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Component | Specification |
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OS | Windows 7 or greater OSX Yosemite 10.10 or greater |
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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
Yealink
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Headsets |
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Browser |
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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.
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SIP ALG is enabled
Perhaps contrary to its name, SIP ALG is not compatible with most enterprise VoIP solutions, such as Sharpen. Depending on the manufacturer, network device configurations will show up as “SIP ALG”, “SIP”, “VoIP”, or something similar. Intermittent disconnection, dropped calls, one-way audio, and the inability to register are common symptoms when SIP ALG is enabled.
Depending on your device manufacturer or ISP, it may be difficult to get a straight answer on confirming this setting is off. Commonly, ISPs will have this setting enabled, because it supports their own options for VoIP solutions. It is not uncommon to have to work through a couple layers of support or technical team members to validate the proper setting is turned off.
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UDP timeout is set less than 240 seconds
Sharpen’s expected SIP registration interval is 4 minutes (240 seconds). If your network is set to “timeout” UDP connections at less than that, it will disconnect an active registration. Depending on when this happens, you’ll see the following symptoms.
Dropped calls
Inability to be reached on the phone which has lost its connection.
You’ll be able to dial outbound without issue, since registration is established on an attempted outbound call, if it does not already exist.
You’re probably seeing a sawtooth pattern in your latency graphs.
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ISP provided “combination” network equipment
Especially if you’re working from home on your residential internet connection, be weary of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) controlled settings which may exist on these managed devices. “Combination” devices are typically those which integrate modem, router, and wifi into one device. While in principle, the integration of these functions problematic, they can sometimes come with configuration hurdles which are difficult to overcome since you, as the borrower of the device, do not have administration access to the devices. It is not uncommon for settings like SIP ALG to be enabled but invisible to you as the user. These situations require that you work with your ISP’s support team to change a setting.
As a result, Sharpen discourages the use of combination network equipment. Instead we recommend purchasing a stand alone modem which is compatible with your ISP, and connecting a router of choice to it. This allows you full control of any potentially conflicting setting. Most self-managed devices have these problematic settings disabled by default.
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.
VPN
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| Note |
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The use of VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) is not supported. Depending on the solution, VDIs can be configured to work with VoIP solutions such as Sharpen, but Sharpen does not actively test with these solutions to validate a good agent experience. If VDIs are in use, Sharpen will not be responsible for the quality of service and will troubleshoot only up to the edge of our network (webRTC registration servers). |
Ports Protocols and Domains
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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 is enabled
Perhaps contrary to its name, SIP ALG is not compatible with most enterprise VoIP solutions, such as Sharpen. Depending on the manufacturer, network device configurations will show up as “SIP ALG”, “SIP”, “VoIP”, or something similar. Intermittent disconnection, dropped calls, one-way audio, and the inability to register are common symptoms when SIP ALG is enabled.
Depending on your device manufacturer or ISP, it may be difficult to get a straight answer on confirming this setting is off. Commonly, ISPs will have this setting enabled, because it supports their own options for VoIP solutions. It is not uncommon to have to work through a couple layers of support or technical team members to validate the proper setting is turned off.
UDP timeout is set less than 240 seconds
Sharpen’s expected SIP registration interval is 4 minutes (240 seconds). If your network is set to “timeout” UDP connections at less than that, it will disconnect an active registration. Depending on when this happens, you’ll see the following symptoms.
Dropped calls
Inability to be reached on the phone which has lost its connection.
You’ll be able to dial outbound without issue, since registration is established on an attempted outbound call, if it does not already exist.
You’re probably seeing a sawtooth pattern in your latency graphs.
ISP provided “combination” network equipment
Especially if you’re working from home on your residential internet connection, be weary of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) controlled settings which may exist on these managed devices. “Combination” devices are typically those which integrate modem, router, and wifi into one device. While in principle, the integration of these functions problematic, they can sometimes come with configuration hurdles which are difficult to overcome since you, as the borrower of the device, do not have administration access to the devices. It is not uncommon for settings like SIP ALG to be enabled but invisible to you as the user. These situations require that you work with your ISP’s support team to change a setting.
As a result, Sharpen discourages the use of combination network equipment. Instead we recommend purchasing a stand alone modem which is compatible with your ISP, and connecting a router of choice to it. This allows you full control of any potentially conflicting setting. Most self-managed devices have these problematic settings disabled by default.
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.
VPN
VPNs have many valid use cases, especially for work from home users. However, VPNs are not always configured to be optimal for voice traffic. Adding the additional virtual layer to the network, in most situations, will cause a recognizable degradation in network performance. Voice requires low latency, with minimal packet loss. As a result, if the VPN introduces too much interruption, your quality of service will be impacted. If VPN is necessary, it is recommended to configure it so Sharpen traffic can be omitted through the us of split tunneling.