Using Avaya IP Softphones, the end user can control telephone calls directly from a Personal Computer (PC). An end user can log in remotely to the company server running Communication Manager, and then make and receive telephone calls from the telephone extension.

Avaya IP Softphones support the following modes:

• Road-Warrior

  You typically use this mode for laptop users who are traveling. In this mode, the Personal Computer LAN connection carries both the call control signaling and the voice path. Because the audio portion of the voice call is handled by the Personal Computer, you must have some kind of audio device (e.g., handset, headset) Personal Computer to provide the audio connection.

• Telecommuter or Avaya IP Agent

  For the telecommuter or Avaya IP Agent mode, you make two separate connections to the Avaya server. The signaling path is carried over an IP network, and the voice path is carried over the standard circuit-switched telephone network (PSTN). Since you are using a telephone for audio, you do not need an H.323 Personal Computer audio application.

  The telecommuter mode uses the Avaya IP Softphone interface on the user Personal Computer and a standard telephone. The Avaya IP Agent mode uses the Avaya IP Agent interface on the agent Personal Computer and a call center telephone.

• Native H.323 (only available with Avaya IP Softphone R2)

  Using the standalone H.323 mode, the travelers can use some Communication Manager features from a remote location. This mode uses a Personal Computer running an H.323 v2-compliant audio application, such as Microsoft NetMeeting. The H.323 mode controls the call signaling and the voice path. However, since it does not use the IP Softphone interface, this configuration is capable of operating only as an analog or single-line telephone making one call at a time without any additional assigned features. You can provide standalone H.323 users only features that they can activate with dial access codes.

• Control of IP Telephone (only available with IP Softphone R4 and later)

  You can use this mode to make and receive calls under the control of the IP Softphone - just like in the Telecommuter or Road Warrior mode. The big difference is that you have a real digital telephone under your control. In the Road Warrior mode, there is no telephone. In the Telecommuter mode, the telephone you are using whether analog, digital, or IP telephone is brain dead. In this mode if you have an IP telephone, you get the best of both worlds.

• Control of DCP Telephone (only available with IP Softphone R5 and later)

  This feature provides a registration endpoint configuration. With this new configuration, an IP softphone and a non-softphone telephone can be in service on the same extension at the same time. Also, the call control is executed by both the softphone and the telephone endpoint, and the audio is monitored by the telephone endpoint.