I recently had a customer with a new IP Office install that had Vantage phones. Somehow, I had forgotten that the Vantage phones require an external HTTP server. Luckily for me the customer had Preferred Edition with an R320 Server and I was able to put together a workaround for this using VMWare EXSi. This solution can be used in other scenario where a VMWare host is available. You can even use Workstation or Player.
Step 1 – Install Hypervisor
Note: This will change the configuration of the shipped AVAYA IP Office Server. It will mean all configuration will be wiped. Please proceed with care.
You will firstly need to download the ESXi installation media. I like to use the Dell Customized images (The IP Office Server is an OEM’d Dell Server) as these contain all the drivers needed to run properly. The image can be downloaded here.
Once you have downloaded the iso file, you will need to create the install media. This can be done by burning a CD/DVD or using a USB stick. I prefer using USB so I used Rufus to create the disk. Instructions for creating the disk can be found here.
The VMWare ESXi installation is pretty standard but should you need instructions they can be found using the following links
- How to install ESXi 6.7 Step by Step
- Steps to Install VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
- VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7 – Step by Step Installation
Step 2 – Install Linux HTTP Server
Once the ESXi host has been installed you will now need to install the Virtual Linux HTTP Server. I used Ubuntu Server for this. You can download the iso for this here.
Create the VM
- Log into the ESXi host’s Web UI
- Navigate to Storage >>datastore1 and click on “Datastore browser”
- Upload the Ubuntu Server ISO to the datastore
- Navigate to the Virtual Machines option and click “Create/Register VM”
- Select the option to “Create a new virtual machine”
- Give your new VM a name and provide details about the OS as shown.
- Provide details on your VM’s virtual hardware. Be sure to select the location of the CD/DVD as the iso you uploaded to the datastore.
- Click the finish button
- You should see the virtual server displayed in the list.
- Navigate to the VM and click the “Console” option. From there select a console option. I chose to “Open console in new tab”
- Power on the VM and you should see the installation begin.
Install Ubuntu Server
- Select the language of choice
- Select the keyboard layout of your choice
- Configure your network settings – I would recommend that you set a static IP
- Skip proxy (unless you use one)
- Use the entire disk for filesystem setup
- Setup the server name and users
- Install the OpenSSH server
- Skip the “Featured Server Snaps”
Step 3 – Configure Linux HTTP Server
- Perform general updates on your server (You will need internet access for this)
user@computer$ sudo apt update user@computer$ sudo apt upgrade- Install apache
user@computer$ sudo apt install apache2- Test apache by navigating to the ip address of your server. You should see a webpage like this:
- You will now need to download the Vantage Files from AVAYA Support Website.
- Once the files are downloaded use WinSCP to transfer the files to the server.
- If you uploaded the zip file you will need to unzip it with the following commands
- Download unzip
user@computer$ sudo apt install unzip user@computer$ unzip Filename.zip- Copy the files to the web directory
user@computer$ sudo cp * -R /var/www/html- This will copy all the contents of the current folder to the specified directory.
- Define the mime file types
user@computer$ cd /etc/apache2/mods-available user@computer$ sudo nano mime.conf- Add the following entries
- AddType application/vnd.android.package-archive .apk
- AddType file/download .sig .sig256
Step 4 – Install IPO Application Server (Optional)
