Howto:MyApps Cloud - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

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Applies To

This information applies to

• innovaphone myApps Cloud from version 13r1 and higher
• innovaphone myApps Cloud STANDARD and PREMIUM

The purpose of the myApps Cloud

Virtualization via highly available and redundant cluster systems are creating a variety of new opportunities when providing efficient IT services. Herefore innovaphone AG provides the myApps Cloud service, as a flexible UCaaS platform. Consequently, the innovaphone myApps Cloud allows certified partners to offer and integrate such services without investing in an own infrastructure.

The service is available in two different service variations - the STANDARD and the PREMIUM version. The following tables reveals the differences:

	innovaphone myApps Cloud STANDARD	innovaphone myApps Cloud PREMIUM
Datacenter:
Geo-Redundancy:	active-passive	active-active
Recovery time:	hours (manual interaction)	minutes (fully-automated)
Autonomy time on power failure:	1 day	5 day
Service delivery:	within 24 h	within 24 h
Fixed contract term:	none	none
Infrastructur-Support-Service:
Acceptance:	during business hours	24 h x 7
Reaction time:	best effort	2h

FAQs

System and Features

• Question: Are there any special requirements to access the myApps Cloud, e.g. from a standard home Internet connection or Home Office?
  Answer: There are no specific requirements. In most cases a standard Internet access will do fine. Specific considerations in regards to Bandwidth Consumption, please see below.
  
  

• Question: How much bandwidth is being consumed through the different services?
  Answer: Bandwidth consumption always depends on a series of different factors. Below, we will provide some rough estimations, and a link to further readings.
  • Voice - Mainly depending on the codec in use and packet size. The average data rate should not exceed 70kbps. Further readings here.
    Note: All innovaphone devices support the ICE protocol, which is a technique to find the most direct way for two devices to talk to each. If properly applied, this technique allows to maintain network internal calls inside the LAN. Therefore no external bandwidth has to be considered, for such cases. Further readings here.
  • Video - Mainly depending on resolution and frame rate. The average data rate should not exceed 350kbps. Further readings here.
  • Application Sharing - The maximum data rate should be 500kbps. Further readings here.
  • Idle Bandwidth - The average data rate, including the synchronization of presence information should be below 1 kbps, and therefor negligible in most cases. Further readings here
    
    

• Question: What protocols are used, to access the myApps Cloud, what ports are used?
  Answer: The myApps Cloud is relying on standard protocols. Phones and the myApps Client are using the following protocols to access the cloud (those should be usable through the local NAT router):
  • http/https with ports 80, 443
  • SIP/SIPS with ports 5060, 5061
  • H.323 with ports 1720, 1300
  • LDAP/LDAPS with ports 389, 636
  • STUN/TURN/ICE Phones generally use this mechanism to discover its public IP address, when it is located behind a NAT/Firewall.
    
    

• Question: What is the max. upper limit of supported ports / amount of branch offices / number of SIP trunks for a myApps Cloud installation?
  Answer: The myApps Cloud concept is based on innovaphone’s highly modular technology. Therefore it can easily be adapted to very large projects or highly specific requirements. Thus, a “hard” upper limit does not exist. With default configurations, the myApps Cloud instance is set to serve installations with up to 100 users. For installations larger than this, the responsible reseller may discuss specific project requirements with our presales department.
  
  

• Question: Is it possible to use FAX on the myApps Cloud PBX?
  Answer: Yes, you are able to use FAX on the myApps Cloud platform, however it should be clearly understood to what degree the SIP provider does support T.38 (Suggestion: Clearly ask your SIP provider, if his network will convert an audio fax to T.38).
  In general, we distinguish between two cases:
  • Audio Fax: In case the SIP carrier does not convert faxes to T.38, an additional hardware DSP is needed to do this job. Therefore the use of one of our hardware devices with fax interface and a DSPs must be physically available (meaning, purchase or rent the respective hardware device, e.g. IP29-x). Further, the necessary licenses shall be configured via the Devices App > Software Rental:
    • Fax License (or UC License, which already contains Fax License), according to the amount of users.
    • PBX Port License is needed.
  • T.38 through SIP provider: In Case a FAX call is converted to T.38 through the SIP carrier. This method is supported by the FAX interface of the myApps Cloud PBX without additional hardware. In this case, the following licenses shall be configured via the Devices App > Software Rental:
    • At least one PBX Port License is needed
    • Fax License (or UC License, which already contains Fax License), according to the amount of users.
      
      

• Question: Which SIP trunks do you support in the cloud?
  Answer: In principle, we support all certified SIP provider, for which a profile is available in the innovaphone PBX. For your reference, please check here.
  Further, just verify:
  
  • Termination - The SIP trunk is generally terminated directly on the Cloud PBX. Therefore, it must be ensured that the SIP provider is willing to terminate the trunk on the respective data center (at this moment locations in Germany only).
    
  • Authentication - It must be ensured that the authentication to a SIP trunk is done via username and password (not through IP address).
  • Workaround - In case of issues with the above topics, a SIP trunk may be terminated locally, at the customers premises, through a gateway. In the simplest case, the termination might be done on a innovaphone FAX gateway, such as for example the IP29-2.
    
