What Is Avaya Aura Media Server And How to Update It?

Thinking about enhancing employees' collaboration with customers efficiently? Avaya is the solution.

Avaya is one of the leading business telephony solutions, known for providing unified communications, real-time video collaboration, contact centre, networking, and related services to all size companies across the world. The company has gained great recognition in offering reliable communication solutions. It was identified as the official telecommunication equipment supplier in 2014. The availability of various Avaya's manufactures and sells its own devices, like desktop phones, headsets, conference phones, and all-in-one video conferencing devices.

What is Avaya Aura?

A moment comes when the company realizes that employees of different companies require effective tools that create value, delight customers, and engage colleagues with flexible interactions. To reach this digital transformation, Avaya has introduced the Avaya Aura® Platform. It is a set of seamless components that collectively contribute complete unified communications and an amazing customer experience to produce meaningful and desired results.

The core components of Avaya aura are System manager, Communication Manager, Application Enablement, Media Server, Presence, Session Manager, and many others. Each and every component has its own characteristics and role in providing a reliable and strong connection between employees and customers.

Well, every business requires a flexible communication system for growing its productivity. And this is where Avaya Aura Media Server (MS) comes into the picture.

In this guide, we discuss in detail the Avaya Aura® Media Server (MS).

So, let's get started!

Table of Content

What is Avaya Aura?

What is Avaya Aura® Media Server (MS)?

How to Update Avaya Aura Media Server?

●       Check the Installed Version and Updates

●       Upload Media Server Updates

●       Upload and Installing Media Server Updates Using a Linux® Shell

●       Install The Update

Wrapping Up!

What is Avaya Aura® Media Server (MS)?

Avaya Aura® Media Server (MS) is a software-based media application platform. It combines the multiple systems into a single server to handle the whole communication infrastructure from one location. Instead of using dedicated hardware-based DSP resources, it handles all the operations of multimedia, such as messaging, audio, video, pictures, files, and other attachments. The overall aim of introducing such a platform is to generate a resilient communication system. Additionally, through this platform, the company can achieve increased functionality of an IP network without substituting the current infrastructure.

This component operates with media gateways to produce a streamlined voice and data network throughout the business. It also provides a network built on an industry-standard operating system that supports distributed IP networking and centralized call processing. The benefit of having Avaya Aura® MS is to enhance the productivity, efficiency, and economy of the enterprise. Avaya Aura® MS provides scalability, availability, and redundancy.

Avaya Aura® MS has the ability to take control over the entire communication infrastructure across the enterprise. It allows individuals and groups to interact and handle conversations and workflows productively.

How to Update Avaya Aura Media Server?

In order to update the Avaya Aura Media Server, here are the following steps that need to follow. So, let’s get started.

Check the Installed Version and Updates

You need to perform the following procedure to display information about the currently installed software.

● Log in to Avaya Aura® MS EM by using the customer account username and password.

● Navigate to EM>Tools>Manage Software>Inventory to check the installed software. In this, the EM displays the currently installed software versions for the application and system layers.

● Navigate to EM>Tools>Manage Software>History to check the details about the last installed update. Here, EM displays the last installed updates for the application and system layers.

Upload Media Server Updates

The Avaya Aura® MS application and system software updates are categorized and saved separately. Uploading the software updates makes them available for installation. You need to perform the following procedure to upload each required software update to Avaya Aura® MS.

● Navigate to EM>Tools>Manage Software>Updates.

● To select the software update to upload, click Browse. The selected file must be an official Avaya Aura® MS update package in ISO format.

● Click Upload. When the system uploads the files, the browser displays a progress spinner. Once the upload completes, the system pop-up the license agreement window.

● Go through the license agreement and tick on the "Accept" checkbox. Now, the system checks the integrity and authenticity of the update and further shows the details regarding the update including the filename of the uploaded file.

● Use the chevron buttons to expand ( ) and collapse ( ) additional details about the update.

You can repeat the process for each required update.

Upload and Installing Media Server Updates Using a Linux® Shell

● Log in to a Linux® shell using the customer account.

● Change to the public directory by using the cdpub alias or the following command - cd /opt/avaya/app/pub

● Transfer an official update package in ISO format to the system by using the sftp file transfer tool to pull the files to the pub directory. After uploading the update to one server, you can copy the update to another local server.

● Run the following command to stage the software - stageUpdate –stage –of softwareUpdate.iso

● Run the following command to install the update - installUpdate

You can repeat the process for each required update.

Install The Update

Before jumping to media server updates, check the following

● Upload an update by using the Uploading media server updates on page 65 task. You can upload an update before the scheduled maintenance time for installing an update, to avoid delays during the maintenance time.

● If both system layer and application layer updates exist, upload both before installing.

● Backup the system. In case of unforeseen problems during the update installation, you can use the backup to restore the system to the current configuration.

● Apply the updates to one node at a time in a cluster configuration, while the other nodes in the cluster maintain service. For High Availability clusters, see Managing media server changes for 1+1 High Availability clusters on page 70.

● Perform the installation during scheduled maintenance.

Now, follow the procedure to install the updates.

● To prevent new sessions from starting on the system, navigate to EM>System Status>Element Status and select More Actions>Pending Lock.

● Click Confirm.

● Check for active sessions on the server by navigating to EM>System Status>Monitoring>Active Sessions.

● To install the uploaded updates, navigate to EM>Tools>Manage Software>Updates and click Install Updates.

● Click Confirm. Now, the update is complete when you can log in to EM.

Wrapping Up!

Avaya Aura® MS plays a key role in empowering the applications related to voice messaging and conferencing but it also provides support in contact centers, basic media services, and other communication applications. Hence, it's time to enhance your business productivity through Avaya's reliable and scalable communications-centric solutions. Through Avaya Aura Support, companies can get the best technology to increase scalability. Now, the employees have the opportunity to work closely to educate, train and support their customers.