Has anyone else had issues with IP office 1

[bigjerms]

We sell IP Office and did so shortly before the 3.0 release. Since 3.0 we have had lots of problems with stability in both hardware and software. I've got one location I've replaced the phone system 3 times in about a year. Its grounded properly, has a UPS, etc.

Our Avaya rep said we are the only person they know with this many problems and that we should probably just go to a different manufacturer.

I want to know if anyone else had run into these kinds of issues of stability, and product failures?

Product failures have been everthing from ports being dead out of box to systems just going into infinite reboot with no changes being made to cause the infinite reboot.

 

[tlpeter]

i am doing this from 3.0 and don't have problems at all
do you ground yourself when you put in a bri,pri or vcm card ?
static electricity f*cks up a lot
also (sorry to say)bad programming is bad for the system
take your time for both


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Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[bigjerms]

Every time we have had issues with firmware avaya has had to patch it.

We send the configs and they say it looks fine then it gets escalated and eventually we end up getting a patch when its a software issue.

I had one install with 3 digital expansion modules that had dead ports out of the box. I kind of doubt that has anything to do with static because we don't ever have to open the expansion modules.

Also firmware upgrades are very iffy. I'd say 15% of firmware upgrades seem to lock up the box.

 

[tlpeter]

strange indeed
but i can't help you
i don't have this kind of problems


______________
Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[big70]

I think that if you have systems over 100 ports there only a few good stable versions and i think on 3.0 not even one.

I only try to use the stable one,s for 100+ like 2.1(62) or 3.1 (65) and no 3.2 (55) is a good one.

Like the new 4.0 i test on small clients like under 30 ports.

Also had some ports going dead digital and analog but let say about +/- 2 clients every 50 instals.

Like tlpeter im really happy with IPO but also know what bad instals can do to a client. (not saying you are

Greets Peter

 

[kwing112000]

I have a lot of IPO out there on all different releases. I have found that bad programming causes so many issues. I have had clients that would reboot once a day every day. We have gone in and defaulted the configs and in some cases down graded and upgraded properly and then no more calls from that customer. Most of the issues i have seen are minor programming issues that when there are alot of them become major.

 

[jamie77]

Bad programming and not upgrading properly are the main culprits but mainly bad programming.

I have had to spend many hours and site visits following other engineers who insist on not programming systems carefully.

I am happy to say that the majority of the systems I have done from day 1 have very little or no issues.

A few bugs here and there but you would get that with any software. Anybody ever checked how many hotfixes Microsoft and service packs have to put into their OS's without anybody blinking????

Jamie Green

ACA:Implement - IP Office
ACS:Implement - IP Office

http://www.alliedcom.co.uk

Fooball is not a matter of life and death-It is far more important!!!!

 

[big70]

But we are not saying you are doing bad programming
heheheheheehehehhehehe o yes we do
heheeheheheheehhehehe or maby not.

heheheheheheeheh yes i think we do.

Greets Peter

 

[jamie77]

I think you have just been unlucky.

I am replacing an out of box failure unit tommorow and it is at least 2 1/2 years since I had a DOA unit!!!!

Jamie Green

ACA:Implement - IP Office
ACS:Implement - IP Office

http://www.alliedcom.co.uk

Fooball is not a matter of life and death-It is far more important!!!!

 

[gknight1]

who delivers your equipment??? Maybe the person delivering your IPO doesnt like you.

 

[ThePhoneMn]

Big Jerm, I had the same issue through the 3.0's, I have a warehouse stacked with defective IPO's.

I heard the same thing from my Avaya rep.
"Our Avaya rep said we are the only person they know with this many problems and that we should probably just go to a different manufacturer".

with 3.1 and 3.2, things have been better. Also, I sit in a NOC, so I cannot say if these units are being upgraded properly. That could have been my issue along!

 

[dphoneguy24]

I have a installed many IPO units as well since it's inception in the US on 1.x versions. I think 3.0 versions were all unstable. I have some 3.2 units in a SCN that all started at 1.4. Alot of issues in the beginning, but very stable now. The customer didn't operate on any 3.0 versions though. When we added a new site, we upgraded every location from a 2.1 to 3.2 (stepped through all in between). I have other locations on 3.2.xx various - some minor issues every now and then but nothing major. A few 2.1 versions yet to that seem to be very stable. I even have one customer that is operating on a 1.3 with no problems, until the sales guy tries to sell them a new feature upgrade.

 

[jamie77]

I have seen 1.2 sites still running and never having a fault

Jamie Green

ACA:Implement - IP Office
ACS:Implement - IP Office

http://www.alliedcom.co.uk

Fooball is not a matter of life and death-It is far more important!!!!

 

[aarenot]

It is not just you, but, there are gotcha's, and attention to detail make much difference with IPO.

Biggest one I reccomend.

Upgrading should always only involve maint releases, never install anything except a maint release. Also, do not skip over major releases, go through them all, it takes a little longer, but I have not yet had a DTE cable out in the easily 100 systems I service. Follow the PDF on upgrading to the next release that came out with that next release at the time.

There are also many specifics about the names of things in the IPO like users, groups, etc., etc., follow the specs., a bunch of little errors can really confuse the IPO it seems. You might have an experienced tech check out your CFG's for issues. I have cleaned up a few, and watched the issues go away.

Also, if you want an expert on the IPO, he works in the field, not in a call center doing tech support. If he does, I have not met him.

 

[bigjerms]

Almost every problem I've had with software has gone to level three and required patches or as Avaya calls them special loads.

I think we have had 3 or 4 of them so far. We even had an Avaya Engineer come to one of our sites for a week to work on one specific customer that had issues. Avaya made a patch for this customer, which helped for a while. Then a few weeks ago that customer called. They had a system in an infinite reboot. They have 10 systems total all connected via ptp T1s.

I'm not the primary system programmer. I'm not an expert on it. I can hold my own configuring a system. I'm just telling you the experience my company has had with installations we have had.

All of the failures on equipment have been on small office and expansion modules, and ip office 406v2's. I don't think any of our early V1 or 403 have ever had hardware failure.

As for software, all the problems we've had have been in the 3.0 releases and some of the 3.1 releases.

 

[tlpeter]

but if that customer has ten sites and all connected,then i asume they manage the ip offices there selfs ???


ACA - Implement IP Office
ACA - Voice Services Management
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Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[bigjerms]

For the most part yes, but when it just starts doing an infinite reboot and they haven't touched it or made any changes to it, then they call the person that sold them the product to come fix it.

 

[bigjerms]

I'll give you an instance of a software issue. We had a customer that would park a call and then when they picked up a parked call it would occassionally pick up another line mid conversation. The line it picked up didn't have to be parked, it would pick up a line that had a current conversion going on between two seperate parties.

This was a bit of an issue since it was a doctor and patient confidentiality came into play. Avaya had to custom patch that release.

Maybe I just expect too much for advertised features to work the way they are advertised.

I love IP Office, just wish they would do a little more Beta testing before shipping it out I guess.

 

[aarenot]

In the second or third maint release, most of the features act as descibed. Do not sell anything but the features of the second or third maint releases, don't sell the new major release features, it is that simple, if you want to sell what works. Now in some situations if you are not going to use the things which are broken in a new release it may be fine, but you have to know what you are going to use, and what is broken in the new release.