  • Exceptions - Some SIP trunks have special behaviors in a hosted cloud environment, which we describe in the following, according to our knowledge:
    • Deutschland-LAN - Due to security reasons, the provider has limited the product to the use of a maximum of 5 simultaneous TCP sessions from a single IP address, such as our cloud platform (see product description, section 11.3). Therefore this product is not suitable for such kind of hosting scenarios and therefore is not supported by the myApps Cloud platform. Alternative products are available from the same provider.
      
      

Install and Provisioning

• Question: How does the Installation of the myApps Cloud work?
  Answer: After innovaphone received the order for a cloud instance, the configuration will be generated and the partner receives an URL for the installation process. Further readings here.
  
  
• Question: How does the regular, day-to-day access to the myApps Cloud work?
  Answer: There are many ways to access and work with the myApps Cloud platform. Below a small selection of possibilities:
  • Phones - after the installation, innovaphone desk phones will connect automatically through a corporate LAN and the internet to the myApps Cloud. No specific actions from the user are required.
  • myApps Communication Client - This software does exist as a native client for various operating Systems, such as Windows, iOS, Android, etc. Once installed and under normal operation condition, the application opens and connects itself automatically to the cloud platform. The myApps Client might be started through standard browsers as well. In this case, the user has to identify himself through username and password (and Two-factor authentication by email). Further readings here.
    
    
• Question: Can phones be connected (rollout) to the myApps Cloud PBX without using the innovaphone provisioning process?
  Answer: No, specifically in the Cloud, the provisioning of devices (phones, gateways) has to be realized trough the innovaphone provisioning process.

Operations

• Question: Is it possible to generate a backup of an entire myApps Cloud Instance?
  Answer: The configuration of a regular backup to an external storage is possible and can be configured easily, through the Devices App.
  • It is highly recommendable, to generate such a regular backup on an external storage device. The innovaphone GTC refers to this issue as "Customers Obligation" in chapter 7.6. here.
  • Please do not store backups on the App Platform of the respective Cloud Instance, but on an external storage. Thus, in the unlikely case of an instance failure, the backup is most probably accessible.

• Question: Is there a Disaster-Recovery-Plan and what Recovery-Time is expected?
  Answer: Yes, we have a High-Availability-, Backup- and Disaster-Recovery-Concept, with the following specifics:
  • High-Availability / Multi-Server redundancy trough an Operational-Datacenter in Germany - currently based on vSphere™ technology from VMware®.
    
  • Nightly system backups to a remote Backup-Datacenter in Germany.
    
  • Further, provisioning of a Disaster-Recovery-Datacenter.
    
  • In case of loosing the Operational-Datacenter, the proven Disaster-Recovery-Plan defines:
    • A restore of the Operational-Datacenters entire infrastructure from the Backup-Datacenter to the Disaster-Datacenter.
    • The access-URL's are reconfigured.
    • Our partners are being informed on the status and on eventual need for changing local firewall rules.
      
  • A Recovery-Time of 4-5 hours is expected.
    
• General information on this can also be found in our GT&C. here
  

External connection through standard interfaces

• Question: Can we use SOAP to connect to the myApps PBX platform in the Cloud?
  Answer: Yes, this is possible. As underlying transport mechanism SOAP is generally using HTTP or HTTPS (further readings here). In case of the myApps Cloud service, HTTPS is the only option to access the PBX. We recommend to create a specific account to give the SOAP application (limited) access to the system (In most scenario’s a User Object / User account in the PBX with delegated rights - for security reasons as less as possible - is preferred and will fit, depending what will be done through the SOAP application).
  
  
• Question: Can we use TAPI to connect to the myApps PBX platform in the Cloud?
  Answer: Yes, same as with an on-premise systems, the myApps Cloud PBX supports a TAPI interface. Call control via the TAPI interfaces is possible. Details, please check here
  
  

Tracking and Tracing inside the myApps Cloud

• Question: Is it possible to write Wireshark / PCAP traces to an external URL?
  Answer: Yes, there are basically three optopns:
  • you can write PCAP trace to a specified, external URL. Details, please check here and here. The URL is expected to be a folder on any standard WebDAV drive.
  • it is possible to store the trace files on Files App, on the respective App Platform.
  • Please do not save traces on local Flash Disk of the PBX, as this can lead to a trap of the PBX, when the local Flash disk becomes full.

Regulations and compliance

• General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) 2016/679: Designed to harmonize data privacy laws across all the EU member countries as well as providing greater protection and rights to individuals. Details, please check here
  • innovaphone is taking great care for the privacy of your data. Details please find on our website here. Further, please check part K of our general terms and conditions.
    
    

• Directive (EU) 2018/1972: Adopted by the European Union in December 2018 to set-up a European Electronic Communications Code (EECC). Details, please check here
  • No phone lines or SIP Trunks are part of the myApps Cloud service. Thus, each innovaphone partner is obliged to verify jointly with the selected SIP provider, if this regulation fully applies.