Questions About Microsoft Lync Server and Music on Hold #Lync #snom #polycom

UC holds the promise of a new model of communication where being "on hold" happens less often. In the real world sometimes there is no other option but "holding" and because of this soothing music on hold to keep our callers happy is expected.

With Lync Server there are some questions I see coming up about music on hold and I thought I would take a crack at trying to answer some of them and clear some of the smoke and fog rolling across some new Lync administrators minds.

The Lync EndPoint Provides the Music on Hold?!
My exact question (including the incredulity) the first time I saw this. But you are reading correctly--Lync Server depends on the endpoint to provide the music on hold.

[Note: During the time the call is in the queue of a Response Group then the Response Group can provide music. The Response Group does not provide music on hold after the call is answered, even if it originated through a RG.]

How Do I Setup Music on Hold on the Lync Client?
In the Lync client click on "Options" and then on "Ringtones and Sounds". As shown on the screen below in the "Sounds" section you will see an option to set the WMA file you want to use as the music on hold. This may be greyed out if the admin has designated this from a policy.

Does Music on Hold Work With Calls Through a PSTN Gateway?
From my tests it does fine. I tested these scenarios:

• Lync call to an Enterprise Voice Lync User
• Call from outside the organization through a PSTN Gateway

In all these scenarios music on hold works fine. I believe the fog around music on hold not working through a gateway or in some senario may be in cases where the Lync admin did not allow enough time for the policy changes to propagate the whole way through the system.
There is no music on hold option if the Lync user is not an Enterprise Voice user so if a non EV user puts someone on hold there will not be MOH. (just a standard "beep beep beep")  But if a non Enterprise Voice user calls an EV user and the EV put the call on hold there can be MOH.

How Do I Centrally Set the Music on Hold for Users?
This is a snap using a powershell script. Ken's UC Blog does a great job of explaining this. With these powershell scripts you can easily change large groups of Lync users music on hold centrally and ensure they get what the admin wants as music on hold. Or you can be extremely granular and let each decide what they want.

Get-CSClientPolicy Global
Set-CSClientPolicy Global -EnableClientMusicOnHold:$TRUE

Note that if you EnableClientMusicOnHold from a policy you also need to designate what music on hold file according to Doug Deitterick. I noticed this same behavior on our own system.

NOTE: After you make these changes you MAY need to wait an hour or more till the changes propagate the whole way down to your client. A great way to ensure the changed came down to your client is to change the WMA file to some location other than the default. You can see then in Lync client exactly when the change has occurred.

Why Does The Hold Button on My Polycom CX600/500 or Other Lync Phone Edition Device Not Play MOH?
Sorry to break the news friend, but the music on hold button on these devices does not play music on hold. Consolation? If you have a Lync Phone Edition device that is tethered with "Better Together" tether (like how that rolls of the tongue? ;-) then if you press the hold button on your PC Lync client the other user will get music on hold. Yeah, I know--not so cool--but at least on option.  (<< seems like an update made this stop working.)

Does the Hold Button on the Polycom CX300 Play Music on Hold?
Yes! Since the hold button on the USB Polycom CX300/Plantronics Calisto P540 really is merely pressing the hold button on the Lync client it works fine. (Don't you just hate it when a cheaper device has a feature that more expensive unit doesn't? )

Does the Hold Button on the CX200 Work?

Just had to throw that in there--actually there is no hold button on the CX200. And--hang on a minute--who is using the CX200 anymore?! ;-)

Another Option for Getting Music on Hold on Your Lync System: PSTN Gateway

Some Lync PSTN gateways (Audiocodes, NET UX) will also take the responsibility for providing music on hold to your PSTN callers. The thing to remember here is that only calls going through the gateway will get the music on hold using this method. Federated callers and internal callers will not get MOH. 

NET UX1000/2000: Enabling Music On Hold at the Gateway Level:

http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2012/05/snom-uc-edition-beta-fw-released-with.html

Uplugthepbx blog details how it works on Audiocodes:

http://blog.unplugthepbx.com/2011/11/22/lync-music-on-hold-for-aries-and-other-phones/

Can I Use Live External Source for Lync Music on Hold?
Due to the distributed nature of Lync music on hold from Lync it is not possible. Currently the music on hold source needs to be a sound file, of a certain type, accessible to the Lync Server (response groups/call park) or the Lync Client (client based music on hold) or uploaded to the PSTN Gateway (audiocodes requires a very specific file type too).

UPDATE: It appears that NET UX series of gateways actually a will accommodate a live audio source. The way they do  it through a FXS port on the gateway. (clever guys) To read more details, Click Here.

What Happens If I Press Hold While on a Lync Conference Call?
Will the conference be barraged with hold music? According to alert reader @Darrylr Lync will be smart and recognize that you are on a conference and NOT play Music On Hold to the 200 unwitting conference participants. Nice!

Does snom UC Edition Have a Hold Button That Plays Music on Hold?
Still testing this. Since the snom phones can listen to/use a multi cast stream to provide music on hold to caller they theoretically should be able to provide their own music on hold but I need to verify if they can.

UPDATE: snom UC Edition Firmware 8.8.1.1 (BETA) does support Lync music on hold. The MOH file is hosted on the deskphone and works using same mechanisms as Lync 2010 PC client. The MOH provisioning is even configured using CSClientPolicy. (At the moment the music on hold file can not be changed.) To read more about snom UC Edition FW 8.8.1.1 (BETA) Click Here.

If anyone else has Lync music on hold real life experience they wish to share, please do so in the comments.

More Details on Setting the Music on Hold (Powershell, etc):

http://ucken.blogspot.com/2010/10/music-on-hold-for-lync-clients.html