Linking two close CAT5 connected offices

[wsimmonds]

All,

Have been reading for a while (and having my colleague post under my username!) and am now attempting to setup another office,with just 3 or perhaps 4 users, with access to our IP Office system.

We have an office (literally) over the road and now have a single CAT5 running between the two offices - hooked up to two gigabit switches (with support for QoS/VLANs) for data traffic. Distance of cabling's about 40 metres I'd say.

What we were told was that we could have a Digital Station unit over in the other office routed via our switch: Now that appears from what I can currently find out to be impossible? Have tried plugging it into a VLAN, etc. but it isn't even recognised by the switch as being connected. The information I've gathered says the DS should be situated by the main unit using only the 1M shielded cable supplied.

Our current setup:

Main office - IP406,ISDN30E(BT's term for an E1 here in the UK?) - DS16 and 10 2030 handsets.
Spare: DS16 + 4 2030 handsets.
On its way: VCM5.

My question is, what would be the best method of enabling our employees in the other office access? We've got a VCM5 card arriving very soon - but that was intended for enabling some of us to utilise IP Softphones from home and we may need a VCM10 if we follow that route.

Is it possible to have the DS located a distance away somehow?

I was reading this post:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=515590

with curiousity. Which was about linking to IP systems together via VOIP. Am I misreading it, or does that imply we could link two systems together (if I was to be able to acquire, say, an IP403 unit) without VCM cards by using "Transparent 64k" as the compression mode?

Sorry for being long-winded, and thanks to anyone reading this for taking the time to do so!

Cheers,
Will

 

[big70]

The best thing you can do is use 3 or 4 IP-Phones at the other and.
You need a VCM to make a call from IP to TDM.

You can,t put a DS module on a cabele 40 mtr from the 406.

You say that you can enable Qos on your network, this is important for the quality of your voice from and to the IP-stations.

 

[bwilch]

In order to link two IPO's together, you'd need a VCM to do so. It basically creates an IP trunk between the switches. With what you're looking to do, your most cost effective method would be to put IP phones in at the secondary site. You can see if you run out of resources with the VCM5 then choose to upgrade if you need. The VCM is only used when a call goes from the TDM network (a digital set, or a PSTN connection) out. For IP to IP calls, it's only used momentarily to setup the call, then the VCM channel is no longer used.

As far as using the digital sets remotely, I'm not familiar with anything for the IP Office as of yet. There are quite a few options for the Definity line, and there may be something for the IPO line, but I haven't seen anything.

 

[sizbut]

Having started reading I was already thinking - 3/4 remote users, a small group of IP phones would be just the thing - until you said VCM5. I'd up that to a 10 minimum with 5610 phones, alternate might be a Small Office with 16 built-in voice compression channels.

?Confused by why you have DS modules but 20 Series, ie. DT, phones.

!!Kill the person who said you could remotely install the DS module. Whilst its something we would all love its currently a no go.

 

[intrigrant]

Put the VCM 5 in and use IP Phones via your LAN, forget the Qos but do setup a VLAN.
Qos wont be a issue on a switched gigabit network for VoIP, broadcaststorms can be a real problem for Voip on a LAN.

 

[clayfoxmvp]

IP phones would be the cheapest and easiest.

Otherwise a Small Office Edition with voice channels would allow you to use digital phones and analog fax if necessary.

I have gotten several on ebay for less than a 1000 US.

Clay

 

[wsimmonds]

Sizbut,

Ooops - well spotted. I wrote DS but I meant DT units! You probably guessed that one though after posting.

Do you think the VCM5 unit will present problems, i.e. lack of capacity for the 3-4 people? The vast majority of calls will be outbound and not to VM Pro or anything like that.

Current thoughts are running along the lines of following the VCM/IP phones route - although Small Office Edition is something I haven't considered so will research further.

Welchguy: Agree with you about eBay, a lot of our equipment's come from there!

Intrigrant: Cheers also for the advice, if I did have problems with broadcast storms I believe the switch does have some inbuilt protection.

Thanks to everyone for the responses so far, have been reading them with great interest. This site's a huge asset!

Will

 

[IPGuru]

As per all the other suggestions Use IP Phones unless you need fax's at the remote site then install a Soe.

If you have 3 or 4 phones that are almost constantly busy then you would not have much spare capacity for remote users so I would again recomend the VCM 10.