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Component

Specification

OS

Windows 7 or greater

OSX Yosemite 10.10 or greater

 

  • 64-bit when using desktop app

CPU

Intel or AMD CPU released after 2010

Memory

6GB RAM or greater

Network

10/100 NIC (wired) or greater  802.11n (wireless) or later

Display

1680x1050 resolution or greater

IP Phones

Polycom

  • VVX Series

  • IP Series

  • Soundpoint Series

  • Txx Series

  • Wxx Series

Headsets

  • Any USB or 3.5mm headset properly recognized by the client workstation and web browser

  • Wireless headsets are discouraged due to increased probability of signal interference which can resulted in degraded call quality

  • Sharpen does not officially certify or support any particular headset due to the wide variety of suitable devices

Browser

  • Google Chrome (Past 3 revisions)

  • Microsoft Edge Chromium (Past 3 revisions)

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Common interruptions

Working from home enables Sharpen users with the flexibility they need while still being connected to the Sharpen environment. With that flexibility comes additional areas of focus to allow for a consistent experience. Most importantly, it is important to remember that Sharpen is a real-time communications platform assuming prompt and consistent network and workstation availability to support the real-time transmission of audio.

  • SIP ALG - Present in many network device configurations as SIP ALG, SIP, VoIP, settings which enable SIP ALG are contrary to a successful network setup with multiple VoIP devices. Intermittent disconnection, audio drops, and the inability to register are common symptoms when SIP ALG is enabled. This must be shut off for optimal performance.

  • Sharpen strongly discourages the use of “combination” network equipment such as all-in-one modem/router devices. ISPs typically provide or rent these out to customers. They are known for having issues with VOIP traffic as well as having limited access to critical settings. If you are using a combination device and experiencing issues, the first step is to acquire a stand-alone modem and router. 

    • If you can not acquire a stand-alone modem and router, we recommend reaching out to your ISP to see if they can place your combination device in “bridge” mode, then purchasing and connecting a 3rd party router to handle the local networking. 

  • Allow SIP, UDP and RTP protocols - Sharpen uses these to send and receive traffic.

  • Ensure UDP timeouts are greater than 240 seconds (phones register every 240 sec). If you’re seeing a sawtooth pattern in your latency graphs, or your phones are sometimes unable to be reached, the UDP timeout is probably incorrect.

  • Disable Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) as it often flags VOIP traffic incorrectly. 

  • Disable SIP ALG and/or SIP Transformations (this varies by router).Disable any VOIP specific functions that come pre-setup on your network equipment.

  • Sharpen traffic over a VPN is discouraged due to likely latency and quality of service concerns.

  • Sharpen traffic over an MPLS is discouraged due to potential inefficient rout route paths to voice resources.

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