, the Bria client must logout and log back in to re-register the line - this picks up the updated resource list of extensions to monitor from Sipxecs.

Step 4 - Setting Up Presence and Instant Messaging with Other Bria Clients

Establishing presence and instant messaging with other Bria clients in an intra-enterprise network is done by first adding a contact for the Bria client as follows:

From the main Bria client screen, select Add Contact option from the Contacts pull-down menu
Enter the Display name as well as first and last names of the user. The display name is used in instant message exchanges.
Go the right hand side and enter the line extension of the user contact. This is used by Sipxecs to route the IM to the right Bria client. Hit the Add button on right.
The Bria client updates the Contact profile with the Presence field underneath the Last Name field and the line to use for monitoring presence. Select the okay button on bottom.
The Bria main screen is displayed again with the contact added along with presence status. Right-click on the contact select the Instant Message option to send an IM.
The instant message screen appears and the user can now IM with another subscriber.

Connecting a Desktop Phone to a Bria Client

A Bria client has a Deskphone mode that allows a hardphone to be connected and used for incoming and outgoing calls. The following steps are used to connect a hardphone to a Bria client:

Select Softphone > Preferences
Select Devices from the Preferences screen and go to the Other Devices tab
Select Deskphone button
The Deskphone menu will appear and request that a Deskphone URI be specified - in this example, User 203@lvtest.com was entered. A note of interest - in all other previous examples, an IP address was specified when configuring the Bria client. When 203@192.168.55.10 was entered, a packet capture revealed that that the 192.168.55.10 address was replaced with the lvtest.com URI received from Sipxecs. Therefore ascertain that there is an A record defined for lvtest.com for the DNS server used by the PCs on the data network where the Bria clients are running.
In the More Call Options pull-down menu on the right side of the Bria toolbar, select the Call using My Deskphone option to enable the Deskphone functionality. This option must be enabled whenever the Bria client is restarts or logs into a new account.

Based on the test network topology (shown in the above diagram), attached is the behavior of the Bria client in Deskphone mode using Sipxecs with default Bria system parameters. Further adjustments of Bria configurations may refine these behaviors:

Call Type	Result	Answered By	Presence Status
x204 calls x203	x203 and x200 ring	x203 Call cannot be answered by x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows incoming call from x204 with no ability to answer or forward Bria Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from 204' for x203 and 'Established outgoing call to 203' for x204
x203 calls x204	x204 rings x200 rings silently	x204 Call cannot be answered by x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows outgoing call to x204 but with no ability to answer or control the call once answered by x203 Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from 203' for x204 and 'Established outgoing call to 204' for x203
x204 calls x200	x200 rings	x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established outgoing call to 200' for x204.
x200 calls x204	x203 rings first. When x203 answers, call is then placed to x204. If PC running Bria client has a USB phone, microphone, or headset then bearer path is established between x200 and x203 while ringing x204. When x204 answers, 3-way call is established. Call is terminated when one of x200, x203, or x204 hangs up.	x204	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from 203' for x204 and 'Established outgoing call to 204' for x203
x203 calls x200	x200 rings once	x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows two windows - incoming call from x203 in one window and outgoing call to x200. During call establishment, call be answered from incoming call window. Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established outgoing call to 200' for x203
x200 calls x203	x203 rings. There is no ringing played on the x200 Bria client. When call is answered by x203, call immediately goes to voicemail and unavailable greeting is played.	x203	Bria client x205 shows x200 as available. Bria client x200 shows no active call. Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from 203' for x203 while voicemail greeting is played.
x205 calls x200	x200 rings.	x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows incoming call from x205 Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from 200' for x203
x205 calls x203	x203 and x200 ring	x203 Call cannot be answered by x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows incoming call from x205 with no ability to answer or forward. Call can be terminated once answered by x203 Bria Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from 205' for x203
Incoming External call to x200	x200 rings.	x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows incoming call from x205 Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from external number' for x203
Incoming External call to x203	x203 and x200 ring	x203 Call cannot be answered by x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows incoming call from x205 with no ability to answer or forward. Call can be termianted once answered by x203. Bria Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established incoming call from external number' for x203
x203 places external call	x203 receives ringing x200 rings silently	External caller Call cannot be answered by x200	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows outgoing call to external number but with no ability to answer or control the call once answered by x203 Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established outgoing call to external number' for x203
x200 places an external call	x203 rings first. When x203 answers, call is then placed to external number and x203 receives ringing	External caller	Bria client x205 shows x200 on the phone. Bria client x200 shows outgoing call to external number but no ability to transfer the call once answered. The client can terminate the call. Workgroup view from x205 client shows 'Established outgoing call to external number' for x203

