Ethernet VoIP solution needed

[ranchgeek]

My husband and I are both semi-retired computer professionals, and we also own a large ranch. There are a number of buildings scattered around the property, and, being geeks, we want to put voice and data in all of them.

The distances are far too long for a copper based data solution, so we're pulling fiber. We are interested in avoiding pulling copper also, since it's an additional expense and one more system to manage, so we are looking into VoIP solutions. We will have a star configuration with a 100baseT central switch and distribution switches in the more data intensive buildings (House, guest house, detached office)and single ports in the less intensive buildings. (barn, garage.)

I am ever the skeptic. I was also tortured by VoIP while working at Cisco in the Bad Old Days, so I've been scarred for life. Hubby dear is trying to talk me into not pulling copper, but I want to be sure that the phone will Just Work, and I know how to make copper do that. I'm also not convinced that VoIP will provide us the cheaper solution, given how much consumer gear is out there for standard telephony.

We will need a voicemail solution that can handle multiple incoming lines (aka the renter in the guest house line, the boarders in the barn's line, the home line...) and has the capacity to selectively distribute calls based on what line they came in on. (Don't want the renter to get my phone calls, and god knows I don't want to hear what her boyfriend says to her in the middle of the night when he calls!) I assume these aren't huge obstacles, but I'm curious what the cost is, and how stable these systems are.

You folks seem pretty knowledgeable about the current state of the art in this stuff. We will obviously have plenty of bandwidth to build a solution without compression, and we have some older but not ancient hardware lying around that could be dedicated to running sotware for the voicemail system. What do you think? Should we just pull the copper, or am I going to be happy with VoIP?

Thanks,

-jennifer

 

[upstateny]

try the 3com nbx 100 - operates at layer 2 along with your pc's, has voice mail built in and is reasonably priced - can buy an ip license if you need to go out on a WAN

 

[ranchgeek]

Whoa!!! 14K is a bit rich for this project. I'm hoping to be under 3K, including the phone units.

-jennifer

 

[upstateny]

where did you get 14K ? - i have access to some used stuff - post your email and i can contact you to discuss further

 

[ranchgeek]

gates@hotmail.com. My husband was looking for a price last night, and that's what he came up with. We are definitely hoping to go with used gear, though, so please contact.

-jennifer

 

[Rixride]

You may want to look into Wireless Access points for you data connections.

Just a side note... If you are really a technology Nut.

IP blue has developed a technology that allows you to connect a Cisco Call manager to a Compact IPAQ. The software on the IPaq emulates a Softphone while the IPAQ sits in it sleeve with a wireless card attached. This gives you telephone mobility and internet access from you Pocket PC! its quite amazing and I just finished an interview with a company that has deployed this... I should have the article and some snid bits of the audio up on my site shortly..

Just for grins though...althogh possible it may not be practicle to put a call manager in your place...although I have worked with some people who have done more then that in their houses!

Good Luck,

Rick Cruz -=Rick Cruz=-

http://www.pbxinfo.com

 

[ranchgeek]

Re: wireless for data:

I'm afraid we're bandwidth pigs. We just bought a gigabit backbone from a start-up going out of business sale, which should about cover it. We want to archive our audio and video libraries so we can play anything from anywhere anytime. We already have wireless deployed for our laptops and palmtops, but it's Not Fast Enough. ;-)

I'm a network junkie, but I don't know a thing about voice. What is a call manager?

It's not only a house, it's a ranch. We have an event staff and a barn staff-- check out:

http://www.lostmountainranch.com

-jennifer

 

[PAEricksen]

Cisco makes the "call manager" it is a router with an ip telephony switch built in to it. it basically uses your ethernet network to route phone calls, and acts as an 'internet' router as well. It uses cisco ethernet telephones and is not cheap. the n100 (?) is 3Com's answer back to cisco (competition you see). both are viable solutions for the application you specified but both are very expensive! Another option is a standard telephone switch with analog ports and a VoIP router on each 'site' but that would probably be expensive too. another option is copper cabling and a standard telephone switch.

 

[commkid]

There are many other solutions besides 3Com and Cisco (both are VERY expensive to deploy correctly). What you describe sounds very similar to a solution from IQNSI. The main drawback here is your budget, under 3K. At present, VoIP is more practicle at the carrier level, not residential. For simple calling between buildings located on the same fiber backbone it is very appealing though. Simple analog to IP phone adapters are a cheap solution, but they are basically dumb terminals that will require a Soft-Switch (like the cisco call manager) to operate correctly.

I would say that you can forget everything you have experienced at Cisco with VoIP since the entire industry has made leaps and bounds in the past year. Voice quality on a VoIP system is a direct reflection of your IP connectivity, ie if you have poor connectivity, you will have poor sound quality. With you fiber backbone and gigabit speed, this is most likely not an issue.

I also assume that you want to give your guests long distance service as well. This is a major advantage of VoIP, since geographic distance is irrelevant to IP. In, fact, with volume you can get sub 2 cents per minute anywhere anytime. :-0

Anyway, my point is: Yes it is very do-able and VoIP on this type of network will give you at least PSTN quality. And No it isn't really your most cost effective solution if you only want to spend under 3K. Hope that helps.