The day has arrived, and Microsoft has released the much anticipated Service Pack 2 for their small business voice over IP phone system, Response Point.

As a Response Point Specialist, On-Site is excited to announce the latest enhancements to our VOIP offering:

Read more about Response Point SP2 on the Microsoft Response Point Site:

http://www.microsoft.com/responsepoint/SP2/

Get all the Response Point SP2 Enhancements – SP2 Features Fact Sheet!

Request more information on Response Point from On-Site.

First, let me preface this post by letting you know that remote phone for microsoft response point is an unsupported functionality. I have a phone that has working in this configuration for a week or so, and Jim has a few phones in this configuration that have been working for a month.

With Service Pack 2 (scheduled release February 09) remote phone over VPN will be supported, but right now, it is completely unsupported.

It is so unsupported, that I was only able to find one person on the Internet who had been able to get it to work. Special thanks go to Bruce Williams and Jim Egan who helped me figure this out. (Jim was the one guy on the Internet who had gotten it to work).

Now to the nitty gritty: How to get Microsoft Response Point Remote Phone to work over a site-to-site VPN.

1. Set your base station and ATA’s to reserved DHCP Leases on the server. This will ensure that whenever they reboot, they will get the same IP address.

2. Register the phone that is to become a remote phone on the network using the response point administrator tool. This will set the base station and ATA IP addresses in the Phone’s configuration.

3. Setup a Site-to-Site VPN between the remote location and your main location. You must be able to ping in both directions when the link is up.

4. Hook up the Response Point phone at the remote location, and it should work.

CAVEATS:

1. Response Point Remote Phone is unsupported by Microsoft. This is a hack that is works pretty well, but don’t call Microsoft saying Vi Wickam told us this will work.

2. Response Point Client does not work over the VPN. I expect this will be fixed with RP SP2.

3. According to the sources that I have read, Response Point Remote Phone will be supported under Service Pack 2, so unless you are in a hurry to get this to work, you can wait until February when it will become a supported configuration.

Here is a Roadmap of the scheduled updates and functionalities of Microsoft Response Point:

http://www.rptricks.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/31/rp-roadmap-published/

Rob’s Response Point Blog also has a great post about doing a Branch office configuration with Response Point. With his configuration, a base station is required at each location.

http://blogs.msdn.com/robertbrown/archive/2008/10/07/branch-office-with-response-point-sp1.aspx

Good Luck!

Microsoft just released Service Pack 1 (SP1) for their Microsoft Response Point phone system. Response point is an easy-to-use Voice over IP (VOIP) phone system designed for small businesses with 1-50 phones.

Response Point has enterprise level features including voice recognition, unified messaging (deliver your voicemail to your email inbox), and the ability to take your office phone with you on the road. Anywhere you have an broadband internet connection, you will be able to dial out as if you were in your office.

Service Pack one adds a number of new features and usability enhancements to Response Point. Most notably, Response Point now supports SIP trunking, which is geek speak for full voice over IP phone service to your phone provider.

You can learn more about Microsoft Response Point at Microsoft’s Response Point Website, or watch Bill Gates announce the release of Response Point Service Pack 1:

http://www.Microsoft.com/responsepoint

On-Site Computer Solutions is Evansville’s first (and currently only) Microsoft Response Point Specialist.

Call today for more information on how Microsoft Response Point can simplify your business communications. 812-424-HELP  (812-424-4357)

On-Site’s staff travelled to Nashville, TN last week to attend a Microsoft Response Point training seminar. Keeping up to date with our technology training is part of On-Site’s effort to maintain the highest standards of service.

Microsoft Response Point is a small business focused voice over IP (VOIP) phone system. Response Point is easy to use and manage, and provides an excellent feature set at a competitive price point.

On-Site Computer Solutions is the first Response Point Specialist in the Evansville Tri-State Area.

Learn more about Microsoft Response Point:

http://www.microsoft.com/responsepoint/features-overview.aspx

On-Site is excited to add Microsoft Response Point to its product and service offerings. Microsoft Response Point is a full featured Voice Over IP phone system at a small business price point.

Response point offers some amazing features, including:

• Remote phones – Dial from anywhere in the world as if you were in your office (Internet connection required)
• Microsoft Outlook Integration – Get your Voicemail delivered to your Outlook Inbox, or dial an outlook contact.
• Simple Management – Most management tasks can be done through a simple interface, right from your PC.
• Voice Recognition – Response Point’s Voice Recognition system really works, and makes it easy to use.
• Simplicity  - Response Point can use your Existing Data Cabling for your Phone System to simplify your Information system.
• Easy Upgrades – Because Response Point is a Software centered system, it can be easily upgraded when new features are released.

Response Point gives small businesses a powerful, and easy to scale phone system that can grow with your business.

Contact an On-Site Representative for more Information about how Microsoft Response Point can work for you: (812) 424-4357

Learn more about Microsoft Response Point.