Avaya Aura Session Manager is a SIP routing and integration tool and the core component of the Avaya Aura solution. Session Manager integrates all of the SIP entities across the entire enterprise network within a company. It offers a new perspective on enterprise communication where individual locations are no longer managed as separate units within the enterprise. Each location, branch, and application is viewed and managed as part of the overall enterprise.

Session Manager enables distributed SIP-based system solutions featuring multi-vendor integration, centralized dial plans and user profiles, centralized SIP trunking, easier "on-net" call routing, and greatly enhanced SIP scalability and security. This enhanced architectural flexibility allows enterprises to significantly reduce telecommunications and management costs, lower their total cost of ownership, and increase business agility by being able to more rapidly deploy appropriate Unified Communications capabilities to different user groups wherever they are.

Session Manager integrates through SIP with a broad range of Avaya SIP-ready applications including Communication Manager, Meeting Exchange, Voice Portal, Presence Services, Avaya Integrated Management and Modular Messaging.

Session Manager connects Communication Manager as a feature (SIP) server and both Avaya enterprise PBX and small key PBX systems within branch offices, third-party PBXs, gateways, service providers, SIP-enabled adjuncts, and SIP telephones. It also integrates locations and applications. Specifically, Session Manager:

• Normalizes disparate networks
• Routes SIP sessions across the network
• Provides the gateway for the enterprise for external SIP trunking
• Is highly available with redundancy across different geographic regions
• Offers centralized management through System Manager

Each Session Manager installation combines several or all of the following configurations:

• Centralized routing and dial plan
• Policy-based routing
  • Time of day routing
  • Alternate routing
  • Load balancing
  • Call admission control
• Tail end hop off
• Centralized SIP trunking
• Centralized applications
• Sequenced applications is a series of applications that engage automatically. The sequence can be different or the same for each user. Each user is given a template of applications that are applied to every incoming, outgoing, or combined call for that user. Each application in a sequence sees all requests and can deny, modify, or forward initial SIP requests. Session Manager also supports third-party PBX endpoint application sequencing.

Central management of Session Manager is handled through the Avaya Aura System Manager. System Manager delivers a set of shared, secure management services and a common console across multiple products.