Frequently Asked Questions - General

As an interim release between major versions of Speech Server, MSS 2004 R2 focuses on three core updates: 1) The addition of U.S. Spanish and Canadian French languages (including ASR and TTS); 2) Greater flexibility in deployment, wherein Enterprise Edition now supports not only a distributed deployment, but a single-server deployment option as well. The Enterprise Edition single-server option is great for DTMF applications up to 96 ports, and speech applications between 24 and 48 ports; 3) Performance enhancements, including better scaling for applications with extensive and large grammars. For a more detailed list of all the enhancements MSS 2004 R2 includes please refer to the article, What's New in Microsoft Speech Server 2004 R2.

"R2" refers to "Release 2" and is a new designation for Microsoft Server System products. A product with an "R2" designation is an interim product version release that occurs between major version releases.

Yes. While MSS 2004 R2 adds a new option to deploy Enterprise Edition in a single-server configuration, the distributed deployment option is still available and is recommended for deployments supporting more than 48 telephony ports.

Yes. MSS 2004 applications are 100% compatible with MSS 2004 R2.

If your upgrade deployment configuration for MSS 2004 R2 will be the same as the existing MSS 2004 deployment, then you can simply install MSS 2004 R2 over the top of the existing MSS 2004 installation. If you are planning to change your deployment topology during the upgrade, for example from Enterprise Editing distributed to Enterprise Edition single-server, then uninstalling MSS 2004 first is recommended.

The pricing for MSS 2004 R2 remains the same as for MSS 2004: Standard Edition is $7,999 per CPU Estimated Retail Price (ERP), while the ERP for Enterprise Edition is $17,999 per CPU. Discounts may be available via Microsoft's Volume Licensing programs.

Microsoft Speech Server 2004 (MSS) combines Web technologies, speech-processing services, and telephony capabilities into a single, integrated system. Built on the robust and scalable Windows Server™ 2003 operating system and the powerful Visual Studio® .NET development environment, Speech Server enables companies to unify their Web and telephony infrastructure, and extend existing or new ASP.NET Web applications for speech-enabled access from telephones, mobile phones, Pocket PCs, and Smartphones. Speech Server is a flexible and integrated speech platform that dramatically reduces the complexity and cost of developing and deploying speech applications.

Microsoft Speech Server is used to build and deploy Web-based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) applications accessed by the telephone, as well as Web-based multimodal (mixed speech/visual) applications accessed by mobile devices over a wireless network. Speech Server provides neither command and control of desktop applications, nor speech-to-text dictation capabilities.

Microsoft Speech Server 2004 is the only speech platform to comprehensively support Web-based touchtone (DTMF) and speech-enabled IVR applications, as well as multimodal applications, and includes speech application development tools, Microsoft's enterprise-grade Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) engine, a prompt engine, a SALT Interpreter (voice browser), and telephony services. Note: For connecting Speech Server to a telephone system (e.g. a PBX), third-party telephony interface software and an Intel® telephony card are required. Please contact Intel or Intervoice for more information.

Microsoft Speech Server is the only speech platform that provides a comprehensive set of features, tools, and components for creating speech-enabled IVR, touchtone, and multimodal applications. Speech Server, unlike most other speech platforms, was specifically designed to take advantage of the power and ubiquity of Web technologies, using a Web-based development model and deploying on a Web infrastructure.

No. Similar to other server products that Microsoft offers, Speech Server provides the development tools and platform with which our partners and customers can build and deploy Web-based telephony and multimodal speech solutions. Many of our partners offer Speech Server-based "pre-packaged" applications and we invite you to visit our partner directory on the Microsoft Speech Server Web site at www.microsoft.com/speech for more information.

Speech Server offers flexible deployment options, whether your needs include a single-server configuration or a distributed multi-server configuration. Microsoft Speech Server 2004 R2 Standard Edition, designed for moderate call volumes, supports single-server deployments up to 24 ports, while Microsoft Speech Server 2004 R2 Enterprise Edition offers unlimited scalability across multiple servers. Enterprise Edition also offers a single-server deployment option which is recommended for DTMF application deployments up to 96 ports, or for speech deployments serving between 24 and 48 ports. Additionally, a 180-day Evaluation version of Speech Server 2004 R2 Enterprise Edition is also available. (Please refer to the Microsoft Speech Server Web site at www.microsoft.com/speech for more information.)

Microsoft Speech Server 2004 Standard Edition and Speech Server 2004 Enterprise Edition are available from any Microsoft reseller or Microsoft Speech Partner, and via Open License, Select License, and Enterprise Agreements from Microsoft. Additionally, 180-day Evaluation versions of both Microsoft Speech Server 2004 Standard Edition and Microsoft Speech Server 2004 Enterprise Edition are also available. (Please refer to the Microsoft Speech Server Web site at www.microsoft.com/speech for more information.)