3Com NBX / Norstar Adapter

[tamnavulin]

Guys,

My boss has been looking to upgrade our in house Norstar switch to an IP solution.

One of the options we have been offered is a slip in module for the 3Com NBX / Superstack 3 which will allow our Norstar Keysets emulate the 3Com IP phones.

The company that produces this is called Citel Technologies and are based in Seattle WA.

Does anybody have any opinions on this product or have used it?

Any opinions would be most welcome.

Rgds, Randy

 

[Arr]

The 3Com is a good product. IF you really want IP telephony.
I think that IP telephony is a fair idea when there are several branch offices to connect with a coordinated dialing plan. Or if you have several/many remote operatives. If you just want to go VOIP for internet long distance low rates there are cheaper ways of implementation. If you just want to connect two branch offices then look at MCK in addition. They do different things. A weakness in the 3Com product is the 3Com IP telephone set. It is complicated, expensive and a single cable connect is a disadvantage putting all eggs in one basket.
To get lost in VOIP sophistry is expensive and could cost business if the installation and programming don't go well. These things are relatively difficult to tr

 

[Norstarguru]

Well at this point VOIP is still pretty new, If you have multiple locations or off premise employees, I would say it would be a solution to go to, If you want reliable stick with the Nortel Voip solution, BCM as of January 2001 there were already 200,000 systems installed. I went to the 3Com facility in Chicago-(They use Nortel)

Norstarguru

 

[salo0920]

FWIW,

I have recently installed the MCK stuff and it works great. You buy a box (looks like a router) and connect it to your Norstar PBX station ports (up to 12) and you connect it to your ethernet backbone with a live IP address.

Next, you connect the mating box at a different office or home office and connect your Norstar phones (7310, etc. ) Thats it. Your Norstar phones are extensions to the PBX with FULL functionality just as if they were hard wired. They sound great too. I just took several home and connected through my cable modem to the office PBX. Now I am an extension with all of the features that come with the Norstar stuff (VM, DID, etc.) and I call my office (which is in another state NY - NJ) for FREE.

If you want to try a pair, let me know as I have plenty of stock.

Also, you can even install an ATA at the remote end for analog dialtone or connection to your home telephone network (ala line 2)

Harold

 

[canuck876]

Don't forget the Nortel BCM, it is a great step between full blown IP, and the norstar.

Nortel has just released two new versions of the box, one that can handle small sites, and one that can replace a MICS.

The ability for the digital side of the switch to remain running if there is a problem on the ip side is excellent.

Cheers,
Scott