Last Updated on November 30, 2021 by GrahamWalsh
One question that I get asked quite a lot is the capabilities when transitioning from Skype to Teams, how does the Skype Room System v2 (aka SRSv2 or Rigel) work with Teams in a room environment with the renamed Microsoft Teams Room (MTR)?
Well the answer is quite simple, its the same. The current MTR software is built on the same platform as the SRSv2. This means the MTR can operate in a SfB mode or Teams mode.
There are three options available in the MTR client, these are
– Skype for Business only
– Skype for Business (default) and Microsoft Teams
– Microsoft Teams (default) and Skype for Business
So what are the differences? Well the User Interface (UI) is slightly different. In Skype for Business mode only, if the MTR receives a Teams invite it will not be able to process it. Also when in SfB mode only, you can dial any URI directly, so you can connect to a third party service such as Pexip, Webex, Zoom, Bluejeans etc if they have a SfB URI to dial. Below is the user interface, when in the SfB only
So then when I press New Meeting I am presented with the following UI. It means I can dial any SfB user or SIP URI.
The above interface is true for Skype for Business Mode or Skype for Business (default) and Microsoft Teams.
When using the Microsoft Teams (default) with Skype for Business, the home screen is the same as above, but when you press New Meeting, the UI is slightly different as you can see below. You can contact anyone within your Teams directory but you can’t connect to any SIP URI. You have the press Dial a URI in the bottom left corner. The below image shows the UI when in Teams default mode
What is the best mode to select?
That is the million dollar question. If you are still predominantly a Skype for Business shop with using federation, that I would probably take the SfB Default mode. You can still dial anyone and also any SIP URI into a Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) on another platform and still connect to Teams Meetings with a single Join button.
If you are moving to Teams at a fast past and want that initial burple interface on the left hand side, then go for Teams default. If you need to call someone externally, you that extra step of pressing the Enter a URI button.
Also if you are going to living in a mixed mode environment for a while, then SfB default might be better as the default as there is one less tap when dialling into meetings.
Finally, if you have Pexip Infinity Gateway, then you can expand the reach of the MTR and dial any standards based video codec. I have covered this in a previous blog post here
Questions, comments, leave them below or contact me on Twitter/Messenger.
Graham
Also published on Medium.