Importing Contacts Into Bria

Bria 3 provides the capability to import contacts from a .csv file, a .vcf file, or directly from Outlook or Exchange. The following figure illustrates how to import contacts from a .csv file:

Go to Contacts > Import Contacts in Bria
Select file format
Select file location
Select Import Contact options
Bria imports contacts and displays status message
Contacts appear in the main Bria screen

Using Intercom with Bria and Sipxecs

Intercom to Polycom phones through Sipxecs using Bria clients, both in a stand-alone fashion and in Deskphone mode, was validated successfully - some important considerations:

When intercoming from a Bria client, the IP address must be specified - e.g. *76204@192.168.55.10 or *76204@lvtest.com (see issues in next section)
When intercoming from a Bria client where the Deskphone feature is enabled, the client will first dial the Deskphone, who in turn will intercom the called phone.
A Bria client in non-Deskphone mode can intercom a Polycom phone directly regardless of membership in the Sipxecs phone group for Intercom.
The attached figure illustrates how to build a contact with Bria for Intercom.

Issues Encountered During Testing

There were two issues encountered with Bria and Sipxecs during this integration and characterization effort:

Bria clients would intermittently crash and would need to be restarted
Bria clients intermittently would lose the presence status of the other Bria client - restarting the client normally would restore presence.
During the Deskphone testing, some failed outbound calls from the Bria client did not clear up call state in Sipxecs. The problem was pinpointed to a Bria dial plan issue for outgoing calls - when Bria sees numerics when an outbound call is placed, the @IP address or sip domain defined in the client is appended and sent as part of the REFER to Sipxecs after the initial call to the deskphone is answered. If number cannot be translated by the Sipxecs dialplan, Sipxecs sends a BYE back to Bria who then tears down the presence to Sipxecs. If an alphanumeric string is entered when the call is placed by the client (e.g. *76204), Bria's default dialplan does notappend the IP address or SIP domain of the Sipxecs server when the REFER is issued to Sipxecs. When the REFER is sent to the phone, the Polycom phone issues an INVITE to Sipxecs with no sip domain or IP address specified (e.g. *76204 instead of *76204@192.168.55.10). Sipxecs responds back to the phone with a SIP 484 address incomplete response and then sends a NOTIFY to the Bria client that the call is terminated. Since the Bria client did not receive a SIP BYE for the call from Sipxecs, it continues to send SIP NOTIFYs to Sipxecs that extension 203 is processing an incoming call - these Notifies accumulate for every failed call of this type and show up in the workgroup status. There are two workarounds to this issue:
- When placing an alphanumeric outgoing call from Bria, the SIP domain of IP address of the Sipxecs server should be explicitly specified (e.g. *76204@lvtest.com).
- Log off from the Bria account (or exit) and restart to clear the accumulating SIP NOTIFY messages to Sipxecs (see attached).

It should also be noted that for Polycom phones with subscribe to presence enabled in the speed dial plans, the BLF lamps for these user extensions will show up as busy until the offending Bria client is re-started.

Further Work

Configuring the Bria clients and Sipxecs to use XMPP for instant messaging and communication of call status
Customizing Bria dialplans.

Related articles

Bria 3.0 Administrator Guide

Bria 3 for Windows User Guide Enterprise Deployments

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